Monday, September 17, 2012

Recipe: Gee's Apple Dumplings


I got this recipe from my then mother-in-law more than a decade ago.  It's been a family favorite since the first bite!  I've made tons of substitutions over the years and basically every sub has worked ("baking Splenda" for sugar, diet soda, light crescent rolls, half the butter, etc.), but the BEST result is from the following recipe IMHO.  No more comment needed. These things are GOOD.

Gee’s Apple Dumplings
by Peggy Does Cake

1 ½ sticks butter (170 grams)
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp vanilla
2 granny smith apples (peeled, cored, and cut into eighths)
2 cans (8 count) crescent dinner rolls
12 to 16 oz. Mountain Dew 

Core and peel apples. Wrap 1 piece thoroughly in crescent roll and arrange in baking dish.

Throw first four ingredients into a heat-safe bowl and microwave for 2 minutes.  Stir well and microwave another 1 minute or so, until gravy-like consistency.  It’s fine if it’s still grainy.  Pour sugar mixture over apple dumplings.  At this point, you can cover with saran wrap and refrigerate until later.

Pre-heat over to 350 degrees.  Pour 12 to 16 oz. Mountain Dew over dumplings (it looks like a lot of liquid, but that's ok) and pop in the oven.  I usually measure out about 2 cups of soda from a 2 litre bottle, but if you can find a 12 or 16 once can or bottle, that would work great.  It doesn't have to be a perfect amount.  At about 30 minutes in, take them out and baste well.  I just use a spoon.  I stir the sauce a bit first in between the dumplings to get it a bit thicker.  Then cover each dumpling generously.  Continue baking until nicely golden brown.  I’ve been known to baste more than once.  Or more than twice.  Total cooking time at my house is about 50 minutes. 

Great served warm with homemade no-churn ice cream found here.   
Dumplings are VERY rich, so I often cut the recipe in half.  

If you try these, I'd love to hear from you!  Until then, oven's on - I'll be back soon!

~ Peggy

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Recipe: Super Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies



These super easy chocolate chip cookies are DELECTABLE.  Just because they're easy, doesn't mean taste will suffer.  These are our household favorites for chocolate chips.

I love my Kitchen Aid, but we make this with our Viking hand-held mixer.  Trial and error has proven that works best.  ;)

Ingredients
2 cups self-rising flour (*gasp*)
1 and 2/3 cups firmly packed LIGHT brown sugar
1 stick (113 grams) of room temp salted butter
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 package semi-sweet chocolate chips (12 ounces)
Directions
1.  Preheat Oven to 350 F
2. Toss butter into a large glass mixing bowl and beat with hand held mixer until it begins to lose its yellow color a bit.
3. Add brown sugar, mix briefly with mixer to incorporate – don’t overmix.
4. Add eggs and vanilla, mix well with mixer. Now put the mixer away.  The rest is done by hand. (Don’t worry, it’s easy.)
5. Add about half the flour, mix in by hand – batter is soft, so this is easy.  Don’t overmix.
6. Add remaining flour, mix in by hand – mix well, but don’t needlessly overmix.
7. Add chips, fold to incorporate.
Roll into 1" balls and bake about 10 minutes or until your desired level of “doneness.”  We like to do a batch really soft and gooey, and then we like to do a batch a bit more brown and crispy. That way we have cookies for all our moods!  
These warm up beautifully in the microwave for about 13 seconds each for that "just baked" taste.

Oven’s on – I’ll be back soon!

~ Peggy

Monday, August 20, 2012

Recipe: Crusting American Butter Cream: My favorite Chocolate Frosting Recipe!


Ingredients:
8 ounces (2 sticks) SALTED butter
3 - 4 ounces semisweet chocolate (nicest quality you can justify) 
2 tablespoons light corn syrup 
16 ounces (1 pound) confectioner’s sugar (powdered sugar) 
Liquid for thinning (see Step 5. below)

Directions:
Step 1.  Using the paddle blade, cream butter until it’s very light in color. 

