A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

The Great British Baking Show: Boston Cream Pie Swiss Roll

Like a lot of folks, I'm absolutely obsessed with The Great British Baking Show (Netflix). 

There are two aspects of this show that draw in and keep my attention. The first being the food. Many of the recipes are dishes I've heard of but never made: all things British "pudding" as an example, but also classic pastry like puff pastry, choux pastry, etc., along with sponge cakes.  What we Americans consider plain old cake actually falls under the category of butter cakes.  The only sponge cake we routinely make are angel food cakes which I used to make with my Nannie.  You remember real angel food cakes, right? A dozen egg whites, a tube pan, and a green glass Coke bottle to turn it upside down on to cool. The difference between sponge and butter cakes is method and leavening.  Our butter cakes are heavier but more moist due to the fat content we cream in with the sugar and we use baking powder and/or baking soda and an acid to leaven.  Sponge cakes, or foam cakes, derive their volume and leavening from egg whites and yolks either whipped together or separately but whipped, as in for minutes, to create volume and lift. Funny, so many of the terms are obviously second nature to the judges and contestants but make me hit the pause button and go running to either Google terms or grab one of the three or four very nice pastry and cake cookbooks I own, like "sponge cake".

TGBBS originated on BBC and then moved to Channel 4, which means little to me since I'm in the U.S. and view it on Netflix.  Apparently, in the U.K., it's title is "Bake-Off" not "Show" but here the term "Bake-Off" has been copyrighted by Pillsbury. Each season has 10 weeks or episodes.  Each Episode has a theme: cakes, pastry, bread, etc. Each show is set up in three challenges. The first is always the Signature Challenge where the contestants are given theme in the week's category and allowed to practice and choose their own recipe, flavors, and decorations. The second challenge is always The Technical and it is a recipe of one of the judges where they are given a list of ingredients and minimal instructions.  The idea is to test the contestants overall baking knowledge.  It can be the funniest of the challenges to watch people scratch their heads and look around to see what other bakers are doing.  The third challenge is always called a Showstopper, where the bakers are challenged to create, duh, showstopping creations within the category of the week.  Those can be the most heart-breaking to watch as bakers sweat it out working as fast as the can for usually about four and a half hours, which doesn't allow a lot of time for cooling of cakes and setting of creams and mousses, and the unlucky sometimes end up with a creation that more resembles a heap or a puddle.  There are also accidents at times where baked goods end up on the floor or go flying across a counter.  Gene laughs when he hears me gasp while watching something on my Kindle. When I gasp or groan, he always knows I'm watching TGBBS.  Every baker watching, me! me!, feels their pain when something they've worked so hard on falls apart in their hands.  

I've been aching to try my hand at some of the recipes and since Gene's birthday is next Sunday and we had dinner plans with friends Janell and Jerry this past Saturday, I decided that triumph or fail I was going to issue my own TGBBS challenge on myself.  Since Gene's favorite cake is Boston Cream Pie, I thought it would translate into a lovely Swiss Roll (and it did!).  Janell is also a huge fan of the show and we decided that even though the texture of the cake isn't what we're used to, it was lovely and the Boston Cream Pie parts worked well together.  I used Paul Hollywood's Swiss Roll sponge recipe from The Daily Mail and was very pleased with it, easy to make and tasted great. Happy almost Birthday to my Geno!

Not to toot my own horn, but yeah, to toot my own horn--I was thrilled when we sliced it and found a perfect swirl!  (For the uninitiated, that's the first thing the judges look for is a perfectly round  and even swirl.)

I'll give the recipe and then do step by step photos and instructions--really, it's not hard at all but it does work better with a sponge type cake.  All those eggs give it nice spring.

Ann's Fresh Apple Cake with Boiled Brown Sugar Icing

I had two requests for a birthday cake this year.  From my  cousin Ann: this incredible Fresh Apple Cake with Boiled Brown Sugar Icing and from Gene: an Apple Fritter or  Maple Iced Longjohn with Bavarian Cream from St. George's Donuts here in town.  I know  everyone swoons over Hurt's Donut and Krispy Kreme but my birthday money  goes to St. George's Donuts.  They make the classics, just the way we love them and have been doing so since 1971.

I got both of my cake wishes and got to eat a little of each one every day for a whole week! I had half a fritter or longjohn (they're HUGE!) every morning for breakfast and half a piece of apple cake every night for dessert all  lovely week long.   I'm sugared out until Easter but it was worth every calorie and carb. Happy Birthday to me!

 

 

Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake

I baked this Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake as dessert when a couple of  good friends came over to dinner.  In full disclosure, not only did they come to dinner, they brought dinner.  I needed a special dessert to stand up to Janell and Jerry's wonderful lasagna, which we've had before and knew would be delicious treat.   However, did I get a photo of it? No. Did I forget to try to wheedle her recipe out of her? Yes.  Another time.

But I digress. I was talking about Orange Cranberry Bundt Cake.  Wanted something citrus to offset the richness of the pasta but nice and sweet as an ending note to the meal. This works quite well.  The orange and cranberries are tart in a sweet velvety, almost pound cake-like texture.  Perfect with a glass of milk to catch up with old friends over.

The cake is a simple straightforward two bowl method, well, two bowls and a cutting board when you count the fruit. Preparation is creaming the wet ingredients, followed by adding the dry ingredients, and stirring in the cranberries.   The most time consuming part is the zesting the oranges and chopping the cranberries up a bit.  The cranberries are then tossed with a little flour to help keep them suspended in the batter, instead of racing to the bottom. The only "odd" addition is a bit of corn starch to help lighten up the batter a bit and create a finer crumb.

