Chocolate with a simple Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.
The Sun was a separate piece of cake, so it came off to serve as his own special cake, which he demolished happily.
10.19.2014
Take Me To Your Meeple
This one was fun.
Pumkin Chip Cake with Maple Buttercream Frosting.
A Carcassonne Board Game, topped by a GIANT MEEPLE!
AAAAHHHH! It is coming to get us!!!!
Made for a Board Game Geek's 30th Birthday.
9.07.2014
Guinness Stout Cake
Beer + Cake = YUM
The design on this cake was pretty straightforward - and the pictures are from an old camera, so they don't really do the colors justice. But the black was perfect and the "foam" on top was a wonderful warm cream color that reminded you of a perfectly poured Guinness around St. Patrick's Day.
The design on this cake was pretty straightforward - and the pictures are from an old camera, so they don't really do the colors justice. But the black was perfect and the "foam" on top was a wonderful warm cream color that reminded you of a perfectly poured Guinness around St. Patrick's Day.
It also tasted FANTASTIC. Guinness Chocolate Cake, infused with more stout once baked. A Double Dark Chocolate Icing (dark cocoa and dark melted chocolate). And Salted Caramel Foam - buttercream icing with salted caramel mixed in, then more drizzled over the whorls of icing to add flavor, color and depth.
I would love to make another of these sometime soon. This was donated to a bake sale - it was going to be cut up and sold in pieces, but they made it into a raffle item instead. Maybe it will show up around St. Patty's Day this year!
6.17.2014
Honey Moon Cake
Last weekend was the Honey Moon, a rare event when the moon appears large and yellow in the night sky. It was also close to the solstice, which makes the moon appear even larger, so it was especially notable. I tried to replicate the color in the icing, with the dark blue of the night sky for the decorations.
It was also the Engagement party of two very special people, so the perfect time for a fancy cake.
This cake was absolutely heavenly. I forgot to get a picture of a cut slice, for a good reason - they were eaten too quickly! It was a big cake, but I saw people going back for seconds, and thirds, and maybe just a little slice more...
The bottom layer was a slightly-altered-for-the-better version of my Strawberry Velvet recipe, baked with a homemade syrup I made fresh from strawberries we picked just a few days before at Highland Orchards. They were so sweet, I didn't even use any honey - just mashed them and cooked them down until they were a good consistency, then ran them through the mini food processor. I used 8 oz. in the cake, then another 4 to make a Strawberry Buttercream that I used for the crumb coat. The outer icing was Coconut Buttercream. It all combined for a light, fluffy cake that was sweet but subtly so.
The Strawberry Velvet batter:
The top layer was an all new recipe: Cocoa Cabernet. This was downright delicious. The cocoa makes it rich without being heavy, while one recipe uses about 3 cups of wine combined. The wine is used as the liquid in the recipe then injected directly into the baked cake and allowed to soak in before it is assembled, which makes it unbelievably moist. Unlike many cakes with liquor, this one retains both some of the alcohol content and the tang of the wine, making for a unique taste. It used the Strawberry Buttercream as filling and the same Coconut Buttercream for the frosting.
Congrats to Ryan & Rachel on their engagement! It was an amazing party for the Honey Moon!
It was also the Engagement party of two very special people, so the perfect time for a fancy cake.
This cake was absolutely heavenly. I forgot to get a picture of a cut slice, for a good reason - they were eaten too quickly! It was a big cake, but I saw people going back for seconds, and thirds, and maybe just a little slice more...
The bottom layer was a slightly-altered-for-the-better version of my Strawberry Velvet recipe, baked with a homemade syrup I made fresh from strawberries we picked just a few days before at Highland Orchards. They were so sweet, I didn't even use any honey - just mashed them and cooked them down until they were a good consistency, then ran them through the mini food processor. I used 8 oz. in the cake, then another 4 to make a Strawberry Buttercream that I used for the crumb coat. The outer icing was Coconut Buttercream. It all combined for a light, fluffy cake that was sweet but subtly so.
The Strawberry Velvet batter:
The top layer was an all new recipe: Cocoa Cabernet. This was downright delicious. The cocoa makes it rich without being heavy, while one recipe uses about 3 cups of wine combined. The wine is used as the liquid in the recipe then injected directly into the baked cake and allowed to soak in before it is assembled, which makes it unbelievably moist. Unlike many cakes with liquor, this one retains both some of the alcohol content and the tang of the wine, making for a unique taste. It used the Strawberry Buttercream as filling and the same Coconut Buttercream for the frosting.
Congrats to Ryan & Rachel on their engagement! It was an amazing party for the Honey Moon!
11.13.2013
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.
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.
10.08.2013
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!
10.07.2013
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!
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