post

Easy and Delicious Banana Split Cake

I have the perfect July 4th recipe for you this week: Easy and Delicious Banana Split Cake!  I went live on Facebook Wednesday evening to show how simple this picnic/party dessert is to put together, and I’m really hoping that some of you try it for the 4th.

We’ve been making Banana Split Cake in my family since I was about 13 or14 years old – of course, back in the stone ages we didn’t have a stand mixer like I do now, and the filling needed to be whipped for twenty minutes!  Yes, that’s not a typo, twenty minutes. This, of course, meant that while we loved (and I do mean LOVED) this cake, we didn’t make it terribly often, and when we did, it was a family affair and we took turns with the mixer.

Banana Split Cake, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida

SO Delicious!

Now that practically everyone and their brother (although not my brother) has a stand mixer, this cake is ready for the masses!  It’s much easier to make and I did the entire thing live in about 30 minutes.  That’s right, from the first measuring cup of graham crackers to placing it in the fridge – 30 tiny minutes!

This recipe has been in our family for about 40 years but this was the first time I’d had it in about 25 – It’s as good as I remember, and if the ladies at Laura’s Beads have anything to say about it, I’ll be making it again soon!  It’s definitely a crowd pleaser!

Try it – you’ll love it!  I’ve embedded the live video below if you’d like to see it step by step.

Print Recipe
 Easy and Delicious Banana Split Cake
Banana Split Cake, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida
Servings
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
  • 1 1/4 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter melted
Filling
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter room temp
  • 2 ea. Eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla I used vanilla bean paste
  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Other ingredients
  • 1 Can Crushed Pineapple large can, drained
  • 3 ea. Bananas cut in about 1/4" slices
  • 1 Container Cool Whip large container
  • 2 oz. Chopped Walnuts
  • Maraschino Cherries for garnish, if desired
Servings
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
  • 1 1/4 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Unsalted Butter melted
Filling
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter room temp
  • 2 ea. Eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla I used vanilla bean paste
  • 2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Other ingredients
  • 1 Can Crushed Pineapple large can, drained
  • 3 ea. Bananas cut in about 1/4" slices
  • 1 Container Cool Whip large container
  • 2 oz. Chopped Walnuts
  • Maraschino Cherries for garnish, if desired
Banana Split Cake, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida
Instructions
Prep
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees - you'll need it to bake the graham cracker crust.
Graham Cracker Crust
  1. Melt 1/2 cup of butter in the microwave - 30 seconds should do it.
  2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Mix with a fork until a sandy consistency.
  3. Pour into a 9x13 pan and spread evenly. Pat down gently with your hand (gloved, or impeccably clean) and then use the bottom of a heavy spatula to press tightly and evenly.
  4. Bake for 7 minutes and cool completely before adding the filling. (I let mine cool for 5 minutes on the counter and then pop in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
Prepare the Filling
  1. In the bowl of a your stand mixer (I use a Kitchenaid), add the butter, eggs, and vanilla - beat on low for a few minutes to incorporate slightly.
  2. Add the 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix on low until incorporated.
  3. Scrape the sides of the bowl and turn up to medium for a minute or two.
  4. Scrape down again and mix on high for 6-8 minutes, until there is plenty of air incorporated and the filling becomes lighter in volume.
  5. Spread evenly over the graham cracker crust.
Remaining Layers
  1. Spread the crushed pinapple evenly over the filling.
  2. Slice the bananas and layer them over the pinapple.
  3. Spread a generous amount of the Cool Whip over the banana layer (I used almost the entire container), making sure to take it right up to the edges of the pan.
  4. Sprinkle the walnuts on the top.
  5. Cover tightly and refridgerate overnight.
  6. Add cherries before serving, if desired.
Recipe Notes
  • You can make this without a stand mixer, but you must whip the filling for a full 20 minutes.
  • Don't bother tasting the filling when it is done - it's very sweet.  It's the addition of the other ingredients that brings out the flavor of this dessert - it truly is the sum of it's parts!
post

German Chocolate Cake Cookies – They’re Amazeballs!

We went live this week with the recipe for German Chocolate Cake Cookies – And it’s true – they are amazeballs.

