It is King Cake Time!

Today is Mardi Gras. To celebrate the occasion, I made a king cake (click on the link for the recipe). It was my first try and it turned out great! It tastes good and looks colorful. I will make it again. I have to be honest with you, I have never had a piece, but I have been told that it taste like the real one. Thanks to Jo for this great recipe. Nevertheless, we will have to make a trip to New Orleans to have a piece...

My First King Cake

Ready to rise for over 2 hours

• What Do I think about the overall  recipe?

Preparing the Dough and Filling:
- The instructions were overall clear.
- I only used 2 and half cups of flour for the dough itself and a little more kneading. I only made half of the recipe which should be 5 cups instead of 5 and half for the original recipe.
- I kneaded the dough for 8 minutes. After 5 minutes, I noticed that the dough was nice and soft. I kept kneading without adding extra flour because of the texture. I let the dough rise for 2 and half hours to double. Click here for tips about rising bread. I did not follow the instruction at all because I am like the result I get rising my dough in general.
- I only made half of what the recipe asked for and served at least 12 people.

Shaping the Cake and Baking:
-  I laid the dough on wax paper with no additional flour on the paper and rolled it. After spreading the filling evenly on the dough, I rolled it like a sushi and made sure that it was nice and tilleefd.
- I greased a big rectangular cooking pan and placed the rolled dough on it and shaped it as a crown. It is what the cake represents to me. After I made a circle and connected both ends by pinching both dough, I place a tin can (around ....inches wide) in the center of the cake. Be sure the apply some oil, butter or spray around half way through the can before placing it in the center. It would be easier to place it in the center and to remove it after it had rose for another hour before baking.
=> I did not think of taking a picture with the tin can but you have a picture of the cake below after rising. I used the same process as for rising the dough earlier.

Ready to be baked

- The cake baked for 25 minutes but it might need less time. Coming out of the oven, the cake looked dry and not very appealing. I think that I might use some milk or a bitten egg and brush it on the cake before baking to give it a nice golden and shiny color.
- I let the cake in the cooking pan because it was going to be my serving dish. However, if you want to serve it in a different pan wait several minutes for the cake to cool down before transferring it on cooling rack or a dish of your choice.

Ready to apply the frosting

Frosting:
- I followed the recommended ingredients in the instruction and it was not enough at all. I had to triple them to cover the cake.
- The instructions about how to frost cake were not clear to me considering that I had to sprinkle some colored sugar on it and had to stay on the cake. To frost the cake, you could either take a spatula and cover the cake with frosting (it is was I did) or take your bowl with your frosting and directly pour it on the top of the cake. If you decide to do it this way, I would recommend to have the cake on a cooling rack because a lot of extra frosting will run down from the cake. When the frosting and colored are set place it on your serving dish.
- Immediately after pouring the frosting sprinkle the colored crystal sugars in the following order: purple, green and yellow and several times. Make sure you have the same sequence of colors.


Describing the taste and texture:
I would describe the cake as a brioche-roulé. The cake tastes like a cinnamon roll because of the cinnamon-pecan filling and not too sweet even with the frosting. The level of sweetness fells just right. As for the texture, it is not as soft as a brioche but tender in the inside compare to the outside. I was afraid that the cake would be too much but I guess that I would have had a stronger brioche like texture if I would not have cut the recipe into two. No cutting ingredients by half for next time, we will enjoy the cake even more...

HaPpY mArDi GrAs!

Laetitia

Second Life of my Jean's Skirt

Let's take up the hem


I had a 36 inches long jean's shirt that was collecting dust in my closet and seemed that I did not want to give it away. I bought the jean's skirt 10 years ago and after all that time I could still wear it. So, I decided to give a new look to the shirt by making it shorter. It is fashionable right now with a pair of leggings and living in Colorado, a jean's shirt cannot be outdated with a pair of nice boots...

Before - 36 inches long

After - 20 and 1/2 inches long

Time: It is a perfect afternoon project for nap time.

Difficulty: Easy

Materials: Skirt and brown thread

______________________________________

Project Description:

It is pretty straight forward. After you have decided of the length that you are comfortable with (just above the knee for me) cut the extra piece of fabric. I left around 1 inch for the hem which I folded in half.

Tips: If you are working with an existing piece of clothing keep everything uniform such as the color of the thread, width of the hem, and stitch length

Happy New Wardrobe!

Laetitia

It is "Crêpes" Time!

February the 2nd is Crêpes Day in France. This celebration has several names but is commonly referred as "La Fête des Crêpes" or " La Fête de La Chandeleur".

For the occasion, I am sharing with you my grandma's crêpes recipe.



Mamy's Crêpes Recipe

This recipe makes between 15 to 20 crêpes. It takes a long time to make crêpes. To make that batch, it takes around 1 hour and a half. So be prepared to be in the kitchen for quite some time.


Ingredients:

- 2 cups of flour
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of water
- a spoon (dessert) of Rum
- a pinch of salt
- Milk


Directions:

• The batter

1. Mix the flour and eggs.
2. Gradually add milk and whisk well until you get a soup consistency. This step is very important because it is very easy to get a lumpy batter..
3. Add the water, salt and Rum and stir.
4. Let your batter rest for a bit. After resting check the consistency of the batter with a soup spatula. If it feels thick add some extra milk.

• Time to flip the crêpes

1. Get a skillet and whip the bottom with a paper towel which is sucked of canola oil.

2. Put the skillet on a medium heat over and wait until it is hot.

3. Take 1 scoop of batter with your soup spatula and pour it in the skillet. As you pour the batter make sure to move the skillet (top, bottom, left and right) to have the batter covering the bottom of the skillet. If you have some holes pour a little more batter. You should have a thin layer. The first crêpe is always the most difficult to make. You can adjust how much batter you need to scoop in your soup spatula to make the crêpe to your taste.

