Ingrid's Adventures in Baking and Cake Decorating

Amazing Kidlit Cakes

2011-04-23T12:22:00.001-07:00

Nothing makes me happier than when my two favorite things come together - Children's Books and Cake! I’m always admiring the work of professionals, particularly when they decide to make cakes about kids books! If you’re not familiar with the hilarious blog “Cake Wrecks” which usually features BAD cakes, it’s time to check it out. Only once a week they share the GOOD instead of the bad. This week they featured creative cake creations made in honor of National Library Week.

See all the amazing cakes here: Cake Wreck’s Feature Kidlit Cakes

The Limey!

2011-02-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

The Limey is a slang term for the British, it comes from a term used for sailors in need of lime juice (or citrus) to ward off scurvy. The Limey is also a Steven Soderberg film about a mean ass-kickin' Brit out for revenge. Well, my Limey (my key lime pie limey) is just as mean! Deliciously mean, and ready to kick your lime cravings and scurvy scrapes forever!

I have to make a confession before we get to far into this post. The above key lime pie photo is not of the pie I made. *Gasp!* I know, it's hard to swallow. The truth is I baked five (yes, five) key lime pies in the month of January. You'd think with five opportunities one would manage to snap a single shot. But the real truth is that this pie recipe is so mean and so delicious that each pretty pie was deliciously devoured before photos could be fetched. Yes, it's that good! (Not to mention a two month all-you-can-eat supply of limes growing on the tree behind the house).

This recipe is so tasty, and so simple, it will surely swirl a curl into your hair. So, bring out your bad British accent and start zestin' and squeezin those limes. Because in no time you'll have yourself some lovely lip-licous limey pie!

THE LIMEY
(AKA: The Best Key Lime Pie You Ever Did See...and Eat!)

Ingredients:
1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust (store bought or make your own)
1/2 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice (key limes are ideal, but any limes will work)
2 Tablespoons of Lime Zest
1 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk (14 oz.)
4 Egg Yolks

Garnish:
Cool Whip or Whipped Cream
Slices of Lime

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 35o degrees.
2. Combine lime juice, zest, condensed milk, and egg yolks in a bowl.
3. Whisk with a stand mixer or hand beater for one minute.
4. Pour mixture into graham cracker crust.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes (until set).
6. Chill pie in refrigerator for 2 hours.
7. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream and garnish with a slice of lime!

Now wasn't that easy?

Bringing Home the Biscotti (with Bite!)

2010-12-23T18:50:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's true, I've been pretty bad about blogging lately. I'd like to blame it on too much egg nogg and the tsunami of rain that LA has had the past few days, but being cooped up indoors drinking merry delights screams blog-time. So, I must admit laziness, blog-laziness of course. I'm always baking!

I know it's almost Christmas, and waaaaaay too late to give out holiday party snacks ideas, or even great gifts for the giving. So all I can suggest is bookmark this blog for next year, when this lil' Christmas Elf is back on her A-game. (It's new year's resolution time after all...)

In the meantime, here's a fun recipe for Brilliant Biscotti, the kind that's sweet, tangy, and kicks you in the kisser with a surprise bite!

They make great holiday gifts... for next year...

And hey, for extra cool-points, I took the photos for this blog post all by myself! (Sure, maybe I got a few tips from my photographer boyfriend, but these photos are all me!). Yee Haw!

Cracked Pepper, Dried Cherry, and Chocolate Chip Biscotti
(Makes about 3 dozen pieces)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups dried cherries
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:

1) Position one rack in the center of the oven and another rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

3) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.

4) With the mixer on low speed, add the sifted ingredients in two batches, beating after each addition until the flour disappears. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cherries, chocolate, and pepper. (Note: if you don't have a pepper grinder, you can crush pepper corns with the flat side of a butter knife).

5) Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface. The dough will be a bit sticky. Divide the dough in half. With floured hands, roll each half into a log 1 1/2 inches thick and about 15 inches long. Place both logs about three inches apart on a nonstick or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until lightly firm to the touch (about 25 minutes). Remove from the oven and let sit for ten minutes.

6) Place one log on a cutting board. With a sharp serrated knife and using a sawing motion, carefully cut the log on a slight diagonal into 1/2 inch thick slices. Place the slices on their sides on their sides on the baking sheet. Repeat with the second log, using an additional baking sheet (if needed). Bake until dried out and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Turn each slice over and bake until lightly golden, about ten minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

7) To decorate, place five or six pieces of biscotti in a cellophane bag and tie with paper raffia/ribbon. (Bags and raffia can be found in a local craft store).

8) Share and be merry!

Seriously...

2010-12-23T16:57:00.000-08:00

My long haired long term boyfriend and I sent out the following Christmas card last year. It seemed appropriate for this baking blog! Happy Holidays!

All the photos were taken by my boyfriend. Check out this year's card and other great photos at: www.gearhartphoto.com or www.gearhartphoto.com/blog/2010teeth

Halloween Trick-or-Treat Extravaganza!

2010-11-03T20:13:00.000-07:00

Have you recovered from your Halloween candy coma yet?

Well if you haven't, then steer clear of this post because it may make your sweet tooth start to scream! Yes, I hosted a spooky Halloween soiree this year and of course this little baking bug went into hyper-drive. So here's a sweet sampling of some of the delectable and deeeelicious treats I made for the party (and the silly names my friends and I made for them). Trick-or-Treat!

The spook- tacular snack spread!

Chocolate Black Widow Bites! They're mini chocolate cupcakes with black sprinkles and black licorice strings for legs. Arachni-fabulous!

Vanilla Monster Cupcakes! Faces are made with various candies including mini-marshmallows, black and red licorice strings, gum drops, jelly beans, and sour candy tape.

The sweets table!

Bloody Blackbird Pie with Fingernail Crust! Disgusting (or deeeelicious). It's really a Blueberry Pie. The crust is colored with burgundy gel food coloring and black sprinkles. The fingers are fake, and came from a Halloween party shop. Almond slivers are used for the fingernail crust.

Lady Ga Ga (Me!) serves up some finger-lickin- good pie!

Magnum P.I. has a new case to crack - there's a finger in his pie! Now where's the dead body?

Would you like some Vanilla Phlegm Brulee? Ask Lady Ga Ga to get out her blow torch and serve you up this snotty sweet!

There's a spider in my Phlegm Brulee! Hot Nurse and Chilean Miner don't care, they still want to give it a try!

Ghost Sugar Cookies (made with real kitten tears)!

Russell's Heart, made of cherry jell-o smashed to smithereens! Love hurts!

Lime green Wobbly Brains! J-E-L-L-O!

Are you thirsty? Maybe you'd like some Blood, or a sip of our home made Vampire Blend (made of 50% 0-Negative, 20% AB-Positive, and 30% B-Negative). Perhaps Warewolf Urine is more your style. Watching your witchy figure? Try out some healthy Unicorn Plasma, it's antioxidant rich!

Feeling cheesy? How about some Skin-Wrapped Brie, Bloody Vampire Chevre, or the Franken-Fungus!

We got these flown in special for the party. It's hard to get pickled Monster Members, Dill Pygmy Peckers, Goblin Balls, Sweet Hobbit Knobs, and my favorite the Spicy Warewolf Testicles.

No Halloween party is complete without a little Festive Maggot Salad!

Devil's Eggs!

Get daring and dip your fried banshee tongues and fairy wings into a little Pico de Vomit, Persian Zombie Puss, or Monkey Poo!

I hope your Halloween was as tasty as ours!

A special thanks to Russell Gearhart Photography for the fantastic photos, and for donating his Jell-o heart for our fabulous feast! See all the creative costumes our guest wore at the Russell Gearhart Photography Facebook Page! Happy Halloween!

Star-tastic Blueberry Pie

2010-10-26T00:13:00.000-07:00

With Halloween just around the corner I thought I'd do a blog post about...

Pie.

Okay, pie has nothing to do with Halloween. Except I will be making some spook-tacular finger nail pie in the next week. Not to mention the harry arachnid cupcakes and the snot brulee. But lets not get ahead of ourselves.

In the meantime, lets think pie, blueberry pie. Or more accurately lets think STAR-TASTIC blueberry pie! Sure this pie is screaming 4th of July, but really stars are not only for those who are patriotic. And frankly, you can be patriotic all year round (even on Halloween). Particularly if pie is involved!

STAR-TASTIC BLUEBERRY PIE
(makes one pie)

Ingredients:
1 recipe Pate Brisee
6 cups of blueberries
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter (cut in pieces)
1 egg
1 tbsp milk

Directions:
1) Make one recipe of Pate Brisee for the pie dough.
2) Mix berries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl.
3) Put pie crust in bottom of pie pan, then fill with berry mixture and dot with butter.
4) Cover with second crust. To make it star-tacular, cut stars out of the crust with a star-shaped cookie cutter. Adorn crust with star shapes you've cut out.
5) Chill pie for 30 min.
6) While pie is chilling pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
7) Whisk egg and milk together and glaze the top of the pie.
8) Bake pie for 20 min at 425 degrees. Then turn temperature down to 350 degrees and continue to bake for another 30 to 40 minutes.
9) Eat!!!

Star-tacular thanks to Russell Gearhart Photography for the star quality photographs!

The Name is Brulee, Creme Brulee

2010-10-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

If James Bond had a favorite dessert, I bet it would be Creme Brulee. The man is a sexy international spy, so it's only natural that he would desire something sophisticated and irresistible, (which of course also requires a blow torch). The name's Brulee, Creme Brulee! *Cue James Bond music, followed by an extensive car chase and million dollar explosions.*

That's right, now we're baking dangerously.

Okay, despite the set up, Creme Brulee is actually not that difficult to make. Yes, it does require a blow torch. But if a huge flame-o-phob like me can get over it (with much prodding by my long haired long term boyfriend) then so can you. Follow these simple steps and you just might find yourself in Her Majesties secret baking service. They call me double-O Cupcake, baby!

Classic Creme Brulee
(Serves 8)

Ingredients:
1 quart heavy cream (this is the key ingredient so don't skimp on it. I buy the fancy organic stuff, and boy does it make a difference in the flavor!)
1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar (for the baking)
1/2 cup sugar (for the brulee-ing)
6 large egg yolks
water

Tools:
Blow Torch (I use one from Home Depot, it's cheaper than the fancy-shmancy baby ones at the kitchen boutiques, and works just as well. Plus it makes you look hard core!)
Matches
8 Ramekins

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2) Place ramekins into one or two deep cake tins or casserole dishes.
3) Heat cream and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan at a medium-high temperature. Bring to a boil, and then remove pan from heat, cover, and let cream sit for 15 minutes.
4) In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of sugar and egg yolks until light in color.
5) Stirring constantly, slowly add the cream to the bowl.
6) Pour or ladle the mixture into the 8 oz. ramekins.
7) Create a water bath by filling the cake tins/casserole dishes with water so that the water is about half way up the sides of the ramekins.
8) Bake the ramekins in the water bath for 40 to 45 minutes. The tops of the custards should wobble a bit. Be very careful when you remove the pans as the water will be very hot.
9) Let ramekins cool in the water bath for about 10 minutes.
10) Place ramekins in the fridge and let cool for a minimum of 2 hours.
11) When ready to serve, remove ramekins from fridge and sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the top of the custard (about 1/8 of an inch thick).

12) Flip a bowl upside down (or an unused ramekin) and place the custard you wish to brulee on top of it.

13) Fire up the torch baby!

14) With the flame about one inch long, hold the flame about 1/2 an inch to one inch above the sugared top of the custard. You will see the sugar bubble and melt. Slowly move through the whole custard so the top is melted in all areas. Take your time, it may take a minute or so.

15) Garnish with fresh berries or chocolate bits, and serve immediately!

Mmmm Mmmmm Good!

A fantastic shout out to Russell Gearhart Photography for documenting this process and for not catching on fire!

Asparagus Croissants!

2010-09-17T21:17:00.000-07:00

Did someone say Asparagus? Isn't this a baking blog? Look lady, if you start pitching me on asparagus cake, I am outta here!

Calm down. Just because something is green and a vegetable doesn't mean you can't bake it. And yes, it's true my blog has tended toward the sweet and not the savory, but that doesn't mean we should turn a blind eye. In fact, I think it's time for the salty side to be invited to the party.

Here, let me show you a picture....

Mmmmmm! Now don't you want to know how to make that? (You know you do.) Well, asparagus croissants are surprisingly simple! Soooooooooo simple! That's right, simple, savory, and satisfying. Let's get our veggie on people!

Asparagus Croissants
(Makes eight croissants)

Ingredients:
1 bunch of fresh asparagus
1/4 lbs of prosciutto
1 can of Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 to 4 tbsp of butter or margarine

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to temperature mentioned on Pillsbury crescent roll package. (It's usually somewhere around 350 degrees.)
2)Wash and dry asparagus, and chop off any old or dead ends.
3) Unwrap Pillsbury crescent rolls and unroll dough. Break dough up into 8 equal triangles.
4) Butter the triangles with desired amount of butter.
5) Place strips of prosciutto on top of the buttered dough.
6) Take one to three stalks of asparagus and roll up the croissant. Start with the thick end and roll toward the triangle point.
7) Place rolled asparagus croissants on a cookie sheet.
8) Bake croissants for the normal amount of time listed on the crescent roll package. (It's usually between 8 and 10 minutes.)
9) Serve hot! Mmmm Mmmmmmmm Good!

Thanks again to Russell Gearhart Photography for the mouth watering photographs!

My First Wedding... (Cake)!

2010-09-01T23:24:00.000-07:00

*Cue the Music* Don Don Da Don, Don Da Da Don... Here comes the cake, heeeeere comes the cake!

You didn't think I was getting married did you?! Nope the lovely Erin Sprauge (now Wusterbarth - yes, say that three times fast!) got married two weeks ago. But many months before the two graciously asked me to make their wedding cake.

I was delighted! (I was horrified.) What an honor! (What if I dropped the cake?) I get to be a part of their special day. (What if I added salt instead of sugar? What if little green men abducted the cake the night before the wedding?! Eeeeeek!)

Despite the nightmares I imagined in the weeks leading up to the big day, everything baked-off and iced-on without a hitch. It was smooth decorating! Therefore, I present to you, Erin and Andrew's beautiful sea shell wedding cake:

The happy couple cut the cake!

Me and the finished cake!

Those are all hand made white chocolate shells!

And of course you can't just admire the cake, you've got to eat it too!

Please excuse my amateur photographs. Hopefully I'll be able to get some nicer ones from the wedding photographer in weeks to come. The wedding photographer (by the way) also told the bride that this was the BEST wedding cake she'd ever seen at a wedding! *Ingrid blushes* and then *Ingrid jumps up and does a happy dance.* Wedding Cake Superstar!

Congratulations Erin and Andrew!