They have a few steps, but they are so worth the time because your friends and family are going to absolutely love them!  We didn’t have any issues with the live presentation, really – just the timing of the steps!  For a great cookie for those with nut allergies, simply remove the filling and you have a crunch, sweet, milk chocolate cookie – those are every bit as good, I promise you!

I talk about the history behind the recipe on the Facebook LIVE video (which I’ve embedded below), and this is a cookie I’ve been making for friends and family for years now.  I promised to post this yesterday, but the day got away from me, so this morning it was the first thing on my to-do list!

You should absolutely give these a try and let me know how they turn out for you – I’d love to hear from you, if not here, then on the Facebook page!

 

 

 

Print Recipe
 German Chocolate Cake Cookies - They're Amazeballs!
German Chocolate Cake Cookies, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida
Cook Time 11 Minutes
Servings
Dozen
Ingredients
Coconut Pecan Filling
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar Pack into measuring cup
  • 3/4 Cup Coconut Pack into measuring cup
  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans
  • 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter Chilled, 1/2 stick
  • 2 ea. Egg Yolks Whipped thoroughly
Cookie Dough
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter 2 sticks
  • 6 oz Milk Chocolate Melted
  • 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
  • 2 ea. Eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla I use vanilla bean paste
  • 3 Cups Flour
  • 1/2 teas Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teas Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teas Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar For rolling the cookies
Cook Time 11 Minutes
Servings
Dozen
Ingredients
Coconut Pecan Filling
  • 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar Pack into measuring cup
  • 3/4 Cup Coconut Pack into measuring cup
  • 1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans
  • 1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter Chilled, 1/2 stick
  • 2 ea. Egg Yolks Whipped thoroughly
Cookie Dough
  • 1 Cup Unsalted Butter 2 sticks
  • 6 oz Milk Chocolate Melted
  • 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
  • 2 ea. Eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla I use vanilla bean paste
  • 3 Cups Flour
  • 1/2 teas Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teas Baking Soda
  • 1/2 teas Salt
  • 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar For rolling the cookies
German Chocolate Cake Cookies, Bake With Rho, Tampa Florida
Instructions
Preparation & Tools
  1. Preheat oven to 350 Nice to have: 1. Food Processor 2. Stand Mixer 3. Standard Cookie Scoop
Coconut Pecan Filling
  1. Make this first!
  2. Combine the sugar and coconut in the food processor and combine until the coconut is in small pieces.
  3. Add the chopped pecans - cut the butter into 4 pieces and process until the butter is in small bits.
  4. Separate the yolks and whip throroughly with a fork, add to the food processor and process until completely incorporated.
  5. Form the mixture into 1/2 teas. sized balls and arrange on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place in the fridge until ready for use.
Cookie Dough
  1. Heat the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts until it is just melted. Be very careful not to burn the chocolate! Set it aside to cool slightly.
  2. Mix the sugar, butter and eggs on medium speed until creamy.
  3. Add the vanilla, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix on medium for another 30 seconds or so.
  4. Add the flour, one cup at a time, until throroughly incorporated.
Assembly
  1. Add 1/2 cup of sugar to a small bowl, and get a flat bottomed glass.
  2. Pull the pecan filling from the fridge.
  3. Scoop out 12 balls of cookie dough.
  4. One at a time, flatten the ball of dough slightly, place one of the filling pieces in the center and wrap the dough around it to cover.
  5. Roll the cookie ball in your hand until it is shaped nicely, roll it in the granulated sugar, and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  6. Repeat with all 12 balls of cookie dough, then take the flat bottomed glass and smoosh (technical term!) them slightly to shape them.
  7. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes (it's 11 in mine).
  8. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Recipe Notes
  • I use latex gloves for a lot of the food handling in this recipe.  It's more sanitary, but it also feels a lot less "icky" on your hands!
  • I prep all my cookies before I start baking - so I have about 5 cookie sheets filled with cookies ready to go in the oven.  That way I don't have to stop the messy work of forming the cookies every time a batch is ready to come out.
post

How a Broken Wrist Leads to Business Decisions

by Posted in News Tagged , , Leave a comment

Just in case you’ve been living under a rock or missed it, I’ve spent the last 8 or so weeks recovering from a broken wrist – The day after Hurricane Irma, I was helping with clean-up and fell off a ladder, breaking both bones in my right wrist, straining my left wrist, bruising my ribs, acquiring a lovely case of road rash on my legs, and losing the nail from my big toe.  Yay, right?  Aside from lots of whining and feeling completely useless, those weeks gave me a lot of time to reflect and to make some business decisions for both Bake with Rho and Rhonda Bakes.