Step 2:  Melt chocolate carefully over double boiler or in microwave, being careful to not let it get too hot. 

Step 3:  Mix corn syrup into cooled (melted) chocolate and add mixture to creamed butter. 

Step 4:  Mix well and add powdered sugar straight from the bag or box. No need to sift. Continue mixing.

Step 5:  Add milk, half and half, or heavy whipping cream until you reach desired consistency. I typically add 1 tablespoon of skim milk at a time until I have “nearly” the consistency I want and then I add a dash or 2 (or 3 or 4) of heavy whipping cream. 

This frosting is so lush and delicious. It crusts beautifully and you can use the Viva method to smooth it. I love the silky smoothness of chocolate Swiss meringue for a filling, but to me, this icing can’t be beat for frosting the outside a cake.  It does NOT need to be refrigerated once it's on the cake, but I refrigerate the leftover icing for a few days. If I don't use it within a couple days, I freeze it.  It freezes well.  Just let it come to room temperature and give it a quick whip with your mixer.

Here is a cake I smoothed with this icing and a Viva towel:


And here are a couple other super easy techniques, the swirly rose from i.am.baker (find the tutorial HERE):

 
And the stacked ruffle technique from Sweet and Saucy (find the video tutorial HERE):



I'd love to hear from you if you try this and would like to leave a comment!

Oven's on, I'll be back soon! 

~ Peggy

Sunday, August 19, 2012

And the winner is...

It’s been an exciting weekend ‘round here and I’m so happy to announce the winners of my 20,000 Fan Giveaway!

Thank you so my wonderful sponsors:  Cakes with L.O.V.E, Frosted Sensations, Not Just Cakes by Annie, Print the Party, Sophie Bifield Cake Company, Whisk Me Away, and Yummy Treats by Yane who donated over $300 worth of loot!

And with that, *drum roll* - here are our winners!

Thank you to everyone who entered and for all of you who support and frequent Peggy Does Cake on Facebook and on this blog!

Oven's on, I'll be back soon!
~ Peggy

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Peggy Does Cake 20,000 Fan Giveaway!

Once you enter the contest via Rafflecopter (see my Facebook page HERE  to enter), leave a comment on this post telling me the name of your Business or Facebook Fan Page (if you have one) and where you are located.


It's over! See the winners HERE.


Leaving a comment is strictly optional for an extra shot at winning.

Good luck to everyone!


Must be 18 to win, one entry per household. See all Terms and Conditions HERE and see prize detail and rules HERE.

~ Peggy xx

Sunday, August 5, 2012

20,000 Fan Giveaway Prize Detail

Prize 1: $100 prize package sponsored by:
  • Frosted Sensations: Impression mat giftset including 16 custom textured impression mats in zig zag line, narrow line, wide line, wavy line, leopard print, giraffe print, tiger print, zebra print, diamond print (large and small), square print (large and small), scalloped lace, filigree lace, vintage lace, and royal lace patterns.
  • Peggy Does Cake: Frilly apron in a festive cupcake pattern, custom made by The Little Red Wagon especially for this giveaway.
  • Print the Party: Printable party giftset including invitations, thank yous, favor tags, cupcake wrappers, cupcake toppers, birthday banner, food labels, door sign, and centerpiece (in any existing theme).

Prize 2: $80 prize package sponsored by:
  • Cakes with L.O.V.E:  Ateco gift set including flower sugarpaste cutters (set of 3), daisy sugarpaste cutters (set of 3), lily sugarpaste cutters (set of 3), wide leaf sugarpaste cutters (set of 3), plastic bowl scraper (1), and metal decorating comb (1), PLUS a PME gift set including 35mm 5-petal cutters (set of 4), 75mm 5-petal cutter (1), and a flower foam pad (1).

