Recipe #15: "At Home" Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I know how much I’ve talked about loving desserts on here (and I know you are wondering if I am seriously huge by now, and the answer is actually no…..thanks to weight watchers J), but I think one of my favorite sweet treats is peanut butter & chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins.  Second to that would be peanut butter cups.  This duo is simply the best, so combining them in cupcake form sounded heavenly!

Somehow I thought this recipe would act differently than all of Ina’s other cake recipes at altitude…..even though it is still a cake recipe, something about it being in tiny, individual portions might make it work?  Mmmm, no such luck.

The cupcakes were a cinch to make, but unfortunately, they didn’t rise (see pic below).  I was expecting them to be an eggy mess like the other cakes I’ve made, but they weren’t!  The cake itself still tasted good, so I decided to make the frosting anyway and treat the sunken cake centers as a of tasty trough for extra frosting :)  I think you have to eat them with a fork because the batter somehow is stuck to the cupcake liners.  Oh well!

A note to all of my fellow contessas: A small carton of buttermilk or whipping cream is the EXACT equivalent of 1 cup.  Just a tip so that you don’t buy a larger carton and end up having it go to waste like I’ve done a dozen times. 

I am excited that our Denver farmer’s markets opened for the season this past weekend!  Berry contessa recipes, here I come!!!

Recipe #1 Ressurected: Cheesecake Perfection!

I think that if achieving dessert contessa status was like the girl scouts, I think I just got a new badge J  This week, I wanted to do a throw back to my first recipe by trying to tweak it!  Perfect place to test my creation?  Easter dinner with the fam J

This time, I used less lemon zest, a different cream cheese mixturee, more fruit (which I changed to strawberries because they were out of raspberries at the market), and made the crust more evenly pressed in the pan. 

I was SO excited to hear literally no complaints or even suggestions (not that I don't love them, but their absence was due to the fact that my family and coworkers were mmmm-ing too much to critique!).  I am normally so critical of my creations, and even I was super satisfied. 

Note for anyone making a fruit topping with a jelly syrup: don’t worry if it seems too saucy!  Cheesecake seems to be thick enough that the topping doesn’t seep in….thank goodness!  I was semi-freaking out that the cake was going to be ruined by getting soggy in the car on the way over to my mom's). 

Ps: I missed last week’s blog as I was in Vegas (woohoo!), so I will need to make up a recipe at some point.   I guess that’s what summers are for J

Recipe #14: "At Home" Black & White Angel Food Cake

Making this recipe was super extra special because one of my best friends came to visit and we got to make it together!!  It was fantastic being able to make something together while laughing, bonding, and relaxing the weekend away!

The recipe itself was the exact same as the lemon angel food cake recipe, and even though I love lemon stuff, this angel food cake was to die for.  Between us and our husbands, we finished the whole thing off in 2 days. 

Lauren was such a trooper….she did most of the manual labor!  She ended up sifting the flour/sugar mixture (and exactly like me in the lemon angel food cake recipe, was like “really Ina?!”).  Between the sifting and the chocolate grating, she was joking that she definitely got her arm workout for the day.  By itself, the cake was awesome, but the melted chocolate on top made it a definite repeat. 

Comforting friends, comforting food….what more can you ask for J

Recipe #13: "At Home" Lemon Yogurt Cake

I love lemon stuff.  It is the perfect spring/summer flavor!  Ina definitely has great citrus desserts…..partly because I think she is a little heavy-handed with citrus zest.

This one is absolutely wonderful.  This is a lot like the Family Style Orange Pound Cake recipe.  While it is a little more work, the sugar & citrus juice she has you pour over the cooling cake definitely makes it even more moist and flavorful.  With the orange pound cake, the consensus was that I should top it with more glaze, so that’s exactly what I did with this one, and I think it is absolutely perfect.  Totally bringing this to a summer bbq!

By the way, my friend Andra bought and left me a handheld citrus juicer in my box the other week!  It definitely came in handy for the freshly squeezed lemon juice needed in this recipe (thanks Andra!).  I will now be deleting that off of my wish list and adding a glass cake pedestal with a dome top J I think it will be the perfect holder for most of the sweet treats I am making. 

