Legally Sweet Confections is in the final stages of creating our 2014 Winter and Spring line of French Macarons, which will be launched this week.  Our line consists of unique and delicious flavor combinations, as well as beautiful colors.

Additionally, we will be offering French Macaron favors for bridal, baby, corporate and personal events. We would be honored to work one-on-one with you, to customize the flavor and color of the French Macarons, to coordinate with your event.

Stop back this week, and journey with us, as we indulge our guilty pleasures!

Gavel to Gavel Coverage

They say, "a person can leave the legal field, but the legal field never leaves you."  I've recently discovered it holds so true with me, as the legal analyst residing in me, reared it's head and hypnotized me into watching the trials streaming on HLN.

In between opening arguments, witness testimonies and the like, I have been extremely busy filling orders and have been found guilty of neglecting my blog.  

I swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God, I am back and here to stay!  

Cinnabon - Cinnamon Rolls

Perfection!

Look at the center how moist and gooey

"Cinnabon" is known for its delicious and downright incredible cinnamon rolls, which are extremely moist and gooey on the inside and topped off with their special addictive white as snow frosting.  I can recall every visit to the mall with my three children, especially with my oldest daughter, who was 16 at the time, who made Cinnabon a mandatory stop. What sweet memories of her teenage years, where an entire meal for three, would be consumed by her and her alone, and then topped off with a Cinnabon, with not a care in the world about calories.

My daughter and I would sit in the food court at the mall eating our cherished Cinnabon.  Looking back, I will cherish those times we shared, as the Cinnabon gave us a chance to take a few minutes out of our day, and just talk and bond.  My daughter is now 29 years old, recently married, so I set out recreate the ultimate Cinnabon for her, so we could once again take a few moments out of our day, to just enjoy each other's company over a Cinnabon.

I performed a considerable amount  of research and combined a couple of recipes until I achieved the desired result I was looking for a moist, chewy, gooey center, filled with a rich combination of butter and cinnamon.

This recipe was given the stamp of approval by my daughter, so I hope you enjoy.

The sites I used for the recipe are:  The Gordon Family recipe at www.thefreshloaf.com and www.johsuakennon.com.

YieldL  12 large Cinnabon Rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

For the Dough:
1 cup (237 mL) whole warm milk 

2 eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup (76 grams) butter or margarine, melted 

4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur All Purpose)

1 teaspoon salt (8g)

1/2 cup (100g) white sugar

1 package Active Dry Yeast (1/4 ounce)

For the Filling:

1 cup (220g) dark brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons (36g) ground cinnamon (I use Vietnemese Cinammon by King Arthur)

1/4  cup (57g) butter or margerine, softened

Spread for the Dough:

1/2 cup (113g) of softened butter or margarine to spread on the dough

For the Icing:

3 oz (85g)  cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup (57g) butter or margarrine, softened

1 1/2 cups (180g) confectioners’ sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon salt 

dash of lemon extract (optional)  It is claimed that Cinnabon uses lemon extract in their icing, but just a dash.

PROCEDURE:

Microwave the milk for 45 to 60 seconds. Then, dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl. Add sugar, butter, salt, eggs, and flour. Mix well.   Knead the cinnamon roll dough into a large ball. The dough will form a ball quickly, don't overmix.

Put the ball of dough into a bowl that is sprayed with cooking spray.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for roughly 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.  

Once your dough has risen, it’s time to move on to the next step.  In a new, small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter.  Mix them well.  Spray a flat surface with cooking spray or sprinkled flour.  Roll out your dough ball into a 16″ x 21″ rectangle roughly 1/4 inches thick then spread a 1/2 cup of softened butter on the dough.  Next, sprinkle the rolled, buttered dough evenly with the sugar/cinnamon/butter mixture you prepared in your small bowl.

Roll up the dough starting with the longer side and cut with a bench scraper or sharp knife cut into twelve (12) cinnamon rolls (or more smaller rolls, if you prefer). Place the cinnamon rolls in a lightly greased 11″ x 15″ glass baking dish. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and let the cinnamon rolls rise until nearly doubled, which should take around 30 minutes.  