Bananas about Banana Bread!

2010-09-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

Oh dear sweet baking blog, I know it's been many-a-week since I've posted. You must think me bananas! But I've been rubbing elbows with the flour and the sugar. I swear, I'm still friendly with the fruits and nuts.

So right...back to the blogging thing...

Banana bread was the first baked good I ever made my long-haired long-term boyfriend. And he has been sweet on my baking ever since. So occasionally I have to go back to a classic. So for all the pretty ladies out there who want to drive their boyfriend bananas, it's time to start baking something in the oven. (I'm talking about bread here, people, not babies).

Banana Bread
(makes one loaf)

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 ripe bananas

Directions:
1) Preheat oven at 325 degrees.
2) Mix together sugar, butter, eggs, flour, soda, and bananas.
3) Pour banana bread batter into a greased and floured pan.
4) Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Did you say you wanted nuts in your banana bread? Gross. I like my banana bread pure! (But I suppose if you're nutty enough...you could add some.)

Farmer's Market Peach Pie

2010-07-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

As summer swelters and the heat fogs our good judgment, delirium giving way to thoughts of snow banks and ice angels, we must remember the produce! That's right the produce. Because summer is nothing if not ripe with the sweet nectar of farmers market peaches, plump cherries, and brilliant berries. For which we crank up our air conditioning in order to bear the fact that we must bake. And bake we will because all the heat and sweat and delirium will be worth every drop of fresh farmers market pie!

You don't believe me?

Well when winter comes around and all you have are syrupy sweet canned peaches you'll dream of summer breezes and fresh peach pie...so stick out the sticky weather and run through the sprinkler before you bake up this little piece of pie heaven.

Farmer's Market Peach Pie
(Makes One Pie)

Ingredients:
8 to 10 fresh farmer's market peaches (Pitted and sliced. Feel free to leave the skins on. I did.)
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup butter
2 tbsp of peach or apricot jelly
1 recipe of pate brisee (pie dough)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flour, sugar, and butter in a bowl to the crumb stage.
3. Roll out and place one disc of pie dough into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate.
4. Line bottom of pie plate with peaches. Then sprinkle the butter crumb mixture onto the peaches. Line with more peaches, then crumb mixture, and continue in this fashion till all have been added.
5. Roll out second disk of pie dough and cover the top of the pie. Be sure to cut slits into the dough to provide steam ventilation. Or you could do a lattice crust. Whatever floats your boat.
6. Bake pie at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
7. Allow pie to cool and glaze with some peach or apricot jelly and a sprinkle of raw sugar.
8. Eat!

Note: You can also add other fruit to this pie as well. I also made a second pie with peaches and fresh farmers market strawberries. Mmmmmm good. Have fun!!

A special peachy thanks to Russell Gearhart Photography for the mouth watering photographs!

4th of July Cake!

2010-07-08T13:25:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday America!!

I hope you all celebrated freedom with grilled meat, parade candy, and explosions in the sky! I spent the day elbow deep in frosting making my first 4-tier cake! It was a battle between man and gravity as I attempted to make sure everything was bigger and taller - as it should be - this is America!

And to my stacking glee, gravity did not get the best of me, and I successfully surmounted these four tiers of butter cream bliss. This was actually a test run, as I will be making a 4-tier cake for a family member's wedding in August. So never fear, bride-to-be, your cake will be tall and tasty! Though I may need to do a few more butter cream smoothing exercises before the big day.

I also want to thank my friends, students, and office workers of friends - who all kindly ate these four-tiers of cake-y goodness. Because cake should not be wasted! And thanks (as always) to Russell Gearhart Photography for the fantastic images!

Bring on the cake America!!!

Chocolate Beer Frosting

2010-06-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've put beer in the cake, and now I've put beer in the frosting. That's right its an all-round beer festival in the cake house. And yes, now you can beer-ify your life too, simply read on sweet lovers of the stout.

Chocolate Beer Frosting

Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter (at room temperature)1/4 cup stout beer (I used Old Rasputin Russian Stout)
2 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate (melted and cooled to room temperature)

Directions:
1) Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa into a small bowl.
2) Cream butter and stout beer till incorporated (they won't fully mix and that's okay).
3) Add powdered sugar and cocoa mix and beat on medium/high speed until light and fluffy.
4) Add chocolate and beat until smooth and creamy.

Note: Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature or the chocolate will seize.

Now frost up some cupcakes and have a beer-tastic day. For some cupcake ideas to go with your frosting check out these posts:

Old Rasputin Bacon Cupcakes (which I originally used for this recipe).
Regular Bacon Cupcakes (sans the beer).

Now go bake and be merry!

Irresistable Nutella Frosting

2010-06-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone loves that sweet hazelnut spread known as Nutella. But life just got a little bit sweeter (and more irresistible) with Nutella frosting. This incredible frosting dresses up even the simplest of cakes, from chocolate to vanilla. Add a few strawberries and you're in Nutella heaven!!!

Irresistible Nutella Frosting
Covers one 8-inch Cake.

Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup nutella
5 tbsp butter (at room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:
1) Combine first five ingredients in a mixer and beat until mixed
2) Add cream and beat until mixed.
3) Frost cupcakes or cake and devour!

Pink Baby Shower Cake

2010-06-10T12:47:00.001-07:00

My good friend Crystal is having a baby! A baby girl! And last weekend she had her baby shower and I was honored to make her a baby shower cake. So here's to Mama and baby birds - Crystal and (the soon to be with us) Josephine.

The cake is made from pink fondant, with fondant birds, butter cream dots, and fabric ribbons. The inside was classic yellow and chocolate layer cake. Mmmmm good.

These fantastic photos were created by Russell Gearhart Photography.

Old Rasputin Bacon Cupcakes

2010-06-03T14:32:00.000-07:00

Oh, baking blog how I have neglected theeeeee. I'm sorry everyone for my lack of posting. This doesn't mean I haven't been baking. Oh, contrare my sweets. I have been baking, but I have not had any photos. Yes, I'm blaming this on my photographer.

*My photographer gives me the stink eye*

Okay, maybe we ate up some of the baked goods before we had a chance to photograph them. (They were sooooo tasty). And, yes, I shouldn't be complaining. I have my own personal photographer (for goodness sakes!).

Anyway, back to the baking! I took an couple of previous recipes and mixed 'em together for an intense and stouty kick for the man of the house. Nothing screams Man-cake more than Old Rasputin Bacon Cupcakes! So bake these up and invite all your carnivorous beer-guzzlin' men to the party!

Old Rasputin Bacon Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted softened butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 bottle (12 fl. oz) Old Rasputin Russian Stout (1 1/2 cups)
1 (16oz) package of bacon cooked

Cupcake Directions:
1) Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2) Line cupcake tins with paper liners
3) In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4) In a bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy.
5) Add sour cream and beat in.
6) With the mixer running slowly, pour in the Old Rasputin Russian Stout.
7) Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and slowly stir until it is evenly mixed. Be sure to scrape down the sides so everything is mixed in.
8) Break up half of the bacon into bits and mix into the batter.
8) Divide the batter up into cupcake liners.
9) Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
10) Cover with your favorite icing (look for my chocolate beer frosting recipe coming soon)! You could also try Ganache. And top with remaining bacon pieces. Mmmmm. Good.

Guilt-Free Berry Pie

2010-05-20T10:05:00.000-07:00

"I think I gained ten pounds just looking at your blog."

This seems to be one of the most common comments I get about this blog. And unless your eyeballs have actually discovered a way to turn the phenomena of mouth watering into cold hard calories, I don't think anyone is gaining an ounce. But I do get the sentiment. All these cakes and fluffy frostings do create a few sinful cravings. An next thing you know you've eaten a whole bag of Oreos and sold your shoes for a Twinkie.

So for the waist-watching masses I've decided to tickle your taste buds once more - but in the guilt free sorta way. Now you can make this tasty berry pie and not even bat an eye at the treadmill.

Sweet Splenda Strawberry Berry Pie
Makes on pie.

The Crust:
Use one recipe of Pate Brisee.
1) You will only need half of this recipe, but you can make the full batch and have two pies!
2) If you want to de-calorie even further use margarine or a butter substitute for the butter in the recipe.

Ingredients:
One nine inch pie shell baked. Or use 1/2 of Pate Brisee recipe link above.
4 cups sliced strawberries (or mixture of berries)
2 cups water
1 cup granulated Splenda
2 tbsp corn starch
2 boxes of sugar free strawberry Jello (or any other flavor you want)
Cool whip or whipped topping

Directions:
1) Bake pie shell for five to ten minutes.
2) Pour strawberries (or other berries) into baked, cooled, pie shell and set aside.
3) Mix water, Splenda, cornstarch in a sauce pan and cook at medium heat, stirring till it boils.
4) Continue stirring and let boil for two minutes.
5) Slowly pour in Jello mixes. Stir till disolved.
6) Pour mixture over berries in pie shell.
7) Refrigerate until set.
8) Top with whipped cream and serve!

Okay, now go make and eat this one! I don't want to hear any complaining about gaining weight from sugarfree and fat-free pie!! (Plus it's good!)

Also, a special berry-riffic shout-out to Russell Gearhart Photography! And a quick behind the scenes look at how he gets those baked good to look absolutely calorie-inducing through photography alone:

Magnificent Merlot Cupcakes

2010-05-11T12:28:00.000-07:00

What are my two favorite foodie delights? Why that would be wine and cupcakes, of course. Now these two treats pair well when one is in a cup and the other on the plate, but do they play nice when the temperature is turned up in the oven?

I decided to experiment. I found a cheap Merlot (because a lot of flavor bakes off, so you shouldn't pull out the big expensive guns), and tried it out with some chocolate cake-y-goodness! Then I blended a cream cheese frosting with a few shots of port (one for the cake one down the hatch, one for the cake one down the hatch)! Though neither taste distinctly like wine or port, the whole cupcake has a very unique and subtle flavor on its own. But you shouldn't take my word for it, you should make your own!

Magnificent Merlot Cupcakes
(Serves 20 -24)

Cupcake Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted softened butter2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs1/2 cup sour cream
12 oz. Merlot wine (about half the bottle)

Cupcake Directions:
1) Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2) Line cupcake tins with paper liners
3) In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4) In a bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy.
5) Add sour cream and beat in.
6) With the mixer running slowly, pour in the Merlot.7) Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and slowly stir until it is evenly mixed. Be sure to scrape down the sides so everything is mixed in.
8) Divide the batter up into cupcake liners.
9) Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Port Berry Cream Cheese Frosting

Frosting Ingredients:
1 8 oz. bar of cream cheese, softened
1 4 oz. stick of unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
2-3 tbsp of port (start with two and then check consistency)
1 tsp of berry extract (I recommend raspberry)
20-24 raspberries for garnish

Frosting Directions:
1) Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, put cream cheese, butter, and sugar into the bowl and beat until fully. Slowly drizzle in the port. You may be tempted to add more port, but don't because the frosting will become to liquid to stay on your cupcakes.
2) Pipe frosting onto the top of the cupcakes.
3) Garnish with a raspberry and/or a chocolate drizzled decoration.

And eat! These cupcakes of course pair nicely with the left over port and Merlot that didn't go in the cakes themselves. Mmmmm good!

Special thanks to Russell Gearhart Photography for taste testing and of course providing deeeeelicious photography! Russell Gearhart Photography doesn't just photograph cake, in fact they prefer to photograph people. Check them out at: Russell Gearhart Photography

Berry Mousse Parfait

2010-05-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

As summer rounds the corner, wiggling its sunny toes at us, one can't help but smell fruit in the air. Red raspberries and strawberries glitter like rubies at the farmers market, ripe and plump and begging to be baked with. Not to mention the fact that we all are looking for a light and lovely treat to tickle our mid-may morning sweet tooth. How does a little frothy white chocolate mousse sound with a luscious layer of fresh berries and pleasant puree?

Perfect for your next picnic, try out this Berry Mousse Parfait!

Berry Mousse Parfait
Makes Six Servings

White Chocolate Mousse Ingredients:
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
3 ounces white chocolate (chopped)
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Berry Puree Ingredients:
12 ounces frozen strawberries or raspberries (or mix)
2 tablespoons sugar

Fresh Berries:
1 pint strawberries (fresh and sliced)
1 pint raspberries (fresh)
1 tablespoon sugar

To Make the Mousse:
1) Whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar in a medium stainless-steel mixing bowl or top of a double boiler.
2) Stir in the orange juice, water, and lemon juice.
3) Set bowl over pot of simmering water (making sure the bottom does not touch the water) or use a double boiler.
4) Whisk eggs briskly until thick and the mixture has tripled in volume (2 to 3 minutes).
5) Remove bowl from the stove and whisk in the white chocolate until smooth. Let cool to room temperature stirring occasionally.
6) Whip the cream until soft peaks form and fold it into the white chocolate.

To Make the Sauce:
1) Puree the frozen berries in a food processor.
2) Strain the puree through a fine-mesh sieve to get rid of the seeds (you can skip this step if you don't mind seeds in your puree).
3) Add sugar, and then taste and add additional sugar if needed.

To Prep the Berries:
1) Slice the strawberries into manageable bites.
2) Mix strawberries and raspberries in a bowl and add sugar. Taste and add additional sugar if needed.

To Assemble the Parfait:
1) Find six clear glasses or plastic cups.
2) Layer the ingredients in the following order: Berries, mousse, sauce, berries, mouse, sauce, etc.
3) Refrigerate parfait for several hours before serving.
4) Add a garnish of berries, mint, or a cookie before serving.
5) Eat!

Five Cupcakes for Marvelous Mom!

2010-04-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

No one is quite as marvelous as our mothers! And guess what - Mother's day is fast approaching! Don't let mom down with a last minute trinket, instead show mom just how much you care with some creative cake. After all she always made baked goods for you!

Five Magnificently Marvelous Idea for Mom:

1) Make Mom a Message

These pictured cupcakes can be orderd and mailed, but you can easily spell out I love you Mom with a little fondant and buttercream. Of course if your mama lives far away you and always get these at the Teacake Bake Shop.

2) Cupcake Bouquets

Is flowers for Mother's Day a tradition in your house? Well nothing will smell sweeter than a bouquet of freshly baked cupcakes! Buttercream and fragrant. Mmmm Mmmm good! You can decorate the tops of your cupcakes with frosting or fondant. For instructions and inspiration check out: Cupcake Ideas For You.

3) Lavender Lovelies

For the brownie lover in your family, make these lavender lovelies. Bake individually wrapped brownies and topped with lavender milk frosting and a pansy flowers are sure to make a splash! Make your own with the marvelous Martha Stewart.

4) Marshmallow Flower Fun

Sweeten up mom's day with some simple mini-marshmallow cupcakes. Cut your marshmallows in half and sprinkle with colorful sugar sprinkles. Simple and sweet and brought to you by Betty Crocker.

