Saturday, July 4, 2015

Olivia's Red, White and Blue Cake

Happy Fourth of July folks....Here is a very patriotic cake baked by Attorney Olivia Bennet-Alexander, my legal eagle charactor from my blog Escapades...

 When it comes to ice cream cakes, there are no hard-and-fast rules as to what form they can take. Some consist solely of ice cream molded and then decorated to resemble a cake.

Here is Olivia's recipe-

INGREDIENTS: 
  • Cake:
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for dusting
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs, warmed in their shells in warm water for 5 minutes
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • Blueberry filling:
  • 12 ounces (2 1/4 cups) fresh blueberries
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • Raspberry filling:
  • 12 ounces (3 cups) fresh raspberries
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • Ice cream filling:
  • 1 1/2 quarts vanilla ice cream
  • Frosting:
  • 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
  • 1/3 cup confectioners sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • Garnish:
  • 1 cup mixed fresh blueberries and raspberries
  • fresh raspberries
DIRECTIONS:


  • Heat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Invert bottom of springform pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom) and lock on side. Butter pan and line bottom with a round of parchment or wax paper. Butter paper, then dust paper with additional flour, knocking out excess.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a bowl.
  • In a separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer (fitted with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add in warmed eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla.
     
    • Reduce speed to low, then add flour mixture in 3 batches alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour and mixing until batter is smooth. Spoon batter into springform pan, spreading evenly.
    • 5Bake cake until it begins to pull away from side of pan and a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully run a thin knife around edge of cake and remove side of pan. Invert cake onto rack, then remove bottom of pan and carefully peel off paper. Let cake cool completely.
    • 6Combine all ingredients except water and cornstarch in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and briskly simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir water into cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir into blueberry filling and gently boil, stirring, 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and chill, uncovered, until cold.
       
       Combine all ingredients except water and cornstarch in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and briskly simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until reduced to about 1 1/4 cups, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir water into cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir into raspberry filling and gently boil, stirring, 1 minute. Force filling through a large fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, scraping bottom of sieve to release pulp into bowl. Discard solids in sieve. Chill filling, uncovered, until cold.
       
      Cut cooled cake horizontally into 3 even layers with a long serrated knife. Line 9-inch springform pan with 2 overlapping sheets of plastic wrap, letting excess hang over edge. Put bottom layer, cut side up, in pan. Spread cold blueberry filling over cake using offset spatula, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge, then freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. 
       
       Slightly soften ice cream in microwave, then scoop half of it, preferably in thin curls that you can lay over blueberry layer, and gently spread it evenly to edge of cake. Return remaining ice cream to freezer. Put middle cake layer on top of ice cream, gently pressing it down, and spread cold raspberry filling over cake, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge. Freeze cake until raspberry layer is firm, about 30 minutes.
       
       
      • Slightly soften remaining ice cream, if necessary, and spread in same manner evenly over raspberry filling to edge of cake. Put remaining cake layer on top of ice cream, cut side down, and gently press it down, then freeze cake, well wrapped in plastic, until very firm, 4 to 6 hours.
      • Beat heavy cream with confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a large deep bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks.
      • Remove side and bottom of springform pan and peel plastic from cake. Set cake on a serving plate that will fit in the freezer. Spread some of whipped cream in a thin layer around side and top of cake and freeze cake until cream is
        • firm, about 30 minutes (meanwhile, keep remaining whipped cream cold in refrigerator).
        • 13Frost cake with remaining cream, leaving swirls in cream on top to help hold berries. Freeze until very firm, at least 30 minutes. 
           
          To serve, transfer cake to refrigerator to soften, 30 minutes to 1 hour, and garnish with berries. 
           
          This was pretty long I know...but attorneys are often loquacious aren't they?
           
          Happy 4th Everybody!
           
       
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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Love Olivia...Love her cake too!

August 1, 2015 at 7:11 AM

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Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






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