Prize 3: $80 prize package sponsored by:
  • Sophie Bifield Cake Company: Sophie traveled abroad and custom created a giftset especially for this giveaway consisting of Belgian chocolate sprinkles (from Brussels), pinwheel toppers (from Amsterdam), cupcake recipes (picked up while in Paris), cupcake liners (from Canada), a selection of ribbons (from London), and a selection of decorating tools including cutters and stencils (from London).

Prize 4: $100 prize package sponsored by:
  • Not Just Cakes by Annie: Cake Pop brand baking ban and accessories kit.
  • Whisk Me Away:  FMM funky tappits upper case, lower case, and numbers.
  • Yummy Treats By Yane: Sharon Zambito (SugarEd Productions) tutorial DVD “Totally Topsy Turvy.”

BORING STUFF (Contest Details):


·  Winners will be chosen randomly and will be contacted via email on Saturday, August 18, 2012.
·  If any winner doesn't respond within 24 hours of notification, a new winner will be chosen.
·  See Terms and Conditions HERE.
·  It's over! See the winners HERE.


Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Big 30K Giveaway Terms and Conditions


Big 30K Giveaway "Terms and Conditions"
Giveaway Terms & Conditions

Unless otherwise noted in the giveaway post: 
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

1. HOW TO ENTER: Follow Rafflecopter instructions on the post.

2. ELIGIBILITY: Prizes are open to winners 18 years of age anywhere worldwide; but certain prizes may only be shipped to certain countries. 

3. WINNERS SELECTION: Winners will be selected within 24 hours after the close of the event from among all ELIGIBLE entries received during the Giveaway. Winners will be determined at random using Rafflecopter or Random.org. Winners will be contacted via email and will be announced only after they have responded to confirm.  Winners will have 36 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected.

4. PRIZES/APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE: Prize value is listed on each individual giveaway. Odds of winning prize are dependent upon the total number of eligible entries received.  Sponsors awarding custom baked goods such as cookies, cake pops, cupcakes, brownie bites, cookie wands, etc., will design and deliver goods at their sole discretion. 

5. GENERAL: Subject to all federal, state and local laws/regulations. Neither Peggy Does Cake, the Sponsors, nor any affiliates will have any liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by any prize or resulting from acceptance, possession, use and/or misuse of any prize or participation in these promotions. Acceptance of a prize shall be construed as and signify the winner’s agreement and consent that Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors may use the winner’s name, voice, likeness and/or prize information, without limitation, for promotional purposes without further consideration, review, approval or payment, where allowed by law. By participating in this promotion, entrants agree to be bound by the decisions of Peggy Does Cake and the Sponsors, which are final and binding in all respects.

6. INTERNET: Neither Peggy Does Cake nor the Sponsors are responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or any combination thereof. If, for any reason, the promotions are not capable of running as planned for any reason, Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Giveaway and select the winners by random drawing from among all eligible entries received from all methods combined up to the point of the action taken by Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors.

7. SPONSOR: Peggy Does Cake is the host of the giveaway and is in no way to be considered the Sponsor, unless the giveaway specifically discloses that Peggy Does Cake is the Sponsor of a particular prize component. The Sponsors are deemed to be the parties providing the products for the giveaway. The Sponsors are responsible for shipment and delivery of giveaway products, unless otherwise specified.

8. DISCLOSURE: Peggy Does Cake may or may not have received the same prize and/or compensation in order to facilitate a review for giveaway purposes. The comments made within the post are in no way reviewed, edited, or influenced by any parties, including any Sponsors. All opinions are 100% that of Peggy Does Cake.