5) Whoo Whoo Adorable Owls

Is your mother a bird lover? She will be after you make these adorable bird and owl themed cupcakes from fondant and butter cream. Plus it will be a hoot to make them! Bird-up your day with the Hostess Blog.

Be sure to show your mother that you care! Have a cup-cake-a-riffic Mother's Day!

Crazy Chicken Cupcakes!

2010-04-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Easter is a funny holiday. With chocolate bunnies, marshmallow peeps, and jellybeans galore who knows what sweets are in store. Thus, I decided to skip the sweet and adorable and create cupcakes that were a little more wacky!

Look out, the chickens are loose! THE CRAZY CHICKENS!

These funny fowl are made from one large cupcake (for the body) and one mini cupcake (for the head). I piped feathers using cake decorating tip #16 and some yellow butter cream. The eyes and beaks are made from fondant, with the pupils painted in with gel food coloring.

Crazy chickens were caught on film by the daring photographer Russell Gearhart, of Russell Gearhart Photography. He's a brave man, these are crazy chickens, he could have been killed.

Purple Brighton Cake

2010-04-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Psst - guess what? Librarians like cake! I know who would have thunk.

*Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh* The librarian hisses spooning mouth fulls of chocolate cake passed her pursed lips.

Actually librarians are very cool. They can find information that it would take you years to find. They are impervious to paper cuts. They can sneak up on you like a samurai, and give you the one book that will change your life. And hey, they look hot in horn-rimmed glasses. Plus they're great people.

So as it goes, my librarian friend requested a cake for a farewell fiesta meant to celebrate the work of a fellow librarian who is changing branches. And there's now way to say you-rock-damsel-of-the-dewy-decimal-system, quite like you can with cake!

This purple "Brighton" cake was inspired by the jewelry of the leaving librarians favorite retailer and was made with fondant and butter cream.

Inspirational jewelry by Brighton.

Special thanks to these creative images provided by Russell Gearhart Photography.

Mousse not Moose!

2010-04-08T10:34:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Maine, the land where wild moose roam. Contrary to popular belief, moose are quite rare. You don't see them on every street corner, or eating your grandmother's blackberries. When you do see a moose it is a moment of majestic delight. The giant animal peeks up at you through a grove of ferns or lifts it head from a bath in an icy lake. It is a quiet moment, often filled with silence and awe.

But this blog post is about mousse (not moose) - you know the culinary kind, made of cream and chocolate. But I have to say, diving into my first culinary mousse, the experience is quite similar. It's filled with a little bit of magic, and the hope that one might get to see another one soon.

Making mousse is actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. In fact, it's really all a matter of mixing and folding followed by a good cool down in the chill chest. And the fun part is your mousse will hold its shape once refrigerated. So if you wanted, you could make moose shaped mousse! (Note to self: Self make moose shaped mousse! Because yes, I am that kind of dork.)

For my maiden mousse mission I decided to make a white chocolate coffee mousse with a cake base and a chocolate glaze. Perhaps not quite as stunning as a moose in the wild, but you can bet it's a whole lot tastier!

Chocolate Coffee Mousse Towers
(makes six)

Foundation: The Cake
1/4 cup cocoa powder
6 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 oz. unsalted butter (4 tbsp)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
3 tbsp buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1)Preheat oven and prep 8-inch square pant with cooking spray.
2) Sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt.
3) In mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
4) Add eggs to creamed butter and sugar one at a time.
5) In a small bowl stir together buttermilk and vanilla.
6) In mixer, add to contents the dry goods (step 2) and the wet goods (step 5) in alternating additions.
7) Spread batter into pan and bake for 25 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Filling: The Mousse
9 oz. white chocolate
1/4 cup strong coffee
2 teaspoons instant espresso or coffee powder
1 and 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream

1) Melt the white chocolate, coffee, and espresso powder together in a medium bowl.
2) Whisk until smooth.
3) In a separate bowl whip the cream until soft peaks form.
4) Fold the white chocolate into the cream.
5) Divide the coffee cream between prepared tomato paste cans and refrigerate for 3 hours.
Note: To prep for step 5 - clean six tomato paste cans, cut off both the top and bottom, and line with parchment paper. These will help the mousse to hold its round tower shape.

Top: The Glaze
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 tsp corn syrup
1 oz. unsalted butter (2 tbsp)
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1) Warm the cream, corn syrup, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until bubbles form around the edges.
2) Remove from heat and whisk in chocolate.
3) Cool till glaze is thick but still pourable.
4) Now get ready to assemble your towers!

Tower Assembly:
1) Cut out six cake circles (use a clean tomato can to have the correct size)
2) Remove mousse from cans and place them on top of the cake circles.
3) Place on wire rack or display plate and pour glaze over the top of each tower letting it run down the sides.
4) Refrigerate towers for at least one hour.
5) Indulge!

Enjoy some mousse madness! Or...moose madness (whatever that might be...)

Mint Brownie Madness

2010-04-04T22:33:00.000-07:00

What's the first thing you think of when I say mint and brownies?

Girl Scouts? I know, me too! However, I wont even attempt to rival these young cookie-hocking ladies, and the divine joy that is a nicely chilled thin mint. But once the cookie monster has consumed all the mint-cookie goodness, I can offer a small alternative...

The dark-chocolate brownie cupcakes with a sinful peppermint patty center. I know life is hard.

So, if the girl scouts have closed up shop outside your local Walmart and you need to to fulfill that mint and chocolate craving, then why not give these bad boys a try:

Mint-Filled Brownie Cupcakes
(which are just brownies if not put in cupcake liners)

Ingredients:
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
12 chocolate covered peppermint patties

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin with paper liners.
2. Using a double boiler, or a heat proof bowl over a pot of boiling water, put chocolate and butter in top portion/bowl and melt. Stir occasionally until melted.
3. Remove top portion/bowl from heat.
4. Whisk in sugar and salt until mixture is smooth.
5. Whisk in eggs to combine.
6. Whisk in flour and cocoa, just until smooth, don't over mix.
7. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each lined cup. Put a peppermint patty into each cup and then cover with a second tablespoon of batter.
8. Bake for about 30 -35 min or until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Remember, these are brownies so leaving them a bit under done is better, as they will still cook a bit in the tin after removal from the heat.
9. Let cool in tins.
10. Eat!

A minty thanks to Russell Gearhart Photography.

Ten Easter Cupcake Ideas

2010-04-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

What does Easter have to do with bunnies and colored eggs and baskets of sweets? You've got me stumped. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy hunting for some colorful cupcakes to make the day a wee bit tastier. Pick any of the following ideas to compliment your jellybeans and Cadbury Cremes:

1) Easter Egg Nests and Blue Birds

Cover the top of your cupcakes with some toasted coconut and add some chocolate malt eggs for a spring nest. Or rif on this idea and swap out the eggs for blue candies and make a trio of tweeting blue birds to sing you Happy Easter. Make nests with the Food Channel or blue birds with the Tip Nut Blog.

2) Nutty Spring Chicks

Roll your cakes in coconut and garnish with almond beaks and licorice candies to create these adorable spring chickens! Silly and fun! Make this with Martha Stewart.

3) Lovely with Lolli-pops
Turn a sweet sucker into a festive flower with a bouquet of lolli-pop cupcakes. Color with sprinkles and accent with fondant leaves and you have a lolli-pop gold! Also brought to you by Martha Stewart.

4) They're Multiplying Like Rabbits (or Bunnies
You can never have too many cupcake bunnies, particularly when they are oh, so adorable! Make the ears out of fondant and Japanese rice noodles for whiskers and you might find yourself hopping away with your own litter of bunny cakes. Make your own and see more photos with Bakerella.

5) Fluffy Little Bunny Butts
It's okay if bunnies are digging in your garden if they are made of cake! These adorable bunny behinds are made from Oreos and frosting. Bring a little humor into your holiday with these fluffy tails that were featured in the book Hello, Cupcake. Make your own with Whisk This.

6) Classic Easter Eggs
Sprinkle and decorate some egg shaped cookies and top your cupcakes for a fun egg-tastic effect! Again another fun idea from the cupcake-genius' at Hello, Cupcake.

7) Cadbury Creme Dream
No Easter is quite the same without the classic Cadbury Creme egg. Though a creme egg is a powerhouse dessert on its own you can spike your cakes with double-sugar-rama for a knockout creme delight! Make these creamy confections with Bakespace.

8) Easter Basket Bliss

Go hunting for eggs with mini-easter baskets made from licorice and M&M's, these simple treats are fun and festive. Build your own baskets with Cabaret Squidoo.

9) Sweet Center Strawberries
Go for a fresh spring surprise with these sweet strawberry cupcakes. Put a whole strawberry into the middle and leave the green on top to tease the tasters! Recipe comes from the Food Network.

10) Hatch Your Own Baby Birds
Make your own Easter chicks out of yellow fondant. Add a white egg shell for a dramatic effect! Spring has sprung! This baby bird comes from Baking Your Dreams Come True.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No it's - SuperCake!

2010-03-31T10:08:00.000-07:00

Remember when you were five and your mom made character cakes for your birthday? The beaming cake is colorful and perfectly piped with a hundred little stars, and on it is your favorite super hero smiling and wishing you an amazing day! Well they make tins for that. Special baking tins. And I decided to go old school on my friend's birthday and make him one hell of a nostalgic cake.

My friend - lets call him Clark Kent - because he dresses up as Kent every Halloween, and can rattle off the top ten reasons why Superman is better than any other superhero out there without taking a breath, well it was his birthday last week. So what do you make the man who loves the man of steel? Super Cake of course!

Five Floolish April Fools Cupcakes

2010-03-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

Time to make your April foolery sweet and tasty! Trick your friends with these fun foods that don't quite look like cake...

1) On Top of Spaghetti
For your pasta lovers bring out these savory spaghetti and meatball treats. This idea originates from the Hello, Cupcake book and has been riffed on by various pasta (aka: cake) lovers. (It's really made from raspberries and icing!) Make your own with Not Quite Nigella.

2) Corny Cupcakes
Who doesn't love corn on the cob? Particularly when the corn is really jelly bellies? Get out your corn holders and be sure to sprinkle sugar on this treat instead of salt! Get corny with Martha Stewart.

3) Burgers Baby
Fool your friends with these bite-size burgers! Nothing tastes quite like "mustard" and "ketchup" icing! Enjoy a little beef-cake with Smiley's Sweet Creations.

4) Eat your Peas and Carrots!
And your potatoes too! Another winner from the Hello, Cupcake book that is guaranteed to make your kids (and adults) eat their vegetables! Trick the eye with some starburst, caramel, and green m&ms! Be "healthy" with Eat 'n Vegan.

5) Fishy Sweets
Okay, so my last fooling food isn't actually a cupcake, but it's not quite sushi either! Make your own sweet sushi with rice crispy treats, chocolate, and papaya! Play sushi chef with Anastasia.

Have a sweet - and foolish - April Fools Day!

Pineapple Upsidedown Lemon Cake

2010-03-25T20:14:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you have two friends, one birthday party, and two favorite flavors of cake? Do you make two cakes for the same party? Doesn't that seem a little excessive? Not to mention a whole bunch-o-work!

I say let the inventing begin! Find out their favorite flavors and play mad-cake-scientist! It's Alive! It's Alive! It's....

Okay...it's only pineapple upside down lemon cake, I didn't bring anything back from the dead. But that doesn't mean a sweet cake concoction doesn't deserve its own lightning bolts and dramatic music!

I also decorated my monsterous cake with some white chocolate bark and piped butter cream icing. But this type of cake can be served without any decoration or icing at all.

Time to electrify your own friends with your own crazy cakes! And if you dare go a head and try some:

Pineapple Upsidedown Lemon Cake

Ingredients:
1 pkg lemon cake mix
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup oil
1 can pineapple rings (drained)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
8-10 maraschino cherries

Directions:

1) Over medium heat, melt brown sugar and butter in a sauce pan until the sugar dissolves.
2) Pour mixture into a greased or stick-free cake pan.
3) Arrange pineapple rings and maraschino cherries in a single layer on top of the mixture. I like to put a cherry inside each ring.
4) Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
5) Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, and water and whisk.
6) Pour batter on top of the pineapple rings and sugar mixture.
7) Bake for until a toothpick comes out of the center of the cake clean (approx. 35-40 min or use time recommended on cake mix).
8) Let cake cool in the pan for another 10-20 minutes.
9) Flip cake out onto a serving platter. The cake will have some juices from the pineapple, so be careful.
10) Eat!

Special thanks to Russell Gearhart Photography

Dutch Babies for Breakfast!

2010-03-21T19:04:00.000-07:00

You're eating babies for breakfast? You bet I am! And they are deeeeeelicious!

A dutch baby is a pancake made from eggs, flour, milk, and butter. They are a variation of the German Pancake which is baked in the oven. The term dutch baby is said to be named by the daughter of a Seattle restaurant owner (in the 1900's), after the cake creation became a staple of the restaurant's repertoire.

Bake your own baby with the following recipe:

Dutch Baby Recipe
(makes one dutch baby)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
3 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup flour

Directions:
1. Heat oven at 425 degrees.
2. Mix eggs, milk, and flour in a bowl.
3. Put butter in a 2 to 3 quart pan and let it melt in the oven. I suggest a glass pie dish. I've found this rises and distributes heat the best.
4. Add batter to pan once the butter is melted.
5. Let bake till puffy brown. Approximately 20 - 25 minutes.
6. Serve immediately as dutch baby will loose it's fluffy look as it cools.

Topping:
The traditional topping for a dutch baby is powdered sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice. I also like to add some maple syrup.

Rockin' Elvis Cupcakes

2010-03-19T14:14:00.000-07:00

According to rock-legend-lore, it is said that the King had an appetite for peanut butter and banana sandwiches. In some circles, it is said the sandwich was fried, in other circles are tales of bacon bits sprinkled between bites of bread. But in the cupcake circle this tall tale or true bit of trivia has translated into the - always delicious - Elvis Cupcake.

Everyone's Elvis is different, but the basic requirement is to make a cupcake that includes banana and peanut butter. So I put on my blue suede shoes and went to town! In my version of the King's confection, we have banana cake, with a peanut butter frosting, and a chocolate Elvis signature topper! Thank you very much!

Make your own musical magic (in cake) with the following recipe:

Elvis Cupcakes
(makes approximately 18)

Banana Cake Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Banana Cake Directions:
1) Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2) In a large mixing bowl cream shortening and sugar. I suggest using a stand mixer.
3) Add eggs and vanilla and mix.
4) In a new bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
5) Add to larger bowl (with contents from steps 1 and 2) the bananas, dry ingredients, and buttermilk. I suggest doing this in a rotating fashion (first bananas, then dry ingredients, then buttermilk). Do this in three installments each, mixing between each addition.
6) Line cupcake tray with paper liners and fill each 2/3 full.
7) Bake cupcakes at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Frosting:
You will need one recipe of butter cream frosting. Follow the directions in my post about how to make butter cream frosting and simply add 1/2 cup of peanut butter (or more if you want more flavor). You will also need an additional 1 or 2 tbsp of water to help make a smooth consistency of frosting.

