New Orleans King Cake inspired Italian Carnevale dolce

Usually for mardi gras, I make a, what´s called in New Orleans, a King Cake. It´s traditionally a large loop of cinnamon bun type yeast bread, which nowadays has gotten a more modern twist with various fillings and decoration on top such as both colored powdered sugar glaze icing and colored sugar in mardi gras colors: gold, green, purple.

Usually I make ours more basic, a big loop or large bun of the usual cinnamon bun type yeast bread, maybe decorated a tiny tiny bit with a little sprinkling of colored sugar, or a little tiny bit of colored icing sugar glaze. Some years, I´ll make the cake into a shape, such as a large Blue Crab with claws.

This year I thought I´d make one for Italian Carnevale. Will post when I decide what:). And will post a basic recipe for the King Cake also.

misc pastas to make when back in Norway

Right, suppose I need to change the title of this blog, now that I´m past Christmas, adding Italian pastas...


Tomorrow am buying some pasta cutters and pasta machine etc, and want to try making more homemade gnudi, gnocchi, ravioli, pappardelle, tortellini, strozzapreti, trofie, fillings, sauces etc. And tamales.

Quickly a few things I want to make, and write out recipes for.


Thai saffron egg dish
Ribollita
Italian bread salad
Tuscan bean stew

aloo jherra/ aloo gobi matar, naan, chicken tikka/butter chicken. pilau/biryani, kulfi...

spinach and eggplant lasagna
ratatouille and kale/greens lasagna
buckwheat/rye corn meal gnocchi, brown butter sage cream sauce
SW tabasco kale fried eggs
those savory salty doughnut like breads we got at that trat the other day
ham hocks and greens, with strozzapeti or trofie, or over pappadelle
Reindeer ragout/ carnitas
pappadelle with a sage cream sauce and walnuts, a few whole sage leaves
ribs, kraut
broccoli soup (or other veggie, or wild mushroom soup thick creamy seasoned herb)

artichoke, spinach: pizza, stuffed lumanconi

eggs benedict, with or without spinach and/or artichokes; English crumpets or toast

pumpkin and herb savory ravioli/tortellini
that ravioli A likes at S&Cs

soft pretzel bread/bagel pretzels...kraut, Voss bifgrill, mustard, sour dill garlic pickle, dumplings

Napa chicken tacos verde ( seasoned roast chicken as for enchiladas, salad mix, chopped tomato/pico de gallo/salsa, sour cream, black olives, cheddar cheese, slightly melted buffalo motz, a verde sauce, black beans in a corn taco shell, baked lightly in the oven inside a flour tortilla). Have a cooked cold salsa for additional sauce, and a queso.

bistecca

beef/reindeer hunters stew with corn meal gnocchi

fresh fish/seafood caught in Bergen, ravioli. The very large ones like Marios does:) delish! in a similar sauce, with more of the seafood/fish, cream, herb.

pea and mint soup, tomato soup

3 hour lunch, ice skating, gelato

Walked endlessly today, very walked out, fantastic day. Among other things, had an amazing 3 hour lunch. Lots of acqua naturale, white wine, large ravioli with a seafood and spinach/arugula filling in a cream sauce with more seafood and spinach/arugula. Roast poultry, patate fritte, bistecca, more wine, more water, more wine, lots of conversation, laughter, more of this a little of that...and finally, almond biscotti/cantuccini with a deep rich vin santo, similar to a really fine cognac. More chatting away, til the place was closed, and then some.

Visited the Central Market, did some walks, sightseeing, found some interesting resale shoppes with very modern and innovative, and vintage clothing, shoes, designs of various things, along Strozzi sp. and another shoppe selling endless types of pulses and beans out of large rounded squares of straw baskets without handles--a bit like bags made from woven straw. Ice skating and ciocolata caldas, deep rich chocolately dark chocolate, no sugar, just a touch of fresh whipped cream on top. 4 Euros for the ciocolata calda. Gorgeous views, blue skies, lovely mountains, pretty river flowing thru a long park with those swooopy rounded cloud-shaped topped pine trees they have everywhere here. Ice skating, heat lamps near the ice where it was a bit chilly. Outside was mostly warm, sunny. But 14 and a few other triple digit buses go to Obihall. Ice skating is gone this weekend, til next year. Was absolutely lovely out, would have loved to wander along the river, watching the sunset, continuing along the river, past about 9 bridges, til back to sentrum, but I was just too exhausted, my feet hurt, my hip bones hurt, my head hurt from the cold near the ice. Had a short stroll along the river....and a short walk a few or so blocks then found a bus stop to catch a bus back to the station. Family went home, but I lazily got on another bus, up to Fiesole to enjoy the relaxing ride and views along the way.

