Blue & Gold - Cake Auction

This is the year that D is a Webelo II in Cub Scouts so the boys are supposed to make a cake for the Father/Son Blue & Gold Cake Auction. Since B was away all last week in Utah, Arizona and California, I had to step in and help D make his cake for the auction. We had talked about what they wanted to do and they both agreed to disagree. B wanted to do a bunch of cupcakes on a cupcake tree and D wanted to do a cake. I decided to do both. I made the big cupcake that I posted on this blog almost a year ago with the Double Chocolate Pound cake Recipe I got off the Wilton website with the exception of the espresso. I didn't want to sell a cake with espresso in it to a family with kids. I also made Oreo Cookies & Cream Cupcakes and bought an inexpensive cookie tree on Ebay. It was supposed to be disposable but I think it could be used many times by the new owners. Both the cookie tree and the big cupcake went over very well at the Blue & Gold today. They got numerous bids. My work was well received, thankfully. Take a look at the pictures and let me know what you think. I made two batches of the Oreo cupcakes so we had a chance to sample them. They were yumm-O! I used the store bought Wilton Decorating Frosting but I'm including a great looking recipe for butter cream frosting.

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of some of the other cakes that were auctioned off. They were all really awesome.

Oreo Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

(24 cupcakes)

2-3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces (2 sticks/16 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 -1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup (8 fl oz) whole milk, at room temperature

1-1/2 cups coarsely crushed Oreo cookies

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Line 24 standard sized (3.5-4 oz) cupcake wells with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. On low speed, add the flour mixture in two parts, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. Fold in the crushed Oreo cookies. Divide the batter evenly among the 24 cupcake wells. Bake at 350F until cupcakes are golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 to 20 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan for 5 minutes then gently remove from pan to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Butter cream Frosting

(enough to lightly frost 24 cupcakes)

4 ounces (1 stick / 8tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temp

2 to 2.5 cups confectioners' sugar

3 to 4 tablespoons whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the butter with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 30 seconds.

Sift in 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla.

Beat on low speed until sugar is incorporated.

Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy.

Adjust the frosting consistency and sweetness with the remaining 1 tablespoon milk and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar.

Frost your cupcakes.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

Oven Baked French Toast

I found this recipe in the newspaper. Our local paper has recipes in the "lifestyle" section about once or twice a week. This particular week I found a bunch of recipes that I'll be making over the course of time. This one attracted my attention right away when it said "easy and inexpensive". That is right up my alley. Also, you may know that my family loves french toast. This recipe was definitely one of the easiest to make. It requires little to no preparation. It can be made ahead so you can just pop it in the oven when you are ready to bake it. My only complaint was that the sugar I sprinkled on top did not melt as promised. I think it would have worked better if I had dotted the top of the french toast with some butter and then sprinkled on the sugar. I'll try that next time. If you are worried about cholesterol, you can use Just Whites or some other egg substitute.

I'm planning to make this for the upcoming teacher appreciation week breakfast for D's school. That is coming up during the first week of May. Actually, I think that is a country-wide Teacher Appreciation week so if you want to say "thank you" to your kids teachers, please remember to do it during the first week of May. They deserve it.

Oven Baked French Toast
with Mixed Berry Sauce

For the French Toast:

16 to 20 ounce loaf sliced white bread, ends discarded (I used Arnold Brick Oven)
1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
6 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups low-fat milk

For the Berry Sauce:

1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons cornstarch
3 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Arrange enough whole bread slices in a single layer to cover the bottom of the dish. Cut the remaining slices in half on the diagonal and arrange them in overlapping rows on top. You should have 3 rows of bread triangles. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and nutmeg. Whisk in the eggs and vanilla until well blended. Gradually whisk in the milk.

Slowly and evenly pour the egg mixture over the bread slices and let soak for 5 minutes. Use a fork or spatula to gently press down on the bread to ensure it is evenly soaked.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the french toast is puffed. sprinkle the top of the french toast with sugar, then set the oven to broil. Broil the french toast until the sugar is melted and the bread is lightly browned.

While the french toast bakes, in a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the berries, sugar water and salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice mixture. Simmer, stirring often, until the sauce thickens slightly, about 2 minutes more. Let cool.

When the french toast is done baking, serve immediately topped with mixed berry sauce.

Serves 8.

Start to finish: 1 hour (25 minutes active)