Blueberry Thunder Muffins from Persimmon Hill Berry Farm

  For those of us lucky enough to live in the southwest Missouri Ozarks, yes I am prejudiced!, we have access to great berry places like the Persimmon Hill Berry, Fruit, and Mushroom Farm.  And I was lucky enough to have an Auntie who shared with me a baggy of blueberries, a couple of wonderful muffins, and the fabulous recipe from the farm.

I seem to be on a bundt cake kick this year, she said chuckling.  Well, in my defense...Okay, I have no defense but I really like bundt cakes. They look pretty and taste yummy without being high maintenance like layer cakes.  They're the cake friend you invite over for dinner who doesn't need to be impressed because they love you just they way you are and you know you love them.  You know what I mean? 

Check out Persimmon Hill's web site for directions, picking seasons, gourmet products, and additional recipes.

Boston Cream Pie Poke Cake

 

Boston Cream Pie is my husband, Gene's, all time favorite cake so I've made a few over the years. Bought a few too but, like most things, homemade is always better.  In my wanderings around Pinterest I had seen multiple recipes for a "poke" version of the cake and decided to see how that worked out compared to the traditional version with the pudding sandwiched between the butter cake layers and ganache on top. 

I have to say this version has the same taste, is easily put together, is a smaller 8" x 8" cake, and is a great candidate for Sandra Lee-ing.  Don't have tons of time?  Use half of a yellow cake mix,  a cooked pudding mix, or an instant pudding mix. I won't tell.  I also wouldn't skimp on the ganache. It's super easy and the taste is really superior to any shortcut. 

(Photo note: I used a pan that is the same area as an 8"x8" pan, it's just a rectangle in shape)

 

James' Birthday: Layered Pineapple Upside Down Cake

  

Every year, my cousin, Jame's, birthday is something we look forward to both to celebrate him and because he asks Auntie Miranda and I to play with menus, which we find really fun.  This year he asked for a "classic" cake and a "family recipe" so Auntie Miranda made Classic Pineapple Upside Down Cake and I made my mother's Chicken Chow Mein.

Auntie's recipe is from Betty Crocker; it doesn't get more classic than that, right? Quick to put together and delicious, we all stuffed ourselves with this! 

Auntie Miranda's starter recipe:  Betty Crocker Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake

The changes she made were:

1) Instead of a 8" x 13" pan, she baked 2 9" pans and stacked the cakes on top of each other (yum--double the pineapple-y goodness!)

2) She frosted the sides with Cool Whip, patted on coconut, and decorated with more maraschino cherries.

 

 When we brought the cake to the table, James' congenital smartass condition came out as he slammed the knife into the top and yelled "Dexter!"  Yup, sure miss that show...and those Dexter Dinners we all had so much fun with.  Come October, I think we've converted enough of our group to start doing The Walking Dead dinners.

 

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Banana Cream Cheese Pound Cake

 

I think I'm having a love affair with pound cake lately.  There's no other cake that offers so much "bang for the buck":  sweet without being cloying, dense, chewy, with a thick heavy crumb that never fails to please me.  After making my Buttermilk Pound Cake several times over the last months, I decided to add cream cheese and bananas to this version and see what happens. Lots of good things, that's what happens. Yum!

The one funny from this experiment was when I asked the hubs to move the cake back to the cabinet from the table as my back was acting up.  He did, and as he did, he sort of grunted "Ooomph."  I said 'Well, it is called "POUND" cake."   He said, "Yeah, MANY pounds cake."  True.  But  that didn't stop either of us from gobbling down our "test" pieces for a second!

 

Greek Do Nothing Pineapple Coconut Cake

 OMG, Auntie Miranda made this cake for cousin James' birthday dinner, our theme being "Greek", and it was absolutely divine!  She said it was very quick and easy to put together, which is a definite plus, and the recipe writer states that it only gets better with a day or two, and can freeze well. I believe all of those things and will definitely be making this again and again.  Two thumbs up from the whole family--thumbs up since our mouths were busy eating this awesome cake!

Other Greek Recipes from James' birthday dinner:

Ina Garten's Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

Greek Dinner Salad with Easy Homemade Greek Vinaigrette 

Auntie Miranda's Cherry and Vanilla Checkerboard Cake

 

  I just love this cake of Auntie Miranda's and it tasted every bit as good as it looks!  

She made it last year for James' birthday, the same birthday that I made the from scratch Swedish Meatballs with cranberries and the Jansson's Temptation.

For those who don't know, our family has a little tradition of cooking whatever the birthday boy or girl wants for his birthday dinner.  With James, our tradition is that I make the meal and Auntie creates the cake, all from James' directional whim of the year. We tease him that no matter how hard he tries to stump us, we will always win.  His choices for this year?  Greek food with Pineapple Upside Down Cake for dessert.  Just wait, James, we've got both under control, actually there's no "we". I work the night before so Auntie has it all under control and she even found a Greek version of pineapple upside down cake.  Bring it on, Big Boy!

 

Banana Bread Brownies

 

I kept seeing a Banana Bread Brownies recipe on Pinterest and even pinned it myself. What a clever idea, I thought, especially for those of us who don't care for chocolate all that much or often.  Banana bread brownies...something about it just sounds right.

And it is.  So right.

Baked in a large jelly roll pan, the brownies make 35 pieces and come out to be little squares of OMG delciousness. 

I looked at the recipe I had pinned, one that had been adapted from another recipe, and looked at the original as well. Then I changed a bunch of stuff, not because anything was "wrong" with the original recipes, but because I've been trying to eat a little cleaner by add more whole grains to our diet, change out sour cream for Greek yogurt, use honey instead of refined sugar, etc., and I know from experience with banana bread that it's a great vehicle for whole grained flour.  Banana bread made with half whole wheat is actually tastier, in my opinion, than banana bread made with all all-purpose flour (and Gene can't tell the difference). 

These are truly not to be missed!