INGREDIENTS
1 Bundt cake in the flavor of your choosing, 8 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep
Chocolate Fudge Frosting in a pastry bag fitted with the #6 star tip
6 cups white, red, black, yellow, brown and orange Decorator's Buttercream, each in its own pastry bag fitted with the #126 rose tip
1/4 cup black Decorator's Buttercream in a parchment pencil
PREPARATION:
Fill the cake: Pipe the cake full of fudge frosting.
Shape the turkey: Use a serrated knife to cut the cake at one edge where the central hole meets the cake. Set the larger piece of the cake, frosting side down, on a doily-lined cardboard circle on your turntable. Pipe a dab of white buttercream and seal the small piece in place in front of the larger piece. Pipe white buttercream over any gaps between the two sections to create a smooth working surface.
Pipe the plumage: Pipe red buttercream around the high, open end of the turkey in a ruffle pattern. Moving toward the lower, narrower front end of the cake, pipe a ruffled black ring in front of the red, overlapping slightly. Continue in this way, piping overlapping ruffled rings of white, yellow, brown and orange frosting, until you have reached the very front (narrow end) of the cake, starting over with red if necessary. Be sure to finish with white at the very front of the cake. Then cover over the open back of the cake, (that is, where the frosting shows) with overlapping layers of frosting, ideally, orange, white, red and black.
Feather the frosting: Pull the edge of a cake icing spatula through the frosting at 1-inch intervals, starting at the back center-top of the cake and pulling all the way forward to the narrow, lower front to create a feathered effect in the icing
Pipe the break and comb: Using the white buttercream, pull up and out from the bottom front of the cake to make a beak. Use the red buttercream to pipe the comb. Use the parchment pencil to pipe the eyes.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Cake Boss At Miller Auditorium
Valastro will share his story, about the business and working with family, and about how he makes his fabulous cakes, when he comes to Western Michigan University’s Miller Auditorium Thursday with his live show, “Bakin’ with the Boss.”
He said people wonder what he will do for two hours on stage. Well, he wondered the same thing when he did his first live show.
“I’ve got to be honest with you, with that first show, I was shaking in my boots. I thought I was going to have a panic attack,” Valastro said. “It was a sold-out show, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to bomb. They’re going to throw things at me.’ Then, I ran through the crowd and they made me feel like Jon Bon Jovi, like I was a rock star.
“As soon as I got on stage, I felt so comfortable, so cool, so chill.”
He said people wonder what he will do for two hours on stage. Well, he wondered the same thing when he did his first live show.
“I’ve got to be honest with you, with that first show, I was shaking in my boots. I thought I was going to have a panic attack,” Valastro said. “It was a sold-out show, and I thought, ‘Oh, my God, I’m going to bomb. They’re going to throw things at me.’ Then, I ran through the crowd and they made me feel like Jon Bon Jovi, like I was a rock star.
“As soon as I got on stage, I felt so comfortable, so cool, so chill.”
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Icebox Cookies Recipes
Yield 40 cookies
ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring your work surface and hands
1¼ cups vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1¼ cups (2½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup powdered (10X) sugar
4 extra large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold water
Directions
1 Put flour, shortening, butter, sugar, eggs and salt in bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. (You can use a hand mixer if you allow the butter and shortening to soften at room temperature before beginning).
2 Paddle at low speed until mixture resembles creamy cookie dough, about 3 minutes. It should be tacky and not run down side of the paddle when the motor is stopped. With the motor running on low, slowly add the water and mix until fully absorbed, about 2 minutes more.
3 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 3 days, but do not freeze. Remove dough from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before proceeding.
4 Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
5 This is very sticky, difficult dough to handle so you have to generously flour your work surface and your hands. After flouring, transfer half the dough to your surface and gently roll it into a log, reflouring the top of the dough as necessary as you work to keep it manageable. Work the dough into a 12-inch square, inch thick.
ingredients
4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring your work surface and hands
1¼ cups vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1¼ cups (2½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup powdered (10X) sugar
4 extra large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup cold water
Directions
1 Put flour, shortening, butter, sugar, eggs and salt in bowl of a stand mixer fit with the paddle attachment. (You can use a hand mixer if you allow the butter and shortening to soften at room temperature before beginning).
2 Paddle at low speed until mixture resembles creamy cookie dough, about 3 minutes. It should be tacky and not run down side of the paddle when the motor is stopped. With the motor running on low, slowly add the water and mix until fully absorbed, about 2 minutes more.
3 Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 1 hour or up to 3 days, but do not freeze. Remove dough from refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before proceeding.
4 Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
5 This is very sticky, difficult dough to handle so you have to generously flour your work surface and your hands. After flouring, transfer half the dough to your surface and gently roll it into a log, reflouring the top of the dough as necessary as you work to keep it manageable. Work the dough into a 12-inch square, inch thick.