Pink Peonies in progress (Sugar Art)- Bake with Rho

Pink peony bud

First, let me say that I am not closing down Bake with Rho – I have a ton of fun with it, and I plan to continue hosting LIVE sessions on Facebook and sharing recipes.  I’ve found that after I got over my initial hysteria, I enjoy hosting the LIVE sessions, so I will continue to do them as long as folks continue to watch them.

One thing I’ve done in the last weeks, and even more so in the last 7 days, is take a long, hard, look at where I want to be in my cake career and what I need to do to get there.  In case you haven’t noticed, I can have a hard time focusing – I like every single shiny new thing, and while that makes for a lot of fun for me, it’s expensive and it’s not advancing my dream of an eventual retail space.  So I’m working with a group of like-minded folks to work on serious goal management in 2018 and I’m making some decisions about “how” to integrate the two entities so that they compliment each other.

Pink Peonies in progress (Sugar Art)- Bake with Rho

Pink peony – 5 petals

Bake with Rho will become the “behind the scenes” look at Rhonda Bakes.  I’ll post videos and images of projects that I’m working on, such as the Peony that you’re seeing interspersed throughout this post.  I’ll still be doing LIVE sessions with great recipes and techniques that I know you’ll love, but I’ll also be making sugar flowers, creating cakes for portfolio shots, and looking for new recipes and techniques to try.

I’ll also be publishing a schedule that will get sent out to subscribers letting you know what’s coming up so that you can join us for the recipes that interest you most.

I’ll be asking for your ideas and I want to know what you want to see!  You know how much I love experimenting with the new stuff, and I’m always on the lookout for inspiration – Give me some!

I’m not the best blogger on earth – I typically just type in my own “voice”, and while I want the content to interest you, I also now that I have a ton of friends out there who are so very good at this, it amazes me and intimidates me all at the same time!  I’ll be sharing some of their stuff here, because if I’ve managed to entertain you at all, they’re going to blow your socks off, I promise!

“But what about Ana?!”  Friends, Ana is always here, she’s always involved, she’s my sanity checker and my voice of reason.  I’m going to convince her to participate in a LIVE or two – I need to get some “guest stars”!  Actually, there are some amazing Greek recipes that she has that we could try if I can talk her into it – Not necessarily all sweet, some are savory and as someone who’s had Yia Yia Julia’s lemon chicken soup, I can tell you they’re fantastic!

Pink Peonies in progress (Sugar Art)- Bake with Rho

Pink peony – 10 petals

So the peony you’ve seen throughout the post is my own brand of physical therapy – My only worry when I broke the wrist and was trying to decide on surgery was if I would still be able to “cake” – Working on sugar flowers takes a log of wrist and hand movement and while my hand is absolutely killing me today, I was able to do everything I needed to keep on creating – I can’t tell you what a relief and how grateful I am that I can still do what I love.  I just need to do it smarter.

 

 

 

post

Use Those In-Season Cherries – Make a Simple and Delicious Clafoutis!

Each year, around this time, I start to make sure I use in-season cherries to make this simple and delicious Clafoutis.  It’s not too sweet, the flavor of the cherries and the truly simple process ensure that this a recipe you’ll want to make over and over again!

Seriously – go to the grocery store, buy some cherries and make it now.  Now!  Most of the ingredients are things you probably already have in your cupboards, and cherries are in season for such a short time that a cherry clafoutis is a treat that’s only available a short time each year.   Of course, you can try it with other fruit, and I’ll definitely be doing that in my house – perhaps blackberries or raspberries – yum yum!

Simple Delicious Clafoutis

Simple and Delicious Clafoutis, made with in-season cherries.

