Baking Friday - Pie # 5

Our last Mother's Day baking entry just two days before this annual tribute to mothers.  This is our pie...

Except it's really two pies...

...cause the line can come fast and furious and long!  This is just a portion of my willing taste testers!

What I love are the smiles!  People like Thursdays around our office now!

And THAT!  Makes me happy!

So what is our pie?  Just a little strawberry cheesecake tart "worthy skipping breakfast for!"  Just a little slice of wonderful "simply heaven" that elicits activities such as "I just licked my plate...twice."  Even those who are not cheesecake fans (are there really such people in the world???  Why yes, there are...myself included) enjoyed this light, creamy tart with slight citrus hints.  And making it look like a strawberry flower is way easier than it looks at first!  (I have Helen Fletcher on European Tarts to thank for teaching us this!  Although she used more strawberries, so hers is prettier...)

About the only weakness in this tart was the crust.  I still haven't found THE pie crust recipe that I love when baked blind and that doesn't shrink.  So I tried a "never fail" crust recipe in hopes this one might be it.  But alas, not so much, so the search continues.  And I figure it isn't needful to share that recipe.  It tasted fine, but it was a little on the tougher side for pie crusts.  And as you can see below...it still shrunk a bit.  Bummer.

At the same time, others said that they liked the crust.  So that just goes to show you that taste?  Is a matter of taste.

Profound, I know.  I will give you a moment to recover from such profundity.

But it really is true.  Taste is a matter of taste.  No matter the subject matter, we can never please everyone in every detail all of the time, and trying to do so will make us crazy.  And life is way too short for that!

Enough with the philosophy lesson for this post!  Maybe one of these days I will find THE pie crust recipe that satisfies me completely and my search will be over!  And if you stick around here long enough, I will share it with you when I find it!

Regardless of the crust, THIS.  IS. EASY.  Perhaps you think I say that every time, but this one really and truly is.  Not that I'm lying every other time I say it, but once the crusts are baked (and feel free to "cheat" and use a Pillsbury crust!), there is no other baking involved!  Come on!  What could be easier?!

In order to protect the crust (in case it wasn't as tough as it sorta turned out to be) I painted it with a bit of melted vanilla almond bark.  I could have used a pastry brush, but I used a spoon.  It worked just fine.

To finish off this tart, I filled it with this filling, essentially a non-orangy version of last week's Orange Cake Frosting.  All I did was substitute milk for the orange juice and zest.  (And keep in mind this was for two tarts, not just one.)

1 cup of heavy cream
Splash of vanilla and almond
1/4 cup powdered sugar
4oz softened cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
Few grains of salt
Splash of vanilla and almond
2 cups powdered sugar
2 - 3 T. milk

I whipped the cream with the flavorings and powdered sugar in my trusty Kitchen Aid with the whisk until light and fluffy with a peak just under stiff.  I moved that to a separate bowl and began beating all of the remaining ingredients in my trusty Kitchen Aid with the whisk until fluffy and soft and then folded the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Is it a true "cheesecake"?  Nope, I would have to say "no" to that question.  But for us not such cheesecake lovers, it was a nice balance between real cheesecake and a pastry cream filling.  (It does taste luscious if I may say so myself!)

Fill the tart shells with this lusciousness!

And then?  Then do something crazy with that last little bit of orangy cream cheese frosting you have leftover from last week.  Pile that on top!

Smooth it out with an offset spatula...

...until almost to the edge.

And I could have stopped right there.  But what fun is that when there are strawberries around?!

Following Helen's instructions, I sliced each hulled strawberry from point to hull in about 4 - 6 pieces but kept them intact.  Look closely.  Can you see the cut lines?

I also tried to sort by size - largest to smallest - so I could use the larger slices for the outer rings and the smaller ones for the inner rings.

And I was ready to decorate!  (By the way - filling and decorating took me a total of about 20 minutes for both pies, including the slicing time, so it will actually take me a longer time to write about this and post the pics than it took me to do it in the first place!)

I made my first outer ring on both pies...I mean tarts...

...and this was how many berries I had left.

And then I started on the next inner ring.  (If I'd had more berries, I would have laid them closer together, but I didn't estimate so well!)

And kept going along, laying each next ring as closely to alternating points with the previous ring as possible.

And I kept watching my berry supply.

And building rings.

And wondering if my berries would hold out.  For two tarts...???

And guess what?  This pie got done...

...as did this one!

And every last berry slice was used!

My final garnish was intended to be a "white chocolate" glaze of simply hot cream and a bit of vanilla almond bark melted together...

