Gingerbread man cookies

“Run, run, as fast as you can. You can’t catch me—I’m the gingerbread man!”

Never have I desisted in being of utmost fascination with these cookies and the lore behind since my first encounter with them, once long ago, in Mrs. Lowe's kindergarten class. In my 5 year old mind, cookies  were tightly bound and sold in packets at stores, not fleeing from hungry people. The fact there could be a whole dimension of baked boys and girls escaping captivity seemed wonderfully intriguing. The lure of hunting a giant cookie boy whose legs apparently took him as far and away as the end of our school building kept me in search until the completion of grade school. That's where our story begins.

That I keep and read all seven illustrated books, originally for when The Two I begat were as small as these figures, with abandon even now, are proof of my ongoing love for the subject.

It took me years to make my own battalion of biscuit fellows, and now a Christmas doesn't go by without them.

The four dozen yield from effectively spiced dough, with ginger- root, its' powder and a generous amount of molasses create a warmth, reminiscent of confections past. Bursts of zest infuse the same to bring about well balanced refreshing flavor.

Softened butter provides a generous chew-on-bite followed by a surprisingly plush interior. 

Know in advance that these are also as unfussy as a formed cookie can get. And if you leave aside the cutter part, a ruler and knife can accomplish a straightforward bunch of geometric shapes beautifully sans  the load of scraps.

Further, when you whip up a batch of royal icing  you can doll your guys and gals in a furor of colorful outfits and accessories.

A bonus here is that, post baking, your home needs no additional air freshener. 

Ingredients:

• 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp finely chopped sugared ginger
• 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
• ¾ tsp ground cloves
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
• ¾ cup softened salted butter, not melted
• ½ cup packed brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup molasses
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

Directions: 

• Mix flour, baking soda, ginger, sugared ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, zest in large bowl. Set aside. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. 
• Mix in egg  molasses and vanilla. Blend well.
• Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until well mixed. Press dough into two  thick flat disks. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
• Unwrap one of the discs and place it on a lightly-floured surface. 
• Preheat oven at 350°F.
• Roll dough out evenly, 1/8-inch thick on floured surface. Use cookie cutters or not, cutting into  desired shapes. Re rolling dough as needed to cut out more. 
• Transfer shapes to a baking sheet covered in parchment or silicon mat.
• Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until the cookies are crisp around the edges and on top. 
• Remove from oven. Cool on baking sheet for five minutes, then cool completely on wire rack.
• Decorate cookies cool to room temperature if desired with the royal icing or dust with powdered sugar.

Notes: It's actually most delicious to include candied ginger and orange zest, but totally optional. 

Cookies can be frozen in plastic wrap for uptown two weeks.

More cookies:

shortbread cookies and snocaps

sandwich cookies

sugar cookies

dulche de leche cookies

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"But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture."

Malachi 4:2

Pumpkin spice cupcakes

Here's what happens when you love a holiday so much, the chief item of consumption becomes an ideal cupcake topper.

And...

 if you're in the season of pumpkin spice, you may not want to let this one go.

So...

these cupcakes are a must mention- generously moist, balanced perfectly against a not too decadent cream cheese buttercream.  

Btw, those are fondant turkey faces up there. It's a cinch using my marshmallow version right here.

Got to tend to the real turkey today- twenty pounder for a table full of folks who'll gather under the roof shortly.

Happy Thanksgiving friends🦃

For the cupcakes~

Ingredients:

(recipe adapted from IheartNaptime)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp cinnamon 
• ½ tsp powdered cloves
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• ¼ tsp powdered ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup canola oil
• 2 eggs

Directions:

• Preheat an oven to 350 °F.  Line muffin wells with paper liners.
• Sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a mixer, beat pumpkin puree, brown sugar, sugar, canola oil and eggs until blended.  Combine flour into this and mix until just incorporated.
• Spoon into muffin tins approximately 2/3 way up.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes or until tops become golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Cool in the pans for 5 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Frost with cream cheese frosting. 

Recipe for cream cheese frosting here with modifications, 8 ounce cream cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 3-1/2 cups powdered sugar. 

Thanksgiving:

owl cake pops

Thanksgiving cake pops

pumpkin spice layer cake

sweet potato casserole

acorn squash

Coming here and updating this space is a blessing I don't take lightly and for which I'm absolutely grateful for. Thank you for reading.

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"Teach us to number our days,
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12

Baby Yoda cupcakes

It's slightly colder in the Southwest desert. Not quite the bonechill which ushers in pretty long coats, fuzzy loungewear or even the down parka I wanted last year. Nope, but sufficient enough my wardrobe gets a special section labelled sweater weather, in hopes that most items in it are adequately utilized. 

