Spanish Windtorte

Shell:
8 large egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 1/2 cups superfine sugar (don't use granulated sugar)

Decoration:
4 large egg whites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/4 cups superfine sugar (don't use granulated sugar)
Premade icing flowers (optional)

Filling:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
6 tablespoons or more to taste confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cognac or Cointreau (optional)
4 cups washed and hulled small strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or blueberries
To Make the Shell: Place rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 200 degrees. Place parchment paper on three large baking sheets. Coat them lightly with vegetable spray and dust with flour, spreading from side to side to cover completely, and then tapping off the excess.

Invert an 8-inch-round baking pan on one side of one of the floured pans and pat it lightly so it leaves a ring impression. Repeat on the other side, without letting rings touch. Make two more ring guidelines on one of the other pans, and one ring on the remaining pan. You should have five guideline rings in all.
In a large bowl or a stand mixer with the wire whisk, beat 8 egg whites with the cream of tartar until foamy. Then, gradually beat in 2 1/2 cups superfine sugar , beating 5 to 10 minutes or until stiff peaks form.

Fit a large pastry bag with a plain pastry tip and fill the bag with the meringue. Pipe a 3/4-inch thick circle inside one of the rings on the baking sheet and continue spiraling until the entire ring is filled. Repeat on the other side with the second ring. Using a spatula, smooth the surface. Bake 45 minutes or until dry. Do not let them brown. It's OK if the bottoms brown a bit, but not the tops.

Repeat the process with the three remaining rings, except don't fill in these circles. When meringues are dry, gently slide them off the baking sheet (the Wilton Cake Lifter is a good tool for this) to a wire rack to cool completely.
Place one of the filled-in circles on the center of the platter. Pipe 8 dabs of meringue spaced evenly around the edge of the circle and "glue" on one of the open rings. Continue with the 2 other open rings. Let it dry in the oven for 20 minutes. Cool completely.
Using a spatula, spread meringue around the sides of the shell to disguise the rings and make it look like a cake. Dry in the oven for 20 minutes or until no longer tacky when lightly touched with a finger. Let cool completely.
To Decorate: Meanwhile, prepare the decoration meringue using 4 egg whites, cream of tartar and superfine sugar in the same way the shell meringue was made. The other filled-in circle, which will become the top, can be decorated with shells and rosettes (or left plain) and dried in the oven for 20 minutes or until no longer tacky. Cool completely.

Decorate the sides of the cake with shells and rosettes, if desired, and dry in the oven for 20 minutes or until no longer tacky. Cool completely
Apply premade icing flowers (or make your own with royal icing) or candied violets with a dab of meringue to the sides of the cake (and the top, if desired). The meringue shell will be much harder than the type on lemon meringue pie, for example, and some cracking is to be expected.
To Make the Filling: In a large bowl or stand mixer, whip the heavy cream and confectioners' sugar until it starts to thicken. Add the liquor, if using, and whip hard to compensate for any moisture from the berries. Fold in the berries and fill the meringue shell. Place the top on and serve immediately.

When ready to serve, remove the top and slice pieces as you would for a cake. The meringue will probably splinter, but that, also, is to be expected.

