A Walk Down Memory Lane

Today I decorated a cake that brought back memories.  Sweet childhood memories.  It made me remember sitting around the t.v. with my siblings and parents at christmas time.  This cake is special because for a moment I remembered being a child, sitting under my mommy, happy as ever watching Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the gang.  This show is a classic and today I was reminded, thanks to this cake, that these classics must be kept alive.  I definitely see my family and I sitting around the t.v., eating cupcakes while watching Charlie Brown in the near future.

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Making Fondant Popcorn - COOL TRICKS

I was asked to make a carnival cake (don't worry i'll show the picture, that's an entirely different blog, lol).  I do my usual google search to get ideas and I spot the perfect design for my client!  A popcorn bucket, complete with popcorn with a candy apple sitting inside the bucket.  I'm super excited about the design and then I pause and think, "how the heck does one make popcorn kernels?"  This time I go to my second best friend, you tube and find the greatest tutorial! When I tried it out I was so excited, I had to share.  Enjoy!  These kernels are time consuming, but they look AMAZING!

The Cake Lady_HSB

www.heavenlysweetsbakery.com

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A special cake for Gran Gran!

This past weekend we went to South Carolina to celebrate my husband's grandmothers' 89th birthday! She loves to fish so of course we had to make the ultimate "fish" cake for her.  All of our cakes are made with love, but this cake was extra special because it was for Gran Gran.  She was so surprised when she saw the cake.  She even did a little dance!  It was priceless.  It's so amazing the amount of joy that a simple cake can bring to a person's heart.  I know she'll never forget this cake.  Makes what we do so worthwhile!

 She was so happy!  She even tasted the "dirt."

Happy 89th Birthday Gran Gran

We Love You!

Alfonzo & Gwendolyn Jones

Heavenly Sweets Bakery

www.heavenlysweetsbakery.com

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One Beautifully Made Delicious Treat

I always bring dessert for thanksgiving.  This year the family requested red velvet cake.  Thanksgiving dinner was an upscale affair this year!  The table was beautifully set.  No jeans were allowed at the dinner table, so I had to make my cake "match" the table!  To kick it up a notch I added the perfect finish to my 4 layer heavenly treat, crushed pecans and spirals to line the top of the cake instead of just a regular shell boarder.  It was beautiful and delicious!  It was also a very large cake, I wish I'd taken pictures of the enormous slices that covered an entire saucer!  Everyone enjoyed the treat.  We all know hat the best thing about thanksgiving is eating leftovers the next day.  The next morning we had the smoothest, most delicious coffee and red velvet cake for breakfast.  Needless to say it was a hit. Everyone enjoyed!  I hope you alls thanksgiving was as wonderful as mine was!  Now to prepare for Christmas! ❄⛄🎉

4 layer red velvet cake

Www. Heavenlysweetsbakery.com  

This coffee was delicious!  So smooth, great flavor.

I highly recommend.

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My Masterpiece

I am my worst critic .. well my second worst, I do believe my dear husband is my worst/best critic!  I embrace criticism.  It's useful and promotes improvement. It's rare that I'm EVER completely satisfied with a cake!  My usual process is to complete the cake, then take pictures and study the pictures.  I'm not sure why, even though the cake is right infront of me, I can see the finished product through a different lens when I look at the photo.  After looking at the picture, I usually say, "I should've done more of "x" .. less of "y", and so forth and so on."  But not with this cake!  It was beautiful.  The finished product was amazing. After looking at this cake, there was absolutely NOTHING that I would have done differently.  I actually kept staring at it trying to find something, anything to criticize.  So, with all of that said, I'm proud to present to you, my masterpiece!  This was a special cake, designed by me for my Pastor's 60th Birthday!  A special cake for a special person! Enjoy

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Osie's Delicious "Old-Fashioned" Banana Pudding, We've tasted it and we say, It's Heavenly!

Hello my fellow foodies!! Myself along with the members of the "Clean Plate Club" are excited to bring you our first review!! Osie's Old Fashioned Banana Pudding and what a treat it was for us to taste!  Thank You Ms. Osie for this deliciousness!!  Let's get right into it .. 

I'll go first!  I was shocked at how EASY it was to make the yummy homemade pudding FROM SCRATCH!  However it takes some SERIOUS dedication to this cause to make it correctly.  It doesn't require a lot of ingredients, but it does require a lot of attention!  You literally can't take your eyes off of it for a second!  But we'll get into that more later!  The recipe is listed below, please see my notes in red.  


Ingredients: 
Servings:
8-12
Units: US | Metric
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
3 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (10 ounce) bag vanilla wafers
6 bananas, sliced
1/4 cup sugar


Not a bad ingredient list!  I love that it's not too many ingredients and most of the items on this list, you probably already have at home!  That's ALWAYS a plus!  

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This recipe gets 5 halos for the ingredient list!