Recipe #12: "At Home" Betty's Chocolate Cake

New book!!!  I think Ina’s Family Style is my favorite recipe book, but Barefoot Contessa At Home is a VERY close second.

I was so excited about this first recipe because as I have been working hard to shed a few pounds (already back to pre-baby weight!), Sunday is my day to have a little cheat, and chocolate cake was right up my alley this week!  More importantly though, I wanted to make a sweet treat for my dear sister who could have used a pick-me-up.  Unfortunantly, things didn’t go as planned….

I hate hate hate saying this because goodness knows, I love ya Ina, but your cakes DO NOT work at altitude!  After following every step exactly as intended (now sifting when called for, eggs at room temp, etc.), the result was a chocolate version of the Family Style flag cake.  Excitement squashed. 

A fellow teacher who is a baking-at-altitude veteran actually looked at the Flag Cake recipe to see if anything was amiss.  Perhaps I will have her do the same with this one....

Recipe #11: "Family Style" Tiramisu

I definitely think THE best tiramisu you can find is at an Italian restaurant called Maggiano’s.  It is SOOOO good there….perfection in fact, and it is the main reason why I wanted to have our rehearsal dinner there J I would love to make something comparable to that, so I was excited and nervous to take on this recipe.

This is a no-bake, so it goes without saying that it was pretty easy.  The hardest part was actually finding lady fingers!  I didn’t really know what these things were, so looking in the right area was sort of a challenge….by the way, who came up with this name anyway?  When I actually found them (at the 3^rd grocery store I visited mind you), I was surprised to find that they looked more like fat-sausage fingers than the “lady-like” ones I was envisioning. 

I took the finished product over to a dear friend who is tiramisu –aficionado.  I warned her that it was a bit rummy for my taste.  She gave me some great suggestions (thanks Carolyn!), at and the end of her tiramisu taster, we were both sure that she was a little toasty J  Next time, I think I will use more espresso, less rum, and soak the lady fingers more for a perfect little concoction!

Recipe #10: "Family Style" Chocolate Mousse

Oh.  My.  Goodness. 

Heaven (or something close to it) is how I would describe this recipe.

This recipe is SO good, I barely have the words to express how insanely rich and scrumptious it is.  Ina actually calls for Grand Marnier as well as Cognac, but I selfishly did not want to purchase a $33 bottle when I only needed a minimal amount of each alcohol.  I took a risk and decided to leave out the alcohol, and it paid off because no one could tell the difference!  Chocolate, coffee, vanilla, sugar, etc…..mmmmmm!!! The texture was moussy-smooth and the flavor was so decadent.  Bill definitely liked it (always a plus), and my sister said this is her new favorite recipe that I have made (and she is very discerning). 

Woohoo!  I am on a roll J

Recipe #9: "Family Style" Lemon Angel Food Cake

Man oh man have I been procrastinating on blogging!  I think this is because life always seems to get in the way, but it’s also sort of daunting wanting to be quick, funny, and noteworthy without knowing if anyone is interested!  I’m not sure if I could pull off a daily blog.  I think from now on, I will keep them short and sweet, but still creative and satisfying.

I am racking up quite the collection of pans!  For this one, I purchased a true green and cream-colored angel food cake pan (SO cute!) from Target.  Seriously, go there for some affordable and attractive bakeware.  I was nervous about how this would come out as I am always doubting as-is recipes because I’m making this stuff in Denver.  The cake actually turned out super tasty!  I used about 3/4ths of the amount of lemon she called for as I think she is a bit heavy handed when it comes to lemon zest.  On its, own, it was a bit dry, but I added sliced strawberries sprinkled with sugar, and it was a huge hit!  Our friends came over for wine and dessert the night I made it, and said they loved it (I hope they weren’t just being nice)! 

My only issue with this recipe is the amount of sifting required.  As I sifted the cake flour and baker’s sugar together….for the 4^th time…I literally said out loud “oh come on Ina”!  It was not easy for this busy mama to sift and resift and resift….luckily, the rest of the recipe was super easy.  Aside from the time needed for the sifting extravaganza, this recipe is perfect for a summer shindig (oh summer how I am looking forward to you).

Recipe #8: "Family Style" Coconut Macaroons

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you’ve been treading water for a while and all of a sudden you could tread no more?  Yep.  That was my day today.

