Almond Tart!

This tart is going to be the death of me or the death of most of my clothes, which ever comes first!! It is to die for! Perfectly sweet and balanced, you get a nice crunch from the almonds that top it. I am in the process in trying other flavors! Other nuts, candies and fruits! They are all pretty good but the almond is my favorite!!!

XOXO

Amanda

Shortcakes on a Stick!!

I got this idea from the Bakerella blog and thought it was really cute! These "Shortcakes on a Stick" were fun to make and SUPER tasty! I made Christmas trees and cupcakes and am working on other ideas right now! These were made for a cookie party I had and were a BIG hit. They are perfect size for a child's birthday party or for the "big girls" who only want a bite!

Watch for more ideas, shapes and colors to come!!! Or let me know ideas of yours!!! I'll up for it all!!

XOXO

Amanda

What I want for Christmas!

Christmas is coming up and here is a list of things I want!

1. A food scale
2. A set of silver mixing bowls
3. Food Processor
4. A new car
5. A commercial kitchen to use!

I am hoping to get into the farmers markets here in town. I want to make and sell cheesecakes, cupcakes and tarts. I am working on my recipes and perfecting them BUT you need a commercial kitchen to sell to the public. Anyone know of one here in Sonoma???

Well Off to the kitchen!

XOXO
Amanda

Luna the Cat

This is my Cat Luna. She LOVES hanging out with me while I bake. Right now I am up to my eyeballs in COOKIES!! Tomorrow, Nicole and I are having a cookie party at our house. I have baked 3 different kinds, Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Quickies, and Amaretti cookies! I am also trying a new recipe that I am calling Cupcake Kisses. I got the idea and recipe from the Bakerella blog. Its a GREAT idea! Pictures will be up soon!!!

XOXO

Luna and Amanda

Cookies Cookies and more Cookies!!!! American Style!

American cookies are hearty cookies. Chocolate chip, Oatmeal Raisin, Peanut Butter are all examples of these hearty "meal" cookies. To me they are a Dessert instead of a garnish or snack. These cookies are a mixture of all different kinds of American style cookies I made. The cool thing about these cookies is they can be frozen in the dough stage of the game. SO the next time you are making a batch of your favorite chocolate chip cookie, double or triple the recipe, and scoop out all of the dough. Then freeze it. Once they are frozen, you can wrap them up and whenever you want cookies just pop one out of the freezer and bake them off! Its a great time saver. They are great for an easy dessert. Just put them in the over just as you are sitting down to dinner and by the time you are done, you will have warm cookies out of the oven!! YUM!!

Cupcake and kisses!!

Amanda

Chocolate Boxes!!!

In my chocolate class, I was assinged to make a chocolate box. This box is 100% made from chocolate that has been tempered. Tempering chocolate is the process of heating the chocolate up and then cooling it down correctly so the chocolate stays solid and shiny while at room temp. While making my box, I wanted something very victorian and elegant looking. The box was filled with beautiful chocolates filled with all sorts of yummy flavors.

Gingerbread!!!!

Its Christmas time! That means Gingerbread! These little houses were made for Lola's holiday party. They turned out chewy, flavorful and sweet! We wrapped them in plastic and attached business cards Lola made for me. She said they were a BIG hit.

Chocolate Souffles!!!

These are some of my favorite dessert's. Chocolate souffle!!! YUM!!! Chocolate is folded into whipped egg whites and then baked in ramakins the result is a light, warm dessert that is the perfect end to any meal!!! My "volcano plate" is just a fallen souffle floated in a coffee chocolate sauce with white chocolate swirled in. The other plate is a blackberry chocolate souffle. Frozen blackberries and baked in the bottem of the souffle dish and it produces a sweet sauce which is a nice suprise for the rich chocolate souffle. Everyone loves chocolate and berries!!!

Devils food cake!!!

My all time favorite cake is a yellow butter cake with chocolate frosting. My second favorite cake is this devils food cake. Its moist, with rich buttery chocolate flavor. The frosting is a basic Ganache that was whipped up with butter. Its thick, creamy and YUMMY! Making a cake is a funny thing. You would be amazed how forgiving a basic butter cake it. The top layer of this cake fell apart on me but you would never know by the finished product. Lola & Jeff, Melissa & Bart and my parents all enjoyed this cake and deemed it a winner! I topped the cake with white chocolate curls and a dusting of cocca powder.

Cupcake and kisses!

Amanda

Torte de chocolatta ala sanna

Here is my Mom's Chocolate torte! Its a flourless chocolate cake flavored lightly with espresso. Its a dense, rich cake that in the words of Melissa "I could only eat 3 bites!!!" The cake was then glazed with more chocolate, banded and topped with White chocolate leaves and a chocolate rose. This chocolate torte is really best a few days after baking and alone, but I needed to glaze and decorate it for class so really this is OVER the top. The band is a mixture of white chocolate and dark chocolate, cooled down, and then places around the glazed cake. The leaves on top were molded with white chocolate on the back of real leaves from my garden and left to set up. The chocolate rose was hand shaped out of chocolate fondant.

Carrot Cake!!