Indeed, cooler is better. It means my cakes don't have to live in the fridge. I can have one, two or even three out on the counter for more than five minutes without their structures becoming terribly malformed. And for someone who bakes as a side gig, I am fastidiously OCD about things staying in place as intended, not sliding/shifting because they can't adhere. If I put it there, it needs to stay- pretty much a universal truth.

Likewise, let me, once again, extol on the virtues of homemade marshmallow fondant. When you're equipped with an arsenal, in my case, a new batch every two weeks, there's abundance for practice, play and put away.

This type of cake icing is elastic yet sturdy. It gives molded cakes a finish that is very forgive-able. Marshmallows and sugar combine to an exceptional pliability,  which means polished covered treats and smooth trinkets adorning the same, example being the cutest Yoda ears ever. It surpasses a lot of typic fondant hurdles and is amply delicious. 

I don't think there has ever been a time the recipe has failed me.  It certainly makes the confectioner's repertoire a more consistent, less anxiety driven one. Your ends to a sculpted cake are totally attainable and the resulting "oohs and aahs" on delivery never get old.

So when you roll out nearly 101 circles to top dozens of cupcakes, you come to realize that a reliable mmf recipe is not to be taken lightly.

In the case here, the same fondant in three colors, rolled and cut with plain edge cutters created an adorable topper: the edible ascent of the ultimate internet baby.

Frankly, your Grogu moment can occur with any flavor or type of confection you choose. Tell me he wouldn't look just as adorable tucked on pumpkin spice cuppies with thick cream cheese swirls? 

I know you see it.

Take a look, enjoy some Fall and may the Force be with y'all.

Marshmallow fondant recipe right here.

I used geometric cutters to make my toppers uniform: a circle cutter for the white base, the same cutter halved for the blanket, a small oval for the face and squares that I stretched to create the cutest Yoda ears.

Trying to clean the slate and clear my drive- recipes/ pictures/ cakes- before attempting to share anything new. So it might be fewer words, more images. Hopefully I'll be able to balance it out with fair dottings of season appropriate gems too. 2021's coming to a close too soon. Don't you think?

2020: Owl cake pops

2019: Cherupayar payasam

2018: Multigrain pizza crust

2017: Yoghurt rice

2016: Cashew chicken curry

2015: Stuffed acorn squash

2014: Chili roasted cauliflower

2013: Alfajores

2012: Beef fry

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"You are my hiding place;  you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance."-Psalm 32:7

No bake mini-cheesecakes

I must admit: the list is endless, growing much to my dismay and dissatisfaction that a near smidgeon gets unleashed and set free here, ie, where it should rightfully be.

I'm talking about the mental clutter- recipe after recipe- transcending from the thousands of images off my Pinterest/Tiktok/IG feed. Alas- the age of technology -giving us "reel" in place of real, a perception dampener, perhaps. Granting this, the paradox of too much out there and too little time to see it, share it, eat it is my everyday truth. 

Thus, today's miniature dessert is an interlude of the silicone mold pans IG told me to buy and the picture I riffed off Pinterest. It was so important that instead of making the cake I was supposed to make, I detracted to do this.

Round mini cheesecakes are a visual delight. They are cute as a button and in our party- of- three family setting these days are devoured more fiercely than any eight inch counterpart. 

For such a slight, plated wonder, the tender pudding will surprise you. The texture is rich and parallels those New York styles water bathed en bake for nearly an hour.  

Need I say once more how remarkable condensed milk is? It's absolutely bliss in these egg-no, bake- no situations. Here it does its thing, sweetening to perfection while delivering the look and feel of smooth lava. A count of five ingredients, including cream cheese to usher in velvet tang and gelatin responsible for structure, pull in for a class act mold-to-plate show.

It's a recipe that's ready in less than half an hour and set in no longer than two.

A culmination of cheesecake and chef artistry skills can certainly be what coming seasons call for.

And there you go... one down and off the list.