This was the drizzle consistency that I ended up with...

...and even though I let it cool a while before drizzling on the berries, it was still a bit too warm, so it was barely visible on the berries.

What's a girl to do?  No worries!  Chocolate sauce ain't just for ice cream folks!

And sure enough.  Once the tarts were chilled again, the "white chocolate" glaze whitened up right nice!  Ready for a couple of mint leaves and serving!

Pretty, huh?  And tasty!

I've had fun with our Mother's Day treats!  I hope that you have as well!  Please accept my sincere wishes for a wonderful Mother's Day to you and yours!  And I hope you found something in our collection to inspire you to treat your mother extra special!

Thanks for stopping by!  

Happy! Happy! Birthday to G!

This post begins with a warning.  There are a number of birthdays coming up over the next 6 weeks, so you may get tired of my birthday posts in that time.  But if you're game, here goes!

Today is Cinco de Mayo.  Yes, that is true,  But for us, today is something more important!  G's birthday is today! 

We plan to spend the day together, shopping at some new to us places and enjoying some good meals.  And that is just about the perfect segue into # 5 of...

The Top 5 Things I Love About G (this week - which is actually not a bad marriage building tip if you stop and think about it...)

# 5 - He taught me how to enjoy shopping.  I know, it makes no sense, but in our relationship, G (the Man) is the shopper, not Deb (the Woman).  I hear ya!  I get it!  Deb is supposed to LOVE shopping and G is supposed to tolerate shopping, but we are the exact opposite of the stereotype.  BUT, what is interesting to me is that when I am with G, I actually enjoy the shopping (read: browsing) experience.  And that shocks me more than it probably shocks anyone else!  This "meanest, baddest hombre" picture is from shopping in Ft. Worth last year, in fact....

# 4 - We learn things together.  Just yesterday we had an early dinner in at Bradden's in St. Charles and then had an after-dinner stroll (what they used to call a "constitutional") down by the river in what is now Katy Trail State Park.  Well included in the park is a 4 or 5 panel exhibit with pictures, maps and stories of the history of the area.  We enjoy reading through that sort of thing and discussing it and how it ties in with our individual knowledge of the subject or area.  I love making those memories with my husband.

# 3 - His attention to detail.  Whether it is in crushing peppermints...

...or putting in a community garden, he gives it his best.  And his best includes the details.  I don't have any pics of G working in the garden, but it has been quite the focus around here for the last few weeks, and it is coming along quite nicely.  And trust me, there has been some angst surrounding this garden - all perfectly normal angst and differences of opinions for a first-year community garden, I am sure - but all of that angst can make a person want to simply ask "Is it worth it?"  But G is doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do even when he may not "feel" much like it from time to time.  Suffice it to say that from my many years as a single mom, I have a deep appreciation and respect for that quality in a person.

# 2 - How G interacts with little ones - and even big ones.  Whether they be very little ones on their first Pie Night...

...or with his grandsons in a "fort"...

...or with my daughter B (who is now an adult).  It has become a tradition (one that I LOVE by the way!) that G and B put the lights on the Christmas tree.  And they make a great team!

And I also love how the little ones respond to him.  J-man simply lights up when G comes around.  J-man made G's day last Sunday when G walked around the corner of J-man's house into the back yard.  J-man just smiled and started waving his little hand so big.  What grandparent wouldn't love that greeting?!  Our little K-man and G are also a great deal of fun to watch together...K-man is just getting so grown up!!!

And the # 1 Thing That I Love About G...

# 1 - How his kids accept and love me.  I won't spend a great deal of time on this one, but I could and would understand if his kids were reticent to accept me, much less love me.  But they haven't held back at all.  They have welcomed me, in fact, and regularly tell me that they love me.  That simply means a great deal to me, and is, at least in some ways, a reflection of what G has taught them in relating to and respecting what some like to call "parental figures".  And yes, using that phrase just sorta made me vomit in my mouth a bit, so I will move on quickly!  (Hope you're laughing or at least chuckling a bit at about this moment!)

So now it is time for The Top 5 Things I Would Give G if Time, Money and Resources Were No Object)

# 5 - All the visiting time in the world.  G is a great visitor.  He can visit with just about anyone on just about any subject.  This is almost a lost art in this age of texting and FB-ing and tweeting, but G just about thrives on being around people and interacting with them, be they young or not-so-young of age.  

# 4 - A large field that he can plant with any fruit tree or vegetable or flower you an imagine.  Being outdoors and creating beauty and nourishment from plants feeds G's spirits in ways few other things can.