I am not a huge fan of carrot cake. But this cake was moist, flavorful and easy to make!!! Except for the grating of the carrots of course!!! The frosting is made from goat cheese which gave this cake an added tang. The carrots were hand made with Marzipan, which is an almond flavored dough that can be colored and used to cover cakes and be molded into shapes. Marzipan is what is used when making the Princess cake.

I loved the idea of not frosting the sides of this cake. I think it looks rustic and old fashion, like a good carrot cake should. Though I chose not to with this one, this recipe can be chalked full of dried fruit and nuts!

Cupcakes and kisses!

Charlotte!!!

A Charlotte is a type of dessert that can be served hot or cold. Bread, sponge cake or biscuits/cookies are used to line a mould, which is then filled with a fruit puree or custard. It can also be made using layers of breadcrumbs. So in easy terms, its something cakey and something creamy. Here is my take...

I used Pate a Choux and made cream puffs which I filled with chocolate mouse. I then layered them in the bottom of a 9" cake pan and froze them. I whipped up a raspberry Bavarian cream and topped the cream puffs with it. Then into the fridge! When the cream set up I turned it out of the pan and topped the whole Charlotte with chocolate sauce and powder sugar!

I love flavors of raspberry and chocolate together. With the creaminess of the Bavarian and the sharpness of the chocolate mouse this was a winner!!!

This too can be made with any flavor Bavarian cream and the cream puffs can be filled with pastry cream, Chantilly cream, white chocolate mouse or anything you can think of! The ideas are endless!!!

Cupcakes and kisses!

Semi Freddo!!!

The above dessert is one of many names!!! Semi-Freddo, Parfait, Bombe Mouse, frozen souffle. As the good Italian girl I am, I call it Semi-freddo. My Nonna would be so proud! Semi-Freddo means part frozen in Italian and this beautiful dessert is just that. Its a Hazelnut flavored frozen custard that is molded to look like a souffle. I topped it with a dusting of cocoa powder and a chocolate sauce along side. This is a large portion and is ment to be shared! Its a creamy, cold, dramatic dessert that can be made ahead of time for easy plating!!! These are one of my favorites!!! They can be ANY flavors you can think of!

Bavarian Creams!!!

Here are pictures of the MANY Bavarian creams I made! They are yummy!!! Bavarian cream is a custard that is molded and chilled, then unmolded and served!

This one is a Disaronno Bavarian cream with almond butterscotch sauce and a carmel almond cookie! Disaronno is an almond flavored liquor that is a hot new drink these days. Disaronno on the rocks. I disagree with the drinking thoughts but LOVE using it as a flavor! Its a fantastic almond flavoring.

These are Carmel custards! The one in the back is served in a tulip cookie cup with a light carmel sauce. The front one is served on a bed of carmel and chocolate sauces with a brandy snap twist.

Another shot of the Disaronno custard!

A few more shots!

Churro Cupcakes!

Well, I have been busier then I thought I would be but plan on regular posting from now on. I have finished 2 classes in the last month, Ice Creams, Custards, and Soft desserts and Bread baking! I had a ball taking them and am now enjoying a chocolate class!!!

This picture is a batch of "Churro Cupcakes" I made a few weeks ago! They are Cinnimon cake with a chocolate center, frosted with chocolate chip buttercream and then topped with homemade Churros. The Churros were fun to make! Melissa came by while I was doing them and joined in on the fun! A full batch of Pate a Choux made a TON of mini churros! I had a little trouble with the chocolate center and in the future probably won't put it in again but they were tasty all the same!

Cupcakes and kisses!!

Amanda

A little about me!

Hi there!

My name is Amanda and I am a flight attendant for a Major airline in the good old USA. I have baked my whole life and have found true enjoyment from making something from scratch. About a year ago I decided that I wanted to go to Culinary school to become a Pastry Chef, so I looked into the programs and found one I liked at Santa Rosa Junior College and signed up. I am now on my way!

The program started with Safety and Sanitation, The history of culinary arts, and knife skills. Though the classes were interesting in their own rights...The Chef's who taught them really were the ones who pulled it together. Chef Kathy was a wealth of knowledge who scared me everyday with tales of food borne illnesses and what clean was. I have been known to eat a piece of pizza that has been left on the counter for 2 days. I was sure I was dying of some dreaded illness every time my tummy hurt. Up next came Chef Evelyn. With her witty sense of humor and her passion for getting us to open up she kept me laughing though the one class I really didn't enjoy. Though I do believe it is VERY important to have correct knife skills, I never really looked at the shape my vegetables were cut, until now.

Next up was the Intro to Baking Class which was 3 day a week 5 hours a day. The class started off with Pies and Tarts and finished with Breads. We touched everything in between. Chef Shelly, who taught the class, was a sweet, talented chef who had an eye for perfection. A food stylist in her "real life" she looked for the perfection in each delectable item you brought to her. I was amazed how much she was able to put away and still keep her girlish figure!!! I spent the whole summer wondering if she ate dinner at home.

So tomorrow I start my first of 5 two week courses. Ice cream, custards and soft desserts. I'm looking forward to getting back in the schools kitchen and out of my own for a bit!!! I am a cupcake girl and have been concentrating cupcakes for the last few weeks, so it will be nice to move on to something else for some inspiration!!!

So I hope you follow me finish up school, come up with great ideas for some cupcakes, and see where this whole journey takes me.

Cupcake and kisses!
Amanda