Baptism Cake

The cake I made my daughter for her baptism. I used the invitations as inspiration. I was pleased with the way it turned out. If I had it to do over again, I would change some things, but this is not too bad for being thrown together in 20 min (literally) some time around midnight. (just the decorating. the cake was baked and assembled earlier...)

WHAT??!??!?

NO CAKE?? That is right... 3 birthdays and Halloween all in the space of 5 days at our house, and not a crumb of cake. We had skeleton gingerbread people, pie and ice cream, but no cake. My oldest decided recently she is "not really a cake girl, Mom." and Hubby always wants pie. No dessert on my b-day. (it comes last and we are all too sugared out by then.) We did have ice cream cake while visiting Grandma, so I guess technically that counts as cake....

Ahh well. There's always next year.

Pumpkin angel food cake

This is my absolute favorite fall and holiday desert. Pumpkin Angel Food Cake.

It is guilt free (take the low calorie count and fat free-ness of angel food cake and add the vitamins and fiber of pumpkin...). I love to serve this with cranberry cool whip or plain cool whip, cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg. Delicious! Here, I garnished it with cranberries, both sugared and plain, and fresh mint.

You, too, can make this at home!

Not much cakeage going on at our house the past two weeks, but here is a nectarine topped Mascarpone Cheesecake that is oh, so tasty. I posted the recipe here a few weeks ago. It was so good, I made one for my handsome man to take to work with him. It was all gone before he could get to it to snag a piece, so my guess is it was a big hit. Look! No cracks! (I just had to post this one to prove that the fruit was not a cover up for a cracked cheesecake...this time)
Birthday week at our house is coming up. (three b-days and Halloween all in the span of 5 days) I will hopefully have some fun "real" cake pics soon!

Chocolate lover's birthday

A cake for my sister's Mother-in-law's 60th. She loves chocolate, so that is what she gets. 3 layer chocolate cake with strawberry filling and chocolate frosting...so yummy.

This is what you get at 2 am.

I made this cake at 2 am after I finished the cake for Bryan and Lindsay. It was for my Aunt Cristie. Bryan got married on his mom's Birthday, so we had to make a little something to mark the (other) occasion! Since I finished at 2 am, I did not take a picture. I just stumbled upstairs to my bed. I went to take pics the next morning, and DISASTER!!! Okay, not disaster, but disappointment. It was pretty perfect when I put it in the fridge...not so much when I took it out. The cake and frosting are sugar free (or at least drastically reduced sugar) and the fondant on the outside is not. There must have been some chemical reaction between the two, because it was eating through the fondant! And the cakes were leaking some sort of carmel looking substance (the cake was all chocolate). I have never had that happen before! I was so embarrassed to take this.
It just got worse during the 2 hour car ride. I stuck it in the freezer when we got to the reception location, but it was too late. They did bring it out later that night, and my Aunt seemed to love it and as long as it made her feel special, that is what matters. (but I would have been happier if it was perfect...)
Anyway, Happy birthday, Aunt Cristie! I hope you had a great one, and that the cake tasted good!

Bryan & Lindsay's Cake

Finally, pictures of my cousin's wedding cake. This one was an adventure to make. My sink clogged on baking day, and no amount of super duper ultra professional strength kitchen drain de-clogger would fix. (I don't think I have nose hairs anymore, though...) So, I washed all the dishes in a giant bowl in my sink, and would run out back and dump the dirty water on the weed patch. Thankfully, my amazing husband came home and dismantled the garbage disposal in the sink and fixed it so I could clean a bit faster. The Front

The Back

All Set up with the "honeymoon box". (I always put a big chunk of cake, or in this case 3...one of each flavor.. in a box with two forks for the couple to take with them, in case they don't get a piece or need a late night snack)

Congrats Bryan and Lindsay!

A Real Cake...

Sort of.

I realize I haven't posted a cake cake for a while. Sorry. What can I say...I am like a little bird. I get sidetracked easily.

Now that I am focused, Here is a cake I did for a local Chocolate show last November. It is a dummy cake covered in chocolate fondant and handmade chocolate pine cones and pine needles. I also made the meringue mushrooms (the white ones) and the gum paste toadstools (the red ones) Chocolate cookie crumbs for dirt and real peat moss.These photos are not the best... The lighting was terrible and my little point and shoot was on it's last leg. Just pretend it looks even better than what you see :)

Want s'more?

