Billa Cakes

Portfolio: Yellow Baby Shower Cake and Carriage Cookies

2011-06-11T12:01:00.000-07:00

Another weekend, another baby shower!

Babies are so exciting...and even more so when you don't know what you're having! My friend Kristen is throwing a shower for her little sister who is having a baby soon. Megan has opted to leave it a surprise, and to celebrate, her friends were throwing her a delightfully elegant and girly shower. Kristen asked me to make carriage cookies again, but this time, we chose yellow since it's ambiguous. I also did a cake for the shower, vanilla with strawberry filling, and I got a little adventurous with it this time.

Kristen wanted to know if I could try and match the shower invite, which was a really cute sort of henna/mendhi/floral design in pink, yellow, and gray. Since baby's gender is a question mark, I chose yellow as the overall theme and accented with gray and pink icing. Does anyone else her that scene from Steel Magnolias play in their head when they hear the words "gray icing"? No? Ah, well, I digress.

The cake gave me lots of trouble (probably because I didn't sleep well and the house was hot, etc), but I think it came out beautifully. It totally made my day when my husband and my daughter walked in and both of them immediately said, almost in stereo, how much they liked the design I'd chosen. Kristen loved it too, and I think it was fancy enough without being over the top and not too overtly pink...just in case Megan ends up with a boy!

I love the technique I used on the side and plan on doing it some more. I have to admit, I didn't ever think I would love using buttercream so much, but it really is so much easier to work with, even if it does create lots of dishes!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Carriage and Onesie Cookies

2011-06-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Everywhere I go, I hear of yet another mama that's expecting or just delivered. It's that time of year!

My buddy Kristen asked me to whip up some cookies for a baby shower and specifically requested baby carriages and onesies. The mama to be is having a little man, so we did everything up in a blue and white and brown theme. They came out so cute that I'm doing carriages again soon!

Congrats Mama to be...may you have an easy labor and a healthy baby boy!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Theatre Sweet Sixteen Cake

2011-05-29T19:41:00.000-07:00

In one of my previous lives I was an actress. I still do some acting now and again, but for the most part, my BA in Theatre Arts hangs on my wall gathering dust. I occasionally dream of being an Oscar winner someday, but honestly, there's too much else I'd rather be doing. Still, it was really fun this weekend to pull out all the stops for this sweet Sweet Sixteen birthday cake for my friend's stepdaughter. Emma's very active in her school drama club and loves theatre and her stepmom asked me to make a cake that would reflect Emma's love and interests. It was even more fun because Courtney told me to just run with it. You got it mama!

I racked my brains and the interwebs for some inspiration before coming up with this idea of a two tier affair. At sixteen, you think the world is your oyster and in Emma's case, it's her stage to quote an expert in the field. The top tier was designed to look like a stage ready to be performed on and I decorated the side of the bottom tier with all sorts of theatre references.

I have to say, this is my best buttercream work so far! And I really liked the design...it kinda reminded me of the circus, which I think is perfect for a theatre theme. Sometimes performing can be a circus!

The front view

A side view

The stage...you can kinda see the outlines of the "boards" I drew on the bottom of the cardboard round. Every stage has to have boards upon which to tread!

Another side view...the playbill was my favorite fondant piece!

The inside of the cake was simple vanilla and because Court and her family aren't huge fondant fans, I tried to keep the entire thing in buttercream. I was really torn though, because this was served over Memorial Day weekend and when we do hot holiday opening summer weekends, we go big or go home with heatstroke around here! I kept that cake as cold as could be before it was picked up to make sure it didn't melt before the birthday girl could get a glimpse of it.

Happy birthday, Emma! May the world truly be a stage for you to dance upon!

Happy caking,
Kelly

2011-05-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

I am soooo addicted to Pinterest! I’d heard of it before, but I never really looked into it until the other day when I had a little bit of free time during Billa’s nap to catch up on my blogs. A blogger mentioned an item from it and when I clicked through, my world was rocked forever.

If you’re like me, you’re always collecting little tidbits and snippets of things that catch your eye: a crafty idea, a pretty picture, an awesome quote. Michael and I are notorious Googlers; we’ll Google some of the most random things and could spend hours researching and reading about them. Oftentimes we bookmark it so we don’t forget and can come back to it. Don’t ask to look at our Bookmarks folder, because it is SCARY. Pinterest to the rescue!

The Pinterest homepage

With Pinterest, you basically download this tool into your browser toolbar at the top. As you scour the interwebs, when you see something you like, you “pin” it to your board, which compiles a catalog of all those pins and tracks back to where you found them. And the cool thing is it has a Facebook-like air to it; you can follow other people’s boards and repin things that you like from theirs. You can also comment, like something, etc. I could spend HOURS on Pinterest. I admit that I already have.

As it is, I have several boards already. Interior design, crafty ideas, cakes and cookies, etc. I make a board for anything and everything that gives me inspiration. So if I’m feeling a little parched in the creativity department, I need only pop into Pinterest and get those creative juices revved and flowing. The fastest way to join is to receive an invite from someone who is already on Pinterest. Otherwise, you submit your email address and name and wait for them to send you an invite to join, which can take a couple of weeks. I’m not really sure why they do that, but whatever. I got a quicker invite by liking them on Facebook and posting a request for someone to invite me.

The site is freaking amazing and if you’re the smallest bit creative, you're going to love it! Not to mention, it’s really nice to clear out that bookmark folder finally.

Pinningly yours,

Kelly

Mother's Day Recipes

2011-05-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all mothers are enjoying a lovely day doing what you want and being appreciated for everything you do!

