vanilla cake with chocolate cheesecake filling and strawberry cheesecake frosting

I love birthdays.  I love celebrating someone.  I love buying thoughtful gifts.  I love how excited people get when you do nice things for them. I love to think about that person, and what they would like most on their one day that's about them.

Usually, that's in baked good form.

This year, I returned the favor. To myself.

Hello, pretty.  You are my ultimate dessert.  You take everything that I love in sweets and package it up quite nicely.  You're easy on the eyes.  And my taste buds.


You are...a vanilla cake, filled with a chocolate cheesecake frosting. And topped with fresh strawberry cheesecake frosting.


I love you.

I had so much fun baking this cake.  It took me days to figure out exactly what I wanted.  


It had to be cake.  Duh.


It had to be vanilla cake.  No other form of cake is superior in my opinion.


I wanted something kind of fruity and not too rich.  It's summer.  Enter strawberry.

But then I had a serious problem: how do I incorporate chocolate?  I like a little chocolate, but not a lot.  Buttercream?  Too boring.  Then I saw this.  A gift from the heavens Jessica.

So call it a neapolitan cake.  Call it whatever you like.  Regardless, this cake was in.cred.i.ble.

Yeah.

Oh, and I can't forget to give huuuuge credit to my blog's biggest fan, Morgan Morrone, for all of the awesome photos! She's a sneaky talent who snapped all of those action and close-ups while I'm wrist-deep in frosting. Thanks, bud.

Vanilla cake with chocolate cheesecake filling and strawberry cheesecake frosting
cake recipe from Baked; chocolate filling from How Sweet It Is; strawberry frosting from yours truly


for the cake:
2 1/2 cups of cake flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups ice cold water
3 large egg whites, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1. Preheat the over the 325 degrees F. 
2. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, and butter the parchment. Dust pans with flour and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, sift together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until creamy, about 3 to 4 minutes. 
5. Once creamy, keep beating and gently pour in sugar and vanilla and continue to beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape sides of bowl to ensure all sugar is mixed.
6. Continue beating and add the egg until well incorporated. Turn the mixer to low. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the ice water, in three separate additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Scrape down the bowl, then mix on low speed for a few more seconds.
7. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form in a medium bowl, careful not to overbeat. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
8. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, rotating the pans about 20 minutes into the baking time. Once a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, remove and transfer cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. Remove the parchment.

for the chocolate cheesecake filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until smooth. 
2. Turn the mixer to low speed, and gently pour in vanilla.  Slowly add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, scraping sides of bowl to ensure all ingredients are fully incorporated.

for the strawberry cheesecake frosting:

1 quart strawberries

5 1/2 cups powdered sugar

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Place strawberries in food processor and puree until smooth.  Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together on medium speed until smooth.
3. Turn the mixer to low, and gently pour in vanilla and strawberry puree and mix until well incorporated.
4. Keeping mixer on low, gently pour in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until frosting becomes creamy and somewhat thick, or until desired consistency is attained.

simple parisian lemon macarons

I've been known to get a little...excited...about certain things in life.  Coffee, for example.  Nothing gets me excited like an amazing latte or tea or just plain old coffee.  Scones.  Oh, but we've already discussed that.  Regardless of these everpresent obsessions in my life, I've got a new one for you.  Macarons.  No, not those god awful coconut things.  Real. French. Macarons.  I've done my research on what makes them delicious.  Aside from actually sitting on a park bench in Paris overlooking the Rue de la Paix and enjoying a pistachio macaron from a real patisserie, I've been around the macaron block.

So, I finally did it.  Take a second and imagine me as Julie (a la Julie and Julia), and these macarons as boeuf bourguignon.  You now understand why I'm so excited that I finally made these.  I've tried before.  Unsucessfully to say the least.  But these little suckers came out fairly decently for my second try.  Although I did it without a scale (and virtually every recipe demands that you weigh the ingredients), I'd call this one an overall win.  The biggest tool you'll need for this project, however, my friends, is good old fashioned p-a-t-i-e-n-c-e.  But, I assure you, they are well worth the wait.  As are most things in life.