Christmas Cookie Decoration

• Prepared sugar cookie icing
• A toothpick, chopstick or clean (never used) paint brush for spreading the icing
• Rolling pin
• Parchment paper and plastic wrap (optional, but helpful)
• Flour for rolling cookies
• Cookie cutters
• Colored sugar, sprinkles, gel icing, food coloring
• To make it easy to roll out the sugar cookie dough, tear off a large sheet of parchment paper. Sprinkle a little flour on top. Put the Christmas cookie dough on top of the flour and lay a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough. Now roll out the dough between the parchment paper and the plastic wrap to a thickness of 1/4-inch. This not only keeps the dough from sticking to the rolling pin, but is also easier to clean up!
• Peel the plastic wrap off the dough. Dip the cookie cutters in flour, and cut out cookies.
• Place the cut-out cookies on an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake cookies as directed in Christmas cookie recipe. IMPORTANT: Let the cookies cool completely, at least 1 hour, before decorating.
• If you haven't already done so, prepare your sugar cookie icing. Take a gallon-size plastic bag and fold the edges over your hand. Spoon the prepared sugar cookie icing into the bag, pressing icing down to one of the bottom corners. Cut off the tip of the bottom corner. This is your pastry bag for decorating your Christmas cookies.
• Pipe a border of sugar cookie icing around the edges of the sugar cookies
• Now pipe more sugar cookie icing onto the center of the cookies, and use a toothpick, clean (NEVER USED) paint brush, or chopstick to spread the icing all over the cookie.
• Professional bakers call this technique "flooding the cookies." Actually, they use an icing with a slightly thicker consistency for the border, then a thinner icing for the middle of the cookie, and they use professional pastry bags with different tips for the border and center of the cookie.
• Add colored sugar or sprinkles to your cookies. If you want to make a pattern with another color of icing, wait an hour for the first layer of icing to dry completely. Then mix a small portion of sugar cookie icing with food coloring in a separate bowl. Spoon the icing into a clean plastic bag, cut off the bottom tip, and pipe the colored icing onto the cookies in any pattern you desire. You can also use gel icing to add more decoration to the cookies. Gel icing comes in lots of different colors and textures (there's even sparkly gel icing), and it's already in ready-to-use tubes.

Gingerbread House

• Here's what you'll need to decorate an assembled gingerbread house: Candy decorations. Unwrap all candy (except foil-wrapped) and place each type in a seaprate bowl. You don't want to be stuck unwrapping a candy cane while the royal icing begins to harden.

• Use an oatmeal box or something tall to set the house on while decorating. You have to stand to assemble a gingerbread house, but when decorating a gingerbread house, sit down with the house at eye level.
• Candy decorations. Unwrap all candy (except foil-wrapped) and place each type in a seaprate bowl. You don't want to be stuck unwrapping a candy cane while the royal icing begins to harden.

• Use an oatmeal box or something tall to set the house on while decorating. You have to stand to assemble a gingerbread house, but when decorating a gingerbread house, sit down with the house at eye level.

• Decorating Ideas Foil-wrapped Santas, snowmen, toy soldiers, medallions, bells



• For shutters -- wafer cookies, Andes Mints, mini candy bars, sticks of gum

• For roofs -- nonpareils, gum drops, vanilla wafers, mini cookies, Necco Wafers, mini frosted Shredded Wheat

• For fences -- chocolate-covered pretzels, regular mini pretzels, mini cookies, mini teddy grahamas, mini gingerbread men, candy canes, Star Brite mints

• For an ice skating pond -- blue mints micorwaved on parchment paper until they melt

• For trees and bushes -- green leaves

• Snow -- confectioners' sugar or edible glitter (available at cake supply stores)

• Pile of logs -- mini Tootsie Rolls
• After your candy decorations are at the ready, fill a pastry bag with royal icing. Follow these steps for filling a pastry bag. Keep the pastry bag tip covered with a damp (but not wringing wet) paper towel at all times when not in use, otherwise the icing will harden like cement. If your royal icing has sat awhile and is too goopy, rewhip it to the right consistency.
• These are all merely suggestions. Beauty is in the mind of the beholder and letting your creativity run wild is so satisfying. Take these in the spirit they're given.

• I like to start decorating a gingerbread house by covering the seams with candies. They hide a multitude of flaws.

• Then, I add spearmint leaves for shrubbery at all four corners. If your green leaves are thick, cut them in half with utility scissors.

• Next, I move on to the front door. I use a whole allspice or juniper berry from my pickling spices for a door knob. I add unwrapped Andes mints for steps, peppermint railings and half a cookie as a flourish above the door.

