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Bloody Beet Cake

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I just posted about Gory Cupcakes that I made two years ago which inspired this dessert. I wanted to make some elaborate cake or dessert but was not feeling that ambitious to take on such an endeavor. I decided that I should just stick to something that I knew would end up good. Since edible blood is the easiest Halloween item to make, I decided to make a blood splattered cake. As I had also just received a surplus of beets from a co-worker I knew a beet cake was in order. I had never made a beet cake but figured it would be similar to carrot cake or zucchini cake.

This cake is like a cross between a carrot cake & red velvet cake but without the food coloring in the batter. If I had made this for a party I would have added the red dye to get the extreme visual of red cake to blood splattered frosting. No one will know that there are beets in this cake. It is so light & fluffy and sweet that everyone will gobble it down. Be warned, after storing in the fridge it does become dense. Still delicious, but dense. Enjoy.

Bloody Beet Cake

  • 3/4 cup butter, plus more for greasing pans
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup beet puree
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 1 tbsp + 1tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups cake flour
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • cream cheese frosting
    • 1 8oz pkg cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat)
    • 1 tbsp milk
    • 1 tsp vanilla
    • 4 cups powdered sugar
  • blood
    • 2 tbsp corn syrup
    • 1 tbsp water
    • 2 tbsp corn starch
    • red, blue, green food coloring
    • chocolate syrup

Beet Puree: Trim off ends and peel 1-2 beets. Chop into chunks, place in a pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil & boil until tender (about 30-45minutes depending on size of beets). Drain and place in a food processor & chop until pieces are very fine. Remove beets from the processor. Place one cup of this back into the processor and add milk, vanilla, vinegar, & lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Reserve the other beet puree for another use (feel free to make as much puree as you want by chopping more beets).

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 8-9in round cake pans with butter. Line with parchment paper and grease again.

In a large bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until just incorporated.  Add the beet mixture & mix until combined. Add all of the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated scraping the sides as needed*. Pour into prepared cake pans.

*Note that if you want an intense red in the batter, as in a traditional red velvet cake, add a tsp of red food coloring to the batter at this point.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans and cool completely. Place in the fridge or freezer for 30-60 minutes.

Frosting: In a large bowl beat the cream cheese, milk, & vanilla until light & fluffy. Add the powdered sugar in 1 cup increments and beat until desired texture is achieved.

Blood: Mix the corn syrup, water, and corn starch until desired consistency is achieved by adding more water or corn starch as needed. Add red food coloring until a deep red is achieved. Add 1-2 drops of blue &/or green food coloring (I did 2 drops of each). Add chocolate syrup to make a more blood-like color if needed (not very much is needed – don’t overdo it).

Assembly: Skim off the tops of the cakes if needed to make them flat. Frost the top of one with some frosting. Add the other cake, top side down, on top of this frosted cake. Add frosting to the top and spread in a even layer and coat the sides. Dip a pastry brush or tooth brush into the blood & flick at the cake to create a splattered blood look.

Serve at a party or just enjoy your creation.

 

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Gory Cupcakes

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I have never been good at art. I cannot draw, paint, sculpt, or any other type of art that so many people seem to be able to do. I am good at taking candid photos or photos in general of people. Since starting this blog, however, I have realized that I am not very good at taking food photographs. I think it’s because they have to be staged and prepared. I have gotten a bit better but still have a long ways to go. Since I am not very artistic, it is no surprise that I am not very good at decorating cakes, cupcakes, or other food items. I know once I get a piping bag it will improve, but I still recognize my own flaws in the baking-decorating world.

To improve this skill I look at photographs of food on pinterest & the web for inspiration. The other day I was looking for Halloween ideas. I happened to come across a photo that I had taken in an image Google search of “gory desserts halloween,” and I was reminded that once I did do something artsy in the food world.
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Two years ago I entered a contest. It was a Halloween contest from Food for Hunters that required you to make a Halloween themed dessert. I decided to make cupcakes with body parts & blood. I bought gummy candy body parts, baked some cupcakes, frosted them, and made fake edible blood. They looked awesome. I did end up winning the contest and won a camping knife set, which was so cool, but I am most proud of the cupcakes. They look simple but they look fantastic (at least for me). I even ended up posting the recipe Gory Cupcakes on Better Recipes which I also forgot about.

I should have remembered this because I look at a photo of me with these cupcakes everyday on pinterest, twitter, and the About Me page of this blog. Sometimes what is right in front of you gets missed the most.

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I know that I have a lot of work to do in terms of artsy-pretty food but also know that if I keep at it maybe one day I will be able to do it with ease or at least be able to do it and be satisfied with the result. If all else fails, at least I have this contest to remind me that I did accomplish it once.

Friendships & Honey-Vanilla Madeleines

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Do you ever wonder how much of what you experience as a child shapes who you become? I think about it constantly. You may not know it at the time but movies, music, books, events, perhaps the smallest encounter, might affect who you become as you get older.

I first noticed it when I bought Edward Scissorhands years ago. I watched this beloved childhood movie as an adult and thought maybe this is a part of the reason why I am who I am. There is the character of the inventor (I’m a chemist) and the mother sells Avon (I sold MaryKay for a brief time).

I know that could be ridiculous but maybe it did affect me. I’m not saying that everything you watch or listen to will make you do things. I watched any horror movie I wanted growing up and I didn’t turn into a murderous monster. I read books geared to adults in elementary school, so much that my teachers would call & ask if it was appropriate for me to be reading such items, to which my mother would reply, “If she has a book she can read it.” I’ve always loved the fact that I was able to watch & read anything. I think that being treated as an adult in certain aspects enhanced my intellect. But I digress. The point is that sometimes I wonder what affected me as a child & shaped my life.

