Launch of my cakeislove website and classes

In my previous posts, I alluded to something going on here, taking up my time and preventing me from posting often. In honor of the one year anniversary of my blog, I'm very excited to launch Cakeislove.com, which will link to my blog, as well as contain information on classes that I'm now offering on cake decorating. The first class, Buttercream Basics was held on May 15th this year and was great fun with many fabulous cakes made by the students. Each person had their own style and resulting cake, much to my delight. Cakes are like snowflakes, no two are alike, and each is beautiful in its own right.

I especially enjoyed the camaraderie among the students. Each one encouraged each other, and noticed details or creative styles that they then tried themselves on their own cake.  

 

My next Buttercream Basics class will be held in August, and as soon as I pick a date, I will let you know! I'm also going to offer a class focused on decorating cupcakes, which we did briefly during the Buttercream Basics.

 

In fact, cake is love for me, and I'm excited to begin another adventure in my life. 

Veggie Restaurant Review: Avalon in Gent, Belgium

Gent is a lovely city in Belgium about 90 minutes drive from our home. Aside from the fabulous churches, museums, and eye-candy architecture lining the river in the old city center, a castle from the middle ages beckons. We lucked out as a antique bike fair was happening the day we visited.

Dina's third miracle nap also happened, unbelievably just as we were about to visit the Gent Altarpiece: The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb. For an hour both Mike and I listened to the audio guide, affording myself a museum luxury not known since Dina was born.

In the Lonely Planet Belgium guide they list three vegetarian restaurants, which is quite a few more than normally listed in a city in Europe. We chose Avalon, situated near the castle.

 

 The reflection in the restaurant window is of Gravensteen castle, full of torture devices and armor, as at one time it housed a prison.

Avalon has a darling interior, but I recommend strolling right on through to the back garden. Gorgeous wisteria ambles up the side of the building and both sun and shaded tables abound.

We chose a shady spot and I ordered the miso soup.

 Interestingly it contained mushrooms, not something I am used to in miso, but contributing a lovely complexity. Our entrees each had six(!) different side dishes. Since I inhaled that soup, it disappointed me that I was too full to finish my Vegetable pie, or Groetentaart.

 The creamy potato-looking side at 6:00 on my plate is actually rutabaga with the most amazing dressing on it. I begged to know what was in it and the waitress told me it was a tartar sauce with rosemary and avocado. We both agreed it was brilliant. Mike got a tempeh Rueben sandwich, and the same side dishes as me.

The tempeh Rueben sandwich, pictured above, and the tempeh close-up.

The Avalon menu in English on the left and Dutch on the right.

We would definitely go back to Avalon, however the other two vegetarian restaurants await, and with Avalon definitely living up to the Lonely Planet recommendation, I'd be psyched to try the others, too.
The only improvement I'd recommend to Avalon was a rather entertaining translation issue in the drink section of the menu:

"We have a big assortment of teas and infusions. You can pick your bag of tea out of the boxes near the toilet."
Advice for all restaurants: no matter how tempting, never write the word, "toilet" on a menu.

Our seat in the shade pictured above. I also enjoyed that the napkins and menus were fun fluorescent shades.

We also found a Starbucks in Gent, however the line was almost out the door, and we were in a bit of a hurry to take full advantage of stroller-sleeping Dina.

 Starbucks worked their magic anyway, however, with free samples of their strawberry frappuccino along the side of the building, much to my delight.

I wanted to hug these guys.

Gent (or Ghent in Dutch). Gorgeous, timeless, entertaining, and full of great vegetarian food. It was so appropriate that along the river walk I spotted these two flags, waving in the summer breeze:

My home and where I'm presently calling 'home'.

Vegetarian Restaurant Review- de Waaghals (Amsterdam)

Over the past couple of weeks some exciting things have been happening. I'll fill you in later this week, I promise! In the meantime,  I have two restaurant reviews, both about 1.5 hours from our home. The first was in Amsterdam a few weeks ago.