Simple Pairisian Lemon Macarons 

macaron recipe adapted from bon apetit; buttercream from yours truly

For the macarons:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup (lightly packed) sifted almond flour [I made this from scratch: see note below]
1/2 cup (scant) egg whites (from about 3 large eggs), aged 24-48 hours

2 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1. Line 2 large baking sheets with silpat or parchment. 
2. Sift powdered sugar and almond flour into large bowl. 
3. Using electric mixer, beat egg whites, sugar, and pinch of salt in medium bowl until medium peaks form. 
4. Add egg white mixture to almond mixture; fold to incorporate. 
5. Fill pastry bag fitted with 1/4-inch-diameter plain pastry tip with batter (batter will be thin and will drip from bag). Pipe batter in 11/4-inch rounds on baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart (cookies will spread slightly). Let rest on sheets at room temperature 20 minutes.
6. Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 375°F. Bake cookies 5 minutes. 
7. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue to bake cookies until puffed and golden on top, about 10 minutes, reversing sheets after 5 minutes. 
8. Cool cookies on sheets on rack. Carefully peel cookies from parchment. 

For the lemon buttercream:

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

1. Beat all ingredients together on stand mixer until smooth, about 4 minutes.
2. Assemble cookies by piping dime-sized ball of frosting onto one cookie and gently place equal shaped cookie on top.
3. Let cookies rest at room temperature for about 45 minutes to harden before serving.

To make almond flour:
1-2 cups natural raw almonds

1. Blanch almonds in boiling water for 30 seconds, just until the skins begin to prune.
2. Remove from water, strain, and place on paper towel to dry.
3. Grasp almond between your thumb and forefinger at the pointy tip of the almond and squeeze gently.  The almond should slide right out.
4. Repeat until all almonds are skinned. Discard skins.
5. Place almonds in food processor and ground them for about 4-5 minutes.  You want your flour to be as fine as possible.
6. Remove flour from food processor and sift into a large bowl.  There will be grounds that will not filter through the sifter; take these and place back in food processor and grind again.  Do not keep any large bits that don't sift through the sifter. 

Makes approximately 24 macarons.

funfetti cupcakes [for two]

So, if you thought that all I made for Katie was a measly cookie sandwich, you underestimate me immensely.  As amazing as the Chocolate Chip Whoopie was, is it really a birthday without cupcakes?  No way, Jose.  The only problem was, Katie left for California bright and early this morning, and since my garbage disposal boyfriend is out of town, there was no way I wanted to make a whole batch of cupcakes.  So when I saw this post on my favorite blog this past week, I knew it was a sign.  

Jessica is my separated twin; I am certain of it.  Her every recipe and thought is my dream recipe and thought.  It's true.  Fate had us at our blogs.  This recipe is so easy, so quick, and so tasty!  I love that it all comes together in one bowl, which allowed me to whip these up fresh first thing in the morning before Katie and I went on with our day.  The only thing that I modified was adding sprinkles to make them funfetti - it's yet another tradition of Katie's and mine to make funfetti cupcakes, and not to mention, not too hard to just throw in a bunch of sprinkles to some cake batter.  And besides, I know Jessica would never discourage the addition of sprinkles to anything.  They don't call it funfetti for nothin'.

I couldn't have asked for a better recipe!  Jessica didn't specify the type of flour, so I used cake flour since I like my cakes very moist and airy.  But, since I only own giant muffin pans (insert joke here), these came out flatter than what you would normally get, but they were still great.  And you can see that I yielded one extra little guy since I was afraid of my normal-sized cupcake liners capsizing in the sea of the giant cupcake mold in the oven.  So give me a little leeway on the logistics here, people.

Although I had just tried my hand at the best frosting ever (also recommended by Jessica), I frosted these with a basic buttercream.  Perhaps next time I'll switch it up and see how the tastes pair.  There we go!  Another hypothesis to test.

