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Category: Baking
As I sit here drinking my iced coffee I realized this blog is like a therapist. I mean with no real results of course because nobody is responding with “that is a sign of a crazy person”, or telling me I should be working on my personality flaws. But I am good with not knowing that side of things, lol. I will just continue to rattle off all of the peculiar and absurd things running through my head here!
The other thing I have recently realized is I should be probably be committed because I feel like with each blog, I discover I have an obsession with SOMETHING else. I mean I knew iced coffee was something I stopped for every morning and sometimes drive out of my way to get (and I even learned to make it at home) but never did I allow it into my thick skull that my iced coffee habit had in fact become an obsession. You know like my purses or makeup or baking or dogs (hahaha my poor husband). I mean why can’t I be obsessed with working out? Or eating healthy? Or you know something good for me? Why must I be obsessed with shopping, purses, iced coffee and making sugary goodness?!? Where did my morals get hijacked, only to lead me down the path of deceitful goodness?!? I mean not that it is changing because I feel pretty committed at this moment but I am just wondering why couldn’t my morals have decided they would be hijacked by yoga and the gym? Instead they took a sharp left and found cake! Clearly this is my life!
Whatever… I am here for the ride. So really the only thing to do next is decide what I am baking tonight. I know what you are thinking and keep your judgmental thoughts to yourself! I will be baking with or without your blessing! And you will enjoy the recipe, damn it! I am 2 ½ seconds in to this post and feel exhausted already! Can we please disclose someone else’s problems now lol?
So you want to know how to make my iced coffee… I originally read Ree Drummond’s blog, http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/perfect-iced-coffee/ and modified it to what works for me. I have used a bazillion (Don’t judge! Jody and I both drank it) different brands/strengths/flavors of coffee. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Starbucks Christmas blend coffee to make at home iced coffee!!! It is smooth and yummy! Try it! If you don’t like it, bring it over to me haha! It is only out around Christmas, but I buy a few bags to stash in my freezer to prolong the yummy goodness.
So I have a 2.5 gallon container that I got from Walmart that I use to “brew” my coffee. It’s pretty complex so follow along… Open coffee. Pour contents into fancy red container. Fill with water. Secure lid. Put in fridge for 8-48 hours (depending about what craziness is on your schedule for the next few days). Yup… that was it. But now comes the truly difficult part and I am not being sarcastic this time. It was straining that crap. It would really make you re-evaluate your caffeine addiction. This coming from the person who ends up throwing away fruit that I am sure would have been amazing but it is now in the trash because I could not stand the thought of the mess it would make when I cut it up so it never saw the sharpness of a knife. And I bake… yea I know I don’t understand the complexity of my brain either. Anywho… So I would layer cheesecloth*** On a side not when you go to your local fancy Walmart and ask people where their cheesecloth is because not one of these locations can put it in the same freaking vicinity, they will look at you as if you just asked where they keep their unicorns. Keep looking because they were unaware they even carried unicorns at Walmart… caskets yes, Unicorns (i.e. cheesecloth) No.*** and pour the contents through just like Ree Drummond. Well she must be a unicorn because she is so poised and pretty and she ended up with a beautiful glass of iced coffee. I on the other hand had coffee ground behind the TV I think. It was a messy thing, but the coffee was delicious. And I vowed to never make it again. But on my next batch (AGAIN DON’T JUDGE! Caffeine headaches are real!) I finessed it, each time and it got better, and less messy. And then one day my wonderful husband comes be-bopping (what’s this even mean? Skipping? Hopping? Nope…be-bopping) home with little cold brew coffee bags from Amazon! Really? You couldn’t have located these prior to the coffee ground being so chaotically spread throughout the house? But I used these and they were much better than straining the coffee. I have to make it in smaller batches (or use to bags to make a full batch of our coffee), but it does make life easier to just lift a bag out of the yummy dark liquid in the fridge and consume immediately! And then I can dump the grounds and put the bag in the dishwasher. I would recommend this route or go to Walmart and look for unicorns… your decision!
Recipe:
1 bag of your favorite coffee
1 2-ish gallon container
Water
Cheesecloth (aka unicorns)
Put the bag of coffee in the container and fill with water. This is truly a trial and error recipe because if you like weaker coffee you will want to use less coffee or more water and vice versa if you like stronger coffee. If you chose to do the strain method, you will pour the coffee through a few layers of the cheesecloth. Once all of the coffee has been strained and the grounds are nestled in your cheesecloth. Be sure to squeeze any extra liquid from the ground before they find their way to the trash. If you chose to do the bags, squeeze the extra liquid from the grounds, empty your bag and put it in the dishwasher.
Now you can add whatever you like to your coffee… cream, sugar, flavored syrups, etc. Dress it the way you like and enjoy!
