Monday, February 28, 2011

Valentine's Luncheon

Two Sundays ago my friend Morgan and I held a Valentine's Day luncheon for some of the actors we've been working with in our directing class. I spent most of Saturday baking and cleaning the house. I made a heart layer cake, a couple pans of cinnamon rolls, and an egg and cheese bake. Morgan rounded out the event with some hash browns. There were a few kinks in our plans. For one thing, the roll dough did a terrible job rising. (I suspect that old yeast may be the culprit!) Our hash browns turned black when they cooked (!) Apparently, potatoes oxidize if they're not submerged in cold water. You learn something new. . . They still tasted fine though :DHere is the cake!It's filled with chocolate mousse and strawberries which kept the cake really nice and moist. Thanks to my sister-in-law Naomi and culinary accidents for giving me this lovely frosting recipe that doubles as chocolate mousse and cake filling! The original recipe calls for an 8oz container of whipped topping, 1/4 cup cocoa, and 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar. Naomi accidentally put in a half cup of the cocoa and the sugar. The result was a decadently rich dark chocolate confection. I put it to good use this weekend! Here is my friend Priscilla later in the day eating chocolate mousse made from this very recipe (notice the adorable heart shaped tin!) Oh-I also spent Saturday making these chocolate favors for our guests. They were very simple to make and I was pleased with how well they turned out. I took a heart cookie cutter, greased the inside, and placed it on a plate covered with wax paper. I melted about 1/8 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave and emptied them into the cookie cutter. I covered the top of the chocolate with sprinkles. After letting the candies harden in the freezer for several minutes, I removed them and melted some white mint melting wafers in a Ziploc bag. From a small hole cut in the corner, I piped the names of our guests on the side of the chocolate not covered in sprinkles. They looked lovely and tasted good too!

1 comment: