experimenting

As I said in July, my main guinea pig, I mean my son, was diagnosed with diabetes.  His birthday was coming up. So I began to look for alternatives to his favorite "Cheeto cake" (see photo on left). I am not familiar with using artificial sugar replacements in baking. I was a little concerned because I wanted to make him a cake,  but I also wanted it to turn out right.
So I chickened out. I bought the Pillsbury sugar free yellow cake mix*. I didn't even know such an item existed until I seen it in the store.**I also bought the orange sugar free Jello*** as well as Pillsbury's reduced sugar  white frosting. I wasn't sure how or if I could punch it up.
Well, this is how I did it.
For the cake, I used milk instead of water, it gives the cake a richer taste. I also replaced 2 teaspoons of the milk with 2 teaspoons McCormick's orange extract. I filled the 2 prepped cake pans with about one half of the batter (each pan got one quarter of the mixture). I mixed the sugar free Jello with the remaining cake batter and swirled that into the already prepped pans. Then I waited.
It seemed to me that the cake had to bake a little longer then what was stated on the box. Do_not_ take that as advice to bake the cake longer. My oven can be a bit strange sometimes so I normally have to adjust to its quirks.
While the cake baked, I fiddled about with the frosting. I wanted to add some orange extract to it, but I was apprehensive because I might put in too much. I started off with a teaspoon of orange extract to the can of frosting. I wasn't completely satisfied, so I upped it by one half of a teaspoon and the flavor was right. If you intend to do this, you may want to do some tasting of the icing  to make sure it has the right flavor. Orange extract is clear, so you don't see the icing turn a pale orange color.
The cake was baked and frosted and ready for the ultimate taste test - my sons Dan and Will. The cake met their rather high expectations. Believe me, if it was off in any way, they would have no problem in letting me know.
So the experiment was a happy success. I would like very much if Pillsbury produced  an orange sugar free cake mix (they do produce chocolate****) to use. The color is much more intense with the varying colors of orange.  If I intend to use the frosting again, I would buy some orange food coloring. It is amazing to me how much color can trick the mind and make something taste so much better. I know it works.  But I always think I could have done better. Maybe use orange juice instead of the milk or water? I'm not sure.
Bur now I have about 2 months until the next birthday at my house. So I have 2 months to troll the internet for a diabetic friendly chocolate cake recipe. That will also give me some time to fiddle about with it, seeing if I could make it better. Then there is Christmas coming up and sometimes I bake for it. If I am going to bake for Christmas, I am going to have to troll for diabetic friendly recipes. So perhaps I should shut this down for today and start looking.


* I  know, you are thinking, sheesh, do you call that baking?  Well, yes I do.
** If you must know, I found it at Wal-Mart
*** No, I do not get a kickback from any of the products mentioned or Wal-Mart. I can be bribed but nobody offers me a bribe.
**** besides the sugar free chocolate cake, they produce a sugar free brownie mix and sugar free icing

hey, I'm still here (I think)

I got no excuse for not writing in so long. I could say I was busy (and I was) but still it's a long of water under the bridge, so to speak.
I still am making brownies, I didn't make any this week, it's just way too hot. Plus I plan to put the energy into baking my "baby's" birthday cake, the famous Cheeto cake.
I did make blondies from the King Arthur cookbook. I used just chocolate chips. That worked out pretty well. My sons suggested I add peanut butter chips. I used those mini peanut butter chips as well as chocolate chips. The peanut butter chips did not stand up to the chocolate and you couldn't tell they were in the blondie.
So far, the faves of my sons are the brownies with peanut butter chips (and no additional chips), brownies with orange extract flavoring and the frozen mini marshmallow brownies.


I keep a bag of the mini marshmallows  in the freezer. Sometimes I take the  frozen mini marshmallows and mix them in with the brownie batter. It creates a little pocket of marshmallow goodness in the brownie. Sometimes I put them on top and they dot the brownies. It's pretty cool, even if I say so myself.

I did make some brownies with cream cheese in them. I loved it, but I like cream cheese. My sons didn't seem to notice any difference. But generally they don't notice anything different. Which, I guess, is good because I could sneak ground up pickled beets in the brownies - but I'm not going to because I also eat the brownies.

For Father's Day, I baked my beloved a chiffon case. For some reason, it was easier than I thought it would be. But I can't say I remember making a chiffon cake before. It might be possible I'm thinking of angel food cake. And what gives? "Back in the day" you hung the tube upside down on a glass bottle while it was cooling, something like a soda bottle. But mostly everything comes in plastic now, so there's no way you can do that. I might have to find an old soda bottle just for that purpose. Probably there's a gadget that I could buy and use for that purpose. I'll have to look into that.

