Calimocho

Red Wine Velvet Cake ft. Coca Cola Frosting + Red Wine Reduction

There's nothing wrong with being a cheap date - and there is certainly nothing wrong with being a cheap drink for that matter. Enter the Calimocho (or Kalimotxo or Cocavino depending on your etymology of choice) - "the cheapest Spanish cocktail." Half red wine and half Coca Cola, the Calimocho is the darker version of a white wine spritzer, adding a touch of fizz to your glass of antioxidant-rich red wine.

We drank our first calimochos on a trip to Spain where a friend introduced us to the local college kids' drink of choice, favored since it is easy and inexpensive - requiring only a 2L bottle of Coke and a €2 bottle of red wine. In fact, "any average quality wine is good to make calimocho... even a bad wine will make a drinkable calimocho!" (We made ours with boxed wine - highly recommended).

I have found this drink to be a divider among those who try it. Much like cilantro or the smell of gasoline, I feel like you are either a fan or you can't stand the stuff. But whether you're for or against the calimocho in its liquid form, this remix is deep and rich - and full of antioxidants.

The cake starts with a red velvet cake mix, and replaces the usual wet ingredients with - what else - red wine and Coke (and a bit of sour cream to keep the cake from flattening). The Coke frosting is best made by reducing a cup of soda to a thick syrup and then mixing this with butter, powdered sugar, and a few more tablespoons of Coke. The frosting will turn out to be light brown in color so I added more brown food coloring to make a gradient when I frosted the cake (see below).

The most interesting part of this recipe is the reduction. Pour yourself a glass of red wine and then pour another cup of wine and some Coke into a saucepan. Simmer on low heat on the stovetop for 20-25 minutes until wine has bubbled and thickened into a syrup. I chose to stain the Coke-frosted cake with this red glaze, but you can also drizzle, pour, soak, spoon, or spritz the cake with the reduction as well. The cake is a little bitter and dry due to the wine, the frosting is sweet from the sugar and Coke, and the reduction should be the perfect blend of each.

Happy Red Wine Valentine's Day!

red wine velvet cake
1 box red velvet cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. sour cream
3/4 c. red wine
1/2 c. Coca Cola
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees F, grease pan with butter or a non-stick spray like PAM. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, oil, sour cream, wine, and Coke until smooth. Slowly add in cake mix into wet ingredients and beat on a high speed for 1 minute until batter is smooth.

Pour batter into greased pans until each is 2/3 of the way full. Bake according to the times on the back of the mix box, depending on the types of pans you are using. Use a toothpick to check doneness - if the toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cakes, remove from oven and let cool completely on a rack.

coca cola frosting
1/2 c. butter
2-3 tbsp. Coca Cola
2-3 tbsp. Coca Cola syrup
4 c. powdered sugar
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In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, Coke, and Coke syrup (see below) until blended. Slowly add in sugar and continue to mix on high until frosting forms.

coca cola syrup
1 c. Coca Cola
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Heat 1 cup of Coca Cola in a saucepan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, while stirring constantly to keep it from sticking. Let mixture cool and thicken for 2 minutes until syrup forms.

red wine reduction
1 c. red wine
1/2 c. Coca Cola
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Heat wine and Coke in a saucepan over low heat for 20-25 minutes until volume has reduced to about half the original amount. Let cool, and the liquid should thicken slightly.


Mardi Gras

Louisiana King Cake ft. Bourbon Cream Cheese Frosting + Sugar Coating

Now that the month of January has ended and resolutions have been ditched, get ready for the month of February and the widely-accepted celebration of debauchery and richer, fatty foods - Mardi Gras. This year, 'Fat Tuesday' falls on February 12 - which will either complement or interfere with your Valentines Day plans on the 14th - and this appropriately flavored and themed cake will help get your party started. Just add feathers.

The cinnamon-roll-esque King Cake is traditionally associated with the celebration of Mardi Gras and Carnival in the Gulf Coast area. With King Cakes circling the Superdome and others available for delivery to your doorstep, it is the pumpkin pie of the Mardi Gras season. This remix re-imagines the traditional brioche King Cake as a colorful cinnamon-and-bourbon layer cake and the sugar glaze as a bourbon cream cheese frosting.

The sanding sugar still stands though. King Cakes are usually topped with a gaudy amount of purple (justice), green (faith), and gold (power) sugar and so is this remix. I created my own mask stencil from a sheet of cardstock and used this to mask the top of the cake, and then used an offset spatula to press the crumbs against the side of the cake as well. Finish it off with a border of icing beads - instant glitz and gaud.

Another tradition is to insert a tiny trinket, bean, or a Baby Jesus (not baby cheeses, mind you) into the cake, and the lucky one to receive that slice is crowned the next King or is obligated to buy the next King cake or receives a 10% discount off your next purchase!

louisiana king cake
1 box french vanilla cake mix
2 tbsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/4 c. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. bourbon
3 eggs
food coloring (optional)
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease three round cake pans with butter or PAM spray. In a medium bowl, sift cake mix, cinnamon, and brown sugar together until fine. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and bourbon and beat until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.

