Normas Easy Easter Bonnet Food

NORMA'S EASY EASTER BONNET

Steps:

• 1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• 2. Greese and flour a 14 inch round cake pan and a medium size oven proof bowl and set aside.
• 3. Mix cake mix's according to directions and fill the round pan half full and the bowl about 2 inches from the rim. (you will have extra cake mix left) I made cup cakes with it.
• 4. Place pan and bowl in oven on center rack and bake until golden brown or when a wooded toothpick pushed down in the center of cake comes out clean. (the round cake will be done before the cake in the bowl)
• 5. Remove round cake from oven and place on a wire rack to completely cool. After testing cake in the bowl; remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
• 6. When round cake is completely cool remove from pan onto a very large platter or a large piece of cardboard covered with foil.
• 7. Meanwhile mix icing in mixing bowl until smooth and creamy.
• 8. Cover round cake with a thin layer of icing and place the bowl cake in the center of it and cover with icing also.
• 9. (Since I'm not good at making my icing smooth when covering cakes; I used a flower decorating tip to cover the cake. This to me is also an easy way to cover any cracks that may accure).
• 10. Decorate as desired or use my pattern. HAPPY EASTER!

EASTER BONNET, PART ONE

Steps:

• To make the modeling chocolate: Professionals call modeling chocolate by the name chocolate plastic. Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter over a double boil. Bring the ingredients for the simple syrup to a boil. Place the corn syrup in a bowl and stir in the hot simple syrup. Pour this over the melted chocolate. Stir until it thickens. Place it in the refrigerator for at least one hour. The modeling chocolate will have the consistency of play dough when you work it with your hands. Divide it into three pieces. Use the food color paste to color one piece pink and one piece green. Work the food color paste into the modeling clay to distribute the color until it is the desired color.
• To make the ribbon: Take a ball of each color. Use the palms of your hands to roll each ball into a rope about 1/2-inch thick. Place the ropes side by side and gently press together. Use a rolling pin to roll out the ropes to create a tri-colored ribbon. Use cornstarch to "flour" the work surface. The rolled chocolate should be about 1/8-inch thick. Cut a strip about 30 inches long and about 11/2-inches wide and wrap it around the brim of the hat. You may need to trim the ends.
• To make the leaves and rose petals: Roll out each colored chocolate plastic using cornstarch to "flour" the work surface. The rolled chocolate should be about 1/8-inch thick. To make the flowers, use 2-inch diameter cutter to cut circles from the rolled chocolate. You need to gently thin the top edge of each circle and you can do that with the end of an offset spatula or a hard-boiled egg. Gently press the spatula or egg against the top of the flower to thin the edge (like a real flower petal). Use 11/2 and 2-inch oval cutters to cut out the leaves. You can also do this with a paring knife. Use the back of a paring knife dipped in cornstarch to make the veins of the leaves.
• To make the center: All flowers have some kind of center. Use your fingers to shape a cone-shaped bud for the center of your rose. (Recipe continues on to Part Two)

EASTER BONNET

Steps:

• Recipe courtesy of Jacques Torres (Mrchocolate.com)

EASTER BONNETS (SHORTBREAD COOKIES)

Steps:

• MAKE THE COOKIES:.
• Combine the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer set at medium-high speed for about 1 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and continue beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Sift together the flour and salt. Blend into the butter mixture, 1 cup at a time. Continue mixing until the dough is smooth and no streaks of flour remain. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions; pat each into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Working with 1 disk at a time (leave the others chilling), place it between 2 pieces of waxed paper or plastic wrap and roll out 1/4 inch thick. Remove the top piece of waxed paper, and using a 3-inch scalloped or straight-edged biscuit or cooking cutter, cut out at leas 6 cookies. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Reserve the dough scraps. Repeat with the remaining dough disks. Re-roll all the scraps and cut out at least 24 smaller cookies with a 1-inch straight-edged cookie cutter.
• The smaller cookies will be the crown of the bonnets and large cookies will be the brims.
• Place the smaller cookies on a second parchment-lined baking sheet at least 1-inch apart. Refrigerate both baking sheets until the cookies are very firm, about 2 hours. If chilling longer than 2 hours cover loosely with plastic wrap.
• Preheat the oven to 300°.
• Bake the cookies until firm and lightly golden for just about 20 minutes. They'll taste bitter if allowed to bake too darkly. Let cool completely on a wire rack before icing.
• MAKE ICING:.
• In a large bowl, beat the egg whites (or reconstituted meringue powder) with an electric mixer set on low speed until frothy. Sift the confectioners' sugar into the bowl. Slowly increase the mixer speed to high and continue and continue beating until brilliant white, firm, and fluffy, this takes about 10 minutes. You should have 2 1/2-3cups. Scoop out 1 cup of the icing and set aside to use for piping.
• Thin the remaining icing with water, adding 2-3 teaspoons at a time until is is of pouring consistency. Divide among as many small bows as different colors you wish to create, then tint the portions. Place the cookies on a wire rack set over a baking sheet and pour the thinned icing over them. If necessary, shake the cookies to ease the icing over the edges. This should cover the cookies with a thin, even layer. Allow to dry completely.
• Tint the 1 cup icing if desired. Spoon into a large piping bag fitted with a number 2 plain decorating tip for squiggles, dots, scrolls, and stripes or a number 4 plain tip for piping a ribbon. To create the bonnet, pipe a small amount of icing on the back of the smaller cookie and attach it onto the center of the larger cookie.
• Decorate your bonnet according to your personality or those of your guests. And don't forger to sing along with July Garland -- "in your Easter bonnet with all the frills upon it".