Nearly 10pm, have had a long (literally an hour or so soak) hot bath, and was debating on whether to get a gelato before they close at midnight....then will finally go to sleep.

Another long enjoyable hopefully day tomorrow too. Though the main thing planned is lunch, beginning at 1...and then the rest of the day as it goes. Maybe ice skating again, before it closes.

will upload and add photos of today, tomorrow. Am off to get a gelato and sorbet before they close

blu cake easter

start next post, plus add recipes previous

bløtkake

mincemeat pie

lussekatter and a bowl of chili

potato w bacon soup, basil oil, fireside

gingerbread Eiffel tower

gingerbread rocket

gingerbread house

sugar pumpkin pie

petit fours

Lemon meringue pie supper

red beans and rice with sausage, grilled pork chops, salads

Marzipan Peter Rabbit birthday cake

 When your marzipan is room temperature, pinch off small bits to form the characters you want. Use a knife, toothpick, etc to add details both before and after molding them. When molding you can either, or both, add edible color to the marzipan, and/or paint the marzipan with edible colors once the marzipan is dried. To do either, or both, you need about a week, to let the marzipan and the edible colors dry in between coats.

This Peter Rabbit has been molded from plain marzipan, then painted with edible colors after.

 This is Peter Rabbit´s miniature birthday cake with bunny ontop....before painting with edible colors.

I had to wipe off some of this edible color, which ran into several other colors as I didn´t let them dry enough before starting a new color.

 Experimenting a bit with the coat darkness, and hat....Benjamin Bunny...

 Garden peas were molded all separate pieces, put together, then painted with edible colors after. This is the first coat, without any details. Below some of the jars of cake gel and other edible colors, marzipan, food color brushes and toothbrushes (all used only for food).

 Meanwhile making, baking, cooling, slicing cake layers....and making green cabbages by adding edible colors to the marzipan...this version is immediately darker, more intense color.

 Mostly finished pieces, atop a cake pan, to decide where to place everything, and to let it dry...then add more details....

Meanwhile, layering cake layers with first fig jam, then milk chocolate genache butter cream frosting...

 Fig jam, more of the same frosting...til all 3 layers are complete....

 Put the finished layers into fridge to chill....meanwhile roll out marzipan for layering over this....only once chilled more solid...

Finished cake....almost finished. Details added where needed, bottom marzipan trimmed, etc.

Cold eclairs, and warm chocolate cake: birthday N5

 Making the choux paste; then the custard cream filling; then the chocolate genache topping for the eclairs. For "piping" the choux paste, as I was as usual in a hurry, I just used to spoons, as when making drop cookies from cookie dough, then used one of the spoons to spread out the choux paste. Certainly very imperfect, but I wasn´t planning on selling them for 7bucks a piece either--it was us for a family birthday. No one cared, or noticed or mentioned, how wonky they looked, as they tasted delicious, just like the perfect ones we buy in the French Quarter´s Cafe Beignet, when there:). And that is why I make them for the kids birthdays--a bit of N.O. in NOrway:)

Teddy bear cake. If you use any of these decorative forms, GREASE AND BUTTER and oil them, and flour them, twice, maybe three times!! Or, as I found out, you can not get out the cake! That´s why the cake was served in the pan,). The kids had a great time decorating the cake with frosting, and sprinkles and truck shaped candles, and sparklers and colored frosting we made. They thought it was fun to eat the cake out of the bear pan...no one noticed my huge mistake--again the cake and frosting, all homemade from scratch not a box mix, was delicious. Sesame street helped too:)

 Popcorn. Another homemade treat I make for their birthdays. Heat the popcorn in some butter and oil mixed 1:3 (butter:oil) enough to cover the popcorn. Enough popcorn that the pot can cook without overflowing. Put see-thru lid on, to watch it pop. When full, pour out most of the cooked popcorn, then finish cooking the rest. Quickly pour out into bowls, then add some more butter for pouring on top. Salt the popcorn, then toss in the melted butter. It´s a treat, not eaten every day, or most days, so we splurge on the butter, with a little salt. It´s good plain too, but then use an air popcorn popper, as it´s not easy to pop popcorn in a pot with nothing but air,).

 This is what homemade eclairs look like--imperfect, but still delicious!

What the bear looks like if you can actually get it out of the pan,)...Most of the details got covered up once it was frosted with a chocolate genache buttercream frosting, and the kids didn´t care either way. IF anything they wanted the cake kept in the pan,). They liked decorating the cakes themselves too.