Category Archives: Breads and Yeast Raised Doughs

My Favorite Posts Of 2013

December 31, 2013Breads and Yeast Raised Doughs, Celebration Cakes, Cookies, No Bake DessertsMelissa

Baby Mickey First Birthday Cake — Baby Mickey Cake

It is so hard for me to pick my favorite posts of the year, I put my heart into everything I make, and am really in love with everything I share. Here are some highlights from 2013, starting with my most popular post of the year, this baby Mickey First birthday cake.

Crispy Peanut Butter Cups

This recipe for crispy peanut butter cups was shared with me by my sister-in-law. She gave me a basic outline of how she does it and I wrote down measurements so that I would be able to replicate them perfectly every time. They are the perfect non-dairy and no bake snack to keep in the freezer for those late night cravings!

Football Whoopie Pies

This recipe for whoopie pies is one of my most requested treats. They are reminiscent of the classic snack cake Devil Dogs, but are way better! Plus they are non-dairy. I decided to make them in football shapes to celebrate the Super Bowl, but I usually just make them round. Either way, they are delicious!

This cake was a challenge to make. It was my first handbag cake I was ever asked to make, and I couldn’t pass on the challenge. At the time, I didn’t really have any instructions, so I just made it up as I went along, and it came out better than expected! I still can’t believe I made this, and that it’s all edible! Donna absolutely loved it, and so did I.

Purple Ruffle Ombre Cake — Ombre Ruffle Cake

This is one of my favorite cakes that I ever made. It might have to do with the fact that I made it to celebrate my sister-in-law’s bridal shower (hi Miriam)! Her wedding color was purple, and since she didn’t pick a specific shade, I thought it would be super cute to do the whole thing in ombre, that way every shade was represented. I think she still has the edible gum paste flowers.

Angry Birds Birthday Cake — Angry Birds Cake

I can’t go through a favorite list without mentioning this Angry Birds cake I made to celebrate Aviv’s 4th birthday. It was so much fun to make, I am thrilled with the results! The color scheme is really perfect and the cake is just so much fun to look at. Aviv is still talking about his birthday cake!

This cake was just so cool to make. Arvind from Queens, NY (my home town) won the Scripps National Spelling Bee-congrats!! His teacher asked me to make him a special cake to celebrate with his classmates. He was so surprised when I showed up with this custom cake depicting the winning word: knaidel. He even took the little gum paste figure home with him! Congrats again!

I love this cake because it was one of the tallest cakes I have ever made! It was really fun to bring Mickey Mouse’s Clubhouse to life for a cute little 2 year old birthday girl. Happy Birthday Libby!

Here is another insanely tall cake that I made this year. This one also happened to be super heavy, and I carried it by myself! This one was made to celebrate a Bat Mitzvah with a ballet theme. The birthday girl wanted the cake to match her theme but tastefully done. Mazel Tov Courtney!

Stacked Suitcase Wedding Cake — Stacked Luggage Wedding Cake

This was my first luggage cake I have ever made, and it was for a wedding! Talk about pressure, but I think I did a pretty good job. All the buckle details really bring this cake to life. Since then, I have made at least two more pieces of edible luggage, and I can’t wait to make more!

I wanted to share at least one stacked book cake that I have made and this was the perfect one. It was made for a teacher celebrating her retirement. Her husband surprised her with it, and she was shocked! She even emailed me to thank me for it afterwards. Congrats Judy!

This cake was made pretty last minute for a special birthday boy. His dad really wanted him to have a special Jake and the Neverland Pirates cake so I couldn’t say no. I am so glad I made this cake, because it came out even better than I imagined! The kids at the party loved eating the edible gold doubloons. Happy Birthday Harry!

Gumpaste Chobani Yogurt Container

This next cake was fun, but my favorite part was the edible Chobani Greek Yogurt container that adorned the cake. All the details were hand painted, after it was done, I almost didn’t want to give it away!

Pumpkin Doughnuts

I am usually busy with lots and lots of cakes, but I also do love developing recipes. For the once in a lifetime holiday of Thanksgivukkah, I made these pumpkin doughnuts with marshmallow graham crcker glaze, and they were amazing! I might have to make them again, just because.

My favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe

The last recipe I decided to share this year is also one for my favorite chocolate chip cookies. After almost 3 years of blogging, I can’t believe I have never shared it with you before! It is my go to recipe for a delicious and comforting treat. I hope you enjoyed this roundup as much as I did; it has been a fun year, filled with cakes, recipes, and photography that just keeps getting better and better. Happy New Year!

Pumpkin Doughnut Holes with Orange Cranberry Jam

November 18, 2013Breads and Yeast Raised Doughs, Doughnutscranberry, pumpkinMelissa

Pumpkin Doughnut Holes with Orange Cranberry Jam

I am still super excited about the upcoming holiday of Thanksgivukkah. It’s a fusion holiday made up of Thanksgiving and Chanukkah and it won’t happen again for a very very long time. So don’t worry, this fad will blow over shortly. But until it does, here’s a cute recipe incorporating both holidays. Last week I shared my recipe for pumpkin doughnuts with marshmallow and graham cracker glaze. You might have been wondering what I did with all those doughnut holes! I rolled them in cinnamon sugar and served them with a warm orange cranberry jam, perfect for dipping. The cranberry jam is spiced with cinnamon sticks and fresh grated nutmeg, giving it the perfect Thanksgiving holiday flavors. Orange juice and fresh orange zest lends the perfect tart notes that balance well with the sweet cinnamon sugar that coat the doughnut holes.

