Pistachio Cake

Pistachio-Cardamom-Caramel Cake

Ingredients:

1 box of white cake mix (I used DH)
1 cup of cake flour
1/2 cup of white granulated sugar (*I cut down the sugar because the coffee
   creamer and ice cream topping have lots of it)
2 teaspoons baking power
1 envelope dry pistachio pudding mix
1 teaspoon of salt (*If using salted pistachios omit salt).
1 teaspoon of ground cardamom.
****Sift dry ingredients twice and set aside.


1 cup of sour cream
1 stick of butter (at room temp.)
1/4 cup of veg. oil
1/3 cup of cream cheese at room temp.
   (*I always add cream cheese to my WASC recipe, you can omit
   this if you want, I just love the richness that it adds to the cake)
1/4 cup of brown sugar
**Cream these ingredients in the mixer for about 3 mins
  or until completely blended together.


4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Lorann pistachio oil flavor
*Add these ingredients to mixer until blended with the other ingredients.



1/2 cup of vanilla caramel coffee creamer
1/2 cup of caramel ice cream topping
3/4 cup of buttermilk
*Mix together all liquids and alternate with dry ingredients into the mixer.


1 cup of chopped pistachios (*don’t forget the pistachios! –fold into the
   the mix at the very end)


I baked it in a 325 degree oven. Fits 2, 8 inch pans. I cooked it for almost
60 minutes, but that can change. from oven to oven, or the size pan that
you are using.

For the filling:
Bettercream non-dairy whipped topping with Lorann Pistachio oil.
You can add some crushed pistachios to it, if you want for added
crunch.

I think the creator of the recipe was Macsmom, but not sure. I can
say that I loved it. The cake was moist till the last bite!

Hope you enjoy!!
Edna :)

Photography by Edna De La Cruz
All Rights Reserved 2012
This photo may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.

Gumpaste Star

Tutorial by Edna De La Cruz

All rights Reserved 2011

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.

How to Make Tylose Gumpaste

Here is one of my tutorials on how to make Tylose Gumpaste. There

are many recipes for gumpaste out there, and some that you can buy. But

tylose gumpaste works so great, even when I use other gumpastes I

find myself combining this gumpaste to make the other gumpastes

work better. Hope you guys enjoy! Thanks for watching.***



Edna :)



Recipe Link to Edna's Blog ( Design Me A Cake )

Tylose Gumpaste Recipe

(***PLEASE NOTE: This video clip is linked the YouTube site.
We are not responsible for the material posted on YouTube by other users.
Clicking on random thumbnails at the bottom of the tutorial may link you to offensive material
that does not reflect the standards of our blog.)

How to Make a Gumpaste Bow

In this tutorial I teach how to make a bow.

Hope you enjoy! ***




(***PLEASE NOTE: This video clip is linked the YouTube site.
We are not responsible for the material posted on YouTube by other users.
Clicking on random thumbnails at the bottom of the tutorial may link you to offensive material
that does not reflect the standards of our blog.)

This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.

Let's talk about Color!

This is just a simple post-- but with so many food colors on the market,

a lot of people never know for sure how to obtain certain hues.

For instance, the other day, a student of mine asked me how to achieve

the blue of the Tiffany boxes.

I just use teal and works great for me.

Here is a color chart to help with some colors.

Color Chart

ANTIQUE GOLD: Add just an extremely small touch of Leaf Green to golden yellow

APRICOT: 2 parts Orange, 1 part Golden Yellow

AQUA: Sky Blue and Leaf Green

AVOCADO: Use Moss Green color or 4 parts Lemon Yellow, 1 part Leaf Green, Touch of Black

BLACK: Our paste color or Royal Blue, Christmas Red, Orange and Lemon Or
                mix left over color icing together, then add Black

BRICK RED: Red and Brown

BURGUNDY: 5 parts Rose Pink, 1 part Violet

CHARTREUSE: 9 parts Lemon Yellow, 1 part Leaf Green

COPPER: 1 part Golden Yellow, 1 part Brown, 1 part Christmas Red

CORAL: Watermelon makes a very attractive coral color. Or bright Creamy Peach
              Or 3 parts Rose Pink, 2 parts Lemon Yellow

DUSTY ROSE: 5 parts Rose Pink, 1 part Violet

EGGPLANT: Mix Navy Blue into the amount of icing you are going to use for your project.
                      Then mix Super Red into a smaller amount of icing. Add the Super Red icing
                       to the Navy Blue icing until you get the eggplant color you want.
                      You can also try it with Royal Blue instead of Navy Blue, depending on the
                      shade of eggplant that you want.

