Meringue Whipped Cream Cake aka failed french macaron fix

So we tried to make macaron cookies...such as here, however, they uummm didn't go as planned.
They just didn't puff up as they should have and the dough was just simply the wrong consistency. So, rather than scrapping the attempt, we converted them to a cake :)
Instead of meringue dots, we made 3 rectangles to bake for the cake layers. And the ones, we did attempt to make into meringues that kind of failed, we used as the cake decorations.
For the frosting we used just whipped cream.



It was a fun experiment and although was not the meringue cookies we were going to was a fun cake dessert! :) 

Cinnamon Pecan Rolls

We made these, because the recipe we really wanted to make was to have a 12 hour dough chilling time. These were not very good. Definitely stick to a yeast recipe and take the extra time to prepare them beforehand. Here's the original recipe: https://www.cuisinart.com/recipes/breakfast/844.html. The sugar filling never melted - it would have been better off to make a syrup first, then fill the buns with a syrup. The bread was too hard and biscuit-y tasting, not something you want in your breakfast bun. We made these last Saturday, but didn't get around to posting until today. We hope to make better ones tomorrow.

Cooked rolls

Rolled out dough

Ingredients:

¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon table salt
½ cup toasted, chopped pecans
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon for brushing
1 large egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2½ cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons whole milk
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly coat an 8-inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Reserve. Prepare the pecan filling. In a small bowl, mix the first 4 ingredients together with a fork, reserve. In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, egg and vanilla. It is important that all of the liquid ingredients are room temperature. Reserve. In the bowl of the Cuisinart Hand Stand Mixer, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Fitted with the flat beaters, mix on speed 2 until combined, about 10 seconds. With motor running, slowly add the liquid ingredients. Gradually raise to speed 4 and mix until well combined, about 30 seconds. Mix for an additional 15 seconds. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead a few times. Roll dough into a 12x9-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the reserved pecan filling on dough, leaving a ½-inch border. Carefully roll dough, starting from the bottom and working away from you, into a tight log. Cut into 8 equal pieces and place into the prepared baking pan; brush tops with the melted butter. Bake in the preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until firm and golden in color. While cinnamon rolls are baking, prepare the glaze. Place the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla to a small bowl. Using the hand mixer off of the unit, fitted with the chef’s whisk attachment, whisk on speed 3 until well mixed with no lumps. Reserve until ready to use. Note, you may have to whisk again right before using to smooth out the icing. Let the cinnamon pecan rolls cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Spoon the reserved icing over warm rolls. 

What we liked:

Pecans, and the idea of making these without waiting for 12 hours.

What we didn't like:

Rolls were too hard, sugar was too grainy. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

Didn't warrant his attention.

Next time:

Use a better recipe with a yeast base. 

Shepherd's Pie fail...

Last night we made a shepherd's pie that didn't have enough mashed potatoes...so it kinda turned into shepherd's pie soup/mush. It was still good...just not as originally expected. We only had about a pound of mashed potatoes left over from something last week. We froze it, and defrosted it for this, and we also used way more veggies, which is perhaps why this turned out more soup-y and less pie-y. We also used our smaller rice cooker/steamer/slow cooker combo, which is smaller and gets much hotter, but it may also not cook as well - which may also be the reason we ended up with "mush".

Here's the original recipe we tried to go for: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-shepherds-pie

Ingredients:

2 lbs mashed potatoes
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 lb frozen mixed vegetables

Directions:

1. In a skillet over medium heat, warm olive oil.
2. Add onion and cook, stirring, until translucent, 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds longer. Add beef, increase heat to medium-high and cook, breaking up chunks, until meat is cooked through and beginning to brown, 8 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme and 1/2 tsp. each salt and pepper. In a small cup, whisk cornstarch with 1 cup water. Add to skillet and cook, stirring, until liquid thickens slightly. Remove from heat; transfer to slow cooker.
3. Layer vegetables on top of meat; top with potatoes. Cover, turn slow cooker to low and cook for 3 hours.