I actually did some baking today, but honestly I didn't mind. It's the cleaning I hate! And besides, the baking I did was for my mom and my mother in law; baking is never a chore when it's a labor of love. The goodies I baked up were two yummy recipes I found online for bread pudding and quiche, which I've shared below because they are too good to hoard for oneself!

My mother in law always makes monkey bread and to honor her, I wanted to do a bread pudding. I thought I was going to do a french toast flavored bread pudding, but when I stumbled on this delicious mango and coconut bread pudding, I couldn't resist, especially when mangos were on sale for a quarter apiece at the foodstore!

Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner as found on MyRecipes.com

Mango and Coconut Bread Pudding

My mom had requested quiche and I found an equally amazing recipe that used shredded potatoes for the crust. I added in a little bit of feta cheese on my own and it turned out scrumptious. I'm sad that my mom wasn't here to partake since she got sick last night and had to stay home, but I know she'll get to try it soon, as this is definitely a dish that will be sticking around in my repertoire! In fact, I think it would make an amazing dinner one night.

Photo by Jim Bathie, as found on MyRecipes.com

Potato Crusted Spinach Quiche

Here's to mamas everywhere...Happy Mother's Day!

Cheers,
Kelly

Portfolio: Bird Cake

2011-05-03T23:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had the pleasure of creating a cake for a bird themed baby shower. My friend Anna had sent me a picture of a similar styled cake and asked for strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting with the same design. Having returned from picking almost six pounds of fresh strawberries the weekend before, it felt like serendipity.

The design was fairly simple and easy to recreate; the difficulty was getting the frosting to be smooth all the way around and on top! I think I did a pretty good job of getting that accomplished.

The best was also a little bit tricky since I remembered it at the very last minute. All week, I had been doing things and gathering stuff to prepare for the cake, and I totally forgot to think about the logistics of the nest. Michael said I should just make another batch of chow mein marshmallow nests, but I didn't have any more chow mein noodles and it was already pretty later. Besides, I wasn't too sure how it would look on the cake. I had some royal icing that I was using for the flowers and the leaves (because temperatures in Texas have begun to heat up and I didn't want them to melt if I used cream cheese frosting), so I tookt he leftovers, mixed them together, added some black and brown, then draped a plastic baggie over something concave (a candy dish in this instance) and started going to town trying to create a nest like texture. It came out beautifully! The eggs are fondant.

All in all, Anna said the cake was a hit and that the lucky mom to be was able to take home the leftovers to share with visiting family. I hope this inspires you to make you your own birdie themed cake!

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Friday Fun: Say What You REALLY Want to Say!

2011-04-29T04:31:00.000-07:00

Ever have one of those days where you wish you could say what you really mean? Soften the blow by putting it on cake...everything's better with cake! A coworker of mine shared this to me after we had a bit of a rough afternoon and it made me smile.

Happy Friday!
Kelly

Cadbury Creme Egg Fun

2011-04-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

I love Cadbury Creme Eggs! They have been one of my favorite candies since I was very young. There's just something about the combination of the creme and the chocolate that sends me to a happy place. An old buddy of friend of mine posted this link on Facebook today. If you love Cadbury Creme Eggs as much as I do, you'll be in your kitchen whipping up one of these sometime this week!

I personally love these "deviled" creme eggs...since I'm allergic to mustard, these are a nice substitute for the real thing!

Click here for the link to the list!

Happy Early Easter!
Kelly

Portfolio: Bridal Bustier Cake

2011-04-16T21:03:00.000-07:00

When I first started getting serious about decorating cakes, one of the first ones I ever did was a bustier cake for a wedding shower in honor of my friend Courtney. It was a simple little number, but everyone was really impressed and that cake encouraged me to keep going and keep learning. This weekend, I got to revisit that cake! Courtney asked me to replicate it for a friend of hers, but in all white.

When I did an internet search for others like it, I happened to notice they were all in fondant. Courtney's not a fan of the fondant and I was determined to go all buttercream on this one. I now know why all of the cakes I found were in fondant! Even though this was a white cake, parts of the cake kept showing through and it didn't matter how much frosting I threw at this bad boy, I could never seem to get the right amount all over to cover it properly. I lucked out in that the details helped to cover balder spots, but it was a nightmare. Considering the success of the train cakes, I was totally bummed and had to take several breaks to finish this. Just more proof that good bakers have their bad days too!

Ultimately, I am thrilled with the results and Courtney was too, which is all that matters. It was a good learning experience in several ways: first, I got more buttercream only experience. I'm getting better, but I can see where improvement is needed. Second, I have recognized the limits of certain designs. After this cake, my advice to other bakers would be to charge more for buttercream only cakes that involve lots of curves and nooks and crannies. Lastly, I've recognized my limits–no more than one baking project per week! I'm pooped!

If you're interested in doing a cake like this too, I wanted to share with you how I got the shape. I did not carve this one, actually. My original design used two heart shaped pans. You lop off the points at the bottom and then line the sawn off ends together to form breasts at the top and rounded off legs at the bottom. You can use the remainder of the cake to build up the breasts. Somehow I've lost my second heart shaped pan (grrr), so I used a 9" circle pan instead and carved out a piece of the bottom of the heart to make the round fit into it. The leftover pieces went to the boobs :o) Of course, you could carve it from a sheet cake, but I always seem to cut too much from one side or the other and then there's the crumb factor. The less unfinished edges you have, the happier the baker!

Happy caking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Choo Choo Cakes

2011-04-15T21:03:00.000-07:00

My high school gal pal Michelle is a very talented photographer and her twin boys turned three this week! I've been wanting to do some family photos and she needed some cute birthday cakes, so we made an even trade.