• I embellish the gable sides with windows and shutters and more decorations. Don't worry if the icing droops a little. The naive look is in! But do keep your hands clean at all times to avoid unsightly fingerprints.
• There's a lot of territory to cover on the back of the gingerbread house, so let your imagination run wild. Anything goes. The kids I decorated this house with think more candy is better. So if it turns out looking a little garish
• Begin to cover the gingerbread house base with royal icing snow and more candies, continuing around all four sides.
• Lay down a few beads of royal icing horizontally on the roof. Apply the roofing material of choice -- cookies, gum drops, mini Shredded Wheat. The sky's the limit.
• Continue to lay down two or three beads of icing and applying roofing material. Repeat on the opposite side.
• An unlacquered gingerbread house can last for months. Remember, if you use the structural gingerbread house dough recipe, the cake will be hard and is not meant for eating, but the candy will last from October to January.

• You can preserve your gingerbread house creation for years by spraying it with clear acrylic. Make sure you do this in a well-ventilated area and with cardboard behind it to catch the sprays. Let it dry completely and give it another coat. When it's completely dry, you can store it in a box that just fits. You don't want it to have too much room to wobble around.

• When you take it out next year, remember to keep it high out of reach of little hands, because, at this point, none of it is edible! Let the adults know, too!

Watermelon Basket

• Place the watermelon with the yellow spot, if any, on the bottom and out of view. Be sure it is in a stable position so it will not roll.
• Measure the diameter of the watermelon.
• Find the center and add 1/2 inch.
• Using a non-toxic marker, mark a line horizontally around the watermelon so you can slice off the top evenly.
• Cut a stencil of a heart as pictured. The connecting square at the top of the heart is essential for the handle.
• Position the stencil so the bottom of the heart is about 1/2 inch below the circumference line you have traced on the watermelon. The V at the bottom of the heart will become your starting point for the sword-tooth cut-outs later.
• Tape on the stencil and use the non-toxic marker to trace the outline.
• Remove and re-position the stencil so that the point of the heart fits into and matches either side of the top square of the bottom heart previously traced on the watermelon.
• Repeat procedure on the opposite side working up to have the hearts meets in the top center.
• Use a large sharp knife to slice the watermelon in half along the horizontal line up to the traced heart outline.
• Carve around the hearts at a slight inward angle on both sides.
• Carefully remove both upper halves of the watermelon.
• Cut the flesh from the removed halves for use in the fruit salad or other watermelon recipes.
• Use the point of the craft knife to carve an outline of the bottom of the heart down one layer of the skin to the white part. Do not cut completely through or the handle will detach.
• Carve the centers of the hearts.
• Slice inward around the rim of the watermelon to remove the flesh.
• Trim the flesh from the underside of the heart handle, leaving the handle at least 1 inch thick. If you trim it too closely, it will wilt and sag.
• Wipe off the marker outlines with a clean cloth.
• Begin at the base of the heart and carve a sawtooth border around the rim of the watermelon using a sawing motion.
• Think ahead to get the points even. Begin on both side of the bottom of the heart point and meet on the far left and right sides.
• A sharp serrated knife is good for this task. If you do not have one, use a small, sharp, thin-bladed knife.
• Fill watermelon basket with fresh fruit salad or other salad.
• Do not use the handle to lift the watermelon basket. It will not support the weight and will break.

