Chocolate and Vanilla Pound Cake

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The transformation of this blog is almost finished! Have you checked out the 'About', 'Press' and 'Contact' buttons above?! Feeling nostalgic about baking and this blog, I whipped up a cake that is simplicity at its best, yet anything but ordinary. One of my old-fashioned favorites:; a pound cake. You see many pound cakes here in Holland with 50/50 chocolate and vanilla, so that's what I made. I simply filled the cake tin with vanilla cake batter and poured the chocolate on top. Out the oven came a wonderful, almost-marble effect cake. The taste is sublime! I added a little light brown sugar to the recipe, which gives it just that little extra flavor. J'adore ♥. Rating: 5 out of 5.






Marble Pound Cake: Martha Stewart - Baking Handbook

Ingriedents:
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- ¼ + 1 tablespoon Dutch-process cocoa powder
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons boiling water

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan; set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugars until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate after each one. Stir in vanilla extract.
- Add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Set aside one-third of the batter in another bowl.
- In a small bowl, using a rubber spatula, combine cocoa powder and 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water. Mix until smooth. Add cocoa mixture to reserved one-third of batter. Stir until well combined.
- Fill the prepared pan by alternating large spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batters, simulating a checkerboard pattern. Run a wooden skewer or paring knife through batter in a circular motion.
- Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove to a wire rack to cool; invert after 5 minutes. Cool for about 30 minutes.

Angel Food Cake with Cream and Strawberries

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Are you watching the European Championship? My country (the Netherlands) played against my current-favorite-country (Denmark) and LOST! Is it bad that I was rooting for Denmark to win..? Wednesday the Netherlands will play against long-time-soccer-enemy Germany, so to show my support I made the angel food cake a bit Dutch-themed. The angel food cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries won the poll. How could it not? It is perfect for this time of year (and weather). Light, airy, fruity, creamy and yummy. What more could you want?

No but seriously, this cake is YUMMY! I never thought an angel food cake could have so much bite and flavor, since it's made without butter and relies on 13 egg whites. The whipped cream and strawberries complements the airy texture of the cake perfectly. I immediately wolved down two giant slices and this comes from a girl who rarely has seconds. This recipe is going in the 'cake hall of fame'! Rating: 5+ out of 5.




Angel Food Cake: Martha Stewart - Baking Handbook

Ingredients:
- 1 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 13 large egg whites, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 ¼ cups superfine sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Strawberries & cream, for serving

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour and salt in a sieve set over a bowl; sift into bowl, and set aside. With a mixer, beat egg whites on medium-high until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Continue to beat, gradually adding sugar; beat until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to combine.
- Gently transfer egg-white mixture to a large, wide bowl. In four batches, using the sieve again, sift flour mixture over egg-white mixture. While turning the bowl, use a rubber spatula to fold in the mixture by cutting down the center and coming up the sides.
- Gently spoon batter into an ungreased angel food cake pan with a removable bottom; smooth top. Cut a knife or small spatula through batter to release air bubbles. Bake until cake is golden and springs back when lightly pressed, 35 to 40 minutes. Invert pan; let cool in pan, 1 hour. Run a knife around the inside of the pan and around the tube to release cake, and unmold. Use knife to release cake from bottom of pan, and remove.


I enjoyed this cake so much, I picked three angel food cake
variations for the next poll!

Mama's Angel Food Cake with Rum Creme Anglaise

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Can I just say how much I love angel food cake? The sky-high cake that looks airy but when eating a slice (or two... three!) instantly fills you up, is my new favorite cake! I might just make the other two variations from the weekly poll. To make this cake even more spectacular than the angel food cake with cream and strawberries I baked two weeks ago, I served the cake with a rum crème anglaise. Which brings me to my love-affair with rum as well :P I LOVE RUM! The crème anglaise made the cake wonderfully moist and reminded me of a French baba au rhum. What could be better? Rating: 5 out of 5.