Her boys Ian and Aaron are two of the most adorable, sweetest little boys ever, but their one drawback (as far as I can tell!) is that they fight over anything that they don't have. For example, if one of them has a red car and the other shows up with a blue car, they fight over the blue car, even if it's the same darn car, just different colors. I totally get why so many twins are dressed the same, or have the same toy! So their mom was adamant on having IDENTICAL cakes. Believe me, nothing is worse than seeing a three year old throw a tantrum (I know from LOTS of experience, lol), so I was happy to oblige.

Since Michelle was going to get the boys Thomas the Train toysets for their birthday anyway, she asked me to do cakes that a toy train could be set on top of. Here's what I came up with:

I am very proud of these, because there is not one bit of fondant on them and my buttercream work came out pretty well! I'm no Twinkie yet, but maybe someday! It's always good to challenge yourself and try to master a skill set.

I asked Michelle to send me pictures of the cakes when they have trains on them and I'll try and post those here when they come in. In the meantime, a very happy birthday to Ian and Aaron!

Happy caking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Nest Cupcakes and Bird Cookies

2011-04-11T21:09:00.000-07:00

Ah, spring. Time for flowers, birds, and babies!

A friend of mine is having her first baby in the next couple weeks and we threw her a shower this weekend. Because I had other things going on, I wasn't able to make the cake for the shower, but I did promise to do some cookies for the favors. I ended up with extra cupcakes from the car party, so I did a quick decorating job on those and they looked super cute with everything else.

The "nests" were easy to do; just swirl and dollop using a large star tip on the top, then set your eggs in the middle and voila! Bird's nest cupcakes!

Originally, the theme was a Parisian spring baby shower, based on the baby bedding. But we found out later that mama to be had changed the fabric on her baby bedding! It actually worked out, because my design for little Eiffel tower cookies was a total bust. I didn't have a cutter and so I thought I'd use a Christmas tree cutter and then pipe small Eiffel towers on them. Good idea in theory, terrible idea in execution. The cookies were too short to get a decent looking Eiffel tower on them, sadly. But they were just perfect for birdies!

All wrapped up and ready to go!

My artsy fartsy cookie photo

I love these little birds. It's a good thing there were so few cookies left after the party, because otherwise, I'd have eaten them all they were so dang cute! I tried a new recipe for the royal icing too, which was a bit of an adventure, but I have to say, I'm sold on it. I still use my trademark lemon juice in the frosting, but the consistency is much nicer. I may try adding some corn syrup or something else in the future to get a glossier finish.

Since I wasn't able to commit to the cake, one of the cohost's had her stepdaughter do the cake. It turned out really cute, and apparently is a very popular design this season–I immediately recognized it as the same design for another cake I'm doing at the end of this month!

The cupcakes were super easy to decorate and are perfect for Easter! I whipped up a milk chocolate ganache and piped it on top of the cupcakes to look like nests, then nestled Robin's Eggs candies into the centers. Super tasty and cute!

Congrats on the new baby Amy...we can't wait to meet her!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Car Cookies and Cupcakes

2011-04-10T09:06:00.000-07:00

It was bumper to bumper traffic in my kitchen this weekend!

A gal I went to high school with asked me to do some car themed cupcakes and cookies for her son's 3rd birthday party. We kept things simple with chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with blue and orange swirled icing on them. For favors, I decorated car cookies to match. Everything came out bright and beautiful and fun!

Happy birthday, Caden! May you have many more to come!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Recipe: Mrs. Robert's Italian Cream Cake

2011-03-24T18:12:00.000-07:00

Italian cream cake is my FAVORITEST cake flavor. And yes, I'm very much aware that 'favoritest' is not a word. Bite me. Or better yet, bite my cake. It'll be your favoritest soon too!

Grammar aside, Italian cream cake is not just my most favorite cake flavor, it's also very special to my heart as it was my wedding cake flavor. My husband's aunt's mother in law (let that sink in for a moment...got it? Good!) Mrs. Roberts has the most fantastic recipe for the cake. I've been begging my husband's aunt to get the recipe from her MIL and over Thanksgiving I gave up and just asked Mrs. Roberts myself. She graciously acquiesced and I now share with you the recipe.

You are forewarned: this recipe is RICH. It's also a little labor intensive, so it's perfect for that special gathering. The flavor and texture are dependent upon following the recipe instructions, which oddly enough, my copy did NOT have...I realized this mid-baking. Whoops! Thank goodness for Google!

Mrs. Robert's Italian Cream Cake
2 cups flour (250g)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick or 113g)
1/2 cup shortening (113g)
2 cups sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
5 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat your oven to 325F and prep three 8" or 9" round cake pans with cooking spray and parchment. Separate your eggs, setting the yolks aside. Using a mixer, whip the egg whites until they hold peaks.
2. Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar together until fluffy. Add in the egg yolks and the vanilla.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda. Add this to the batter alternately with the buttermilk until everything is just combined. Don't overbeat!
4. Gently fold in the egg whites, pecans and coconut. Pour the batter into your pans and bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup butter (1 stick or 113g)
1 - 8 oz brick of cream cheese
2 cups powdered sugar (225g), approx
1 tsp almond or vanilla extract
milk or heavy whipping cream as needed
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together. Beat in the vanilla.
2. Gradually add the powdered sugar until frosting becomes thick. You may need more powdered sugar or less. Add in a tablespoon of milk or HWC until you reach spreading consistency.
3. Spread in between the layers and sides of your cooled cake.
4. Sprinkle pecans on top or press them into the sides of the cake as desired!

