Lemon Cream Crazy

This is a special for Rebekah at the Cooking Vent

Lemon Cream (adapted from Epicurious)

Frosting:
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Lemon curd , chilled

Lemon Curd:

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into bits

Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.
Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.

I added 8 oz of cream cheese and an extra cup of powdered sugar to this to thicken it up a bit. It seemed rather soupy at firsty, atleast too soupy to frost a cake. So instead of frosting the cake with it, I used it as lemon cream. So, it being a mix of lemon curd and lemon frosting, it turned into lemon cream. This also made ALOT! With this one batch of lemon cream, I made lemon cream cake, lemon cream cupcakes, and I used it as a drizzle over fresh blackberries- delicious!




Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

    adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
    makes 12 cupcakes
    Print this Recipe!
1 cup all-purpose flour
a scant 3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  
Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or use a handheld beater and beat on slow speed until the mixture is a sandy consistency and everything is combined.  Gradually pour in half of the milk and beat until the milk is just incorporated.  
Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until just incorporated.  Scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side or the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Continue mixing until the batter is smooth.  Just a few minutes.  Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins, dividing between the 12 cups.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until light golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let the cupcakes cool slightly in the pan, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.  


Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

    from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
    makes enough for 12 cupcakes, double this recipe to frost an 8-inch cake
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Beat the powdered sugar and butter together in an electric mixer fit with a paddle attachment on medium low speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.  Turn the mixer speed to low.  Combine the milk and the vanilla extract and slowly stream it into the butter and sugar mixture.  Once incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes.  The longer the frosting is beaten, the fluffier and lighter it becomes.  If you find that your frosting is getting to warm in the summer months, stop beating and set in the fridge for a few minutes.  Once chilled, hook the frosting back up the the mixer and beat once more until you reach the desired consistency.


So For the cupcakes, I used a Wilton piping bag, with a round tip, however Wilton does sell an extra long tip made especially for filling cakes (which I recommend buying, I am going to!) Pipe the lemon cream into the top of the cupcakes after they have cooled, before  they are iced. Then I dyed the simple vanilla buttercream frosting yellow (about 3 drops)

If y’all really like lemon, you should definately try  making the lemon cream cake I gave the recipe for.

Picture-Perfect Picnics

Summer days are coming to a close. Muggy afternoons, long days wherethe sun doesn't set til 8, afternoon thunderstorms that leave the sky darker than dusk; they all remind me that summer is ending and Fall is near. A comforting thought though as I think about chai tea, pumkins and squash, long-sleeved shirts and jazzy music.


I decided to celebrate the end of summer with all of the new friends I have acquired during my first year in college, and some old. Of course not everyone I invited could attend, but about 12 wonderful people showed up for some food and fun. We planted ourselves at Riverfront Park under the picnic tables for a light lunch- some summer fruits, veggies, and baked goods (of course).

Ashamedly it wasn't the best baking I've done, but was a simple selection of some new recipes I wanted to try.
It gets boring baking the same thing all the time. I had an abundance of lemon cream left over from my sister's Lemon Cream Cake I baked for her birthday, so I decided to put it to good use.

I made these simple vanilla cupcakes from Joy the Baker, and infused them with my special lemon cream, and ta-da! Lemon Cream Cupcakes were born. I dyed the vanilla frosting yellow and piped it prettily atop the cakes.

I also made chocolate chip cookies and cranberry oatmeal chocolate chip cookies;

and last but not least, a spice cake, also courtesy Joy the Baker. I do love her blog. There are so many wonderful recipes, none of which have failed me. Except for this spice cake, but I blame myself. As I blended the ingredients hurriedly, as it was already 11 at night, I realized I had forgotten the sugar; yeah, there's a reason the batter taste salty. So I put the batter back in the bowl and whisked in the cup of sugar. In doing so, the cake flopped- or sank in, rather. So I did what all good bakers do and ate the flopped cake- the whole thing. I made a second one, which turned out perfect!

I packed everything together (I'll spare you the boring details) and high-tailed myself up to Riverfront.

We played some friendly games of frisbee and bocci ball and took alot of photos, courtesy my talented friend Suzannah.