But in the aftermath of a good cry and a run with good company (thanks Traci!), I decided that I was going to end the day on a successful note….a feeling opposite of the one I have had for a good short while now.  Bring on the baking….

I have to confess that I have already made this recipe oh about 100 times.  It is my “go to” for any get together where I can bring a little something to share (and though I love love love this recipe, I hope this contessa journey expands my “go to” vault with both premade and self-created sweets).  It’s easy, it’s quick, and it is so so so yummy.  I get tons of compliments and recipe-requests for this one (but I always give Ina the cred)!

Since I have made this one so many times, I thought, why not try to tweak a solid base recipe and test the waters of making my own contessa creation!!!  So I decided to try and dip my little macaroons in some semi-sweet chocolate just for a little twist (I need to venture out on my own by taking baby steps).

I decided on semi-sweet chocolate because a) they didn’t have the baking chocolate squares in milk chocolate, but mostly because b) because I thought anything else would have been too sweet or too bitter (ooooh! Look at me and my developing contessa palate!). 

I waited for the macaroons to cool while I melted the chocolate.  I chose to dip just the top in the chocolate, and with fingers crossed, watched my hubby take a bite (he already likes this recipe a lot, so I wasn’t sure how he would react).  SUCCESS!!!!  People…this is a first.  He said he actually liked the recipe better with the chocolate!  WOOHOO!!!  I can’t wait to hear additional reactions tomorrow.

I think I will end this blog with the following:  a dear friend of mine gave me a card on my first day of teaching that said “do one thing every day that scares you” (Eleanor Roosevelt).  I hung it up in my classroom and have looked at it (and loved it) every day for a year and a half.  But today, I am going to put my own spin on it, just as I did with the macaroons.  No matter if you feel wonderful or if you feel defeated, do one thing every day that makes you feel successful.  Even when I thought I wouldn’t, today, I did. 

Recipe #7: "Family Style" Jam Thumbprint Cookies

Seriously….what is better than butter, sugar, and vanilla?  That’s pretty much what makes up the shortbread dough in this recipe and is my favorite taste-testing stage of any cookie recipe.

Loved that I could make this dough and toss it in the fridge to chill while doing laundry, browse Real Simple, etc.  Once chilled, the cookies are just a bit more work than other scoop-and-drop cookies in that you need to pinch off dough, roll it, egg-wash it, dredge it in coconut, press a dent in it and then drop jam into each little ball.  But once it’s all said and done, not only are they super cute lil’ cookies but they are SUUUPER tasty.  This recipe is definitely proof that less is more….YUM!

By the way, it seems to me that there are a lot of people out there who don’t like coconut, and I just can’t help but feel that their lives are a little less sweet. 

Side note: I love that this recipe is found in the kids section….I can’t wait for our little Deano to help with the “thumbprint” part of the recipe!

My next research question: Why do some cookie recipes call for the dough to be chilled and others do not?  Is this just a shortbread thing?  I wonder…

Recipe #6: "Family Style" Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart

With this recipe, I got the chance to get THE cutest tart pan!  Love love love!

I like this homemade crust better than the Frozen Key Lime pie and the Raspberry Cheesecake ones.  This is the same recipe with the addition of a little cinnamon…..yum! 

I had the chance to catch Ina making a homemade crust on tv, and she showed a little trick in forming a perfect crust at the seam where the pan moves from horizontal to vertical.  She used the bottom edge of a measuring cup to press the crust into the corner!  It made the crust super even all over.  I am SO glad I saw this trick, and hope you can use it too!

This was my first attempt at putting together and using a double broiler and it turned out to be easy (thank goodness as I did not need a third strike on my confidence)!  I definitely recommend a) mashing the banana a ton, or even pulsing it in the food processor and b) babysitting the mixture in the double broiler.  I was not about to have another boiling-over fiasco like the rice pudding.  While it took my mousse mixture a bit longer for it to heat and thicken up, I was glad that I put the time into watching it.

