Anyone make any Valentine's Day treats?

[IrishLass]

The interesting thing about Alton's frosting is that you can't taste the mayo! It's just there for texture. It just tastes like chocolate buttercream at the end (though slightly fluffier and softer than your standard american buttercream).

Very interesting!

I remember Ree Drummond on her show making the ermine frosting when she did red velvet cake, and she mentioned it being there before cream cheese as well. Can you share your recipe? I'm planning on making a red velvet cake for Easter, and I'm not a fan of cream cheese frosting.

My pleasure! This is what I did the other day:

(Everything by weight)

1 cup (227g) whole milk
1 cup (192g) granulated sugar
1 cup (227g) butter (I used salted)
1/4 cup (30g) King Arthur AP flour (although next time I shall try using 45g, which is the equivalent of 6 tablespoons with this brand of flour- I want it just a little stiffer)
1 tsp. vanilla (or to taste)

Mix the flour and sugar together to combine, then whisk it into the milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan so that there are no lumps. Turn the burner on medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring/whisking fairly constantly until it has become a very thick paste that's the consistency of mashed potatoes (it took mine 18 minutes from the time I turned my burner on until I had mashed potatoes, by the way). Once it's reached that stage, remove the paste to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and refrigerate until completely cool. For convenience sake, you can make the roux and refrigerate it a day or 2 before you plan on making the frosting.

Whenever you are ready to make the frosting, plan to have the roux and the butter within a temp range of between 60F to 68F by the time you mix them both together. It's okay if one is a little higher or lower than the other, but just aim to have them somewhere within that range. This temp-range works really well for me- things are soft enough to work with, but not too soft, if you know what I mean.

Before mixing the butter and the roux together, I beat them separately. Beat the roux and the vanilla together for about 4 minutes or so until it's nice and smooth and set aside. Then in a separate bowl beat the butter until light and fluffy, then dump the roux into the butter in one fell swoop and beat on high for about 5 minutes or until light and creamy.

Alternatively, instead of beating both separately at first, beat the roux, then with the beaters still on, just add the unbeaten butter to it bit by bit until it's all incorporated, then beat on high for about 5 minutes until light and creamy.

You can use it right away or store it in the fridge to use later (will keep for a week or 2). If you store it in the fridge, it will set up just like butter. To make it spreadable in that case, just bring it to room temp and give it a good stir or whisking before frosting your cake.


IrishLass

 

[lenarenee]

The ermine frosting is what my mom used to, but she didn't have a special name for it - it was simply the frosting that went on red velvet cake! Cream cheese frosting just doesn't work on a good quality red velvet cake.

It was my brother's favorite - and she made it for his birthday every December. One year the store was out of the red food coloring - so she bought the green. Lovely cake, honest! However, it had a long lasting and unfortunate effect which you noticed...uh...in the bathroom for a few days!

 

[FlybyStardancer]

Thanks, Irishlass! I can't wait to try it.

 

[IrishLass]

My pleasure!

Oh- I forgot to mention...... with the amounts I gave you, you will end up with roughly 2 1/2 cups of finished frosting. If you need more than that, just increase the batch size.


If you want to make a chocolate version, this is what I do..............

For every 1 cup of (room temp) finished frosting add:

1.5 oz. weight bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temp.
1.5 oz. weight semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temp.
1/4 tsp. coffee extract*
Extra vanilla to taste

Beat until fluffy/creamy

*I make my own concentrated coffee extract, which I really love. I came up with it to use in Donal Skehan's coffee cake recipe. His recipe called for Irel brand coffee extract, which is an Irish brand of coffee extract that I didn't happen to have on hand......nor did I have any other brand of coffee extract on hand for that matter either. So I did some internet research and came up with my own concentrated coffee extract. I don't know how comparable it is to the Irel brand or any other brand, but I really like it. It's very strong/concentrated, but very smooth, i.e., not bitter/acrid:

21g (6 tbsp.) powdered Medaglia D’Oro Instant Espresso Coffee**
72g (6 tbsp.) Vodka (I just use one of the cheapie brands from the grocery store)
36g (6 tbsp.) castor sugar (dissolves quicker than the regular granulated)

Stir all of the above in a glass bowl or glass measuring cup until the sugar dissolves and then store in a tightly covered dark glass bottle in the fridge. Keeps indefinitely. As a matter of fact, I just used some that I had made a year ago in my ermine frosting that I made the other day, and it was perfectly good.

** All the grocery stores local to me stock this brand in the coffee aisle. It comes in a 2oz. jar with a green screw-top cover and a red, green, and white striped label with yellow writing. If you can help it, please don't substitute instant coffee crystals for the Medaglia D'Oro when making the concentrated coffee extract. I tried making the extract with Folger's instant coffee crystals once, and boy, what a horrible mistake that was! The taste was so atrociously nasty and bitter that I had to throw it out. Get the Medaglia- you won't regret it. If you can't find the Medaglia brand, try to find another comparable brand of instant espresso. Whatever you do- just stay away from the Folgers instant crystals. Seriously! lol

To make a peanut butter version of the frosting that tastes like the cream filling in a Drake's Funny Bone snack cake.......

To every (room temp) cup of frosting add:

1 oz. weight of melted then cooled Sunspire brand peanut butter chips. It has to be Sunspire brand. Real peanut butter won't do, and Reese's brand peanut butter chips won't do either. Neither one has the same kind of unique peanut butter flavor profile as the Funny Bones filling has. You can find the Sunspire brand at Wholefoods and Sprouts. My local health-food store stocks that brand, too.

Add extra vanilla to taste.

Beat until fluffy/creamy.


IrishLass

 

[FlybyStardancer]

Ooo, even more good ideas! Thanks!

 

[IrishLass]

The ermine frosting is what my mom used to, but she didn't have a special name for it - it was simply the frosting that went on red velvet cake! Cream cheese frosting just doesn't work on a good quality red velvet cake.

It was my brother's favorite - and she made it for his birthday every December. One year the store was out of the red food coloring - so she bought the green. Lovely cake, honest! However, it had a long lasting and unfortunate effect which you noticed...uh...in the bathroom for a few days!

LOL You know something....St. Patrick's Day will soon be here....hmmm...:mrgreen:


IrishLass