Friday, May 4, 2012

Cake, UGH!!!!! and Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I must apologize. I know you are probably sick of checking back here and finding my date addiction post over and over. I don't really like excuses but I have a few. A picture is worth a thousand words.

This is what my kitchen table looked like this morning.

Most of you know that I do a little cake decorating on the side. I usually just do this for people I know and I am usually pretty careful about who I say yes to. I have said NO many times! I said yes to some Prom cupcakes after a friend gave my number to someone. But.......I also said yes to teaching my small group girls how to make cake pops on Wednesday evening....

They did turn out adorable, but I had quite a bit left to finish yesterday so I could clean that all up and get on with my other tasks. Because I said yes to something else too...

Another cake. Here is a hint as to what it is going to be. I am working on a template that will hopefully make things go more smoothly tomorrow.

Cake is a lot more time consuming then most people understand. From emails and phone calls deciding what people want, to getting all the ingredients, making the cakes, making the frosting, coloring the frosting, making and coloring fondant, and actually constructing cakes or cupcakes it is a lot!!!! So when you get charged $75.00 for a cake know that it is worth it and probably more. In fact when I charge that much for a three tiered cake that takes me about 15 hours to complete and around $35.00 to make I am making diddly squat. There is NO MONEY in cake. Cupcakes are a little better  since they come with less stress but these were fancy prom cupcakes.



The cupcakes were red velvet with cream cheese frosting and chocolate with French vanilla butter cream. I loved the little Eiffel Towers on top. I did have to taste them for quality control. They were a pretty yummy indulgence! I delivered them to some oohs and ahhs from pretty girls in pretty dresses today. Fun!

So now you know where my week went. All why I am supposed to be concentrating hard and working away on VBS! For the record I don't eat most of the stuff I make just in case you are wondering. I do taste test to make sure that the frosting and cakes taste right but can you imagine how huge I would be if I was always eating this junk? It is pretty much junk food with lots of sugar, white flour, and food dyes, but once in a while there is a time and place to indulge! It is the cake pops really that are hard to avoid.

So on to something simple to make. Because of all the extra I've been doing around here I've had to make some quick dinner decisions. Before all the craziness happend I had been working on some whole wheat pizza crusts recipes. This one I love because you don't need to let it rise so it is quick! You still have time to make it for dinner tonight even!

Into a bowl place 1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup white flour, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tbsp. yeast. (That was a little more than one packet for me.) Stir that well. Just a note on the white flour. You know I am against white flour but you need just a little for the gluten. I will try it with white whole wheat flour at some point.

Add 3/4 cup very hot water to the mixture and stir until it comes together. Take it out and knead the dough for about a minute. Let it rest. You only need to let it rest a little bit while you gather up your toppings.

I actually made two recipes of this for the kids to have their own but we actually like a quite thin crust and I think it might be possible to get away with one recipe.

I loved this crust so much not only because it is so quick but because it rolls out with a rolling pin so nicely. Just flour your surface and roll it out.

For the grown up pizza I made a nice edge, poked holes with a fork to prevent air bubbles and topped it with olive oil and oregano. I then cooked this for about 5 minutes on the pizza stone I had in the oven getting all hot to help make a crispy crust!

I used this cake lifting tool as a pizza peel to get my pizza in and out of the oven onto the pizza stone. You don't have to have a pizza stone but it sure makes a difference with the crust. I also like to put a little corn meal on the pizza stone to prevent sticking and for the flavor it adds to the pizza.

After our crust had it's 5 minutes in the oven I topped it with sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, and some turkey pepperoni. I have no idea what happened to my picture taking because I also topped it with green peppers, red onion, some leftover grilled pineapple on my half only, (Miles is a dud!) and low fat cheese of course!

Looking pretty good!

Hot out of the oven dripping with Friday night goodness!

I did polish off 3 pieces of it no problem! I washed it down with this...

I love Hansen's sodas and the ingredient list is not too bad. I really try to only drink pop when I am having pizza at home or when we eat out which is usually only once a week. Sometimes I don't even have it then! Pop has problems.

For the kids I kept it simple with just a tiny bit of pepperoni for Evan and cheese for Faith. I swear that girl and meat are not friends! She was switched at birth.

This was kind of a medium sized thickness for the crust and next time I will roll it thinner for sure or I will try to get away with just one recipe.

There you have it. Pretty quick and simple recipe for sure. I am still working on a more involved recipe that you have to let rise but that I could make ahead and keep in the freezer or fridge for those nights when I just can't think of anything else!

Now can someone please come take me out to dinner! I have to use all the rest of my energy to fulfill my last cake obligation tonight and tomorrow.


Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. yeast
3/4 cup very hot water

Combine both flours, salt, and yeast in a bowl. Pour in hot water and mix well. Knead dough for a minute or so and then let it rest while you gather your pizza toppings. Roll out crust onto a floured surface into desired shape. Fold edges up to make a crust and poke pizza all over with a fork to prevent air bubbles. Top with olive oil and seasoning and bake at 450 degrees for about 5 minutes. Remove and top pizza with chosen ingredients and bake for another 12 minutes or so.

4 comments:

Jenny said...

Dear Faith,
Tell your mother to leave you alone. Meat is not our friend. Come stay with Aunt Jenny anytime.
Love,
Aunt Jenny

P.S. Your mom's pizza crust really does look amazing, though.

Bernice said...

Pam the cupcakes are beautiful. Great job.!

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