I bought the ingredients on Sunday and had an impromptu live on my Facebook page yesterday during my lunch hour.  It’s that fast and simple!

The plate I used is Polish Stoneware – I have quite a collection and they actually have it available on Amazon.com!  If you’re interested, click the image to the left and you’ll be directed right to this very plate!  It truly is one of my favorites and always makes whatever is inside look awesome.

Without further ado, here’s the video of the live session!  Enjoy and make this – I mean it – go and make it now!

 

Print Recipe
 Clafoutis
Simple Delicious Clafoutis
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
  • 20 oz Cherries Fresh, Stemmed and Pitted
  • 2 tbsp Butter Melted
  • 4 ea Eggs Room Temp
  • 1 cup Milk Whole Milk, Room Temp
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar You'll need an additional 2 tbsp for dusting
  • 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla
  • Powdered Sugar Just enough for dusting!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Servings
slices
Ingredients
  • 20 oz Cherries Fresh, Stemmed and Pitted
  • 2 tbsp Butter Melted
  • 4 ea Eggs Room Temp
  • 1 cup Milk Whole Milk, Room Temp
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar You'll need an additional 2 tbsp for dusting
  • 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla
  • Powdered Sugar Just enough for dusting!
Simple Delicious Clafoutis
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees
  2. Grease a round baking dish with butter and dust with about 2 tbsp of sugar (the dish should be as close to 10" round as possible)
  3. Pit the cherries and add them to the baking dish - they should cover the bottom.
  4. Mix the eggs with the sugar and salt, whisk well.
  5. Whisk in the flour, 1/3 at a time until thoroughly incorporated.
  6. Add the milk, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix well until thoroughly incorporated.
  7. Add the melted butter and mix thoroughly.
  8. Pour the mixture over the cherries and back 40-45 minutes until it has puffed up and turned golden brown.
  9. Dust lightly with powdered sugar and serve.
Recipe Notes
  1. I let my Clafoutis cool enough before dusting so that the powdered sugar doesn't melt.
  2. This can be served warm or chilled.  Typically, we have our first pieces warm and place the leftovers wrapped loosely in plastic wrap in the fridge to enjoy later!
post

Macarons – Using the French Method

Last week we made Macarons using the French Method.  I’ve been making macs for about 3 years now, and I’ve been grateful that they have always turned out well.  A girl can only get so far on a wing and a prayer though, so I headed over to Sur la Table late in June for a real, live, macaron class.

To say the class was life-changing would be an exaggeration, but man, it was definitely nice to be able to actually see and feel the consistencies of the merengue and batter live and in person.  I love baking and decorating classes and this one was no exception!

I also went LIVE on Facebook last week to demonstrate, and it was an early Saturday/Sunday morning kind of thing – that means I was rushing to go live for my small band of dedicated followers and therefore am resplendent in all of my no-makeup glory.  The macarons are what matter though, right?   RIGHT?!

Regardless of your perceived skill, regardless of whether you have make-up on, you should definitely give Macarons a try.  They are such glorious little rounds of deliciousness!

Before I get to the videos, if you want to try some of the Amoretti Blood Orange, just click the link to head over to their site and pick some up!  I don’t get paid by Amoretti, I just love this stuff 😉

Here’s a video how the batter should look

Yeah, that video is HUGE in size – hah!  Well, at least you can see exactly what I’m talking about!

