Baking

Raspberry and Vanilla Bean Cream Tarts

5 · Jun 12, 2013 · 9 Comments

Raspberry & Vanilla Bean Cream Tarts // I'm thrilled to share with you another member of the WhipperBerry Creative Team today! Jo-Anna has been a long time Friday Flair contributor and I've always been in love with her work. She has fabulous taste and I can't wait to show off all of her amazing talents!

Hello Whipperberry readers!

I'm Jo-Anna from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs, my little corner of the internet, where I share my passion for the home. Everything from recipes to crafts to decorating for the holidays to gardening. I just really love to share ways to make our lives a little more simple and a lot more pretty!

I'm beyond thrilled to be contributing over here today at Whipperberry! I have been reading Heather's blog ever since I discovered this amazing world of blogging. I've always loved her work, so to be able to be a part of the Whipperberry journey, makes me very very happy!

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I wanted to kick things off by sharing an amazing dessert with you! These Raspberry & Vanilla Bean Cream Tarts are perfect for Father's Day or any summer gathering. There's nothing more summery than fresh berries!

You can make this recipe as 6 mini tarts or one large tart…either way it's a fantastic dessert! There's just something so elegant and charming about tarts, isn't there? And while they may seem daunting to make they're really not.

Don't be afraid of the length of this recipe. They are not hard to make at all, and trust me, they are well worth the effort! Your friends & family will love them. And if raspberries aren't your thing, you can use any kind of fruit you like: blueberries, strawberries, bananas. So simple. So versatile. So delicious.

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Let's get baking!

Raspberry Tarts with Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Please note: It's best to make the tarts in this order: Crust first, then the cream.

Tart Crust:

1 1/4 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter, cut into chunks

1 egg yolk

6 mini 3 inch tart pans, or 1 large tart pan

Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream:

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp cornstarch

4 egg yolks

1 1/3 cups whole milk

1/2 vanilla bean, split down the centre to expose the seeds

1/4 – 1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Start with the crust. In a food processor, process the flour, sugar and salt for about 10 seconds.

T hen add the chunks of butter and process until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs.

Add the egg yolk and process again until the egg is thoroughly combined.

If you are making mini tarts (tartlets), separate the mixture into 6 – 3 inch tart pans, and press the dough into the molds, making the sides slightly higher than the centre. Bake for 12-15 minutes, making sure to prick them with a fork several times, as the dough tends to puff up. Watch them carefully, as they go from not done to overcooked very quickly!

If you are making one large tart, press the mixture into a 10 inch tart pan (making the sides slightly higher than the centre) and bake for about 15-18 minutes. Again make sure to prick the tart with a fork several times while baking, and watch it carefully.

Next, make your pastry cream. Using a mixer, beat together the sugar, cornstarch and egg yolks until the mixture is thick and pale yellow.

In a small saucepan combine the milk and the vanilla bean, bring to a simmer. Then remove the vanilla bean.

Pour about half of the milk mixture into the egg mixture, and stir.

Then return this milk/egg mixture to the remaining milk mixture in the saucepan, and continue to cook, whisking constantly, until the custard is thick and slightly bubbly. Make sure to whisk constantly so that the mixture doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.

Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.

Cover the custard with a sheet of parchment paper to prevent a skin from forming, then it set aside to cool.

Fruit Topping raspberries icing sugar

Putting the Tarts Together

Once the tart shells and custard have cooled, add about a 1/4 cup of the custard to each shell.

Top with fresh raspberries, and a dusting of icing sugar.

Enjoy!

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Thank you so much for reading today! I do hope you'll try these tarts…you won't be disappointed!

And feel free to come on by and say Hi sometime at A Pretty Life in the Suburbs, or stop in for some Cheesy Quinoa Bites, or Fudge Ice Pops, or come learn how to make a Fresh Herb Wreath! I'd love to have you!

Have a delicious day!

The New WhipperBerry Creative Team AND Mini Berry Cobblers

8 · Jun 5, 2013 · 14 Comments

Mini Berry Cobblers // I am over the moon excited to share with you my big announcement… WhipperBerry has a new CREATIVE TEAM!!

jenn from clean & scentsible // shannon & jen from eat.sleep.make // haley from life is sweet // jenn from my fabuless life // jo-anna from a pretty life // jesseca from one pretty appetite

These are seven of the most talented ladies out there and they are going to blow your mind with their creativity! They have all been long time participants in my friday flair link party and I can't wait to show them off even more! We will start the show with Jesseca from One Sweet Appetite. She is one talented food blogger with some mad photography skills!

Hi everyone! My name is Jesseca, and I am honored to be here as one of the amazing contributors to Whipperberry! You can find me over at One Sweet Appetite where I’m whipping up special dishes every week. Speaking of great dishes… It’s almost summer and that means our produce selection in Utah is going crazy. There are so many fun and fresh things to chose from. I could hardly control myself at our farmers market and had to pick up some delicious looking berries. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, and I worried that the beautiful fruit was going to go to waste before we got to it! I couldn’t let this happen… So I rolled up my sleeves, put on my apron, and got cooking!

