8 cups of Flour
3 tablespoons of dry yeast
1 &1/2 packs (each pack is 125gr) of Butter
1 cup of olive oil
2 cups of Milk
1 cup of Water
2 tablespoons of Sugar
2 tablespoons of Salt
1 cup of sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh rosemary
1 sliced onion
Salt
Pepper

In a hot pan add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion slices and a pinch of salt, when the onions turn golden add the tomatoes and the rosemary, cook for three more minutes, add a pinch of pepper and set aside

~Turn on the oven and set it at 350F (180°C).
Warm the milk together with water and butter (when the butter starts to melt remove from the fire) and add the rest of the olive oil (be careful, if it gets too hot it will kill the good old yeast bugs). In a large bowl place the warm liquid and add the yeast and sugar; with a wooden spoon stir until the yeast dissolves. Place the flour in a large bowl, add the liquid mixture and knead, add the sundry tomatoes preparation. Kneed until the dough forms a single piece. - Spray oil in a bowl, put the dough in it; cover with a clean dry cloth or with plastic wrap and let rise until it doubles its size. Prepare a baking pan with baking paper. When the dough is ready shape as you wish. Let it rise again to double size.
- Bake the bread until golden , 30’ to 35 minutes.

3 cups of all purpose flour1 cups of butter (soft)
1 cup of sugar
1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice
1 peel from one lemon
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
3 egg yolks

Place the flour and the baking powder in a bowl. Add the butter and work with your fingers until it gets a sandy texture. Whisk the eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon peel and add the mix to the bowl.
Press the dough as if you were making a snowball until all ingredients get together, do not kneed ( if you kneed to much gluten is going to be formed, something you don’t want for this cookies). Place the dough in a plastic bag, close it tightly and let it rest for 20 minutes in the refrigerator, (or longer, even up to a week) .

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C)
On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to the desired thickness, cut out with cookie cuter (whatever shape your like) and bake for 8-10 min. the edges have to be golden, Let them cool down, decorate, have fun and enjoy.

The Saint Louis ART MUSEUM received about 270 people to join the mini cakes decoration project offered by the family program last Sunday. The visitors also enjoyed hot tea, fruit ponche, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and everything in the company of a delightful Christmas Carols group.
We have enjoyed this program almost every Sunday with my family and we are so thankful for this space open to creativity and fun. I had the honor of presenting a project last Sunday and we had lots of fun!!
It was amazing to see everybody working in a mini cake, each one looked so different and fantastic! The cakes were in fact cup cakes that we flipped over. After covering them with fondant the decoration step begun. People painted them with edible dyes using toothpicks instead of brushes, sugar flowers were the favorites and where stuck to the cake with frosting and of course the chocolate shapes made a brief appearance on the cakes before being eaten. It was hilarious to see the kids (and some parents too) with frosting and green dye all over the face and hands (and hair, and clothes and, and, and mmmh SORRY moms…). I promise I’ll avoid the green next time.
Every Sunday from 1 to 4 PM the family program offers a project at the hall in the SAINT LOUIS ART MUSEUM. The activities are perfectly planned, with projects such as making armour helmets, decorative lamps, chinese dragons and mummies or using different printing techniques, taking pictures, and more and more. Most of the projects are linked to an exhibit that is visited with the participants in a masterly guided tour, specially focused on kids. The family program tours start every Sunday at 2.30 PM, and me and my family love them!. Last Sunday the tour went into the Silver exhibition ‘Beyond the Maker’s Mark: Paul de Lamerie Silver in the Cahn Collection’. The locally based Cahn collection is one of the finest private holdings of 18th-century British silver in the world.
I want to say that behind the scene is Amanda Muller; who designs and prepares every project with special dedication, Thank you Amanda!!!
And special thanks to the voluntaries, that made a wonderful job!

Here are the recipes:
Sponge Cake -Makes 9 inches round cake
6 eggs, separated
1 1/4 cup of Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
1 cup all purpose flour

~Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 °C). Brush a 9 inch pan with oil (vegetable) . Cover the bottom with baking paper and sift flour on the sides, make sure to take out the extra flour. In a bowl place the yolks with the sugar and using an electric mixer, beat until firm peaks form, add the vanilla. In another bowl (must be very clean and dry), using an electric mixer, place the egg white and beat until the mix is thick and glossy. Fold the egg white mixture in to the yolk mixture. Fold quickly and lightly the sifted flour with a rubber spatula. Spread the mixture in the baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden and springy to the touch.

Fondant
This is a very Good way to prepare fondant, it is easy and tasty,
You have to make this recipe with one day in advance.
2 cups (500gr) sugar
¼ teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of corn syrup (or glucose)
1/2 cup of heavy cream (you can use buttercream)
1/4 cup of milk
vanilla essence

About the fondant. I think fondant looks very nice, it’s easy to decorate, paint and mold, but I don’t really like to use it much. I don’t think it tastes very good (just think about…), but for some special ocasions like this activity at the museum it’s ideal, it was fun and different for kids. Below I give you a recipe of a creamy fondant, it’s quite good and somewhat different to the one you buy.

Combine sugar, salt, corn syrup (or glucose), heavy cream, and milk. Place in a deep 2 quart saucepan over a stove with low heat and stir constantly until sugar is dissolved and the mixture begins to boil. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, then uncover and keep cooking without stirring until syrup reaches 240 F. While cooking, wash down sides of pan occasionally with a small wet brush.

Pour the fondant at once on a cold wet platter or marble slab. Cool down until warm (it’s fast) and then work with a broad spatula or wooden paddle until it turns white and creamy (takes several minutes). When set, knead until smooth, add vanilla and knead until vanilla is blended. Let stand uncovered until cold, then wrap in wax paper and store in a tightly sealed container, in refrigerator or any other cool spot. It has to rest for at least 24 hours before being used.

Thank You !

It was very fun!