Ingredients:

• 14-16 graham crackers or a row of Oreos
• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 2 tbsp water
• 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
• 1 eight ounce package cream cheese (room temp.)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 4 tbsp powdered sugar
•  ½ can (7 ounces ) condensed milk

Directions:

• In a food processor, process graham crackers or Oreos into crumbs. Drizzle in the melted butter and process until the crumbs start to clump together. Set aside in refrigerator to chill
• Put the water into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over. Let stand for a few minutes so the gelatin can absorb the water.
• Microwave gelatin mixture for five seconds and gently stir. If the gelatin hasn't dissolved, heat for an additional five seconds until gelatine granules are no longer present. Set aside until cool to the touch, not more than 4-5 minutes
• Using a stand mixer, beat cream cheese, whipping cream and powdered sugar on low speed with the paddle attachment until the cream is fully incorporated.
• Raise the mixer speed to medium-high and mix until it's is light and airy.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in condensed milk and vanilla until all the ingredients are combined and mixture is creamy and fluffy.
• With the mixer on slow speed, pour in the cooled gelatin.
• Once the gelatin has been added, return the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture forms soft peaks, 1-2 minutes.
• Fill silicone cavities, about 3 inches in circumference about 3/4 of the way up. Freeze for 30 minutes up to an hour. 
• Take out of freezer and gently spoon in about a tablespoon of the crumb mixture or Oreo mixture over the base of each mold, covering the set cheesecake. Flatten crumbs to tightly pack in and create a smooth surface over the base of your cheesecakes. Freeze for an additional thirty minutes.
• Unmold gently and serve chilled.
• Dust with cocoa of shaved chocolate, fruits/purees or leave naked.

Notes:

• If you're not serving immediately, unmold each cheesecake dome, and refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to serve.
• If gelatine clumps while preparing the cheesecake mixture, reheat for another 5 seconds in the microwave. Cool a few minutes before adding.

I've made approximations here for the cookie crusts. Oreos and Biscoff, solo or in combination, are both great. Feel free to adjust in proportion to the molds/pans you're using.

The half spheres are courtesy silicon molds and the "cherry" on top is a piece of leftover chocolate, excess art from last week's cake order. 

Yayaa- because I do custom cakes and teach too, ya'll😃

Condensed milk recipes:

Quatro leches (four milk) pudding

Coconut ice cream

Condensed milk frosting

Flan

Kiwi, cream and mango pudding

Easy chocolate ice cream

Vermicelli pudding

******

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."  -John 14:!2

Favorite things cake- easy Swiss meringue buttercream

A cake that's bakery quality in looks, and retains a flavor that's so reminiscent of grandma kitchens, is hard to come by. Yet, as I'm typing this faster than light, I want to show you that it does and can exist without much hassle. And for the longest time, I've been itching to tell you how a critical ingredient can transform a a knowingly tough mission into something easier than the count of ten, which would precisely be the number of minutes it takes to bring the element of point into being.

When you've worked with different kinds of buttercream, you start a comparative analysis on the pros and cons of each. Taking this into consideration, the content for the day relies on the role of egg whites and how they contribute in making a fundamentally fine frosting, some say, better than the rest. 

The subject gilded a cake order(seen on page), a whopping five layers of my best vanilla cake. While there exist a few more in cataloged archives, this would be my go- to for the time being.

Frosting can make or break a cake, figuratively and literally. A good one complements in flavor, texture and structure. Likewise, a bad one can have your hard earned work, and the ten extra steps it took to whip it into action, crumble to pieces. I may, most likely, be talking from experience here.  

I like Swiss meringue buttercream, maybe not as much as its American counterpart, but as the optimal alternative for people wanting something that's not expansively sweet. Although this is a valid dilemma that I don't necessarily get, I empathize with those requiring a lighter -than-air cover and ultimate mouth-feel..

Swiss meringue is usually made by heating raw egg whites and sugar to a preferred doneness and then beating in segments of room temperature butter to the emulsion. The end product is a fluffy, beautifully white cream. It's a dream to work with, cloud like, smooth as silk and outstandingly stable. 

So, what I don't much like about it is the process: long, drawn out and clearly undesirable when you're building a multi componented confection for a client. I mean fretting over whether what should be not more than half an hour of your time isn't an ideal way to partition a cake timeline.

Eureka moment happened when I was experimenting with a fairly unstable recipe, especially for the project at hand. Can I tell you my carton of pasteurized egg whites saved the day? With just a simple ingredient change, the final product, seen in today's pictures, sans the black coloring, came out much better than the sum of its parts.

Pasteurized eggs make a very accessible S. M. . It's firm, tastes like edible velvet and will always be food safe, i.e., if you read the label. Moreover, it's just the right flavor, not too heavy, almost marshmallow-ey, and would never be doubted as a less authentic version. 

Give it a try. Your dessert making abilities will escalate between the few reaches of your refrigerator and  pantry combined.

I promise👍🏼.

