Hummingbird Cake

The Hummingbird Cake

This hummingbird cakes is very delicious. This is the most suitable for tea time with our family.I like this cake because there are many almond inside the cake.I love making cake instead buy it from a shop. The name of this cake is sound interesting right? So you guys definitely wanna try this cake's recipe.

The History Of The Hummingbird Cake

Despite its cryptic name, the Hummingbird cake’s origins are clearer than most. Usually the origins of foods are shrouded in the mists of time, handed down from generation to generation before popping up somewhere completely different.

The giveaway to the Hummingbird cake’s birthplace, however, is in the key ingredients – bananas and pineapple. Hopefully you’re already thinking of the Caribbean, and it’s thought to have been invented in Jamaica, probably in the late ‘60s.

Originally, it was called the “Doctor bird cake”, a nickname for a Jamaican variety of hummingbird called the Red-billed Streamertail. The name came from the way the bird’s long beak probes flowers, like a doctor inspecting a patient. So what does that have to do with a pineapple and banana cake? Some say the cake was named after the bird because it was sweet enough to attract hummingbirds (who eat only nectar), while others say the yellow streaks of banana was reminiscent of the bird’s plumage. Either way, the Doctor bird was about to take flight.

In 1968, the Jamaican tourist board decided to try attracting tourists by sending out press kits to the US. In the packs were a few recipes from the island, including one for the Doctor bird cake. Over the next few years, similar recipes started to crop up in local papers and community cookbooks across the South under various different names, including the prophetic “Cake that doesn’t last”.

Most food historians agree the first printed recipe for Hummingbird cake was by one Mrs L H Wiggin. She supplied the recipe to Southern Living magazine in February 1978, but even before then there are countless references to the cake in county fair reports and baking competitions across southern America.

The cake is more popular that it has ever been, particularly in the US. Always keen to put his own stamp on recipes, Jamie has taken a traditional deep-south Hummingbird recipe and given it some new twists, such as lime in the cream cheese frosting. The most notable addition, however, is a stunning pecan brittle topping, achieved by melting sugar and mixing it with broken pecan nuts, before smashing it into crumbs. The result is an incredible crunch on top of the cake that makes this deep-flavoured, moist treat even more special.

As Jamie says: “This is the humming bird cake. Something a bit unusual, beautiful to make with incredible flavour. It’s a cake that cannot fail to put a smile on your face.”

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar 

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 large eggs, beaten 

1 cup vegetable oil 

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained 

1 cup chopped pecans

2 cups chopped bananas 

cream cheese frosting

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.

Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake; sprinkle 1/2 cup chopped pecans on top. Store in refrigerator.

CREAM PUFF

Hi everyone nice to meet you again. Today I would like to post entry about cream puff. As you know cream puff is the easiest and simple dessert to make.people like this dessert. I do some research about cream puff, this dessert can make anytime but some people love to eat cream puff when they do some celebration or party such as birthday party, wedding ceremony and etc.

THE HISTORY OF CREAM PUFF.

The origin of both the pastry and its name profiterole are obscure. It was introduced in France by Caterina de’ Medici, wife of Henry II of France, who brought from Tuscany several recipes, including choux pastry and Profiterole.
January 2 is National Creme Puff Day.
The word profiterole (also spelled prophitrole, profitrolle, profiterolle) has existed in English since the 16th century, borrowed from French. The original meaning in both English and French is unclear, but later it came to mean a kind of roll ‘baked under the ashes’. A 17th-century French recipe for a Potage de profiteolles or profiterolles describes a soup of dried small breads (presumably the profiteroles) simmered in almond broth and garnished with cockscombs, truffles, and so on. The current meaning is only clearly attested in the 19th century.
The “cream puff” has appeared on US restaurant menus since 1851,if not earlier.
The record for world’s largest cream puff, weighing in at 125.5 pounds, was achieved August 11, 2011 at the Wisconsin State Fair by Dave Schmidt and Team Cream Puff. The Wisconsin State Fair is known for its dairy bakery that has been producing cream puffs during the fair since 1924.