To Make Elvis Decals:
1) Melt down some cooking chocolate in a double boiler.
2) When chocolate is liquid, pour into a parchment icing liner.
3) Snip a small hole in the tip of the parchment liner and squeeze out the chocolate. Write cursive Elvis signatures onto a clean sheet of parchment paper.
4) Let cool in the fridge for 5 minutes, then use to top your cupcakes!

Of course, if you aren't in a rock-n-roll mood, you can always just make banana cupcakes with the recipe above, which are super delicious as well!

Elvis himself once said - "Do what's right for you, as long as it don't hurt no one." And what I've gotta do...is bake!

Special thanks for the glamorous photos by Russell Gearhart Photography.

Guinness Cupcakes with Irish Cream Frosting

2010-03-15T21:20:00.000-07:00

How will you celebrate this St. Patrick's Day?

"How green is your beer?" The Irish (and non-Irish alike) reply. Yes, many of us will be lining up at the pub for a pint or two of green gold. But to that I say:

"How drunk is your cupcake?"

Huh?

Yes, even the illusive leprechauns perked up their ears at that one. Sure, green beer is a St. Patrick's Day staple. Drink your green beer baby. But that doesn't mean your cake has to be the designated driver. In fact, I dare you to intoxicate your cake (and make new friends - lots of new friends) with the fantastic Guinness cupcake recipe below. Chocolate + beer = St. Patrick's Day Bliss! Not to mention the Bailey's Irish Cream frosting, which is worthy of a limerick or two!

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes
Makes approximately 20-24 cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar
4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted softened butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1 bottle (12 fl. oz) Guinness Stout (1 1/2 cups)

Cupcake Directions:
1) Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2) Line cupcake tins with paper liners
3) In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
4) In a bowl or stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter until light and fluffy.
5) Add sour cream and beat in.
6) With the mixer running slowly, pour in the Guinness.
7) Sift the dry ingredients into the batter and slowly stir until it is evenly mixed. Be sure to scrape down the sides so everything is mixed in.
8) Divide the batter up into cupcake liners.
9) Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
(It takes aprox. 1 and 1/2 batches of the following recipe to cover 24 cupcakes generously.)

Frosting Ingredients:
1 8 oz. bar of cream cheese, softened
1 4 oz. stick of unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioner's sugar
4-6 tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream

Frosting Directions:
1) Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, put cream cheese, butter, and sugar into the bowl and beat until fully. Slowly drizzle in the Bailey's. More Bailey's will add more flavor but will also make the frosting more watery. Beat until the Bailey's is completely incorporated into the frosting.

Feel free to decorate your cupcakes with some chocolate coins or use an idea from my previous post: Ten Cleverly Clover Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Special thanks to the leprechauns at Russell Gearhart Photography.

Ten Cleverly Clover Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-09T22:58:00.000-08:00

Kiss Me I make cupcakes (and I'm not Irish)!

That's right, we don't have to be Irish to green-up some cake for St. Patrick’s day do we? Not if we’re lucky, (and a little cake-crafty). I’m betting if we use some of the ideas below no one will care if we’re I-rish when we can provide the De-lish.

So get ready to chase the rainbow with cupcakes in hand, because before you know it all the leprechauns in your life will be after yee lucky cupcakes!

1) Keepin’ it Classic with Clovers
Start simple and class up a vanilla cupcake with some found clovers. Make sure you wash off the clovers before decorating! Made by Martha: Martha Stewar t

2) Shamrock-Wow!
Pinch and decorate your cupcake tops with three leafs. Throw in a little licorice stick (green of course) for a stem and Wow! Sham-rock-tabulous! You could also use three mini cupcakes for a similar effect. This creative concept comes from: Fun Family Stuff

3) Gummy and Green
Make your own sugar shamrocks with some green gumdrops and a little luck. All you need is a small heart shaped cookie-cutter and you’ll be sculpting your own St. Paddy’s day sweets. Gummy-licous guidelines come from: Disney’s Family Fun Magazine

4) Find a Pot of Gold
Plant a pot of gold on top of your cupcake with chocolate foil-wrapped coins and rainbow hard-sugars. Super easy with winning results! Chase the rainbow with Zen C upcake.

5) I’m Green on the Inside
Sometimes it's not about what’s on top of the cake, but what’s on the inside! It’s time to Green-up your cake with this Green Velvet Recipe from the Party Blue prints Blog.

6) Taste the Rainbow
If green is too bland, you can dazzle up your inner cupcake-self with stunning rainbow cake. Mix food coloring into your batter and layer it into each liner. Make cupcakes with Baking Bites or a whole cake with Ingrid!

7) Leprechaun Cupcakes
If you’re feeling fondant fabulous sculpt your own little leprechaun lads to decorate your cakes! This one was made by The Cupcake Gallery.

8) The Irish Love Tea
Looking for a little Zen in your St. Patrick’s celebration? Go eclectic with green tea bubble cream-filled cupcakes and a green tea frosting! Yum! Find Cupcake-n'-lightenment with this recipe from Chockylit and the Cupcake Blog.

9) Me Cake's A'hrr Minty and Deeeeelicious!
Celebrate with green frosting, piped clovers, and the perfect pairing of mint and chocolate! Minty and scrumptious! Recipe from Bon Appetit.

10) Kiss me I’m Irish (or make cupcakes)
Put on some green food coloring, pucker up and kiss away…or use a stamp and a food coloring marker like Two Parts Sugar did!

What about the Booze?
Of course we all know that St. Patrick's day is really an excuse to drink. So don’t let your cake be the designated driver. Intoxicate your cake with a little beer flavor. Look for my next post (coming this weekend) when I make Guinness Cupcakes!

Cupcake Challenge: My Sweet Cupcake

2010-03-09T16:49:00.000-08:00

The final challenger in the Pasadena Cupcake Challenge is South Pasadena’s darling desert-erie My Sweet Cupcake.

This adorable shop is the queen of quaint! Pretty red cupcake decals and lacy curtains line the windows as you enter this red ‘n white polka-dot palace. You are immediately greeted with the slogan “Everyday is a cupcake day!” and the brimming smile of one cake loving hometown hostess! If cake was heaven, My Sweet Cupcake would be the frosted gates.

Sweet jewels of frosting and fruit glimmer under a glass case, as the cupcake-ista describes each decadent desert. We choose our selections and sit in a cozy window seat under a crystal chandelier to consume our cake. Not to mention the charm of fun felt flowers and hand painted signs that surround and proclaim “you’re sweet!”

And we are.

My Sweet Cupcake was also the only shop to wish me a happy birthday, and back up the gesture with a free cupcake! How kind. Our sinful selections included:

1) Circus Circus – A vanilla cupcake baked with chunks of circus circus cookies, topped with butter cream and a pretty pink elephant cookie.
2) Lady Bug – Chocolate cake cut in half to create a whip cream center, topped with cream and fresh strawberries.
3) Black Tie – Chocolate cake with a cream cheese center, topped with powdered sugar and chocolate stripes.

Despite the birthday bribery, how does My Sweet Cupcake compare?

Moisture: 4 Stars
Though delicious, this was the first shop that had a somewhat dry texture to their cake. Not entirely, but it was notable after attending two other cupcake shops prior. Not to say the cake wasn’t good, because it was mighty munchable!

Frosting: 4 ½ Stars
My Sweet Cupcake was the first to have multiple frostings and textures, from whipped cream to piped chocolate and classic butter cream. With a variety of tastes, we had more to explore and enjoy in our frosting feasts. All were good, but none stood out as amazing (hence the ½ star missing). But that doesn’t mean you won’t want to try more than one!

Flavor: 4 ½ Stars
Super creative in its concepts (who doesn’t think a circus circus cupcake is complete genius?), however, execution didn’t quite live up to my imagination. That said, the flavors were still sweet and scrum-didily-umptious!

Presentation: 3 ½ Stars
Simple decorations and pretty presentation make these confections crave-able, but no fancy feats of fashion were on these cupcakes adorned. Simple and straight forward, still makes a creative gal wish for frills and flair.

Atmosphere: 5 Stars
This is where My Sweet Cupcake stands far above the others. Finding that perfect balance between branding and delightful design, Sweet Cupcake feels like a home outside of home. Its cozy, comforting and the perfect place to consume cake! Not to mention the stellar customer service of the lovely and kind, Davida, who seemed genuinely interested in my birthday and our cake tasting adventures! (That’s right I even remember her name).

Selection: 4 Stars
The good variety and fun flavors of My Sweet Cupcake will keep your pastry passions pleased, and I can’t wait to see what new and fun flavors will be cooked up in the weeks to come.

Finally tasty tally for My Sweet Cupcake is: 4.5 Stars

If you are looking for a place to hang out and spend some time with a friend, My Sweet cupcake is hands down the best place to entertain and indulge in a delightful delicacy.

(We're making a three and zero for turning thirty! We aren't saying My Sweet Cupcake is a three).

It seems all of Pasadena’s Cupcakeries are worthy or your avid appetites! I challenge you to go taste them all for yourself!

Read reviews of: Violet's Cakes and Dots Cupcakes or Pasadena Cupcake Challenge Criteria

Special Thanks to Russell Gearhart Photography

Cupcake Challenge: Dot's Cupcakes

2010-03-08T16:28:00.000-08:00

To dots or not to dots? That is the question!

As a self-proclaimed polka-dot lover, it would seem perfectly plausible that a shop that combined my love for cake with my love for dots would be heaven in a cakebasket. And indeed, my Ingrid instincts were right on the spot...or right on the dot...

Dots Cupcakes is the second cupcakery to be tested for my birthday tasting extravaganza (See official cupcake tasting criteria here: Pasadena Cupcake Challenge). It is by far the most corporate cake shop of the three visited. Dots is to cupcakes as Starbucks is to coffee. Dots has the perfect pink set up, pink walls, dot shaped cushions, T-shirts, and polka-dot boxes with pretty pink stickers. If Dot's wanted to franchise, it could, in fact I think they have two locations in Pasadena alone.

Despite Dots' dazzling design, the first welcome we received as we walked in the door was "No Photographs!" So our careful camera wielder had to "shoot from the hip" to give our eyes a peep at Dots' delicious deserts. Shhhhh, don't tell anyone!

At Dots you can purchase both mini cupcakes ($1.50) or full size cupcakes ($2.75), so for more flavor and selection we opted for three mini-cupcakes! Our tastes included:

1) Pina Colada (pina colada cake, topped with butter cream and coconut).
2) Fleur de Sel (chocolate cake with a caramel center, with a bit of salt on top of the frosting).
3) Lemon Drop (lemon cake, vanilla-lemon frosting).

So How Does Dots Measure Up?

Moisture: 5 Stars
Delicious and creamy, these silky cakes were fresh and fantastic.

Frosting: 4 Stars
Their fun frosting was yummy and satisfied the palette, but it was a dense frosting, lacking in fluffy texture. Granted this may all be a matter of taste...literally.

Flavor: 5 Stars
Exotic and well developed flavors were found in this cake-y repertoire! We testers agreed that the Fleur de Sel was a particularly scrumptious combination of chocolate and caramel, with a special salty splash. Yes, salt on cake - who would have thought? But it really helped bring out the flavor, and add an unexpected sensation! I can't wait to try the other flavors!

Presentation: 5 Stars
Dots outdoes all the shops in cake presentation. Including sweet details like fontant flowers, swirling straws, and red cherries glittering like sugar jewels, each cupcake looked beautiful! Fashion forward and so in style!

Atmosphere: 4 Stars
I described the shop as corporate above, but with love. The design of Dots is meticulous to a T. Every bit of trim, sign, sticker, and seat is thought about and crafted with care. The question is if you are into branding or hoping for more of a homegrown happening. Our cake-ista was chipper, but felt a little rehearsed. "Our Vanilla is to die for!" She says through pre-sugared and tightly trained teeth.

Selection: 5 Stars
Dots had so many flavors, you're really happy they sell mini-cupcakes just so you can try more than one. With tongue teasers like raspberry cheesecake and chocolate mint, to marble swirl and pina colada - who wouldn't be knocking down the door for more more more!

Dot's Final Tally: 4.7 - oh let's just round up to 5 stars!

I dare you to come on down and taste only one mini-cupcake. Can you resist? I can't!

Up Next: My Sweet Cupcake
Previously: Violet's Cakes

Special thanks to my hip-shooting cupcake capturing photosmith - Mr. Russell Gearhart! Yes, he shoots more than cake! Visit his website: Russell Gearhart Photography

Cupcake Challenge: Violet's Cakes

2010-03-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

Our first Pasadena Cupcakery to be evaluated is Violet’s Cakes! (If you're unfamiliar with my cupcake challenge, please read my cupcake criteria at this link: Pasadena Cupcake Challenge).

Violet’s cakes is a retro shop located on Holly Street near Pasadena’s downtown. The first thing to greet you at Violet’s is the red pin-up girl pimping baked beauties that charms the window and is the establishment’s logo. White walls with retro-red polka dot trim welcomes you as you enter, and a simple display case sits to the right next to a cash register. Perhaps the most interesting part about the Violet’s interior is the fact that you can see straight into the kitchen where pink mixers turn, and an employee’s preps baking batter.

Violet’s closes at 3pm, and my visit is at 2:30, which accounts for the shortage of cupcake choices, only four or five selections remain. My birthday buddy Miss Bobbi-baby and I decided on two flavors to taste:

1) White Chocolate Peppermint: A white cake with a candy cane peppered frosting and center.

2) The Elvis: A banana cake with peanut butter frosting (so named after Elvis’ obsession with peanut butter and banana sandwiches).

We compliment all cake with the palette pleaser milk. In our opinion Violets measures up as follows:

Moisture: Five Stars
These airy creations are light on the palette, yet creamy and moist. With a somewhat similar texture to box mixes (meant as a compliment), these silky sweets tantalized the tongue.

Frosting: Five Stars
Fluffy and delicious, both butter cream frostings were plentiful and pleasing. The peanut butter frosting in particular was ravenously rich!

Flavor: Four Stars
Hands down, we both thought the Elvis cupcake was a more creative and tasty treat. And yes, the white chocolate peppermint pick was yummy as well, but we felt white chocolate was too subtle, and the dessert was more of a single note experience.

Presentation: Three Stars
Lacking in frosting finesse, these cupcakes were simple in presentation. A classic frosting swirl and a few shakes of sprinkles that you might find characteristic of a supermarket confection. But what they lack in fashion, they surely make up in flavor.