Some food for thought...

For cupcakes, one batch of batter will yield 36 cupcakes. For 18-24 cupcakes, cut the listed ingredient amounts in half, using three eggs.
A poster at Cake Central suggested using almond extract in cream cheese frosting and I was too chicken to try it. I don't know why! Not only was my frosting whiter and brighter, but the almond flavor complimented the tang of the cream cheese beautifully. I will never use vanilla in my CC frosting again!
About nuts and coconut: I know there are people who do not like these items, or can't consume them for health reasons. You could nix them from the recipe, but then it's not really an Italian Cream Cake. If you're a picky/textural eater (no worries, I'm one too), you can reduce the particle size of the nuts and coconut in your food processor. If you're allergic, please don't kill yourself! (Although this would be a delicious way to go, if you ask me. Mmmm, death by cake...)
While no one is really certain of the origins of Italian Cream Cake, it has all the hallmarks of Italian baking: eggs, nuts, and fruit! There are many variations of the cake, and having tasted quite a few, this one is my favorite. If The Food Timeline is correct, this recipe first appeared in the late 70's.

I hope you enjoy this cake as much as I do!

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Paddy Cakes

2011-03-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's Day is upon us! I shall be baking up a batch of the Black and Tan Brownies I made last year for our annual St. Pat's feast with my husband's family, but I also baked up some of these lovelies this year too. I admit, it's the same cake mix that I used for my daughter's birthday party, the Orange Supreme flavor by Duncan Hines. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. They're a lot sweeter than I'd prefer, but still tasty, and even better still when you throw some cream cheese frosting on top.

Orange cupcakes are perfect for St. Patrick's Day, especially when you ice them in white with green sprinkles...it then represents the colors of the Irish flag!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours!

Luckily yours,
Kelly

Third Place!

2011-02-27T18:11:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I think these pictures sum it all up:

One proud mama!

Third place, baby! Woot!

Once I've uploaded photos and organized them, I'll be sure to post a recap. You can also check out the contest website for more info. They should be posting pix soon!

Happy baking,
Kelly

That Takes the Cake 2011!

2011-02-25T22:33:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! The Capital Confectioner's Club is hosting the 7th Annual That Takes the Cake Contest! My friend Brianna over at Sugar Plum Pastries and I have decided to compete again. Brianna took home 1st place in Adult Beginner's Buttercream last year and she's entering the same category again this year, but as an intermediate. I've been on a cookie kick lately, so I entered the Confections category for Adult Intermediate. Wish me luck!

I added the flower cookie as a last minute addition. I thought it might be nice to break up the monotony of the skulls a bit.

Here's a preview of what I'm entering. I wanted to do something really colorful and a bit complicated. It's kinda funny how I finally decided on my design. I spent hours Googling random things and getting ideas from my husband. I thought a deck of cards or some Dia de los Muertos skulls would be cool, but then my friend Becky posted a picture of her wedding hairpiece, which had peacock feathers. I really liked the colors on a peacock feather and chose to do that. But I started having second thoughts about it. Then, I was flipping through SugarBelle's Flickr stream the other weekend and I stumbled across some Dia de los Muertos cookies she'd made! Considering they were part of my original idea, I decide to chalk it up to the Big Man Upstairs as divine intervention and ran with it.

The one on the left is my favorite. I was really happy with how he came out!

I have to say, I am so thrilled with these guys. I really took my time in picking colors and trying to get everything just so. There were a few little kinks, but it adds character. I'm really hoping to at least get some good feedback, even if I don't win. But winning would be nice :o)

I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post a recap of the show at the end of the weekend.

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Happy 3rd Birthday Billa!

2011-02-23T20:32:00.000-08:00

My daughter celebrated her third birthday on Monday. Cue the sniffling and crying...she's getting to be so big!

Sybilla enjoying one of her fave foods, "cheese pops" while watching Busytown on Netflix. They're actually Cheetos Brand Natural White Cheddar Puffs (those things are like crack...super addictive!)

We've decided to hold her birthday party about two weeks later than her birthday, but we wanted her friends at school to celebrate anyway. I whipped up some cookies for goodie bags and some homemade green and blue oreos for the kiddos to munch on after lunch for a mini party.

Here are the cookies I made for the goodie bags. The kids love these things so much!

The goodie bag cookies were simply sugar cookies that I decorated in Scooby colors: aquamarine, lime green, and orange. I had thought about getting crazy and making some Mystery Machines or trying to recreate Scooby's head, but I ended up not doing it. To be honest, it was way too much work for a small of three and two year olds. I think the shapes I chose ended up being much more kid-friendly.

These were the cookies I made for the kids to eat at the mini party. The flower one I made special for Sybilla. I dyed them to coordinate with the goodie bags and the Scooby color theme!

I fell in love with a recipe for homemade oreos at my friend Anna's cookie party that uses cake mix, oil and eggs. It's super easy and pretty darn tasty too! The original recipe is here at The Sister's Cafe, where Anna snagged it, but instead of using the devil's food cake recipe, I used white cake mix and then dyed the batter in different colors. It was easy and as you can see above, it made quite the impact! Did I mention that it was easy? [wink]

The dots were really a test to see how the doughs would bake together. They actually looked kinda cute!

Like, what is it Scoob!? Tie dye and flowers, oh my!