Ingredients

For the pate a choux pastry:

1 cup water

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 to 4 eggs, plus 1 egg for egg wash


For the filling:

2 cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

• To make the cream puffs: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. In a large saucepan, bring the water, butter, salt, and granulated sugar to a rolling boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, immediately take the pan off the heat. Stirring with a wooden spoon, add all the flour at once and stir hard until all the flour is incorporated, 30 to 60 seconds. Return the pan to the heat and cook, stirring, 30 seconds to evaporate some of the moisture.

• Scrape the mixture into a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix at medium speed. With the mixer running, and working 1 egg at a time, add 3 of the eggs, stopping after each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix until the dough is smooth and glossy and the eggs are completely incorporated. The dough should be thick, but should fall slowly and steadily from the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. If the dough is still clinging to the beaters, add the remaining egg and mix until incorporated.

• Using a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip, pipe the dough onto the baking sheet, in 2-inch diameter rounds or balls. Whisk the remaining egg with 1 1/2 teaspoons water. Brush the surface of the rounds with the egg wash to knock down the points (you may not use all the egg wash). Bake 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375 degrees F and bake until puffed up, and light golden brown, about 20 minutes more. Try not to open the oven door too often during the baking. Let cool on the baking sheet.

• To fill the cream puffs, place a pastry tip on your finger and poke a whole in the bottom of each puff. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until stiff. Pipe whipped cream into each cream puff and chill until ready to serve, no more than 4 hours.

• Notes about the recipe: The moisture in the eggs turns to steam and puffs the batter to try to release itself. You can fill them with anything.

How to make a cream puff .

Chocolate Reese's Trifle

Chocolate Reese's  Trifle

This Chocolate Reese's Trifle is simple to make.It so delicious and and only requires a few ingredients in it. I love making lots of types of trifles such as chocolate, peanut butter strawberry and so on.If you have an upcoming birthday or any party, you guys definitely try this dessert. It's taste sweet and you can add strawberry, marshmallow or you can put any what you've like and put it on the top of trifles desserts. We can made of layers which is layers of brownies and chocolate chips, chocolate pudding, cool whip, vanilla pudding, and repeat and repeat the layers.

The history of Trifles Desserts.

The earliest use of the name trifle was for a thick cream flavour with sugar, ginger and rosewater, the recipe for which was published in England, 1587, in a book called "The good housewife's Jewell" by Thomas Dawson. Sixty years later eggs were added and the custard was poured over alcohol soaked bread.

Research indicates it evolved from a similar dessert known as a fool or foole, and originally the two names were used interchangeably.

While some people consider the inclusion of jelly to be a recent variation, the earliest known recipe to include jelly dates from 1747 , contained in The Art Of Cookery authored by Hannah Glasse. In her recipe she instructed using hartshorn bones of calves feet as the base ingredient for the jelly. The poet Oliver wrote of trifles containing jelly in 1861.

INGREDIENTS

• Brownies or Cake {these can be homemade or store bought}

• 2 Containers of Cool Whip or 1 Large container
• 1 Package of Reese Cups
• 1 pack of Instant Chocolate Pudding
• 1 pack Instant Vanilla Pudding
• 2 tbsp. Peanut Butter
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• Optional – Chocolate Chips
• Extras: you can add caramel sauce or hot fudge

Method

• Combine pudding and milk. Beat for 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Gently fold in 2 cups cool whip or homemade whipped cream.
• Layer in trifle dish ½ the brownies, ½ the crumbled peanut butter cups, ½ the pudding mixture. Repeat. Top with cool whip and peanut butter cups. Chill at least four hours until serving.

 Marshmallow Chocolate Trifle

How to make a Chocolate Reese Trifles with peanut butter

Turkish Baklava

Turkish Baklava

Turkish Baklava is a delicious and popular pastry.This pastry is easy to make if you have those ingredients and you know the method to made it.Turkish Baklava's can add some walnuts, hazelnuts or sometimes they add pistachio. We should eat it when the pastry in hot and crispy so that we can taste the whole filling inside the pastry and melt in our mouth.You guys must try this, it is so delicious and suitable for our tea time.

 The History Of Turkish Baklava.