Making the Macaron Shells

Filling the Macarons

Print Recipe
 Macarons - French Method
Delicious Macarons
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 14 Minutes
Passive Time 1.5 Hours
Servings
Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
  • 7 Oz Powdered Sugar
  • 4 Oz Almond Flour Ground Fine
  • 4 Oz Egg Whites Aged (by weight)
  • 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 3.5 Oz Granulated Sugar
Blood Orange Ganache
  • 4 oz Dark Chocolate Good Quality, Finely Chopped
  • 4 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tbsp Blood Orange Paste Amoreti Brand
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 14 Minutes
Passive Time 1.5 Hours
Servings
Macarons
Ingredients
Macaron Shells
  • 7 Oz Powdered Sugar
  • 4 Oz Almond Flour Ground Fine
  • 4 Oz Egg Whites Aged (by weight)
  • 1/8 tsp Cream of Tartar
  • 3.5 Oz Granulated Sugar
Blood Orange Ganache
  • 4 oz Dark Chocolate Good Quality, Finely Chopped
  • 4 oz Heavy Whipping Cream
  • 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
  • 1 tbsp Blood Orange Paste Amoreti Brand
Delicious Macarons
Instructions
  1. Pulse almond flour and powdered sugar in a food processor to remove any lumps. Set aside.
  2. Put egg whites and cream of tartar in stand mixer and whip on #4 until frothy.
  3. Rain the sugar in a slow steady stream while continuing to whip, change speed to 6 after all sugar is added.
  4. Sift flour and almond mixture 3 times to ensure that all lumps are removed.
  5. When merengue is at the stiff peak stage, turn off mixer and remove bowl. Clean off whisk to get all of the merengue into the bowl.
  6. Add one half of the dry ingredients to the merengue and fold until combined.
  7. Add remaining dry ingredients to the mixture and fold gently until the mixture reaches a lava-like consistency. What you're looking for is a mixture where the batter will fall back in on itself when drizzled from a spatula.
  8. Pipe the macarons onto a cookie sheet covered with a silicon mat or parchment. I use a #12 tip for this.
  9. Tap the cookie sheets on the counter several times until the tops of the macarons are smooth and there are no air bubbles.
  10. Rest the macarons until the tops get a thin skin on them and they are no longer shiny (this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on your humidity)
  11. Place the Macarons (only 1 sheet at at time!) in a pre-heated 300 degree oven on the middle rack.
  12. Back for about 14 minutes, turning the macs halfway through. Note, this time can vary depending on your oven temp, humidity and all kinds of factors - you may need to experiment!
  13. Cool on the cookie sheets - if the Macarons are baked properly, they should pop right off the sheets when they are cool.
  14. Fill each pair of shells with your choice of filling.
Blood Orange Ganache
  1. Finely chop the dark chocolate and place in a bowl.
  2. Heat the cream to just before boiling (it should be steaming) and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for about 2 minutes.
  3. Whisk the chocolate and cream until melted and smooth.
  4. Add the butter and whisk to combine.
  5. Add blood orange paste and whisk to combine.
  6. Let the ganache set until it has reached a piping consistency. Similar to buttercream.
Recipe Notes
  1. This is simply one method of making Macarons.  There are 3 more methods that we'll be trying in coming weeks - Swiss, Italian, and Broma.
  2. Getting your batter to the correct consistency takes practice!  I've been making these on and off for about 3 years, and I finally believe I've gotten it right -
  3. Macarons are finicky.  If they're not right the very first time you make them, don't despair!  Chances are they'll still taste good, so eat them!  Once you're totally buzzed on the sugar, try again 🙂
  4. If you want colored macarons, add the coloring (gel or powder only) to the egg whites when they're at soft peak stage.
post

Tangy Lemon Curd – So Easy to Fall in Love!

Lemon Curd!  So intimidating for some, but so very easy to make at home!  I know – you’ve all heard the stories about people trying to make homemade lemon curd and ending up with scrambled eggs.  It’s so tempting to just pick up a jar from the shelf at the market and call it done, but what’s the fun in that?!  Making lemon curd at home is so easy!  It’s also pretty quick!

Imagine your life with this recipe under your belt…  Imagine the oohs and ahhs of those who taste it when they ask where you bought it and you reply (modestly, of course and with a little exaggeration) “Oh, I made it myself!  It wasn’t easy, but you’re worth the extra trouble!”  We can’t give away all of our secrets, friends!

Imagine, if you will, a delicious cake, with the thinest coating of fragrant and tangy lemon curd between the layers!  Or, perhaps filled inside a cupcake (which is what we’re doing in the video below).  If you like lemons, and I know you do, you won’t want to miss out on this one!

I’ll show you a super easy technique to make fresh, homemade, lemon curd in first video below.  Then, we’ll use that curd to fill some Pink Lemonade cupcakes and frost them with a tri-color rosette to finished them off in a lovely way.  I love the way that these turned out!  Be warned, this curd is tangy, so if you are looking for a softer taste, you may prefer a different filling – perhaps the white chocolate lemon ganache that we’re making next week!

