Good news, bad news

Unfortunately, probably due to what the almighty powers want and not what I want, I will not be opening a bakery any time soon. However, I am now the pioneer baker/pastry "executive cheif extraordinaire" for an awesome organic, European-style grocer in Ocala. They have classes and tons of really cool things to make your dinner special. They have not ventured too far into the baking side of things so I'm looking forward to creating it! Either way I will still do special orders and will do my best to attend the Heritage Village second Saturday markets.

Flour Child Bakery Cafe

Hey guys! I've been busy planning the opening of Flour Child Bakery Cafe and getting clients lined up for all of the holidays that come at the end of the year. If you need to place an order you can send an email to flourchildbakerycafe@gmail.com or call me at (352) 476-7995.
Hopefully I will be opening a shop sometime this spring so stay connected for the latest triumphs and tribulations!

Happy holidays and happy new year!

Grandpa's Birthday: Coconut Cream Pie

My grandpa's birthday is tomorrow and he requested a coconut cream pie to celebrate on Thanksgiving. I've been busy whipping up pumpkin rolls, pumpkin pies, and all things fall that it's nice to make something a little different. I used a recipe by, *shocked face*, Emeril Lagasse and it came out awesome.


Ingredients
Basic Sweet Pie Crust, recipe follows
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups milk
4 eggs, separated
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 1/3 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon butter
Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish, optional
Toasted coconut, for garnish, optional

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Prepare Basic Sweet Pie Crust as directed. Roll the dough into a circle, about 1/4-inch thick. Place dough in a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and crimping the edges as the dough is gently pressed into the pan. Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans. Bake until golden brown around sides and edges, about 15 minutes. Remove parchment paper and return the crust to the oven and bake until bottom of crust is pale golden, about 5 minutes longer. Set aside on a wire rack to cool.

3. In a nonstick 1-quart saucepan, combine 3/4 cup sugar and 2 3/4 cups milk together. Bring the milk to boiling point and scald the milk. In a small mixing bowl, whisk the remaining milk, egg yolks, and cornstarch together. Whisk until smooth. Temper the egg yolk mixture into the scalded milk. Bring the mixture up to a boil and cook for about 3 minutes or until the mixture is thick, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 1 cup of the flaked coconut, vanilla and butter.

4. Pour the filling into the prepared pie shell. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Chill the pie completely, about 2 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

6. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until stiff with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Spread the meringue evenly over the top of the pie. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/3 cup coconut. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until golden. Remove from the oven and cool. Alternately, top with fresh sweetened whipped cream and more toasted coconut.

Basic Sweet Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons bleached all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

4 to 5 tablespoons ice water, or as needed

1. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Add the butter and shortening. Rub the fats between your fingertips and thumbs, or use a pastry blender, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. One tablespoon at a time, work in enough ice water just until the dough comes together, being careful not to over mix.

2. Shape into a smooth ball of dough, flatten into a disk, and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, and up to 2 days.

Yield: enough dough for 1 single-crust pie


Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

November Farmer's Market in Heritage Village

November 13th was the Heritage Village's Second Saturday Market. I will be doing this market every month from now on as Flour Child Bakery. In December there will be two events, the second and third Saturdays of the month--one being the "Let It Snow" event where they create real snow! Here are a few pictures from last Saturday. As always if you want any of the recipes email me at flourchildbakerycafe@gmail.com. Happy holidays!



Vanilla Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Pudding and Cream Cheese Icing



Peach Preserve Linzer Cookies



Buttermilk Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Icing



Diabetic-friendly Espresso Cream Roll



Fresh & Warm Cinnamon Rolls



Italian Style Bread with Sundried Tomatoes, Basil, Cheese & Garlic



An overall view of my booth, complete with my new banner=)

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

A customer asked me to make a pumpkin pie for his wife's birthday-which happens to be on Halloween. The only requirement was that it be made from scratch...really from scratch! So I purchased a pie pumpkin and got to work. You can get pie pumpkins at almost any grocery store and they're usually no more than 90 cents a pound. Make sure that there are no soft spots and it should be about 6-8 inches high. Now it may seem like a daunting task to make a pumpkin pie from the gourd, but it's really not that hard with today's technology. Microwaves! This recipe only takes about 2 hours of your time...max! Good luck and happy Halloween everyone!