Now that we've looked at ingredients let's make this banana pudding!

Before  I did any cooking, I prepared everything I needed.  I separated my yolks from egg whites, cut up a few of my bananas and put down the first layer of cookies/bananas in my pan!  Once you start making this pudding you have to babysit it, there's no time for anything else so setup is imperative!

Directions

1 Combine (to make custard) sugar, flour, corn starch, and salt in a pot.
2 Stir in milk.
3 Heat over low heat, stirring often to avoid scorching, until thickened.

This part is easy, but time consuming!  You may as well pull up a bar stool and setup at the stove, the thickening process actually takes about 15 - 20 minutes and it is important that you stand there and stir THE ENTIRE TIME!  It only takes a second for the entire bottom of your pot to burn and you'll have all those burnt lumps in your pudding and will have to start over!  It's a drag, but totally worth it .. THIS PUDDING IS AMAZING!  It was hard for me to understand when to know if the pudding was ready or had thickened so I took some pics to help you, you can see how the spoon isn't really coated at first b/c the mixture is thin, but over time it will coat the spoon as it thickens.  I used this "spoon test" to make sure everything was progressing as it should and it worked well for me.

4 (beleive me, you will know when this happens!-seems like it takes"forever" - You can tell but it's not that obvious, I say use the spoon test, when the pudding is thick enough to coat your spoon, you're ready for your egg yolks) Beat egg yolks and gradually stir into the hot sugar mixture.  (This is where that advance preparation comes in handy, you have to keep stirring, there's no time for cracking eggs, unless you've got an extra set of hands.)

Once the egg yolks are added it really begins to thicken!  This part is so neat! Now you've made your own delicious pudding - FROM SCRATCH with only a few ingredients already at your house!  No need for that instant stuff, you can taste the difference! Once you go homemade, there's no turning back!

5 Cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
6 Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
7 "Line"a 2 quart casserole dish with a layer of wafers and top with half of the sliced bananas.

I was making a larger pan here, but you get the idea, I layered my cookies then put a banana in each space b/t the cookies so there was sure to be some banana and cookie in every bite!

8 (**Iusually have this step finished before I begin to make the custard.**) Pour half of"custard" over bananas.

Now this is my only problem with this recipe .. THERE'S NOT ENOUGH PUDDING/CUSTARD!!!  Use it sparingly to make sure you have enough to cover both layers, but I suggest doubling the recipe.  When I tasted the final product, there was more cookies than pudding!  Don't get me wrong, I love vanilla wafers, but I wanted more of that delicious pudding I stood over that hot stove and labored to make!  Now if you want more cookies and a thin layer of pudding then go with the recipe as it's written.

9 Repeat, ending with custard on top.

10 In separate bowl, beat egg whites stiff, but not dry.
11 (I use the electric mixer on high.) Gradually add 1/4 c sugar and beat until mixture forms stiff peaks.

Another confusing part of the recipe.  This process is not instant and actually takes longer than you think, I timed at least 3-5 minutes in my kitchen aid beating on high.   For those of you who aren't sure what a stiff peak is, I've posted a picture.  This means that when you stick your spoon in the bowl and pull it out the mixture forms a peak that actually holds and doesn't fall over.  It's kind of like making homemade whipped cream and this meringue is DELICIOUS!

12 Pile on top of pudding.
13 Spread it around to the edges of the dish to"seal" it.
14 (Then make the top pretty by making designs with the back of the spoon.) Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 5 minutes.  My question here was should I line the top of the pan with the extra nilla wafers before or after baking to brown the meringue? I tried it both ways and here's what happened:

Hopefully you can see this ok, but adding the wafers before baking caused them to burn!  I actually did not allow my meringue to brown as much as I wanted it to because I had to take my pudding out of the oven due to the cookies burning!

When I added the wafers after baking:

I was able to allow my pudding to brown longer and it was beautiful!  BUT there's a catch to this as well!  The meringue actually sets and forms a bit of a "crust" as it browns, if you just jab the cookies into the meringue it will cause it to break up and be ugly, now for me, presentation is everything (my mommy always told me if it's pretty people will at least try it!!) so I had to carefully insert my thin spatula into the side of the pan to push back the meringue a bit, then I was able to add my cookies for a nice finish!

15 (until the egg whites start to turn a golden brown) Watch this close, because sometimes mine turns black-really fast!  This is good advice, once it starts browning, it will quickly burn, but in my oven it took about 4 - 6 min. to brown so you don't have to babysit it, but don't forget about it in the oven! This browning process truly makes the dish beautiful!  

16 Serve warm or chilled. It's delicious either way!  

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I give this recipe 4 halos, it was well written and I was able to follow it pretty easily.  It wasn't very complicated, didn't require a lot of fancy equipment to make it.  You'll have a blast making this at   home, I only gave it four halos b/c as I said before, I recommend doubling the pudding recipe.