Tools

Making the Lemon Curd

 

Filling and Frosting the Cupcakes


Print Recipe
 Tangy Lemon Curd - So Easy!
Easy Lemon Curd Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Servings
Ingredients
  • 3/4 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 3 ea. Egg Yolks
  • 3 tbsp Cold Butter
  • 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 pinch Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Servings
Ingredients
  • 3/4 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 3 ea. Egg Yolks
  • 3 tbsp Cold Butter
  • 2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 pinch Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Easy Lemon Curd Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Instructions
  1. Get Water Simmering for the double boiler while you collect your ingredients.
  2. In a heavy saucepan, combine the lemon juice, sugar and egg yolks.
  3. Whisk to thoroughly combine and place over the double boiler.
  4. Whisk constantly while heating to a simmer. The curd should start to thicken.
  5. Once the curd has started to simmer and has thickened, remove from the heat.
  6. Whisk in each of the tablespoons of butter until completely incorporated.
  7. Whisk in the salt and vanilla.
  8. Strain into a container and place plastic wrap directly on top of the curd so that a skin doesn't form.
  9. Cool to room temperature and then place in the refrigerator until cold.
Recipe Notes
  1. This is very tangy and works absolutely best as a thin coating in between cake layers.
  2. If using for cupcake filling, I recommend a sweeter recipe to offset the tartness of the curd.
post

Beautiful and Refreshing Pink Lemonade Cake

Join Ana and me as we walk you through making this beautiful and refreshing Pink Lemonade cake!  In May, our month of lemony goodness, I knew that I wanted to attempt a pink lemonade cake.  I’d seen recipes for them before, but they all required frozen pink lemonade concentrate.  If you’ve been following us the last couple of months, you know how I feel about that!  Not good.  That’s how I feel about that, not good!  I just knew that there had to be a way to get that tart lemony flavor that is perfect offset by another, as yet unidentified, fresh fruit.  I also knew that that I would have to figure it out.  Challenge Accepted!

I began my research into pink lemonade with my dear friend Google Search.  Perhaps you’ve heard of her.  She’s actually kind of my best friend, but we don’t talk about that out loud.  Anyway, I simply started looking for homemade pink lemonade recipes and my pal returned more results than you could shake a stick at!  Seriously, I tried shaking a stick – not a dent.

There are two schools of thought on pink lemonade, and these are either the addition of fresh strawberry or the addition of fresh raspberry.  I read a little further, browsed a few more articles and recipes and decided that the raspberry seemed to be the most authentic.

A plan was born!  A plan was tested, and a plan failed.  Brainstorming continued…  more tests were run, and a winner emerged!  To describe how proud of myself I was would be impossible.  This was one of my first attempts ever at making modifications to a recipe and delivering something completely different.

Pink Lemonade Cake Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho

Isn’t she gorgeous?

This definitely won’t be the last!  I’m in love with this cake and am eager to keep pushing my own boundaries and if the experiments work out, you can bet I’ll be sharing them here – If you want to see experiments that don’t work out, well, those are on our Facebook LIVE broadcasts!  You could try the nut butter episode as a great example of me modifying a recipe to a spectacular failure!  But I digress – you’re here for a Beautiful and Refreshing Pink Lemonade Cake, and a pink lemonade cake you shall have!

As a bonus, we’re also posting the video on how to make the oh-so-pretty tri-color rosettes that cover the cake.