Pavlova

• Separate the eggs when they are cold and then ensure that the whites are at room temperature before beating them. It is also important that your utensils are extra clean.
• Beat the eggs on a medium speed until they reach soft peaks.
• Gently sprinkle sugar onto the egg whites, one teaspoon at a time. Don't stop beating until all the sugar has been added.
• The whites will become thick and glossy with the gradual addition of sugar. Once all the sugar has been added, gently fold in the cornstarch and vinegar with a plastic spatula.
• Gently spread the mixture onto the circle on the foil.
• Shape the mixture to form a circular base. Make the sides slightly higher than the middle so that there is a slight well.
• Bake the mixture for 1 hour and 15 minutes. The result will be a pale, pinkish eggshell colored meringue. Cracks will form but this is normal. Turn the heat off and let the meringue shell cool completely in the oven with the door slightly ajar. Remove the shell from the oven just before serving.
• Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks are formed and slice the fruit for the topping.
• Gently spread the cream on top of the meringue. Next, arrange the fruit on top. You can use fruits like strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, kiwi fruit, bananas and passion fruit.

Cucumber Curled Fan

• Cut unpeeled cucumbers into lengths about 4 inches long.
• Slice off opposite sides lengthwise, resulting in a rectangular shape. You will have peel on two sides.
• Place peel side down on cutting board and slice five to seven 1/4-inch slices vertical to the board to within 1/4-inch of one end. The slices must remain connected at one end.
• You will need an odd number of slices for this garnish.
• Rotate sliced cucumber so the peeled side is on the cutting board and the slices are horizontal to the board.
• Cut entire cucumber in half lengthwise, creating two fans.
• Gently curl each even-numbered cucumber strip downward to the right or left leaving one slice upright as a spoke between each curl.
• Notice the difference between the original top cucumber curled fan and the bottom garnish.
• Feel free to trim down the spokes. The bottom garnish has been trimmed down to two curls (made with 5 strips). The center spoke has been trimmed to a point giving a crown effect.

Mardi Grass King Cake

• This method is a common one for making filled coffee cakes or Danish pastry rings. Here it is adapted to make an easy King Cake for Mardi Gras with its traditional purple (denoting justice), green (faith), and yellow (power) wide stripes of color. However, you will want to keep this simple method on file for a fast and easy filled coffee cake at any time of the year.

• These instructions show how to form the King Cake. Refer to the standard recipe for full ingredients, measures, baking, and icing instructions.
• Position triangles next to each other with the points toward the center, overlapping the long sides about 1/4-inch, forming a large round.

• Begin by unrolling crescent roll dough and separating the dough into triangles.
• Where the pieces overlap, press the seams together only in the center of each seam, leaving either ends of the seams unsealed so you can fold them up over the filling.
• Spread the filling around in a ring covering the center sealed seam of each triangle.
• The maker of each King Cake hides a token in the cake. The tokens used are a dried red bean or a figurine of a baby, representing the Christ child. When the cake is cut and shared, the finder of the hidden treasure is said to enjoy good luck for the coming year. The lucky recipient may also be expected to bake the King Cake or throw the Mardi Gras party for the following year.

• Now is the time to place a small plastic baby or dried red bean somewhere in the filling.
• Fold the short side of each triangle toward the center just to the edge of the filling to cover.
• Then pull the point end of the triangles toward the outer rim of the pan to fully enclose the filling, tucking under the points. Lightly press the seams.
• Bake King Cake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 F. until golden brown. Let cool to room temperature.
• The cake is frosted with gold, green, and purple icing representing in order, power, faith, and justice.

• Prepare icing according to the recipe. Spoon the icing in a ring over the top of the King Cake and allow it to slowly drip down the sides.

• To decorate for Mardi Gras, sprinkle wide stripes of purple, green, and yellow colored sugar crystals.

• If using food coloring, whisk together icing per recipe. Divide icing evenly amongst 3 bowls. Add 2 drops each of red and blue food coloring to the first bowl to make purple. Use 2 drops each of yellow and green in the remaining 2 bowls. Scrape each individual bowl into its own ziptop bag. Squeeze out all the air and seal. Snip off one corner of the bag and use as a pastry bag to pipe wide stripes of icing on the King Cake. The bags will give you more control than using a spoon or spatula. The icing should firm up a bit in about an hour.

