Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Secret Garden Bridal Shower

This shower was for my niece-to-be and took many twists and turns along the way even to the last day! It was going to be outside in a fun flower garden space in Comstock, but it didn't look like the weather was going to cooperate, so I decided we better have it at my home.

The morning of the shower would have made a PERFECT  breakfast shower! It was gorgeous outside. As it turned out, we didn't get the rain and thunderstorms predicted, but there was wind, so I think it would have been hard to hear and napkins and plates, etc would have been blowing.

In the end, I believe everyone had a wonderful time, so it was a successful shower. It was so nice to meet her some of her family (mom, aunt, and grandma) and be able to visit before the wedding.

Stacey loves to read, so that is where the theme came from. Comstock has this fun "Friendship Patio" by their flower garden that is fun to host parties in where I was hoping it could be held.

Having it at my home, kept me busier and I forgot to take as many pictures as I would have liked, but here are a few I did get taken.

Here is the invitation that I designed for Stacey's shower. I used the Library Card Set from Cutting Cafe again. (you can view the baby invite I made using the same set HERE). The library card holder was made with digital paper from Erin Bradley Designs collection Purple Blue Orange & Green Digital Papers. The bookplate was cut from my Silhouette using Bookplate Tags from My Scrap Chick.


Flowers were cut from the ditches around us. These are just wild weeds.






We had chicken salad sandwiches on homemade buns, peach salad, cheese and homemade crackers and cheesecake: white chocolate salted caramel, triple chocolate, and white chocolate raspberry. My DIL made the salad and my SIL made the homemade crackers. Everything was delicious.



30 Minute Rolls
 

Ingredients
  • 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water
  • ⅓ cup oil
  • 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 3½ cups flour (either bread flour or all-purpose will work)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the warm water, oil, yeast, and sugar. Allow the mixture to rest for 15 minutes.
  3. Mix 2 cups of the flour, the salt, and the egg into the yeast mixture using a dough hook. Add the remaining 1½ cups flour ½ cup at a time.
  4. Shape dough into 12 balls and place in a 9x13 pan. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
  5. Bake for 10 minutes or until tops are just golden brown.
Notes
recipe from Real Mom Kitchen

White Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

 
Caramel Sauce:
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons lemon juice
  • 1 pint heavy cream
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Before I get into making the sauce, let me note that this isn't the easiest way for most home cooks to go about making caramel sauce. Melting almost pure sugar in a pan is pesky and it can burn quite easily. If you're not feeling up to attempting this part of the recipe, feel free to buy your favorite caramel sauce and warm it gently to glaze the cheesecake.

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat (I'm using non-stick for this), combine the sugar and lemon juice. Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar is mostly melted then set aside the spoon and swirl the pan over the heat to keep the color even throughout.

Continue to cook and swirl until it sugar turns a medium amber color. Watch it carefully, the sugar will quickly darken and should it become dark brown or black it will taste bitter and unpleasant.

When the sauce turns the right color slowly whisk in the cream. If the caramel hardens with the addition of the cream, do not worry. Just continue to add the cream and bring the mixture back to a a boil over medium heat. Continue to stir until the sugar has remelted. Allow to boil for 5 minutes then remove from heat and stir in the butter.

Pour into a heat safe container and chill until ready to use.

Crust:
  • 10 ounces graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
  • 7 tablespoons unsalted butter

Cheesecake Filling:
  • 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 8 ounces good quality white chocolate, chopped
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • boiling water

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F. Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and press into the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the side of a 10 inch spring form pan.

Bake for 10 minutes and then allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Reduce the heat to 325°F and prepare the cheesecake batter.

Place the chopped white chocolate into a heat safe bowl and set aside. Bring the 1/2 cup of cream to a simmer over medium heat in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate, jiggle the bowl to submerge it and allow to stand for one minute. Stir the chocolate gently until melted completely.

In your mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth and lump free. Add the sugar and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

On medium speed, slowly add the white chocolate ganache. Once combined you can add the eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed until each egg is incorporated. Once you've added all the eggs, mix in the vanilla and salt and pour into your prepared pan.

Set the pan onto a couple large sheets of aluminum foil and smooth them up the sides of the pan to waterproof.