To get started, there are a few things you’ll need:

Making the Pink Lemonade Cake

Frosting the Cake

 

 

Print Recipe
 Beautiful and Refreshing Pink Lemonade Cake
Pink Lemonade Cake Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings
ounces
Ingredients
  • 375 grams Cake Flour
  • 375 grams Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 6 large Egg Whites Room Temp
  • 1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 cup Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup Butter Room Temp
  • 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 3 drops Pink Food Color Use Gel Color
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Servings
ounces
Ingredients
  • 375 grams Cake Flour
  • 375 grams Granulated Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 6 large Egg Whites Room Temp
  • 1/2 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
  • 1/2 cup Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup Butter Room Temp
  • 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
  • 3 drops Pink Food Color Use Gel Color
Pink Lemonade Cake Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare your 8" cake pans.
  2. Add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl of your stand mixer (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt).
  3. Add the softened butter.
  4. Turn the mixer (with the paddle attachment) on to stir speed.
  5. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients (egg whites, lemon juice, raspberry simple syrup, vanilla extract, vegetable oil, and pink food color.
  6. Add 1/3 of the mixture to the dry ingredients.
  7. Turn the mixer on stir, easing up to 4 (on a KitchenAid) and beat for about 30 seconds on 4. (scrape the bowl when finished)
  8. Add half of the remaining liquid ingredients and whip on 4 for another 30 seconds. (scrape the bowl when finished)
  9. Add the remaining liquid ingredients and beat on 4 for another 30 seconds. Once the mixture has come together and is starting to look like you'd expect cake batter to look, stop and scrape the sides of the bowl and the paddle attachment.
  10. Mix at speed 8 for about 15-20 seconds.
  11. Divide batter evenly between your prepared pans.
  12. Turn the temperature of the oven down to 325 degrees F and quickly put the batter filled pans in.
  13. Bake for 40-45 minutes. Make sure you test this cake with a toothpick to make sure it's done in the middle! If the cake needs more than 45 minutes to cook completely, check it every 2 minutes until it's done.
Recipe Notes
post

Candied Lemon Peels – Quick and Easy!

Have you ever tried homemade candied lemon peels?  If not, you honestly just don’t know what you’re missing!  They’re so tasty!  Not only are they great to eat by themselves, they make a great garnish for your baked goods and drinks.  In our month of lemon love, this is one recipe I threw in as a bonus – they’re relatively quick and easy to make, they store well, and you can keep some on hand for whenever you like!

Lemons aren’t the only citrus you can candy, of course – Limes, oranges and grapefruit all candy nicely with just a few tweaks to the recipe.  I don’t recommend using the peels after a piece of fruit has been juiced, because they’re no where near as pretty!  Juicing the citrus can mangle the peels, and for this, you want pretty, pretty peels.

Buy the prettiest pieces of citrus you can find for this – bright colors and no discoloration to the peel makes a big difference in how these turn out, and you can use the “uglier” pieces for juicing and zesting.

Helpful hint – when you need fresh squeezed citrus juice, always zest the fruit first!  You can store the zest in an air tight container in the freezer and use whenever you want to add a little zing to a sweet or savory dish!

I used the peels I made in this video to garnish my adult version Pink Lemonade – fancy!

See the short video below for tips on both the candied lemon peels and the raspberry simple syrup used in the Pink Lemonade recipe.


Print Recipe
 Candied Lemon Peels - Quick and Easy!
Candied Lemon Peels Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Servings
Ingredients
  • 4 ea. Lemons
  • 2 cups Granulated Sugar Plus some extra for coating the peels
  • Cold Water About 8 cups total
Servings
Ingredients
  • 4 ea. Lemons
  • 2 cups Granulated Sugar Plus some extra for coating the peels
  • Cold Water About 8 cups total
Candied Lemon Peels Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Instructions
  1. Cut the lemons into slices about 1/4 inch thick, then cut those slices in half
  2. Remove the pulp from the slices
  3. Place the peels in saucepan, add cold water, and bring to a boil.
  4. Drain the peels, add more cold water and bring to a boil. Repeat this step one more time, for a total of 3 boils.
  5. Remove the drained peels from the saucepan and set them aside.
  6. Add the Sugar and two cups of fresh water to the sauce pan and bring to a boil until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally.
  7. Add the lemon peels and simmer until the pith (the white part) is translucent. (about 15 minutes, typically)
  8. Prepare a cookie sheet by placing a cooling rack inside.
  9. Remove the peels from the saucepan with tongs or something similar, placing them on the cooling rack in a single layer.
  10. Put in a 170 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes.
  11. Remove from the oven and cool.
  12. Place a small amount of granulated sugar in a Ziplock bag, add the peels and shake to coat.
Recipe Notes

