Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Here we are at the April 2021 edition of the Cake Slice Bakers. For 2021; we are baking from  Little Everyday Cakes: 50+ Perfectly Proportioned Confections to Enjoy Any Day of the Week  by Candace Floyd. * I can't believe that we're already in a new year. In many ways 2020 dragged on as the shelter-in-place orders continued month after month; on the other hand, it was a completely blur because there weren't milestones to mark the passage of time. In this group, we are given a selection of three cake recipes. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes! Follow our  Facebook ,  Instagram , and  Pinterest   pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a...

Here we are in April with the monthly post for the baking group called Bundt Bakers. #BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  You can see all our of lovely Bundts by following our  Pinterest board . We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about BundtBakers, can be found on our  home page . This month I am hosting the Bundt Bakers group. I wrote: "April showers bring blooming bundts?!? Okay, poet I am not. But I hope to inspire you to join me in using flowers for our April Bundt Bakers event. Use actual flowers, floral extract, or even just decorate your bundt with buttercream blossoms. Be creative!" Here's what the #BundtBakers are sharing for my Bundts in Bloom event... Cranberry and Rosewater Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm Devil's Food Cake With Hard Icing by Sneha's Recipe ...

I honestly can't remember ever having had a Key Lime Pie. And I really have no idea where R got the idea of one, but that's what he requested for his birthday picnic dessert...after we hiked the archery range with his friends. Well, first, he asked me to bring a Baked Alaska up there! I nixed that idea. So, I called around to locate Key Limes to no avail. Someone suggested I could buy just the juice. Done! It seems there are a few varieties of pie - one with condensed milk, one without. A friend who currently lives in Florida asked about the texture of my pie: "like a cheesecake or a custard." It was sort of in between that. And I used gluten-free graham crackers since two of our guests have gluten-sensitivities. This was an easy dessert to make and I made two more the following day. Phew.  Ingredients  makes two 8" pies slightly adapted from this recipe on Epicurious.com Crust 2 C crushed graham crackers (gluten-free, if needed)  1...

I love that these don't involve any baking but they look phenomenal on a cookie platter. They are ridiculously easy to make, too. Ingredients 4 C organic shredded coconut (I used a finely shredded kind that's really between shreds and flour) 1 can sweetened, condensed milk 12 oz dark chocolate, chopped salt (I used a vanilla salt that I had gotten from Susan, The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen ) Procedure In a large bowl, stir together coconut and condensed milk; it will form a thick, sticky paste. Roll mixture into 1" balls - you should get about 3 dozen balls from this quantity. Place coconut balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Put the tray in the freezer form, at least, 30 minutes. While balls are chilling, temper your chocolate over a double boiler.  Using two toothpicks or forks, dip the coconut balls into the chocolate, covering evenly. Move the balls back to the tray and finish coating them completely. Sprinkle with salt. ...

I saw 'homemade Irish cream liquor' pop up on Punk Domestics facebook wall this morning and started clicking. First there was Southern Faire's version , with half-and-half plus heavy cream. Arctic Garden Studio's version includes instant espresso powder. Hmmm.... The one I ended up using for my jumping off point was Design Sponge's Irish Cream ; it calls for honey and dark cocoa powder. I might give the Irish Flag cocktail  a go from this site - after I make some Irish carbomb cupcakes , of course. I used espresso instead of coffee, doubled up on the vanilla, and skipped the almond extract and chocolate completely. 1 C espresso 1 whole vanilla pod + 1 pod for each container 1 1/2 C heavy cream 1 t instant espresso powder 1 T honey 1/2 t unsulphered molasses 1 t pure vanilla extract 2 eggs 1 C organic dark brown sugar, lightly packed 1 t pure vanilla extract 1 T white whole wheat flour 1/2 t baking powder 2 C whiskey ...

R wanted his chocolate creation to include dark chocolate, dried coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. To mix it up, I decided to make his a double-decker fudge with a layer of coconut in the middle. Ingredients 3 C bittersweet chocolate chips 14 oz sweetened, condensed milk 1 t ground ginger 1 t ground cinnamon 1 t ground nutmeg 1/2 C dried coconut Procedure Cook the above ingredients - except the coconut - over a medium flame till smooth. Remove from heat. Pour half of the mixture into a foil-lined and buttered baking dish. Press the coconut into the layer, then pour the remaining chocolate onto the top. Let cool completely. Cut into small cubes.

For my last History of Chocolate class tomorrow, I decided to give the kids a taste of chocolates from around the world. Brigadeiro is a Brazilian dessert that is often served at birthday parties. Traditionally rolled in chocolate sprinkles or powdered sugar, I opted to use cacao nibs. But never having had a brigadeiro , I hope this isn't too far from the actual confection! While I cooked the base, Dylan used my mortar and crushed the nibs for me. bottle of sweetened, condensed milk 1 T butter 3 T unsweetened cocoa powder crushed cacao nibs In a saucepan over medium heat, stir together all ingredients except the nibs. Keep stirring until the mixture begins to thicken, about 10-15 minutes. Pour into a buttered bowl and refrigerate for about two hours. Once the mixture is cooled, with buttered hands - yes, do it! - roll the mixture into small balls. Roll each ball in the nibs and place it on a plate to harden into shape.