# 3 - All the country music and singing you could fit into the time leftover after visiting and gardening.  Or better yet, a large stereo system that could blast country music to every corner of that field I would give him in # 4.  G needs music to help him feel alive, and his first music love is Country, I do believe.  And yes, I love him for that trait even if I am not so much the country music fan myself.  

# 3 - A boat.  A fishing boat to be exact.  G loves to fish, but doesn't do it much at all.  But a boat on hand just might encourage him to take a day off from the world and find his soul on the water with a line.

# 2 - A Cardinals season ticket holding for a lifetime.  This man does love his Cardinals.  He, of course, loves them better when they are scoring and winning than when they are not, but his love goes back to his childhood days in Springfield, IL, of listening to Harry Caray and Jack Buck calling the games on the radio.

And the # 1 Thing I Would Give G for His Birthday if Time, Money and Resources Were No Object...

# 1 - The world's best home workshop he could ever imagine so that he could create beauty with tools and wood and paint and finishes and all those other things that go along with a workshop that I have no working or even vocabulary knowledge about but don't lose sleep at night worrying about because I can simply trust others to know about those things.  (Don't you just love a good, run-on sentence?  So easy to understand, right?)    

Now...I just got to thinking about something...if I did indeed give G all of these things, then chances are I'd never see him, because he would be visiting with everyone else while he was gardening and singing and cheering on the Cardinals and building things...hmmm...so maybe it is a good thing I can't give him all of these things!  

I love you, honey.  I'm looking forward to our day together and I hope we make it a very happy birthday for you!  Happy!  Happy! Birthday to G!

Baking Friday - Cake # 5 - My Grandmother's Orange Cake

Before I begin talking about this week's cake, I have to share something special with you!

How wonderful and fun is that?!  This was a surprise sitting on my desk first thing Thursday morning!  And this beautiful, talented young mother is the thoughtful friend who made this for me!  Thank you, Miss K!  I LOVE this!!!

I LOVE surprises!!!

Okay, now for today's cake!  I have precious few recipe cards in my recipe box in my mother's handwriting.  I have 9 to be exact.  The most prized and often used one being her peanut brittle.

Among these 9 recipe cards are two cakes - Scripture cake, which is essentially a Vacation Bible School activity where the ingredients are listed as 1/2 c of Judges 5:25 or 3 Isaiah 10:14 and the student looks up the verse to find the food mentioned there - and this one.

Orange Cake.  Mother's Orange Cake.

Except since this is in my mother's handwriting, this is really our grandmother's orange cake.  And here is the icing on the back of the card.

Simple recipe yet I honestly didn't find an orange cake recipe online that was quite like this one.

Now what is interesting to me is that I don't recall mother making this cake or my grandmother either.  I am the last grandchild, so perhaps my sister and cousins remember grandmother making this cake.  I just don't happen to remember it - nor have I made it myself.

But I am celebrating Mother's Day treats so I thought this would be a great time to make this cake in honor of my own mother and grandmother.

Now, does it still count as my grandmother's recipe if I made a few changes and added a frosting along with the glaze?  I hope so, because this cake turned out really good.  More than one person said that it reminded them of old-fashioned cakes.  One spoke of old-fashioned church potlucks when the "grandmas" would bring out their Sunday best with a little friendly competition to see who would get the bragging rights of having the empty platter and most requests for the recipe.  Another spoke of "being transported back in time like a delicious time machine...back to the cakes his grandmother used to make when he was growing up in Arkansas.  You can definitely taste the distinctive flavors of Orange, and Love in every bite."  Others said that they didn't know they liked orange cake, but that this was "phenomenal."  Still another said with a bit of a cadence in the email "I like the cake.  It was something new and different.  Yet there was something familiar about it.  This was the first time I ate such a cake."  The cake is moist, and "the syrup mixture in the cake...brings some fun to the party, moist and perfect flavor..."  A real pick-me-up from the orange flavor said another!  (I really enjoy reading the feedback from my taste tester volunteers!)

Now grandmother stopped the cake at the point of the glaze...or essentially here...

But I wanted to add a fluffy, light, soft orangy frosting on the whole.  I also knew that I needed to double the recipe to have enough for everyone.  So I baked it in two 10" round pans instead of the 8" x 13" pan called for by my mother.  So for the frosting I basically combined whipped cream with a cream cheese icing,and it really turned out good.  One used the phrase "to die for, light fluffy goodness" to describe this frosting.  The flavors linger in your mouth wanting more.  One young lady remarked on her way back to her cube that she "already wanted to go back for seconds."

Before I share the recipe that I did, here is how the finished cake looked - a bit updated perhaps from what grandmother would have done, but I still kept the essence and best attributes of her legacy.

Looks Springy and homey and pretty, don't you think?  I really liked how this one turned out if it's okay for me to say so.  And it really is easy, ladies and gentlemen.  It may take a few steps, but none of the steps are hard at all.  If you have some oranges on hand, you can do this!

Ready?  This is the double recipe that I made.  I also substituted some oil for a portion of the butter to up the moistness just a bit without losing the flavor from the butter grandmother's recipe called for.  Here we go!

3/4 cup of softened butter
1/4 of vegetable oil
2 cups of sugar
2 eggs*
4 cups of flour
1-1/4 t. salt
2 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
Grated rind of 1 large or 2 small oranges
2 c. of sour milk (I soured by added 2 T. of white vinegar)
Splash of vanilla and orange extract
7 drops of orange oil (optional)
*Note: I also had 3 egg yolks leftover from making something else, so I threw those in with the eggs.

I didn't take pictures of these steps, because they are pretty basic cake making steps.  I creamed the butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy.  I added the eggs and the orange zest and mixed until thoroughly combined. I mixed the dry ingredients together with a whisk (I could have sifted them together) and I combined the sour milk with the flavorings and orange oil.  I added the dry ingredients alternately with the wet, beginning and ending with the dry.  Finally I poured the batter into two 10" cake pans that I had greased on the bottom and lined with parchment on the bottom only and sprayed the parchment, too.  (I left the sides of the cake pans untreated to help minimize the cake from "humping" in the middle.)  I baked at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 min until golden and a toothpick came out clean.  I tried to not over bake the cake, but mother's instructions said "until done" so I began testing after 25 minutes, and the layers took about 33 minutes total in my oven.

While the layers were baking, I put together the orange glaze to pour over the hot cakes.

2 cups of sugar
Grated rind of 1 large or 2 small oranges
Juice of 2 large oranges
Few grains of salt

I boiled this mixture until thick like a sugar syrup.  Here it is at the beginning of boiling...

...and here it is at the end of boiling...about 5 minutes later...

...and here it is right before pouring over each hot layer.  Now there are two things that I did that my mother or grandmother never would have done, for they never would have had these ingredients in their homes.  I added a splash each of Amaretto and Triple Sec after removing from the heat.  Please don't tell either of them, okay?  Our little secret, right?

I poked holes in each layer with a fork and poured this glaze over the hot cakes.

And this is where my grandmother ended.  She likely served the cake from the pan, and there is nothing at all wrong with serving it that way.  The cake will be tasty and moist and yummy in its simplicity!

But I wanted to create a layer cake, so I removed the layers from the pan after they had cooled for 15 min to let them cool completely.

Now about that frosting!  I began by simply whipping 2 cups of whipping cream with a splash of vanilla and orange extract and 1/2 cup of powdered sugar until light and fluffy.  It held a peak, but wasn't stiff.

This stuff tastes luscious just like it is!  It would make a great whipped cream to top Grande Marnier pecan pie!  Or as a fruit dip.  Or quite honestly simply eaten from a spoon!

But I wasn't done!  Now for the cream cheese icing part...

8oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
Few grains of salt
Splash of vanilla and orange extract
4 cups of powdered sugar
5 T. of orange juice
Bit of yellow gel food coloring and tiny amount of pink gel food coloring (or orange, if I'd had it!)

I creamed everything together until fluffy and soft.

Then I folded in the whipped cream and coloring.  Can we say "Yum!"???

This frosting is soooo easy to work with, because it is so light and fluffy. Even if you hate frosting cakes, this is easy!  I put some of the frosting on the first layer and then added the second layer.

And then I piled a bunch of frosting on the top...

..and spread it to the edges before starting on the sides.

I really wanted a loose, rather home style look to the finished cake rather than a typical decorated cake.

The frosting will pipe even though it isn't a stiff icing, so I piped a border and rosette on the top before setting it in the fridge overnight.

Finally I garnished with well-drained, mandarin orange slices and mint right before serving.  So easy and yet so pretty!

It makes me start looking for a knife....however I never seem to remember to take a picture of the cut cake!  I gotta get better at remembering that!

Happy Mother's Day, Mother and Grandmother.  Thank you both for loving us and treating us to special treats and inspiring us to love on others with our talents.

One more week of Mother's Day treats - a pie for next week - and then I will start on Father's Day treats - more guy-like baked treats.  (Insert Tim Allen grunt here...)

Thank you for stopping by!  Hope you enjoyed reading!!!  And Happy Mother's Day to you and yours!