Teen rises to occasion with fun cakes

Lizzie Haberstroh was just looking for a hobby at the age of 12 when she discovered baking and something to sweeten the deal, a potential career in culinary arts.

Five years later the 17-year-old senior at Vernon Hills High School hopes to enroll in culinary school after she graduates next spring so she can do what she loves most: Turn flour, sugar, butter and eggs into edible works of art.

"I picture a blank sheet cake as my easel," says Lizzie. "I love creating new designs and mixing colors. I just started working with fondant; it's really cool."

Lizzie started baking birthday cakes and cutout cookies for a young neighbor's birthdays and for her family, including 14-year-old twin sisters Melissa and Catherine.

Among her creations have been several Barbie cakes - "I used star piping all around, it looked like a big, frilly ball gown with lots of sprinkles and silver balls for sequins." Other projects include a castle cake, an Elmo, a giant cupcake and an anniversary cake for her parents with white cake, whipped cream icing and strawberries.

For family get-togethers, such as the Fourth of July or Labor Day, Lizzie is the go-to girl for pies, cakes, brownies and decorated sugar cookies. Last year at school Lizzie and a friend made and sold more than 200 shamrock cookies to raise money for a choir trip to Ireland. During the holidays she bakes dozens of cutout cookies.

Of course, challenges do arise. Once Lizzie was piping frosting onto a stand-up bear cake when she noticed halfway through that the icing wasn't sticking well to the cake. It took twice as long to decorate, but Lizzie has learned to take a breath.

"I'm a worrier, but if you freak out it doesn't help," she says. "Just do your best and don't worry."

Last year's Christmas presents included "a whole mess of pastry stuff," including a cheesecake pan and rollout tool for measuring pie crust. She already has two bins full of cake pans, plus a set of food colorings, sprinkles and angled pastry knives for cake frosting.

Says her mother, Lora: "She is happiest when she is 'baking love,' as she calls it."

One of Lizzie's big inspirations has been her late grandmother, "a from-scratch kind of gal," says Lizzie, who taught her how to make the perfect crust for apple pie. During trips to Alabama each year for Thanksgiving, Lizzie watched and helped.

More recently Lizzie has been inspired by "Ace of Cakes," the Food Network's popular show focusing on Duff Goldman's bakery in Baltimore. Among Goldmans' most elaborate cakes are replicas of Hogwarts castle, Radio City Music Hall and Wrigley Field.

"I think those cakes are amazing," says Lizzie. "To do that one day would be sweet."

Between ACT prep and college visits, Lizzie stopped to share a few recipes: White Raspberry Cream Cake, which she made for a friend who doesn't like chocolate, her great-grandmother's homemade egg noodles (recipe available at dailyherald.com) and her grandmother's cornbread stuffing.

White Raspberry Cream Cake

1 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar, divided

¼ cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1½ sticks unsalted butter, melted

1 cup milk

1 quart heavy cream, divided

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 pint raspberries

2 ounces dark chocolate

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans.

Whisk together in a large bowl flour, 1 cup sugar, confectioners' sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a second bowl whisk together butter, milk, 1 tablespoon of the heavy cream, vanilla, the eggs and egg yolk. Blend the wet ingredients into the dry mixture until smooth. Divide the batter between prepared pans and bake 25 minutes or until tops spring back. Remove from pans and cool on racks.

When cakes are cool, beat the remaining heavy cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Spread a thin layer of whipped cream on one of the layers.

Reserve 10 whole raspberries; slice remaining raspberries in half and place them on top of the whipped cream. Spread another thin layer of whipped cream on the raspberries and top with second cake layer. Frost the top and sides of the cake, reserving some for garnish.

With a piping bag make 5 to 6 puffs of whipped cream on the top and around the bottom of the cake; place a whole raspberry on each puff. Grate dark chocolate over all.

Serves 10 to 12.

@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per serving: 600 calories, 45 g fat (28 g saturated), 48 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 6 g protein, 230 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium.

Great-grandmother Rosemary's Homemade Egg Noodles

2¾ cups flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

2 eggshells whole milk, about 5 tablespoons

Pile flour on counter and make a well in the middle.

Sprinkle salt over flour. Crack eggs into middle and add milk. Starting from the outside of the pile, using your hands, draw the flour into the middle and mix until the mixture forms a soft ball. You may need to add extra milk, sparingly, to develop a soft ball.

Roll out dough until very thin and cut to desired width with a sharp knife. Lay on flour sack dish towels to dry for 4 hours or so.

To cook: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add noodles and cook about 5-7 minutes or until tender. The water may become cloudy and slightly thick.

Makes about 1 pounds.

@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per 2-ounce serving: 330 calories, 4 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 61 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 12 g protein, 110 mg cholesterol, 190 mg sodium.

Grandma's Stuffing

2 boxes (8 ounces each) Jiffy corn muffin mix

4 eggs, divided

⅔ cup milk

4-6 loaves (1 pound each) white bread, dried, broken into pieces

2 tablespoons butter

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2-3 teaspoons sage or poultry seasoning

1-2 teaspoons salt and pepper, or season to taste

4-6 cups chicken broth

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In mixing bowl combine both boxes of cornbread mix with 2 eggs and the milk. Stir just until all dry ingredients are moist. Divide batter between two, greased, 8-inch pans. Bake 20-25 minutes or until light brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool thoroughly in pans on rack. Crumble into large bowl and add bread pieces.

Melt butter in saute pan and cook celery and onion for 5-7 minutes. Add to bread mixture. Beat remaining 2 eggs slightly and add to stuffing, blending with hands. Mixture will be lumpy. Add sage or poultry seasoning; toss. Slowly add chicken broth, about 1 cup at a time. Mixture should have consistency of bread pudding.

Makes 48 cups.

Editor's note: This will be enough to stuff a large turkey with plenty left over. Remaining stuffing can be baked in buttered casserole dishes. Spread the stuffing in a shallow layer. Ladle over enough stock to moisten, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-45 minutes. For a crisp top, remove foil during last 20 minutes and dot top with butter.

@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per ¾-cup serving: 200 calories, 3 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 35 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, 6 g protein, 25 mg cholesterol, 180 mg sodium.