Ingredients:

Crust
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons cold butter or margarine, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
3 to 5 tablespoons ice water

Filling
1 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
3 cups pumpkin
18 ounces evaporated milk

Directions:

1. Cut pumpkin in 1/2 or 1/4s. The fewer pieces you have the easier it will be to scoop out.

2. Place pieces flesh-side down in a micro-wave safe dish. Add a few inches of water.

3. Cook in microwave on high heat for 20 minutes. Check tenderness and cook in 5 minute increments until the flesh is soft enough to scoop out. Usually mine literally falls out of the shell after 25 minutes.

4. While the pumpkin is cooking make your pie crust. If you're short on time go ahead and buy a pre-made crust. Don't worry, I won't tell. Otherwise use the recipe here or your own family favorite. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter and shortening until small clumps have formed.

5. Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, with a fork until mixture starts to hold together.

6. Shape dough into a flat round shape so that it will be easier to roll out for your pie pan. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. You can chill overnight, but the next day you will need to let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before attempting to roll it out.

7. On a lightly floured surface, with a floured rolling pin, roll into slightly greater a circumference than your pie pan. Gently fold in half and place on half of pie pan, then unfold to cover the entire pan. Gently press the dough against the sides of the pan being sure not to stretch it. Stretching the dough will cause it to shrink back when baked. If desired make a decorative edge. For the pie shown here I used three small leaf shaped cookie cutters and then lightly brushed water over the edge of the pan and pressed the shapes down. Refrigerate or freeze for another 10 minutes. Preheat your oven to 425F.

8. Now you're going to scoop out the flesh put it in a food processor or use a hand blender if you have one to puree the pumpkin. This should create a nice creamy texture that's a little more watery than the stuff you get in a can.

9. Mix all of the ingredients listed for the filling together until combined.

10. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 425 for the first 15 minutes then turn the oven down to 350F and bake for another 45-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.


Tips:

To keep your crust from getting too dark, take a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the entire pie. Fold it in half once and then again the opposite direction. Now cut an 8" round from the middle. Unfold foil and place over pie and fold edges around pie to protect it.

If you have extra filling left over just bake the rest in a mini-muffin pan without the crust for a yummy treat!

Peach Tart

Peaches were on sale recently so I picked up a few to make something delicious. I altered an apple tarte tatin recipe for this one. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
1 1/2 sticks cold butter, cubed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/8 cup very cold water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 fresh peaches sliced
Pinch of cinnamon
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Cut butter into chunks.
2. Mix flour, sugar, and salt.
3. Add butter and work into flour, being careful not to over mix.
4. Whisk in egg, water, and vanilla.
5. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 375 degreesF.
7. Roll out pie crust to diameter of pan. (I used a glass pie pan.) Allow the crust to hang over the edges so that you can fold it over the filling.
8. In a medium sized bowl mix the melted butter & sugar with the peaches, cinnamon, and egg. Make sure fruit is well coated.
9. Pour into pie crust and fold over edges.
10. Use a pastry brush to swipe the bowl's leftover egg and sugar to brush the top of the crust for a glossy look.
11. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until GB&D*.


Shelley's tip: You can substitute different fruits for this recipe. Apple, berry, or even plums to name a few.
*GB&D- Golden brown and delicious!

Happy baking!

Holy Cow!

I can't believe it's been 6 months since I last updated this blog. Either I'm lazy or busy...maybe a combination of the two? This is what has happened since then with a few extras along the way.

Finally got a photo of the finished product.



Onion and Rosemary Focaccia that went with a wonderful homemade Cioppino



Blueberry crumble



A super moist chocolate cake with buttercream icing.











A birthday cake for a friend consisting of red velvet and classic white marbled cake with rolled marshmallow fondant!













Yet again the holidays are approaching and there will hopefully be a lot more to bake up!

Spring Fever

It's officially spring so the weather is warming up quickly here in "sunny" Florida. All of this sunshine, and frequent showers, makes me want to stay outdoors and not in the kitchen. Luckily, I was able to whip up a very quick dessert that's so easy it's almost cheating.