For the first time, I went alone with Dina on the 1 hour and 20 minute train ride to Amsterdam. I wasn't sure if her boisterous 3-year-old activities would annoy the other passengers. 

I needn't have worried.

The purpose of our trip was to see our dear friends from Australia (they used to live in Rochester) and meet them for a quick museum trip and dinner. Dina has had three 'miracle' naps in her life. The first was at Musee D'Orsay in Paris when she was 9 months old.  Those 40 minutes, drinking in the impressionists paintings, catching knowing glances from older ladies at the lovely sleeping beauty in my stroller, will forever be etched in my memory. Her second 'miracle' nap happened this day, in Amsterdam, at the van Gogh museum. Chatting about the artists life, work, and familiarity (now that we've lived here for more than 3 years his work seems to be of familiar places), with friends who I hadn't seen since before we moved, was delightful. From there, we headed to Vegetarisch Restaurant de Waaghals. It is located on Frans Haisstraat 29 in Amsterdam.

My husband has been using an app on his phone to decide where to eat in big cities we've visited recently. The app has user generated reviews. This particular place had some good reviews, and since we try to eat vegetarian as much as we can (and our friends were up for it) we checked it out, in spite of one negative review where a customer was bitten by the resident cat. Hilariously, when we sat down, a cat came over to investigate (and I had already warned Dina not to touch any cats) and the owner told us that it was best to leave the cat alone, which we did. What I liked about this place was the unique dinner options.

The spinach quiche(green egg-shaped dish above) and polenta topped with herbed butter were excellent. I also enjoyed the mushrooms and the salad (olives are always a big hit, especially with Dina) and felt fortunate that they accommodated my request for a child meal that wasn't so typical (Dina wanted fries and plain fried tofu, and they did it).

 Dina ate every last black olive on my plate, my husbands, and some from our friend's, too.

The inside of the restaurant was sparsely decorated, with strange light fixtures, but the courtyard in the back let in light and we were happy to sit near it. I'm so grateful we got to see our friends, and enjoy a wonderful vegetarian meal as well.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

 A perfect chocolate chip cookie is irresistible to me. My Uncle Richard used to receive a couple of dozen from my mom every year at Christmas time. He would eat one right after another, until they were gone, and then lament that his belly ached. But, I understand completely. The slightly crisp exterior, soft and chewy interior, bits of chocolate of just the right size and shape... perfection.

Nestle Toll House Morsels has a recipe on their bag that I've used (substituting crisco for the butter) for many years. My grandmother was the first to make them, and then my mom, and now me. While I love this version, I've been experimenting a bit to bring some butter back into this cookie. Crisco, while perfect for some things, has no flavor. Butter, which makes cookies spread more in the oven making them thinner and therefore crunchy, has lots of flavor but (in this case) suboptimal properties. My Dutch friends might beg to differ- I gave some cookies to Marieke and she explained that cookies that are soft and chewy are actually considered 'gone bad' here, because they are stale from exposure to air. Packaged cookies are always crisp, so if they are soft, they've been left out in the Dutch humidity. To me, a crisp cookie means a packaged cookie, not homemade, and so less-good. I guess that's why I never got too interested in biscotti, because it is so crisp, even when fresh out of the oven.

I love the simple, natural ingredients in Nestle's Toll House morsels. The flavor of these chocolate chips brings me back to my childhood, at Christmas time. Other chocolate chips work just as well, and may even seem to have a deeper, darker chocolate flavor (which I appreciate!), however Nestle's evokes the memories for me, and so I bring back several bags when I travel to the US.

If you use chopped chocolate instead of (tempered) chips, keep in mind that the chocolate will melt on its edges a bit, for a more gooey experience (also delightful).