Here are some of the pics she took: Here
And some I took: Here

All in all this so long to summer was hot and tiring, but a memory to be had of friends and fun :)

Special Occasions- my sister's birthday

Tomorrow my big sister turns 24. Yesterday we drove up to Myrtle Beach and walked around some shops to use some time before dinner. The real reason we went up there was to eat at P.F. Chang's! Her favorite :)

I love to bake, and I wanted to make something special for her. I decided to make a lemon cream cake she could take to her office and share with her co-workers to celebrate her special day, since she has to work.
I am hoping the fresh lemon will cool off a hot summer day.
I got the recipe from Epicurious, the nifty little app  on the iPhone. I am addicted to browsing recipes on that thing!

Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Frosting

For cake layers

• 2 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs

For frosting

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• Lemon curd , chilled

Make cake layers:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 2 (8- by 2-inch) round cake pans and dust pans with flour, knocking out excess.

 *It is very important that you spray the pans with pam and flour them- it is essential to the cakes coming out smooth!

Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir together milk and lemon juice (mixture will curdle).

Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until pale and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Alternately add flour mixture and milk mixture in batches, beginning and ending with flour, mixing at low speed until just combined.

Divide batter between pans, smoothing tops. Bake in middle of oven until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pans on racks 10 minutes, then invert onto racks, remove paper, and cool completely.

After the cakes have cooled, I like to use a large serrated bread knife to level the cakes. Just cut off the rounded top to ensure the layers will sit level and avoid a lopsided cake

Lemon Curd Filling:

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into bits

Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

Transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour.

Beat cream and confectioners sugar with cleaned beaters until it just holds stiff peaks.

Fold one third of whipped cream into lemon curd to lighten, then fold in remaining whipped cream.

 Spread onto first cake layer:

Place second cake layer on top

This recipe called for me to use the same filling as the icing, but it was way too soupy to spread, much less decorate with, so I made a simple buttercream frosting to cover the top and decorate with:

BUTTERCREAM ICING
1 c. granulated sugar 1/2 c. butter or Crisco 1 egg white 1/2 c. butter 1/2 c. lukewarm milk 1 tsp. vanilla Put all ingredients together in small bowl and beat for 5 minutes. At first mixture will look curdled but will smooth out with beating. Spread on favorite cake.

After covering the cake I used my mom's old piping bag and tip to create rosettes around the top

Finish it off with some garnish! I used sliced lemon, yellow daisies, and baby's breath :)

Happy Birthday Rachel! My sister and best friend

Summer Firsts

Well, I have not written a post yet this month for several reasons, one being that I fractured my arm and had a sling for 2 weeks (making me unable to type dual-handedly, and second being that I don't think I could quite write my thoughts down- let's just say it's been a month of "awkward situations".

Other than that I have been having a blast so far for the start of the summer. It has been remarkably hot and beach weather perfection. The Lord granted me a great job, in which I get to spend time with twenty-two 4-year-olds and show them His heart. They have definately showed me His heart too. I was feeling a little self-conscious my first week of work, because it had only been 2 days since I had fractured my elbow. I suppose I had it in my mind that the kids would think me weird having a sling and all, but of course, God used these little 4 yr olds to pep me up. I had one little boy tell me every day "you look pretty today Miss Sarah", despite me being such a mess! We as humans are entirely too vain, heck, I'm apparently so much so, I needed a 4 year old to remind me that I don't need to care so much how I look. I have to constantly remind myself it is how I act and represent Christ that truly matters.

I went to the beach twice a in one week a couple of weeks ago (alot for me), with two different groups of people, both of which spent most of the time skim-boarding. Now this is a sport that I decidedly look at and say "why on earth would anyone do this and risk getting hurt, when you can just surf?" I also watched as all of my "esperienced friends" suffered cuts and gashes on behalf of this "sport". Leading me to say that i shall never try my hand(or foot) at such.
BUT then I thought of what a literal stick in the mud I can be at times and decided "why not?". Actually I believe my precise words were "I am not that co-ordinated, you put me on that thing and I'll hurt myself".
Ever heard of the power of the tongue? Gotcha!
That's what my little tongue was saying to me. First try, down on my but, injuring my arm on the way down. Yes, For the first time in my life I injured myself. Of all the 19 years of my life and the things I've done this is how I go down. But hey, I got a nice picture out of it, and a great story! I'm not complaining :)

 So being the young'in I am, I am recovering quickly and just waiting for my elbow to straighten out (it's so darn stiff!)