I thought it turned out great, and so did my mom, husband, and a few peeps from work!   Mom raved about it (kind of part of a mom’s job J).  Even my step-dad, who doesn’t like banana anything thought it was good!  I got a few comments saying that you could taste a good mix of the two flavors, and that it wasn’t too heavy in one way or another.  But here is the thing: I think you need to like banana-flavored desserts to like this recipe.  I personally only like bananas to taste that way, so it wasn’t my personal favorite. 

I am happy to report that my confidence is back!  My next recipe goes into the “Kids” section of the book….thumbprint cookies!

To Sift or Not to Sift?

First, let me start by saying that I LOVE when people leave me advice (thanks mama Lewis)!  Here is the skinny on sifting:

-          It is kind of an outdated thing in terms of its original intention.  My contessa research led me to find that packaged and stored flour used to (like a long time ago) get clumpy or have “foreign bodies” (aka bugs, dirt, etc…ew!) in it.  Sifting was a necessary means of getting rid of these things.

-          The sites Straight Dope and Joy of Baking both say that today, the only real concern is that flour compacts during shipping and storage (Joy even goes as far to say that there is “pre-sifted” flour, but don’t believe it because, again, it compacts during shipping), so if a recipe calls for sifting, you better do it for a higher quality baked good. 

-          I have to agree with Straight Dope in that I did feel more like a profesh baker when I sifted together the dry ingredients in my vintage sifter.

Just like the room temp eggs, I am now a firm believer in sifting when it calls for it. 

Ps: the motto for the Straight Dope site is “fighting ignorance since 1973: it takes longer than we thought”.  Ha!  

Recipe #4 and #5: "Family Style" Rum Raisin Rice Pudding and Flag Cake

So, I actually made the rice pudding last Sunday and the flag cake today.  I was planning on writing the rice pudding blog Tuesday night, but had to postpone as we were in the hospital with our lil guy who was having trouble breathing on his own.  He needed a moment to be on oxygen and regain his strength, but is back home now, and I’m happy to report that he is back to his happy-go-lucky self J

So first: the rice pudding.  I have to say that the thought of this recipe sounded kind of nasty.  I’m not one to oppose food based solely on texture, but let’s face it, rice pudding sounds just about as appetizing as tapioca…meaning not at all.   I think my husband said it best when he said “I think I don’t like it because I don’t think rice should be this sweet”.  Well put. 

The recipe itself was not that hard to make, with one key exception: bringing the half-and-half to boiling.  All was fine and dandy until I came to this step.  I put the half-and-half in the pot, knowing full well that I couldn’t crank it to Spinal Tap level of 11 and expect it to not burn or boil over.  So I put it on medium-high heat and watched it carefully…..for like 10 minutes.  I decided that the heat needed to be higher, so I increased it just a tad, turned around for like .5 seconds, and the next thing I know, the half-and-half is half in the gas burner (see below).  Lesson learned: be patient when bringing any kind of dairy to boiling.  BOIL SLOWLY!

Something must have gone awry (perhaps the boiling over) because the final product came out a bit soupy.  My rice pudding-loving mom said it had great taste, but that she could do without the raisins, and that it would be perfect with a firmer texture.  Needless to say, my high hopes of making a rice pudding so wonderful that it would blow all other rice puddings out of the water were dashed.  

And that was disappointment #1….

And second: the flag cake.  I have actually made this before, and it was a disaster.  But it was so long ago that I again had the high hopes that I could make the most fabulous cake for today’s super bowl party, with everyone ooohing and aaaahing and hoisting me up on their shoulders just like the winning team (which WILL be the Packers by the way).  I am here to report (before the game mind you) that this will not be happening.

I did everything right…..eggs, butter, and sour cream at room temp.  I was on my mixing game, doing it for just the right amount of time at just the right speed.  I sifted.  This time, nothing was going to go wrong.  Except it did when it baked.  As a result of the disaster last time, I decided to bake half in cupcakes, and half in a smaller (and accurately sized) sheet pan.  Neither came out good.  Both collapsed and tasted like eggy-sponge….exactly like last time.  Grrr!  No amount of super-tasty frosting was going to cover this up.  I’m not sure if it is a result of the altitude or not, but I’m pretty sure I won’t be attempting this one again. 

Disappointment #2.

