Romy's Baking and Cake Decorating

Since I didn't get to make a Buche de Noel this Christmas I decided to make a roll cake for New Year's Eve.  Originally I wanted to try  this  Lemon Roulade recipe by David Tanis which appeared in the NEw York Times.   Here is that recipe and the picture that seduced me: For the Lemon Curd 1 teaspoon orange zest 1 tablespoon lemon zest ¾ cup/150 grams sugar ¾ cup/170 grams unsalted butter   ¾ cup/180 milliliters lemon juice (from 5 or 6 large lemons) ¼ cup/60 milliliters orange juice (from 2 large oranges) 4 large eggs, at room temperature For the Sponge Cake Softened butter, for greasing the pan 4 large eggs, at room temperature ⅔ cup/130 grams sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup/130 grams all-purpose flour or cake flour 1 teaspoon baking powder Pinch of salt For Frosting 1 cup/240 milliliters heavy cream 2 teaspoons sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla extract Preparation Step 1 Heat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the lemon curd: Put lemon zest, orange zes...

Here is a recipe I tried for Candied Lemon Slices . I made these to decorate the Lemon Roll Cake I made for New Year's Eve 2025.  Ingredients: 2 Lemons. Choose the firmest lemons possible. 1 cup water 1 cup sugar Directions: Slice the lemons as thinly as possible, 1/8 inch is ideal. Dissolve the sugar into the water on medium heat, about 2-3 minutes. Lower heat to achieve a gentle simmer and drop in the lemon slices. Cook without stirring for 30-40 minutes until soft, glossy and translucent. Let dry, preferably overnight, on a piece of parchment paper or if they are holding their shape on a wire rack. I used organic Meyer lemons and had no luck with the mandoline because they were a bit soft, so I ended up slicing them with a knife. They ended up being of varying sizes but it was the best I could do. My lemons were on the smallish side of I used 3/4 cup each of sugar and water and it was sufficient. It took a half hour to cook. I could tell at that point the water had turned into ...

 This recipe is from the blog Scientifically Sweet. Ingredients 3 tablespoons granulated sugar zest of 1 lemon 1 large egg 3 tablespoons lemon juice 2 tablespoons salted butter Directions 1. Combine sugar and lemon zest in heatproof bowl. With back of spoon or fingertips rub zest into sugar. 2. Add egg to lemon sugar and whisk until smooth. 3. Whisk in lemon juice. 4. Add pieces of butter. 5. Set bowl over pot with 1/2 inch of simmering water. Whisk gently for 7-10 minutes until thick enough to coat back of spoon. If curd hasn't thickened after 10 minutes raise temperature. Pour through sieve. Let cool. I whisked for 10 minutes but the curd wasn't thickening. So I raised the temperature on the stove to medium. The water was now no longer at a gentle simmer but rather at a rapid simmer almost boil. I kept whisking for 4 minutes and the curd definitely thickened. I tried taking the temperature several times and it never quite reached 160, the highest I saw was 158F. I figured th...

My Sis was coming to visit just a couple of weeks after a milestone birthday. She didn't celebrate on her Big Day, so we decided to do it together. She wanted a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting . Simple! I made a 6" three-layer cake using  this recipe  from Sugar and Sparrow.  Quickly this website is becoming my go-to, their recipes are just better than on Sallys Bake Blog which used to be my reference.  For Sis, I actually followed the instructions to use eggs plus egg whites, whereas usually I never bother and just substitute one egg for two egg whites. This recipe also uses sour cream. The cakes were a bit dry and I should have taken them out of the oven a bit sooner, but I'm still getting to know my new oven.  I offered to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream, but she wanted American.  These layers, when stacked, make for a pretty tall cake. I offered Sis a filling but she declined. She just wanted chocolate buttercream! With all this, I was worried that...

Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread I'm not making a Yule Log this year or any other complicated dessert because we have to go to Grandpa's house again and I don't feel like working in someone else's kitchen. But I still wanted to make something for us to enjoy and a recipe in the New York Times for Sticky Cranberry Gingerbread caught my eye.  Here is the recipe: INGREDIENTS for 8-10 servings 2 cups (266 g) fresh or frozen cranberries 1 cup/200 g granulated sugar 1 stick butter 2/3 cup /133 g dark brown sugar 1/2 cup whole milk 1/2 cup maple syrup 1/4 cup molasses 1.5 cups/185 g all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1 tablespoon/14 g grated fresh ginger (from 1-inch piece) DIRECTIONS 1. Heat oven to 350F and line a 9" square or round pan with parchment 2. In a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan stir together ...

Soft molasses cookies I was intrigued when I saw  this cookie recipe  on Sprinkle Bakes' blog.  I love molasses cookies and thought they would make a nice change from the traditional Christmas sugar cookies with royal icing. Especially because of the work involved in icing cookies, the price of meringue powder these days, and the fact that my family just isn't that into the taste of decorated cookies.  I also wanted a chance to use my mom's cookie cutters that I inherited. These 1970's vintage impression cutters are so cute and I haven't had much success with them before. I thought this recipe might do the trick, based on the blog photos. Since there's only the 3 of us and I wasn't gifting any cookies, I decided to make only half the recipe.  It turned out to be very difficult to use the impression cutters because the dough is pretty soft and the cutters are very detailed, making it virtually impossible to release the cookies. I had to scrap the Santa Claus ...

  Ingredients Yield: 16 to 24 servings For the cake 1 cup/240 milliliters extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the pan 1 ½ cups/300 grams granulated sugar 2 tablespoons loose Earl Grey tea (from about 6 tea bags) 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) 2 cups/480 grams sour cream or whole-milk plain Greek yogurt 3 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract  3 cups/384 grams all-purpose flour For the streusel 1 cup/128 grams all-purpose flour 1 cup packed/220 grams light or dark brown sugar 1 ½ teaspoons ground cardamom ½ teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) ½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter, melted Add ingredients to Grocery List Shop ingredients on Instacart Your first order gets $20 off and free delivery. Instacart terms apply. Ingredient Substitution Guide Nutritional Information OUR LATEST NEWSLETTER Miso and Mushrooms and Leeks, Oh My Get the Cooking Newsletter Opt out or  contact us  anytim...

It was a Monday dinner and movie night with my friends who are fans of chocolate and pistachio.  Time to try Martha Stewart's Milk Chocolate and Pistachio Tart ! Pistachio & Chocolate Tart Here is a link to the recipe:  Milk Chocolate-Pistachio Tart Recipe First change, the recipe says to spray the tart pan with cooking spray. I've never had a problem with a tart not releasing from my Gobel tart pan with removable bottom, but just in case I did lightly cover the bottom and sides of the pan with butter.  Second change, instead of using all milk chocolate, I used half bittersweet and half milk chocolate, for a deeper flavor. The bittersweet chocolate is Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate, and the milk chocolate is Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips.  Third change, when making the crust, I processed the pistachios into a powder with small grains instead of using chopped pistachios. I felt this would make for a smoother bite and an easier-to-work-with dough. I...