I will skip the awkward moments, though if you're really interested just ask, and move right along my list of "summer firsts".

I can now say I have made sushi and eaten sushi, for what will be my first and last time. Don't get me wrong, the ingredients of sushi are good, but leave out the seaweed and fish form. I'll have a bowl of rice, wasabi. soy sauce, carrots & avocado. Everyone I know raves about sushi and couldn't believe I'd never had it, but trust me, once i tried I realized why I never had before! :p

I also got my first DELL :) It was time to bid adieu to my old laptop and purchase a new one, my HP which I replaced with a Dell Studio 15, i5 Pentium Processor, 4gb ram, 15.5 screen, backlit keyboard, black box of goodness :) I am too excited. I have so much memory and speed now that I can run Windows 7 & Linux Mint OS's

I am sure there are other firsts I have experienced so far this summer, but I'll spare you the boredom and ask you, What are 3 Firsts you have had this year?

Commit to God; Book Review 1

This is my first review post of one of the many books to be finished this summer on my list (as posted in my previous blog). So far I have finished 3 wonderful books since school has ended (all were about half way read though, I don’t read quite that fast!) Nonetheless it feels nice to have a lighter load.
The first book I will write to you about it Elizabeth George’s “Beautiful in God’s Eyes; The Treasures of the Proverb’s 31 Woman”. If there are any guys reading this, don’t tune out because the title says “woman”. I have something to say to you too!!

As I have read the book, “Beautiful in God’s Eyes; the Proverbs 31 Woman”, by Elizabeth George, I have learned so many gems of truth. I encourage every young lady (and woman) to read this book to prepare themselves as Godly women, whether they live single or marry. And what’s more, I see so much information that a man should know too, about what to look for in a Godly wife. I believe young men should read Proverbs 31 and study it, learning what it means to seek out a woman of true beauty.
Not this fake stuff the media calls beauty, but the character, morals, and strength that God calls beauty.
I want to note that many young men see young women searching for the perfect guy. This results in their thinking that they might not be “good enough”. But I would like to tell young men that a perfect man doesn’t exist. And even if you truly don’t deserve a girl right now, I would encourage you to let that be an initiative for you to become a Proverbs 31 man- a man in right standing with God.
You see, every woman wants the best for herself, and every man wants to be the best and have the best for himself. But in this sinful world there are many that feel inadequate or undeserving. If you will but surrender your heart to God and commit your ways to become Godly ways, you become the man or woman the other deserves. Do not settle for because you feel lesser. Only God can change a heart, but once He does, it changes character in return. If you are willing to Him and submit your ways for His ways, you can be ready for the spouse God has picked for you. No one is deserving, but everyone has received grace. Whether or not we accept that grace and let it change us is our decision.
God loves you, beautiful women and strong men. God wants what is best for you. Obviously it is a matter between you and Him whether or not you get married. He has someone picked out especially for you, but until you turn all your focus to Him, and live your life Him, you cannot receive that blessing. You can rush into a relationship, but if God is not first in your life now, He certainly won’t be once you are with someone else. Distraction is all too easy in earthly relationships. But once we commit our affection to Him, and pray for the mate God has for you, He will bring you together in His beautiful timing.
And for those who feel called to be single, or don’t but God calls you to be single, all of Proverbs 31 and this book still apply. Put God first in all of your relationships, love Him and be His “bride”, and you will succeed. It is easy to become distracted too and feel as if you’re missing out on a special relationship. But what can be more special than an intimate relationship with the One who created you?
In today’s society women and men are led to believe that if you are not in a love relationship that something is wrong with you. Even more, you may be taught that your life goal is to find that “perfect someone” and have a nice little family. The reality is though (and I think the wonderful thing!) is that God has created diversity. Single, married, with children, etc. no one person is called to the same life as the next. The key to a fulfilled life is being attuned to God at all times and following His will for your life. Notice I didn’t say know His will for your life, because we will not always know. Sometimes we will have to follow blindly until He reveals His purpose. But that is more than okay, because only the One who created you knows what is best for you and for your life.