The pictures above show you the different things you can do with the batter. It's pretty thick once it's all mixed up, which made me think that I could maybe roll it out like cookie dough. Yeah, not so much. It's a little too oily for my taste when rolling (probably because it was white cake mix instead of chocolate...I bet the cocoa powder has something to do with it) and it stuck like crazy to the counter. It also didn't hold the shape very well when I tried to peel it up off my floured surface. Grrr. Either way, the cookies came out alright in the end and there were none left when I picked up Billa from school.

Homemade Oreos

1 package cake mix, white or devil's food
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil (reduce this amount just slightly for white cake mix)

food coloring as needed

Heat oven to 300-350F degrees and line baking sheets with parchment.
Add oil, eggs and coloring (if using) to cake mix and blend together.
Roll dough into balls (a little larger than a quarter). Place on greased cookie sheet and press down gently.
Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on sheet for a few minutes before moving them to a cooling rack.
To assemble the cookies, add a small dollop of filling into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie similar in size on top of the filling. Lightly press them together, working the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Cream Cheese Filling
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 block of cream cheese (8 oz)
3 - 4 cups powdered sugar (depending on desired consistency)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter and add cream cheese and mix well. Add powdered sugar slowly until you reach your desired consistency.

Some food for thought...

If you use a white cake mix and color it, use a bit more color than you think you might need. As the cookies baked, the colors seemed to fade a bit. Boo :o(
I didn't realize this until it was too late, but you need to watch these like hawks to prevent too much browning on the edges. The sugar in the batter caramelizes as it cooks, giving the brown color. I think the best way to combat this is to bake them low and slow: cook at 300F for about 12 minutes and go from there. I baked mine at 325 for 10 minutes and I think that was too much.
Chilling the dough will work wonders if you're going to attempt shapes like the flower. Try to handle it as little as possible too, so that it doesn't 'melt' in your hands.
If you wanted to jazz these puppies up even more, try adding sprinkles! You can also (gently) swirl the doughs together to create tie dye, or place small balls together like the flower to create other shapes. The possibilities are endless!
A recipe note: in order to make sure that the batters were evenly divided, I measured the bag of mix before splitting it, then split the eggs and oil down the middle. You could just mix the entire batch together and then separate and color, but due to the thickness of the dough, that may actually be harder.

I hope this gives you some ideas for your own homemade Oreo versions! And of course, a big happy birthday to my little munchkin...I love you, Sugary!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Cookie Tip: Making Your Own Shapes

2011-02-18T19:23:00.000-08:00

Remember these little guys from Valentine's Day? I've been getting questions from some of my friends asking me where I'd gotten the cute little cutter.

[smug smile] Sadly, I don't have a cute little cutter, although if I did, you can betcher buns I'd be making a mint off of it! So how DID I get the little lovebirds to come out so cute?

Here's how!

I scored this neat little trick from my fellow Texan, Sweet Sugarbelle. If you love cookies as much as I do, please check out her blog. She has great tutorials and cookies to share that are sure to expand your brain's metaphorical waistline! Anyway, she had a post a few weeks back about some cookies she made by piecing together cookie dough.

As you can see in the picture above, I used a paisley shaped cutter for the bird bodies (actually, it was a Wilton leaf-shaped fondant cutter that I bent out of shape a little) and then a small heart-shaped fondant cutter that I used for the wing and the feet. After cutting out the body, I cut out a heart shape where I wanted my wing to go. I then flipped the heart cutter upside down and took out a small chunk at the base. The dough heart got slipped in the notch, and voila! A lovebird cookie!

For the other bird, I pressed the heart shaped cutter into the body, but not all the way through.

My lovebirds were not very big, maybe 2.5" total, which wasn't a bad size. I think I may need to find myself a bigger paisley or leaf shape so that I can make this a staple in my repertoire. They would be super cute for wedding showers, weddings, Valentine's Day, or any other bird theme party!

I hope this technique will give you ideas on how you can create your own sugar cookie shapes.

Happy Baking,

Kelly

Sweet Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Nothing says I love you like a baked representation of someone’s sweetness! While I personally loathe Valentine’s Day as a bunch of commercialized crock, I take full advantage of it as yet another excuse to blow up my kitchen and my kidneys with an excess of sugary love. This year was no exception.

Billa is obsessed with Scooby Doo and I found cute Scooby valentine cards and pencils. I’m saving the pencils for goodie bags for her birthday party (which will be Scooby Doo themed, natch), but the cards were perfect to slip on a cookie pop! I mixed up some turquoise and apple green icing to coordinate the cookie pops (because I’m a freak like that) and they came out super cute. I had grand plans for these, but I saved myself a whole lotta trouble at the last minute when I remembered that they were for toddlers. No point in gilding the lily for an unappreciative crowd! I added little pink hearts on them to girly them up just a tad, which unfortunately ended up looking more like blobs, but whatever. The kids liked them and that’s all that matters!

The remaining icing and cookie dough became Valentine themed sugar cookies for an impromptu dinner party we had Sunday night with my little brother and his girlfriend. I’ve wanted to try new designs and I am in love with these little lovebirds. They were so easy to create too. I may have to use these for my sister-in-law’s wedding shower later this year…they’re so adorable! And I really like the color scheme of the turquoise, apple green, and pink for Valentine’s day; it reminds me of the current Valentine’s products at Target this year which are super adorable.

Lastly, I sugared up my coworkers with some homemade Valentine-themed Hostess cupcakes that I saw over at Bake at 350. I LOVE Hostess cupcakes, even though they’re probably one of the worst things a human being can consume. These are waaaaaay better than their inspiring counterpart. I was lazy and did the cupcakes from a mix (hey, I was supermom the past week and took care of a sick little girl and her daddy, not to mention fought off the plague myself, so I think I’m allowed some leeway once in awhile!) and I have to say, it’s entirely unfair that the box mix created such perfectly domed cupcakes.; The yummy filling and frosting recipe is from scratch, and I used leftover royal icing to create the swirls on top with the word ‘love.’

