Une Autre Aventure Française!

My sister has FINALLY returned from her year abroad in France!



She had a rich experience, but does describes it as bittersweet. If living in France is half as complicated as any French baking recipe, I can relate! Why is it that every time I make a French inspired dessert it stresses me out like no other and requires extra special beverages??





My dad asked me to make some Nougat to add to the vanilla ice cream he was making. I didn't hesitate.....until he sent me the recipe! I started having Macaroon flashbacks! Anything that requires a candy thermometer really freaks me out...and I promised to make something else too! This was one long week in my hot hot desert kitchen!











I was such a good girl getting my mice en place together before starting the process!

Oh French recipes, you scare the hell outta me!







I boiled right along with this mixture! I stood right over it until it reached 315 degrees! ahhhh!








The stickiest s*** I've ever worked with! Now you know how I really feel!








I sprayed and sprayed and sprayed Pam and Pam and Pam to make sure it didn't stick to the pan. This was a mess....but, it already tasted amazing!







then I popped it into the fridge for 4 days to set up.






The next night I started up some French Tarts! What was I thinking?

My most genius moment was placing a strip of parchment paper between the Pate Sucre and the tart pans. I could lift them right out when they were done!




Don't worry, I totally cheated! My Pastry Cream for the Tart Frangipan didn't set up. So, I just whipped up an egg with almond powder, sugar and loads of vanilla.




Didn't matter though! These turned out perfectly browned and delicious!




I whipped up some sweet American Pastry Pride to fill these bebes! I couldn't stand the thought of starting from scratch one more time! It's not even dairy! Shhh! Don't tell any Irwins!



I did follow the website's Ganache Recipe and I whipped some of it in with the Pastry Pride for a chocolate filling and kept half of it plain for non-chocolate lovers.








The completed and complicated tarts!

Why it was so worth it!

Ok, so photo props to my sis! She set the nougat/vanilla ice cream combo up in my mom's tea cup from France. I am so in love with this! YUMMMy and SWWWEEEEt!

Cheers to the last time I bake two French recipes in one week!

...and even more cheers to cheating on French recipes with American shortcuts! :) I feel so scandalous!

xoxo,

Tipsy

Hello, Sunshine!

If apricots and oranges were my Spring celebration this year, what better fruit to ring in the Summer sunshine than some yummy lemons!

My parents have a beautiful lemon tree in their backyard and I took advantage of the gorgeous lemons they gave me.

I found this recipe and had to try it out on a hot June, Saturday afternoon. I couldn't get the house below 85 degrees!!! Summer is definitely here.

2 sticks of butter at room temp
2.5 cups sugar (divided into 2 and .5)
4 eggs at room temp
Zest of 6-8 lemons
3 cups flour
.5 tsp. baking powder
.5 tsp. baking soda
3/4 cup lemon juice (divided into 1/4 & 1/2)
3/4 cup Buttermilk
1 tsp. salt



First, I poured myself a glass of nice and chilly Sauvignon Blanc. Then I got out all of the cold ingredients to get them to room temp. That didn't take to long....Next, I added some ice to my Sauvignon Blanc which had also quickly reached room temp.




While everything came to room temp, I started zesting the lemons. This is about all the workout that a girl wants on a lazy Summer Saturday afternoon.




I mixed up 2 cups of the sugar with the 2 sticks of butter and lemon zest. Smells amazing!

Next, I sifted the dry ingredients (using only 2 cups of the sugar) and placed the buttermilk, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the lemon juice in a bowl.

Add the wet and dry ingredients alternately to the butter/sugar mixture. The batter already tastes amazing! Look at all that zest!




While the cakes baked at 350 for about 30 minutes I mixed up the glaze. Ina glazed the cakes and that was that. I had to take it a step further...maybe it was the heat getting to me.

The glaze is the 1/2 cup lemon juice and 1/2 cup sugar. Just heat it up on the stove until all the sugar crystals disappear!




Once the cakes were outta the oven, I used a toothpick to make little flavor spacers for the yummy lemon/sugar glaze.

I wanted to try something new. Does lemon, white chocolate and cream cheese go together? YESS! I mixed up some white chocolate cream cheese frosting, just like the red velvet recipe, but added 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. It is actually quite refreshing, but added some decadence to this lemon delight!

This is what happens when Tipsy is trying to make sky blue after a few hours of baking in a hot kitchen drinking wine on the rocks!

I was a bit disappointed with me heavy hand in the food coloring department, but I still like the way it turned out.

I added lemon wedges and a yellow twist for fun.

Then some leaves and dots.

Had to try it out! YUMMMM!

Cheers to Summer sunshine, cold white wine, and eating cake all the time!

XOXO,

Tipsy

Easter Cake!

Anyone who was at the Fam Easter celebration this year will know that I had a really hard time answering the question, "What kind of cake is that?" The reason Tipsy was stuttering? Not because I had a drink! This cake is so delicious and has so many key ingredients that I couldn't simmer it down to a brief title! Instead I replied, "Apricot Brandy, Almond Orange Cake with Apricot Brandy Jam, Apricot Grand Marnier Cream Frosting and Chocolate Ganache with Grand Marnier."