The history of this scrumptious delicacy is quite controversial, and unfortunately not very well documented. Almost all the peoples of the Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean, Balkans, Caucasia; Turks, Arabs, Jews, Greeks, Armenians, Bulgarians introduce baklava as their national dessert. When we consider that all of these regions once belonged to the Ottoman Empire, it is possible to think of Baklava as an Ottoman dessert. But because Ottoman is mostly equivalent with ‘Turks’, especially Greeks and Arabs don’t like this qualification.

Like the origins of most recipes that came from Old Countries to enrich the dinner tables of the Americas, the exact origin of baklava is also something hard to put the finger on because every ethnic group whose ancestry goes back to the Middle East has a claim of their own on this scrumptious pastry.

It is widely believed however, that the Assyrians at around 8th century B.C. were the first people who put together a few layers of thin bread dough, with chopped nuts in between those layers, added some honey and baked it in their primitive wood burning ovens. This earliest known version of baklava was baked only on special occasions. In fact, historically baklava was considered a food for the rich until mid-19th century.


Now the baklava parade is a history. But the reign of baklava continues. At the end of the 18th century, the French Empress Marie Antoinette ‘s old chef of pastries brought a new kind of pastry to the Ottoman kitchen. This new baklava had a differently rolled out dough and was folded differently and was shaped like a dome more or like a croissant. This baklava was called the Palace baklava or European baklava. But no dessert could replace the traditional baklava. Until the last days of the Ottoman Empire baklava was the unique dessert of the special days. For example the last Ottoman Sultan Vahdettin had offered baklava for dessert at the lunch at Yıldız Palace on 30 April 1920. 

Baklava which had given its name to a state ceremony whatever its origins are has the right to be accepted 
as an Ottoman dessert.

INGREDIENTS

For the Filling
2 cups (8 oz) finely chopped almonds
1 cup (4 oz) finely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup (2 oz ) caster (superfine) sugar
2-3 tbsp bread crumbs (optional. It helps to bind the filling. I dint use it in this recipe. I came to know of this trick later)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves

For the syrup
2 cups (1 lb) sugar
2 cups (16 fl oz) water
1 stick cinnamon
1 tbsp lemon juice

For the cover
150 grams (5 oz) unsalted butter, melted
12 oz packet filo pastry (375g) (see how to make Phyllo dough from scratch here)

METHOD

• Place all the ingredients under 'filling' in a bowl.
• Combine until blended. Meanwhile place all the ingredients for the syrup together in a saucepan and bring it to a boil, while stirring for the sugar to dissolve. Simmer for 10 minutes and leave it to cool.
• Brush a 12X10 in baking dish with butter. Brush 10 sheets of filo with melted butter.
• Lay them on the dish one by one.
• Spread the filling in the dish.
• Now top it off with further 10-12 sheets of pastry, buttering each sheet as needed. You can trim off the excess pastry hanging on the side of your baking dish. Now brush the top of the pastry with more butter.
• With a sharp knife, score the top layers in large diamond shapes.
• Bake in a preheated 160C (325F) oven for 1 hour or until the top turns golden brown. If you find that the top is turning color too quickly, then cover the top with foil.
• Remove from the oven and slowly pour the syrup over the top.
• Now comes the MOST DIFFICULT part. You have gotta to let it sit for at least 5-6 hours for it to absorb the syrup.

You must have already tried this Turkish Delight and fell in love instantly in its rich taste. Also, you probably thought it is something you couldn't prepare by yourself because it seems like a complicated dish. You are wrong – baklava is made out of layers of phyllo pastry and filled with chopped nuts. You can always use supermarket bought phyllo pastry. The key to making a perfect baklava is the baking and of course – the syrup. This delicious recipes we are sharing today will make you the master of baklava! Just try the one you like best…

                   SeZak’s Baklava 

Santorini Sublime Baklava

Pistachio Baklava

HOW TO MAKE BAKLAVA

Black Forest Cake

An overview of Black Forest Cake

Black forest cake suitable eaten at any time, but black forest cake most eaten during birthday parties or weddings. But have you ever wondered where the black forest cake originated? Okay, so that's pretty obvious, in the region of black forest in Germany, but who was it that first made the black forest cake and when? Well, let's find out all about the history of black forest cake.