Ingredients:

1 box of angel food cake mix
(or one already made by your local bakery)
1 small box vanilla pudding
2 cups lite whipped topping
1/4 fresh pineapple, crushed in a blender with juices
1 pint strawberries, sliced, save some whole for garnish
1 banana, sliced


Directions:

1. Cut the cake into three layers.
2. Mix the pudding with the pineapple and juice.
3. Add the whipped topping to the pudding mixture and fold in carefully.
4. On the bottom layer of the cake smooth on about half of the pudding mixture.
5. Place banana slices and then strawberry slices on top.
6. Set the second layer of cake on top of the pudding and repeat steps 4 & 5.
7. Put the final cake layer on top and garnish with strawberries if you'd like.
8. Refrigerate for an hour before serving.



Note: This looks like a giant dessert, but since it's 'semi-healthy' you'll probably eat a big piece. Also, I think the flavor diminishes after the first day so make it when you've got company coming or a healthy appetite.

Burke's Beer Dinner (Love Night)

Thanks to Cassie D. for the photo.
Burke's had it's third successful beer dinner a few weeks ago and I would say that this one went off without a hitch. The beers were micro brews from all over the world; places such as Germany, Shri-Lanka, Scotland, Belgium, Russia, and the US. Of course I was in charge of the seventh course--dessert. Sinfully double molten chocolate cake paired with Rasputin Stout and St. Louis Framboise Raspberry Lambic. It was so awesome that I don't think I needed to make that a complete sentence. I used mostly dark chocolate to make this incredibly rich treat and will now share the secrets with you.


Ingredients:
(6) 1 ounce squares of bittersweet chocolate
(2) 1 ounce squares of semi-sweet chocolate
1 1/4 sticks of unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons of orange liquor (or other flavor)
1 1/2 cups confectioner sugar


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler or in the microwave.
3. Add flour and sugar to the butter and chocolate. Mix well.
4. Next stir in the eggs and egg yolks. Mix well.
5. Add vanilla extract and liquor and mix thouroughly.
6. Pour into small ramekins or regular sized muffin pans. You can either spray with non-stick spray or use a muffin cup.
7. Bake for about 10-12 minutes. Check at 10 minutes to be sure that the center is still gooey; if more time is needed cook for the additional 2 minutes. Serve warm.

Side note: You can make this batter ahead of time and pop in the oven just before serving. If you have leftovers you can also microwave them for about 10 seconds to 're-invigorate' the innards.

Enjoy!

Busy Beaver

As a 9-5er during the day and baker by night I don't get a lot of time to stop and take a photo of everything I make. I need a professional photographer to just follow me around in the kitchen. Alas, I am not an Iron Chef though. Strawberries are fading out of season here in sunny Florida so I decided to make strawberry shortcake, Shelley style. The biscuits are crumbly, slightly sweet, and soak up the juices nicely. Instead of whipped cream I decided to go with some vanilla ice cream. And for a finishing touch that adds a unique flavor I drizzled honey over the top with a shake of cinnamon.



Shortcake:
2 cups sifted all purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
3/4 cup half & half

1. Combine dry ingredients and mix well.
2. Cut in the butter and shortening until only small chunks are left.
3. Mix in the half & half just until blended. Do not over mix the dough or you will wind up with tough biscuits.
4. Pinch about 3 tablespoons of dough per biscuit onto non-stick sheet pan. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes at 450F or until G,B & D, baby. (Golden Brown and Delicious)


Strawberries:
1 pint of fresh strawberries
3 tablespoons of granulated sugar
1/2 squeezed lemon
1 tablespoon Marsala wine (optional, can use another liquor like Grande Marnier)

1. Cut the tops off and quarter each berry.
2. Combine all ingredients together at least one hour before serving to allow the berries to weep and make the juice.

Assembly:
1. Cut the biscuit in half. Pour some of the juice from the berries onto the bottom half.
2. Place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom and replace the top. Pour strawberries and a little more juice if you'd like over the top.
3. Drizzle a little honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Open mouth and insert heaven.