After the huge success of my banana boat cupcakes, I decided to try another campfire classic in cupcake form...S'mores! I know this concept is no new, but it is delicious! I made chocolate cupcakes and stirred in a few graham cracker goldfish into the batter. Topped them with a fluffy marshmallow frosting, and torched those babies with my blow torch. (okay, it is just a little brulee torch, but that sounds wimpy) Here is the marshmallow frosting I used: (it is Jennifer Shea's from Trophy Cupcakes)

Makes enough for 2 dozen cupcakes
8 large egg whites
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
Place egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set over a saucepan with simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved and whites are warm to the touch, 3 to 4 minutes.
Transfer bowl to electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and beat, starting on low speed, gradually increasing to high, until stiff, glossy peaks form, 5 to 7 minutes. Add vanilla, and mix until combined. Use immediately.

Don't be intimidated! It really is easy! Make sure to toast them with a torch or under your broiler just before serving so you get the crispy outside!

Dad's birthday

A cake for my Dad who loves to travel. A trip around the world (cake style). I had the itinerary all written out with the names of all the 5 star hotels he would stay at and what he would see... It was awesome. The idea was that he would circumnavigate the globe. I wanna go with him.

Pack your bags: we leave from Las Vegas and fly to the big island of Hawaii, where he will sit on the beach and eat fresh pineapple and drink pina coladas. (the green umbrella)
From Hawaii, he will fly to Beijing, China and visit the Great Wall and Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City.
From Beijing to Cairo, Egypt to see the Pyramids (and stay in the most amazing hotel on Pyramid row). Then up (on the cake) to snorkel in the Seychelles. Hotel has a private pool and jacuzzi for each bungalow, and private beach.

From the Seychelles, he flies to Pisa, Italy to visit the leaning tower of that city. A few nights in a villa in Tuscany, then he takes a train to...

Geneva, Switzerland to visit the Jet d'eau on Geneva lake. From Geneva, he heads to Paris, France to see the Eiffel tower. (He is not required to go to the top...)

Then, back to Las Vegas, with a stop at Chicago to catch a game at Wrigley Field (ran out of room on the cake). All the way around the globe on a cake for your birthday, Dad! I hope it was a great one!

Everything on this cake is edible, except the pole on the umbrella. I made it all by hand. The Eiffel Tower on top was made out of royal icing in 20 separate pieces, then when they dried, I glued them together with more royal icing. The Las Vegas sign and the Jet d'eau are also Royal icing, everything else is fondant or gumpaste.

Cake Tasting

My cousin is getting married!I am so excited. I love my family. I love weddings. Bryan and his fiancee asked me if I would make their wedding cake. I'd be honored! But you gotta choose what kind first. Tough job, I know. I had the happy couple over a few weeks ago to have their cake tasting, and to be my testers for a new experiment. Here it is: (it was a big hit)
Lemon cake with grapefruit buttercream. I used grapefruit flavoring oil and a pinch of citric acid in the buttercream.

They also tried almond cake with strawberry buttercream

chocolate with Oreo, butter pecan, and coconut.

Which did they choose?

Coconut with coconut buttercream, lemon with grapefruit buttercream, and chocolate with raspberry buttercream. I can't wait to do this cake! I'll have pics up of it soon, as the wedding is this month!

Not cake, but oooh maaannn.....

My wonderful neighbor and friend brought me a box of beautiful apricots she had just picked from her Aunt's tree. They were perfect. as soon as I shut the door, I asked my kids if we should make grilled apricots. You'd think I'd asked if they wanted to go to Disneyland. So, before we even started making dinner, we heated up the grill and got out the honey. They were so simple and delicious. Just cut the apricot in half, remove the pit, and brush with honey.

Welcome to the grill, pretty fruit. enjoy the toastiness in there! (remember to oil the grates well, that honey can get sticky!)

OOOOOOHHHH...perfect! Well, almost...

A la mode, anyone?

Try it. You will love me (even more).

Thanks for sharing, Ariana & Aunt!

Cupcakes on the brain.

Okay. So, I have cupcakes on the brain today. My church group has asked me to teach a little cupcake decorating class in two days, and I am drawing a blank. What I love about cupcakes is that they can look so classic and yummy when decorated simply. So, I hope whatever I come up with will not be too disappointing. I have been looking through my pics and trying to get inspiration, but they all look similar...with a cupcake it is all about the flavor combos! These are the only cupcake pics I have not posted.

Teeny tiny ones are always fun.

These are chocolate cupcakes with caramel buttercream. (wowie!) and a chocolate dipped caramel heart.

Same thing, different packaging. I love putting my cuppies into great packaging to deliver...

And when this is inside, you can't miss!

Thank you, neighbor!

I made this bread for my neighbor who helped me out in a pinch by tending my kids last minute. Pecan lemon bread. After being baked, the bread is soaked in a yummy lemon syrup. Amazing! Hello pretty bread!

All wrapped up, ready for delivery.

Here's the recipe, adapted from Taste of Home magazine:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar, divided
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1/4 cup+2tbs lemon juice
Directions: In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs; mix well. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Fold in pecans and lemon peel. Transfer to a greased mini loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. In a small saucepan, combine lemon juice and remaining sugar. Cook and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Pour over warm bread. Cool completely on a wire rack before removing from pan.