Flavor:  

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I give this recipe four Halos for flavor .. the pudding is delicious but again, we need more, when I first ate it I was in food heaven, but as I continued to eat it there was a bitter after taste that developed.  The meringue is amazing!  Definitely a recipe I'd use again to top any pie or pudding and it didn't turn to mush overnight which was nice!

Don't Take my word for it .. See below what the reviewers had to say about it:

Anastasia:

So I was very excited to try this pudding. I am a sucker for the homegrown classics and banana pudding is one of those things that just screams - “Grandma’s House.” Being a fan of banana pudding, I can honestly say I was skeptical about any recipe meeting my expectations. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Osie’s version. First things first – presentation. I loved the toasted meringue topping and the cookies edging the top added a quaint touch. On a scale of 1 to 5 for presentation, I think the pudding definitely would earn 5 halos.  It perfectly captured the essence of homemade and half reminded me of the fare found at a church potluck. Nobody knows their way around a kitchen better than church ladies. And of course, Gwen.

The banana pudding was very thick and rich, almost reminiscent of a soda shoppe banana milkshake. There was, however, a slight starchy aftertaste to the pudding, which I think could’ve been from excess flour. I’m not sure how this recipe directed the flour aspect, but I know I usually have to cook the flour a while before adding milk to get the starchiness out.  I loved the vanilla wafers and I thought the amount of cookies was perfect for me, but the pudding-to-cookie ratio might need to be adjusted up. Also, I think full-fat vanilla wafers (like most things) have more flavor so I would’ve liked to have had them in the pudding. So out of 5 halos for taste (lol) I would give the flavor and consistency a 4.

So 9 out of 10 – definitely in highly recommended range. And my waistline will be avoiding this deliciousness like the plague. 

 Parteek:

Howdy y’all,

I have always loved eating Nilla wafers by themselves; but eating this heavenly concoction has given me a newfound appreciation for Nilla wafers in banana pudding.  The slice was food for my eyes—a fluffy meringue topping over fresh bananas, made-from-scratch pudding, and two layers of Nilla wafers.  Those of you, who have made meringue, know that it is an art to achieve the fluffy, marshmallow-like interior.  If not done properly, the meringue will “sweat out” and fall off the banana pudding.  I particularly enjoyed the use of fresh bananas and homemade pudding, which vastly differs in taste from the bright yellow canned version and allows the flavors to blend more easily together.  I personally like crunchier banana pudding to offset the soft texture of the bananas and pudding; however, keep in mind that banana pudding left overnight will soften the Nilla wafers to become cake like.  If you don’t like Nilla wafers, consider using shortbread cookies and if a meringue is not your thing, try a vanilla-bean mousse topping!  Overall, this dessert was finger licking good and I will definitely make it in the near future.

Till next time,

Parteek

 Nandita:

Hey all you foodies out there!

Osie’s fresh take on an old favorite- banana pudding- is definitely bringing this dessert back. Two layers of made from scratch pudding was combined with a dual layer of vanilla wafers, and coated with a perfectly whipped meringue top! The pudding had fresh mashed up bananas and enough wafers so that you could sink your teeth into this perfect combination of tastes and textures in every bite.

My recommendation to put this delicious dessert over the top: mix some cinnamon sugar into the whipped cream and sprinkle some crushed vanilla wafers. Cinnamon brings out the sweet and ripened flavor of the fruit, while the crisp topping keeps the dish fresh even after it’s been fridge! Just thinking about it is making me hungry!

Your honorary member of the clean plate club,

Deeta

 Mr. Jones

The Banana was AMAZING!  The homemade pudding put the instant jello pudding to shame, will never eat instant jello pudding again!  Not a big meringue fan, but this meringue was subtle and delicious!  The banana pudding gets 5 halos, brightly shining!

He's telling you all the truth, Banana Pudding is his favorite dessert and when he tasted this, I had to make another pan, just for him to eat! (I know, I know, he's spoiled!)

Total Halo Rating of 4.6 / 5 Halos 

NOW THE 1 MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION!

IS THERE A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN STORE BRAND AND NABISCO NILLA WAFERS

I had to know so I bought both and tried them out!  As for flavor, I thought it was very similar between the two, I thought the store brand had a bit of an after taste but not much.  The difference comes with texture!  The Nabisco wafers melt in your mouth, which also means they'll soften up nicely and quickly in your banana pudding.  The store brand wafers were a lot tougher and crunchier, which some people like. Ultimately it's up to you, I would probably mix them (buy one box of each) so one could have the best of both worlds!  

I hope you all have enjoyed this review!  Have a blast with this recipe! This one is sure to be a crowd pleaser!   

Osie's Old Fashioned Banana Pudding

Next we're going to try a very unique recipe so stay tuned and Happy Baking!

From my kitchen to yours

Love,

Gwendolyn Jones & The Clean Plate Club

Heavenly Sweets Bakery

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