For example, I danced from 3-18yrs old and there was a Chinese restaurant next door. The paper place settings had the Chinese zodiac that told you what animal you were based on the year you were born. I am a rat. I read it every time I went to that restaurant. One thing it said is that Rats seldom have lasting friendships.

I wonder if I got that engrained in my brain which could have affected my friendships throughout life. Because for me it is true. I do seldom have lasting friendships.

My best friend in kindergarten & first grade moved away. One of my only friends in elementary school moved away. In high school I drifted away from my friends for a guy. In college I didn’t live there so I didn’t meet many new people which resulted in no new friends.

I did live in Cannes though for a semester and made some friends there. There was one in particular who I considered to be one of my best friends. We got along well & managed to keep in touch fairly well for a long time. We would Skype each other & Facebook IM one another fairly regularly. We even saw each other every few years with either her traveling to the states or me to Europe.

We don’t talk as much and it has been about 3.5 years since we have seen each other but I still consider her to be a lasting friend. I may not have (m)any friends but I do know I can always call or message her and she will be there. If I do ever go to back to Europe or if she comes to the States I am sure we will get together.

A long time ago in one of our times together, she gave me a cookbook box set.

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It contains a book with 22 salty & 22 sweet mini madeleine recipes.

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It also came with two silicone molds. I have never used it…until now.

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To be fair it got misplaced and then I moved countless times so it was packed up, but up north in Almost Canada, I have lots of time to bake and these will definitely be a recurring baked good in my household. They are so easy & so delicious. The recipe I made was a honey madeleine but I used half the honey and added the seeds from half of a fresh vanilla bean.

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Honey-Vanilla Madeleines (adapted from Mini Madeleines & translated into english) 

  •  1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 vanilla bean

Preheat the oven to 425F. Mix the eggs & the sugar until well blended in a medium bowl. Add the flour & baking powder & mix until combined. Mix in the softened butter and milk. Add the honey & the seeds from the half vanilla bean (reserve the bean for another use). Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Generously grease the molds with butter. Fill them so that they are not overflowing (approx. 1/2-3/4tsp). Bake for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown & cake feels spongey to the touch. Makes about 3 dozen.

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I don’t know if I will make any great friendships as the years go by. By now I have gotten used to having no girlfriends. Sometimes it does sadden me but other days I think it would just be too much work & am content with the way things are. I have always been a very solitary person with a few close friends. While almost all of those close friendships are basically non-existent except for in memory or the occasional communication, I know that if it comes down to it I do have people I can count on. These madeleines remind me of just that.

 

Summer of Rhubarb: Rhubarb-Strawberry Coffee Cake

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Here in Minnesota, and many other places as well, summer means rhubarb. Everything rhubarb. I grew up eating the beloved strawberry-rhubarb pie which my grandmother would make every summer using fresh rhubarb from her garden. As I grew older, I realized how amazing & versatile rhubarb can be.

I love all things rhubarb. Pies, crisps & crumbles, tarts, sauces for dessert or for savory dishes. There are so many options for how to use it. When a co-worker asked me if I wanted any rhubarb I jumped at getting as much as I could until I start growing it. She gave me 14 cups which I separated into various quantities & stored in the freezer so I could just pull it out & cook with it when I wanted.

I began my summer of rhubarb on Sunday with a coffee cake from my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Coffee Cake:

  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen rhubarb cut into 1in pieces
  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened strawberries
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk (alternatively use 1 tbsp lemon juice & fill with milk to 8oz & let stand 5 minutes)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp butter
  1. For filling, in a medium saucepan combine fruit & water. Bring to  boil. Reduce heat & simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes or until fruit is tender. Combine the 1/4 cup sugar & corn starch. Stir into the fruit. Cook & stir over medium heat until mixture is thickened & bubbly.
  2. In a medium bowl combine the 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder & baking soda. Cut in the 1/4 cup butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center.
  3. In another bowl combine the egg, buttermilk, & vanilla. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture & stir until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.
  4. Spread half the batter into an ungreased 8x8x2in baking pan. Spread filling over batter. Drop remaining batter in small mounds onto filling.
  5. In a small bowl stir together the 1/4 flour & 1/4 sugar. Cut in the 2 tbsp butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the coffee cake. Bake in a 350F oven for 40-45minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

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The Perfect Poundcake

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Sometimes I like to give myself challenges or tasks in the baking world. I called this my first baking challenge: The Perfect Poundcake. I gave myself the weekend of July 21-22 2012 to complete it. It stemmed from the fact that I had made Ina Garten’s Honey Vanilla Poundcake and it was dry to my dismay although quite flavorful. I know that poundcake tends to be dry when most people make it, but I loved everything that came out of my Barefoot Contessa cookbook, so I decided that I would try to perfect a poundcake.

My plan was to modify Ina’s recipe & try a random recipe off the internet that looked interesting to me. For Ina’s recipe I thought about the dryness aspect. In some of my other bread recipes I use oil instead of butter. I know that this may be frowned upon in some baking circles, but it makes some breads incredibly moist. So I decided to replace half of the butter with oil. I didn’t want to lose the denseness from the butter but I thought that if oil worked in other recipes than maybe it would work here. Friends, it was a failure. Not only was it just as dry, but I had lost some flavor as well. The honey vanilla notes did not come through as strong.

On to the random recipe. This one was intruiguing to me. It used cream, where Ina had no liquid really to speak of, and it started in a cold oven and baked for a longer period of time. The poundcake didn’t look as pretty, but it was just as flavorful and oh so moist.

I know this wasn’t a very difficult baking challenge, but it made me feel successful & happy. Sometimes that is all you need. Also, I should thank those around me who ate lots of poundcake along the way as I was going towards my goal.

Sorry for the lack of recipes, but I don’t have the source from which the random one came so do not feel right publishing it without giving proper credit.