Cucumber Boat

• Cut cucumbers into lengths about 4 inches long.
• Slice each 4-inch piece in half lengthwise.
• Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each half so the "boat" will sit flat.
• Cut a thin slice lengthwise down the cucumber to within 1/2 inch of the end so the slice is still attached.
• Curl the slice back toward the attached end and secure with a toothpick to form a sail.
• Using a sharp paring knife, cut around the edges of the boat leaving at least 1/4-inch around the edges.
• Fill cucumber boats with your choice of decorative fruits or vegetables.
• Cucumber boats also make a great individual receptacle to hold cold liquid condiments and dips. a vegetable peeler to carve out the innards, leaving a cavity.

Pineapple Boat

• Start with a ripe pineapple.
• Now lay your pineapple on a counter or table. If you are planning to carve the pineapple into a "boat", turn it to find the most attractive and stable way for it to lie (will it lie flat, without tumbling over?). Also, choose the side with the best looking leaves.
• Rotate the pineapple slightly. Using a serrated knife, begin to make a slice (no more than 1/4 of the pineapple) down along the side to remove the skin. Note: Do not cut the leaves.
• Completely slice off the first side (skin) of the pineapple.
• To continue carving the pineapple to create a "boat": Cut around the inside of the pineapple, following the "rim". Cut deeply, but try not to let your knife go through the skin to the other side.
• Now cut the flesh inside the pineapple into cubes, first by making long slices down the length of the pineapple, then cross cuts approximately 1 inch wide. Again, be careful not to cut through to the other side.
• Using a large spoon (preferably one that has a fairly "sharp" edge), scoop out the flesh and set aside. When you get to the bottom, you may have to use some muscle to scrape out the last of the fruit.
• The pineapple boat is now ready to be filled with a tropical fruit salad.

Honeydew Melon Basket

Honeydew melon basket:-
• With a large sharp knife, cut a very thin slice from the root-end of the melon. This will allow the melon to sit upright without wobbling.
• Turn the honeydew melon on its side with cut stem end to your left and blossom end to your right.
• Place the knife about 1 inch to the left of center, then angle the knife to the right at about a 45-degree angle and slice the melon completely through.
• Use the melon-baller to remove the pulp from the top, reserving for fruit salad, then discard the top.
• The reserved bottom will become your basket.
• Scoop out the seeds with a large spoon.
• Use a melon-baller to remove edible honeydew pulp and reserve for fruit salad or other use.
• Pat exterior of honeydew melon dry.
• Cut out a flower shape (or shape of your choice) from paper to use as a template.
• Beginning at the front (lowest cut side), use the washable non-toxic market to trace around the flower template. Take care to space them evenly apart so they meet in the back.
• Using the craft knife, carefully carve away only the top layer of honeydew skin inside the flower shapes.
• Mix equal parts food coloring and water. For this project, 3 drops red food coloring and 3 drops of water made plenty of edible paint.
• Use a small craft paintbrush or cotton swab to dab the food coloring inside the flower cut-outs.
• Carve evenly-spaced V-shaped notches around the top edge of the honeydew melon bowl.
• Using a sharp paring knife, trim the edges of the notches into rounded half-moon shapes.
• Fill finished bowl with fruit salad or dip.

Radish Flower

Radish Flower:-
Cut out radish leaves.
Use V-chisel knife to erode the 1st layer around the stem.
Erode the 2nd layer until finished, in alternating patterns.
Soak for 5 minutes in water so that the petals will nicely open

Cucumber Basket

1. Cut off the stem end of the cucumber to obtain a flat, stable base.
2. Form the handle of the basket by making two parallel cuts about 3mm. apart extending from the tip down about two-thirds of the length of the cucumber and then cutting off the excess on either side.
3. Carefully remove the flesh from within the handle and hollow out the body of the basket.
4. Cut closely spaced notches around the mouth of the basket.
5. Cut a shallow, narrow groove around the outside of the basket just below the edge.

