Caramel Apple Cake...NomNomNom

This cake. This amazing cake.

It was so freaking amazing.

It also looked pretty, sure. The whole cake was based on the lollipops around the side - Caramel Apple Lollipops, which were harder to find than usual this year. It has become a tradition that every year I buy a bag of these for the guest of honor, so they of course inspired the recipe. The candy corn on top was actually caramel corn flavored...and tastes really weirdly like a caramel apple.

The cake was apple, made with four pounds of apples picked by myself and my daughter at a local orchard. The filling was salted caramel buttercream, with a boiled cider frosting.

If you haven't had Boiled Cider, I highly recommend it. You can buy it online or at specialty stores...or find a good local orchard and buy a few gallons of their cider. Leave it out for a few days until the sediment settles to the bottom. Pour carefully into a large non-reactive pot and boil for most of the day, until it is 1/7th its original volume. Strain carefully and pour into glass containers while still hot, which will make it last longer unopened.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea...

In the months prior to her second birthday, Penny was obsessed with Spongebob Squarepants. This may have been encouraged by Matt, who would watch Spongebob over any other kid programming available. She lost interest at some point and we never re-introduced the show - she still knows the characters but rarely actually watches the actual program anymore. However, it produced quite a cake...

This came out pretty well! Hands, legs and nose were made out of Rice Krispie Treats, but the rest was all cake and buttercream. Four recipes of Carrot Cake, to be exact, from a family recipe, to the tune of about 10 lbs of carrots in the cake. It was freaking heavy. Some licorice for arms and sock stripes, crushed graham crackers for sand and some swedish fish for ambiance.

Putting the candles on the cake...

Also displayed: Rice Krispy Spongebobs, brought by a wonderful friend. I think they had olives for eyes? This was actually a fun theme to run with - we had a whole pig with Tiki style sauces and sides, PB & Jellyfish sandwiches, anemone centerpieces (carnations set flat in pink bowls), lots of bubbles floating around, and I made swim/wet bags for all the kids as favors. Randomly, the pinata was a parrot, as chosen by the birthday girl. 

Penny & I

Bubbles!!!! Also maybe the favorite dress I ever made for her.

Cutting up the character cakes can prove entertaining. Some of the kids tore off his hands, my own daughter screamed "I want Spongebob's eye!" and the fish were scavenged through the night. Fun for all!

BRAAAAAAAAIIIINNNSSSS Cupcakes

Ew. Also, awesome.

Though they would be perfect for Halloween, these actually went to a party for a Neurology Department of a local hospital. Fantastic, no? They were entirely the host's idea, and apparently through the night the doctors began to analyze them more closely, spotting abnormalities in the grey matter and diagnosing the conditions of the 'patients'.

These were from September 2012. They were Red Velvet cake with Vanilla Brain Buttercream. They were awesome - a touch of that classic southern chocolate taste in the cupcake balanced with a classic frosting. Biting into them was a bit like pretending to be a zombie, with the grey matter topping and bright red interior.

These are from the 2013 batch. I changed up the cake recipes this year. Half were Red Strawberry Velvet, and the other half were Red Wine Velvet, again with a Vanilla Brain Buttercream. This allowed me to cut out most or all of the food coloring, which can mask the other yummy flavors. The Red Wine Velvet in particular were a favorite of the taste testers - each cupcakes was infused with a shot of red wine prior to icing. making them super moist and a touch boozy. They both had the classic Red Velvet smooth chocolate taste though!

Baking

I love to bake. I love the smell, I love to eat batter, I love to come up with new creations and recipes. I also love making awesome cakes and cupcakes out of buttercream. Using just yummy icing, some food coloring and a variety of tips, I make whole scenes, buildings, animals and more. A few years ago, I started making cakes for my family and friends for birthdays, parties and other events. I want to use this blog to post pictures of my creations and some details about the cakes inside!