They were incredibly delicious and my coworkers loved them. If the word is short enough, these could be used for lots of different events. And imagine changing the color of the cake and frosting! I may bake these again next year but with red velvet cake, cream cheese frosting, and red lettering. Shoot, I might even do these for my daughter’s birthday party too. Recipe for the filling and ganache are below or you can follow the link for the original cake recipe and blog entry from Bake at 350.

Instructions for constructing the Hostess cupcakes:

Bake chocolate cupcake according to package directions.
Use a piping bag fitted with a filler tip (or wide tip) and insert it into each cupcake, squeezing gently until filling is just beginning to ooze out.
Let sit in the fridge for a few minutes, while you mix up the ganache.
Once the ganache has cooled a bit, gently dip each filled cupcake into the chocolate and set aside to set up.
Put your choice of icing into another piping bag and pipe the trademark swirls and word of your choice across the top.

For the Filling
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup marshmallow creme

Using a mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar. Add the vanilla and 1 tablespoon heavy cream; beat until smooth. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar and 2 tablespoons heavy cream in batches, alternating after each addition. Beat in the marshmallow creme; set aside or refrigerate.
For the Ganache
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Place the chocolate in a stainless-steel bowl. Heat the cream and 1 tablespoon butter until just boiling, then pour over the chocolate; let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Add 2 teaspoons vanilla; let stand until cool but still glossy and liquid.

I hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s Day with your loved ones, and that this post inspires you to be a ‘sweet’heart to all you meet!

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Kelly

Music Note Cookies

2011-02-03T19:53:00.001-08:00

I got an order from my friend Kristen for a super cute music themed birthday. The birthday boy was turning one and his family decided to celebrate it with music! I love this theme, it's so cute. Kristen had me make quarter note shaped cookies in orange and blue icing for the favors and they came out beautifully. They also tasted quite yummy, as my husband and daughter, er I mean, quality assurance testers informed me.

Being a music minor (ok six hours short anyway, but I know my stuff!), I couldn't resist doing this little number. Tee hee!

Happy birthday to the special little boy...your birthday is certainly something to sing about!

Cheers,
Kelly

Portfolio: Raggedy Ann Birthday Cake and Cupcakes

2011-01-29T10:42:00.001-08:00

Last year my friend Caroline asked me to make her a Hungry Little Caterpillar cupcake cake for her daughter's first birthday. This year, she decided to do a Raggedy Ann theme! I remember Raggedy Ann being a big deal when I was a kid, and it's really nice to see her come back. Good wholesome fun!

I did my usual Google image search for inspiration and saw a really cute idea that someone had done where they did the head and shoulders for Raggedy Ann and used red licorice for her hair. I'm really into using candy and other tasty treats for accents and decor on cakes, so it seemed like a perfect fit. And here is the final result:

Please ignore my reflection in the cakeboard...I didn't even realize it was there until much later!

For the head, I baked two six inch layers and for the shoulders I used one 10 inch layer, cut in half and stacked on top. I ended up doing a dozen cupcakes as well, just in case more people showed up at the party. I frosted everything in buttercream but used fondant for the white pinafore, the eyes, and the nose. The cake itself is marbled chocolate and vanilla, since per Caroline, "Madeline could eat Starbucks' marbled pound cake every day of her life and never get tired of it!"

The Divine Miss M (as I like to call her) LOVED her cake and enjoyed playing with all of her friends' on the playscape. I was thrilled with the cake and so happy to provide an important part of a special day for a very special little girl.

Happy Birthday, Madeline...may you have many more, my dear!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Recipe: Homemade Oreos from Scratch

2011-01-23T21:38:00.000-08:00

If there's anything you've learned about me by now, let it be this: I LOVE COOKIES. So does Billa. I love that hand-held portion of sweet, sweet goodness right in the palm of your hand. Cupcakes come close, but there's the wrapper and other accoutrements one must deal with. Cookies are infinitely better. No mess, no fuss. Just simple sweetness wrapped up in a couple of bites. Heaven!

Ever since Billa and I went to the cookie party a couple of weekends ago, I've been obsessed with the homemade Oreo cookies the hostess made. They were soft, like whoopie pies, but they tasted just like the real deal. I was in LOVE at first bite. She promised to post the recipe on her blog, but I'm not very good at being patient, so I went scouring for one on my own while I waited. Y'all, I need to be more careful about adventures like that...I was afraid my keyboard might short out from all the drool! I found the following recipe on Smitten Kitchen, which apparently came from the book Retro Desserts by Wayne Brachman.

If I'm being perfectly honest, this recipe was not what I expected. The cookies are crunchy, not soft, so I ended up being a little disappointed. But they were still tasty, so it's only fair to share the recipe anyway. If you ever wanted to make homemade Oreo cookies, crunch and all, this recipe is the way to go!

Homemade Oreo Cookies
For the chocolate wafers:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (156g)
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa (48g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar (188g)
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks or 142g) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the filling:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick or 58g) room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (58g)
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (250g)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Set two racks in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 375F.

2. In a food processor, or bowl of an electric mixer, thoroughly mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar. While pulsing, or on low speed, add the butter, and then the egg. Continue processing or mixing until dough comes together in a mass. You may need to get your hands in the mix and knead it all together. It will be a very stiff dough.

