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.