Atmosphere: Three and a Half Stars
The retro flair is fun, but the white walls lack in overall design décor. Cute cupcake paintings fill some space, but the seating area is cramped and craves design dazzle. The ability to see the kitchen is interesting, but sometimes it’s best to leave the magic to the man behind the curtain. Meanwhile, the cupcake-ista was pleasant, but lacked the sweet smile I want from a peddler of pastry. Show us some teeth, sweet seller of the sucrose!

Selection: Two Stars
I must again merit the mention of my half-hour-before-closing visit. The lack of selection is indeed a reflection of freshness, and the unwritten guarantee that cake is baked daily. If you’ve got leftovers – well those go down the throat of some begging bloodhound out back, not saved for tomorrows treat seekers. So yes, there were only four or five cakes to choose from, and had a heftier selection been brought, it would indeed entice repeat visitage. The moral of the story? Next time show up early.

Violet’s Final Tally: 4 Stars
Violet’s is surely worthy of your cupcake cravings, dimes and dollars.

Up Next: Dot's Cupcakes and My Sweet Cupcake

Special thanks to additional taste tester and fantastic photographer Russell Gearhart who provided documentation of this fun event!

The Pasadena Cupcake Challenge

2010-03-04T10:16:00.000-08:00

The Challenge: Who Has the Best Cupcakes in Pasadena?
The Judge: One Cupcake Lovin’ Birthday Girl (moi) and Her Best Friend
The Competitors: Violets Cakes, Dots Cupcakes, and My Sweet Cupcake

It was a bright and sunny January afternoon and birthday cake was in dire need. Yes, this joyful judge, is normally the one in her social circle to make the cake, but today was her birthday and no cake was in sight. Thus, to the hands of local creative cake-stresses she did turn, for much needed birthday bites. But alas, Pasadena is the home of not one, but three cupcake shops! Which one to pick? Why all of them of course! And so the Pasadena cupcake challenge was born. Tasting wine is fine, but tasting cake does a birthday make!

To add a little fun to any tasting experience, this joyful judge decided to rate each cupcake shop on food, flavor, and outright fabulousness! Her cupcake criteria falls into these six categories:

1) Moisture – This is a key element in any baking book. What is the texture of the cake itself? Is it soft and fluffy, moist and marvelous? Or is it dry and stale like dusty dirt?

2) Frosting – Yes, toppings can come in many flavors and styles, from ganache to butter cream, whipped frosting, or glazed. Flavor and texture both come into play here, as well as consistency and proper pairing.

3) Flavor – Chocolate is chocolate is chocolate. Or is it? A successful cupcake needs to blend flavors into an elegant palette. Too much chocolate can overwhelm. The wrong frosting can clash. Is it boring old vanilla, or a mega-mess of too many tastes?

4) Presentation – As an artist and cake decorator the look of the cupcake is important. Presentation alone will cause you to buy a cupcake! How creative were our cake-dressers in pimping their pastries?

5) Atmosphere – This criteria is about the shop itself. The presence of a business can make or break a cupcake experience. Are the shop keepers as sweet as their sweets? Are the seats comfortable and the cakery quaint?

6) Selection – What are the choices? Though classic chocolate and vanilla are staples of any cake collection, what other unexpected flavors might tickle the taste buds? Is there enough cake to keep a customer coming back for more and more and more?

Which cake shop will win our judge’s adoration and life-long patronage? Which will make a birthday? And whose pretty pastries will flounder and fall flat?

Stay Tuned for the next three posts to see which Pasadena pastry takes the cake! Posting order will be: Violet’s Cakes, Dot’s Cupcakes, and My Sweet Cupcake.

Milk Madness: Tres Leches Cupcakes

2010-02-27T17:15:00.000-08:00

My long haired, long term boyfriend eats cake in a very peculiar way. Anyone who’s ever seen him slice up a sample can attest to this fact. You see, us normal cake people eat our cake on a plate with a trusty cup of milk nearby. But my long haired, long term boyfriend? Oh no, he eats his cake in a bowl. And then he pours that cup of milk on top formulating a cake-milk stew of sorts. Granted, us cake people create a comparable concoction in our mouths – one bite cake, one sip milk. So, my boyfriend is perhaps simply trying to avoid too many dirty dishes. But why stop there? Why not put the milk in the cake itself?

Can you do that?

You bet you can!

This milky masterpiece – known as Tres Leches cake (meaning three milks) comes from Latin roots. Thought by many to be invented in Nicaragua, this “wet” cake combines three leches – condensed milk, evaporated milk, and cream. It’s a lighter sponge cake, perfect for sopping up those luscious liquids, topped with an equally light whipped cream frosting!

Drown your own cake in the cup (not the bowl) by following these easy instructions:

Tres Leches Cupcakes
(Comes from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Book)

Ingredients:
6 Large Eggs (yolks and whites separated)
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp coarse salt
1 cup sugar
½ cup unsalted butter (melted and cooled)
½ cup all-purpose flour (sifted)
1 can evaporated milk (12 oz)
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)
¾ cup heavy cream
Ground cinnamon and cinnamon stick (for dusting and decoration)

1 Recipe Whipped Cream

You will also need paper-lined foil cupcake liners. Paper liners alone will not be strong enough to hold after dousing with milk.

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2) Line a cupcake or muffin tin with paper-lined foil liners.
3) With an electric mixer on medium speed, whisk together egg whites, baking soda, and salt until soft peaks form.
4) Reduce speed to low and add yolks and sugar. Whisk till completely combined.
5) Fold in melted butter with a flexible spatula.
6) Add flours in four batches, folding until just combined.
7) Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each half way. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until light golden brown (about 25 minutes).
8) Remove from oven and immediately poke holes into the cupcake tops with a skewer.
9) Whisk together evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.
10) With cupcakes still in the tins, brush milk mixture over cupcakes, repeating until cupcakes are saturated.
11) Allow cupcakes to absorb mixture (at least 30 minutes) or up to one day in the refrigerator. Be sure to wrap tightly in plastic once cool.
12) To finish, add a dollop of whipped cream on top of the cupcakes (or pipe it with a decorating bag and tip). Dust with cinnamon and top with a cinnamon stick.
13) Serve immediately!

Photos Courtesy of Russell Gearhart Photography.

Wicked Easy Whipped Cream

2010-02-25T01:19:00.000-08:00

Who doesn’t love a dollop of whipped wonderfulness on the top of his or her iced cream? Or cupcake? Or hot chocolate? Or mocha-frappa-starbuck-a-chino? Well throw out the store bought spray can, because with a little wrist whisking you’ll be whirling your way to whipped cream wonderland!

It’s wicked easy!

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
¼ cup of powdered sugar
(yeah, only two ingredients…I said it was easy!)

Directions:
1) Whisk heavy cream until soft peaks form. (I suggest using a stand or hand mixer).
2) Add powdered sugar and whisk until combined.
3) Eat!

If you aren’t using the whipped cream immediately, cover it up tightly and chill in the fridge. It will last about a day.

What are you standing there staring at this blog for!

Whip it! Whip it good!

Toto, I Don’t Think We’re in Kansas Anymore!

2010-02-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

Everyone needs a loyal best friend. For Dorothy, it was none other than her rascally companion, Toto, who trotted all the way to the Emerald City at her side. For my good friend, Ms. Strawberry Shortcake, her Toto is another Cairn Terrier – Maggie.

(This photo of Maggie is from Strawberry Shortcake's wedding in Cambria. Photo courtesy of Russell Gearhart Photography)

So, what did I make Strawberry Shortcake for her birthday last week? A playful puppy portrait of her loyal and best friend Maggie -in cake of course!

The design for these delectable doggies comes from the book “Hello, Cupcake!” by Alan Richardson and Karen Tack. I modified a few of the ingredients, but these happy hounds were quite simple to make. Follow the directions below to make your own cake-y canines (or buy the book).

Hello, Cupcake! Links:
Hello, Cupcake! Official Website
Hello, Cupcake! Book Info

To Decorate Your Own Dogs:

You Will Need:
1 Batch of Normal Size Cupcakes
1 Batch Mini Cupcakes (same number cupcakes as larger ones)
1 Recipe Butter Cream Icing (don’t use store bought icing, it is too soft and gooey)
Brown Gel Food Coloring
Pink Conversation Hearts (four per dog)
Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds, or Large Sugar Pearl Sprinkles
Tooth Picks
1 Disposable Decorating Bag
#16 Decorating Tip and Coupler
1 Bowl and Spoon for mixing

Prep the Frosting:
1) Add brown food coloring to butter cream icing with a toothpick. Mix till desired shade is achieved.
2) Attach #16 tip to a disposable piping bag using coupler.
3) Put five toothpicks full of brown food coloring on the interior sides of the piping bag. This will create a slight striping effect giving the hair the illusion of texture.
4) Fill piping bag with frosting.

To Make the Head:
1) Using the mini cupcakes to make the head, start by creating the muzzle. To do this, pipe a dollop of frosting just below the cupcake center. Press one conversation heart (upside down) into the frosting. Put a dollop on top of that heart and attach a second conversation heart on top. In the Hello, Cupcake! book, they used small marshmallows instead of conversation hearts.

2) Attach the ears by piping a line of frosting on the top rim of the cupcake (where an ear would go) and press an upside down pink conversation heart into the frosting. Make sure the text (Hug me, Be Mine, etc.) is not facing forward. Do this for both ears.

3) Cover the sides and back of the ears with piping. Start at the base and slowly move each line of frosting upward.

4) Let’s make some fur! Pipe 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch chunks of fur, starting with the outside rim, like you are putting petals on a flower. Slowly work your way inwards. The second layer of fur should slightly overlap the previous layer, and so on as you work your way to the center.

5) When you get to the muzzle, start at the top and pipe long lines from the center down.

6) Add eyes and nose by pressing chocolate covered sunflower seeds in the appropriate space. Or using a craft brush paint the large sugar pearl sprinkles with brown food coloring. Push sprinkles into eye and nose areas, and touch up with food coloring. (I used the sprinkles).

To Make the Body:
1) Start on the outside and work your way inwards (like you did with the head). Pipe chunks of hair, spiraling your way into the center.

2) When you get to the center make a large dollop of icing with which to attach the head.

3) Turn the dog head (decorated mini cupcake) on its side so he head is upright, and press it into the center dollop of frosting. VOILA! You’ve made a cairn terrier cupcake! You’re so talented!

4) Repeat for as many doggies as you desire!

Sweet and Simple Buttercream Icing

2010-02-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

If you're interested in cake decorating, you will need a reliable buttercream icing. Not to mention the fact that homemade icing tastes better than store bought icing, any day! The following is my standard buttercream recipe that I use all the time. I normally double this recipe, as it allows plenty of icing to cover an 8-inch round cake, and have enough left over to decorate with. Sweet and simple!

Buttercream Icing
(yeilds: 3 cups)
This recipe creates a stiff consistency icing.

Ingredients:
1 cup solid white vegetable shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla flavor or extract (you can also use butter flavor, or almond)
2 tablespoons water (you can also substitute with extract for more flavor)
1 lbs pure cane confectioners sugar (aprox. 4 cups)
1 tablespoon meringue powder (available a baking or decorating stores. I get mine at Michael's Arts 'n Crafts)

Directions:
1) Sift sugar two to four times.
2) In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, cream shortening, flavoring, and water.
3) Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed.
4) Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5) Continue to mix three to five more minutes, until creamy.

Icing Consistency:
Stiff Consistency (what the above recipe makes) is good for decorations that need to hold a particular shape such as roses or flowers.
Medium Consistency (add one tablespoon of water for each cup of icing) is great for borders and figures such as figure piping, flowers that lie flat, shells, rosettes, etc.
Thin Consistency (add two tablespoons of water for each cup of icing) is for fine details like writing, vines, leaves, and icing the whole cake itself.

The Amazing Muffin Transformation

2010-02-15T17:57:00.000-08:00

Earlier this week, I set out on cake-safari to hunt down the perfect birthday cupcake. What was the object of my sport? Why, none other than the rare and delicious orange vanilla cream cupcake.

But this sneaky little baked good pulled a fast one on me. Yes, as I was mixing and whisking through the jungle – measuring spoons in hand – these sweet sleuths filled my cupcake traps with a decoy. As I pulled back the paper liners, I noticed I hadn’t caught cupcakes at all. No, these cupcakes were muffins.

MUFFINS!

How could this be? I used the right bait. My measurements and ingredients were correct. I even saw the batter crawl into the oven trap. So how is it that my cupcakes spontaneously transformed into muffins?

Perhaps it was survival, like lizards dropping their tails, or frogs spontaneously changing sex for population control. These chameleon-baked-goods were a mystery, hiding in plain sight.

Or was the hunter to blame?

Alas, I hear the peanut gallery whispering. “What is the difference between a muffin and a cupcake? Aren’t they the same thing?”

Sure, these two species seem almost identical. After all, they are made from the same exact ingredients. But do you celebrate your birthday with a big birthday muffin? No! And trust me, it's not the frosting that makes the cake.

It's the texture.

Thus, I went on three cupcake hunting safaris last week, in search of perfect cupcake texture. I made three cake-y kills, and I have dissected and documented them below. Soon you too will see what makes a cupcake a cupcake, and a muffin a muffin!

Starting with batch #1 (the muffins) you will notice that muffins innards are rough and crumbly. This is because in muffinland you need not worry about a mixing method. But in cupcakeland, very detailed mixing instructions must be followed. Skip a step at your own peril. Which, is exactly what this little hunter did. I mixed the dry goods in with the wet goods.

This fatal folly caused my batter to clump. Why is this bad? Clumping means the sugar granules don't cut holes into the butter at a consistent rate. Clumping turns perfect tight air bubbles (which make cupcakes) into bulbous and unpredictable puff-pockets (which make muffins). If your batter's lumpy and bumpy – you're hunting muffins. If it's smooth as silk – well hot dog, you're headed for cupcake country.

On Safari number two, I learned that the texture of a cupcake (or cake in general) is smooth and refined. You've got to cream your butter and slowly add in your favorite boxer – the sugar – who will play punching bag with the solid fat. After a few rounds in the bowl, this creates millions of tiny tight air pockets.

Then (skip this step at your peril) you add in the dry goods. Then the wet goods. SEPARATELY!

So, while real estate is about location, location, location - baked goods are about technique, technique, technique!

But I wasn't satisfied with my second cupcake hunt. Sure, I'd caught some cake-y treats, but I found them to be dry. DRY! Curse you, cupcake gods!

Time to retreat? Never!

I put on my safari hat. I referenced my field guides (the Internets), and found a little clue for my final hunt: switch up the bait. I exchanged the solid fats (butter) for liquid fats (oil).