The Black Forest region of southern Germany (Der Schwarzwald) is known for its sour Morello cherries and for Kirsch, or Kirschwasser, a double-distilled, clear cherry brandy made from them. It’s not surprising, then, that desserts made with both the cherries and the Kirsch are part of the regional repertoire. Its German name is Schwarzwälderkirschtorte, Black Forest Cherry Torte (torte is the German word for cake).

Black Forest Cake is a chocolate layer cake, with added layers of whipped cream and Kirsch-soaked morello cherries. The cake is then decorated with more whipped cream, morello or maraschino cherries, and chocolate curls or shavings. The cake layers are also soaked in a Kirsch syrup (although brandy or rum can be used). American recipes tend to omit the spirits to make the cake more family-friendly.

The earliest version of the recipe possibly dates back to the late 16th century when chocolate was first integrated into cakes and cookies (and was extremely expensive). The first “Black Forest Cake” was probably not a conventional cake but a dessert comprising cooked cherries, cream, Kirsch and a biscuit—similar to the original berry shortcake.

The original name of this popular German dessert is Schwarzwälderkirschtorte, Black Forest cherry torte. It is known by different names in different parts of the world. In India, its popular as black forest pastry, in the US, as black forest and in the UK, as black forest gateau. The authentic black forest is a multiple chocolate genoise layer cake which is soaked in Kirschwasser liqueur (a clear liqueur distilled from cherries) and covered with whipped cream and cherry filling.

In India most bakeries that offer black forest on the menu replace the Kirsch liqueur with tinned cherry syrup. The black forest cake that I have eaten and know of has 3 to 4 layers of chocolate cake, with whipped cream and maraschino cherries between each layer, topped with whipped cream and decorated with cherries and grated chocolate or chocolate shards. If you are planning on preparing sweet recipes for kids for a get together or birthday party, you should consider black forest cake. I used tinned maraschino cherries and Rich’s whipping cream. I’d suggest you do not skip the brewed coffee which gives a lovely flavor to the cake.

Well, whatever the original recipe for black forest cake is, after reading about black forest cake history, I am sure that you are already craving it! So go on and simply indulge!

Chocolate Cake Ingredients

• 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• 1-1/4 cups milk
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1-1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 large eggs

Chocolate Cake Preparation

STEP 1 : Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round  

cake pans; dust with cocoa.

STEP 2 : Using an electric mixer, on low speed with the

paddle attachment, incorporate all ingredients slowly; mix 

until well-blended.

  

STEP 3 : Increase mixer speed to high; mix for two more

minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

STEP 4 : Pour batter into pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes

until cake springs to the touch. Set aside to cool.

Black Forest Gateau

Black Forest Gateau

Black Forest Pastry

French Macaroons

FRENCH MACAROONS

Hi everyone. Nice to meet you all again. Today i would like to post entry about macaroons. As you know, macaroons is a dessert with full of sweetness. There are many types of macaroons's flavour such as white chocolate, ginger, caramel, cinnamon, hazelnut and many more. There is about 80% that people like this dessert because of it sweetness and the colour looks interesting. There are 2 types which is macaroons and macaron. This 2 types are very different shapes of the dessert.

THE ORIGINAL MACAROONS

The first macaroons were almond meringue cookies similar to today’s amaretti, with a crisp crust and a soft interior. They were made from egg whites and almond paste (a combination of equal parts of ground blanched almonds and sugar, mixed with egg whites—today glucose or corn syrup can be substituted). The name of the cookie comes from the Italian word for paste, maccarone (mah-kah-ROW-nay), and is also the word for pasta/macaroni and dumplings.While origins can be murky, some culinary historians claim that that macaroons can be traced to an Italian monastery—where they were modeled after the monks’ belly buttons!

The name derives from the Italian maccarone or maccherone, itself derived from ammaccare, meaning to crush or to beat. The reference is to the crushed almonds or almond paste, which is the principal ingredient.