Friday, June 1, 2012

20,000 Fan Giveaway Terms and Conditions


Giveaway Terms & Conditions

Unless otherwise noted in the giveaway post:
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

1. HOW TO ENTER: Follow Rafflecopter instructions on my Facebook fan page:  https://www.facebook.com/PeggyDoesCake

2. ELIGIBILITY: All prizes are open to winners 18 years of age anywhere worldwide. 

3. WINNERS SELECTION: Winners will be selected within 24 hours after the close of the event from among all ELIGIBLE entries received during the Giveaway. Winners will be determined at random using Rafflecopter or Random.org. Winners will be announced on the giveaway post and contacted via email. Winners will have 24 hours to claim their prize or a new winner will be selected.

4. PRIZE/APPROXIMATE RETAIL VALUE: Prize value is listed on each individual giveaway. Odds of winning prize is dependent upon the total number of eligible entries received.

5. GENERAL: Subject to all federal, state and local laws/regulations. Neither Peggy Does Cake, the Sponsors, nor any affiliates will have any liability whatsoever for any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by any prize or resulting from acceptance, possession, use and/or misuse of any prize or participation in these promotions. Acceptance of a prize shall be construed as and signify the winner’s agreement and consent that Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors may use the winner’s name, voice, likeness and/or prize information, without limitation, for promotional purposes without further consideration, review, approval or payment, where allowed by law. By participating in this promotion, entrants agree to be bound by the decisions of Peggy Does Cake and the Sponsors, which are final and binding in all respects.

6. INTERNET: Neither Peggy Does Cake nor the Sponsors are responsible for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information by Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any website or any combination thereof. If, for any reason, the promotions are not capable of running as planned for any reason, Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors reserve the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Giveaway and select the winners by random drawing from among all eligible entries received from all methods combined up to the point of the action taken by Peggy Does Cake or the Sponsors.

7. SPONSOR: Peggy Does Cake is the host of the giveaway and is in no way to be considered the Sponsor, unless the giveaway specifically discloses that Peggy Does Cake is the Sponsor of a particular prize component. The Sponsors are deemed to be the parties providing the products for the giveaway. The Sponsors are responsible for shipment and delivery of giveaway products, unless otherwise specified.

8. DISCLOSURE: Peggy Does Cake may or may not have received the same prize and/or compensation in order to facilitate a review for giveaway purposes. The comments made within the post are in no way reviewed, edited or influenced by any parties, including any Sponsors. All opinions are 100% that of Peggy Does Cake.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

RECIPE: Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting


Start with a batch of SMBC (try my favorite recipe here) and incorporate room temperature caramel. You can use anything from store bought ice cream topping like this (which works “okay,” but you won’t get the best results this way) to homemade caramel (nom nom nom). Let's make some homemade caramel together real fast!

Remember to work quickly, caramel is temperamental if you don’t hold your mouth just right.

For the caramel:
1 cup sugar
4 tablespoons water
½ cup heavy whipping cream

Heat sugar and water in small saucepan on low, stirring at first to incorporate and then swirling the pan instead of stirring as the sugar melts. Continue cooking on low, being sure to swirl the mixture as it warms. Don’t stir it and don’t let it get too hot. When the sugar is melted, increase heat to medium/medium high and bring to a boil. Set timer and boil for 2 minutes. Only when the timer dings can you swirl the pan again - and continue cooking until mixture takes on an amber tone. Remove from heat immediately. Be careful to not overcook – this can burn quickly and unexpectedly. As soon as mixture is removed from heat, count to 5 to avoid splatter, and pour cream in slowly and carefully while whisking.

There are lots of variations of caramel, here’s a fabulous version that incorporates butter.  Swoon!

Remember to incorporate COOLED caramel into your Swiss meringue. After icing is piped (preferably over a chocolate cupcake), sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt.  LOVELY!

This method works great with crusting American buttercream, too.  Find my favorite recipe for that here!

I'll be back to add photos to this post on Monday!

Oven's on; I'll be back soon!

~ Peggy

Sunday, April 29, 2012

The "Thank You" Post!



April has been a LONG month and as it’s coming to an end, so has my “Peggy Does Cake Big 10K Giveaway” come to an end.

