I just thought I'd drop in and say "Hello!" I hate how distant I've become over the last few weeks (or has it been months)? I started out with such grand ideas of what I would write and post on my blog and I just haven't made the time for it. I'm hoping that I have gotten settled into enough of a routine to start back up regularly soon.
I'm in the middle of making my first biscuit roulade. My cutie pie son has requested a light saber birthday cake for Friday at the bowling alley. He turns 6 this week!! He lost his first tooth last week!! Yikes - these days are flying too quickly. I'll post photos of the finished cake. I'm not sure how detailed I'm going to be. It may end up just being a red log - I'm hoping he'll be able to use his imagination to turn it into a light saber if it does turn out more like a log. It was really fun to bake the cake - it's nothing more than eggs, flour, cornstarch, sugar, vanilla, and cream of tartar - no leaveners or butter. It rolled up beautifully without cracking. When I finish it, I'll try to write a bit more about it. I will definitely try making another one. The Christmas yule log has interested me for a while and now I've made one of the basic components, so I will have to give it a try in December.
I really miss baking and cooking! I've chosen to put my time in the kitchen aside while I'm working full-time because I think it's going to be short-term. However, as the days and weeks roll on, I'm realizing that I need to make time for it. I made some pasta last night for dinner with tuna, feta, lemon zest, and wilted spinach. The pasta was made from scratch with my fun pasta attachment. I want to try making it again with some of my herbs.
Pictured above is a delicious cookie that I made a few months ago. My mom has treated me to several cooking classes and we took one years ago that offered this as the dessert. I haven't made it again until now. They are so good. If you love cinnamon lattes, you'll love these. They're called Coffee Pecan Meringues. Here's the recipe:
Coffee Pecan Meringues
from Roosters cooking class, Greensboro, NC
Pecan Meringues
4 egg whites
1 cup sugar, divided
1 pinch salt
3/4 cup pecans, ground
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons cornstarch
Coffee Filling
4 egg yolks (preferably pasteurized)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup very strong coffee
2 sticks butter, unsalted
2 tablespoons dark rum
Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees.
For the meringues, beat the egg whites with the salt on medium speed until white and opaque. Increase the speed to maximum and beat in half of the sugar in a streams, continuing to beat until the egg whites are very firm, but not dry. Combine the remaining sugar, the ground pecans, cinnamon and cornstarch and fold into the egg whites.
Pipe 3-inch fingers on paper-lined pans with a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch plain tube. Bake the fingers about 25 minutes, until golden and fairly dry. They burn easily.
For the buttercream, whisk the yolks in the bowl of an electric mixer. Whisk in the coffee, then the sugar. Place over a pan of simmering water and whisk until thickened. Beat by machine on medium speed until cold. Beat in the butter in 5 or 6 additions, then the rum.
Line up half of fingers on a clean, paper-lined pan, rounded side down. Pipe a line of the buttercream on each finger, then top with the remaining fingers, flat side down. Turn the coupled fingers sideways and pipe a rosette of the buttercream on each. Sprinkle the rosette with the chopped pecans and dust very lightly with confectioners' sugar.