Oh, sweet cupcake, it looks like oil is your Achilles heel. Yes, I had finally caught the illusive and moist, smooth texture of cupcake!

So, if you want to sift your way to the sweet-cake-savannah, be sure to perfect your technique! I suggest following the Alton Brown creaming method, guaranteed to catch cake every time:

The Alton Brown Creaming Method:
1) Measure out all ingredients (by weight if possible). Fats should be pliable but solid (no sign of melting). If kitchen temp is over 70 degrees Fahrenheit, chill the bowl.
2) Combine all dried goods (except sugar) in a food processor, or by sifting.
3) In a small bowl beat eggs together, along with any extracts.
4) Using a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment) on medium speed, mix the fats alone for a minute to spread them around.
5) Add sugar (slowly) to the mixture and beat until it lightens noticeably.
6) Reduce speed to “stir” and add eggs very slowly. Stop to scrape down sides as necessary.
7) Work in dry goods in three installments, alternating with any additional liquids, such as milk. Always start with the dry ingredients and finish with the wet for a smoother batter.
8) Stir in any bits and/or pieces (chocolate chips, nuts, etc.)
9) Bake according to the recipe’s instructions.

Yeah, don’t just throw everything into a bowl and stir…unless, of course, you’re hunting muffins.

And if you aren't convinced, then perhaps the best way to know the difference between a muffin and a cupcake is to ... well ... eat them!

Be Mine! Valentine's Day Cupcakes!

2010-02-15T00:23:00.002-08:00

Tell 'em you love 'em with a little conversation cupcake! Sweet and tangy these tasty valentines will put carrier pigeons out of business, because nothing says I love you like cake!

(P.S. You can tweet me at: ingridsundberg)

I hope your Valentine's Day was delicious!

Ten Sweet Ideas for Your Sweetheart

2010-02-07T10:48:00.000-08:00

What are you getting your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day?

Women swoon for roses. But as the age-old saying goes, the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach! (Let’s be honest, that works for most women too.) So, I researched some heart-o-riffic cupcake ideas that will leave your valentine craving your sweetness this Valentine's Day!

1)Written With Love
Woo your valentine with a chocolate, hand-written cupcake note! This tasty valentine comes to you from her crafty-ness Ms. Martha Stewart and her baking entourage.

2) Be the Queen of Hearts
Quick and classic, entice your sweetheart with a little devil's food cake love! Top of your cake with butter cream and a flair of fondant hearts! This little secret comes from Confessions of a Bakeaholic.

3) Bring a Box of Chocolates
Take a classic box of chocolates and give it a cake-y twist! Make mini-cupcakes and decorate them with pink and red candies and chocolate frosting. This chocolate creation is brought to you by the cupcake masters who wrote the book "Hello, Cupcake."

4) Love, With a Cherry on Top
If you're not feeling the chocolate, think about adding a little cherry to your valentine-a-licious holiday! Cherry chip cake makes a light and lovely cupcake and will add a little "bing" to your relationship. Cherry ideas are compliments of Karen, the housewife looking to Do Better.

5) Say it with Flowers
Sure, fresh flowers can run up a pretty penny, but that doesn't mean you have to forget the sentiment. Make a gift that comes from the heart: rose cupcakes! These flowers use fruit roll-ups or fruit leather to make your heart blossom. Create a dozen with a little help from Disney's Family Fun Magazine. 6) Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Hearts!
Dazzle up your day with the classic of classic valentine sweets: chocolate! Melt up some super-sweet chocolate and pipe hearts to decorate your valentine goodies. These sinful sweets are animal-friendly, too! That's right, this choc-o-riffic recipe is brought to you by a Couple of Vegans with serious chocolate-know-how.

7) Be Mine! Be My Mini-Cake!
Start the conversation with a sassy heart-shaped mini-cake. Be Mine! Hug Me! Tweet Me! Send your loved one a special message with a mini-cake cut in the shape of a heart. Make yours with butter cream and the guidance of Martha Stewart, or try Ezra Pound Cake's fondant fun.

8) Pour on the Sugar!
Forget the frosting and sweeten up a red velvet cupcake with some powdered sugar. Cut a heart from construction paper and dust your cupcakes with powdered sugar for an elegant and classy look. Tie a ribbon around your confection to catch your valentine's eye! This ruby red recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens.

9) Bleeding Hearts
Not into the super-sappiness of Valentine's Day? That's okay, you can try something a little more "realistic" with a jelly-filled bleeding heart cupcake. It's sure to be a heart stopper! This sweet bleeder comes compliments of YumSugar.

10) Kiss 'Em Goodnight!
Every Valentine wants a goodnight kiss, so be sure to pucker up! Leave your mark on the inside of an Oreo cookie, buy gummy lips, or make your kissers with butter cream or fondant. Just make sure your sweet lips show up to the party!

Feel free to comment with your own sweet ideas! Be safe. Be fabulous. Eat cake!
Happy Valentines Day!

Bringing Home the Bacon

2010-02-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

We first noticed the fridge was dying when the frozen meat began to bleed and the ice cream turned to soup. As in the life of all appliances, eventually wires get rusty, compressors give up, and lights blink out. As my fridge coughed up its last breaths of cold air, my boyfriend and I frantically made preparations.

What do I do with a fridge full of food about to spoil?

I turn the beef into meatloaf. I turn the chicken into meat pie. I turn the bacon in to meat…..cake.

Meat cake?!!

Yes, as appliance death breathes down my neck, I embrace creativity and bring about new life. And thus the bacon cupcake is born. Sure, the combination of chocolate and bacon is not a new concept. In no way am I breaking new ground in the cupcake world. But it was – in the face of certain disaster – a fun and tasty way to curb certain spoilage.

To some, a bacon cupcake sounds as good as licking a slug. But I assure you it’s more than a pregnant woman’s late night craving, it is the sweet and salty treat you didn’t know you would fall in love with. Go ahead - try it out for yourself! I dare you!

HOW TO MAKE BACON CUPCAKES:

Start with any chocolate cake recipe. You may have a personal favorite, or use a box mix. Below is my mother’s Never Fail Chocolate Cake Recipe! It’s a heavier cake with rich texture and flavor.

You will also need one recipe of Ganache.

Preparing the Bacon:

Cook one package of bacon. You can do this the normal way in a fry pan, or you can make absolutely perfect bacon – the Alton Brown way:

The Alton Brown Secret to Perfect Bacon:
1) Get out a waffle iron and heat it up on medium.
2) Cut your bacon strips in half.
3) Place four to five half strips of bacon on the waffle iron. Close top and cook for 2 min, 30 seconds.
4) Open iron and move bacon around so another area will get cooked. Cook for another two and a half minutes.
5) Pull out your amazing strips of bacon and repeat! Not only will the bacon be flat (great for presentation) but it will be the perfect balance of crispy and fatty. Mmmmmmmmm Bacon!

Take half of your bacon and crumble it into bits for the batter. Save the other half to decorate the top of your cupcakes!

Mom’s Never Fail Chocolate Cake Recipe (with Bacon):

Cake Ingredients:
1 egg
½ cup cocoa
½ cup shortening
1 ½ cup flour
½ cup sour milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
½ cup boiling water
1 cup sugar
(Plus: your bacon bits and strips from above)

Directions:
1) Mix all ingredients in a bowl (including bacon bit pieces).
2) To make sour milk – add a tbsp of vinegar to the milk and let it sit for a few minutes.
3) Dish out cupcakes into liners in a cupcake tray. I like to use an ice cream scoop for equal portions.
4) Bake for 20 – 30 min, checking cupcakes with a toothpick for done-ness.
5) Let cupcakes cool.
6) Make ganache recipe and dip cool cupcakes into the mixture.
7) While ganache is still liquid dip bacon strips into the ganache and garnish the tops of your cupcakes.
8) Eat left over bacon for breakfast tomorrow! Mmmmmm bacon!

Bacon cupcake photos provided by Russell Gearhart Photography.

Super-Classy Party Cake

2010-02-02T21:36:00.000-08:00

What’s black and white and blue all over?

Why Ingrid and her 30th birthday cake, of course! Nothing cures the fear of growing old quite like dying your hair blue and stuffing your face with peanut butter bliss.

In an attempt to step into my thirties with a little class, I opted for a black and white theme. No, I’m not over the hill, or anticipating my own funeral. We’re talkin’ class – people, class! (Yes, as classy as a silly eye-ware party with a blue-haired birthday girl can be). The inspiration for this cake came from a photograph I saw in the book “Beautiful Cakes” by Peggy Porschen. This elegant confection is created with fondant stripes and gum paste flowers, using royal icing as a sugar glue to attach the flowers. The yum-yum interior of this creation is a chocolate and white layer cake filled with Reese’s peanut butter chunks and lathered with a coating of peanut butter frosting.

Are you drooling yet?

Photos provided by Russell Gearhart Photography.

10 Things You Didn't Know About Ganache

2010-01-25T20:30:00.001-08:00

1) What is Ganache?
Great point. It’s all together possible the first thing you didn’t know about ganache, is what it is! Well, ganache (guh-NAWSH) is a frosting. Actually, it’s a truffle. No, it’s a mousse! It’s a glaze! No, it’s super-ganache! In truth, ganache is all of these things. Made of two simple ingredients – chocolate and cream – ganache is a versatile super-topping that can be used to make a whole wealth of tasty treats, from truffles to cake filling. I made my first batch this past week to top some delicious bacon cupcakes (more on that in a later post).

2) Ganache is French. No Wait! It’s Swiss…
The origin of ganache is in high debate. Many think the Swiss invented ganache because it is the home of the truffle. Sacrebleu! No, no, madam et monsieur, ganache was dreamed up in Paris in the 1800’s at the Patisserie Siravdin. Given its versatility, it's not surprising that two completely different countries picked up chocolate and cream and thought – hey, we could use this! Bon Appetit!

3) It’s all about Texture! Texture! Texture!
It’s a tasters market, and the versatility of ganache comes from its texture, and texture comes from the ratio of chocolate to cream. A loose, or soft ganache (one part cream, three parts chocolate) is perfect as cake icing or dipping chocolate. Meanwhile a firm ganache (one part cream, two parts chocolate) is ideal for the creation of truffles.

4) Ganache Loves to Drink!
Many baked goods taste better with a little alcohol splash, and ganache is no lightweight. For some tasty flavor, feel free to add in some rum, brandy, or cognac to your granache mixer. You can also add fun flavors with extracts like vanilla or almond. Whether you like it straight up or with a triple bang, get yourself to that ganache bar and start flippin’ some trix!

5) Ganache is a Bitter Lover.
Traditionally, ganache is made from bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate. Yes, she’s got a bit of a bite, and if rubbed the wrong way she’ll cause you to throw your entire dessert in the trash. With a little love, however, she’s the perfect match for the sweet stuff – cake or fresh fruit. But if bitter is on your blech-o-meter, don’t fret because you can make ganache out of a ton of choice chocolates. What’s your type? Dark chocolate? Milk chocolate? White chocolate? All can be made into this sensuous sweet!

6) I Like Shiny Things.
Do you find yourself with an affinity toward sprinkles or golden glazes? Then ganache is your kind of chocolate. Add in a quick splash of oil, butter, or corn syrup and you’ll transform your matte mixture into a glossy glaze. It’s the Midas chocolate touch!

7) Oh My Ganache, the Fat is Going Straight to My Hips!
In our image-crazed culture we don’t often hear that fat is a good thing. But if you’re a ganache, it’s the equivalent to being a size zero. In fact, the higher the fat content of your cream, the richer and more stable your ganache will be. This is because the milk solids in the cream help the ganache to thicken, while the butter fat adds smoothness and moisture. That’s right, fat is beautiful (and delicious)!

8) How Long Does Ganache Like to Party?
Because ganache is half cream, it does have a relatively short shelf life. If you keep it in a cool place, the ganache will party for about two days, perhaps less if dancing a room-temperature tango. If invited to the fridge parade, you up your ganache-life to about a week. And if thrown in your freezer's mosh pit, ganache will keep on rockin’ for up to three months. After that, the party's over.

9) Picture this – Ganache is an Emlusion!
At first glance, it seems ganache is just a simple mixture of two ingredients: cream and chocolate. But look closer and far more will develop. Ganache is really an emulsification and a suspension, and if we adjust our focus we'll see that nothing is mixing at all. That’s what an emulsion is: the combination of two non-mixable elements. During the stirring phase when the ingredients are about 90-110 degrees Fahrenheit, the cream and chocolate fat breaks into itsy-bitsy droplets. And since they can't mix together, they become suspended in the water and stabilized with the emulsifier of fatty-milk-acids. Neat huh?

10) Ganache is as easy as….Pie?
It’s easier! Pie takes at least an hour to cook, not to mention prep time. Ganache will take 10-15 minutes, tops! Don’t believe me? Then follow the directions below and find out for yourself:

Ganache Recipe:
8 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate (cut into small pieces)
¾ cup of heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon rum (or brandy, or vanilla extract, or anything else you want to flavor with!)

1) Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl and set aside. Chopping your chocolate is very important! Don’t forget to do it.
2) Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat.
3) As the cream begins to boil, immediately pour the cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Don't touch it. Walk away and pick your nose (and of course wash your hands after).
4) Stir with a whisk until smooth.
5) If desired, add the liqueur.
6) Pour ganache over cake, or dip cupcakes into the ganache while it is still warm and liquid.

Sources:
Elizabeth, LaBau. "Ganache." About.com. 23 January 2010 .
Jaworski, Stephanie. "Ganache Recipe." The Joy of Baking Website. 23 January 2010 .
Phillips, Sarah. "What is Chocolate Ganache?" 2008. Baking 911. 23 January 2010 .
Smith, S.E. "What is Ganache?" 16 December 2009. WiseGeek.com. 23 January 2010 .
Yard, Sherry. "About Ganache - Excerpt from book "Secrets of Baking"." January 2004. The Global Gormet. 23 January 2010 .

Pleasing the Pie People

2010-01-23T00:38:00.001-08:00

There are two kinds of people in the world. There are cake people, and there are pie people.

I am a fervent member of the cake people clan. I love moist and fluffy cake topped with creamy icing; and chocolate has been my downfall since I could utter the word. Cake is my go-to sweet spot. In truth, I haven’t given pie a chance. I even spent the first fifteen years of my time on this earth not eating pie at all. *The pie people gasp* But occasionally I have given it a go, and though it is often tasty -- pie just isn’t cake.

But on the other side of the kitchen small voices whisper: “Cake just isn’t pie.”

What separates a cake person from a pie person, you ask? Well that’s a whole different blog post. Today I bring up this point simply to admit that the two camps exist. And when you throw a birthday party, you might have to consider the fact that some people will stand in the corner, force down cake, and mutter to their crust craving brethren “Well, it’s just not pie.” And it’s my party, and I won’t cry if I can help it. So, for the pie people in my life I provided pie-a-plenty. (And by plenty I mean one. Come on, there’s only one cake.)