The most frustrating part of both of these failed recipes is the time I put into them to have them not turn out to even minorly edible concoctions.  My confidence is just a little bit shattered, but I am hoping to redeem myself next week with a pumpkin banana mousse tart J 

Ps: not being able to accept these two failures, I made chocolate chip cookies last week and brownies this week (both from scratch) as consolation prizes for the friends and family awaiting my weekly trials.

Pps: I still need to research sifting (thanks to Karen L for the tip though on my previous post!).

Recipe #3: "Family Style" Orange Pound Cake

I was super stoked to be making my first pound cake!  I checked with Suze (Susan Purdy, author of Pie in the Sky) just to make sure there wasn’t some disaster waiting to happen as I first attempted this feat at altitude.  She said that any pound cake recipe that she has tried below 7,000 feet has not required any changes…..hmmm…..part of me feels like I am jinxing myself when I read things like this BEFORE I make the dessert at hand.  As I read this, I was taken back to the cheesecake note from Ina…..

The pound cake kind of required a lot of detailed work (grating the zest of 6 oranges, juicing the oranges, making the syrup to pour over the two loaves, and then making the glaze for both of them, etc.)  for the not-so-pound-cake that came out.  Don’t get me wrong, I thought it tasted super great!  I got a lot of compliments on it, it was very moist (which is always a hit), and I think the best compliment came from my hubby when he said that it made him think of something from his childhood (he couldn’t put his finger on it though).  I, being hard on myself as usual, thought that it just didn’t have the pound cake consistency I was looking for.  Ah well.

My new contessa wondering:  Sifting???  Really???  I love my antiquey-looking sifter, but I wonder what difference it really makes, and what essentially is the purpose of doing it.  Am I alone on this one?

Final note: I think there is something to be said for getting your cookbooks smudged, smeared, or splattered with whatever you are making.  At the end of the recipe, I noticed that my orange pound cake pages had orange juice and zest sprinkled about.  To me, it somehow makes the book feel more authentic knowing that the kitchen got a little messy with the effort put into a new favorite, an oldie-but-a-goodie, or even a complete culinary catastrophe. 

Recipe #2: "Family Style" Frozen Key Lime Pie

So, I have never tried key lime pie.  That’s right.  I’ve never had the homemade option, and if I ever order a dessert at a restaurant, I normally go for a chocolate number.  So I was a tad nervous going into this as I wasn’t exactly sure how it was supposed to turn out (aside from the obvious title).

This is going to be short and sweet: this is pretty much THE easiest pie I’ve ever made.  It had minimal ingredients, and whipped up in no time (a total of a half hour to be exact).  To start, the graham cracker crust is the same as the cheesecake’s from last week….how easy (with one under my belt, the nervousness was gone)!  I tried to make it more even this time….more in the middle, less where the pan bends to vertical.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t too successful in that area, but in the tasty area, I definitely scored.

The filling and topping were both super easy.  I again used my mixer (love, love, love!).  It made whipping the egg yolks a serious breeze and the whipped topping of cream, sugar, and vanilla sooooo creamy and yummy (yes, I had a few spoonfuls before adding it to the frozen pie….again, purely for quality assurance purposes).  One note: I did measure out the lime zest (instead of grating it right into the mixer, as I had said I would do for the lemon zest in the cheesecake).  It was WAY easier to do with the lime zest…I’m not sure if this is the reason, but it seemed like the lime zest was drier and therefore, didn’t compact when measured as the lemon zest does. 

The pie was seriously so easy that I have little to report on the process (not good for my “content of interest” that blogspot suggests I have in order to be “googled”)!  I will say this though....I will be adding a small fruit juicing device (I've seen handheld ones or small countertop numbers) to my "Budding Contessa Wishlist".  Limes do not juice well just by squeezing them!  I used half fresh-squeezed juice and half juice-from-the-plastic-lime-bottles you find directly next to the real limes in an area I like to call the "lazy persons bin" of the produce section. 

My husband and I tasted it tonight, and it was delish!  I thought it tasted like a margarita and he thought it tasted like lime sherbet….either way, how can you go wrong?!  He said he would definitely have another piece….I think that means it’s a hit! 

Note for next week: I will be skipping the Espresso Ice Cream recipe that is next in line and moving straight onto Orange Pound Cake.  I had to cut some recipes, and since I don’t have all of the required equipment, I’ll save this one for another challenge. 