_enjoy_

yes

I have been baking although it's been horribly hot. How do I manage to do this? It's called sweating;)
So what have I baked? Of course, the "usual" brownies. I've added overripe bananas to the batter but later it's been a straight forward stick by the recipe baking. Oh, wait, not quite true. I have been melting bits of baking chocolate and using it in the batter. I have bits and pieces of baking chocolate that don't really add up to make a whole recipe, but a little extra chocolate is always good.
I made a strawberry swirl cake for my beloved. Instead of using a cake mix and Jello, I tinkered with Trisha Yearwood's recipe for key lime cake. I used the Jello to flavor the whole cake. I cooked some frozen and fresh strawberries into a puree and strained them.
I had reserved some cake batter after putting most of the batter in the pans. I mixed the puree strawberries into the reserved batter to give it an extra taste of strawberries. I was a little apprehensive that since I messed with the proportions of liquids, the cake wouldn't rise properly or taste okay. I topped it with a vanilla buttercream frosting.
My beloved said it turned out great. I had a piece of it today and I liked it. But honestly I love chocolate cake.
Besides baking my honey a cake, I baked a birthday cake for my "baby" boy who just turned 29. Last year, he picked the Cheeto cake that shows up as the photo on the blog. This time, he wanted a chocolate cake. So I lucked out, made his cake and got a slice of chocolate cake.

cake saw in use

Will trying to keep all his cake to himself

I bought the cake saw and really like it. I have a few photos of Will cutting the cake, but this is the only one that didn't turn out blurry because of his speed to cut it. 









This is Will in an attempt to make sure no one else will eat his cake. It failed miserably because we still ate a slice. I should have swiped a slice before he took it home, but didn't think about it. oh well.

I have to admit, I did enjoy baking a cake for my brother and sister-in-law. My brother wanted me to knock it off as my sister-in-law is diabetic and should watch her cake eating. I did make her a coconut cake for her birthday.
I should make my brother a pineapple upside down cake for his birthday. He likes that and his birthday isn't that far away. Chocolate cake is the usual tradition for siblings, but why not a pineapple upside down cake? It's his birthday.
Anyway, that's what I have been up to lately, Trying to stay out of trouble and the heat and just baking now and then. I think I would love to open a bakery but I don't honestly know if I could do that much work.  I'd like to believe it's all just baking and the customers will flock in. But I do know it's a lot more complicated than that.  I should research it more to really see if I could manage to work more baking into my life. Maybe I should find a family to bake for? hmmmmmm

3/21/10 baking action

I managed to make my youngest sister's cake and apparently it was acceptable. I haven't heard any complaining about it (yet;)). I still have bread left over from what I made Wednesday, so I won't make any for dinner tonight.
So far I have made brownies, big surprise. I put some orange flavoring in them. I considered putting icing on them because I have icing left over from my sister's cake, but I didn't. I might end up eating the icing by itself;) Or maybe saving it for another cake down the road.
The cake this week follows the orange theme, the infamous "Cheeto cake". Although I did not find an an orange cake mix to begin with, I did add orange juice for the liquid in the cake. I also baked 3 layers, I don't usually do that. I still have to frost it using the buttercream frosting. That will be orange, also. It won't be as dramatic looking as the "Cheeto cake" but it should be good.
I should (and I might) make some small egg cakes and freeze them for Easter. I have the pan, it has 9 egg shaped cavities for cake. I tried doing the milky way cake in it, but it doesn't work out so well. The little bits of milky way that doean't completely melt stick to the pan no matter what I have tried.
I don't have too much to add to this. I am trying to think of a suitable dessert for Easter dinner, bit so far only came up with lemon cake. There's nothing wrong with lemon cake, but I love chocolate and I don't believe lemon and chocolate work well together. It gives me something to ponder...

wow

Yeah, it's been a very long time. I figure I lost about 14 days just to the process of having 48 inches of snow outside of my house. When you are stuck in the house and not sure when you will get out to buy groceries, it makes you a little conservative as to what you bake - or at least it makes _me_ conservative in what I bake.
But there's only small piles of snow in our yard now. There are parking lots spots that are still blocked by snow, but mostly it's clear in MD.
I baked brownies last week, I used one half a cup of applesauce in the batter. This made for a more cake like brownie. I didn't add any extra chocolate (I had been melting some chocolate and adding it in) because I wanted to see how it would be without it.
I did like the cakelike texture. But I also like the fudgey texture. Now to figure out how to make a brownie that combines the best aspects of fudgey and cakey. Sounds like I need the Keebler Elves for that;)
I also made a lemon cake with lemon buttercream frosting. I used a cup of lemonade in place of the water in the directions on the back of the Duncan Hines box. I also used a box of lemon Jello to make a swirl cake, but it is not as dramatic as the Cheeto cake. Still tasted good o or so my beloved says.
I made a spice cake, not particularly thrilled with it. My grandmother would make the best spice cake. I hated the frosting, way too thick and sweet, but my older sister loved it. so we'd swap icing for cake. It was a cooked frosting. I never tried to duplicate it because I didn't particularly care for it. But my aunts and uncles still talk about it.
My older son's birthday is next week and he wants - ice cream cake. Yes, you heard me. That is his traditional cake. Last year he wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and I was stunned. But usually he gets the ice cream cake (Carvel's). But don't worry, I will be making a chocolate cake for my youngest sister's birthday later that week. so I won't get out of practice.
That's it, that's all I got...