Funfetti Cupcakes [for two]
Recipe adapted from Jessica at How Sweet It Is; frosting recipe from yours truly


1 egg white
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup cake flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pan with 2 liners.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together egg white and sugar until well incorporated.  Add in vanilla and melted butter and whisk to mix.
3. Add flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until smooth. Batter should be quite thick.  Gently stir in milk.
4. Pour batter into cupcake liners, making sure to evenly divide batter.  Bake for 10 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.
5. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1. Combine butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and beat until soft and whipped in texture.
2. Add milk slowly and continue beating for 2 minutes until desired texture is formed.
3. Add frosting to pastry bag and frost cupcakes, once cooled, and top with sprinkles.

chocolate chip whoopies

It's a bird!  A plane!  Actually, my friends, it is I.  Back from the blogging hiatus to bring you a few wonderful treats upon which to feast your eyes.  And then, hopefully, your tummies.  


Yesterday was Katie's birthday.  And for months I've been plotting planning the perfect baked good to create for this occasion.  This isn't just any birthday, folks.  It's the big 2-5.  And it's Katie Peters.  Perhaps you recall the depths of our baking history, 20 years in the making.   So you understand: this had to put the good in baked good.

Let me take you back to 1998 for a second.  I don't remember how many times Katie and I stopped at Mrs. Field's during our million and a half mall trips and feasted on these beautiful creations: two chocolate chip cookies sandwiched between a good solid inch of white sprinkled frosting.  Pure heaven in dessert form, if you ask me.  So after high school, college, and the disappearance of preteen metabolism, these little suckers have existed only in our memories.  Until now.

I graduated the term "cookie sandwich" that Katie and I have used to refer to these treats for years to a much more mature "Chocolate Chip Whoopies" as you can tell that they play on the whoopie pie form, yet don't fully embody the term enough to dub it as such.  So, there you have it: kinda whoopie, kinda sandwich, but mostly just bliss.  The cookie is my own recipe, and since I've been dying to try the "best frosting ever" that has been raved about by one of my favorite bloggers, I used that as the filling.  The frosting is not overly sweet, and definitely unique in that it uses flour (gasp!) and no powdered sugar.  It doesn't mirror the Mrs. Field's frosting precisely, but it still was a hit.  I'll be trying it again on my next batch of cupcakes.  Or just when I feel the need.  The need for frosting.

Chocolate Chip Whoopies
cookie recipe from yours truly; frosting from Missy Dew on tasty kitchen

Cookies:
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups cake flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
2 sticks butter
1 ¼ cup light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
¾ package Gihardelli 60% cacao chips

1. Cut butter into small chunks and place in saucepan. Heat over medium heat until completely melted, and continue to stir until butter becomes somewhat clear and brown-ish colored (about 5-8 minutes.) 
2. Remove from heat and add to sugar mixture (do not stir or mix together) and allow to come to room temperature – put in fridge for about 10 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, prepare dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
4. Once sugar/butter mixture is completely cooled, beat together until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. 
5. Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture, one cup at a time, until just combined. 
6. Once all ingredients are combined, mix in chocolate chips. 
7. Spoon dough into desired size and roll together in hands to ensure uniform size and baking shape. It is imperative that the cookies be uniform in shape and size. 
8. Bake cookies on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet for approximately 12 minutes, until holes/cracks appear in middle of cookie and border becomes golden brown. 
9. Let cookies cool completely for one hour before assembling whoopies. 

Frosting:
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated (not powdered!) sugar

1. In a small saucepan, whisk flour into milk and heat, stirring constantly, until it thickens. (This won't take long - you want it about as thick as brownie batter.) 
2. Remove from heat and let it cool to room temperature completely. Stir in vanilla. 
3. While mixture is cooling, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy - until all of the graininess of the sugar is gone. 
4. Add the cooled flour/milk/vanilla mixture and beat completely until it resembles the texture of whipped cream.

Assembly:

1. Make sure your cookies are completely cool. I know I already said this. But seriously, they better not be warm in the least! 
2. Match cookies up with the one that most closely resembles its size and shape. In other words, find its whoopie soul mate. Flip one of each of the pairs so that the flat edge is facing up. 
3. Fill pastry bag with frosting, using the star attachment. Holding the bag at a 45 degree angle and about 1/2" away from the cookie, outline the outer edge of the flipped cookie and complete the outline. Fill in the rest of the cookie with circles with decreasing size until cookie is completely frosted. 
4. Gently place the other half of the whoopie on top of the frosted half and let sit until the temptation overcomes you. Enjoy.