FLESH: Add just an extremely small touch of Copper to white icing.
             Ivory can also be used. Light pink with a small amount of brown

GOLD: 10 parts Lemon Yellow, 3 parts Orange, 1 part Red

GRAPE: 1 part Sky Blue, 6 parts Rose Pink

GRAY: Add just a touch of Black to white icing

HUNTER GREEN: Kelly Green and a touch of black

IVORY: Use Ivory paste

JADE: Leaf green, royal blue and a touch of black

LAVENDER: Pink and violet Or 5 parts Pink, 1 part Violet

MARIGOLD: Lemon Yellow and orange

MAROON: Burgundy and Red Red Or 4 parts Red Red, 2 parts Burgundy

MAUVE: Touch of Burgundy with very little black Or 5 parts Rose Pink, 2 parts Orange, 2 parts Red, 2 Parts Black

MELON: 1 part orange and 3 parts bakers rose

MISTY GREEN: Leaf Green, Royal Blue and a touch of black

MOSS GREEN: violet and lemon yellow Or 2 parts Violet, 3 parts Lemon Yellow

MULBERRY: Rose with a touch of Royal Blue

NAVY BLUE: Royal blue and black Or 1 Part Sky Blue, 1 part Violet

PERIWINKLE: Blue and purple

PERSIMMON: 1 part orange and 1Part bakers rose

PLUM: 1 part Violet, a touch of Christmas Red

RASPBERRY: Pink and Red Red Or 3 parts Rose Pink, 1 part Christmas Red

RUBY RED: 1 part Red Red, a touch of Black

RUST: Orange, Red Red and Brown Or 8 parts Orange, 2 parts Red Red, 1 part Brown

SEA GOLD ( SEA GREEN): 2 parts Sky Blue and 1 part Leaf Green

SILVER: We do not advise attempting to simulate silver color in icing. Instead,
               add silver leaves or other silver accessories to the cake.
               Or 1 part Black, 1 part Blue

SKIN TONE: 12 part Orange and 4 part Bakers Rose and 1 part Royal Blue

TEAL: Use teal paste color or lemon yellow and sky blue Or 9 parts Sky Blue, small amount of Lemon Yellow

TURQUOISE: Sky Blue and Lemon Yellow Or 6 parts Sky Blue, 1 part Lemon Yellow

WARM GOLD: Use Golden Yellow with just a touch of brown

WINE: 3 parts Christmas Red and 2 parts Rose Pink


Keep in mind that some colors are already available in the market. For example, Wilton  has
a beautiful Moss green.  Sometimes the base on some colors is different. Once I bought  a black
from Wilton that gave me a base of green instead of grey.

Just play with your colors and have fun with them.  Sometimes there is more than one way to
achieve the same color. You can try it on a small batch of buttercream to make sure
is the right shade you are looking for.

And never forget...Buttercream turns darker as it dries. A perfect shade of  deep red
on a non-crusted buttercream, can turn almost a burgundy once it's dry. If you are not
sure, spread some on a plate and let it dry before you put it on the cake.

As for fondant, the tendency is to dry in a lighter color.

Hope this helps!


Edna De La Cruz- 2010- All rights reserved.
Edna's Website- Design Me A Cake

Photography and Material in this post by Edna De La Cruz.
This may not be reproduced without permission from the author/photographer.

How to bake a great Cake

Here are some basics to follow..

1. Generously grease inside of pan..I love the sprays like Baker's Joy or Pam for baking.
Some people use shortening and some flour, but I don't love the deposits of flour. So if you do
the flour method, make sure to tap the excess flour out.

2. Turn oven 10 to 15 minutes before you plan to use it to allow time for it heat to baking temperature.

3. Measure liquids at eye level in standard liquid measuring cups. Baking requires for everything
to be perfectly measure..

4. For best results use large egg size eggs (about 1/4 cup each).

5. Beat the cake mix batters for the time and speed specified. Time the beating carefully, beating only for the length of time and the mixer speed specified in the recipe directions.
Over beating breaks down the cake structure and causes low volume and shrinkage during the cooling of the cake.
Under beating produces a lumpy batter in which the ingredients are not properly mix.

6. If using more batter than one cake mix yields for a large pan reduce oven temperature approximately 25* and increase baking time.
If you have a small mixer, do one package of mix at a time.

7. Bake your cake immediately after mixing, as near the center (both vertical and horizontal center), of the oven as possible. Allow at least an inch of space on all sides and between the pans. If you use 2 oven racks, stagger the pans so one cake is not directly above the other.

8.Test your cake for doneness while they are still in the oven. Time of baking will change according to temperature, type of cake, and size of pan.

9. Avoid opening oven until the cake looks done. Usually it's starts smelling like cake in the house and the cake starts separating from the pan. There are more chances for the cake to fall down in the center if the door of the oven is open.

10. Cool cakes in pan for ten minutes on cake rack. Larger cakes might need more time.
If cake has cooled too long and won't release from pan, return it to a warm oven (250*), for a few minutes and then release the cake from the pan.

11. For bigger cakes you can use a cookie sheet to flip the cake. If the cake has a dome do not let the cake rest on that side, it can break your cake. Don't decorate a cake that is still warm..

12. Inaccurate oven temperatures account for the majority of baking problems. If your cakes have indications of under baking get an oven thermometer to make sure you have the proper temperature. If your cake is baking higher on one side more than the other, could be oven temperature, but make sure your oven is leveled.

13. Cakes can be frozen for up to 3 months wrapped in saran wrap and then heavy duty aluminum foil.

14. Iced cakes must be frozen tightly wrapped. When defrosting, keep cake wrapped until completely thawed.

15. Cakes that are not iced can be at room temperature for up to 24 hours. But keep in mind the chances of a dry cake will go up, the longer it stays without icing. Icing keeps the moisture in the cake..

Hope this helps!

Edna De la Cruz.. :)

Tutorial courtesy of Edna De La Cruz
2009
All Rights Reserved
This material may not be republished or reproduced in any manner without the expressed permission of the author.