Something old, something new

When I was little, I can remember going to my cousin's house on Christmas morning, after we opened our own gifts at home and before the rest of our family came over. It was either my aunt or my cousin, and sometimes both, who made the most delicious and special breakfast treat. It only came out on Christmas morning. Served with butter, jelly, a side of fruit (and probably a side of bacon and/or sausage that I'd rather not discuss. . .) this fabulously fantastic treat was in fact a popover. We sadly haven't seen our cousins on Christmas day in several years however I have since carried on the Christmas morning popover tradition for whoever is around. I've gone through maybe three or so popover pans since I started making them (back in high school?) usually because I scratch them up for whatever reason. My mother-in-law reminded me this past Christmas of one a few years back when I was apparently in between popover pan purchases. . . and we made popovers with a muffin tin. I don't recommend trying this at home, but I DO recommend getting yourself a popover pan, buttering it well, measuring your ingredients well, and not over-mixing your batter. Whether it's for Christmas or just a special kind of Sunday at home, they are certainly delicious:


I really hate to post this, especially right after Jenni's last post, but do keep this in mind. . .

After Jenni's first roulade, I thought, Hey, if Jenni's not afraid, then maybe I could give it a try too. I had that new Ina Garten book (and signed!) which had a great-looking recipe. It was a Pumpkin Roulade with Ginger Buttercream. I figured Christmas would be a great time to try this, and so I did. It was truly a scary experience, which thankfully turned out well, but seriously. . . you roll the cake up as soon as it comes out of the oven, let it cool, unroll it, fill it, and re-roll it. You're taking a lot of chances there, right?! So I'm sure if I try it again, I won't have as much luck. . . right, Jenni?! (For the record, Jenni, I think that in the end, YOU won, not the cake -- it sounded delicious, and didn't completely fall apart. You were still able to eat it, so there you go). So now, again, I really hate to post this, but I still kind of. . . sort of. . . want to share :/


Happy Holidays!!!

Let the good times roulade

I admit that maybe I've become obsessive, but the pumpkin roulade was seemingly so easy that I just had to try again.  This time I was inspired by this recipe.  A red velvet cake with white chocolate mousse and raspberries inside.  Mmmmm mmmmm!  It sounded delicious and perfect for our Christmas dessert.  The results fell short of my grand expectations.  I submit to you people's exhibit A:

The problem was after the cake was cooked and rolled and cooled it completely cracked when being unrolled. I was left with about 5 long strips of cake. I proceeded to fill them and "roll" them back up the way they should be rolled. I wrapped it quickly and tightly in saran wrap and aluminum foil and put it in the fridge overnight where I hoped it would heal itself. It did not. I think that some pieces sunk further into the filling, and thus it looks all rolled back up on itself - although I can't really seem to figure out how it should have gone together.

It looked a little better when sliced, I submit people's exhibit B:

And, it tasted delicious!!

I think that perhaps the cake part was cooked too long, I'd attempt a shorter time the next time. It also seemed a little dense, I'd maybe go to 3/4 cup of flour or substitute cake flour instead.