Angel Food Cake: Virginia Willis - 'Bon Appetit, Y'all'

Ingredients:
- 1 ¼ cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 12 large egg whites, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ vanilla bean, split and scraped or 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Rum Crème Anglaise, optional

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set in the center of the oven.
- Sift flour together with ¾ cup sugar. Repeat process three times; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat egg whites, cream of tarter, and salt on medium speed until foamy. Add vanilla-bean seeds and almond extract. With the mixer on medium speed, slowly add remaining ¾ cup sugar. Continue mixing until whites are glossy and stiff peaks form.
- Sift enough of the flour mixture over the egg white mixture to lightly dust the top. Gently fold flour mixture into the egg white mixture. Repeat process until all the flour is incorporated into the egg white mixture.
- Gently spoon batter into a 10-inch tube pan. With a spatula or knife, using a circular motion, cut through the batter twice to eliminate any large pockets of air. Smooth top to remove any large peaks.
- Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Invert pan over a bottle (such as a 2-liter soda bottle or wine bottle) until completely cooled, about 2 hours.
- To serve, set upright, and using a butter knife or a long spatula, loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Invert onto a serving plate. Slice using a serrated knife or an angel food cake cutter; serve drizzled with bourbon crème anglaise, if desired.



Rum Crème Anglaise: makes 3 cups

Ingredients:
- 2 cups whole milk
- 6 large egg yolks
- ¼ cup sugar
- Pinch of fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon rum or bourbon

Instructions:
- Prepare an ice-water bath; set aside.
- Place milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. In a medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and salt until thick and light. Slowly pour in half of the hot milk, while stirring constantly. Slowly pour the egg mixture into the remaining milk mixture, stirring constantly. Stir in bourbon.
- Place saucepan over low heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring constantly. Continue cooking until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and reaches 180 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from heat.
- Strain crème anglaise through a fine mesh sieve set over a medium bowl. Set bowl in ice water bath and stir creme anglaise until cooled. Keep refrigerated until ready to use, up to 1 day.


A slice of heaven drenched with rum crème anglaise ♥.

'Laduree: The Sweet Recipes' Baking Book Giveaway! New Domain Celebration!

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Bonjour!

It finally happened!
ParisPastry.blogspot.com is now ParisLovesPastry.com

I've thought long and hard about the new domain and name.
Why choose a different name you might wonder...

Well, ParisPastry.com is taken by a Californian bakery.
Plus, pastry-legend David Leibovitz has a new book out named 'Paris Pastry'
(which might mean that he paid a visit to my blog once..?!), so that might end up
for confusion. Especially since he has the name 'Paris Pastry' taken on Twitter.
And, I don't want to confuse anyone with this blog and the great
ParisBreakfasts.blogspot.com blog.

So voilá!

Still staying true to the catchy 'Paris Pastry' phrase, I decided to go for
Paris Loves Pastry. Because I do. I love Paris and I LOVE pastry.





And what's a celebration without a gift?
A very special gift I might add.

I spotted this book when I stayed in Paris last Summer.
At the time, there was only the French version. But I immediately knew I wanted to
give one of my readers a copy of this book when the English version would come out.


How To Enter:
(everyone across the world may join)

1. Leave a comment here with your email address.
If you have a Blogger account and your email is on there, that's fine too.

2. For a second entry, become or be a public follower of Paris Pastry on Blogger.
I hate to be prissy about this, but I do actually check if you are.

3. For a third entry, Like Paris Loves Pastry on Facebook.

4. For a fourth entry, follow Paris Loves Pastry on Twitter.


The green links will direct you to Facebook and Twitter.
But, they are on the top of the sidebar as well.


Giveaway closes on July 10th. Bonne Chance!







Images: 1, 2, 3, 4

Nectarine, Pineapple and Coconut Crumble

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One thing I love about one of my favorite desserts, a crumble, is that you don't have to follow every instruction from the recipe. The art of pastry is very very precise. If you don't measure everything to a tee and add, for instance, a teaspoon of salt too much or too little, your whole recipe fails. With cooking everything is much easier. You can go with the flow and add all you want. Come on, how many times have you added the wine you were drinking to your meat sauce?! (too many times)

The making of a crumble or crisp is sort of similar. You can add anything of your liking to the crumble topping; oats, raisins, almonds, etc. And the fruit filling leaves to your imagination as well; whatever fruit you've got on hand, brown sugar, vanilla sugar, etc. I turned a 'Raspberry, Nectarine and Mango crumble' into a 'Nectarine, Pineapple and Coconut crumble'. And the result was faboosh! Don't be afraid to make the recipe your own. Rating: 4 out of 5.



A 'crumbless' crumble.
Nectarines and pineapple chunks topped with shredded coconut.



Nectarine, Pineapple and Coconut Crumble: recipe from MarthaStewart.com, original recipe here.

Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground ginger
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 6 nectarines (about 1 ¾ pounds)
- 3 slices pineapple
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- ⅓ cup shredded coconut
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or pineapple juice
- 2 pints vanilla ice cream (optional)

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 1 cup flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and oats. Mix on low for 30 seconds, add butter, and mix until clumps form, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Peel and pit nectarines, and cut into 1-inch chunks; place in a large bowl. Cut pineapple into ½-inch chunks; add to the nectarines. Add cornstarch, granulated sugar, shredded coconut and lime or pineapple juice; toss gently to combine.
- Transfer fruit to a shallow 12-inch round gratin dish. Distribute topping evenly over fruit. Bake until topping is golden brown and juices bubble, about 50 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool slightly. Serve warm with ice cream.


Happy 4th of July!

How to Host the Creepiest Halloween Party on the Block

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It's just the right time of year to start making plans for Halloween. If you don't have small children, or if the weather just isn't right for trick-or-treating, you might want to consider hosting a fun and spooky Halloween party. Of course you'll want to use your own creative spark when hanging decorations and baking snacks, but here are a few basic ideas to get you started.

Decorations

You don't need to spend a lot of money to convert you house into the kind of creepy crawly locale suitable for Halloween. All it takes is a few supplies and a little imagination.

The first step is to choose a theme for your decorations. A little organization can lead to a much more appealing (and frightening) effect than simply taping scary images up. You can host your party in:

· A haunted mansion
· An eerie graveyard
· A mad scientist's laboratory
· A monster's lair
· A meeting place for fairy tale witches
· Any other place you can think of!

The next step is to gather your supplies. Of course, the kind of decorations you want to make will depend on your party's theme. If you're not sure what decorations would work best, or how to create the effect you want, there are plenty of websites with lots of great tips.

Refreshments

As we all know, refreshments are the lifeblood of a party. You don't want to serve any drab snack for a special night like Halloween. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy ways to dress up your favorite foods to create the perfect spooky snack.

For example, let's say you're serving deviled eggs - the perfect food for a scary party, right? After you've prepared the eggs, get some black olives and cut them in half. One half can be placed domed side-up on the egg yolk. The other can be cut into slivers and arranged around the other half. There is now a swarm of huge spiders on your food table.

As you can see, anything you may be preparing can be turned into an appropriately awful surprise for your guests. Simple cookies can become bones, fingers, eyeballs, and bugs. Gelatin can be easily molded into delightful shapes, from brains to space aliens to ghostly ectoplasm. Even harmless homemade breadsticks can become gangly skeletons or witches' brooms.

For more information about party hosting and refreshments, visit http://www.cdkitchen.com

Joseph Devine

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Halloween Favors - Choose Among Many Options

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Halloween parties are gaining in popularity for kids and adults alike. Costumes have become more sophisticated, decorations much improved and the quality and selection of Halloween favors are better than ever.

Edible Halloween favors will always be beloved. And if you make them yourselves they are low in cost. Need inspiration for some homemade treats? Turn to Google Images for endless possibilities. Go to Google.com and then select Images from the choices in the upper left corner of the webpage. Type in either "Halloween Cookies" or "Halloween Cupcakes" and you'll be amazed by how many cookies and cupcakes you can choose from! Print out the ones you like best and then go for it! You can obtain terrific Halloween cookie cutters at many stores and certainly online.

Other easy and fun treats include decorated caramel corn balls, dipped pretzels, and rice crispy treats.  Place each item in a cello bag, tie it with a black or orange ribbon, and you have a finished Halloween favor.

If your baking and decorating skills are not your strong suit, or you don't have the time to do it yourself, leave it to the professions.   They have some really impressive offerings including bat cookies, skeletons, ghosts, monsters and, of course, pumpkins!

Non Edible Favors: Candle favors are perfect for this holiday. Search for votive holders that have a 'Halloween' motif including black and orange. An orange colored votive is perfect for the holder! (Black, too, if you can find them). Halloween party cups have also become popular. These are made from acrylic (so durable) and typically have a Halloween motif on them. Ultra cool party cups have 'compartment' bottoms that include a Halloween scene within the compartment.

If your party is before Halloween, you can give away glowing or blinking bracelets, necklaces, or buttons. They are both fun and practical, as they can be used to be spotted on the evening when you will be trick or treating.

Cool Party Favors, copyright 2009

Joyce Kreger is a party planner and recommends these fun Halloween Favors offered at Cool-Party-Favors.com

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