3. With your hands, roll the dough into small balls and place on a baking sheet, about two to three inches apart. Using slightly moistened fingers, flatten the dough a little bit. Bake for 8-9 minutes, rotating once for even baking. Place on a rack to cool.

4. To make the cream, place butter and shortening in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.

5. To assemble the cookies, in a pastry bag with a 1/2 inch, round tip, pipe teaspoon-size blobs of cream into the center of one cookie. Place another cookie, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.

Some food for thought...

Smitten Kitchen made a note about the amount of sugar on her blog; she said that the wafers come out sweet, unlike real Oreo wafers, so she gave a range of 1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar. I personally am on a quest to reduce the amount of sugar in my life, so I have re-posted this recipe with a smaller amount of sugar. Feel free to use the original amount as you please!
As I noted before, the cookie itself is crunchy rather than soft. Don't over bake the cookie, otherwise it will burn quickly.You could probably add things like chili powder and cinnamon to the wafer recipe if you wanted to mix things up a bit. You could also add mint extract and green food coloring to the cream filling to make your own mint Oreos. Add other extracts and colors to be more adventurous!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Recipe: Banana Blackberry Muffins

2011-01-23T13:02:00.001-08:00

I really hate it when bananas get all brown and soft. I know a lot of people love them the most at that stage because they're sweeter, but it just makes me gag. I buy my 'nanas green and if they're still hanging around at the brown stage, I peel them, mash them up in a baggie and freeze it for baking later on. It's pretty handy and makes sure that it doesn't go to waste! The following recipe makes use of some of those bananas, along with blackberries, which happen to be on sale at our grocery store the last couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family did!

Banana Blackberry Muffins
2 cups AP flour (250g)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt (nix this if you use salted butter)
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt or sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
4 Tbsp melted butter or veg oil
2 mashed bananas
6 oz blackberries, chopped in half

1. Preheat the oven to 400F. In a small ziploc bag or bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix well.

2. In a large bowl, mix the butter, eggs, and sugar together. Add in the yogurt or sour cream and bananas. Mix until well combined.

3. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just moistened. Don't overmix! Add in the blackberries and spoon into greased muffin tins or cupcake liners. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top and a toothpick comes out clean.

Some food for thought...

I originally made these with a 1/2 cup of sugar thinking that the bananas would sweeten the mix more, but they didn't. I'm guessing my bananas were not as ripe as I thought they were! Just keep that in mind when you make these.
My batter made enough for 12 muffins and a very small 6" round. The recipe will probably make enough for 18-24 normal muffins, depending on how much you put in each cup.

Happy Baking!

Friday Fun: Cookie Flowchart

2011-01-14T09:28:00.000-08:00

In a world where we all worry about our weight, the question of "Do I deserve a cookie?" has never been more important. Use this helpful flowchart to determine the answer:

In a nutshell? YES, you deserve a cookie :o)

Happy Friday!
Kelly

Portfolio: Red Velvet Whoopies and "2" Sugar Cookies

2011-01-10T10:03:00.000-08:00

My daughter and I had the joy of attending the birthday party for the daughter of a dear friend of mine this past weekend. Abby Lu turned two and her mom planned a cookie themed party for the little munchkin. Anna is a corporate event planner and she always has the most wonderful and fun ideas for birthday parties! She blogs about that and her crafty activities frequently, and I just love, love, love reading about all the fun stuff she does.

Anna had a milk moustache photo station for everyone to take their pictures. Here's me and Billa!

She planned on having quite a few cookies for the party and asked me to bake up some red velvet whoopie pies and some sugar cookies in the shape of the number 2 for Abby's party. Abby apparently adores red velvet and I was excited to try a new recipe for them at the party. I have a recipe that is pretty good, but after baking some chocolate whoopies for my mom's birthday, I wanted to tweak the chocolate recipe and see if I couldn't duplicate the texture with red velvet. They came out fantastic!

The cookie buffet...so many tasty treats!

For the number 2's, I did half of them with solid cookie monster blue and the other half with blue sprinkles. Doing these brought back memories of my daughter's second birthday last year, in which I did a Sesame Street theme and gave away sugar cookie S's, 2's, and Elmo's as favors.

My daughter and I enjoyed visiting with lots of our friends that we had not seen in some time. The party was so much fun because we got to eat my favorite thing: cookies! They also happen to be one of Abby's favorite things too!

Abby Lu and Billa swinging on the swings

Happy 2nd birthday Abby Lu! May you have many more!

Happy baking,
Kelly

The J-O-Y of Cookies

2010-12-20T21:12:00.000-08:00

I love baking at Christmastime! I can't ever seem to get enough and it's the perfect time of year, especially since you can share your kitchen's bounty with your nearest and dearest. Another one of my favorite treats at Christmas are sugar cookies. I saw an idea in an email newsletter for sugar cookies cut out in letters to spell words. I loved the idea and decided to spell the word "joy." You could also do "peace" or even spell the word Christmas if you're feeling ambitious! I did some of the cookies with simple sugar sprinkles and some with royal icing in red, green, and white. The beauty of this project is that you can get as simple or as creative as you wish. This idea would also work well for other holidays, like Valentine's Day. Who wouldn't love getting a box with cookies spelling out the word love? Or "boo" at Halloween?

And of course I did cookie pops for my daughter's class! Here are the designs I created. I did gingerbread boys and Christmas trees. I really hate the fact that Christmas is one of those taboo things in school and society these days, so I tried to keep them innocuous. Regardless of the design, the kids loved them. As I picked Billa up from school, she told me all about her yummy "kee-coo" (she transposes the syllables). I asked her which one she got and she told me "ginja boy!" It just warmed my heart.

