New York Cheesecake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce. . .

Hey everyone!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Things have been busy here leading up to the fall. School starts next week, which means I'm super scared, or I mean, I'm helping my child gear up. See my oldest starts Kindergarten next week. He is so excited and looking forward to it. Me, I'm sitting at home baking to try to cope and eating all my baked goods...lol. But last night we were invited over to my friend Katrina's house for supper with the kiddos. {You should head over to Katrina's blog: Sota Is Sexy...she is absolutely hilarious and posts some pretty read-worthy posts...}

Anyways, I brought some Cheesecake over to her house and was trying to be all secretive about it just in case it didn't turn out...well, long story short, it did turn out. Incredibly well. Too well. In fact I ate more cheesecake at her house than I did actual food. So knowing me and the fact that if I brought this entire cheesecake home, I would eat it all. It actually reminded me of the episode of friends where they steal the cheesecake and then the one time they dropped it off the floor and continued to eat it...this was that good, in where I knew if I dropped it on the floor, I would still eat it...lol. Anyways, so I left half of it with them, and this morning, I had a sliver, and by sliver, I mean chunk for breakfast! Oh the horror of my ways, now I've got to hit the gym big time, but the gym is closed, so may as well eat another slice of cheesecake! What's another slice right?!?!?! Ok, I'll be quiet now and just give you the recipe so you can test it out for yourself!!! Good luck...and when I say good luck, I mean, if you gain 20 extra pounds after eating the entire thing yourself, I had nothing to do with it! LOL...I didn't come up with the filling recipe on my own...found it in a magazine, so in truth, it really wouldn't be ALL my fault...hehehe

New York Cheescake:

Crust
8 oz. Cinnamon Graham Crackers, crushed
6 Tlb. Melted Butter
1 Tlb. Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, lightly grease a 9" spring form pan, layer onto a baking sheet.
2.  Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbly.
3. Dump crumbs into a prepared spring form pan and press on bottom and sides.
4. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes then put in the fridge until ready to use.

Filling
5-8 oz. Packages of Cream Cheese @ Room Temp
Pinch of Salt
1-1/2 c. Sugar
1/3 c. Sour Cream
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Egg Yolks & 6 eggs @ Room Temp {I used Extra Large Eggs, but I'm sure you could use large}

1. Turn heat up to 500 degrees after baking the crust.
2. Mix cream cheese in a stand mixer for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add Salt & Sugar and mix for 1 minute.
3. Add sour cream and lemon juice and mix for 1 minute.
4. Add Vanilla and mix for 1 minute.
5. Add yolks and mix for 1 minute. Add remaining eggs 2 at a time and mix 1 minute after each addition, be sure to scrape sides after each addition as well.
6. Remove pan from fridge and pour in your batter. Don't be scared because the batter will literally go to the top of your pan. That's why you have the baking sheet under it...to catch any overflow if that were to happen!
7. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, without opening the door, reduce oven to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes - 1 hour 40 minutes depending on oven temp.
8. Don't panic because your cheesecake will be about 1/2 over the top of your pan...let cheesecake cool on counter for 3 hours. Then refrigerate for 3 more hours to get things set. Allow to rest at room temp for 30 minutes before serving.
9. You can use any topping that best suites you for this cheesecake...but for me, I love a fruity topping and I topped with a Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce which is included below...

Strawberry & Rhubarb Sauce
2 c. Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb
1/4 c. Water
1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
2 lbs. Strawberries, sliced
Juice of 1 Lemon

1. In a medium saucepan, heat Rhubarb, Water & Sugar over medium heat. After 10 minutes and the sauce is bubbly, start breaking down your rhubarb with a wooden spoon.
2. After everything is cooked down {about 20 minutes}...add the jam and let it cook until no longer foamy {about 3 minutes}...Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
3. Slice strawberries and add them to a bowl and mix with the lemon juice.
4. Add strawberry and lemon mix to rhubarb mix. Serve warm or cold...Would make a great ice cream topping as well!!!

Until Next time!!!

Birthday Cake: Construction Zone

Hello everyone!

This week I got the privileged of creating a birthday cake for a little man turning 3...He had a construction themed party and here is the cake I created to go along with the theme!!! I'm also going to include the recipe for the cake! Hope you enjoy!







Chocolate Cake

3 sticks Butter @ Room Temp
2-1/4 c. Sugar
4 Eggs
4 tsp. Vanilla
3 c. Flour
1/2 c. Cocoa Powder
1/4 c. Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 c. Buttermilk
1 c. Hot Coffee {I use instant coffee mixed with hot water}

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pans {I grease my pans and line them with parchment paper}
2. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
3. Cream Butter and Sugar for 3 minutes in a stand mixer using paddle attachment.
4. Add Eggs one at a time. Scrape sides down and add vanilla 1 tsp. at a time.
5. Slowly, add flour & buttermilk alternately {beginning and ending with flour}.
6. Slowly add hot coffee.
7. Pour into prepared pans and back for 25-45 minutes. {I say this because if you use a 6" pan, you bake for 25 min. If you use a 9" pan (filled with 2 c. batter), bake for 35 min. Etc...}
8. Allow to cool completely before assembling.

