Recipes with Julie Van Rosendaal: Summer recipes crafted by kids
We made a pink lemonade slushy and a twist on the holiday Yule log
We've been having a blast this summer, trying out recipes submitted by kids and teenagers from across Alberta on the Calgary Eyeopener.
This week, after temperatures soared to 33 degrees on Monday, we made Lucia's brilliant pink lemonade slushy, made with sour cherries and blueberries!
We also made a s'mores-inspired campfire log, a summer twist on the holiday yule log, collaboratively dreamed up by a group of kids during an online cooking class.
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Here are two versions of that rolled cake: one made with a graham cracker-flavoured cake, chocolate ganache and toasted marshmallow filling, and another with whatever jam or preserves you have, frosted with a coffee-infused buttercream.
S'mores Campfire Log
I tried adding graham crumbs to the cake batter, but the flavour didn't come through. Instead, I swapped in some brown sugar and added some cinnamon for a graham cracker-like flavour.
Inside, I spread some soft ganache and Swiss meringue, which I torched for a toasted marshmallow flavour! You can skip this part, or run it under the broiler for a minute or two to get a similar effect. (If you do this, you may have to let your cake sit for 10 minutes or so to make sure the fillings aren't too soft when you roll it up!)
It would also work to sprinkle the chocolate ganache with mini marshmallows and torch or broil them. (You may be able to use jarred Marshmallow Fluff, but I worry that it may be too stiff and hard to spread.)
For the exterior, I used a soft ermine frosting, with a couple spoonfuls of cocoa to make it chocolate-ish, but not too dark. You could also cover yours with whipped cream, with a spoonful or two of cocoa added to make it light brown. And of course the candy "fire" is completely optional. Just make sure you have an adult around when you're making the caramel!
Cake
- 5 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
Chocolate Ganache
- 2 cups (about 12 oz) chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
- 1 cup whipping cream or coconut milk
Swiss Meringue
- 3 egg whites (or the liquid drained from a can of chickpeas)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- any chocolate frosting you like, or cream whipped with a spoonful of cocoa
- sugar, for making candy "fire" (about 1/2 cup)
Preheat the oven to 375 ̊F.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes, until thick and pale yellow. (Use the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or whisk by hand.) Beat in the water and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and stir until well blended.
Line a shallow rimmed baking sheet (I use a half sheet pan that's about 12x18 inches) with parchment. Pour in the batter and spread it out to evenly fill the pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.
Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and invert onto a tea towel that's been dusted with icing sugar. Peel off the parchment, then starting on a short side, roll up the cake with the towel inside and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, make the ganache: Put the chocolate into a bowl, heat the cream to steaming and pour over the chocolate.
Let sit for a few minutes, then whisk until smooth. (If a few bits of chocolate remain, you can gently heat the mixture in the microwave or on the stovetop.) Let cool so that it thickens but is still spreadable.
LISTEN: Julie van Rosendaal on summer recipes created by kids:
gritty by rubbing a bit between your fingers). Beat with an electric mixer for several minutes, until it thickens and forms stiff peaks.
When you're ready to fill your cake, unroll it (it's OK if the end edge stays curled—don't try to flatten it) and spread with the ganache, then the meringue, dropping it in large spoonfuls and lightly spreading it over the ganache.
Torch the meringue with a blowtorch, or run it under the broiler (preheated to high) for a minute or two, just until it turns golden. (Or just leave it - it can be just marshmallow, untoasted!)
If it seems very soft, let it sit for about 10 minutes to firm up before rolling it up. If your ganache is very soft, let the roll sit for a bit (cover with plastic wrap if you need to) to allow it to firm up.
To turn your roll into a log, cut a piece about the size of a quarter of the log, cutting on a slight diagonal, then take that piece and place it along one side of the log, to look like a branch. Cover the whole thing with your choice of frosting (or chocolate whipped cream) and drag the tines of a fork lengthwise along it to make it look like bark.
To make the candy flames, heat about half a cup of sugar with a few tablespoons of water in a small-medium skillet. (I often add a few drops of lemon juice too, to prevent it from crystallizing.) You can stir it at first to make sure it's evenly combined, but stop once the sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble.
Swirl the pan frequently to make sure it's caramelizing evenly, until the syrup thickens and turns golden. It should be the
colour of maple syrup. Pour onto a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet and tilt the sheet to make it spread fairly thin, then let it cool on the countertop.
Once cooled, you can bash the piece of hard candy into shards and stick them upright in your frosted cake to look like flames!
Summer Jam-Filled Campfire Log
You could, of course, fill this rolled cake with anything you like – lemon curd, a fruit compote, or even Nutella. If you have a smaller rimmed sheet, you can reduce the eggs to four and the sugar and flour to 3/4 cup, and keep the rest the same.
Frost your roll with any kind of frosting, like ermine, seven minute or buttercream—for the show, I made a coffee-spiked buttercream with about 1/2 cup soft butter, 2-3 cups icing sugar, about 1 tablespoon instant coffee dissolved in 1 tablespoon of water, and a few tablespoons of cream … just enough to create a soft, spreadable frosting.
Cake
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups jam, fruit preserves, lemon curd or your favourite filling
Coffee Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2-3 cups icing sugar
- 1 Tbsp instant coffee or espresso, dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
- 2-4 Tbsp milk, cream or water
- 1/3-1/2 cup sugar, for the flames
Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar for about 2 minutes, until thick and pale yellow. (I use the whisk attachment of my stand mixer, or whisk by hand.) Beat in the water and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat (or whisk, or stir) until well blended.
Line a shallow rimmed baking sheet with parchment. I use a half sheet pan that's about 12x18 inches. Pour in the batter and spread it out evenly to fill the pan to every edge.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden and springy to the touch.
Before the cake cools, lay a clean, smooth (not textured or terrycloth) tea towel on your countertop and dust it generously with icing sugar. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto the towel.
Roll the cake back up and transfer to a board or serving platter. Cut off about 1/3 of it at a slight angle, and place the piece along the side of the roll, to make a branch.
Beat the butter with the icing sugar, instant coffee mixture and enough milk, cream or water to make a soft, spreadable frosting, and spread all over the cake, sealing any gap between the main log and the branch. Smooth the frosting, then use a fork to make lines lengthwise down the log and branch, to make it look like bark.
To make the candy flames, heat about half a cup of sugar with a few tablespoons of water (I often add a few drops of lemon juice too, to prevent it from crystallizing) in a small-medium skillet. You can stir it at first to make sure it's evenly combined, but stop once the sugar dissolves and it starts to bubble.
colour of maple syrup. Pour onto a foil or parchment-lined baking sheet and tilt the sheet to make it spread fairly thin, then let it cool on the countertop. Once cooled, break into shards and stick them upright in your frosted cake to look like flames!
Serves about 8.
THE Pink Lemonade Slushy
Nine-year-old Lucia made what she calls THE pink lemonade slushy, and it's pink because it's made with sour cherries!
Lucia says you can substitute any frozen fruit that has no seeds — frozen berries, peaches, plums …delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups ice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp cranberry juice
- 1 Tbsp Greek yogurt - optional
- 2 1/2 cups frozen sour cherries
- 1 3/4 cups frozen blueberries
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Put ingredients into the blender from the first on the list to the last, and blend on high.
Enjoy!
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