I want to take a minute to congratulate all my winners. Many of you who entered are fellow bakers I consider a friend. Thank you so much for your participation and most of all, your support! (Click photos for enlargements.)
Week 1 Winners
Week 2 Winners
Week 3 Winners
Week 4 Winners
Week 5 Winners
Finally, I want to take a minute to thank my sponsors! This could never have happened without them to "back" me, and I know without their support and amazing patience I could have never pulled this off. I especially could have never managed to award $1,200 worth of prizes! 

One final shout out is in order for them, so here, in alphabetical order, I’d like to thank each of them from the bottom of my heart:
  • Baked: $30 Amazon Gift certificate
  • Beater Blade: $35 gift set including a ZestN'est and a MixerMate Bowl
  • Cakes by Dusty: $10 Amazon gift card
  • Cakes by Kerrin: $22 ecrandel copper cookie cutter
  • Cakes by Raewyn: $30 Amazon gift card
  • Cakes Décor: Three (3!) custom t-shirts
  • Casey's Confections: $50 set of custom cookies
  • Coppergifts.com: $25 gift certificate
  • CorrieCakes: $50 set of custom cookies
  • Design Me A Cake: $26 tutorial DVD
  • Dillicious Cakes: $40 gift set including upper and lower case funky tappits and Pampered Chef spatula
  • Fondarific: $120 gift certificate
  • House of the Rising Cake: $25 custom hedgehog tutorial
  • The Little Red Wagon: $15 gift certificate
  • mycakeschool.com: Free 1 year membership ($30 value)
  • Not Just Cakes by Annie: $20 Americolor food color set from Amazon
  • Royal Bakery: $30 custom monogrammed apron
  • SugarEd Productions: $52 pair of tutorial DVDs
  • Smidge N Pinch: $20 gift certificate
  • Sugarbelle: $50 set of custom cookies
  • SugarMommas Custom Cakes: $40 set of custom cake pops
  • Sweet Tweets: $16 CopperGifts.com hedgehog cookie cutter
  • Sweetopia: $100 spring gift set (sponsored by Ticings)
  • Sweet-T-cakeS: $40 set of custom holiday minis
  • The Baking Sheet: $50 gift set including “The Baking Sheet” t-shirt, Ateco stainless steel teardrop spatula, Batter Daddy batter separator, and 1,000 Ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies and Cakes
  • The Designer Cake Company: $50 Amazon gift card
  • The Little Salmons Baker: $30 Amazon gift card
  • Torta Couture: $50 Amazon gift card
  • Way Beyond Cakes by Mayen:  $25 Global Sugar Art gift certificate

Look for some new cakes and some picture tutorials coming in the month of May.  Also, in June, we’ll be having another giveaway (but this one will be just ONE, haha, not an entire month of giveaways!).

Oven’s on – I’ll be back soon! xx

~ Peggy

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Week 5 - Final Week!



The fat lady is just on the verge of singing.
The fat lady has sung!  
Contest is over! Congratulations to our winners! (See winner names at the end of each week's post.)
Welcome to Week 5, our final week of the month-long “Peggy Does Cake Big 10K Giveaway”! Our contest opens Monday, April 23, and runs through midnight, Saturday, April 28, 2012.  

Our final drawing is Sunday, April 29.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN:
Once again we’ll have two (2) winners this week for the following prizes:
Prize Package #1:
“What a Bratt!” prize package 
(YAY, this prize can be won by anyone, anywhere in the world, must be 18 at time of entry):
Prize Package #2:
“Fat Lady Singing” prize package
(Due to shipping constraints and other circumstances beyond my control, prize package #2 is open to U.S. residents only, must be 18 at time of entry):
(**We are excited about accommodating our winner, but custom prizes will be awarded as allowed by the schedule of our sponsors. Final design and delivery date of custom cake pops will be determined by our sponsor, SugarMomma’s Custom Cakes, at her sole discretion.)


