Boozey Rainbow Jello Cake (A Pin a Day #1)

 I went to lunch with my cousin the other day and she told me about a great idea she had using a blog, and Pinterest. She wants to try a pin a day and blog her successes and fails, and I thought that would be a great project for me too, except I'd mostly be doing food since this is a food blog (duh). So here is my first post in my week of blogging a pin a day! Enjoy!

So now that summer is here, and BBQ's are a-plenty, it's time to make some really show stopping stuff to bring to your potlucks! If you're like me, then it doesn't matter how much time you spend doing something if the end result produces a "WOW! Factor" of epic proportions. I had seen this recipe online and thought it was just too beautiful not to make, I just needed the right occasion, so for our last family BBQ, I made it. I bring to you, the Boozey Rainbow Jello Cake!

A few years ago, my sister worked at a bar at the beach and she was the Jello Shot girl. She got to be really good at making Jello Shots and would always being them over to family get togethers (we're quite the troop of lushes). Hers, although tasty, we're so plain and boring in their little monochrome single serving cups. I decided to step it up a notch after a trip to The Jelly Shot Test Kitchen and viewing some of the most beautiful creations you would swear they couldn't be made of Jello.

Rainbow Jello Cake from Jelly Shot Test Kitchen

I became such a fan of JSTK, that I started buying boxes of Jello every time I saw them on sale at my local grocery store, and eventually had a huge stash of them (check the local ads and coupon savers, you can find them as low as 33 cents a box!). These treats are cheap, pretty and a total showstopper. Warning though, this does take up a good chunk of your afternoon  (or evening) to assemble and then an additional 24 hours in the fridge to firm up, so don't think 2 hours from now you'll be feasting on this. If you opt for an alcohol free version of this "cake", just substitute your favorite juice for vodka. Every step is incredibly important so if you're not of the directions-reading-patient-and diligent variety, do not attempt or it will look something like this.

You will need;

• 4 1/2 cups water, divided
• 6 3oz packages gelatin dessert mix (colors and flavors of your liking - I used Cherry, Orange, Lemon, Lime, Blue Raspberry, and Grape for the rainbow effect)
• 3 envelopes plain Knox gelatin (6 teaspoons of gelatin powder total)
• 3 cups vodka(or your favorite alcohol, flavored or unflavored)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (yogurt or cool whip will also work, you'll need about 12 tbsp)
• a bundt pan
• cooking spray or oil to coat pan

Place your vodka in the freezer to keep it chilled. Prepare your pan by lightly spraying it with cooking spray or oil, and wiping out the excess.



Start with your first layer (I used grape first)

1. Heat 3/4 cup of water in a small sauce pan over low heat and sprinkle with 1 tsp (half a package) of unflavored gelatin. Stir to dissolve.
2. Wisk in package of flavored Jello, stir to dissolve, about 5 minutes.
3. Remove of heat and add 1/2 cup of alcohol.
4. Pour half of the mixture, about 3/4 cup into the mold and return to refrigerator to set up, about 20-30 minutes. Transfer remaining mixture to a separate cup and place in the fridge to cool about 5 minutes.
5. Add 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk to mixture in separate cup and stir to combine. Let cool and thicken slightly, about 5-10 minutes.
6. Test the Jello in the mold. Place your finger on the top. If the mixture is sticky, but releases from your finger, it is ready for the next layer. Slowly pour the 2nd mixture on top of the Jello in the mold and return to the fridge to cool and set up. 
7. Wash your sauce pan, and get ready to repeat steps 1-7 with the next flavor.

*TIPS*
Make sure the layers are still sticky before pouring the next layer on top of the layers will not stick. Make sure when pouring the mixture into the mold that the Jello is not too hot, or it will melt the layer below and you will not get a defined line, which is the most striking element of this dessert.  If you plan on using yogurt or whipped cream instead of condensed milk, make sure the mixture is completely cooled, or you will get a lumpy curdled effect in your creamy layers. You should have 12 alternating creamy and clear layers at the end. As you work up to the top of the dessert the chilling time will shorten due to the dessert becoming more cold, so double check the stickiness frequently.

When you are finished, let the mold sit in the fridge for at least 24 hours. This allows the Jello to set and thicken so it's easier to remove from the mold, and cut into slices.

To remove the cake from the mold, dip into warm water for about 10 seconds. Make sure the water isn't too hot, or you leave it in the water too long as the Jello will melt and make an unsightly mess (Trust me haha). Place a plate on top of the mold, and flip over to release. There might be a bit of melty jello, so just clean it up with a paper towel and place back into the fridge until ready to serve so it can firm up one more time.

Your cake, if you followed all the directions above, should look like this.

Remove from fridge.

Revel in the awe.

Slice.

Enjoy!

CUPCAKES!

Here are some pictures of Cupcakes I've made, decorated and served in 2009!

Red Velvet Cupcakes, with cream cheese frosting from scratch.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Butter Cream frosting and fondant flowers.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and fondant Lego pieces.