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies
77 g butter @ room temperature (1/3 cup)
120 g crisco- vegetable shortening (2/3 cup)
157 g granulated sugar (Fijn Crystal suiker) (3/4 cup)
187 g packed brown sugar (light bastard suiker) (3/4 cup)
2 eggs
2 tsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
270 g all-purpose flour/ zeuwse bloem(2 and 1/4 cups but please use a scale for the flour)
250 g chocolate chips (9 oz)

Pre-heat conventional oven to 375 degrees F (180 degrees C)
Cream the butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and beat until well blended. One at a time, add the eggs, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the milk and vanilla and mix just until combined. In a separate bowl, sift the salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add flour mixture to butter/sugar mix a bit at a time, mixing just until combined each time, and scraping the bowl often. Once flour is almost completely incorporated, add the chocolate chips, mix just until distributed. Drop by rounded spoon onto cookie sheets (I use the two spoon method, scoop with one and push the dough out of the spoon with another spoon) and bake for 8 to 10 minutes. If you like your cookies very soft, take them out just before you think they are done. If you like a bit of crisp on the outside, leave them until they just begin to brown. Rotate your cookie sheet half-way through baking if your oven is uneven (most are).

 

Portioning cookie dough is always a challenge. Getting the cookies all about the same size can be tricky. The method I use harks back to my childhood. In order to split the last piece of cake or cookie, my friend and I would use the slice and choose method. One person would be in charge of slicing the cookie in half, and the other person would select which half she wanted.  The slicer has a strong incentive to make a perfect 50/50 cut, so it doesn't matter which half the chooser selects.  Needless to say, I always wanted to be the chooser. But what does this have to do with cookie portioning? Simply put: pretend you are the slicer with each ball of dough. Consider that after they are cooked, the cookie you get to eat will be the smallest one on the tray, or the one with the fewest chocolate chips. You can bet I make them all the same!!

 

If you are excited about keeping your cookies soft and fresh you can put small pieces of bread in the tin with the cookies. Don't allow the bread to touch the cookies directly, but rather put a piece of foil or parchment paper (baking paper) in between. Cover tightly and the cookies will stay softer than without bread. The rectangular tin above has bits of bread on the edges, on top of folded-over foil. We did taste tests and Mike preferred the ones without the bread keeping them extra soft (his comment was they did not taste any fresher, and he likes a bit of crunch on the outside), but I liked both versions.

Buttercream basics

Frosting a cake never tasted so good! If you want a simple alternative to my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream, the Basic Buttercream recipe I've been refining does the trick. It also pipes beautifully, smooths perfectly, and tastes divine.

For Dina's school party this year I made cupcakes from a box (don't judge me!) Duncan Hines yellow cake mix (was it Classic Yellow or Butter Recipe Golden? I don't remember.) Here in Eindhoven, this can be found at Jumbo supermarket in Veldhoven or Rohit. Of course I can't just make a box cake mix without some kind of modification so I substitute a low-fat milk for the water in the recipe. I ended up with 24 cupcakes (fill them up about 50-60% of the way so you get a nice domed top) from one box, which meant, once baked, they came just over the top of the cupcake liners.

Normally I bake 22 from a box, and fill them more, for a bigger dome top, but this was for a party with two and three-year-olds. Less is more!

Once the cupcakes cooled, I frosted them with a Basic Buttercream. The key to any frosting is, of course, the ingredients. The butter available everywhere here in the Netherlands kicks serious ass. The powdered sugar... not so much. I've only found proper 'icing' sugar or 'Poeder Suiker' at the Genneper Park molen, and the Dommelsche molen. Those of you listening back home can use Domino 10x, you lucky people. If you are unable to get powdered sugar (do not use AH brand powdered sugar, it is too grainy and will result in frosting that has the texture of sand) you can use a food processor to process the Fine crystal sugar available at AH and sift it, many times, until you achieve the right consistency. The 10x in the Domino brand sugar stands for process and sifted 10 times. I'm lazy so I just stock up when I go to Genneper park- powdered sugar never goes bad.