Watermelon Ribbon

Instructions for preparing Watermelon Ribbon:
1) Select a symmetrical watermelon. If necessary, cut a thin slice from the bottom of the watermelon so it sits level.

2) Draw a straight line (just above the middle) lengthwise around the watermelon for the baskets edge.

3) Draw a handle diagonally across the top as shown in the photograph.

4) Draw a bow as shown on the photograph so that one edge of the bow is connected to the baskets edge.

5) Cut and remove the top sections leaving the handle and the bow intact.

6) Scoop out the flesh from inside the watermelon with a melon baller leaving a trace of red on the inside of the watermelon. Drain the watermelon before filling.

Carrot Flower

Select a large, bright orange carrot and wash it thoroughly.
Cut it into disks about ¼ inch thick.
Cut to flower shape using the cookie cutter.
Cut a circle about 1 cm. in diameter in the center and then carefully remove some of the flesh from around the circle. Form the stamens by cutting five shallow grooves crisscrossing the center.
From the center, cut grooves toward the edge to form 11 or 12 petals. Flowers like this may be used in soups and stir-fried dishes.

Carnation Flower

1. Cut a carrot into 2 pieces. The thicker piece should be about 2 inches long.
2. With the longer piece cut grooves along its length.
3. Cut off thin slices from the end of the carrot.
4. Cut the thicker piece around its side so that one end is thinner than the other.
5. Cut a grid pattern into the top of the thicker end of the thicker piece.
6. Cut out two layers of petal shapes around the grid pattern.
7. Stick the slices from the thinner piece around the thicker piece in two layers.

Asparagus Flower Appetizer

· Cut a rectangle of paper-thin prosciutto or other deli meat about 3 inches by 2 inches. The measurement will change depending on the size/thickness of the asparagus, but it doesn't have to be exact.

· Dab a bit of the herbed cream cheese on each of the upper left and right corners of the prosciutto or deli meat rectangle to serve as glue.

· Fold down each upper left and right corner about two-thirds of the way, using the cream cheese as glue. Flip the meat over horizontally, so the folded corners are now face-down.

· Place about one-half teaspoon of herbed cream cheese in the upper center of the meat. Dab a small amount of cream cheese on each of the lower corners of the meat as glue.

· Place the head of the asparagus spear in the center of the meat on top of the herbed cream cheese.

· Fold the left side of the meat to the right, wrapping it around the asparagus stalk.

· Wrap the right side of the meat to the left, pressing against and around the asparagus stalk. Adjust the asparagus head up or down to make it visually appealing.

Colorful Sugar Balls

Colorful sugar balls are used to decorate cookies, they are also to sprinkle over ice-creams. Colrful sugar balls are basically used to make the food colorful which attracts the children.

Use of Food Color

Food coloring is used in almost every type of food situation. Home cooks use it to dye Easter eggs, tint cake frosting, and make certain foods more deeply colored, such as red velvet cake, or key lime pie. Food manufacturers use food colors to create fantastic colors for candy, soda, and chips, but food coloring can also be added to fresh foods to give them a more "natural" look, or to give the consumer what they expect, like more orange oranges. These colors are basically more appealing to children along with the elder ones because of the impression it gives of the food to be tastier.

Apple Vase

1. Carve out several small segments around the apple stalk.
2. Outline the segments with a Thai knife. You are going to get a flower-shaped detail.
3. Cut the apple top off and remove unwanted parts from the apple flower.
4. Clear out the apple bowl.
5. Fill a bowl with some berries and fruits. Pin the apple flower to the bowl with a toothpick. Add a cherry and some cream on top.

This can be used to garnish desserts which will make the desserts look more attractive and appealing.

Tomato Carving

Tomato carving in food decoration enhances the look of the food and makes it more appealing. Food that are not much colorful and are poured in white type of plates adding tomato carving to decorate that kind of food makes the food much more appealing.It gives the meal a touch of occasion and liven up the party tray and display.