Macaroons came to France in 1533 with the pastry chefs of Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henri II. Two Benedictine nuns, Sister Marguerite and Sister Marie-Elisabeth, seeking asylum in the town of Nancy during the French Revolution (1789-1799), paid for their housing by baking and selling the macaroon cookies, and thus became known as the “Macaroon Sisters” (the French word is macaron, pronounced mah-kah-RONE).

COCONUT MACAROONS

Italian Jews adopted the cookie because it has no flour or leavening (the agent that raises and lightens a baked good, like yeast, baking powder and baking soda—instead, macaroons are leavened by egg whites) and can be enjoyed during the eight-day observation of Passover. It was introduced to other European Jews and became popular as a year-round sweet.

Over time, coconut was added to the ground almonds and, in certain recipes, replaced them.Coconut macaroons are more prevalent in the U.S. and the U.K.—and they’re a lot easier to make and transport than the fragile almond meringues.

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 CUP ALMOND MEAL OR GROUND ALMONDS
• 1 1/2 CUPS POWDERED SUGAR
• 3 LARGE EGG WHITES, ROOM TEMPERATURE AND PREFERABLY AGED UP TO 3 DAYS
• 5 TABLESPOONS GRANULATED SUGAR
• 1 TEASPOON VANILLA EXTRACT

METHODS

1. Preheat the oven to 280ºF, and position 2 racks in the lower section of the oven. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. If you have time, draw 1-inch circles on the back of each sheet, spacing the circles at least 1/2-inch apart.
2. If your almond meal is very coarse, grind it with the powdered sugar in a food processor until fine. Sift the almond meal-powdered sugar mixture twice through a mesh sieve.
3. Place egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand mixer), and begin to beat on medium-high. When the eggs are frothy, gradually add granulated sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until fully incorporated. Continue to beat the egg white mixture until glossy and stiff peaks form when you lift the beaters. Gently stir in the vanilla extract. Be careful to not overbeat the meringue (e.g., the meringue takes on a clumpy texture).
4. Add half of the sifted almond mixture, and gently fold it into the meringue using a flexible silicone spatula. Lift from the bottom, up around the sides, and toward the middle, being careful to not overagitate the meringue and lose too much air. Once the almond mixture is predominantly incorporated, add the second half and repeat the folding motion.
5. When the almond mixture is just incorporated, you will need to transform the batter into the appropriate texture. Using the flat of the spatula, "punch" down into the center of the batter, then scrape more batter from the sides to the center, and punch again. You will need to repeat this 10-15 times (or more, depending on your arm strength and the beginning texture of your batter) until the batter slowly and continuously drips back into the bowl when you scoop it up with the spatula. Think of the consistency of molten lava. For the best results, punch the batter a few times, check the consistency, then punch a few more times, etc. Do not make the batter too runny or the macarons won't rise as they should, and you could end up with oil stains on the surface.
6. Pour batter into a pastry bag fitted with a 0.4-inch tip. In a pinch, you can also use a gallon-size Ziploc bag: just snip a teeny bit from one of the bottom corners. Twist and clip the top of the bag to avoid overflow. On your prepared baking sheets, pipe out 1-inch rounds in the circles you drew (remember to draw the circles on the back side of your parchment to avoid ink or pencil stains on your macarons!).
7. Holding the baking sheet in both hands, rap each baking sheet firmly on the counter two or three times. This smooths out the tops and helps form the "pied" or frilly foot on the bottoms of the macarons. Allow the piped macarons to dry, uncovered, for at least 15 minutes. The macarons should form a very thin, smooth crust where, if you tap it lightly with your finger, the batter will not stick to your finger. If after 15 minutes, the batter is still sticky, let it dry longer. This may take up to an hour on humid days.
8. Place both baking sheets in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes. After the first 2 minutes, open the oven to allow any excess humidity to escape. Halfway through, swap oven racks and rotate the sheets for even baking. The macarons are done when they are baked all the way through and the shells are just hard. Take care to not underbake (insides will still be mushy) or overbake (tops will begin to brown). Remove them from the oven, and cool on baking sheet placed on a wire rack.
9. When fully cooled, assemble the macarons with your choice of filling. The assembled macarons can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

COCONUT MACAROONS

ORIGINAL MACAROONS

                          HOW TO MAKE A MACAROONS?