What we liked:

It actually still tasted really good. We had a warm meal after Kaspian's swim lesson!

What we didn't like:

It failed as a shepherd's pie and turned into mush. 

What Kaspian thought about it:

He was very sad there were no mashed potatoes for dinner. 

Next time:

Use pearl onions. We love pearl onions. Definitely use more mashed potatoes and maybe less veggies. 

Extreme lemon and chocolate roulade

Yesterday, Alona made an extreme lemon and chocolate roulade using this recipe: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/extreme-lemon-chocolate-roulade

End result... not very roulad-y

Falling apart

Roulade collapse!

Chocolate cake when unrolled

The lemon custard prior to addition of whipped topping

Rolled up chocolate cake part

Ready to bake!

After freezing

The recipe was followed closely and everything was done as instructed. However, the roulade did not come together as expected. The lemon filling came out perfect. The chocolate cake tasted great. However, together the two flavors did not seem to work very well. The lemon filling would have been better on an almond cake and the chocolate cake would have been better with a raspberry filling. Individually, both parts of this cake tasted great. The putting together part did not work out so well though. Not sure what happened, but the cake did not withstand the rolling unrolling and re-rolling. It kind of ended up being a chocolate lemon creme mound. Even with that though, it still tastes pretty good!

Update: Because the cake was having trouble holding it's shape, we decided to stick it in the freezer. (Hey, it worked with the failed pudding - aka best fudgesicles ever!) And it is SOOO much better now. It actually sort of kind of looks like a roulade and tastes even better. Frozen, the lemon flavor is not as strong and goes better with the chocolate. So, I guess the lesson here is that if a dessert fails - all you have to do is freeze it. 

Ingredients:

CAKE:
Baking spray with flour
3 ounces cake flour (about 3/4 cup)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
FILLING:
2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3 large egg yolks
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping, thawed
1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly coat a jelly-roll pan with baking spray. Line bottom of pan with wax paper. Coat paper with baking spray. Set aside.
2. To prepare cake, weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Place egg yolks, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes). Place egg whites and cream of tartar in a medium bowl; beat at medium speed until foamy using clean, dry beaters. Beat mixture at high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form (do not overbeat). Stir one-fourth of egg white mixture into egg yolk mixture; gently fold in remaining egg white mixture. Sift half of flour mixture over top of egg mixture; gently fold in. Sift remaining flour mixture over top of egg mixture; gently fold in. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake at 350° for 9 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in the center. Loosen cake from sides of pan; turn out onto a dish towel dusted with 2 tablespoons powdered sugar. Carefully peel off wax paper; cool 1 minute. Starting at short side, roll up the cake and towel together. Place, seam side down, on a wire rack; cool completely (about 1 hour).
4. To prepare filling, place 1/3 cup granulated sugar, rind, juice, 2 tablespoons butter, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook until butter melts and sugar dissolves, stirring frequently (about 4 minutes). Place remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks, and eggs in a bowl; stir well with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle hot juice mixture into egg mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return mixture to pan. Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens and reaches 180° on a candy thermometer (do not boil). Pour mixture through a sieve into a small bowl, pressing on solids. Discard solids. Add remaining 1 tablespoon butter, stirring until butter melts and is combined. Cover surface of mixture with plastic wrap. Chill completely.
5. To assemble roulade, gently stir whipped topping into chilled lemon filling. Unroll cake carefully; remove towel. Spread lemon filling over cake, leaving a 1-inch border around outside edges. Reroll cake; place, seam side down, on a platter. Cover and chill 1 hour. 

What we liked:

The idea was great. The chocolate cake tasted great. The filling was great. The whole thing can be put together in about an hour, minus the chilling/standing parts. Just an hour of active work in the kitchen. 

What we didn't like:

It did not come together at all. The lemon filling would be better in an almond or white cake. With chocolate, we would make a raspberry filling.

What Kaspian thought about it:

It did not grab his attention at all. 

Next time:

Make a raspberry filling for chocolate or white cake for lemon filling.