Apple pie - the American classic - seemed the best candidate to please the pie possessed masses. But I’m not one for classic. I’m one for giving life a little twist. Thus, using a recipe provided by my (better than Edward Cullen) Guru Ms. Martha Stewart, I made apple pie; but with a very special birthday-worthy ingredient. What ingredient, you ask?

Why fresh cherries, of course.

Cherries are special because cherry pie is my personal favorite. They’re special because cherries are the perfect cheesecake accessory. Perfect because cherries girly-on-up a mixed drink before you can say green apple martini! Cherries are ruby red and hot! And it’s my party and I’ll have cherries if I want to. And thus, my second pie was born.

So, should you have pie people of your own to please, keep their tongues tantalized with this cherry-lickin’- birthday-worthy pie recipe:

Spiced Apple Cherry Pie
(Slightly modified from Martha Stewart’s Holiday Sweets 2009 Winter Issue Recipe)

Ingredients:
¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 recipe pate brisee
3 pounds granny smith apples
1 pound fresh pitted cherries (or canned if fresh isn’t available)
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
¾ cup packed light-brown sugar (dark brown works too)
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
Some fine sanding sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
1) On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to about 1/8 inch thick. Fit into a 9-inch deep dish pie plate. Trim edges flush with rim. Chill 1 hour, or up to overnight.
2) Roll out remaining disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick and cut 1-inch thick strips for lattice. Put on parchment paper and chill in fridge for an hour, or up to overnight.
3) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4) Peel and core apples. Thinly slice half of apples, and cut the other half in 1-inch pieces.
5) Toss together apples, cherries, lemon zest, lemon juice, brown and granulated sugars, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl.
6) Pour filling into pie shell, mounding it at the center. Dot with butter.
7) Whisk together egg yolk and cream for the egg wash. Lightly brush over edge of crust.
8) Use 1-inch strips of dough to create a lattice work. I used this link to show me how to make mine: Creating a Pie Lattice
9) Spread egg wash over the lattice work and then sprinkle with sanding sugar.
10) Bake pie on middle rack. Put a sheet of tin foil on the rack below to catch any excess juices. Bake until golden brown (about 25 minutes).
11) Reduce oven heat to 375 degrees, and bake until crust is golden brown and juices are bubbling (about 70 minutes). Tent with foil if crust is browning too quickly. Transfer to wire rack and let cool completely.

Flan: My Love Hate Relationship

2010-01-19T21:15:00.000-08:00

I hate flan.

It’s gross. It’s flavorless and has the texture of overcooked jellyfish. If I see it on a restaurant menu, I run in the opposite direction. Who would pay for flan, much less eat it? Blech!!! So one must ask, with such an obvious disdain for flan, why would I ever in my right mind make it? Much less for my very own birthday?

The Answer: Love (and a free cooking class).

The love part comes from the fact that my long-haired, long-term boyfriend thinks flan is the bee’s knees. And yes, despite his poor taste in desserts, I love him. So, flan has found its way into my kitchen repertoire. Well not exactly…

I would have never considered learning how to cook flan just to satisfy my boyfriend’s sweet tooth. In fact, I usually only make desserts that I want to eat. So there is a twist to this tale, and that includes some very Hip Cooks and a certain Pie Expert’s wife (then fiancé). I think Pie Expert’s wife needs her own name so I’m going to deem her –Strawberry Shortcake. She earns this name because she is sweet, adorable, one-hundred-percent irresistible, and well…she’s short. So, Strawberry Shortcake is getting married and for her bridal shower she decides to waive the classic shower shenanigans and does something totally hip instead. She decides to enroll us in an afternoon cooking class with a fun little company called Hipcooks; duly named because they’re hip and they cook – or more accurately: we cook.

The session is about four hours long and in it we learn, cook, and eat a variety of tapas. Each lesson is also sprinkled with fantastic facts about the history of tapas, the best ingredients to use, and lots of laughs. One of the aforementioned tapas was - that’s right – FLAN. Which is actually a desert and not a tapas…but what do I know. So without this afternoon of flan fate, I would never have made flan a part of my kitchen cuisine, and my long-haired long term boyfriend would be custard-less.

So if you want your friends and family to exclaim such wonderful comments as:

“This is Amazing!”
“This is the best flan I’ve ever tasted!”
“This is restaurant quality!”

Then please read the recipe below. And yes, even though my flan has been deemed fantastically fabulous, I still don’t like it. Sure my flan has more flavor than the flan I’ve had in the past, but just cause I made it doesn’t put it on the top of my tower of treats. But then that’s why I have other people to eat it!

FANTASTIC AND FABULOUS FLAN
(serves 4)

Bakeware Needed:
Four ramekins (¾ cup size)
Square or rectangle cake pan
Heavy sauce pan
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Mixing bowls, etc.

Ingredients:
For the Caramel:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup of orange juice

For the Flan:
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup milk (any kind except skim)
2 eggs
1 yolk
1/3 cup sugar

Directions:
To Begin With:
1) Preheat your oven at 350 degrees.
2) Arrange four ¾ cup ramekins in the cake baking pan.
3) Prep a sheet of parchment paper (NOT WAX PAPER!!) on a cookie sheet and place near stove.

To Make Caramel:
Safety Note: At no time – and I mean at no time - during the following process should you taste, lick, or test your caramel with any soft fleshy body part. Because no matter how good the caramel looks it will be crazy crazy hot, we’re talkin’ vampire-incinerating hot, and it will scar you for life! You have been warned!
1) In a heavy saucepan melt a cup of sugar over medium/high heat, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spoon. Be patient as the sugar melts.
2) When the sugar is melt-y and brown remove from heat for a few moments so it can cool a little bit.
3) With your spoon drizzle the caramel over the parchment paper making swirls, lines, cross hatches, or any lovely design you choose. This does not need to be precise, as you will later cool this and break it into chunks for decoration. If the caramel gets too hard, simply place on heat again and stir till it is runny.
4) Place the caramel back over the heat and add the orange juice. The caramel will seize a bit but just keep stirring till it melts (it will, trust me!).
5) Spoon the remaining caramel into the base of your ramekins.
6) Put cookie sheet of spun caramel in the fridge or freezer.

To Make the Flan:
1) Scald milk and cream in a pan by heating it up until small bubbles appear around the edge of the pan.
2) While the milk n’ cream are heating, mix together the sugar and egg.
3) Prep what you want to add to the flan in terms of flavor – lemon zest, amaretto, vanilla, pumpkin – whatever you desire. Or don’t add anything extra (I didn’t).
4) Pour the hot milk and cream into the bowl with the sugar and egg and mix. Add your additional flavor ingredients now. Do this quickly because the egg will start to cook a little because you added the hot milk/cream.
5) Pour the mixture over the caramel in your ramekins.
6) Create a water bath around your ramekins by adding water to the cake pan (but not the ramekins). You want to fill the pan so it is about half way up the side of the ramekins.
7) Put pans in the oven (which should be 350 degrees).
8) Cook for aprox. 30 minutes. You want to check the flan when it gets close to 30 minutes, when the flan jiggles it is ready to come out. Think Jell-O for the proper amount of jiggling.
9) Set Flan out to cool, but keep it in its water bath. Be careful because the water will be VERY HOT! The flan will continue to cook a little and set as it cools.
10) Once the flan ramekins are cool enough to pick up with your hands you can put them in the refrigerator. They will need to say in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours.

To Serve:
1) Using a butter knife cut along the edge of the flan so it will separate from the side of the ramekin.
2) Turn flan over onto a plate. Give it a little jiggle and shake and it will fall out. Allow the caramel syrup to run all over the flan.
3) Add decoration of spun caramel (it’s in the fridge remember!). Simply break off large chunks and stick it into the top of the flan for a dramatic vertical effect. Or if your caramel was a crazy failure add fruit like raspberries or cherries. Or add both!
4) Serve. Eat. Smile.

P.S. I also hate tiramisu, so maybe I should try making that next.

Photos in this post taken by Russell Gearhart Photography
If you live in LA and are interested in HipCooks learn more about them here: Hipcooks Website

Thirty and Brimming with Spice!

2010-01-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

My fingers wrinkle like ripe prunes. They’re water soaked and swollen from the three GIGANTIC loads of dishes accumulated from last night’s soiree. Not to mention the multiple loads of dishes created far before the party, when the baked goods were baked. I flop down on the couch; fingers puckered, and ask myself - is it really worth it?

*Sits quiet, contemplating*

Do you really think I’m going to throw the cake out with the dish water?! Oh how you underestimate me! All I need is some hot pink dish washin' gloves and a stiff drink.

Oh yeah, and I’m thirty.

Yup, I’m fresh out of the oven of the eternal party of my twenties, and I’ve been tossed onto the cooling rack where I will inevitably mold and rot. Right? No way! This newly-thirty is ready to shine. I’m well seasoned and brimming with spice! I’ve spent the last week celebrating the dirty thirty in all its fun and flirty fabulousness with the following baking (and some non-baking) excitement:

1) I dyed my hair an emerald peacock blue. Yes, I come into my thirties in blazing green phoenix fire! I am baker hear me roar!

2) Cupcake tasting! Who needs birthday cake when you have three cupcake shops just down the street? Better to taste eight cakes than one? Really, who’s going to argue with that logic? Coming soon – a full post about two birthday gals comparing Pasadena’s cake-cuisine! Who makes the best cupcakes in Pasadena? Violet’s Cakes? Dots? Or My Sweet Cupcake?

3) I had a Champagne Shower. Because everyone who turns thirty needs to bathe in champagne, or at least have a little Korean man dump an entire bottle over your head! I did, and it was the best shower of my life. Sticky and alcohol-y, and awesome!

4) A two-day bake-a-thon where I embarked on the creation of flan, chocolate reese’s peanut butter cup cake (two tiers of it, baked and then decorated), and an apple cherry pie. Hence the never ending tower of dishes mentioned above.

5) And finally, the grand finale: a silly eye-ware party where friends wore crazy glasses, and gorged themselves on tasty treats. Priceless.

Yes, thirty is the new thirteen…or the new “cougar”…or something. But whatever it is, I’m it! So don’t get too distracted because a series of full disclosure blog posts, photos and all, are coming! And you don’t want to miss a single magnificent munch-able-moment!

Elegant Red Christmas Cake

2010-01-11T12:42:00.000-08:00

This year, I spent my first Christmas away from home and with my long-haired, long-term boyfriend and his family. I decided to impress my potential in-laws with Christmas Cake, because the best way to a potential in-law's heart is through their stomach! The following is a photo-essay (taken by the long-haired, long-term boyfriend) which documents the multiple day labor-of-love it is to make a fancy fondant cake.

I began by making frosting, baking the cake, and then leveling the top. I set up shop at the kitchen table and smile silly-like at my at my documentarian.

I fill the layers with yummy-licous frosting (cream cheese frosting in this case). I've discovered the flavor of the frosting is key to a great tasting cake. Other fun flavors I've tried include peanut butter, and mint. Any future suggestions?

I crushed up some peppermint candy canes and put them between the layers of red velvet and white cake to add a tasty bit of holiday cheer. After wards I covered the two tiers of cake entirely in frosting.

Next comes the fondant (not fondue, as the potential parent-in-law kept calling it). Fondant is a smooth flawless icing used for wedding and specialty cakes. It's made of sugar and water and has a gum-like texture. It's play-dough for bakers! I purchase my fondant pre-made, and it comes in white, so my first task was to color it. Red and black are the hardest colors to create as they require a lot of food coloring and even more kneading and mixing. Guess what color this cake is?

Look at that sexy neon salmon orange - it has Christmas written all over it? Uh...well...it looks like a little more gel-color and a healthy wrist workout is in order.

After the desired color is achieved, (which took practically an entire jar of gel-color) I rolled out the fondant until it was about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch thick.

Using the rolling pin, I rolled the fondant out over the cake, and smoothed it out with my hands and a fondant smoother to make my cake flawless. It's like botox for cake!

Once the cake is covered and the wrinkles are wiped away, I cut away the excess fondant. Then lather, rinse, repeat -- I mean -- roll, smooth, and repeat for tier number two.

I use dowels to support the second tier.

Slowly, with agile fingers and the grace of a bull, I lower the second tier, down through a central dowel. (Side note: Bull's are actually very graceful, Mythbusters did an experiment to see what a Bull would actually do in a China shop and here-be-told not a dish was displaced!)

Prior to making the cake I cut out small white flowers from gum paste and let them dry. Next I painted them with pearl dust (you know, to make the cake fancy) and I glue in the center sprinkles using almond extract.

The finished flowers wait to dry as the sun sets. Sparkly!

Later I attach the tiny flowers all over the cake - again using almond extract as a glue. Any extract will work, the almond is simply what I had on hand.

You have to hold each flower down for a moment or two in order to seal the bond. Yes, decorating does include a lot of small work, but I find it very zen-like to enjoy each small step one by one by one by one by one.

And Voila - a beautiful fantastic Christmas cake! Easy as....cake! (Well, three days easy).

Magnifico!

How Merry!

Of course after you've admired the cake, you must eat it! Who's got a gigantic knife?!

Time for some slicing and dicing!

Who wants the first piece?

Gobble. Gobble. Munch. Munch. Slurp. Burp.

Even the nieces approve! Merry Christmas Everyone!

All the photos for this post were taken and provided by Russell Gearhart Photography.

Martha Stewart is My Edward Cullen

2010-01-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

The question is which side are you on? Are you Team Edward? Or are you Team Jacob?

With the recent release of “New Moon,” I find teenage vampaholics have gone ga-ga, fangs extended, to prove their beloved Edward is the name whispered from my lips when asked this oh-so-life-changing question. Their eyes bulge waiting to find out my true colors. And so, to this chorus of prepubescent shrieks, I dare to say: neither. I’m 100% third party.

That’s right, I’m for team Martha!

Team Martha Stewart, that is. No, Martha hasn’t turned into a vampire, or traded in her blond locks for a full body hair-wolf-athon. No, she’s still the mistress of home-crafting and baking bedazzlement, and dare I say she could give Edward a run for his money. Let’s compare:

Edward Cullen
1) Brooding and Dangerous
2) Soul-less Vampire
3) Immortal
4) Sparkles in the Sunlight
5) Thinks Bella Smells So Good He Wants to Eat Her
6) Achingly Beautiful (according to the screenplay)
7) Brings Teenage Girls to Their Knees with Incomparable Obsession and Loyalty
8) Is 100% fictional

Martha Stewart
1) Happy and Dangerous
2) Soul-less Advertiser
3) Immortal
4) Makes all Baked Goods and Crafts Sparkle Day or Night
5) Makes all Baked Goods Smell So Good You’d Sell Your Soul to Eat Them
6) Makes Cakes that are Butter-Cream-Beautiful
7) Speaks to the Almost-Thirty Homemaker that I Didn’t Even Know Lived Under This California Girl Veneer
8) Is 100% Flesh and Blood

Honestly, I just want something I can sink my teeth into.

