Wilton Cake Decorating Class

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Mica

Tonight, Kayla and I took our first cake decorating basics course with a Wilton instructor at Michaels craft store.

The course system is (unbeknownst to us) a giant advertisement for Wilton products. In so many words, our instructor ~~read to us~~ told us that the best way to make a perfectly frosted cake is, of course, with Wilton-brand tools!

I was disappointed to find that the best kind of frosting for pretty decorations has the consistency of semi-dry concrete and is full of chemical ingredients. I mean, we bought it in a tub on a shelf at Michaels, which is not where I would usually choose to purchase my comestibles. During class, we learned how to turn “stiff” consistency frosting into “thin,” which involved soooooo much stirring.

After hearing about an hour and forty-five minutes-worth of Wilton propaganda, we got to practice making stars. Our instructor kept talking about squeezing the frosting and wrapping our hand around the tube, and because I have the maturity of a seventh-grade boy, I got the giggles.

Then we frosted some cookies. They look nice, but the frosting tastes icky.

Kayla is well on the way to spelling her name in frosting.

Next week, we’re going to frost a cake, but we’re supposed to buy all kinds of Wilton tools (like a spinning cake stand). I’m kind of sad that it involves so much purchasing–the class flyer made it sound like once you bought your kit, you were set. It’s a class for fun though, so it’s not like coming unprepared will affect my GPA. Plus, it’s pretty amusing to make faces at Kayla when we learn about frosting.

Early morning Trifle

Posted on December 7, 2012 by Mica

My friend Sarah is hosting a party in honor of Krampus this evening. I decided that this was the perfect opportunity to try this red velvet-raspberry tiramisu trifle from Southern Living.

I purchased all of the ingredients (which came out to $40+!!! That’s what I get for selecting a recipe from SL, the bougiest magazine on Earth) on Wednesday, and I baked all of the red velvet madeleines last night–my first attempt at this famous confection. They did not come out as easily of the “lightly greased” pan as I would have hoped. Sorry, Proust….

Because trifles have to chill for four-24 hours prior to serving, I woke up early to assemble the trifle.

This meant that I was whipping cream and whisking syrup together in my pajamas and felted wool slippers.

I’m usually pretty good at simple math, but 6:30am is not conducive to basic division or to following instructions. The recipe says “1/3 of the madeleines, 1/3 of the syrup, 1/3 of the rasberries, 1/3 of the mascarpone mixture–Repeat three times.”

Stupidly, I forgot that 24/3=8, not 6, so my first layer is deficient in madeleines. Next, I completely forgot to add the raspberries until the final layer.

The final result is somewhat lopsided and definitely doesn’t look like the picture in the magazine:

Oh well. As my dad says, “it all ends up in the same place anyway.”

[Note: The recipe calls for 1/4 cup black raspberry liqueur but hell if I was messing up a delicious trifle with the taste of alcohol. This is why I don't like tiramisu! I substituted pomegranate juice. I also skipped the fondant snowflakes on top.]

I love you, 6″ cake.

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Mica

Thank you for your feedback as to which topics you’d like to see on MicaPie. Several of you expressed your satisfaction with the blog the way it is–thanks! No worries. My intention isn’t to change things drastically; I have integrity after all. However, I would like to find a recurring theme or niche for my blog. I’m thinking something like a link up at the top that people can use to find all posts pertaining to _____.

[The most preferred topic, by the way, was Rants, cynicism, and other snarky observations.]

But let’s talk about Seoul today, okay?

Seoul has a lot to offer, and today, I think I found my personal sweetspot. I went with Homestay sister and her cousin to Bangsan market, which is part of the greater Dongdaemun market complex. In Bangsan, you can find every baking supply imaginable.

First, some background. Many kitchens in Seoul don’t have ovens, and from what I can tell, Seoul-ites tend to rely on “French” bakeries for their sweets. That is, when they’re not being satisfied with fruit for dessert. [No. I refuse.] Thus, the grocery stores don’t really have baking sections or the necessary ingredients for cake or cookies.

I had heard great things about Bangsan Baking market from a few Seoul expat blogs, but I was really unprepared for how fun and cool it is!

About half of the stores sell baking ingredients: sugars, flours, candies, fillings, toppings, colored powders, mixes, chocolate chips–everything you could imagine!