really slacking

sorry, folks, life got more busy or something. I did bake brownies this week, the "secret ingredient" was peanut butter chips. Interesting taste, good texture but I'm not sure I am that big a fan of peanut butter (yeah, I know, hard to believe)
So I baked a chocolate cheesecake (that didn't crack) and a "Cheeto" cake for Thanksgiving. I also made raspberry junket for my beloved. It comes in a box, it's sort of a cross between pudding and jello.
Than then was a Toys for Tots bake sale. I made a milky way cake and a pound cake. Actually, for some insane reason, I baked the first milky way cake at 450 degrees. The outside of the cake was as black as the bottom of my shoes. The inside was fine and devoured by my beloved. So I made a second milky way cake to take to the bake sale.
If there is another bake sale like this one, I will just donate the money to the cause. I felt everything was underpriced (cookies and cupcakes for a quarter, a slice of cake for a dollar). I think if you want to make money for a charity, you got to sell the stuff like you want to make money. I'm not saying charge a fortune, but seriously, a decorated cupcake for 25 cents?! That's not worth the effort, in my not so humble opinion.
But enough whining. I am trying toplan what I am baking for Christmas. Last year, because I burned up the oven, I baked only a few things. This year, I already have fruitcake (don't cry, I'm not giving you any) and a milky way cake. I am debating whether I want to take a cake into work, I guess it depends on how I feel at the moment. I also want to make some sugar cookies. I have always wanted to try to make a cookie tree, but haven't found the time or the nerve to do so. I have the ingredients, it's just making the time and the effort to do it. It would be cool.
That's it for now, nothing earth shaking, just been really busy at work...

No brownies?!?

Nope, I didn't take the time to make brownies this weekend. I had some left over from last week (I made them on Tuesday night). But I did make stuffing bread, rolls, a chocolate cheesecake and a "Cheeto" cake. I need to take a photo of the chocolate cheesecake, it came out beautifully. It didn't crack and I've had that problem in the past. I made two modifications to what I usually do while baking a cheesecake. The cheesecake was the first thing baked in the oven on Friday and I let it rest inside the oven for a few hours after it baked.
Apparently, I shocked my youngest sister last night. She didn't know I made the "Cheeto" cake from (gasp) a cake mix. Everything else on the table was made from scratch, so what's the big deal? I do use cake mixes, I usually jazz them up some way or another. If you are a fan of cake mixes, I suggest


There are some great ideas for using cake mixes in ways I never thought of. I've been asked "is it really easier to use a cake mix" and my answer is "Depends on what you're tryin to bake". If your kid tells you at bedtime "hey Mom, I promised the teacher you'd bake 3 dozen cupcakes for tomorrow" , the answer is definitely "yes" in my not so humble opinion. Your mileage may vary, but I'm just saying that's what I have done in a situation like that.
For other cakes, you may want to make the traditional chocolate cake with the chocolate icing - or whatever is the tradition in your family.
It's your life and time, so don't stress over it if Mrs Smith makes your pumpkin pies. Just enjoy your holiday in a way that doesn't make you (and the rest of your family) bonkers.
Whoops, I didn't mean to rant. But so many magazines and shows have "How to make this the most memorable Thanksgiving ever" articles, it makes me wonder if they have missed the whole point of Thanksgiving.
_enjoy_

oopsie

For my birthday last week, I baked a milky way cake. Yummers. I also baked a small pan of brownies, nothing special to the mix.
But this week - ahh, this week and next are when cooks are either frazzled or excited. You can either become overwhelmed by the Thanksgiving feast or look at it as a time to break out your new recipes.
Honestly, though, I don't vary much from the Thanksgiving menu. There's turkey and ham, sweet potatoes and mashed, corn and peas and cranberry sauce like my mom always made it. Sometimes she'd even let me make it. It's easy - just open a can of Ocean Spray Cranberry sauce. You could slice it up if you want or make some fancy shapes with it, but it's got to be Ocean Spray because they are the bomb. Don't bother writing me about your great grand-uncle's recipe for homemade cranberry sauce. Not going to listen. I've had homemade cranberry sauce twice and I still wonder what all the fuss is about.
The desserts will be the "usual" - there will chocolate cheesecake per Dan's request, Craig always wants strawberry junket and Will's the variable. This year Will picked the Cheeto cake. I also make bread and try to bake as much as I can in some sort of weird celebration of baking.
My mom worked full time from the time I was 6 months old. Now what does this have to do with cooking? She was, of course, always busy. So as we got older, she'd bake a batch of birthday cakes at one time, despite that the 6 kids had different birth months. But any month is a good month to get a homemade chocolate cake in my humble opinion. So I bake the little Bundt pans of different cakes - chocolate, vanilla, might go for pumpkin this year. And that becomes "birthday cakes" for my sibs and their families. Now some of them do get a cake on their birthdays, some do not (their choice). So this way I get the cakes baked in one fell swoop. And of course, the house smells great.
Anyway, I am off (in more ways than one) to prepping some stuffing bread. That will be the basis of my stuffing on Saturday as well as Thanksgiving. (The extended family comes over on Saturday, the immediate on Thanksgiving - and who else wonders in).