Once your cinnamon rolls have risen, bake them in the preheated oven until golden brown, approximately 18 to 20 minutes.  Trust me it is done, don't over bake it, you want a nice gooey, soft center.

The dough should still be soft, though fully cooked, especially toward the center of the rolls. 

Prepare Icing as your cinnamon rolls are baking......

beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and salt for the Cinnabon cinnamon roll icing.  

The icing should be spread on your cinnamon rolls when they are still warm, shortly after being taken out of the oven so that the frosting melts into the cinnamon rolls.  

Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to everyone, I hope everyone is having a wonderful time with family and friends.

I have been extremely busy over the last two weeks filling French Macaron orders for today and have not had a chance to post; however, later today, I will be posting Lavender Honey Ice Cream which will be a perfect ending for such a perfect day.

French Macaron - Fleur d'Oranger

"Springtime in Paris" Collection 2013

Our next French Macaron, of our "Springtime in Paris" collection, is the Macaron Fleur d'Oranger.

This inside of this French Macaron is made with a ganache using Valhrona chocolate, which is delicately flavored with orange blossom water, giving it a lovely floral tone.

When you bite into this French Macaron, you feel like you are eating springtime!

Visit our shop at Etsy to purchase these by clicking on the "Shop" button on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by!

Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

Perfection....

The inside is layered with Meyer Lemon slices that actually become almost candied and add an interesting texture to this coffee cake

FOR THE STREUSEL:
Adapted by Martha Stewart

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

• • 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt
  • 6 ounces ( 3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter

• FOR THE CAKE:

  
  
  • 5 Meyer lemons, cut into paper-thin slices, ends discarded
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 4 ounces (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon zest (from 4 to 5 lemons)
  • 2 large eggs
  • • 1 cup sour cream
    • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • FOR THE GLAZE:
• • • • 3 to 4 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
      • 1 cup confectioners' sugar
  • Procedure:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch angel food cake pan.  

• Make the streusel: Mix together flour, brown sugar, and salt. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, cut butter into the flour mixture until small to medium clumps form. Cover, and refrigerate until ready to use (up to 3 days).

1. 
   Streusel ingredients
   
   

• Make the cake: Cook lemon slices in a medium saucepan of simmering water for 1 minute. Drain, and repeat. Arrange lemon slices in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Blanching/Boiling of Meyer Lemons

Meyer Lemons after being blanced/boiled.  During the blanching process of the Meyer Lemons, I did lose some off the pulp and was left with just rind as you can see; however, that is what gave the cake a chewy and interesting texture

• Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest with a mixer on medium speed in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running, add eggs, 1 at a time, then the vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream.

• Spoon 1/2 of the batter evenly into cake pan. Arrange 1/2 of the lemon slices in a single layer over the batter. Spread remaining batter evenly over the top. Cover with the remaining lemon slices in a single layer. Sprinkle the chilled streusel evenly over the batter.

First layer of Meyer Lemons.  Before adding the streusel you add the final layer of the cake batter over the lemons

The streusel topping and final layer

• Bake until cake is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. 

• Transfer pan to a wire rack set over a baking sheet and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and remove outer ring. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the center tube. Slide 2 wide spatulas between the bottom of the cake and the pan, and lift cake to remove from the center tube. Let cool completely on rack.

• Make the glaze: Just before serving, stir together confectioners' sugar and lemon juice in a medium bowl. Drizzle over cooled cake, letting excess drip down the sides.  Let glaze set before slicing, about 5 minutes.

Sidebar:  Meyer lemons are available from late fall through early spring.  Martha Stewart recommends slicing the lemons to near-transparent thinness in order for the rind to soften and sweeten sufficiently.   Martha recommends using a mandoline, , handheld slicer or a knife.  I used a used a sharpened chef's knife and was able to slice the lemons thin enough to obtain the desired results.

Enjoy!