Spring Colour Mania......

    Spring, Spring, Spring.......

        Spring is in the air.....

      Finally the long wait is over, and now time for some Spring Colours all over.

Daffodils have bloomed, Hyacinths have bloomed, the Cherry Blossoms have opened up and showcasing their glorious beauty.

     But in my sugar garden, I have been working upon some flowers and Calla Lily, Cherry Blossoms, Plumerias, Ranunculus flowers are at their peak. I have earlier worked with Gum Paste to sculpt these flowers, but recently I tried MMF, and from then on have been keen to check how good I can use to sculpt flowers. I found the MMF receipe more easy than the Gum Paste.



Calla Lily

 

PLUMERIAS




Cherry Blossoms



        I tried to make the Ranunculus for the first time, with very little guidelines. So, I observed the flower pictures and with what Jacqueline Butler from Petalsweet has blogged, started to sculpt this very simple but tricky flower. I was pretty impressed with the final look of the flower.



Ranunculus



      The pink one was my first attempt. Though not to what I wanted, it does look like a full bloom Ranunculus. ( we need to use at least 3 - 4 different cutter sizes, but I have only 1 size, so I should pat my back for how good it looks )

       The  White Green Ranunculus is my second attempt , and I am fully satisfied how beautiful it looks.

I m glad to see this decked up on a pretty cake very soon.

          

     With this Ranunculus I have been running crazy for anything grass green in colour.

Finally it is SPRING you see. So Green should be in favour.

      My Green fever has led me in search of a new era of  patisserie. I went on hopping in search of something green coloured mousse based dessert, and found the beautiful, eye catching desserts from Hidemi Sugino that Bertha from Gourmetbaking has created. I have prepared a receipe of homemade Pistachio Paste ( green is dominating now ) and am all set to try my hand at all the delicious, yummy pistachio pastries. I hope I will be successful in making them, the way Bertha has presented.

Strawberry Shortcake Birthday cake

Strawberry Shortcake

   

       Last month my  daughter turned 7, time flies :)  and she demanded a Strawberry Shortcake themed Birthday this year. After lots of research and analysis I finally started planning - cake , cupcakes in ice cream cones, fruit platter with all the strawberry shortcake colours, crafts, games.

And of course, a berrilicious lunch for the kidz.

 

     For the Birthday cake, I baked three 9 inch cakes, so I could make some height for my cake and  decorate the entire cake with Marshmallow Fondant (MMF)- something I never tried before. Fingers crossed ;)

     This time I used even baking strips that I made out myself, for baking the cakes, and it was great since I got almost flat topped cakes. Will surely post the tutorial. so I was able to get a 9 inch cake that was 2 inches in height. I needed a good height for the cake so that I get enough space to show the vines at the sides of cake.

     


             So decided to make some big white flowers and strawberries ahead of time and left them to air dry. All with MMF. I had tried earlier using Gum Paste, but was a little skeptical about using MMF for making my cake toppers. Used cornstarch on the work table, before making the strawberries and flowers, and allowed them to air dry for sometime and then kept them in a box.

The leaves and tiny flowers did not need any form, and also since I ran out of time just got them ready while I was decorating the cake. But I again used cornstarch as a base on the work table to make them. Cornstarch helps to dry the items a little when you are working.

I have  posted a tutorial about the fondant flower tutorial and fondant strawberry tutorial  that will guide you for this project.

       



        Frosted the cake with orange, plum and strawberry flavoured frosting from Duncan Hines Frostings Creations, so that I get all the colours I wanted in the cake. Then was the tricky part - rolling a big fondant layer and attaching to cake. Well, I first did some math - get the height of the cake, measure it on the fondant and cut it in big strips and then attached it to the sides of the cake. I had to put three such big strips, to cover the strips used the small pink strips of fondant and then the stems and leaves. I don't have a stencil for alphabets (should think of getting one now), so just cut them with a knife and slowly rubbed the edges with fingers to smooth out and attached all the accents to the cake by brushing some water to them. MMF is Kool! . No glue. Just water to attach.  Job done!

     

        The cake finally looked the way I had sketched it, but I guess it would look good if there was another tier of cake for base. Now making a tier cake will be next challenge since I have never tried one. The cake tasted delecious with three different frosting flavors!

     

Fondant Gum Paste Strawberry Tutorial

       I used MMF fondant for making these Strawberries, but you can use gum paste or any modelling dough.

    Colour your fondant with red food colour, I used the wilton no taste christmas red. It will take a lot of colour for the amount of fondant as the size of your fist. So I suggest the best way is to colour the fondant when you are making the receipe if it is a huge batch needed. Also you will need some green coloured fondant for making the tops of the strawberries.

Materials needed:

Red & Green food colour
Small Star shaped cookie cutter
Tooth pick or any pointed tool
Brush
Cornstarch
Rolling pin

  Step 1
Roll the green fondant and using a star cookie cutter that is smallest about an inch or so, cut a star shape. Smooth the edges wih your fingers and keep aside.

Step 2
Now take the red coloured fondant as much as the size you want the strawberry to look. Roll it in the palm of your hands so that you have a smooth finish with no crack lines on the fondant ball. If the cracks are still visible then grease your hands with crisco or any shortening that you are using and roll the ball with your palm.



