Tag: birthday cake

Homemade Caramel Sauce

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Column, refrigeratedLeave a comment

Making caramel successfully at home is all about using the right tools and ingredients and becoming comfortable with the process. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
My first experience with making “caramel” was in a high school home ec class. The recipe melted brown sugar, butter, and Karo syrup in the microwave, added baking soda, and then poured the concoction over a grocery bag full of popped corn and microwaved it until coated. It was so easy that when I began to make true caramel sauce, I lacked the trepidation that many people have about melting sugar until it is molten liquid.

As I explain this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon, making caramel successfully at home is all about becoming comfortable with the process and using the right tools. A pan that seems excessively large for the project is key to preventing a bubbling volcano of liquid sugar. A sturdy whisk is a must so that you can keep stirring the sugar steadily and constantly. Avoiding multitasking is crucial to controlling the process. But watching the sugar change as you stir—from white granules to tan clumps to pure liquid that darkens the longer you cook it—is part of the fun.
Learn to make Homemade Caramel Sauce

Triple Ginger Cake

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn cakes, ColumnLeave a comment

I’ve developed a cake recipe that uses three forms of ginger, mimicking the layers of flavor in my favorite Triple Gingersnaps yet staying moist and soft. Learn more at TwiceasTasty.com.
Cake has been on my mind these last few weeks as I’ve been celebrating milestones. My family calendar includes numerous May birthdays, which are always occasions to bake a cake or pie. This year, we also celebrated my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. I baked them the stacked version of Chocolate Pudding Cake filled with homemade strawberry-rhubarb-lilac jam, coated with Chocolate Ganache, and topped with fresh strawberries.

This month, I’m celebrating 8 years of Twice as Tasty, so I’m sharing yet another cake recipe in my latest Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I developed this recipe to use three forms of ginger, mimicking the layers of flavor in my favorite Triple Gingersnaps. But unlike the crisp cookies, I always want my cakes to be moist and soft. This cake achieves that through molasses, eggs, and baking soda dissolved in hot water.
Learn to make Triple Ginger Cake

Strawberries

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Event, Ingredient1 Comment

This month I’m drinking my dessert and eating it too. Get cocktail and dessert recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
If you follow Twice as Tasty on Instagram or Facebook, you won’t be surprised by the topic for this week’s blog post. That photo I shared of Monday’s strawberry harvest from the garden surpassed 12 pounds. No wonder I was tired of picking them by the time I was finished.

Most of those berries will end up as syrup, because it tops my sister’s Christmas wish list every year. As a bonus, I get to keep the roasted fruit solids, turning some into jam and simply freezing the rest in ice-cube trays to drop into smoothies and hot cereal next winter. Some of the fresh ones have already been gobbled up on my morning granola with Fresh Yogurt and my daily salads. But I couldn’t resist baking some into a Twice as Tasty birthday dessert.

I must admit: my fruit-syrup-loving sibling is also the dessert fiend, and I tend to drink my “special treats.” So last week’s post featuring Bourbon-Infused Smoked Cherries appears more often on the “dessert” menu from my kitchen than cakes and cookies. But for birthday month, you can have all the dessert you want, right? So this month I’m drinking my dessert and eating it too—as a simple yet delicious strawberry pudding cake, or clafouti.
Learn to make clafouti with strawberries and other fruit

Birthday Cake: Year 3

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic2 Comments

It’s Twice as Tasty’s birthday month, and that means cake. Get birthday cake recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
This month, we’re celebrating 3 years of Twice as Tasty! I’ve already shared some of the year’s best recipes and most popular workshops. And since my favorite “desserts” are usually served in a cocktail glass, I was quick to pass on my favorite recipe for homemade liqueur. This week’s post is for those of you who prefer to eat your dessert.

As I mentioned in last year’s birthday dessert post, I think a good celebratory cake must be moist, easy to decorate, and delicious. This ginger cake nails all three. The molasses not only adds the requisite gingerbread flavor but also keeps the crumb moist. The caramel glaze simply pours over the top: no fussy frosting time required. And the three versions of ginger—fresh, ground, and crystallized—replicate the flavors I fell in love with in Triple Gingersnaps.
Learn to make Triple Ginger Cake and Fresh Caramel Sauce

Birthday Cake: Year 2

On By Julie Laing | Twice As TastyIn Baking, Topic2 Comments

It’s Twice as Tasty’s birthday month, and that means cake. Get birthday cake and frosting recipes at TwiceasTasty.com.
It’s Twice as Tasty’s birthday month, and no birthday is complete without a celebratory dessert. I’m a fan of nontraditional birthday desserts, such as last year’s Strawberry Shortcake with Lilac Cream, Apple Crumble Pie, homemade sorbet, and even fruit crisps. But sometimes you just need cake. Rich, multilayered, chocolaty cake.

Unfortunately, party cakes tend toward a dry, crumbly texture held together by an overly sweet frosting. And unless you bake and decorate cakes regularly, you’re likely gambling when you try to layer and frost a creation worthy of the special occasion. But homemade cakes for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and other celebrations can be both delicious and beautiful. You simply need a recipe that ensures a moist cake and a few tips and tricks that make it easier to layer and decorate your baked creation.
Learn to make Layered Chocolate Pudding Cake and Chocolate Ganache