A Mouse in the Pantry

Summer Wedding Cakes

With the beginning of wedding season comes the beginning of the great wedding shower.  Gaggles of women, mini sandwiches, tea, champagne, and the threat of a torrid evening with the girls at a later date, are all part of the game plan as wedding dates approach.

And with all the world heading to green pastures, it was a joy to be outsourced as a "local" provider of ever so cute cupcakes for the daughter of Petaluma's own Karen Peterson-Nau. A woman who truly wears many hats, she also is quite skilled at pulling out all the stops for the perfect and Petaluma pretty bridal shower.  Not a beat missed in planning her daughters eco friendly and daisy inspired summer wedding.

Summer Wedding Cakes with iLeoni toppers!

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12 muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar.   Beat on medium until light and fluffy, scrapping down the sides of the bowl with mixer off, as needed.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Alternating between dry ingredients and buttermilk, add to butter mixture beginning and ending with dry ingredients.  Add lemon juice and zest and mix briefly to incorporate.

Divide batter among muffin tins filling 2/3 full.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool on rack and frost as desired.  Cream cheese frosting would be delish’

You too can learn to cook!

Teaching a cooking class is so invigorating.  It heals the ego.  It proves to the self conscience that in fact "you are a good cook".  It's downright fun too.

This Sunday May 17th, I will be stepping into an intimate little group of students to do some hands on Easy Morning Pastries at Sonoma's own Ramekin's Cooking School.

Don't have plans and want to learn how to whip up a muffin on the go, or berry turnover for that someone special? There's still time to get on board.  Visit www. ramekins.com for more info.

Here is just one of the many recipes we will be executing this weekend:

Brown Sugar Coffee Cake
Serves 16

2 ½ cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter –room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1 ½ cups sour cream
Brown Sugar Filling:
¼ cup flour
2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
¾ cups brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter generously and flour a 10 inch tube pan (angel food cake pan), set aside. 

In a large bowl combine and whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer cream butter until soft. Gradually add sugars and beat until fluffy and light. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl to thoroughly mix. Beat in vanilla.

Measure out sour cream. Add dry ingredients and sour cream to butter mixture, alternating scoops. Example: Add ½ cup flour mix, beat a little into butter. Then add ¼ cup of sour cream and beat. Begin and end with dry mixture and beat just until ingredients are moistened. Set aside while mixing filling.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl combine ¼ cup flour, 2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¾ cup brown sugar and ½ teaspoon salt. Cut 1/3 cup butter into dry ingredients using a pastry blender or two forks. Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans.

Assembly:

Spoon 1/3 of the cake batter into the tube pan and spread evenly. Evenly spread 1/3 of nut filling over cake batter and press into batter with a wooden spoon. Repeat process twice more with the rest of the batter and nut filling – ending with nut filling. Smooth top gently.

Bake for 1 hour or until cake tester inserted in center comes out with only crumbs.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Release center of pan and cool for additional ½ hour on rack. Release cake from base of pan.

Copyright 2008 Meloni Courtway.  All rights reserved.  Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

It's Chili Time Again!

"Come one, Come all..The Great Petaluma Chili Cook-off is here again"

If you missed out last year, this gas-passing, bean-busting, spice-sprocket event is a must have for local salsa, chili and micro-brew beer enthusiasts.  Stretching the limits of their fairground venue, local and regional competitors wowed hundreds of visitors in 2008 and expect to do it again in 2009 - only bigger!

Can't imagine splurging some cash on yourself this weekend?  Then do it for the kids.  This one of a kind event benefits the Cinnabar Theater's Children's Program.

When: 1 to 5 pm, Saturday May 9th.
Where: Herzog Hall (you know, the oddly round building on the Sonoma-Marin fairgrounds in Petaluma)

Visit www.cinnabartheater.org

A Winner?

Well, last weeks P-Town Quiz in the spirit of Butter and Eggs Days had some fabulous responses. 
Our winner "Lizzie" got the closest to the correct answers - BUT - she left no contact info.
Lizzie can you hear me?  I think second runner up must go to the unstoppable Heather Irwin, fellow chili judge, food writer, and at home cheese maker.  For sure her answers were "exciting" if not correct (except sadly, they were mostly correct).

Lizzie, comment back again and collect your reward!

New contests coming soon.

Answers to the April 25th Quiz:

#1 What town does Mouse in the Pantry write most blogs from?
P-Town
#2 What are two things this town is known for?
Eggs and Arm Wrestling (but cows and chickens seemed to be popular)
#3 Name one famous actor/actress from this town?
Winona Ryder (Or...)
#4 What is one major event happening in this town this weekend?
Butter and Eggs Days, the Antique Fair, Cow chip toss...
#5 What is the definition of a Malapropism?
 - an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound (something I do all the time!).
#6 What is the most traditional fruit used when making Clafouti?
Cherries
#7 What is a pullet?
A young hen
#8 What kind of chicken lays eggs like these?
They were blue eggs from an Araucana Chicken

Egg free cake and a little health

 

Pardon to all Mouse in the Pantry readers for such a long station identification break.  Some kind of illness swept through the ranks, and so many days later (and one giant volcano cake, one egg less-dairy-free cake, two b-day parties, a few cuties doing the hula , a now six year old in the family, and a pint sized round of Pneumonia), we are finally tidying up the ends of it - I hope.

Back to business...
...Three new recipes to share!

First up:

A fabulous Egg Free Chocolate Cake. This was to accommodate some sensitive tummies attending a party at our house, and thank goodness I tried it.  So worth it and strangely addictive.  Wonderful on its own, great with a little whipped cream, or lathered in frosting for good measure.  I truly wish I knew where I got this recipe from; it is too good not to give credit.

Egg Free Chocolate Cake

    4 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
    3 cups white sugar
    1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    1 cup vegetable oil
    3 cups water
    3 teaspoons baking soda
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    3 tablespoons vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C), grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (or  use 24 cupcake papers).
   2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, soda and salt. Add sugar and mix together.
   3. Add oil, water and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
   4. Pour into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.