When I'm not using the peels right away, I just leave them in their ziplock bag with the sugar and store them in a cool, dry place.  Your refrigerator is not dry!  Don't put them in the fridge -

If using different citrus, you may need to add to the initial "boils" to remove the bitterness or to reduce the number of boils if fruit is sweeter, like an orange.  Rule of thumb is 2 boils for oranges, 4 boils for grapefruit or limes.

post

Pink Lemonade – A Refreshing Summertime Drink

Pink Lemonade…  So refreshing and perfect for summertime.  This month, my focus was on all of the wonderful things we can do with lemons – and we’re starting off with this delicious recipe for pink lemonade.  First, because it’s awesome – I love to mix up a pitcher, add just a touch of vodka, and have a “grown-up” afternoon by the pool.  Second, I use the ingredients from this pink lemonade recipe to create a pink lemonade cake next week!

I’ve made a pink lemonade cake in the past, and I wasn’t in love with it – first of all, one of the ingredients was frozen pink lemonade concentrate – Now, I just don’t understand the point of a scratch cake when you’re adding something like frozen concentrate or (and I know it makes me a baking snob) Jello.  This sent me on a quest to find out exactly what makes pink lemonade pink, anyway?

There are two schools of thought here – either strawberries or raspberries.  After doing a little research, the addition of raspberries seemed like the most authentic, and I knew they’d pair wonderfully with the lemon juice to make a pitcher full of pink lemony goodness!

This recipe makes a ton of raspberry simple syrup, which keeps quite nicely in an air tight container in the fridge.  This is a good thing, since we’ll need about 1/2 cup next week!

As a bonus this week, we’re also making candied lemon peels – you can make candied peels of nearly any citrus fruit and they’re great for garnishes and also for eating by themselves – I’ve made them for the Christmas holidays in the past, and they were a big hit!

This video contains the tutorial for the Raspberry Simple Syrup and also the Candied Lemon Peels – They were easy to make in the same tutorial so the same video will be posted on both recipes!


Print Recipe
 Pink Lemonade
Pink Lemonade Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Servings
Ingredients
Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • 6 oz Raspberries One little container
  • 2 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2/3 cup Water
Lemonade
  • 6 cups Cold Water
  • 1 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice About 7 medium lemons
  • 1 cup Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • Ice
Servings
Ingredients
Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • 6 oz Raspberries One little container
  • 2 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 2/3 cup Water
Lemonade
  • 6 cups Cold Water
  • 1 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice About 7 medium lemons
  • 1 cup Raspberry Simple Syrup
  • Ice
Pink Lemonade Recipe and Tutorial - Bake with Rho
Instructions
Raspberry Simple Syrup
  1. Put the Raspberries, Sugar and Water in a saucepan and heat on medium-high.
  2. Heat to a boil, stirring occasionally.
  3. Simmer 10-12 minutes - the raspberries should just be falling apart.
  4. Pour the raspberry mixture through a fine strainer into a heat-proof bowl. Set aside to cool a bit.
  5. Once cool, place in an air tight container in the fridge to cool completely before making Lemonade (about 30 minutes to an hour)
Pink Lemonade
  1. Put one cup of raspberry simple syrup in a pitcher.
  2. Add the lemon juice.
  3. Add the water and fill with ice.
  4. Stir gently and serve.
Recipe Notes

I usually add about 3 jiggers of vodka to this recipe to make the adult version - Also, you can garnish with fresh raspberries or the candied lemon peels mentioned earlier!

post

Simple Watercolor Effect – So Pretty!

by Posted in Tutorials Tagged , , , Leave a comment

As promised, in this video, I demonstrate a simple watercolor effect for your cake.  This is one of my favorite finishes on a buttercream cake, because it adds some really pretty effects and it’s super simple to do!

I’ve used a watercolor effect several times and always receive compliments on the finished product – it’s simple to achieve and can be done with multiple colors or for a more elegant look, you can use different shades of the same color.  Remember, it’s difficult to know exactly how the finished product will look, but as you use the technique more and more, you’ll get a better idea of how the colors will blend.

Most of the tools in this video are ones we’ve seen before, and I’m linking them here for your convenience: