Baked Zebra for Valerie

It's not what you think!  Well, if you were thinking that I baked Zebra as a meal for my sister, that is.  Given I don't live on the same continent as zebras, you can imagine this would have been quite a feat.  There is, however, the zoo.  Somehow, I don't think I'd be posting here if that were the case.  Zookeepers tend to frown on that sort of behaviour.

I guess there's the black market.  Given I don't even know where to start looking for that sort of thing, I think we can eliminate that possibility as well.  It would be probably just as tricky as finding Diagon Alley.

Back to it though, yeah?

It was my sister's birthday yesterday.  In a nutshell, she's pretty wicked.  She's creative, fashion-forward, friendly, and ridiculous sometimes.  She is, however, great for a laugh.  Even at our parents' expense.

And, because it’s a birthday, that means cake!  In our family, this always used to be ice cream cake.

I'm not that developed in the dessert field.  Maybe we'll come back to this in the future.  (Given the amount of space - both for moving and for working, this may be in the distant future.  So, don't hold your breath.  I need readers, 'kay? ^__^;; )

I could have gone plain, flavoured, two bowl (wet/dry) cake that comes together and bakes quietly away.  I could have really saved myself a lot of time.  I didn't take the easy way.  I chose to do something a little bit trickier without the guaranteed outcome. Taking the hard way this time was so worth it.

An internet search of 'Zebra cake' will give you a million and more different pictures of an awesome striped cake.  I was having doubts that it would be achievable.  Then, in the corner of my eye, I behold my special cake pan.  I purchased it on sale when I was on holidays.  It is supposed to be a green pan and cook well, etc.  Whether this is true or not, I couldn't say.  It does, however, bake a mean cake and I won't lie to you about that one.

So, I bring to you, the Zebra Cake for Valerie in celebration of her birthday!


Zebra Cake For Valerie
As Put For by The Girl Who Bakes (original recipe here!)

That chocolate icing conceals something amazing underneath.  A striped cake, I should say.  A great surprise!

What You'll Need:
For the main cake part:

• 2 eggs
• 2 egg whites
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 2/3 cup drained applesauce (I use baby food when I have to applesauce... I don't eat a lot of applesauce and its either a small container or a jar.  The plastic cups just sort of sit there in my pantry and make me feel guilty because I'm not eating them.  Besides, baby food give these little resealable containers that are quite handy in my lunch. Uh, anyway...)
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup spelt flour
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 cup plain yogurt

For The Different Stripes:

• 1/2 cup coconut, toasted then divided*
• 1/2 tsp coconut extract
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 20g dark chocolate (I used two squares of Lindt 85% chocolate that I recieved as a gift)

* For the coconut, toast the coconut until it is a light brown colour.  Set it aside to cool.  Remove 1 tbsp from the browned coconut and stick it in a bowl elsewhere; it will come in handy later.

For The Icing:

• 3 tbsp margarine
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 2 tbsp skim milk
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

How It's Done:
1. Preheat the baking machine (read: oven) to 350F.
2. Grease the cake pan according to the instructions that you get from the company that makes it.  (I say this because the recipe I'm referencing says grease.  Some people like to grease and flour.  My pan suggests just a little bit of oil and it will kick butt.  So probably grease will work wonders.)
3. In one bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (we're talking the baking powder and flours).
4. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the eggs, whites and sugars until you go from the yellow of the yolk to a lighter yellow colour.  (I borrowed from the colourful people at Behr.  When it comes to colours, they know their junk.  So, basically,going from Marigold yolks to a Neon Light liquid that's even in color.)

5. When you get that really nice colour, add the yogurt, vanilla, oil and applesauce (baby food) then beat until homogeneous.
6. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix it all together to make it even.
7. Separate the batter into two even portions.
8. Fold in the toasted coconut and extract into one batter portion and set that aside.
9. In the other bowl, mix in the cocoa and the finely chopped chocolate to the other batter and let that bowl keep the other one company.
10. Get yourself two spoons, one for each batter on the exclusive.  (You don't want to be mixing the batters before mixing the batters... Yeah, that was confusing.  Don't go making a light brown cake in one bowl from mixing schools.)

Two bowls, two spoons and one cake.  Trust me, you don't want to go mixing up the batters.  Also, don't worry if your spoon drips by accident.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist, but the cake will still come out okay and, as my mom commented, even zebras themselves don't have perfect stripes.

11. Alternate with two spoonfuls of each batter into the prepared pan.  You don't have to wait for the batter will spread, spooning it in will get that done for you.  Keep adding until all the batter is gone.
12. Stick the cake into the baking machine (go oven!) and bake for 30-40 minutes, making sure to toothpick test it.  (I bake for the minimum time then check and adjust with more time.  I'm not sure if that's how it’s done, but that's how you do).
13. Remove the cake when it’s done and let it cool completely.  (Trust me on this one.  If you try to ice it when its warm... You know?  Take my word for it and just don't.  Yeah, we won't go into it further than that.)

Hot out of the oven with a slight crack and some imperfections.  All in all, the cake is still pretty solid.

Okay, this was my first time making icing that actually came out right.  Is that a startling statement?  I am not in the habit of icing a lot of stuff and we all know I cheated on Yu-Han's cake a while back.  I owe Girlwhobakes a huge thanks on this one.  She not only had an amazing recipe but I actually made icing that worked.  Right, icing.

1. Measure the margarine into the dish and add 1/4 cup of the icing sugar.
2. With a hand mixer, mix on high until it is well-combined and light in appearance.
3. Soft cocoa into the bowl and 1 tablespoon of milk.
4. Mix again until coloured completely throughout.
5. Add the remaining icing sugar and beat until it is light and creamy.
6. Add the vanilla and mix until it is all together as an icing.
7. Spread the icing over the cake in an even layer.
8. Finish the cake by sprinkling over the reserved toasted coconut.

I used margarine here and, after I added the above, I didn't need to add any more milk.  If you choose to use butter (the real way), check out Girlwhobakes and the original recipe! ^__^

Birthday served up moist and striped.  Don't front like you don't want a piece of this glory!

Let me tell you, what a cake!  Girl Who Bakes really brought the rain on this one.  Her original recipe is for this cake on the skinny.  Given that I added a boatload of chocolate and coconut, I think its pretty obvious that the beast I created is not exactly on the skinny any longer.  My bad.  I just couldn't resist!  But, for cake on the skinny (without chocolate and coconut), check out the link over yonder.

Birthdays and Baking and Biscotti, Oh My!

Would you look at that?!  It has been seventeen days (give or take maybe a handful of hours and minutes) since we chatted about baking.  And, as much as I would like to say it was just because I was busy, that’d be a little bit of a lie.  Actually, I think it would be better to state that it would be a lie of omission.  I have been busy, however, I have also been sick, sleepy and sore.  Stressed, sick, sleepy and sore do not a baking mood create.

So why, do you ask, am I posting?  Well, I’m certainly not throwing an internet-wide pity party (that’s for sure!).  I’m posting because, in the spirit of celebrating birthdays, I was quite the busy baker.

This past weekend was my father’s birthday!  Remember we had been talking about biscotti?  Why, why haven’t I baked more biscotti since Christmas?  How could I be so cruel not to make more biscotti?  Oh, I’m such a horrible daughter!

You can imagine the shock (followed by happiness) that greeted the biscotti that I baked up as a gift.  That is one thing that I must say I adore about baking; you can always bake to your heart’s content and then give the results as gifts!

I didn’t, however, just stop at cookies.  A good birthday has cookies.  A great birthday calls for cake!  Apple cake as a matter of fact.

Long story short, the coconut biscotti went over really very well.  I should probably mention that I never actually got to eat one of the biscotti.  Don’t get me wrong, I totally munched on the crumbs on the baking sheet, but it seemed cruel to eat part of a batch of cookies that I intended to give as a gift.  That’d be like opening the packaging of something before giving it away (in my opinion).  I fully intended to swipe one after they were opened though.  My dad, however, hid the tin and refused to share.  And you can’t guilt someone out of something that you gave them!  Gah!

I can say that the apple cake turned out absolutely lovely.  I give fully credit to my mandolin.  That little sucker is the newest addition to my arsenal of … random kitchen gadgets that I have always sort of wanted.  Next up, I dream of pizzelle maker.

Before I wrap this up completely, its probably worth mentioning that a student in our lab also had his birthday this week but 'didn't want to make a big deal about it and bother people'.  I mean, I can relate, but only because I really have a jar full of hate for my birthday; that majority of them over the years have been, shall we say, of a less-than-stellar nature.  But I digress.  Long story short, I cranked up the oven late at night to bake him a batch of short-cut cookies.  Is there nothing that Quaker Oat's Oatmeal Cookie Mix can't fix? ^__^


Oh, I should also mention, because I rambled so much, I hid the recipes behind a cut.  I didn’t want to be a spammer.  My bad!