Ingredients:

(Recipe adapted from SugarHero)

• ¾ cup pasteurized liquid egg whites
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 cups unsalted butter, room temp.
• 2 tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

• Place pasteurized egg whites and powdered sugar in a stand mixer bowl. With the whisk attachment, combine ingredients on low, then whip on high for 1-2 minutes until sugar is moistened. 
• Mix in salt and vanilla extract.
• Add butter in small chunks. Wait for the butter to fully mix in before adding the next addition. Combine well after each addition.
• Once all the butter has been incorporated, whisk mixture on medium -high for ten minutes until white and fluffy. 

Notes: 

For extra smooth frosting, after blending to fluff, switch the whisk attachment to the paddle attachment and mix ingredients on low speed to beat out any existing air bubbles.

Store at room temperature for 1-2 days, or refrigerate buttercream for up to three days. Alternatively, freeze up to 3 months. If freezing, store in an airtight container, then thaw it at room temperature on the counter.

Pro tip: To make buttercream extra white, use the end of a toothpick to add the smallest drop of purple food coloring into the final mix. Beat an additional 5 minutes until blended.

Homemade marshmallow fondant, homemade Rice Krispie treats, caramelized sugar decor, favorite cookies/candy and molded melted chocolate helped to create the 6 layer, 8 inch cakescape.



A super cool twenty one year old's birthday treat.
Theme: a few of his favorite things! Can you spot all of them? 
2020: FN's Tiki cocktail cake
2019: beet chapatis
2018: multigrain pizza crust
2017: rhubarb lemonade
2016: chili-lime corn
2015: mango kulfi
2014: vanilla Nutella panna cotta
2013: buttermilk and cheddar biscuits
2012: cornmeal upma

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"Don't let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

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Condensed milk frosting (easy buttercream)

Rarely is frosting given half the hurrah meted out to the cake it's about to gild. Its spotlight is limited to balancing flavors, crumb coatings and smooth finishes. Today's feed serves the purpose of showing off this decorator element; the simplicity in which it can be achieved as well as the virtue of pulling together a three layer Oreo- vanilla construction without a major breakdown. Suffice to say at mere glance, you can gauge the largesse of the mentioned project.

There could be a couple of reasons why this topic makes my Significant Favorites' list:

1. It consists of two ingredients. Read again: TWO. ( vanilla extract is a noncount)

2. It's the easiest way to frost a cake.

2. Creamed texture smooths on like a dream.

3. My infinite love of condensed milk is in exact measure to the love for the people I gave birth to.

A sizable bucket of stable frosting and a legion of time are essentials to a perfectly reliable cake. Admittedly, whipping buttercream is labor intensive and dealing with mountains of sugar and butter may not be as desirable as most of YouTube makes it out to be.

The texture of condensed milk buttercream most resembles Swiss Meringue. A not so insignificant amount of butter is what gives it the look and feel of pure velvet, ie, if velvet was consumable. The two components listed and the twelve minutes it takes your stand mixer to demonstrate who's boss produces stuff worthy of song and dance. It's the happily ever after of icings, ya'll, one that truly seals the crumb (pun, yes!). No longer will sharp edges and near flawless exteriors remain the lot of pastry designers and Michelin star chefs. Your time has come.

Here it is, a quick recipe with outstanding payoffs and yours to keep till the end of time.

Consequently, cake making will be the most enjoyable part of your existence and decorating a fifteen pound structure won't be a dilemma at all. 

Although I like American buttercream a bit more than I care to admit, I think this version is the answer to those pastries erring on the sweeter side.

Ingredients:

Adapted from Sweet & Spicy's condensed milk frosting

• 1 cup salted butter, softened
• 1 can condensed milk (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

• Beat butter in a stand mixer on medium speed, until smooth and fluffy for 4-5 minutes.
• Add condensed milk. Continue to beat until blended and completely smooth, about 7 minutes.
• Add vanilla extract and beat for an additional minute.
• Use immediately to frost cake or refrigerate.

Notes~

I tripled the recipe for three layers, six inches inch. You can portion it accordingly.  

Since the flavor is more butter forward, sweeten it with an additional cup of powdered sugar towards the end of beating, if desired.

Cake recipe can be found on Sugar Geek Show's website.

The Oreo cake was a repeat order I did for a bright twelve year old who's commissioned me his personal baker. This year marks 4 birthday cakes in a row! I'm guaranteed employment until his wedding day:-)

Let's peruse the past~

2020: tiki cocktail cake

2019: red, white and blue cake

2018: ela appam (Kerala coconut pancakes)

2017: coconut ice cream

2016: cheesecake

2015: mango kulfi

2014: ghee

2013: savory crepes with shrimp

2012: smoked salmon rolls

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"And without faith living within us it would be impossible to please God. For we come to God in faith knowing that he is real and that he rewards the faith of those who passionately seek him." 

Hebrews 11:6