Pink Lemonade Cake (Wilton Course 1 Cake 1)

So, I started the Wilton Course 1 classes last week, on my birthday. So far, I am not sure I enjoy it.

My teacher is 73 years old and claims she has been decorating cakes for 50 years. That is great, but she is very sure that everything SHE thinks about cakes is correct. She also thinks she taught us things that she never mentioned. Nobody in the class (there are seven of us) is incredibly pleased with her.

She also believes in changing the rules some. We learned how to make the roses completely on the first night. I came to the first cake class expecting to make a cake with a star tip image on it, like I've seen from others who have taken the classes. Instead, we made a random practice cake using different designs that didn't look cohesive at all. I got scolded for bringing colored icing even though she told us it could be colored the week before. She scolds people if they add flavoring to the icing (I did it anyway. She didn't taste it, so she didn't know). We had a discussion about fondant, and she told me that the only fondant that is worth using is Wilton fondant, and that it tastes best (maybe just because she is doing a Wilton class, she has to promote Wilton products).

Overall, I think I am going to get what I want out of the class. She's a good teacher, albeit a bit too opinionated. But I think that when my cousin and I take Course 2, we are going to see about getting a different teacher.

Here are a couple shots of the cake:


I did pink icing because I was going to make a breast cancer awareness ribbon on my cake, since I assumed she'd follow what most people do in the classes. Note my kind of squiggly shell border.


A close up of my best rose. I am quite pleased with this one. Most of them turn out kind of funny, but this one is kind of pretty. It also has a few leaves from practicing with the leaf tip (which is really easy).


A close up of the circle of practicing the star tip. I really enjoy using the star tip, but she doesn't seem to think it's very important, so we didn't focus on it much.

I made a pink lemonade cake, inspired by the Deen Brother's recipe, but instead of white cake mix, I used this white cake recipe. I added some pink food coloring to get a nice, bright pink color. I didn't use the Deen icing recipe; instead, I used the Wilton Class Recipe with lemon flavoring.

After the class, I tore the cake up and made breast cancer awareness cake bites to send to work with Walter:



Pink Lemonade Cake



Ingredients
-1 recipe Classic White Cake
-3 tabl
espoons pink lemonade drink powder
-1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans and set aside.
2. Add pink lemonade powder and lemon zest to dry ingredients in white cake recipe. Make white cake according to recipe.
3. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pans for 15 minutes, then invert onto wire rack until completely cooled.

Lemon Dinosaur Cookies

Tomorrow is Walter's birthday. We have guests from out of town staying with us until tomorrow evening, so I did not have time to make the cake I had planned on. However, our guests went into the city for some sight-seeing today, so I whipped up some cookies.

Lemon Dinosaur Cookies



These cookies are Walter's favorites. I used this recipe and substituted lemon extract for the vanilla extract.

Wilton's Fluffy Boiled Icing



It occurred to me while baking the cookies that I had no powdered sugar, so I whipped up this icing instead. It was a little gritty, but for a sugar cookie icing, that is not really an issue. Instead of the 1/2 cup water, I used lemon juice to give it that fantastic lemon flavor.

Ingredients
-3 tablespoons Meringue Powder
-1/2 cup cold water
-2 cups granulated sugar
-1/4 cup light corn syrup
-1/2 cup water (I used lemon juice instead)

Directions
1. Beat meringue powder and 1/2 cup cold water until stiff, about 4 minutes.
2. Mix sugar, corn syrup and water (or lemon juice) in saucepan. Bring to boil and cool slightly.
3. Slowly add corn syrup mixture to meringue, beating until stiff and glossy.

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

Once, I mistakenly purchased corn meal instead of cornstarch. And so, I wanted to find a way to use it.

Lemon Cornmeal Cookies



This recipe came from the book "501 Cookies" by Gregg R. Gillespie. These cookies were very chewy, and they didn't have much lemony flavor without the glaze. They were very sweet, though, which was nice. However, I probably wouldn't make them again. Also, they were the first cookies that didn't get completely finished at Walter's office, so that should say something about the recipe.

Ingredients
-2 3/4 cups flour
-1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-1 Tablespoon grated lemon zest
-1 cup packed light brown sugar
-2 Tablespoons canola oil
-3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
-1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
-1 large egg white

For glaze:
-3/4 cup powdered sugar
-2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and oil. Beat in the applesauce and lemon juice.
4. In a small bowl, beat the egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold into applesauce mixture.
5. Gradually blend dry ingredients into applesauce mixture. Chill for up to two hours.
6. Drop dough by spoonfuls 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheets. Flatten with the bottom of a glass. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until lightly colored. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
7. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice and mix until smooth. Pour over cooled cookies.

Curry Chipotle Chicken and Lemon Chipotle Potatoes

I love seasonings. I want them all.

Curry Chipotle Chicken



This recipe is my own. I think it could have used a bit more kick, so I may change it a bit next time, but it was still very good.

Ingredients
-2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1 cup vegetable oil
-2 Tablespoons Southwestern Chipotle Mrs. Dash seasoning
-1 teaspoon curry powder
-1/4 teaspoon sage
-1/2 teaspoon cumin

Directions
1. Combine oil and seasonings and marinate chicken for 2 to 24 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degree.
3. Place chicken and potatoes (recipe to follow) in a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Lemon Chipotle Potatoes

I wanted the side to be a bit lighter than the main course, and I think I achieved that with the lemon pepper seasoning. All in all, it was a pretty decent dish.

Ingredients
-3 medium red potatoes, chopped
-1/2 cup vegetable oil
-2 Tablespoons Southwestern Chipotle Mrs. Dash seasoning
-1 Tablespoon lemon pepper seasoning

Directions
1. Combine oil and seasonings. Toss potatoes in mixture. Drain off excess.
2. Place potatoes with chicken in a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.

Lemon Cilantro Chicken

Tonight, I was going to make garlic chicken with a bottle of marinade, but I was cleaning up the kitchen and found this recipe on the back of my jar of cilantro.

Lemon Cilantro Chicken



I found this recipe on the back of my jar of McCormick cilantro leaves. It was originally cilantro-lime chicken, but I had no lime juice, only lemon juice, so I modified it a bit. Walter got ahold of the better-looking breast before I could snap a picture, so ignore his gigantic baked potato.

Ingredients
-1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
-1/3 cup oil (I used Olive Oil)
-1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
-1 teaspoon garlic powder
-1 teaspoon cilantro leaves
-1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
-1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
-1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt (I used poultry seasoning here)

Directions
1. Combine ingredients and toss chicken in mixture. Refrigerate for thirty minutes.
2. Grill or bake (400 degrees) chicken for ten minutes or until the center of each breast is 165 to 170 degrees.