Other stores stock supplies for presentation: adorable decorated boxes and cellophane bags, bows, ribbons, twist-ties, stickers and labels, etc. The main alley was tiny and dark, but each store was an explosion of color.

Okay, this container didn’t really belong:

With all of the selection, my mind was racing, trying to figure out how I could open a bakery while living in Seoul.

I was really tempted by the selection of cookie cutters, but my minimalist tendencies fortunately kicked in. I cannot even imagine the rage I would experience trying to extract dough from these ridonculously tiny cookie cutters:

I left with only the necessary ingredients…

for yellow cake…

…with chocolate frosting! [How did my layers turn out that flat?? That never happens!]

Since I already have 9″ cake pans at home, I bought one 6″ pan and used it to bake two layers separately, following this recipe. I think I’m in love with the 6″ cake. It’s adorable and just the right size. I see a lot of 6″ cakes in my future.

Homestay sister helped me bake and frost the cake. This doubled as English practice for her because I made her read the recipe for ingredient amounts. [Does this count as task-based language teaching?!?] I also taught her some crucial techniques, especially this one:

Baking in Korea is really an experience. For example, I’m used to sticks of butter, but I could only find it in a huge block. Thus, I had to get out a scale and find conversion rates for tablespoons to grams. And metric system? You’re confusing!

Guess what I ate for dinner?

When we cut the cake into fourths, the top layer actually slid off. Oh well.

Homestay family was very impressed with the cake, and it was great to contribute something finally. They don’t usually let me help with cooking or cleaning, which makes me feel out of place.

Yellow cake with chocolate frosting is not only my favorite dessert, but also my pre-race ritual! Let’s hope it serves me well tomorrow when I run my first 5K in Korea. Apparently, the course, which is a converted landfill, is one hilly mo-fo.

C’mon, cake, take me to victoryyyyyyyy!

Freak-the-F*ck-Out Catering

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Mica

Are you a Korean hosting a baby shower for another Korean?

Are you totally confused by the concept of an American baby shower?

Then you should hire Freak the F*ck Out Catering to provide the cake for your next event.

I will bake a ridiculously humongous cake for the shower. Four sticks of butter? No problem! Two packages of cream cheese? Bring it on!

Flying down country roads with a three-layer, half-assembled cake in the backseat of a sedan? Done and done!

(Recipe here.)

Just imagine your pregnant guest of honor cutting through those delicate swirls of jam and cream cheese frosting…

Your caterer may have passed out on the floor, but at least the layers will be clean:

Seriously, this cake was the most massive baking project I’ve ever undertaken, and it wasn’t even that complex! And because it was for Narae’s baby shower, I was terrified that I would mess it up. All in all, I think it turned out quite well, and the other shower guests said it was very tasty. I’ll definitely make it again, though ideally, I won’t have to drive it anywhere….

World’s Ugliest Pie

Posted on March 17, 2012 by Mica

I’ll be honest. I’ve had a very inauspicious start to Spring Break 2012. Most of Saturday has been consumed by writing a paper about task complexity. (When did this become my life?)

However, I did attend a splendid pizza party last night. Dan made two kinds of vegetarian pizza, nom nom!

Chris brought Korean pears. Apparently, you don’t eat the skins, which I didn’t know. I helped him peel and core the pears, and then I realized that I am slowly (somehow) turning into an ajumma.

This picture doesn’t help at all:

Since the pizza party was a belated Pi(e) day celebration, I made a s’mores pie.

Oh dear. This pie was an absolute disaster. The first crisis? The middle didn’t set like I wanted it to. Next? When trying to broil the marshmallows to a delicious, toasty-brown color, I managed to set the entire top of the pie on FIRE.

I scraped off the charcoal and re-melted some marshmallows, but the pie was beyond repair.

In the end, the pie benefits from cooling sufficiently and an overnight sit in the fridge. The middle turns to the consistently of dense pudding, and the graham cracker crust sets up to be a firm base. Sadly, no one saw that last night. They saw…

THIS:

…Hello, pie? Are you in there?

Dan and Alejandro, always good sports, were kind enough to brave the pie disaster:

I’m a little embarrassed that the name of this blog (and my nickname) is Micapie, and I suck at making pies. Oh well, there is always room for improvement!

