step-by-step – Page 9 – Zoom Yummy – Crochet, Food, Photography

Strawberry Cake

June 8, 2010 by zoomyummy

Have you ever invented a cake?

Not discovered.

Invented.

No?

Me neither.

Just until last week when I was sitting in my kitchen munching on my two all-time favorite delights – a bundt cake and a strawberry smoothie.

And that was when it happened.

That was when the idea struck me…

“What if… ?”

“What if I merged these two things so that they become one somehow?”

“What if it was possible?”

And right then – at that very precious moment – this strawberry cake was born.

I think my life is complete now.

These are the lovely ingredients that I used.

And these are canned strawberries.

I love the way they look and the way they taste.

It’s unbelievable how great the relationship between strawberries and light sugar syrup can become.

Yum!

Of course, you can use fresh strawberries, if you prefer those.

1. Throw the strawberries into the blender.
2. Add the cream cheese and the sugar (1 cup – 115 grams confectioner’s) and let all these ingredients dance around in perfect, happy and devoted harmony.

Sorry.

I got carried away for awhile.

What I mean is that you blend them together.

3. Then, in a separate bowl, whip the cream.
4. Pour the strawberry mixture into the whipped cream…

… and fold lightly.

(I used just half the amount of whipped cream I should have. So when you make this cake, your frosting will be much firmer.)
5. Place this heavenly frosting into the fridge for at least 1 hour.

The mixture will get firmer and much easier to work with.

6. Meanwhile, we can prepare the cake batter.

Start by placing two medium bowls in front of you.

Separate the eggs (the egg yolks into one bowl and the egg whites into the other).

7. This is the bowl with the egg yolks.

Pour in the sugar (1 1/4 cup – 250 grams) and the vegetable oil.

8. Combine the ingredients a little with a rubber spatula.
9. After that, mix with a hand mixer for about 3-5 minutes.

10. Then let the milk join the party and mix for another 3 minutes.

The oil and the milk will make the batter wonderfully moist.

And that is a great advantage in the world of cakes.

Many cakes would envy this one its gorgeous structure.

They might be writing their tiny petitions right now.

11. Add the flour and mix shortly.

12. Add the baking powder and give it all one short mix again.

13. Then, redirect your attention to the bowl containing the egg whites.

Whip them and fold them lightly into the yellow, egg-yolk mixture.

14. And here we go – the greased and floured 9-inch (23 cm) spring-form pan meets the heavenly batter.

They like each other.

I can tell by the first look.

15. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean).

Hello baby.

I like you.

Very much.

16. Place the cake (still in the pan) onto a cooling rack and let cool for about 30 minutes.
17. Then remove it from the pan and – AND (!) this is a great trick which keeps amazing me time after time – INVERT the cake.

If you’ve ever wondered – like I did for majority of my life – how some cakes can be so perfectly even on top, then this how (or at least one of the ways how).

Just try it.

You’ll be truly amazed.
18. Let the cake cool completely (this is very important – otherwise the heat could melt the frosting).
19. Using a knife, cut the cake into three layers.

20. Place one layer onto a serving platter.
21. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting.
22. Place another layer on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers.

23. Frost the top and the sides of the cake and garnish it with some strawberries.

Then cut one slice, close your eyes and enjoy a very special, overwhelming experience.

And this is the end of the love story called ‘How Bundt Cake met Smoothie’.

It is a very happy story.

(This cake should be stored in the fridge.)

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Homemade Gnocchi …And Mushroom-Bacon Sauce

June 3, 2010 by zoomyummy

Making you own, homemade gnocchi is magical.

It will bring you a very special, exciting feeling of triumph – like now that you can make your own gnocchi you can do really anything.

Or maybe it’s just me – estimating my future life through my food accomplishments.

Maybe I’m just weird.

Nevertheless, making gnocchi is really easy.

So please, PLEASE, don’t you ever believe anyone who’ll try to tell you something different.

Because to make it, all you have to do is to mix four simple ingredients into one ball, cut it into teeny-tiny pieces and drop it into a pot of boiling water.

Simple as that.

I’ll show you what I mean – just have a look:

These are the ingredients we need – for the gnocchi and for the delicious, creamy mushroom sauce, too.

1. Let’s start by boiling the potatoes.

To make that – place them in a pot filled with water, bring to boil and let cook until the potatoes soften.

You can check whether they are cooked by sticking a knife in their centers – if it runs smoothly and there’s no resistance, then it’s done.

This process should take about 25-30 minutes.

2. Strain the potatoes and let them cool – just until they are cool enough to be handled with your hands.

(You can speed up this process by placing the cooked potatoes into a pot of cold water for a couple of minutes.)

3. Using a knife, peel the potatoes.

4. Then, using a potato masher preferably (Did you hear that Petra? When are you going to get that?) mash the potatoes.

5. Add the flour, egg and salt and combine with a rubber spatula.

6. Then go on and commit the worst gastronomic sin of them all – mix by hand with you nail polish applied.

Yes Petra, you heard well, you are guilty.

7. Knead the mixture by hand a couple of times until a compact ball forms.

The dough is not going to be extra smooth so don’t worry about that.

8. Place the dough onto a well floured surface.

9. Then using a sharp knife, cut the dough into eight even pieces.

Form a ball from each piece and then roll each ball into this long skinny cigar-shaped log.

10. Using a knife, cut the log.

Continue, until all of your dough is cut.

11. Pour water into a larger pot and bring to boil.

12. Drop about 20 pieces of gnocchi into the boiling water, let cook and stir them gently once (so that they don’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot).

When the gnocchi float to the top, let them cook for additional 20 seconds.