Set the cheesecake into a large roasting pan and then place in the oven. Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan, filling to about one inch (no higher than the lowest edge of aluminum foil). Allow to make at 325°F for one hour then reduce heat and bake at 300°F for an additional 60-90 minutes until the center is just set.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool chill for at least 4 hours before serving.

To glaze, gently warm the 1 cup of the caramel sauce on the stove or in the microwave until slightly runny and then pour onto the cheesecake. Smooth the caramel over the cake and you're ready to serve.

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE
 
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INGREDIENTS
  • Crust:
  • 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
  • ¼ cup dark brown sugar
  • 5 Tbsp butter, melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 4.4 oz. white chocolate bar (goes on top of pressed crust)
  • Cheesecake:
  • 3 8-oz cream cheese packs
  • ¾ cup of heavy cream
  • 2 tbs plain yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1½ Tbsp corn starch
  • ½ cup of white granulated sugar
  • Raspberry topping:
  • 6 oz raspberries
  • ½ cup white granulated sugar
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ Tbsp cornstarch
  • Topping:
  • 2 oz white chocolate, melted
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. ~ Grease a 9-inch spring form and set it aside. Preheat the oven to 325.
  2. For crust: Mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter and vanilla. Stir very well, until all incorporated. Press graham cracker mixture into the pan, evenly, all over the bottom and about half way up the side. Break up the chocolate into small rectangles and layer them on top of crust, evenly all over the bottom.
  3. Cheesecake:
  4. Start beating cream cheese and sugar on medium high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.
  5. Add vanilla extract, and yogurt. Mix until combined.
  6. Add eggs, one at the time, beating after each addition. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and beat until all incorporated.
  7. Add corn starch and while on medium low, pour in heavy cream. Mix until all combined, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix again.
  8. Pour the cheesecake batter into the spring form with crust.
  9. Raspberry topping:
  10. In a small sauce pot, over medium heat, combine raspberries, vanilla, lemon juice and sugar. Mix well and cook, over medium heat and covered for about 10 minutes. Smash all the berries with a wooden spoon and cook for another 10 minutes on medium-low heat.
  11. Whisk in cornstarch and strain the mixture through a fine strainer to get rid of the seeds and leftover skin. The mixture should be thickened.
  12. Pour it slowly over the top of the cheesecake and carefully swirl it in to the cheesecake but don't mix.
  13. Place the spring form in the oven, inside a large roasting pan. Carefully add some hot water to the roasting pan, filling it about ½ of the way up the side of the spring form.
  14. Bake for 70-75 minutes. Sides of the cheesecake should be set but still a little jiggle in the center.
  15. Let cook completely and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Triple Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust
Author: 
Recipe type: Dessert
Prep time:  
Cook time:  
Total time:  
 
Triple chocolate delight- chocolate cookie crust, chocolate cheesecake filling and chocolate topping garnished with chocolate curls, these cake will swept off their feet even the bigest chocoholic.
Ingredients
For the Crust:
  • 24 Oreo cookies-finely crushed
  • ¼ cup unsalted butter-melted
For Cheesecake Filling:
  • 2 lbs. cream cheese- room temperature
  • 1⅓ cups powdered sugar
  • 3 Tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 4 eggs- room temperature
  • 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate-chopped
For Chocolate Topping:
  • ¾ cup heavy cream
  • 6 oz. bittersweet chocolate-finely chopped
  • 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
To make the crust:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.
  2. Finely crush the cookies in a food processor, add melted butter and blend until it’s all moistened.
  3. Press crumb mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool while making the filling.
To make the filling:
  1. Melt 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate and set aside to cool.
  2. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth, mix in cocoa powder
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed and do not overbeat it.
  4. Add melted chocolate and mix on low speed to combine.
  5. Pour the filling over the crust and smooth the top.
  6. Bake the cheesecake until the center is set and the top looks dry (about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes).
  7. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then run a thin knife around the sides of the pan and set the cake in the refrigerator (uncovered), for at least 8 hours, or better overnight.
To make the topping:
  1. In a medium saucepan stir together cream, chocolate and sugar on low heat until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
  2. Cool and pour over the cheesecake.
  3. When the topping is set and cooled again run a thin knife around the sides and remove the springform pan sides.
  4. This cheesecake can be prepared up to 2-3 days in advance just store covered in the refrigerator.
  5. Garnish with chocolate curls (optional).
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