Tomorrow, we are going with Darbla for an overnight trip to Madison, Wisconsin! Wheee!

And let’s be honest, my TBLT comprehensive exam isn’t going anywhere else tonight. I’m going to go watch Season 4 of The Tudors and enjoy the grossly historically inaccurate portrayal of Henry VIII. You can judge me, but I don’t even care.

World’s Ugliest Cupcake

Posted on March 2, 2012 by Mica

All week, I have had a craving for cake, but making an entire layer or sheet cake seemed a little excessive for one person. Instead, I whipped up some cupcakes and frosting tonight.

I don’t care for the cupcake fad. It seems gimmicky, overpriced, and overdone, and more often that not, the cupcakes are disappointing. (Jordo & Maria: The cupcakes at your wedding from Molly‘s stand as the major exception to my blanket disdain for cupcake bakeries.)

So it may come as no surprise to you that I suck at making cupcakes. For example, way back in 2009, I tried to put 24 cupcakes-worth of batter in 12 cups. The result, as I noted, was encephaletic cupcakes, which tasted fine but were ugly as sin.

Tonight, I did it again. Thanks to our clumsy oven mitt, I jiggled the tray excessively while trying to remove it from the oven.

Hence, this:

And, sigh, this:

My policy is to consume the ugliest of my baked goods first, so I selected the cupcake that most resembled an elephant seal and frosted it.

Apparently, I also have no sense of aesthetics, so the frosting was yucky-looking too:

However, when all is said and done, you know what matters the most? How the cupcakes taste. I’m going to go sample now. Open wide!

(Ha! Maybe one of the least flattering self-portraits ever!)

Craving satisfied.

Three lovin’ layers

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Mica

Because the boyfriend watches the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show with me, he deserves a special Valentine’s Day treat.

Tagalongs…in bar form! They are much easier to make than the cookies, but they taste just as good. Three layers–short bread, peanut butter, chocolate!

And here’s my very special Valentine. Awwww.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Here I am!

Posted on January 22, 2012 by Mica

Last night, Ryan had some people over to his apartment. I’m sad that most of the people in my program will be graduating and heading off to grand ESL adventures in the spring (Except you, Kayla. You’re stuck with meeee!). I hope I can spend the next few months really enjoying their company.

Obviously, I couldn’t show up empty-handed, so I made my first pie out of a book Mom gave me for Christmas. To be honest, I was too intimidated by crust to make a “real” pie, so I made a peanut butter pie with chocolate graham cracker crust. (That’s tastier anyway.) I think it turned out pretty well, though it looks like a disaster here:

This morning, Jessica and I went running in the damp, icy fog. Very few people were out, so I think that we deserve to pat ourselves on the back for being troopers.

8.72 miles in 1:21.02 (9:19 min./mile pace)

Jessica is also leaving in a few months, which is very sad. Fortunately, I have managed to insert myself into several of her weekly workouts so she is forced to spend time with me this semester. What, Jessica? You’re busy writing a dissertation and starting a new career and moving in with your fiancé and planning a wedding-of-awesomeness? Obviously, these are lower on the priority list than spending as much time as possible with yours truly!

Speaking of workouts, those have been happening. I’m actually taking a new approach to running and exercise in general this semester. It is one that I think will be more satisfying and enjoyable and ultimately, more productive. Perhaps I’ll blog about that soon.

In the mean time, I’m going to go to bed and grumble about how much time I had to spend in meetings and trainings at the gym today. The good news? I’m now trained and certified in First Aid and CPR!

Love and Joy come to you

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Mica

In September, the boyfriend’s parents moved east, to Urbanna, VA. Today, the boyfriend and I poked around the historic part of the city:

Meanwhile, back at Mom’s house, Bodger and Neville (gray and white) have made friends. Gryphon is still prickly and now, with more laser eye! (Can you spot all three pups?)

Mom and I dug out Grandma Patsie’s handwritten fruitcake recipe. The results were questionable:

When in doubt, baste it with brandy!

From now until Christmas, things are busy! Fortunately, my shopping is finally done! Wheeee!

MicaPie

À la mode.

Category Archives: baking