HOW YOU ENTER:
CONTEST IS OVER!
Congratulations to our winners:
  1. Stephanie Hancock Dill, Mississippi
  2. Gaby De Francesco, Argentina
It’s SUPER easy to enter! This week you will have six (6) chances to win! Just follow the simple directions using the Rafflecopter widget here:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

No comment necessary to win, but feel free to leave one!

Good luck!

~ Peggy

BORING STUFF (Contest Details):
Winners will be chosen randomly and will be contacted via email on April 29th.
If any winner doesn’t respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
See Terms and Conditions HERE.

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Peggy Does Cake Big 10K Giveaway: Week 4




Week 4 giveaway is over, but come enter our 5th and final week HERE!



Week 4 of our month-long giveaway is here!  Contest opens Monday, April 16 and runs through midnight, Saturday, April 21, 2012.


WHAT YOU CAN WIN:
This week's drawing will take place on Sunday, April 22nd.  Two (2) winners will be drawn for the following two (2) prizes:

Prize Package #1:
“School It Up” prize package 
(YAY, this prize can be won by anyone, anywhere in the world, must be 18 at time of entry):
  • A one-year paid membership to MyCakeSchool.com!  ($30 value) - check them out here www.mycakeschool.com or on Facebook HERE 
Prize Package #2:
“It Isn't Over 'Til the Fat Lady Sings” prize package
(Due to shipping constraints and other circumstances beyond my control, prize package #2 is open to U.S. residents only, must be 18 at time of entry):
(**We are excited about accommodating our winner, but custom prizes will be awarded as allowed by the schedule of our sponsors. Final design and delivery date will be determined by our sponsor, Sweet-T-cakeS, at her sole discretion.)

HOW YOU ENTER:



CONTEST IS OVER! Congratulations to our winners:


  1. Corrie Rasmussen of Wyoming
  2. Connie Adkins of Gate City, Virginia

It’s SUPER easy to enter! This week you will have eight (8) chances to win! Just follow the simple directions using the Rafflecopter widget here:



a Rafflecopter giveaway
No comment necessary to win, but feel free to leave one!

Good luck!

~ Peggy

BORING STUFF (Contest Details):
Winners will be chosen randomly and will be contacted via email on April 22nd.
If any winner doesn’t respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
See Terms and Conditions HERE.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Peggy Does Cake Big 10K Giveaway: Week 3





Week 3 giveaway is over, but come enter Week 4 HERE!



Week 3 of our month-long giveaway is here!  Contest opens Monday, April 9 and runs through midnight, Saturday, April 14, 2012.


WHAT YOU CAN WIN:

This week's drawing will take place on Sunday, April 15th.  Two (2) winners will be drawn for the following two (2) prizes:

Prize Package #1 - “Peggy Does Prizes” prize package (YAY, open to anyone, anywhere in the world, must be 18 at time of entry):

  • Black frilly apron: ‘When I said “I do” – I didn’t mean dishes!!” from Peggy Does Cake!



Prize Package #2 - “We're Only Halfway There” prize package
(This prize open to U.S. residents only, must be 18 at time of entry):



 (*We are excited about accommodating our winner, but prize will be awarded as CorrieCakes’ schedule allows. Final design and delivery date will be determined by CorrieCakes at her sole discretion.)

HOW YOU ENTER:
CONTEST IS OVER!
Congratulations to our winners:
  1. Eileen Keenan of Florida
  2. Cynthia Deering Rathunde of Illinois


It’s SUPER easy to enter! This week you will have eight (8) chances to win! Just follow the simple directions using the Rafflecopter widget at the end of this post.

No comment necessary to win, but feel free to leave one! 

Good luck!

~ Peggy

BORING STUFF (Contest Details):
Winners will be chosen randomly and will be contacted via email on April 15th.
If any winner doesn’t respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
See Terms and Conditions HERE.


a Rafflecopter giveaway
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