Tasty Tuesday Demo on The Kansas CW

Irish Soda Bread


4 to 4 1/2 cups Flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 Tbsp butter
1 cups raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 3/4 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Whisk together 4 cups of flour, the sugar, salt and baking soda in a large mixing bowl.
2. Using two knives or a pasty blender work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal, then add in the raisins. 
3. Make a well into the center of the flour mixture. Add beaten egg and buttermilk and mix with wooden spoon until too stiff to stir. Dust hands with flour then knead dough in the bowl just long enough to form a rough ball.  Transfer to a lightly floured surface and shape into a round loaf.  The dough will be a little sticky.  You want to work it just enough so that the flour is just moistened and the dough just barely comes together.  Don't over-knead. 
4. Transfer dough to a large, lightly greased baking sheet.  Using a serrated knife, score top of dough about an inch and a half deep in an "X" pattern. Bake 35-45 minutes until golden brown.  

First Birthday Themes

First birthdays are always so special.  It is fun to see what parents come up with for their little ones.  Here is a Monsters Inc. themed party that includes cut-out cookies as well as a cake. And, don't forget...you get a FREE smash cake for the little one!

Crunchy Pecan Pie Bites

Here you go...the recipe from my demonstration on the Kansas CW this morning.  It is super easy and of course, super delicious!

PECAN PIE BITES

 1 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
 1 egg, lightly beaten
 2 tsp. melted butter or margarine
 1/4 tsp. vanilla
 dash of salt
2 packages frozen mini-phyllo pastry shells

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow baking pan 8 - 10 minutes until toasted. 
2. Stir together sugar and corn syrup in a small bowl  Stir in pecans, egg, butter, vanilla and salt. 
3. Spoon heaping teaspoonful pecan mixture into ech pastry shell, and place on cookie sheet. 
4. Bake at 350 for 20 - 22 minutes or until set.  Remove to wire racks, and let cool completely.  Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 

Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Caramel Pecan Sauce

Here's the recipe I did this morning on the Kansas CW!  It is so easy and delicious!

BREAD PUDDING

4 large eggs
2 (15 oz.) cans pumpkin
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 (1 lb.) french bread loaf, crusts removed & cut into 1-inch pieces (about 10 cups)

CARAMEL PECAN SAUCE

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pecans, chopped

1. Prepare Bread Pudding:  Whisk together first 9 ingredients in a large bowl until well blended.  Add bread pieces, stirring to coat. Cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 8 - 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350.  Spoon bread mixture into lightly greased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.  Cover with aluminum foil.  Bake, covered, at 350 for 35 minutes.  Uncover and bake 15 minutes. Proceed with sauce recipe.

SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS

1. During last 15 minutes of baking, cook brown sugar, butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 3 to 4 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.  Remove form heat; stir in vanilla and pecans.  
2. Remove bread pudding from oven; drizzle with Caramel-Pecan Sauce.  Bake 5 minutes or until sauce is thoroughly heated and begins to bubble. 

50's Themed Birthday Cake

Here is a fabulous cake that was designed for Kathy's 70th birthday party.  We took some of her memories and put them a cake in the colors to fit the party.  Take a look at some of the details...

 I shot the first photo at the bakery, but then added these music note bobbles to the top tier on site. 

It really turned out great, don't you think!  We also did some fun record cookies as favors for the guests to take home too.  But, I forgot to take photos of them, so sorry.  Kathy gave us titles of some of her favorite records of the era and we wrote them on the cookies.

So, bring your ideas and let's brainstorm something deliciously fun!

Fresh Apple Cake

Here's the recipe that I did for my Tasty Tuesday segment on the Kansas CW morning show.  It is so easy and the perfect cake for September.

FRESH APPLE CAKE

1    cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup butter, melted
2    cups sugar
2    large eggs
1    tsp. vanilla extract
2    cups all-purpose flour
2   tsp. ground cinnamon
1   tsp. baking soda
1   tsp. salt
2 1/2  lb. Granny Smith apples (about 4 large)
         peeled and cut into 1/4- inch-thick wedges


1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow baking pan 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring halfway through.
2.  Stir together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl until blended. 
3.  Combine flour, cinnamon, soda and salt and add to butter mixture, stirring until blended.  Stir in apples and pecans.  (Batter will be very thick.)  Spread batter into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. 

 4.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick in center comes out clean.  Cool completely in pan. Cake is delicious as it is or you can top with your favorite frosting.

Tune in for my next demo on Tuesday, October 11! I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet...but, how about something with pumpkin?  Hmmmm...I'll start thinking!

Sara's Graduation

These are long over due...as is my posting to this blog in general.  But, I did want to share all the fun things I did for my Sara's Graduation party in May.

Sara is my artist.  In fact, she was accepted into the Department of Design's Illustration program at KU.  I have had this cake design idea for the last 2 years and finally got to do it.  It was a big surprise and she loved it. 

 Here are some cupcakes for the party.  I took the graphic and put it on fondant and made little "stamps" to go on them. 

And of course, there were cookies to match!

I am VERY proud of her and know she will do great things with her life.