Mini Berry Cobblers

2-1/2 Cups fresh chopped berries (I used blackberries and strawberries)

3/4 + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup buttermilk Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

Directions

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray six ramekins with baking spray and set aside. Divide your fruit between the four ramekins. You can toss them in sugar if you’d like. Our produce happened to be sweet enough already, so I didn’t feel the need to add any extra sugar. This time. In a separate bowl, combine 3/4 cup of sugar, flour, salt, baking powder, and buttermilk. Whisk until combined. Divide the batter between your dishes, pouring directly over your berries. Sprinkle with the remaining sugar and bake fro 30-35 minutes, or until the top of your cobbler is golden brown. Serve your cobbler alone or topped with vanilla ice cream. Either way this is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It happens to be the most requested dessert from my four year old. This recipe is also very user friendly. You can swap the berries for almost anything. Get creative and toss in some fresh mango or peaches. You can’t go wrong! If you liked this recipe you should check out one of these other great desserts: Blackberry Lemonade Cupcakes Cherry Lime Lollipops Apple Crumb Bars

Here are a few more of my recipes that you may like…

ratatouille // coconut lemon bread // 40 minute hamburger buns

Black Cherry Jell-o Cake

4 · Mar 27, 2013 · 16 Comments

Black Cherry Jell-o Cake in a Jar // This is a repost of a jell-o cake recipe that I shared back in 2011 and has been lost and forgotten about, so I thought I would share it again. It is one of my favorite recipes and it's one that could be shared over and over again!

This cake, my friends encompasses several of my loves in life all into one perfect little bite. I was known in high school for being a connoisseur of all things black cherry. Black cherry soda, black cherry ice cream, you name it to this day I LOVE it. Other loves; Jell-o, white chocolate, white cake & and luscious whipped cream. Generally you think of all of these ingredients and they don’t normal play nice with each other, but I’m hear to tell you they DO!!

Have you heard of a Jell-o cake or a poke cake? This is a fun summer treat where you bake a white or vanilla cake, poke holes in it with a toothpick and pour liquid Jell-o slowly into the cake. It’s generally made with strawberry Jell-o and then topped with whipped cream or Cool Whip and it’s super yummy. What I’ve done it incorporated a few new twists on the classic to make something heavenly, here’s what you will need…

Black Cherry Jell-o Cake Recipe with Whipped Cream Topping

Jell-o Cake:

1 box of white or vanilla cake mix

1 small box of Black Cherry Jell-o

Whipped Cream Topping:

1 small box of instant white chocolate pudding mix

1 cup of milk

1 container of Cool Whip

Prepare according to package directions and bake in one of the following methods, 9×13 pan, cupcakes or cupcakes in a jar. I would steer clear of a layered cake application, because after you add the jell-o this cake is super moist.

Personally, I have fallen in love with the cupcake in a jar! I’ve seen a lot of people baking cupcakes, cutting them up and then adding them to a jar and then topping with frosting. Did you know that you could bake the cake directly in the jar?

I use the 4 oz. wide mouth jars and I fill the jar up a little over half way to prevent the cake spilling over and causing a big mess. I also baked the cake a little longer that the normal cupcake time because it is a little bigger than your standard cupcake. I baked it for a solid 30 minutes.

For the Jell-O, boil one cup of water and dissolve jell-o in water, stirring mixture for 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add one cup of cold water.

With a fork or a toothpick poke holes into cooled caked and gently pour jell-o mixture over the cake. Refrigerate for at least three hours.

Mix instant pudding with milk until completely smooth {I used my trusty Magic Bullet, yes I have one of those things} and then combine with Cool Whip. Place in piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes or frost your cake with the luscious mixture.

Cake Decorating Made Easy

14 · Mar 21, 2013 · 25 Comments

Cake Decorating // Let's face it, we all see those amazing cakes on Pinterest and it deflates us a bit. How on earth can we create a cake so stunning. Are you less of a woman if you can't? NOT AT ALL!! I'm not a professional baker but I have found a few tricks that help to create some fun cakes for my family and friends on their special days.

This is a cake that I made for my little guy's 3rd birthday. It looks pretty and… It was pretty easy to make. Over the years I've learned a few tips to make things a little easier for those of us who aren't professional bakers / decorators. Here are a few of my secrets…

The Cake

I have made many different types of cake in my life; homemade, box mix cakes, doctored box mix cakes and I've even… bought naked cake!!

From Scratch // Homemade can be challenging if you don't have a lot of baking experience. In my early years when I was aspiring to be just like Martha, I made my first from scratch cake for a friend's party, and it was a disaster. The cake was dense and awful!! I had to go back to the drawing board on that one. After a little more practice, I can now make a much better from scratch cake, but I don't have a fabulous go to recipe just yet.