4.  Let the batter set in the skillet for several minutes.
Tips to check if the crêpe is ready to be flipped, you can look at:
- The edges. The edge is detached from the skillet and you should see a nice crispy brown color and texture.
- Lifting the crêpe a little bit to see if the bottom has a light brown color
- If you can move the crêpe by shaking the skillet

5. Flip your crêpe.
Ways to flip your crêpe:
You can flip your crêpe two different ways. First, you can flip the crêpe with the skillet. For that
you need a fast, strong and control movement. You shake the skillet back and forth several times to make sure that the crêpe does not stick to the bottom. With your elbow backward, holding the skillet straight, move the skillet forward, up and fast at the same time to have enough motion to have the crêpe moving up in the air. As the crêpe flips up, follow it with your skillet for landing horizontally. Second, You can flip the crêpe using your fingers. Grab the edge of the crêpe with your finger tips and flip. Your hand should be 2 inches a part.


6. Let the crêpe brown a little until you see pockets of airy.

7. Your crêpe is ready. Slide it in a plate and enjoy with your favorite(s) filling (sweet or salty) or stack them to eat them later. Crêpes can be eaten warm or cold and for any meals!

Happy Crêpes!

Laetitia

Cross Stitch Baby Birth Announcement Project-Present

A Present for Aléxias

Cross Stitch Birth Announcment for my niece, Aléxias

In few weeks, I will be an auntie for the first time of a baby girl named Aléxias (baby due: January 23rd). To celebrate her birth, I have been working on a cross stick baby birth announcement project. This project was done by completing a cross stick baby birth announcement and painting a wooden "frame".

The little baby girl was born on Thursday, January 17th, 2013! 

• Cross Point Pattern:

The cross stitch baby birth announcement that I picked for the special occasion is called "Baby Feet" from Janlynn. It is a cute, simple, and very easy cross stitch pattern to do. The cross point was made using an ivory Aida 14 count and DMC threads. I did not quiet follow the template for the placement of the name and date. I got that pattern several years ago when my best friend gave birth to a baby boy and made it as a present. I like the design so much that I have made a few "Baby Feet" birth announcement since then  ;-). This time, it was for a baby girl and my niece.

Side View of the Painted Hoop

• Frame:

This time, I wanted to come up with a different framing than a rectangular one. The finished size of the cross point is 5" by 7". So, I had this vision of a painted circular frame using a wooden hoop. I got a 8 inch wooden embroidery hoop with a height of 1/2 an inch, a matching color from the thread's letters for the paint color (purple or Concord Grape # 20595 acrylic paint by Apple Barrel), and some gloss (medium) for acrylic paint. After sanding the hoop, applying 2 quotes of the purple, and 1 quote of gloss, I was done. I only applied paint on the visible parts of the hoop. The purple is a rich color which adds some character to the cross point.

• Assembling:

First, I centered the Aida in the hoops and tightened the screw to have it nicely secure. Second, I cut the extra Aida on the back of the cross stitch. To execute this part, I folded the extra Aida sticking out of the hoops all the way down to the bottom of the inner hoop and carefully cut it. Third, I hot glued gun the extra Aida on the inner hoop. I applied the glue carefully on the top of the hoop and pressed down the Aida on the wooden hoop. I also thought about applying some Elmer glue with a brush but I went with the hot glue gun. I was a bit afraid on ruining the cross stitch by applying too much glue but I was very careful by only putting a thin layer of hot glue and repeated the process several times until the Aida was nicely glued on the inner hoop. Make sure to apply so glue on the top of the empty space where the screw is to have the Aida nice and flat.

View of the Back After Gluing the Aida on the Hoop

Check out my "4 Square Patchwork-Button Holes Bag " on my Homemade Fabric Gift Bags page to find the cute bag that I made to go with the cross stitch.

Happy Cross Stitching!

Laetitia

Protein Bread with Flax Seeds - Recipe

Protein Bread with Fax Seeds on Top

This recipe makes 1 loaf (18 slices).


Each slice would be around 65 calories with 1.33g of fat, 8.75g of carbohydrates, 2.02g of fibers, and 3.92g of proteins.


Ingredients:
- 1 cup of warm water (between 100 to 110 Degree Fahrenheit)
- 1 T of dry yeast
- 1 t sugar
- 1/2 t apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/4 cups of  whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup soy flour
- 1/4 cup gluten flour
- 1/4 cup flax seed meal
- 1/2 t salt
- Milk to brush the top of the bread
- 1 t flax seeds


Directions:
1. Combine the following ingredients to the warm water: yeast, sugar, and vinegar. Stir and let it set for about 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl, stir in the flours and salt.
3. Pour the yeast/water combination to the flours and mix to get a stiff dough.
5. Sprinkle some whole wheat flour to your clean countertop and knead the dough for a good 5 minutes until you get a soft dough to the touch.
6. Place the dough in a oily bread pan and let it rise for 3 hours in a warm place or over night in the fridge. For tips about rising bread, check Laetitia's Rosemary Bread.

Ready to Go in the Oven!

7. Brush the top of the dough with some milk and sprinkle some flax seeds. I used almond milk.
8. Preheat the oven at 325 degree Fahrenheit and bake for 30 minutes or so.
9. Remove the bread from the pan and let is cool down on a cooling rack.




What do I think of the recipe?
The bread has a nice golden brown color all around, a light crunch at the first bite, and enjoy the crunchiness on each side of the bread.You will feel it on the same day as you bake the bread. The texture of the bread is condensed as expected because it is homemade. However the bread is light, soft and slightly moist. The bread has a strong earthy flavor.

Enjoy it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack,
 Laetitia