Elmo and Cookie Monster "Fixed Up" Red Velvet Cupcakes with
"Fixed Up" Cream Cheese Frosting and fondant embellishment.

Gingerbread teacakes with cinnamon frosting, decorated by Audrey

"Fixed Up" Pilsbury Funfetti Cupcakes and frosting, decorated by Audrey

Red Velvet Cupcakes!

This post is soooo long overdue, sorry!!

For Kristi's Birthday I made her a batch of Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. All from scratch!

I planned on just using a box cuz I had almost NO time to do this, but to my dismay, Red Velvet Cake Mix is very hard to find. So I sucked it up and just decided to make them the good old fashioned way.

I took a cue from my most favoritest cookbook, More from Magnolia Bakery, and dove in.

Red Velvet Cupcakes:


3 1/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tablespoons red food coloring (I used one whole jar of frosting dye gel from Wilton's)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 /12 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat your oven to 350, and get your cake pans greased and floured then lined with waxed paper. I decided on cupcakes, so I just used liners, but three 9-inch cake rounds could be also used if you wanted to do a layer cake.

In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. It's very important to use cake flour because it creates a nice delicate tender crumb, and substituting all purpose flour can get tricky. If you can't find cake flour and only have all purpose, use this article as a guideline.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, (I used my Kitchen-Aid) cream the butter and sugar until super light and fluffy. It should take around 5 minutes and should look like below.

Add the eggs one at a time, cracking into a separate bowl to make sure you get no egg shells, and then beating well after each addition.


In another small bowl we're going to make our red mixture! Using a small whisk or fork mix well the cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring until smooth. It's a pretty thick mixture so make sure you clean out the whisk a few times as you mix to ensure it's even.

It should look pretty red as above. When it's mixed, go ahead and add it into the batter.

The color should be nice and bright red when it's done mixing.

In another small bowl (omg I know right? I just rinsed and used the same dang bowl) mix the buttermilk and salt. It sounds odd, but just do it ok? You are going to alternate adding this mixture with the flour into the batter in as equal of 3 parts as you can get.


This is when it starts looking like the kind of cake batter you want to lick off the spatula. With each addition just mix til incorporated, but make sure you don't over beat. This is where Michelle's brother Jim would make a lewd remark.

In that same small bowl, once again rinsed clean, mix the cider and vinegar to make the kind of thing found inside a 7th grade Science fair volcano. It's going to foam up. It's ok, just go ahead and add that into the batter as well.

Turn off the mixer, scrape the sides down into the bowl and mix well again until the batter is nice and smooth. Divide the batter equally among your chosen pans.


For a layer cake bake them for 30-40 minutes, cupcakes about 15-20. They should be done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with small crumbs. Let them cool and then frost with the icing of your choice.

Lisa turns 40, and feeds us all night!

So one of my clients, Lisa, turned 40 this past weekend. She had a fabulous party down in Venice Beach at Big Red Sun, a totally awesome and adorable landscaping and plant arrangement studio, with a big beautiful backyard perfect for a celebration.


The crowd was an awesomely amazing and eclectic mix of artists, foodies, hippies, and friends. The conversation was never dull, and the laughs were constant and hearty. I am amazed at how many people came to show Lisa how much she was loved, my hope is that, at 40, I'll have at least half the crowd she did.


Venice Wines provided an amazing wine bar, with everything you could imagine, including lemonade and sparkling cider for a non-alcoholic option. My favorite was the Argentinian Sparkling Chardonnay, and the sparkling rose.


Adam accompanied me as my date, and we just had the most fabulous of times.


Baby Blues BBQ took care of the grub, and boy was there a lot of grub.


Living in Atlanta for over a year, I got used to amazing BBQ. In fact, some of the best BBQ I've ever had was at Fat Matt's Rib Shack in downtown Atlanta. But I can tell all you Angelenos, that if you want some GOOD 'Q, Baby Blues is about as close as I've ever come in the West. When asking for sutible BBQ substitutes after I had moved back, a few people had mentioned, "I hear Baby Blues in Venice is pretty good." If I had known how close it came, I would have tried it YEARS ago.


Their Corn Cakes are, most simply put, the most amazing cornmeal based bread I've ever had in my life. Sweet, moist, with just the perfect amount of wow. Their ribs, come second to Fat Matt's, but are still fall right off the bone tender.


We had Baby Back and Kansas City ribs, as well as BBQ chicken, and all were just awesome. Their Mac and Cheese was also pretty much to die for. In fact, I don't really have much of anything bad to say about them. They even had collard greens with bacon, and sweet baked beans. I felt like I was back in the South.


My darling, very pregnant client Nina was also there, looking adorable with her newly trimmed bangs, so we had to have a photo op.


The cake, as amazing as I'm sure it was, I didn't get a chance to try. I was wayyyy too stuffed. BAD FOODIE! BAD BAD!


So thank you Lisa, for an amazing party, amazing wine, and amazing grub. Happy Birthday pretty lady!