Room Temp Eggs & Cracking Cheesecake Tops

My contessa research for this week has led me to find some pretty good answers and tips.

1.       What is the big deal about bringing eggs to room temperature when baking?  I am SO glad I did some investigative journalism on this one.  According to JoyofBaking.com (and come one, who doesn’t trust the Joy of Baking name), eggs whip to their maximum volume when they are at room temperature.  This is super important for anything that needs volume….cookies, cakes, etc. (especially in Denver, where you need all the help you can get to make recipes that lack high-altitude adjustments come out not looking like pancakes) I also read the same thing in other places like my “How to Cook Everything” cookbook by Mark Bittman (SUCH a good reference book for, of course, everything!) and an oh-so-cute blog called Over the Hill and On a Roll.  I am officially a believer, and will be bringing my eggs up to room temp every time. 

2.       How do I get my cheesecake not to crack (whether it be at this mile-high altitude or not)?  I was less concerned about this one because, lets face it, the cheesecake can crack as long as long as I top it with fruit.  But I still wanted to get to the bottom of this.  I went to my “Pie in the Sky” book by Susan Purdy because my gut feeling was that this recipe that Ina said would crack did because of the intricacies of being up so high.  She says that the tops of cheesecakes tend to crack when steam escapes as the cake cools.  Because everything cools faster at altitude (as compared to sea level), cheesecakes cracks are more common….no wonder mine was no different!  Suze says to cover the cake with a plan cardboard cake disk right when it comes out of the oven….this should slow down the rapid escape of steam and hopefully prevent the cracks.  I looked up a “cardboard cake disk” and I can pretty much use a clean piece of cardboard free of any wax, labels, etc. cut into a round disk. 

I am SO excited to use these tips, combined with the slight changes I would make to the original recipe.  And I can do it all in a spring form pan thanks to a coworker who brought one to work for me in exchange for another cheesecake.   That is definitely in the future, but first, frozen key lime pie!

Recipe #1 Continued: The Verdict!

I am happy to report that overall, everyone loved the cheesecake (a big woohoo for my first blog recipe)!  Almost everyone said it was delish, had good texture, had a great fruit topping, and that the crust was yummy.  I too thought it was good, but there are definitely some things I would change:

-          Less Zest:  The first thing that came to my mind (as well as my husband’s…who, first and foremost, definitely liked it) was that there was a bit too much lemon zest in it.  Most of my coworkers either didn’t notice or didn’t mind, but my husband and one of his friends thought something was just a little off about it.

-          Less Filling:  I think next time I will try putting in just a little bit less filling in my 9” pan (picky note: Ina says her spring form pan states that it is 9” when it really measures 9 ½ …perhaps this accounts for the excess filling I had).  This might make a better filling:crust ratio.

-          More Fruit: I actually only used 1/3 of the fruit topping, thinking that the full amount would be too much.  Now that I’ve made it, I think 2/3 would be perfection.

By the way, I loved getting the honest feedback!  I can only get better if people tell me what they really think.  (But it was great getting the compliments too!)   

Biggest lesson learned?  Cheesecake texture is apparently a very personal thing!  While some people like their cheesecake creamier, others like it with a little more bite.  I don’t think my current contessa status is up for the “perfect texture” challenge.  I think I’ll stick to the semi-basic recipe tweaking for now.

Recipe #1: “Family Style” Raspberry Cheesecake

I have to preface this by saying that the verdict on this recipe will have to wait until tomorrow or even Tuesday.  Having too much to do on Saturday, I went to the grocery store this morning to get all of my goods for this tasty looking first recipe….and then realized that once it’s cooked, it has to not only sit for 2 hours but refrigerate over night.  Boo.  Anyway, the recipe calls for a 9” springform pan, which I do not have, but I decided against purchasing for 2 reasons: 1) I can put it on my newly created “Budding Contessa Wishlist” and 2) I’m going to need to tote this to work for some coworker tastings.   