Basic Buttercream Frosting
230 g unsalted butter
500 g powdered sugar (one bag)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp meringue powder (Wilton brand is what I used)
2 Tbsp water
1/8 tsp salt

Start with the butter at room temperature. Beat the butter in a mixer until it looks smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar, scraping down the bowl after each 100 g (approximately). Once all the powdered sugar is incorporated, add the remaining ingredients. Beat well. If the frosting is too stiff, you can add more water, 1 tsp at a time.

Frosting can be left at room temperature for a few days, but should not be left in direct sunlight, or a very warm room.

I colored the frosting using Wilton gel color purple, and added sprinkles we bought in Germany, which are very similar to American sprinkles.  Using a piping bag with Wilton tip 2D, I piped a swirl on top of each cupcake and let Dina add the sprinkles. They were sitting in the pie-taker on the counter (covered) for about an hour in the morning before I brought them to her school, and in that time, the sunshine from my window actually faded the purple frosting on one edge! Wacky, no?

You can see it at the top of this photo- the edge of several cupcakes looks blue. My husband at first thought it was a lighting effect, but it is actually the color, faded, in just an hour of sunlight, through the clear plastic container!

The Dutch tradition (at least in Dina's school) is for the birthday child to wear a crown (Dina picked purple, of course) and as each child comes to shake her hand, she gives each classmate a cupcake(or other treat). We were excited that among all her dresses, she choose the dress my grandmother made and I wore as a child to wear on her special day.

This lucky kid got to eat TWO cupcakes, one at school and one after dinner on her birthday. Dina insisted that I do something simple for her school cupcakes. The remaining cupcakes got a more fancy treatment, using a Wilton petal tip, and my husband took some photos.

Warning! Red dye is not for kids...

My daughter, Dina had her 3rd (time flies!) birthday party over this past weekend, and I used a bit of red marzipan on her cake. I've never been a fan of fondant, (although I've not yet made my own, I've heard when you make it yourself, with choice ingredients it can actually be edible) and some might say, 'it looks amazing!' but I guess I'd rather use the phrase 'it looks like plastic!' to describe the fondant cakes I've seen. Never mind how bad it tastes- fondant looks like plastic and tastes like plastic, in my opinion.

Marzipan, on the other hand, is edible (almonds typically make up 20% of marzipan, the rest is mostly sugar) and can be made to look similar to fondant (smooth finish on top of a cake).  Marzipan shaped like animals, fruits and other tid-bits are commonly found seasonally in Europe. I prefer the French marzipan (the French are all about amazing food) over the German version but can't say I'd ever choose a marzipan pear over a chocolate bon-bon. I was intent on using red and white for the top of Dina's cake and it is always difficult to color red your own icing/frosting at home. Every time I try to dye frosting red it comes out orangey-red or dark pink- even using tons of the fancy red food coloring gel from Wilton. Also, if I add too much, my frosting separates. However, red pre-colored fondant or marzipan have a gorgeous color. How do they get it so red?  Not without something not-so-nice inside!

A translation from Dutch into English of the ingredient list for the red marzipan (Marsepein Rood) I got at V&D follows:
sugar, 20% almonds, stabilizer(Sorbitol- a sugar alcohol), glucose syrup, Allura Red AC, thickening agent Carboxy methyl cellulose, invertase(an enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of sucrose), acidulant (Citric acid- to lower pH and to impart a tart, acid taste), aroma. This product can contain traces of milk, soy, egg. Allura Red AC can impact the activity and attention in children.

Yes, on the packaging it actually states, "Allura Red AC can impact the activity and attention in children."  My friend Marieke pointed this out to me when I told her I was using red marzipan (she noticed the same warning on the red fondant she used on her son's cake). Turns out that Denmark, Belgium, France, and Switzerland have all banned the substance. In the USA it is called, "Red 40" and is in many products including cotton candy, soft drinks, and children's medications. 

