Random post about doughnuts (cuz thats how I roll)

Since i am on the edge of my seat waiting to find out what the Daring Baker's Challenge for January is (and my very first one), I saw the challenge from October (doughnuts), and thought how much my mom would love that one.

a few weeks ago, my mom came to visit my grandma while we can still visit with her, and of course me (geographic convienence). We were going though my grandma's old recipes, including one recipe book by 5 roses Flour (i think) that she received as a wedding gift in 1948!

My mom wanted to know if my grandma still had her doughtnut maker... and then alot of digging around in cuboards happend, and voi-la, my mom now has a doughnut maker... Now she just needs some time to actually make the doughnuts.
SO, i am thinking that I will print off the old October challenge, show it to my mom, and she can make some cool doughnuts, then I'll share it on here (she is pretty computer illiterate, and my dad is not so good with shareing the computer either)

Thats the thought of theday... Happy Last day of 2010!!! All the best in 2011 (and for the January Daring Baker Challenge!)

Maple Walnut Cake follow-up

The Cake was a huge success... I brought some to work, and everyone loved it. Boyfriend LOVED it... He asked me (after finishing the last piece) if I can make more stuff like that for him.... Of course i can! I guess I've only ever really make cookies and apple crisp for him.

Anyway, to follow up on my thougths for my Maple Walnut Cake... I will definatly use a bigger pan next time, It rises A LOT... If i had used the bigger pan, then It would be more like a bar-cake... Like carrot cake at bake sales that goes right along with Naniamo bars.

I've never tried to candy anything, and I was reading my old pen-pal's blog (http://onefoodiesculinaryadventures.blogspot.com) and was introduced to candied lime peel. She used this website as a reference... There, i searched through the listed recipes and found this one for Candied Lemon Slices... and i REALLY want to try it now... Might be a good thing to try when I'm laid up at home after my wisdom teeth Surgury.

I think my next attempt might be Baked Alaska... I've never actually had it, But I like pound cake and Ice cream and Meringues (kind of my mom's specialty). I've been reading alot of the older Daring Baker Challenges and I think it would be fun to try (and of course delish!)

And Really can't wait to do my first Daring Baker Challenge!

Hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!!!

Great Grandma's Maple Walnut Cake

Ok...
I am going to do a play by play posting...

I'm freshly home from work... after a quick stop off at Walmart (LOVE it there!! lol) and I smell freshly of horses and horse shit (as per usual). And i am also covered in Viktoria's hair because she got a touch-up clip job today... If I shower now, im not going to want to bake after, im just going to want to go to bed... So! Here we go:

My Great Grandma Soffia's Maple Walnut Cake

Instructions VERY clearly state to sift the flour before measuring, and then again after. I saved myself some time and did that right now, and also wisked in the baking powder and salt too.

Butter is being creamed in my brand new Mixer (THANKS MOM!), eggs are separated and being beaten once i finish typing this sentance... And pre-measuring the brown sugar also...
Now, butter is creamed with the brown sugar, I added the egg yolks (pre-beaten of course),


and now Im ready to gradualy add the flour and milk, alternating between the two... Then the maple flavouring and walnuts.... finishing with folding the egg whites in.


Then the recipe kind of just ends, so I'm going to put it into a square glass 9x9 pan and see how that goes... and go with my mom's standby oven temperature of 350 degrees, and toothpick comming out clean to tell when it is done.



Fingers crossed, its in the oven now...

(the paper the actual recipe is written on)

Soffia Anderson's Maple Walnut Cake

1/2 cup Butter
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 cup Walnuts
1 1/2 cups Brown Sugar
2 or 3 eggs (2 if they are large/x-large, or 3 of they are small/medium)
3/4 cup Milk
1/4 tsp Salt
3 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Maple Flavouring

Sift Flour, once before measuring, once after. Cream butter and sugar. Gradually add beaten egg yolk. Add flour, salt and baking powder alternately with Milk. Add flavouring, then nuts. Lastly, fold in beaten egg whites.
*follow my lead above to finish out the instructions, or do whatever works best for you*

Ok, so we decided that it needed some icing (what is cake without icing) so I used a basic buttercream recipe (i also love Google, in addition to walmart), and instead of vanilla, i just used more maple flavouring... It has survived the taste test, and now we are just waiting to the cake to cool down a bit more, and then the icing can go on it, and Ta-da. Maple Walnut cake
(im keeping my fingers crossed that it is delicious)

Here is my adapted Maple buttercream icing recipe:

1/2 cup butter (softened)
2 cups icing sugar (keep more on hand also)
Maple Flavouring
2-3 TBSP of Milk

Cream the butter, add icing sugar gradually until it is all mixed together quite nice, add in some milk to help with the consistancy, add in maple flavour until it is at your desired "maple-ness" beat VERY well, add in more milk/icing sugar to get it the consitancy you want for your cake.

Most of the buttercream recipes that google told me about had shortening or eggs in them, and I don't like the idea of eating raw eggs, or lots of shortening... all that butter and sugar is enough for me. This is why i just adapted it to suit myself.


OK, CAKE IS DONE!!!

Daring Bakers

I am going to join the Daring Bakers.
My only concern being that I usually end up working about 10 hour days, I go away to horse shows (so I'm not near anything resembling a kitchen), and I just might end up totally forgetting about it.

Oh, I joined before i finished this blog entry...

I am not going to intentionally forget about this blog, or the challenge, but Life happens. pre-emptive appology if i do forget about this for awhile though

Christmas

I love baking. But i really love Christmas baking. But its a hard thing to do when you dont have a kitchen and all your fun baking stuff is all packed away until you have your own Kitchen again (trust me)
But *drum roll please*...
I have my own kitchen again!!!!

AND I finally got all my kitchen stuff that I have had packed away in my parent's basement...

AND! for Christmas, from my parents or Santa (or both, it might've been a joint effort) I got the kitchen aid mixer that I have been dreaming of for a few years (apart from the fact, that I havnt been around home much for a few years).

AND!! I got my great grandma's recipe for Maple Walnut Cake (on a piece of paper that despiratly needs to be archived somehow)

Sooo let the baking commence (again)... when i have enough energy after long days at work in the barn.