Crust contemplation: For some reason, I was nervous about making a graham cracker crust from scratch (even though there were only 3 ingredients with extremely simple directions….but still).  When it asked for 1 ½ cups of graham cracker crumbs, I thought, “how big do graham cracker crumbs need to be”?  What if they are too big?  What if they are too small?  I had a moment, but I just crushed them in my hands and went with it.  Needless to say, the crust mixture pressed into the pan just fine and the kitchen smelled like a buttery cookie even after the 8 minutes it required to bake/brown.

Filling feelings:  So my Kitchenaid stand mixer is currently residing in our laundry room, waiting for some free counter space.  I need to take a moment here and say that I LOVE my Kitchenaid mixer (once again, thanks mom!).  It is an oh-so-cute buttery yellow color and it makes everything easier….not to mention the fact that I feel way more like a creative Contessa when I use it.  BUT, since it was downstairs, I figured why not just mix the filling with my hand mixer instead of lugging by buttercream baby up to the kitchen?  My advice to you: lug.  I started mixing the cream cheese and sugar to “light and fluffy”, and realized that it would have taken me way longer than 5 minutes to do it.  Into the mixer it went, and of course, it was whipped up in no time.  I added in all of the other necessary ingredients (side note: I would zest the lemon directly into the mixing bowl as opposed to packing it into a measuring spoon like I did…it will distribute more evenly once mixing commences), taste tested (strictly for quality assurance purposes) and started to pour it over the cooled crust.  Well I don’t know what happened, but I filled that baby to the tippy top, and still had left over filling.  I scooped some out just to be safe, and popped it in the oven.

Baking uncertainties:  After the first 15 minutes, the cake rose to epic proportions, and I was sure this blog would be entitled “Raspberry Cheesecake, and How to Properly Clean an Oven”.  I definitely thought that the top was going to topple over, so instead of placing a pan under the cake to catch any spillage, I just reduced the heat like it told me to and hurried back downstairs, half afraid to look and half leaving it all up to fate.  Thankfully, the cake came out beautifully.  The only downside?  Ina (yes, we are on a first-name basis now…and by “we” I mean me) said that this is the only cheesecake recipe that she has found doesn’t crack, but mine did (play sad Charlie Brown music).  I am almost positive this is a result of me living and baking in the mile-high city as opposed to the sea-level Hamptons.

This brings me to a new addition of my 2-day old blog…. Things I Must Research to Obtain Contessa Status.  This week’s edition includes the following:

-What is the big deal about bringing eggs to room temperature?
-How do I get my cheesecake not to crack at altitude?

More on those items, as well as the tasting verdicts, in a few days….until then, dreams of sweets!

Contessa Challenge

I love desserts.  I love making them, tweaking them, and of course, eating them (that's right...I said it).  It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside whenever I get asked for the recipe of a dessert I have made and brought to a shindig, dinner, or some other casual hangout.  The thing is, the recipe is never my own.  It’s always from some fabulous cookbook like Martha Stewart’s “Cookies” or Susan Purdy’s “Pie in the Sky” (I live in Denver).  I want to be able to make something (scratch that….many somethings) that are memorable, delicious, and most of all, of my own creation.  One of my favorite chefs, Ina Garten, effortlessly creates and cooks, all without formal training!  I too want to reach a point where I can mix, whisk, prepare, and decorate sweets without them falling into some awful mess or tasting like day-old fruitcake.  So, on the heels of the book/movie “Julie & Julia” as well as the crock pot blog “A Year of Slow Cooking” http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/, I have decided to search for and ultimately find my own inner Barefoot Contessa by making one Ina Garten dessert recipe every weekend of 2011.

The Details: One recipe per weekend from Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa Family Style”, “Barefoot Contessa At Home”, “Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics”, and her newest “Barefoot Contessa How Easy Was That?” (thanks mom!).  All four books have a total of 63 dessert recipes, so I’ll have to cut a few.  The primary judge of my desserts and dessert-making abilities will be my wonderful husband (he literally likes everything, so while getting through home-cooked dinners and choosing restaurants is a breeze, knocking his socks off is another story….this accomplishment will be an added perk of my year-long journey).  Other judges include my nearby family, friends, and coworkers. 

So here I go.  Off to discover and challenge my dessert-making self….

And ps:  during my pursuit of desserts, I will also be working on regaining my love for running (after what I like to call my “pregnancy hiatus”). Who says you can’t have opposing passions?