BOYSNBERRYMOM: German Bread and Birthday Cake

Baking German Bread

I didn't mean for my blog to turn into a cooking and baking blog, but I spend so much of my time as a mom cooking for my family that it has just seemed natural to keep track of my favorite recipes and new experiments. Today is my husband's birthday and I really wanted to take him out for dinner with the family to get some Sonoran Hot Dogs- a specialty of the Tucson, AZ where we live. However, after checking the bank account last night and realizing that we had exactly $2.78 left in our checking account, we realized we couldn't afford to go out. So instead, we are going to grill up some German Bratwurst that S bought at Wegman's while on a business trip in PA. I've pulled out my German Baking Today book to make some rolls for the Brats. Here is how I made them (I doubled the book's recipe and made some "American" adjustments) :

First I took 1 cup of butter and put it into a saucepan and started it on low. When it started to melt, I added 14 oz of fat-free milk (you can probably use any kind) and continued to keep the stove on low until the butter completely melted, stirring occasionally.

Then I poured the butter mixture into my Bosch mixer.

M helps me do the baking.

While it was cooling a bit, I mixed 5 cups flour (mine was about 1/4 whole wheat, 3/4 white), 4 1/2 TBS of fast action yeast (2 pkg.), 4 TBS sugar, 2 tsp salt, 2 whole eggs and the whites of 2 eggs, reserving the yolks in a small bowl for later. Then I mixed 1/2 tsp vanilla extract with 2 TBS of sugar until the sugar was well coated. Add the vanilla sugar to the flour mixture. Slowly add the flour mixture with the butter mixture in the Bosch, then stir until combined and a dough forms.

Kneading the dough

Sprinkle dough lightly with flour and take it out of the bowl. Knead it again briefly on floured work surface. Then I divided the dough and shaped it into rolls. Since we are going to be using this for Bratwurst, I shaped half of the rolls in a long shape to fit the sausages. At this point, you should mix the egg yolk with 4 tsp milk and brush it over the rolls. I forgot this step and did it after it has risen, but it still worked out ok. Let the dough rise until doubled in a warm place in your kitchen. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Don't they look delicious!

The finished product.

Raspberry-Laced Vanilla Cake

For my husband's birthday, I decided to make this cake whose recipe came from Gold Medal Flour.

First, I greased and floured 3- 9" cake pans.

Then, in a small bowl, I mixed:

2 2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

I mixed the following in my stand mixer:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 eggs

At this point, I turned on my oven to preheat it to 350 degrees F.

Then, I slowly mixed the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. When it was well combined, I divided the batter into the 3 cake pans and smoothed them out.

I baked them for 30 minutes, then cooled them on racks for 10 minutes before turning them out and letting them completely cool (this will take at least an hour)

Once the cakes are cool, make the frosting by

Mixing 1 cup softened butter with 3 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 cup of corn syrup. You may also use raspberry syrup for pancakes instead of the corn syrup, but I didn't want a pink cake for my husband.

Then, cut each cake in half horizontally. Place 1 layer, cut side up, on the serving plate and spread about 1/3 cup seedless raspberry jam over the top. Then place the next cake layer, cut side down, on the jam and spread with the frosting. Continue to layer your cake, alternating jam with frosting between each layer. On the top layer, spread with frosting and frost the entire cake. Pipe frosting on top of the cake in a lace design if desired. Garnish with raspberries or chocolate leaves.