Wikipedia explains that a study done in 2007 showed increased hyperactivity in children who ate Allura Red AC. The article goes on to recommend the following dyes be avoided by hyperactive children: Sunset Yellow, Carmoisine, Tartrazine, Ponceau 4R, Quinoline Yellow WS and Allura Red.  Since I live in the EU, I have to memorize a bunch of E-numbers rather than names as described above. Allura Red AC is E129. Here is the list of the rest:

E110: Sunset Yellow
E122: Carmoisine
E102: Tartrazine
E124: Ponceau 4R
E104: Quinoline Yellow WS
also, a food preservative is also named a culprit: E211: Sodium benzoate

I did end up using the red marzipan on her cake in small amounts, however, I suggested the children eat the cupcakes which I made with a simple buttercream.

Maybe I'm dating myself by admitting that I remember the red dye scare that happened when I was a child, because I remember that no red M&Ms existed until 1985. This was in spite of M&Ms not even containing the cancer-causing Red Dye No 2(E123)- which, incidentally, is still used in the UK for Glace cherries. I remember when red M&Ms first arrived during Christmas of 1985. It was so exciting to eat red M&Ms!

Of course this has me pondering about what alternatives exist for getting a gorgeous red color and yet not having a hyperactive toddler afterwards. Wikipedia also discusses the food coloring carmine (E120), which is derived from insects. Not without issue, carmine causes a severe allergic reaction in some people and also is not for vegans or kosher. It is banned in New Zealand as of 2009, presumably because of the allergic reactions.

Red Beets are another option, however the color is not such a bright red. Still, as a natural substance, you can't get more earthy than beets.

Yummus Hummus

Tonight was a vegetarian dinner - Mediterranean-style hummus... or as my husband calls it, "Yummus".

Yes, those are cucumber strips instead of circles. Easier to dip into the hummus, or jam into a pita bread. Unless your toddler only will eat cucumber slices, of course. The total time to make this meal is about 25 minutes (if the carrots are already prepped- peeled and chopped and stored in a container in the fridge, soaking in cold water. Great tip from my Mother-in-law: they stay fresh, crunchy, and you can prep them ahead of time for snacking.)

I would love to say I made the Falafel myself, but I took a short-cut and had my buddy, Albert Heijn make it. Just pop these beauties into a pan with a bit of oil, and fry them up for a nice, crunchy exterior.

Inform your two-year-old that these are meatballs and risk wasting one (unless you don't mind it ABC- already been chewed).

The key to this fabulous meal is of course, the Hummus. A recipe I found online long ago here: (and modified slightly)
Yummus Hummus
1 jar of chickpeas (trying to cut down on canned foods because of the BPA), drained but reserve the liquid (360 grams or 16 oz)
1/4 cup (60ml) of reserved chickpea liquid
juice from 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup or 60ml)
2 Tablespoons Tahini paste* (about 30ml)
2 cloves of garlic, chopped fine (or if you don't like raw garlic, roast it first)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus more for garnish)

Blend everything in a food processor for 3 to 5 minutes, or until creamy. Add more reserved chick-pea liquid if desired, but don't add too much or you'll end up with soup.
To serve, place in a bowl and add a Tablespoon or so of olive oil as a garnish on the top.  Make it look pretty with a carved carrot flower or creatively placed tomatoes. Use cut veggies to dip, or stuff a pita-pocket (also AH supplied! and the par-baked pita pockets bake up nice in only 5 minutes!) with the hummus, falafel, veggies and a drizzle of oil if you like.
* = Tahini is sesame paste. If you don't have it and can't get it, you can use a mortar and pestle to grind up sesame seeds until they are a paste and use that instead. I've done it this way when I was out of tahini and craving hummus. It works okay, but you really have to work to grind up those seeds and it takes a long time.

Yummus!