The Dreaded First Post

So, maybe I’m making a big deal about this whole thing.  No, scrap the previous thought.  I’m definitely making a big deal about this whole thing.  I’m thinking some people take to this blogging thing like chocolate and mint but, as I’m sure you’ll figure out soon enough, I’m not exactly the best at checking in regularly.  Geez, if the children of my children ever find my diary attempt and get all hopeful because they want to glean something new about me, they will find I age about a year between entries.  How is that for anti-climatic?  My life is going to seem like a goat-song!



Its not, by the by.  Just, you know, for clarification.


Anyway, why put off the first post?  Well, I was going to wait until I had the chance to bake something, take a picture and yak about how the whole experience went for me.  However, I was getting antsy just looking at the blank page from before.  Driven by the haunting image of the empty page, I cracked open my baking book to see what recipes I had to share.  


There are quite a few that I like, and I have a feeling they are going to pop up sooner or later, but, for now, let’s talk box cake mix.  Easy to use, pretty good flavor (on average – I’ve had some pretty foul ones, not going to lie) and everything is mixed up for you already (i.e. no Bulk Barn trip).  Have you ever tried to bake with them a little bit outside of the rules on the side?  I have!  A few times, in fact, but none so good as blueberries, almonds and vanilla.


I obtained the recipe off of my mother who had had it since I was a little girl and in Brownies (or maybe it was Sparks, not sure) though I had never really taken a crack at it until I had to attend a Baby Shower Potluck.  


The whole week leading up to the shower I had been staying up super late (and, yes, it definitely started to show) so I didn’t have a lot of time to bake anything really complicated.  The night before the shower, I blew in from work, got washed up and baked this awesomeness in the oven.  The entire kitchen (and my bedroom, by extension) smelled ah-mazing (with a definite syllable-separation necessary).  I made the icing before leaving the next day and headed on my way.


I’m happy to report that the cake survive the 15 min bus ride and the block and a half walked to get there, though things were looking a little bit questionable when I nearly got attacked by a flock of geese.  You laugh, but those things are mighty vicious; they hiss and are just all manner of unpleasant.  


At the end of the day, I was still in one piece and the cake was completely gone!  I’d say that’s the highest compliment to be had ever!


Success! ^__^

Betty Crocker, Blueberries and I 

(or, Cheat Blueberry Almond Cake)

What looks like tar is actually baked blueberry glory.  For the win!

You will need:

For the goods:

• 1 cup of dairy sour cream (the low fat stuff works totally fine, no worries).
• 2 tbsp water
• 3 eggs
• 1 package of Betty Crocker Super Moist French Vanilla Cake Mix (See?  Cheating!)
• 1 19-oz can of Blueberry pie filling (More cheating!  And, what’s more, is that it doesn’t matter what flavor of filling you use.  Apple, strawberry, cherry… I’m pretty sure they have a pie filling for everything imaginable).
• 1/3 cup toasted almonds, sliced (“But, Liser, why aren’t they on the cake in the picture?” you ask.  Funny story: I didn’t have the recipe on me, bought the wrong ones, was too lazy to toast them myself and so omitted.  It worked out okay, though; you can never be sure with people and allergies these days and I don’t like to disclude people.  That’s just not cool).

To glaze the thing:

• 1/2 cup icing sugar
• 2 tbsp milk

How it’s done:

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. Grease yourself up a pan to put the batter in.
3. Mix the sour cream, water and eggs together.
4. Stir in the cake mix from the package and stir until moistened.  The batter’s going to be a little lumpy but don’t worry about it.
5. Spread the cake into your greased pan.
6. Using a Goldilocks-sized spoon (not too big, not too small), drop the filling by the spoonful onto the batter.  (Okay, the recipe says 19-oz but, man, I don’t know if you’ve ever cracked one of those open but that’s a lot of filling!  What size pan were they using?  Long story short, having left over filling is totally okay; go with your gut when adding the filling.  Maybe you’re just ape for apples, who knows? ^_^).
7. Bake until cake springs back; approx. 25-30 minutes.  (I used the time-honored poke-it-with-a-toothpick technique to test; you want to see that it comes out clean before pulling the cake on out).
8. Pull the cake out and sprinkle with almonds.  (Or not, if you’re like me and bought the wrong ones!  I’m not perfect, what can I say?).
9. While your cake is cooling, prepare the glaze by adding the milk to the sugar and mixing until smooth.
10. Drizzle the top of the cake with glaze.  (If you make it and store it in the fridge, it may separate.  If this happens, make sure that its totally mixed up before you use it).
11. Cut the cake into squares, serve and enjoy!

On writing this, I don’t know where this recipes comes from so I can’t reference properly.  My mom and I believe that it might come from a Betty Crocker Cookbook, given the simplicity of using a boxed cake mix.  Just because its simple, though, doesn’t mean it isn’t yummy!