This is officially my first entry but I will try to be diligent about posting frequently every time I do some baking. All my trials, errors, and triumphs. All the recipes I love, and pictures of the things I make. I have been baking on a basic level practically my whole life, and have recently started to explore the more complex recipes, and decorating skills. I plan to start my own bakery one day when my loving husband Paul, retires from the U.S. Navy. Until then, I have a lot of learning to do, and I thought it might be fun to journal my experiences and share them with the world. Even if the world doesn't yet know that I am here.
To start this journal of my baking experiences I have decided to start with Italian pastry cream AKA Italian custard cream and Carrot cake. What a mess it started out to be, and the great triumph I found from another blogger, this is the page I found : http://www.saucygirlskitchen.com/2012/11/29/rum-babas-filled-with-italian-pastry-cream/#comment-5643
I started yesterday, with one of my favorite new baking books that Paul, bought for me at Christmas: Baking with the cake boss by Buddy Valastro. Not to step on Buddy's toes, but I have every intention of surpassing him in baking greatness. Who doesn't like some friendly competition? And while I don't mean to offend this baking great, his pastry cream recipe is not exactly right. All the ingredients are there, but his time for preparing this awesome filling is a little off. Maybe It's just the way I read them, but I didn't have much luck with the cake boss's directions. Perhaps I will try again at a later time.
However, this is truly a great cookbook for a beginning baker, especially since his cake recipes are delicious! (And, lets be honest, as anyone who has seen his show on TLC knows, Buddy Valastro is a great decorator, and for those of you who do not enjoy baking enough to take a decorating class (or 4), like I did, he does a good job of explaining how to pipe the basics).
As it turned out, I did not leave my custard cream on the heat long enough to see it thicken. Buddy's recipe says to leave it on medium heat for about 1 minute, until it's thick and creamy. As this is my first time making Italian Pastry Cream when it became the consistency of heavy cream I removed it from the heat and mixed a little longer. I left it to cool and then refrigerated for the suggested 6 hours... and 6 hours and then some later, it was still soup. So I tried again figuring I didn't measure something correctly. Maybe too much milk? I didn't know. But this batch, and the third all came out as cold milk, vanilla, and egg soup.
So this morning I decided to do some research... Thank God for the internet and the guys who invented it, Without whom I would be destined to continue messing up this recipe a good number of times until I got it right. (When it comes to figuring out a recipe, I just can't quit until I get it right. I have found a love for baking that borders on obsessive.) But back to the point. I did some searches for some Italian Pastry Cream recipes, preferably one with a picture so I could see the finished product - exactly how thick and creamy should this recipe be? As you saw above, I found one.
The consistency that should be found from your custard should look like the beginnings of pudding. In fact as it cools and sits in the bowl, it should look exactly like vanilla pudding. The longer it cooks the thicker it will become.
This is the recipe I used with success:
Italian Pastry CreamINGREDIENTS3 cups of Milk, wholeMs. Helena Spensatelli posted this recipe for use in Rum Babas. A pastry that I intend to now try and create myself. The link again to the page I found is this: http://www.saucygirlskitchen.com/2012/11/29/rum-babas-filled-with-italian-pastry-cream/#comment-5643
1 Vanilla Bean, split
6 Egg Yolks
¾ cup of Sugar
¼ cup Flour
pinch of Salt
METHODIn a small saucepan heat up one cup of the milk and add the vanilla bean.
Bring to a boil and then remove from heat.
Allow vanilla bean to steep while you proceed with the recipe.
In a medium saucepan whisk together the egg yolks and sugar.
Add in the flour, salt, and remaining milk.
Whisk until completely combined, and mixture is free of lumps.
Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture, whisking continuously.
Place pan over medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously, until custard thickens.
Set aside and allow to cool.
She has saved my pastry cream experience.
At about 5 minutes on the stove, I was elated to see my custard start to thicken. I will say though that here, in Colorado, on my stove it took about 10 minutes to see the final result. For you it may be a little more or a little less.
This is the way my Italian Pastry Cream turned out.
This shall be the filling in the Carrot cake I have in the oven. (I will also be dying either this custard or some cannoli cream, blue as a color reveal for a friends baby shower in July. I'll be posting about that cake creation too. The Carrot Cake recipe I am using is also the recipe from Baking with the Cake Boss. I have made a few of his cake recipes, and they all came out FABULOUS - once I figured out the adjustments for the higher altitude and dry climate here. Usually adding an extra TSP of oil, and turning the oven down 15-25 degrees below suggested bake time, after the first 5-10 minutes depending on the recipe works for me.
The cake should be about done soon. When it is it will need to cool for about an hour.
I am going to paraphrase as much as I can and add in my differences and suggestions, since I'm not sure if this is technically copyright infringement, though it is not intended.
This is the recipe I used:
Carrot Cake
3 c finely grated carrots (Mine were chopped very small. Unless you live in a dry climate like I do, you will want to dry your carrots and the extra juice from chopping/grating so as not to interfere with the other ingredients.)
2 and 1/2 c cake flour
2 c sugar
2 c Italian cream (This is optional. However, I did use about 1/4 c in my mix and saved the rest for the filling.)
3/4 c veg. oil ( If you live in a dry climate, you wont need an extra tsp if you did not dry the carrots, as they have already added the extra moisture)
2 and1/4 TSP baking powder
2 TSP ground cinnamon (I love cinnamon and used three)
1 TSP baking soda
1 TSP pure vanilla extract
1/2 TSP fine sea salt (I used regular salt)
4 extra large eggs
1 c milk
1/2 c chopped walnuts (I used 1 and 1/2c since I like the extra texture)
1/4 c raisins (Which I do not like so I did not add)
Grease and flour your cake pans now or use Wilton brand Cake release (which works awesome, you don't even need to flour, and I have never had a cake stick to the pan while using it.) You can also put a bit of parchment paper on the bottom of your pan to avoid a crater in the bottom of your cake.
You should have enough for 2 nine inch round cake pans. or 24 cupcakes.
PRE-HEAT YOUR OVEN TO 350 DEGREES> This is a really important step, that can easily be forgotten and overlooked. I have recently learned that the first few minutes of the right temperature are crucial in baking, as the heat helps the ingredients to set. Make sure your oven has been on the right temperature for at least 15 minutes, or until your pre-heating light/alarm has gone off.
According to the cake boss, if you have a nice stand mixer you should fit it with the paddle attachment and add the following ingredients to the bowl, if you do not have a stand mixer a hand mixer will do just fine. Mix these together on low speed until its tossed together pretty good and then turn it up just a smidgen until the batter is smooth.
flour, sugar, vanilla, custard (if your using it), oil, baking soda and powder, cinnamon, carrots, and salt.
Add each egg 1 at a time making sure the egg is completely dissolved into the mix before adding the next one.
Then add the milk 1/2 c at a time.
make sure to stop and scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula or spoon periodically to make sure everything is mixed evenly.
when everything is blended well add the walnuts. mix them in well but don't over do it.
Bake this cake for 25-30 minutes, it should feel springy to the touch.
Let the cakes cool for about an hour before removing them from the pan (If you let them sit too long to cool warm them up in the oven for about 2-5 minutes) then flip them out onto parchment paper and sit them on a cooling rack. It will help them cool more evenly.
You should refrigerate or (wrap a whole lot of saran wrap around your cakes and...) freeze them until you are ready to decorate them.
I'll post a picture of this cake in my next entry to show you how it turned out.
Happy Baking :)
Caitlin