Box mixes // I have been a cooking show junky for years and many different chefs / bakers on various different shows have said that todays box mixes are as close to perfect as you can get. They say there is no need to try any other method. I have to agree with this as well. Don't feel any shame at all when you use a box mix. You can even take a box mix to a whole new level by doctoring the mix a bit. One of my most popular posts is a post that my friend Janeen helped me create. She has an amazing recipe for a doctored chocolate cake that is DIVINE!!

Naked Cake // Here is my favorite cake secret… When in a pinch, buy naked cake from your favorite bakery. Yep, you can do that!! The week of Gage's birthday was super crazy, and I really wanted to make a fun cake for him. I just didn't have time to bake and decorate a cake so I went to the bakery at my local market and asked to buy three cake rounds. They always have cakes in the freezer waiting to be decorated. However, if you have a specific flavor in mind, you may want to call a couple of days ahead. On the fly, you kind of have to take what you can get. My bakery charged me $5 per round, not bad considering the time that was going to save me.

The Frosting

My sweet friend Lara from Less Cake… More Frosting would say, frosting is the most important part of the cake. Others may say, they can take it or leave it. For me, you need to make sure you have a fabulous frosting. That means… steer clear of the store bought brands and learn how to make a signature frosting that can act as a good base for many different flavors. My signature frosting is my Simple Vanilla Buttercream recipe…

It is a perfect, easy to make frosting that even a beginner baker can't mess up. For Gage's cake I went a step further and added the paste from a vanilla bean to the frosting to make it a little extra special. I just love the little flecks of vanilla in the frosting. I order my vanilla beans from Beanilla. They have some of the best product around. Steer clear of the dried-up, stale vanilla beans you find for a premium price at the super market.

Building the Cake

Here are the boring mechanics that many people like to skip. Since the inception of Pinterest, there have been a ton of blogs out there who's main purpose is to see if you can recreate what you see on Pinterest. They LOVE to show-off if they have a fail and they want everyone to know that the feat is impossible. Case in point…

img source // I wish I could find the original source, I would love to show them how easy it is!

Here is how you can avoid this mess.

Make sure you have a good frosting that will hold up to a layered cake. That frosting looks more like a glaze, not the type of frosting that will hold a layered cake together.
Freeze your cake. A frozen cake is much easier to work with.
Trim off the dome of the cake if it has one, creating a nice flat cake. Then flip the cake over and have the bottom be the top of the cake. That way you have a nice flat surface to work with.
Place a small amount of frosting on the cake plate to provide a stable base for the bottom layer.
Skewer your cake. Add a few bamboo skewers to the cake to keep it stable.
Create a crumb layer. What is this you ask? You will frost the cake with a thin layer of frosting and then place in the fridge for a bit to create a clean work surface.
Take your time, work clean and your cake will look like the top cake. Rushing before you've mastered a skill is the bakers worst enemy.

Decorating the Cake

Here is where the fun begins! For Gage's cake I worked in stages. First I frosted a crumb layer and then put the cake in the fridge for a bit to create a clean, solid, workable surface. Next, I frosted the smooth layer of the cake with a small off-set spatula and since the cake was cold, it made that process really easy. I then used one of my favorite tools a jumbo star decorator tip that I purchased at Sweet Baking Supply. Having the right tools makes all the difference. Those small decorator tips that you can find at your local craft store will not do the trick for this cake. You NEED to have the jumbo tips which I have only been able to find online. Then all you have to do is create a large rosette with a small circular motion. It's really easy, just practice a few times on a plate. When you have the technique down all you have to do is scrape the practice rosettes back into the frosting bowl so you don't have to waste the frosting.

Another tip… If you mess-up on a rosette, take your off-set spatula and carefully take it off the cake and start over. Frosting is very forgiving!

I found these lovely blue gum balls at Target and bought several containers because I knew I would find something to make with them. They are so pretty! I thought they would be the perfect addition to the cake around the base and on top of the rosettes. I loved how they turned out.

Now, hind sight being 20/20 I would've left off the polka-dot straws. I was wanting something vertical and something that showed that Gage was turning three. If I had to do it over again, I would've just stuck with the extra tall candles, but that's just me. Just keeping it real.

Now, keep in mind… I'm not a professional, far from it. These are just some of the tips and tricks that I've learned over the years that have made my cake decorating what it is. I hope they can inspire you to try something fun and different the next time your loved ones have something to celebrate!

What are some tips, tricks or secrets that you've learned when it comes to cake decorating? Let's all take a minute to share, so we can all become EXPERT cake decorators.

Baking

Raspberry Tarts with Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream

Tart Crust:

Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream:

Mini Berry Cobblers

Directions

Black Cherry Jell-o Cake Recipe with Whipped Cream Topping

Jell-o Cake:

Whipped Cream Topping:

With a fork or a toothpick poke holes into cooled caked and gently pour jell-o mixture over the cake. Refrigerate for at least three hours.

The Cake

The Frosting

Building the Cake

Decorating the Cake

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