Parshat Tazria inspiration:
“Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel, saying: When a woman conceives and gives birth…”
We are going to throw a baby shower! This cheery Confetti Cake is perfect for every celebration. Homemade confetti sprinkles make it especially fun and easy to personalize.
Confetti Sprinkles
- 1½ cup of confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 Tbsp light corn syrup
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
Food coloring or gels of your choice. (I used yellow, pink, purple, and blue and mixed them a little as I piped them.)
1. Make the confetti sprinkles at least a day before you need them; they need to dry overnight.
2. In a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, water, corn syrup and vanilla extract. Stir until the mixture has the consistency of white glue, adding more water by drops if necessary. Divide into bowls or cups—I used paper cups—for coloring. Tint lightly with food coloring and mix well.
3. Prepare a piping bag with the smallest tip you have. You can also use a plastic sandwich bag and cut a very small hole off the corner. Prepare two sheet pans with parchment paper.
4. Fill the piping bag (or plastic sandwich bag) with the lightest color sprinkle mixture. Slowly pipe the mixture into long strands, back and forth. If you pipe too quickly, it will separate into dots, but if you move slowly it should stay in longer strands. When the mixture is out, pour in the next color and pipe, repeating until all the sprinkle mixtures have been piped onto the two pans.
5. Allow to dry overnight.
6. Once the lines or sprinkles are dry, lift up the parchment paper and pop the sprinkles off. Long strands can be broken into uneven 1 to 2-inch sections.
Vanilla Cake
- 1 cup unsalted margarine (if you use salted margarine, only add ¼ tsp of salt), room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1¼ cup oat milk (or milk substitute of choice)
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- Optional: homemade confetti sprinkles
Vanilla Frosting
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup almond milk (or milk substitute of choice)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt (omit if you use salted margarine)
- 1 cup unsalted margarine
- 1 cup sugar
- Optional: food coloring
1. Make the cake. Heat the oven to 350° F and prepare a 9×13-inch baking pan with release spray and parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together almond milk, eggs and vanilla extract.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to evenly distribute. Continue mixing on medium while adding small chunks of the margarine gradually. Beat until all the margarine has been added and the mixture is evenly crumbly, about 3 minutes.
4. Slowly add half of the egg mixture and mix on medium until fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the remaining egg mixture, scraping down the bowl, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds more. If you are mixing in sprinkles, add about ⅓ cup and fold them into the batter with a spatula.
5. Pour batter into the pan and tap it on the counter a couple times to even the surface. Bake for about 35 minutes until a tester comes out clean and dry. (You may need to rotate the pan halfway through, depending on your oven.)
6. Remove from the oven and allow to cool fully in the pan on a wire rack. When it is fully cool, turn it out onto a serving platter to frost. In the meantime, make the frosting.
7. While the cake is in the oven, start making the frosting. In a small saucepan, whisk together flour and almond milk until smooth. Cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture becomes thick and resembles pudding, 3-4 minutes. Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl (I used glass) and stir in vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto the surface, and allow to cool completely (at least an hour).
8. When the pudding-like mixture is cool, put it aside while you combine the margarine and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until light and fluffy, scraping down the bowl as needed, about 2-3 minutes. Add the pudding-like mixture and continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy and resembles off-white whipped cream. Because the color is slightly yellow due to the margarine and non-white milk substitutes, I added a few drops of yellow food coloring to make it more visually appetizing.
9. Assemble the cake by turning the cake out onto a platter. Frost by dropping large daubs of frosting on the cake, and smooth with an off-set spatula. Sprinkle generously with confetti sprinkles. Get ready for everyone to say, “What are we celebrating?”
Parshat Metzora inspiration:
“Any bedding upon which an inflicted person will recline shall be contaminated … A person who will touch his bedding shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water.”
Pillow Mints seemed appropriate to try this week. Did they make you chuckle? Make them a few days in advance so they have time to air-dry.
Pillow Mints
- ½ cup salted margarine
- 4 cups confectioners’ sugar, + extra ¼ cup (approx.) for rolling, sifted
- 1-2 Tbsp oat milk (or milk substitute of choice)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp mint and/or peppermint extract
- Red and green food coloring
1. In a large bowl, beat the margarine until creamy. With the mixer on low, beat in sugar, extracts and 1 Tbsp of oat milk until creamy and smooth dough forms. If needed, you can add more oat milk by teaspoons until the dough comes together.
2. Turn the dough out onto a surface sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar and knead until smooth and satiny. Divide dough into thirds. Tint one third with 1-2 drops of red food coloring, and one third with green food coloring, leaving the remaining third white. You might want to use food-safe gloves to prevent your hands from being temporarily tinted.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners’ sugar and roll half a ball of mint dough into a rope approximately ½ inch thick. Cut the rope into ¾-inch pillows and gently transfer the pillows to the parchment paper. The mints are very soft and squishy at this point. Repeat until all the mint dough has been rolled and cut into little pillows.
4. Allow to air-dry for at least 1 day; 2-3 days might be necessary depending on your local humidity. You can cover them lightly with dry paper towels while they are drying. They should become firm enough to handle, but will remain soft on the inside for some time. When they have achieved their ideal texture, store them in an airtight container, but I think they will disappear before long.
Follow me @EdibleParsha on Facebook to see each recipe on the Monday of each parsha week for plenty of time to prepare it for Shabbat!
