Fourth of July

This tag is associated with 3 posts

Photo of the day: stars and stripes

Posted by and-my-kitchen-sink ⋅ July 4, 2012 ⋅ Leave a comment

Happy 4th everyone! As America turns a year older today, I wanted to share Ina Garten’s very occasion-appropriate American flag cake with all of you who might be celebrating this holiday. All you need is a simple sheet cake, and some white icing, blueberries, and raspberries to make an impressive-looking yet easy holiday themed dessert. Not bad last-minute inspiration or Independence Day entertaining!

Find Ina’s recipe here.

In good health,

F

* Image courtesy of Food Network

Photo of the day: patriotic 4th of July desserts

Posted by and-my-kitchen-sink ⋅ July 2, 2012 ⋅ Leave a comment

I am not an American, so the 4th of July is really just another summer’s day for me….But I’m never one to turn down the opportunity to make or ogle tasty treats for the occasion, especially not when they look this good!

In good health,

F

* Image courtesy of imsimplyme.com via Pinterest

Chiffon cake with macerated strawberries and whipped cream

Posted by and-my-kitchen-sink ⋅ July 1, 2012 ⋅ 2 Comments

Sometimes for a party, there is nothing better than a good old cake to entertain the crowd. And if you’re making cake, what could be better than strawberries and cream? I saw this cake on the cover of the June edition of Martha Stewart Living and I knew straight away that I had to make it…I thought it would be great to share this recipe (including a few adjustments I’ve made) with all of you right now, because with the 4th coming up in a few days, you can just add blueberries or blackberries to the strawberry mix, and you’ll have a perfect white, red, and blue celebration cake!

You will need:

For the cake:

2 1/4 cups cake flour*
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided in half
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup canola oil**
7 large egg yolks
9 large egg whites
3/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 vanilla pod, scraped

Preheat oven to 165C/325F. Butter and flour a deep tube pan.

Sift flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt together into a bowl. In a separate bowl, hand whisk together milk, oil, and egg yolks. Whisk dry ingredients into wet ingredients in 3 batches.

In a third bowl, beat egg whites with an electric mixer until they froth. Add cream of tartar and vanilla beans and beat until soft peaks start to form. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff and glossy peaks form.

Gently fold egg white meringue mixture into the cake batter, making sure to combine well but do not over mix so the batter stays light and fluffy. Pour batter into tube pan and bake for 55-60 minutes (until the cake bounces back when touched, and/or a knife inserted into the cake comes out clean).

Allow cake to cool upside down (a cool trick I learned from MSL is to place a bottle through the hole of the tube pan so the cake can rest and cool upside down on a bottle. Once completely cooled, slide a knife around the edges of the pan to release cake.

For the macerated strawberries:

5 cups hulled and quartered strawberries (or a mix of berries of your choice)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
pinch salt

Combine the quartered berries, sugar, lemon juice, and salt in a bowl. Mix gently with a spoon until sugar dissolves, and let sit for up to 1 hour.

For the whipped cream:

2 cups whipping cream, cold
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the cream, sugar, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer until stiff peaks form.

To assemble:

Cut the cake laterally into 3 tiers. Place the bottom tier on a cake stand, cover with berry mixture, and drizzle juices to moisten cake. Cover berries with 1/2 the whipped cream. Place the second cake layer on top of the cream, and repeat the berry and cream layering. Finally, place the third tier on top, and cover with strawberries or simply dust with confectioner’s sugar. Nom!

* If you do not have cake flour in your pantry, despair not. You can substitute with a mixture of corn starch and all-purpose flour to get largely the same effect. For every cup of cake flour you need, place 2 tbsp corn starch in a measuring cup, then fill with flour to reach the 1-cup mark. In this cake, for 2 1/4 cups of cake flour, you will need to combine 4 1/2 tbsp corn starch and about 2 cups of all-purpose flour to make 2 1/4 cups.