***Cold brew coffee has a lower acidic level (like 67% lower). If you like coffee but have a problem with the acid level, try it this way. This also helps with the “burnt” flavor that coffee can sometimes have.***
So I know I said I love to make things from scratch, so I hope this cake does not mislead anyone! Because I do love to scratch up a recipe but I don’t mind taking shortcuts either. So here is a shortcut recipe! The main reason I chose this is because it is my Mom’s FAVORITE cake. I promised her a few times this year I would make it and had not gotten to it yet. The other reason I decided this would be my first one to share… EVERYONE asks me for the recipe when they try it. The reason being it taste like wedding cake. So you can forgo the coconut finish and have an amazing almond/vanilla white cake.
So like I said this is a “shortcut” recipe, meaning it starts with a boxed cake mix. I prefer the Duncan Hines cake mixes because they always seem to be so spot on. They are always moist, but use your favorite brand. Telling you how to make this could not be any easier… in fact at this moment I am having remorse for sharing this as my first recipe because it is ridiculously easy… but the cake is done, pictures are taken, so I feel pretty committed. So make the cake according to the directions on the back of the box. My sister, Nissa assisted in the cake baking festivities. And she asked me why the cake only called for egg whites. Well, this cake is a white cake so they are trying to keep all color out of the cake (no egg yolks, clear vanilla, etc). If that does not matter to you, use regular vanilla and you can use the whole egg (but I save my yolks and make crème brulee… YUMMY!).
To make this cake… follow the directions on the box (I make 2 boxes and use 8” round cake pans). Yup… really it’s that difficult! (I told you I was remorseful!) My wonderful God-mother (Sylvia) taught me to make this cake and the frosting! She only adds one flavoring to her cake, but I prefer both in the cake and the frosting. So I tweaked it. But I assure you not a soul on this earth makes this cake or any other baked good as well as her. She has taught me a lot about baking over the years! I add in about a tablespoon-ish (I am always heavy handed with these two flavorings) of vanilla and Almond. That is it! That is the only change you make to the cake. But it is crazy how much it improves it and changes it. Trust me… MAKE THE CAKE. You will understand!
So really that is it for the cake. I bake according to the box. I use professional grade baking pans that my Fabulous Mother-in-law gave me when Jody and I got married. They truly do make the difference. These are the equivalent to good make-up brushes! Invest in them! They make your cakes bake even and tall and they are usually pretty flat across the top. Some trimming is needed if you want, but they are great!
- So bake the cake according to the box. CHECK!
- Use good pans. CHECK!
- Revel in the glorious smell wafting from the over. CHECK! CHECK! CHECK! Even Nissa made a comment about this one.
So on to the frosting…
This too is fairly simple; pop open a can of frosting. I kid! I kid! That stuff is terrible! Throw that shit in the trash. This frosting starts with a Crisco base. You can do a butter base, but this way it can sit on the counter. If you prefer butter, go ahead. I have made it both ways. I buy the 1 cup Crisco “blocks”, because it saves me from measuring and keeps one more thing clean in my kitchen while I am baking. I throw that in the Kitchenaid and start it whipping. I like to add the flavoring now, because the frosting can go from too thick to too thin quickly. So I want to make sure I don’t add in too much wet ingredients at the end. Again I start with a tablespoon-ish of each flavoring. As you go you can taste it to your liking to see if it needs more of either. Now start to slowly add in the 2lbs of powder sugar (FYI: that is a whole bag of powder sugar). When it starts to get too thick, add in a tablespoon a water to a time. Do not be like me when I am in a rush and pour in more than that too fast… you will end up with runny frosting quickly! That is it alternate you sugar and water until you reach the consistency you want. I look for a happy medium. I want it spreadable, but not too thin. I don’t want it sliding off my cake. Once you make it a couple of times, you will decide how you like it best. ***REMEMBER to add any extra flavoring that you want before you are happy with the texture or you could make it too thin.***
Now Frost the cake… I cut my 2 8” layers in half so I have 4 thinner layer. But you can keep it to 2 8” layers! My mom likes coconut between each layer… but they are not as stable and honestly I forget after I have put on the 2nd layer, so I just put the coconut on the outside, but if you LOVE coconut… add it between your layers!
Recipe:
Cake
2 White Cake Mixes (make according to the box)
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon Almond extract
Prepare cake according to directions on the box. Add in vanilla and almond, mix well. Grease 2 8” round pans and back according to box.
Tips: Once I have my batter in the pans, I “pop” the pans on the counter to help remove air bubbles and to level the batter before it hits the oven. Adjust the flavor to your preference, add a little extra if you want a stronger flavor or scale back slightly for a more subtle flavor.
Frosting
1 cup Crisco
2lbs Powder Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon Almond extract
Water- added for desired consistency
1 7oz bag of sweetened coconut flakes
Mix Crisco, vanilla and almond. Slowly add in powder sugar, alternating with a tablespoon of water until you reach your desired consistency. Frost your cake and add coconut.
Tips: If you are looking for a smoother texture for your frosting, sift the powder sugar first. Adjust the flavor to your preference, add a little extra if you want a stronger flavor or scale back slightly for a more subtle flavor. Add coconut between layers for extra flavor.
Happy Baking!!