 



Step 3
     Now try to slowly get a tapered end to the ball, retaining one end to still look like a ball
  

                                  

 

Step 4
Now make small dent inside the rounded edge so we can fix the calyx . You can a use a clean end of a paint brush if you dont have a round edged tool.

Step 5
Take a pointed item like a tooth pick and apply cornstarch to it, now prick holes so you can give the look of the seeds

Step 6
Take a tiny piece of fondant and make a little stem head

  


















Step 7
Brush a little water at the dent hole on the strawberry and fix the star shape and the tiny stem head

wow ! you have your strawberry!

Triple Berry Cheesecake

   




Triple Berry Cheesecake



      To mark the start of this blog I had to revive the pastry chef within me.  So what can I do - maybe  bake a layered cake and decorate it with fondant!  

Nah!

Then what?

Something rich n classy with all the soberness  n warmth.

Big task to find one and do one such thing.

Always a classic dessert is the cheesecake.

But I wanted to try a different kind.

Finally found one n only " The Peggy Porschen classic Triple Berry Cheesecake ", that got the wow!

She is simply superb. I love her style. Simple n Elegant! The picture speaks it all. It's a perfect Mothers Day treat or just to mark the beginning of spring n summer.

These cakes were 16 individual cakes made in cake rings of 5 inches .

Well I don't have the dessert rings , nor can I find one in my place.

Now how could I resist myself ?

Well go on, try in the spring form pan then.

Now the recipe needed crème fraîche.

OK , but what is this  crème fraîche ?

I never have come across this in the dairy aisle anywhere.

No worries it's easy peasy lemon squesy....

Grab the full cream about 30% fat or whatever is available ( low fat is always good for your waist), yogurt or buttermilk ,  give sometime - a day in advance and the crème fraîche is ready. Sometimes you can even substitute the crème fraîche with sour cream. Of course taste does alter a bit, but for people like me with a die or do attitude things work u c.

I altered the recipe according to my ingredients list, but the assembling and the cheesecake is solely from Peggy Porschen

        I just love the colors in this cake. It portrays all that love and warmth a mother showers upon.

And the taste of the three berries just makes it a mouth watering delicacy.

The cake turned out a hit and I was happy I was able to showcase the different colours perfectly, since I was a little skeptical about how it would turnout in a 9 inch round pan.

Recipe for Crème Fraîche

Ingredients:

1 Cup Whipping cream or full fat cream 35% fat 

1 Tbsp Plain Yogurt

Method:

Whisk both together with a spoon till well mixed and cover loosely with a lid or plastic wrap.

Leave for 12-24 hours at room temp.

(I left it in the oven near to the light bulb, and put the light on.

So the fermentation is fast.)

Recipe for Strawberry, Raspberry, Blueberry Purée

Ingredients:

1 Cup of fruit ( frozen or fresh)

Method:

If using frozen fruits, thaw them. 

Blend the fruits individually and pass the pulp through a sieve by pressing with a spoon so you get almost all the juice.

Recipe for the Crust

Ingredients:

2 and 1/2 Cups Graham cracker Crumbs or crushed digestive biscuits

1/2 Cup melted butter

Method:

First line the base and sides of a 9 inch spring form pan with a foil

Pat the mixture at the base of the pan either with your palm or use a measuring cup to do this.

(I like the base at least about 1/2 cm thick.)

Preheat the oven at 300 F for black metal pan and 325 F for shiny metal pan. Bake for 10 - 12 min.

Let the crust cool completely, so bake it well in advance, an hour or two.

You could also make a frozen crust, by skipping the baking part. Just pop into the freezer for 15 - 20 mins.

Recipe for the Cheesecake

Ingredients:                          

100 ml Strawberry Puree
100 ml Raspberry Puree
100 ml Blueberry Puree
3 Tsp Gelatin
620 Gm Philly Cream Cheese
1 Cup Castor Sugar
1 Cup Crème Fraîche
2 and 1/4 Cup Whipped Cream

Method:

Warm the Puree in separate bowls and when it is still hot dissolve 1 tsp of gelatin in each of the puree. And let the mixture cool completely.

Beat the whipping cream until you have soft peaks. Divide the whipped cream into three equal parts.

In a bowl beat the cream cheese, sugar and crème fraîche until well mixed.

Divide into 3 equal parts.

Now you have to do things quickly or else the gelatin will start to set

( A tip is to do with one layer at time and then continue the process with the next. this will give u a little more time to do the job neatly )

To each of this now add the cooled puree, so you have a strawberry cream cheese mix, raspberry  cream cheese mix, and blueberry  cream cheese mix.

Whisk 1 part of the whipped cream into the strawberry mixture and pour over the crust in the cake pan.

Now whisk the 2 part of whipped cream into the raspberry mixture and pour over the strawberry mix.

Now repeat the process with blueberry.

Let it stay into the fridge for at least 4 - 5 hours.

To remove it from the cake pan, hold a knife in hot water and dry it, and run around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake.

open the spring form pan and the cake is ready for serving.

Garnish with fruits before serving....

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