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Pumpkin Doughnut Holes with Orange Cranberry Jam

Author: Lil' Miss Cakes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Doughnuts

¼ cup warm water
1 pkg. yeast (2¼ tsp.)
2 Tbs. maple syrup
4 cups flour
⅓ cup soy milk
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 Tbs. oil
¼ cup sugar
1½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
½ cup sugar+1 Tbs. cinnamon for rolling

Orange Cranberry Jam

12 oz. fresh cranberries
1½ cups sugar
¼ cup water
⅓ cup orange juice
1 cinnamon stick
¼ tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
zest of one orange

Instructions

Pumpkin Doughnuts

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add warm water, yeast and maple syrup. Stir and allow to proof for 5-10 minutes.
Once the yeast has bubbled, layer all the other ingredients on top starting with the flour, then soy milk, egg, pumpkin, oil, sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
Turn the mixer on low and mix until the dough starts to come together, 3-5 minutes.
Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Turn the mixer back on low and knead the dough for another 10 minutes. It might be slightly sticky but should be smooth.
Turn the dough out into a lightly greased bowl, cover with kitchen towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour.
Once the dough has risen, cut in half to make it easier to use.
Roll out half the dough to about ½ inch thickness. Cut doughnut holes with a small circle cutter about 1¼ inches in diameter. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with kitchen towel and allow to rise for about 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. You can ball up the scraps and cut out shapes once more but don’t go beyond there, your doughnuts will be tough.
While the doughnuts rise, prepare the oil for frying. Heat up a deep fryer or fill a heavy bottomed pot with about 2 inches of oil. Using a candy thermometer, heat the oil on medium heat until the temperature reaches between 350 and 375 degrees F.
Once the oil reaches the proper temperature, fry 2 doughnuts at a time for about 45 seconds on each side. The doughnuts will start to brown. Once lightly browned on each side, transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet and allow to cool.
After they have cooled slightly, roll in cinnamon sugar and serve with warm jam.

Orange Cranberry Jam

In a medium sized pot combine cranberries, sugar, water, orange juice, cinnamon stick, and nutmeg.
Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes until some of the cranberries start to pop open and break down.
Remove from heat and stir in the orange zest.
Transfer to a heat safe bowl and allow to cool slightly before serving.
The jam will thicken as it cools.

Here are more fun Thanksgivukkah recipes for you to enjoy for this once in a lifetime holiday!

Pumpkin Doughnuts With Marshmallow and Graham Cracker Glaze

November 12, 2013Breads and Yeast Raised Doughs, Doughnutsgraham cracker, marshmallow, pumpkinMelissa

Pumpkin Doughnuts

As you may know by now, Thanksgiving and Chanukkah fall on the same day this year. I don’t usually love fads, but this fusion holiday is too much fun to ignore. To bring both holidays together into one dessert, I used two traditional desserts from each holiday and combined them into one. I transformed the classic pumpkin pie with marshmallow topping and graham cracker crust from Thanksgiving fame into a doughnut which is the most famous Chanukkah treat. I present to you a pumpkin doughnut topped with a marshmallow glaze and graham cracker crumbs. The doughnuts have pure pumpkin puree in them giving them a beautiful orange color, as well as loads of pumpkin pie spice to lend that perfect autumnal spice. And as my husband said, while devouring one of these babies “you can’t go wrong with marshmallow topping”!

The doughnut recipe was adapted from Bakeaholic Mama. Here’s my non-dairy recipe.

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Pumpkin Doughnuts With Marshmallow and Graham Cracker Topping

Author: Lil' Miss Cakes

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 1 hour 15 mins

Serves: 18 doughnuts

Ingredients

Pumpkin Dough

¼ cup warm water
1 pkg. yeast (2¼ tsp.)
2 Tbs. maple syrup
4 cups flour
⅓ cup soy milk
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 Tbs. oil
¼ cup sugar
1½ tsp. salt
1½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Marshmallow Graham Cracker Glaze

2 cup marshmallow cream (I use Marshmallow Fluff)
1 Tsp. shortening
graham cracker crumbs

Instructions

Pumpkin Doughnut

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add warm water, yeast and maple syrup. Stir and allow to proof for 5-10 minutes.
Once the yeast has bubbled, layer all the other ingredients on top starting with the flour, then soy milk, egg, pumpkin, oil, sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.
Turn the mixer on low and mix until the dough starts to come together, 3-5 minutes.
Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Turn the mixer back on low and knead the dough for another 10 minutes. It might be slightly sticky but should be smooth.
Turn the dough out into a lightly greased bowl, cover with kitchen towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for about an hour.
Once the dough has risen, cut in half to make it easier to use.
Roll out half the dough to about ½ inch thickness. Use a round cutter about 2¾ inches in diameter and cut out six doughnuts. Cut the centers out with a smaller circle cutter about 1¼ inches in diameter. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover with kitchen towel and allow to rise for about 30 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough. You can ball up the scraps and cut out another 6 doughnuts, but don't go beyond there, your doughnuts will be tough. You may reserve the doughnut holes and fry them as well.
While the doughnuts rise, prepare the oil for frying. Heat up a deep fryer or fill a heavy bottomed pot with about 2 inches of oil. Using a candy thermometer, heat the oil on medium heat until the temperature reaches between 350 and 375 degrees F.
Once the oil reaches the proper temperature, fry 2 doughnuts at a time for about 45 seconds on each side. The doughnuts will start to brown. Once lightly browned on each side, transfer to a paper towel lined baking sheet and allow to cool.

Marshmallow Glaze

In a small pot or in a double boiler, melt the marshmallow cream with the shortening. Dip the top of each doughnut into the marshmallow, allow the excess to drip off and immediately sprinkle with the graham cracker crumbs.