Mom's 60th

For my mom's 60th birthday, my dad ordered a cake. He wanted a family tree kind of cake--with all of her kids and grandchildren represented. My mom's birthday is really close to Christmas, so I opted not to do a tree design. I was afraid it might look too holiday-ish. So, we went topsy turvy and bright, fun colors. I made my parents, my siblings and all the grand kids out of royal icing a week in advance. I forgot my brother's goatee..Sorry Ben! This was my first "real" topsy turvy cake (aside from my bro's wedding..see previous post) and I had nightmares all night that it was going to fall before the morning, but it did great! I was pumpkin cake with cranberry buttercream on the bottom, and almond cake with peach buttercream on the top. (They are my mom's favorite) The hair on my mom's topper was brushed with platinum luster dust. It turned out a little more metallic than I planned.
This was a surprise. My parents returned home from a vacation on my mom's b-day and the kids were all there. I made soups (corn chowder and Mexican chicken) and my siblings brought salad and bread sticks. Yum!
My cute mom and her cake. She was so surprised when I brought up the cake from the basement. She wouldn't cut it, and when we finally did, she saved all the royal icing people (she kept them on a plate for about a month!)

I Love these extra long, slightly thicker candles from Tag!

Easy as Pie

A few weeks ago I had a bunch of fresh raspberries and blueberries that were begging to be turned into something yummy. But I was feeling lazy. So here's what I came up with. It was easy, delicious and beautiful.

A beautiful two layer berry pie!

Here's what I did:

Bake your favorite pie crust (luckily I had a homemade crust in my freezer ready to pop in the oven), let cool completely.

Mix together until smooth:

1 8 oz. package cream cheese (i use the 1/3 less fat kind)

1/3 c. sugar or splenda

1 tsp vanilla and a little almond extract (do not use imitation almond)

Once that is smooth, fold in about 2/3 of a small tub of frozen whipped topping (thawed, of course). Spread into bottom of pie shell until pie is half full. Use the extras to make layered parfaits in pretty cups.

For the fruit layer:

Make one box of raspberry Danish Dessert according to box directions. (this can be found in any supermarket's baking isle)Let cool slightly. Add a couple of generous handfuls each of fresh blueberries and fresh raspberries and fold them in. Pour gently on top of pie. (pour extras on top of the parfaits) Refrigerate several hours before serving. Enjoy!

Auction cake #2

Another cake I made for the church auction. I love making topsy turvy cakes... and I am getting much better at it (if I do say so myself). The first one I ever attempted was for my brother's wedding, and, well, it wasn't so great. We all thought it was awesome at the time, but now that I've figured out a much better way to do it I am embarrassed about the first one! I will not be posting pics of that one...If I'd only known then what I know now! This cake was a headache and a half. It took me about 17 hours total. I had my candy thermometer break without me realizing it, and I attempted two batches of my buttercream (which is extremely temperature dependant... and time consuming) before I figured it out.
Almond cake with fresh peach buttercream, and the top tier was coconut cake with coconut buttercream.
I hope the family who bought ti liked it, because I sure had fun making it (after I figured out the thermometer thing) and I love the way it turned out!

Oreo Cake

I made this cake for a fundraising auction at my church. It is an Oreo cake with a chocolate wrap. It had two layers of chocolate cake with one layer of vanilla cake in the middle. (so when you cut it, it would look like an Oreo) All with vanilla Italian Meringue buttercream with Oreos stirred in. Amazing. Like eating a milkshake on a cake. Thanks to my awesome friend Michelle for tipping me off on that one. It's become one of my most requested.

Piece of cake...

Literally. I made this cake for a lady at my church I used to visit. This picture is several years old, and is one of my first attempts at a whimsical cake.

It was pretty small, made from slices of a 6 inch cake. Enough to serve 3 or 4 people.

The cutest couple ever.

This cake was made for the cutest couple I have ever worked with (and that is saying something). She is from China and He is of Scottish descent. They were so cute together! He even flew to China to ask hr parents if he could marry their daughter. How can you not love that? She wore a traditional red Chinese wedding dress, and he wore a kilt... When they saw this cake, there were no other options. They were only worried what the groom's mom would say when they told her they chose a red cake.

The backside. This cake was loosely based on a design by Colette Peters.

Side view. I made all the fans with Royal icing. They took forever, but I loved the result.

Here we go. The front. (I need camera lessons) The red fan I designed to match the embroidery on the bride's dress. The top fan was made in nine separate pieces and dried, then glued together with more royal icing to make 3D pleats. I love the china berry(the green berries) and the yellow flower stuff is called Scottish or Irish something. It was so much fun to combine these two cultures. I love celebrations like that!