Lemon Bars from scratch

[Printable Recipe]

I love lemon bars, made them a lot in college. Always from the box though, Krusteaz or something like it. Well they are expensive, and they only make an 8 x 8 pan. I found a recipe for them that makes 9 x 13 and it is super yummy.

Ingredients:

Crust

1 ½ cups flour

¼ cup sugar

¼ tsp salt

½ cup cold butter, cubed

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a bowl combine flour, sugar and salt.

Add COLD butter and with hands combine with dry mixture until you have a crumbly mixture

Press dough into the bottom of a greased 9 x13 pan

Bake for 15 mins

Baked crust

Ingredients:

Filling

¼ cup flour

1 ¼ cup sugar

½ tsp salt

4 eggs

Zest of 2 lemons ( I used 2.5)

Juice of 2 lemons ( I used 2.5)

Powdered sugar for dusting

While crust is cooking, zest and juice the lemons. Combine lemon zest and sugar in a bowl and rub them together so the zest is incorporated into the sugar.

Wisk in the eggs (I used the wisk attachment on my kitchenaid)

Add the lemon juice then flow and salt.

Pour over hot crust and bake for 20-25 mins until the filling is set and doesn’t jiggle like Jello (weird way to explain it but you will understand, when it is still wiggly it isn’t quite done)

Remove from oven, let cool completely, dust with powdered sugar. Cut and eat.

The edges got a little dark, but they were yummy anyway

I am thinking that this would work with lime bars as well. We will have to see. Next time limes are on sale and I have free time. I will be trying it, My guess is 3-4 limes would do it.

My personal preference when eating these is to pop them into the microwave for 10 seconds and eat them warm :-D Sigh. So good! Makes me miss college.

Pink Velvet Cake 2.0

I am definitely on the right track. I used Wilton’s gel food coloring. Rose this time, as opposed to the pink I used before. Who knew rose was more of the color I wanted. I decided to go with a completely different recipe than before because I really didn’t like the one before, and once again, I am on the right track. I may have overcooked it and that is why it was dry, but I think it was a tad on the dry side. A little more oil maybe would help. I stuck to the recipe for the most part. I added a little more chocolate to the batter because all the other recipes called for much more than this one. My co-worker gave me this recipe and said that it can’t be messed up. Well I guess she is right, but who knows.

[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

½ cup Crisco

1 ½ cup sugar

2 eggs

1tbsp vanilla

5 tbsp red food coloring (I used a big glop of PINK gel)

2 cups flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cocoa (I used 1 ½ tbsp)

1 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vinegar

Directions:

Cream together Crisco and sugar

Add the eggs, vanilla and food coloring and mix well.

Sift flour, salt and cocoa together.

Add alternately with buttermilk

Mix vinegar and baking soda together in cup and fold into the batter DO NOT BEAT

Put in greased and floured pans

Bake at 350 for 35/45 mins. (I am pretty sure it was like 40 mins.)

Cool on racks

The bottoms kind of fell apart... but you can see the pink in them

The icing recipe she gave me was easy and when I made it, it looked great. Light and fluffy, but I made it on Saturday and didn’t ice the cake till Sunday. I don’t know if it was because I kept it in the fridge or what, but it got very wet, and was very hard to put on the cake Sunday morning. But it still tasted good, just didn’t look as pretty.

The icing

[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients

¼ cup butter

½ cup Crisco

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp flour

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

Cream together butter and Crisco

Then add sugar, flour (one at a time) milk and vanilla.

Beat for 10 minutes.

Overall, I think this recipe could work, I will be trying it again. Maybe the extra cocoa made it a little dry. Who knows. I decorated it for Mema's birthday and we all pigged out :-D Though with the icing being so thin and wet, I didn't attempt much decorating because I didn't think it would hold.

I <3 mema!

Princess practice cake

Today I made my practice princess cake (say that 3 times fast)

The cake mold was easy enough to use, and I just used a boxed cake mix. I had to cook it for almost an hour though. I put chocolate chips in to help hold it together (a trick my teacher offered us on the first day if we used cake mix from the box). The cake release stuff I used on the pan was amazing. It worked so well. It was worth the $3.99 I spent on it! I wish I had been using it all along.

making barbie decent

the back

As it was a practice cake, I didn’t do many of the things I would normally. I didn’t level the cake, the stars were a little messy, but for the most part everything was the same. I am still working with the mom to see what colors I am going to do for the real thing. Pink I know, probably the same. I am going to change the design a little bit. I will post pictures of the whole process. Today’s cake was made while I stayed home from work with day 3 of a migraine. Saturday is when I make my first ever order! :-D

she has a ghetto lean ;)

Haha I used my name and age for the practice, mainly because I know how to spell it :-D She is also leaning a little, but we can fix that next time too!

Dad is taking what is left with him to work tomorrow. Enjoy! ( stop by and steal some if you want)

Cake Class 2.1

Tonight was the first night of Course 2.

We learned a couple new boarders, and how to make ugly rose buds ( I need to practice more of those)

We worked on our roses more.

We are going to be making a lot of flowers in this class. I didn't take any pictures tonight. but I will try to take some next week. I left class with a migraine. I have had it off and on since Sunday. I have 3 posts to finish, sorry I am neglecting you. My weeks have been busy. Will get back into it soon!

I have my first cake order! Due Sunday! YAY!!! Mom and I are practicing tomorrow/Wednesday. Will post pics.

night

Cake Class 4- Completed Course 1

The Proof


I DID IT!!

While I did learn how to make roses, and pretty sprial flowers, a lot of this class was review for me because my momma taught me a little when I started making cookie cakes, I also taught myself some.

Not too bad for my first time


Next week starts course 2. The best part for me, I don't have to make a cake, or make more icing. Sucks for those who eat my practice cakes. I am declaring this weekend a bake free weekend, and Matt and I are going to play outside in D.C. Unless it rains, then I will sleep a lot, read and watch a lot of tv. Maybe go to the mall. So pray for SUN! :-D

Today was my sweet, sweet classroom aide's birthday. I couldn't muster the energy to do one more cake over the weekend, so we are celebrating her birthday tomorrow.

I am pleased with her cake, though the one boarder is now sliding off...(I cheated on the cake icing...I used Betty Crocker. I was realllly tired today after work, I fell asleep holding my laptop while checking emails. :-D)

The cake is pretty though, I need to make about 1000 more roses so I finally make them look like they do at the bakery.



Happy Birthday Glenna, thanks for being such a good worker, the babies and I love you!