Chocolate Ganache

1/2 c. Heavy Cream
8 oz. Chocolate {I use Bittersweet}
4 Tlb. Butter, Cubed

1. Place chocolate into a bowl.
2. Heat Heavy Cream in a double boiler until steaming, not boiling.
3. Pour Cream over chocolate and let it sit for 30 seconds, then slowly mix until smooth.
4. Slowly add the butter and mix until smooth and creamy.
5. Use to your liking...in my case, this went between the inside layers of my cake...

Chocolate Ganache Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c. Heavy Cream
10 oz. Chocolate {I use Bittersweet}
4 oz. Butter + 8 Tlb. Butter at Room Temp
8 oz. Cream Cheese at Room Temp
5 c. Powder Sugar
5 Tlb. Cocoa Powder

1. Using the first 3 ingredients, repeat the ganache process, allow to cool to Room Temp before adding to frosting...
2. In a stand mixer using whisk attachment, cream 8 Tlb. butter and cream cheese until pale and fluffy {5 minutes}
3. Slowly add Powdered Sugar and Cocoa Powder.
4. Once the ganache is cooled, slowly add to stand mixer, scraping sides of the bowl and mix until smooth {about 3 minutes}
5. Frost your cake!

Until next time...

Cake Wreck!!!

Hello everyone...

So this past weekend, I had a cake order for a rainbow birthday cake to help celebrate a little girl's 1st birthday. Everything that could go wrong with this cake, did go wrong with this cake. Fortunately for me, the customer was extremely gracious and understanding. I forgot to take a picture of the actual birthday cake {See, everything that can go wrong did go wrong! LOL} so I don't have anything of substance to show you, BUT...I can show you my 1st attempt at this cake and share with you the recipe! Even though it is a wreck, it is very tastey and I used the same recipe for round 2, so I'm sure it can be of use to at

least one person out here in cyber space!

Hope you get a laugh at my expense!

Vanilla Rainbow Layer Cake

{Adapted from Sweetopia birthday cake recipe}

Makes 6-9" thin layers or 3 thick layers

1.5 c. Whole Milk at Room Temp

7 Egg Whites at Room Temp

1 Large Egg at Room Temp

1 Tlbs Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp. Almond Extract

2-1/4 c. Sugar

3-3/4 c. All Purpose Flour {or 4 c. Cake Flour}

1-3/4 Tlbs Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1-1/2 c. Butter at Room Temp

6 Tlbs Shortening

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pans {I use parchment paper and baking spray to grease pans}.

2. Combine 1/2 c. Milk, Extracts, Egg Whites & Egg in a medium bowl and set aside.

3. Fluff flour in stand mixer using paddle attachment for 30 sec. Add remaining dry ingredients to include sugar. Mix for 30 seconds. Add butter & Shortening. Mix for 60 sec.

4. Slowly add remaining 1 cup of milk and mix until moist {About 30 sec.}

5. Add milk mixture in batches of 3 and mix for 3 sec. {Scrap sides of bowl after each addition}

6. Pour 2 cups of batter into pan and bake for 20 min. If more time is needed, bake 2 min. longer.

Vanilla Birthday Cake Whipped Frosting

Yields 3 cups

5 Sticks of Salted Butter

5 c. Powder Sugar, more if needed

4-1/2 Tlb. Heavy Cream

1-1/2 Tlb. Vanilla Extract

1. Cream butter in a stand mixer for 8 minutes (will turn white)

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix on low for 30 sec. Increase speed and mix for 6 minutes.

3. Frost the layers and cake, chill in fridge for 30 min. and frost again. Decorate with remaining frosting!

*Notes* If baking a rainbow cake, pour 1 cup of batter into 6 different bowls and mix with desired food coloring. Then pour colored batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 12 min. Allow to cool completely before layering and frosting.

**You can also skip a couple steps and just do 2 colors per layer, just be sure that each color uses 1 cup of batter...

Until Next time...

3 Layer Strawberry Cake with Buttercream Frosting & Chocolate Pudding Filling

Hey everyone!

Happy Monday! Busy morning so far! Yikes! So I had a few minutes to spare before I start making lunch for the boys and get Lance off to school so I can go to my doctor checkup and thought I would come and catch up with some blogging! LOL...

Anyways, a few months back I created a cake for a friend. I used a white cake recipe and added 1 packet of Strawberry Jello to the batter. Then I added instant chocolate pudding to the layers for a nummy yummy flavor combo!!! Hope you give it a try! I also included photos for step by step instructions on assembly! Hope you enjoy & happy baking!!!

Strawberry Cake {adapted from Bakerella's yellow cake recipe}:

1 cup of butter @ Room Temp
2 cups of sugar
4 eggs @ Room Temp
3 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 tsp Salt
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 4 oz. Package of Strawberry Jello
1 cup of whole milk @ Room Temp
1 teaspoon Clear Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Clear Almond Extract

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees. Prepare 9" baking pans {I use Pam for baking & Parchment Paper}.
Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Cream Butter & Sugar in stand mixer for 2-3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time. Add Extracts and cream together 3 minutes.
Add flour mixture & milk to stand mixer in batches, beginning and ending with flour.
Add Jello packet to batter.
Once batter is glossy looking, pour evenly into pans & bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from Oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before removing from pans onto wire racks to cool completely.