Is that a sentence? I don't think so! But this cake says enough for itself! I just loved it!

What says Spring more then some fruity boozey cake? To me, nothing! ;)

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 cup sour cream (I skipped the sour cream and went for the fruit/booze! I substituted 1/4 cup apricot Brandy, 1/4 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup whole milk)

2 teaspoons vanilla

2.5 cup cake flour (sifted)

2/3 cups (unblanched) almonds (toast em' up and toss them in the food processor until finely ground)

.5 cup sugar

1/4 cup OJ

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (grate it up in the food processor separately from the almonds)

1.5 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons orange zest

1 cup butter

1/3 cup Grand Marnier ( I probably used about 3/4 cups...)

1/2 cup heavy cream


Chop up the almonds and broil them up in the oven...then toss into the food processor until finely ground.

Mix up the 1/4 cup OJ, vanilla, apricot brandy and eggs

Mix up all the dry ingredients with the orange zest.

Add the butter to the dry ingredients until well creamed-then add egg mixture in thirds and mix well between each addition.

This batter is sooooo yummy! I had to celebrate with a little voddie tonnie with my left over oranges!

Bake in (2) 9 inch round pans at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cakes were done I used a toothpick to make holes all over...then brushed on a generous amount of orange juice and the Grand Marnier...you can't go wrong here!

Once the cakes were cool and the OJ & Grand Marnier was absorbed I filled the cake with Apricot Jam which I had heated up with some apricot brandy for extra flavor.

I whipped up some cream and added about a cup of Apricot Jam and some Grand Marnier for extra flavor. SO DECADENT!

Next, comes what I cannot live without...CHOCOLATE! Scald the cream on the stove and add the grated chocolate. Remove from the heat, stir until smooth and add some Grand Marnier to taste. It really just brings out the richness in the chocolate!

For decoration I wanted to add some Marzipan oranges. Just roll the color onto the Marzipan and then shape.

I added chocolate ganache to about half the cake so that there was something for everyone, scattered some grated almonds and then used the Marzipan pieces to complete the Spring look.

I couldn't wait to taste the final result, but it was worth it. So many fresh flavors happening...a perfect Spring inspired Easter dessert!

Cheers to boozey/fruity/chocolaty baked goods! This is just one of the reasons I love baking so much!

xoxo,

Tipsy

Magic Cookie Bars for a Cause

I love a good bake sale! Who doesn't and what better a cause then fighting cancer?





I was excited to join my team at the Ace Hotel in the Relay for Life this year.



You can still donate-just click here.


I decided on some sweet, simple and irresistible Magic Cookie Bars. I have been making these with my fam since I can remember and they always hit the spot!





You will need:


1.5 cup graham cracker crumbs


.5 cup butter (melted)


1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk


2 cups M & M's


1 1/3 cups flaked coconut


1 cup chopped pecans


...I added about 1 cup mini chocolate chips to make them extra chocolately and too good to pass up for all the relayers!





Smashing up the grahams is the most fun!











Mix the melted butter with the graham crumbs in the ziploc and then place in greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Spread evenly and press down to form the crust.





Then pour the condensed milk over the crust evenly.















Bring on the toppings! Just spread em' all out evenly and press down tightly!










Can I dig in now???? Nope, must bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes first.













The roasty toasty bars! YUMMMMMM!






I sliced and bagged them for sale. The theme of the relay this year was, "More Birthdays" so we sold the sweets as more Love, Smiles & Hope! I know these were a hit because the tray came back to me empty!

Cheers to baking for a good cause and bringing people together for one goal!

xoxo,

Tipsy

Tortilla Trade Off

In turn for the Family Apple Pie Recipe my sweet friend Luna promised me her family tortilla technique! I have to warn you that they has even less of a recipe then my Granny's "globs of lard" and splashes of this and that. So, if you want to learn you will probably have to ask Luna! I don't think I have quite the credentials after just one go at it!

Luna instructed me to fill a deep bowl with Tortilla Flour-La Pina to be the best.

Next, add some water and some lard. Like I said, I really have no idea on the quantity. I guess the value of this post is the story, not the recipe.

Knead it up until all the moisture is absorbed...

...you can see the Mr. getting the shrimp cleaned in the back... Go hubs!

The dough should be slightly sticky, but you should be able to roll it into about 1.5 inch balls.

Let the dough sit for awhile. We started up the shrimp and the margaritas while it sat for about 15 minutes.

We sliced up some colorful peppers and simmered them down with tomatoes, garlic and some chicken bouillon for extra flavor.

SO DELICIOUS and colorful!

Next, we started slapping out the tortillas. This technique took me a few tries before I got the rhythm down. I definitely couldn't get the tortillas as thin as Luna could, but I will have to get more practice!

Then we tossed them onto a super hot pan and pushed down any air pockets with a paper towel. Once there are little brown bubbles on one side -flip it!

The gorgeous delicious meal with some refried beans and queso fresco.

Thanks Luna! I had so much fun and I can't wait for our Peach Cobbler/Tamale trade off!

Cheers to sharing delicious family traditions and learning something new.

xoxo,

Tipsy