The key here is obsession. Young girls are obsessed with Twilight, and I’m obsessed with 2009 winter issue of Martha Stewart’s Holiday Sweets, which is really what this whole blog post is about.

I bought this magazine on a whim. Yes, some achingly beautiful picture on the cover catches my eye, a few flips through its sunlight sparkling pages, and I fell hard and fast. My brooding vampire is a caramel-pear terrine. I found myself drooling over pictures of Eggnog cups, and carrot spice tartlets, lemon mousse, and pumpkin flan. Not to mention the special section on how to build your very own gingerbread mansion (or subdivision for that matter)! I read this magazine cover to cover, and then I read it again. I wanted to rip out the pictures and paste them on the wall so I could stare starry-eyed into the sweet marshmallow gaze of caramel pots de crème! Edward, you’ve got nothin’ when Martha’s got Raspberry Pistachio Dacquoise!

But I digress…

Perhaps all these sweets, like Edward, are just a fantasy. They look immaculate and unattainable in the glossy photos. Martha casts her spell, and for a minute I think maybe I too can make something just as marvelous, something just as exquisite and rare. Am I really special enough, talented enough, and obsessed enough?

I don’t believe in Vampires. But cake. Cake I can work with. Team Martha all the way!

Dear Sweet New Year's Pie!

2010-01-03T01:31:00.000-08:00

Right now…
The kitchen smells of butter. The air is glazed with the warm scent of flaky bread rising. In the oven the pie simmers with cranberries and pears making love under a bed of brown sugar. I’ll let the love brew for another hour or so, before painting the crust with an apricot reduction. My taste buds are ready to rock out, bringing in the New Year with coconut confetti and Pear-Cranberry Pie: home-made style baby!

The Taste Tester…
I baked my New Year’s pie as a surprise treat for a good friend of mine, let’s call him The Pie Expert. The pie expert has rightfully earned his title, for in my circle of friends no one is as knowledgeable, experienced in eating, or loves pie more than he. Case and point, when the pie expert got married there was no wedding cake, oh no, there was wedding pie. So who better to judge my maiden pie voyage?

His comments were few, (perhaps because his mouth was stuffed with delicious pie . Or perhaps he was considering how he could spit it out and not insult me. It was new years, after all, he also could have been drunk.) The Pie Expert’s verdict:

“It’s good” – Vague, but positive. However, one must consider the friend factor. It is well known that friends will often lie to be polite.

“It’s not too sweet.” - Upon further inquiry I learn this is a good thing. Pie expert explained that the pie had a nice balance between sweet (the pear) and tart (the cranberries).

“The crust is nice and firm.” – It turns out this is a particularly important element of pie construction. One must make a substantial crust that can support the weight of the fruit without wimping out and becoming mystery mush. Good to know. I often hear that the crust is the hardest part about making pie, so with the hardest part in the clear I'm going to call this match: One point for team Ingrid.

So Let’s talk Shop…
Baking pie wasn’t the intimidating feat I imagined it to be. No mountains of butter were scaled, no pie bridges burned, or tsunamis of cranberries splashed upon the floor. Just follow the directions - chop, toss, press, cover with crust and bake. Easy as pie.

Literally.

I decided to get a little creative with the decoration of this pie. The original recipe (which came from the creative crafting queen Ms. Martha Stewart) showed you how to create a lattice work by using small square cookie cutters. Instead of weaving a lattice you cut out the holes in the flattened dough, and then use the cut-out squares as a crust. My thought is – good effort Martha – but if you’re going to use cookie cutters why not use something fancy? Why be square when you can be a flower shaped?! I got my craft on with a flower cookie cutter, originally used to crate fondant flowers. You can get these at Michael’s Arts n’ Crafts. If cake can be pretty, then pie can be pretty too! So I double dog dare everyone to get out their cookie cutters and fancy up some pie!

Fun Photos…
Because I haven’t invented the scratch and sniff icons yet, you’ll have to drool over some photos. (Taken by Russell Gearhart Photography).

The Recipe:
(Comes from “Martha Stewart's Holiday Sweets Magazine” Winter 2009 Issue, Pages: 8, 9, 16, 17)

Pear-Cranberry Pie Recipe
All purpose flour, for dusting
1 recipe Pate Brisee for crust (See Below)
4 ripe Bartlett pears
4 1/3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon heavy cream
½ cup apricot preserves

1. Roll out one disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Fit into 9 inch pie plate and trim edges. Chill 1 hour or up to overnight.
2. Roll out second disk of dough to 1/8 inch thick. Cut out pattern with cookie cutters. Use square for lattice effect. Cut around edges so that you have a round pie top.
3. Use leftover dough to cut out additional squares, flowers, (your choice of shape), for the crust of the pie. Chill pie top and cut out shapes in fridge for 1 hour or up to overnight.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
5. Peel and core pears. Very thinly slice 2 pears lengthwise; cut remaining 2 pears into 8 wedges each.
6. Toss pears, cranberries, brown sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Pour into pie shell; gently press to make level. Dot with butter.
7. Whisk egg yolk and cream to create egg wash.
8. Place pie top design/crust over the top of the pie. Gently press edges of crust togther to seal; trim edges if necessary.
9. Lightly brush egg wash on pie top.
10. Arrange shapes along the edge of the pie to create crust. Lightly glaze each piece as you go. You can make shapes overlap or butt them up next to one another. This depends on the design you wish to create.
11. Put pie in the oven on middle rack. Bake until golden brown and juices bubble – aprox. 1 ½ hours. Pull out and cool when done.
12. Meanwhile, heat preserves in a sauce pan over medium heat till warm. Puree in a food processor till smooth. Press through fine sieve into a bowl. Brush warm pie with generous amounts of apricot glaze. Let cool.

Pate Brisee Recipe (Pie Crust Dough)
(Also from above mentioned Magazine)
Makes one 9-10 inch double crust pie.
3 Cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup and 2 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter (cut into small pieces)
¼ to ½ cup ice water

1. Pulse flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (Read previous blog post on evil food processors for exciting adventures in pulsing!)
2. Evenly drizzle ¼ cup ice water over mixture. Pulse until mixture just begins to hold together (it should not be wet or sticky in texture). If too dry, add more water one tablespoon at a time.
3. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic and shape into a disk.
4. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or up to overnight. Freeze up to 1 month (thaw before using).

Baking Pie Prelude: The Evil Voodoo Food Processor

2010-01-01T11:36:00.001-08:00

I must begin this post with a confession. Prior to today I did not know, understand, or comprehend what a food processor did….other than, well….process food, (whatever that means). After all according to the collective media barometer processing your food equals “my hamburger is made out of corn chips and rabbit droppings.” So, sure it makes sense that I grew up in a house without a food processor (or if my house did have one then I grew up blind or my mother is a master magician.) The point being, I didn’t know why I would ever need one or what it would do.

Enter baking challenge number one: Pie Crust

The directions say to pulse ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, and water) in a food processor. Excuse me? Pulse them? Don’t get me wrong, but aren’t things with a pulse supposed to be alive? How am I supposed to pulse these ingredients with my fingers? (Well, you’re not. You’re supposed to use a Food Processor, Dummy.) I debated long and hard, contemplating if this process could be completed without a food processor (of which I do not own). Pie crust must have been made in days long before food processors. Cave woman must have had her own tricks for serving up some sweet pie for her cave-hunny after a long day of buffalo hunting. Marie Antoinette’s servants must have found a way to keep their heads away from the guillotine, and their hands pinching pie crust. It has to be possible.

My options are:
1. Invent my own creative way to pulse the ingredients, at my own risk.
2. Find out more information via bookstore or inter-webs.
3. Buy a food processor.

Since I didn’t have internet (per the period of the pulsing predicament) I opted to follow the directions and purchased my very own plastic and shiny food processor. I pulled the contraption from the box, and placed it on the counter. Yes, now I too would learn the mysterious behavior of processing food. *Do do do do do do do do * *Insert Twilight Zone Theme Song Here.*

So a food processor is a plastic bucket with a big double sided death blade in the middle - you know the type of medieval torture device that thirteen-year-olds love to wield in video games. Pulsing is obviously very dangerous. Okay, but before I actually get to the pulsing and the processing, we have a problem. My thirty-five-dollar hunk of torture device doesn’t work. I press the “ON” button and nothing happens. Now I’m a semi-smart lady. I have a master’s degree, a doctor for a father, and an uncanny ability to assemble IKEA furniture like it’s nobody’s business. I follow directions, and I follow them well. But when I plug in the cord and press the pretty little pulse button –Nada! Nothing! Benito! I disassemble and reassemble. I trouble shoot, re-read directions, and try multiple outlets. But the plain and simple fact is my food processor processes nothing.

Enter my ruggedly handsome, long-haired, long-term boyfriend who’s pretty much been watching me struggle with this hunk of plastic for about a half an hour. I’m packing the thing up. I am ready to condemn this food-bot to the Island of misfit toys and never look back.

“Wait. Let me try it.” He says. He carefully takes the processor apart, follows the directions, sliding each piece into place, exactly – I must add – in the same way I did. He plugs it in, presses pulse and it becomes apparent that I have been possessed by some evil voodoo food processor ju-ju. The machine roars to life and the knife spins like the ninja I imagine only Jackie Chan can be. It works. My first test of baking, and I fail miserably. One touch from the mystical man who makes all electronics bow at his will, and yes it spins to attention like an eager pup.

Well…at least I don’t have to return it.

It turns out a food processor is a pretty cool gizmatron. It made pie dough in a New York minute (having never lived in New York I have no idea if that witticism even makes sense). Let’s just say fast. Faster than my little fingers could ever pulse. And pulsing isn’t that fancy either. It’s just a button on the machine that causes the blade to churn as long as you wish to hold down the button. While the “ON” button stays on until you turn it off. They kind of do the same thing really, but I’m no expert. The good news is I still have all my fingers, all my toes, and pie dough. Sweet and savory pie dough, bad voodoo ju-ju and all.

Internet Detox Results in Potential Kitchen Explosion!

2009-12-31T16:17:00.001-08:00

I'm addicted to the internet. If you're reading this, inevitably so are you. I download my free time for tweets, social interaction, and the joy of knowing I can stream kittens all day long if I want to. (And I do want to). But right now, I don't have the internet. I don't even have television. *GASP* *An internet kitten dies with the horror.* I know we're talking serious scary stuff here. On top of that, it's vacation. New Year's Eve is tomorrow, the Christmas craze has ended and I am in that sweet spot before one has to go back to work. I have all the free time in the world...and no internet. So what exactly am I supposed to do?

Bake.

If you haven't noticed this is my cake decorating blog. Last year I decided to learn how to decorate cakes, and trust me that's not going to stop. But in making cake look good, I've also become interested in making cake (and all other things bake-able) TASTE good too. So my New Year's resolution is to be a little more active in this blog thingy and record my adventures in not only cake decorating but in the inevitable explosion of my kitchen! Are you up for the ride?

According to TV food personality Alton Brown (or at least the cover of the book I saw at Barnes and Noble) Food + Mixing + Heat = Baking, and according to unknown amateur decorator and baker Ingrid Sundberg, lack of internet + fear of having no response when asked my New Year's resolution + recent viewing of Julie and Julia = Ridiculous Baking Extravaganza (detailed with full disclosure on my favorite addition - the internets!)

Small Voice: Wait! If you have no internet, how can you post your adventures?
*The all knowing Ingrid laughs*
All Knowing Ingrid: Silly Rabbit, internets are for kids!
(That's code for the cable guy is coming tomorrow).

As with all cooking it is best to start with a recipe, so let's pick out some ingredients for this ridiculous baking bonanza!

Ingredients:
1. Bake and/or decorate something once a week. Be as diligent as possible!
2. Provide pictures so people can see the prettiness (and the messiness).
3. Provide scratch and sniff icons so people can smell the aroma! Mmmmmm!
4. Invent technology so ingredient #3 may be provided.
5. Record failures with as much detail as successes. Full disclosure!
6. Try and keep things related to cake, dessert, and confectionery delights.
7. Have fun. Because all baking should be done with love, and it reminds you that the mountain of dishes you must wash was worth it.

Directions:
Mix, add heat, and blog about it.

Seems simple enough. Hopefully this is one recipe I can actually follow!

Halloween Cupcakes

2009-11-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post these a couple weeks ago:

Halloween Cake

2009-10-25T23:38:00.001-07:00

This was a delicious chocolate and vanilla layer cake with Reese's peanut butter cups and peanut butter buttercream icing! Yum! Yum!

Pineapple Upsidedown Cake

2009-09-23T11:38:00.000-07:00

Yummy pineapple upsidedown cake! Double layers with white chocolate wrap and yellow polka dots!

Gold Bond Cake

2009-08-04T20:45:00.001-07:00

For my second exploration into the world of fondant I created this silly birthday cake of a bottle of gold bond. It's sort of an inside joke with my boyfriend and some of his friends. Designed and created all from my head...well my head and from looking at a bottle of gold bond.

My First Fondant Cake!

2009-07-29T20:38:00.001-07:00

Very Hungry Caterpillar

2009-07-29T20:35:00.000-07:00

Here's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" in cupcakes!

My First Tiered Cake!

2009-07-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

This is my first tiered cake. I also made the flowers out of royal icing. I think this one turned out super nice!

Spring Cake

2009-07-05T22:14:00.001-07:00

This is my first cake using royal icing. I made all the flowers and butterflies with royal icing (which hardens) and the rest is butter cream icing.

Thanks again to Russell Gearhart Photography for the photographs: www.gearhartphoto.com

Alien Cupcakes!

2009-05-25T14:30:00.001-07:00

Rainbow Cake

2009-05-25T14:10:00.001-07:00

I made this fun spring birthday cake for Carmen Isom. It has a surprise center!

Making Rainbow Cake

2009-05-25T13:53:00.001-07:00

Making cake that is rainbow on the inside will require the following steps:

1) Using white cake, divide you batter up into five bowls.

2) Now add food coloring to each bowl for each color of the rainbow. I prefer to use gel food coloring. This can be found at an arts and craft store with a cake decorating section.

3) Once you have all your colors you will want to pour in each color one at a time. Pour the color into the center. Then pour the next color into the center. Do not stir or mix.

4) Bake your cake!

5) When it's done your cake will create rainbow circles on the top, but when you cut into it you will have bands of rainbow color!

The original link where I learned how to do this is: http://www.omnomicon.com/rainbowcake
This page has great photos and explanations on how to make this cake!