For Filling:

Instant Chocolate Pudding, create using directions on package.

For Frosting:

1/2 c. Shortening
4 c. Powder Sugar
1 Tlbsp. Meringue Powder
1 tsp Clear Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Clear Almond Extract
6-8 Tlbsp. Water or Milk

Cream shortening. Add Extracts & Meringue Powder and cream for 2 min. Add Powder Sugar. Add water 1 Tlbsp. at a time until desired consistency is reached...Frost & Decorate Assembled Cake...

Step 1: Prepare your cake plate/stand or board. I Used a cardboard cake plate and scrapbook paper.

Step 2: Assemble your cake layers by piping frosting around edges and filling with either frosting or prepared filling. Don't worry about crumbled edges, frosting will cover mistakes...

Step 3: Pipe frosting all over your cake, don't worry about being perfect, you will smooth things over. This is just how I do things instead of using a spachula to apply frosting...

Step 4: Use a scraper to smooth over frosting until smooth, let frosting set for 5 min. until firm. Then smooth over your cake with parchment paper to ensure nice even smoothness over cake...then transfer from turn table to cake plate...

Step 5: Decorate cake as desired. This was for a get well cake...I piped out roses using a firm buttercream and leaves and letters using a smooth, less firm buttercream.

Step 6: Either create the cake for yourself or share with a friend...either way, Happy Cake Eating/Making!!!

Cars Birthday Cakes

Hey everyone!

Happy Monday! Hope you all enjoyed a great weekend! I was able to go tubing Sunday with my 5 year old, a friend and her 5 year old. We had an absolute blast and hope before the end of the season, we can do a family day with my hubby and my 2 year old!

Anyways, just wanted to share with you 2 cakes I made for 2 little boys wanting Cars themed birthday party...One was a 2 tiered cake and one was a sheet cake, I think both turned out super super cute!!

Danza's Birthday Cake!

Hey everyone! I haven't been keeping up with my blogging. Sorry, the fall is just a busy time for us here in Minnesota! Hunting Season was upon us, with no luck. Then it seemed to be the ickies sickies season here at the Rolin house. We are doing much better now, but now the Holiday Season is upon us once more and we are getting ready to celebrate with our families.

Even though I'm busy busy, I've made a resolution to keep up with my blogging in 2012! Crazy that that is the year already! Wasn't I just in high school? Instead I turned the big 30 a couple of weeks ago! Just absolutely craziness!

Anyways, what I would like to share with you all today is a Chocolate Marble Cake I made for a friend of mine who's daughter is turning 4 years old today! She showed me a picture of what her little girl wanted and it was a pretty busy cake, and she required the color purple as that is her favorite color. I didn't have the picture to reference, but I had a good idea of what she would like, and here was what I created for her! I carved her initial out of cake using a cardboard stencil I made, frosted it and then covered with fondant and border.

Here's a really great recipe I found for Marble Cake...so moist and delicious!

Marble Cake {Adapted from Martha Stewart}

Makes one 9-inch Layer, {Triple Recipe for 3 layers}

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
¼ cup milk
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
¼ cup hot water

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9" cake pan with parchment paper and spray with baking PAM; set aside.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a stand mixer, {fitted with the paddle attachment} beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined, scrap down the sides of the bowl, beat another minute. Add vanilla.
4. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour. Add ¼ cup of milk at the end. Set aside 1/3 of the batter.
5. In a bowl, mix cocoa and 1/4 cup plus 2 TLB. hot water until smooth. Add the cocoa mixture to the reserved cake batter; stir until well combined.
6. Pour white mix into bottom of cake pan in one layer, and pour the cocoa mix on top for the 2nd layer. To create marbling, run a table knife through the batters in a swirling motion.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cake from pan and cool completely on the rack.

Anyways...I'm off to go deliver the cake! Have a great weekend!

Hugs,
Heather R.

Swirly Cakes!

Good morning everyone! Hope you all are enjoying a gorgeous day!

One of my new found loves is baking, and I'd like to share that with you all today. I started baking for my children's birthday's. Then I was asked to make a cake for something or other, then I was asked by a stranger, and that is how things escalated. I didn't really start getting into the baking thing until December 2010. But after I found I really enjoyed it, I just couldn't stop!

I even took some classes this past summer to learn some different flower techniques. The classes were spendy (you had to buy a certain brand no matter if you had the product already)...So I stopped doing the classes and found YouTube! They have absolutely everything to do with baking on tutorial, and I've learned quite a bit from them...

I won't share all the cakes I've made since I started, but here is my most recent order. I constructed a carousel cake using rice crispy treats, dowels, cake, buttercream and Amaretto mousse for the inside. I painted a wood base to match the theme of this baby shower cake. I made sugar cookies and piped royal icing to match the invitations of the party. The order also included 30 cupcakes-half lemon with lemon buttercream and half Neapolitan {white cake, chocolate filling and strawberry buttercream}...



Chat with you all soon!