One thing leads to another and Cap'n Crunch

I've been glued to this months edition of WIRED magazine all day- geeky I know. But I made the commitment to read the mag cover to cover this time, instead of skimming over and reading only the articles with the cool pictures. Good idea! Especially considering I ran across the inspiration for this post.

I know school is over for the semester, so I can now analyze all of my problems clearly without that looming fog over my head. Yes, this article "Chaos Theory", encompasses all of my supposed ADD, rabbit trail, never-ending, thought-provoking, mind-bending, headaching study habits; and I thought it was just me!

Turns out, research has been conducted since 2007, by UCLA professor Gary Small, on the topic of how the internet "rewires" our brains. In a nutshell, let me explain:

Do you ever get that feeling that you're no longer productive when studying online? You know how you are reading an online article, and you see every other line has a hyperlink, and you can either not click the link and keep reading (already distracted though), or click the link, read another article, click on another link, and so on.... sigh. This is me.

Back in the 80's when online study techniques were in the future- things looked bright. But almost as soon as they entered this digital learning age, they realized that students would be getting Cognitive Overload.
This results when your brain becomes more stimulated by the constant web-surfing, but not necessarily better stimulated. You are overloaded with information. The analogy given is this: transmitting information from your short-term memory to your long-term memory is like trying to fill a bathtub with a thimble. When you're reading a book, the flow of information is like a steady drip, but all flowing earnestly into the memory. But, when reading online articles, you face many faucets, going different directions, full blast!
The internet interrupts your train of thought and distracts you to click around. One section of the article even says that 90% of those who work a desk job click their email inbox 30-40 times an hour! Addicted?

Well, we've all heard the pros and cons of the internet, and the media overload of today's generation, but this article brought to light all of the frustration that you might not think about while studying.

Crunch-itize me Cap'n!
I read another article about the brains behind Pixar and Toy Story 3. Did you know that when they are in the 1,084 daylong creation process, they sit in their "thinking room" and drink coffee while eating Cap'n Crunch? And when they arein crunch time they stay up all night in their personalized offices, designed however they like. Tiki Paradise? You got it. 1970's Groovy Lounge? yeah man. All I have to say is work may be long, hard, and intense, but if you get to eat Cap'n crunch in a mod room of your taste to work in PIXAR, consider me jealous.

Lighter Fare

As much as I love the sunny weather and outdoor activities, a light rain like today's is refreshing. It reminds me of all the things I have neglected inside, while frolicking outside, like sewing, cleaning, and cooking dinner.


So tonight's dinner comes courtesy of the rain :)

White Wine Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Snap Peas, and Warm White Bean Salad 

Most likely the light afternoon rain will turn into a thunderstorm :) I do like thunder and lightning- I think I will open all the shades and watch the storm while I cook....

White Wine Chicken

 4 (1/4 lb) thin sliced chicken breast cutlets

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper

2 tsp olive oil

1 medium diced onion

1/4 c white wine vinegar

2 tbsp coriander spice

1.  Sprinkle chicken with salt & pepper

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken and cook through, about 3 minutes per side. 

Sprinkle on both sides with coriander.

3. Add onions and white wine vinegar to skillet and simmer until browned. (about 3 minutes)

Roasted Potatoes

 1 lb. small red potatoes

olive oil

1 medium onion

sea salt

ground pepper

thyme

crushed basil

parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Slice potatoes into quarters, they will look like wedges. 

2. Toss in olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and spices.

3. Bake in oven at 400 for 25 minutes. (If they are still hard in the middle, put under broil for about 3-5 minutes, watching closely. 

4. Place in a dish and sprinkle with Parmesan (optional)

Snap Peas

 No real directions for this one! Just snap some fresh snap peas by hand and boil on medium heat about 30 minutes. Season to taste.

Warm White Bean Salad  

 4 tsp olive oil

1 jar roasted red peppers

1 onion, mincedr

2 tbsp fresh (or 1 tsp dried) sage

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 can (16oz) cannellini beans (white), rinsed and drained

1. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add the onion, red peppers, sage, garlic, salt, and pepper.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens; about 5 minutes.

2. Take off heat and stir in beans.

3. Serve in a pretty dish and garnish with fresh sage if you wish :)