Slowly add cake mix into wet ingredients and beat on high until batter is smooth. Divide equally into 3 bowls and add gel food coloring, if desired. Pour batter into greased pans until each is 2/3 of the way full. Bake according to the times on the back of the mix box, depending on the types of pans you are using. Use a toothpick to check doneness - if the toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cakes, remove from oven and let cool completely on a rack.

bourbon cream cheese frosting
1/2 c. cream cheese
4 c. powdered sugar
1-2 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp. bourbon
water or milk as needed
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Beat cream cheese, vanilla, bourbon, and milk in large mixing bowl until blended. Add powdered sugar into bowl one cup at a time, mixing well after each addition until frosting has thickened. Add water by the tablespoon if frosting is too thick.

sugar crumb coating
cake scraps
sanding sugar
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After baking and cooling the cakes, use a serrated knife to level each cake flat and save the rounded top cake scraps. Cut off any pieces that are burned and use your fingers or a fork to crumble the soft cake into fine crumbs. Divide cake crumbs by color into 3 separate bowls and add colored sanding sugar into each (about 1:1 ratio of cake crumbs to sugar).

After doing an initial crumb coat to seal the cake layers, frost the cake with a 1/2" thick coast of white frosting. I chose to divide this cake into sixths (2 wedges each of yellow, green, and purple) so I drew these boundary lines into the frosting with a skewer. Without letting the frosting harden, set the cake flat on a plate and use an offset spatula to wet the frosting only of the segment you are about to sugarcoat.  Then use the back of the dry offset spatula to press the crumb/sugar mixture into the wet frosting, moving from bottom to top until the whole segment is covered.

I did both yellow segments, lifted the cake and wiped all the yellow crumbs from the plate, set the cake back on the plate and did the green segments, lifted and wiped the plate clean again, set the cake back and did the purple segments. This way you start fresh with each color and are only pressing the right color crumbs into the right segments.

For the mask, cut out a template from thick cardstock and position this stencil on top of frosted cake. Use a spoon to cover the area with sugar/crumbs and use the offset spatula to gently press the crumbs into the frosting. Carefully lift cardstock from the cake, trying to keep loose crumbs from falling onto the cake in unwanted areas. Wet the end of a bamboo skewer to carefully 'stick' off loose crumbs on the cake.

the Victorian

Butter Scone Layer Cake ft. English Breakfast Tea Frosting + Devonshire Cream

The Victorian - simultaneously inspired by tin ceiling tiles, a trip to Lillie's Victorian Establishment, and the return of Downton Abbey, naturally. Tin ceilings were a common architectural element during the Victorian era, and also America's economical version of the more elaborate plaster ceilings found in Europe at the same time. This simple (and fireproof) material could be transformed into modular tiles and embossed with patterns to give a similar effect at a lower cost. Like taxidermy and flea markets, tin ceilings are also enjoying a bit of a revival as people continue to appreciate the vintage things in life.

While I was musing over the tin ceiling at Lillie's and other establishments in New York City, Season 3 of Downton Abbey was also about to hit the American airwaves. Even though the Victorian Era ended in 1901 and the show technically takes place in post-Edwardian 20th century England, the frequent dinner parties and clatter of tea trays inspired the tea and scone combination of this Anglo-American remix.

This cake is actually composed of two scone 'cakes' sandwiched together with strawberry jam and whipped cream cheese, meant to imitate Devonshire cream - a popular scone topper. And there's tea in everything, so start brewing a big kettle now. Butter is an important part of the scone so I attempted flavoring my own by melting, mixing, and re-refrigerating store-bought butter with a boiled tea syrup. The tea butter and more brewed tea go into the scone, and then the outer layer is a tea frosting as well. Luckily the tea flavor is mild and just adds a richness and moistness throughout.

Now, get your etiquette on and pinkies up!

tea_med.jpg

tea-infused butter (prepare beforehand)
1 c. strongly brewed English Breakfast tea
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. butter, room temperature
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On the stovetop, mix tea and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat for 5-10 minutes. When mixture starts to bubble, stir to prevent sticking. Let syrup cool and thicken for 1 minute.

In a mixing bowl, cut in 1 stick of room temperature butter and whip until fluffy. Pour in 1/2 cup of tea syrup from above, and beat for 2 minutes until mixture is smooth and has the consistency of honey. Refrigerate overnight for compound butter to solidify.

butter scone layer cake
1 c. butter golden (or yellow) cake mix
1 c. flour
1/2 c. tea butter (see above)
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. strongly brewed English Breakfast tea
1 egg
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease two 8-inch round cake pans with butter or PAM spray. In a large mixing bowl, sift cake mix and flour together until fine. Cut in prepared tea butter and mix with a fork until it forms a crumbly dough. In a separate small bowl, whisk together milk, tea, and egg until combined.

Slowly fold the wet mixture into the flour mixture, and press smooth with a rubber spatula without overmixing. Once the lumps have been pressed out, it should be somewhere between cake batter and cookie dough. Spoon 1 cup of scone 'batter' into each greased cake pan, filling it about 1/2" deep. Use the rubber spatula to press the batter into each greased pan, making sure it covers the entire bottom of each pan.

Bake cakes for 20 minutes, remove from oven, and let cool on wire rack. You won't want to cut into the cakes in order to level and assemble them, so if the cakes rise unevenly (like a scone), just press the cakes flat while they're still warm.

devonshire cream
3 oz. cream cheese
1 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 c. whipping cream
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In a medium mixing bowl, stir cream cheese and sugar together. Pour in whipping cream. With beaters or an electric mixer, beat mixture for 1 minute on low and then 1 minute on high until a whipped cream forms. Use immediately or refrigerate until later use and re-whip before decorating.

english tea frosting
1/2 c. shortening or butter*
3-4 tbsp. English tea, strongly brewed
4 c. powdered sugar
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In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and brewed tea until blended. Slowly add in sugar and continue to mix until frosting forms.