I hope you have fun baking your own versions of sugar cookies!

Happy Holidays,
Kelly

Rice Krispy Wreaths

2010-12-16T20:45:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things about the yuletide season is the baking. Every year, I bake a ton of cookies and cakes and other sweet goodies to give as gifts or keep for ourselves. My most favorite treat from my childhood are Holly Wreaths (and apparently I'm not the only one...I just saw them featured on Cakespy in their original corn flakey glory as I was putting this post together. Talk about the universe aligning, eh?).

Every year, my mom would make them and every year, my brothers and I would stuff ourselves silly on them. As we got older, my mom would let us help her make them until eventually, I was delegated with the task (she had more important things to do, like make my great-grandmother's recipe for pralines!). Her version uses corn flakes because they look more like holly leaves. A lot of people are turned off by that sadly, so I switched to rice krispies instead. I hope you'll enjoy making these as well and that they too, might become a fun tradition in your family during the holidays.

Holly Wreaths
6 cups of rice krispies
1 package of large marshmallows
1 stick of butter, plus a bit more for greasing your hands
green food coloring
red hots or red m&m's

1. Prep the work surface by laying down pieces of parchment paper. DO NOT use wax paper or foil!

2. Melt the stick of butter over low heat in a large non-stick saucepan. Add in the marshmallows and stir it gently with a spatula until the marshmallows are almost completely melted. Add in the green food coloring.

3. Add the rice krispies a little bit at a time, coating each bit thoroughly before adding more. You may or may not end up using all six cups. Once the krispies are coated, remove from heat.

4. Grease your hands with some butter and begin to shape wreaths out of the mixture, laying them on the parchment to finish setting. Gently push in red hots or m&m's to make holly berries.

Billa helps me put on the cinnamon imperials holly berries

Some food for thought...

I recommend not using wax paper or foil for a reason. Unfortunately, their anti-sticking properties are not nearly as effective against hot, melted marshmallows like parchment paper! Also, using a non-stick pan makes for super easy cooking and clean up. If you don't have one, don't fret, just be prepared for a really sticky mixture!
If you don't feel like shaping the mixture by hand, you could always spread it out on a cookie sheet and then use biscuit cutters to cut wreath-like shapes. Better yet, you could cut trees and then ice them like you would a cookie!
Should you choose to use the traditional corn flakes, you'll need to make sure to cut back on the amount you use. My mom's recipe says 6 cups, but I say drop it to 4 cups and go from there!
Also, this kinda goes without saying, but remove all jewelry from your fingers before getting going on these...it's messy!

Happy Holidays,
Kelly

Oreo Balls

2010-12-16T20:36:00.000-08:00

Recently a coworker introduced me to these delicious little balls of goodness and now I'm introducing them to you! If you're like me and enjoy giving edible treats at Christmastime, or need something quick and easy to bring to the holiday party, look no further. These delectable little bon bons are creamy and chocolatey on the inside and crunchy sweet on the outside. Oreo balls are not only yummy and pretty looking, but they are ridiculously easy to make too!

Oreo Balls
Makes 3-4 dozen balls, depending on size

8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
Package of Oreo cookies
Package of almond bark or candy coating, like Wilton's Candy Melts

1. Crush the Oreo cookies until they are nothing but crumbs. The fastest way to do this is in the food processor but you can do it by hand as well.

2. Cream the crumbs with the cream cheese until you get a thick dough-like mixture.

3. Roll the dough into small balls. The best size is about the size of a large marble. Pop them in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

4. When you're ready to dip them, melt the almond bark in the microwave in 30 second bursts on high, stirring in between each round.

5. Pull the balls out of the freezer and stick toothpicks gently into the top of them. This will make it easier to dip them in the candy coating. Dip each ball, coating it thoroughly and then gently shake off the excess. Set the ball on a parchment-lined cookie sheet to dry for about 10-15 minutes.

6. Once they are hardened, carefully remove the toothpick. To hide the hole, you can either put a dollop of candy coating on top, or you can drizzle it across, being sure to cover the hole. Enjoy!

Some food for thought...

Be sure to refrigerate these once you're done until you're ready to serve. Remember that there is a dairy product inside that can spoil if left out too long. As a result, these are probably not ok to ship long distances unless you're taking the necessary precautions.

The gal who gave me the recipe for this told me not to use reduced fat or fat free anything for the recipe. I tried using Neufchatel cream cheese, which is a reduced fat cream cheese, and while I didn't notice any change in consistency with the balls, I observed a strange ooze weeping from the balls and they had a tendency to crack. It was a little off putting appearance wise, but it didn't taste weird. I think it may have been from the cream cheese because it didn't happen when I used full fat versions of everything. If you choose to use reduced fat or low fat versions of the ingredients, you may experience the same thing, and the consistency may come out different.

Experiment with using different flavors of cream filled sandwich cookies. If you aren't a traditional Oreo fan, you could try using vanilla versions. Or you could the mint Oreos that come out at Christmastime. You need to make sure to smash up the entire cookie, cream center and all!

Try using different candy coatings and flavoring those as well. I like the traditional juxtaposition of white on black, but you could drizzle different colors of candy coating on the outside, or even sprinkles. The possibilities for presentation are endless!

When heating up the candy coating, be very careful. It can get hot ASAP! Also, don't overheat it as it'll burn and that stuff is hard to clean, not to mention the smell is awful.

Happy Holidays,
Kelly

Inspiration: Thanksgiving Baking Ideas

2010-11-23T09:54:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is always an exciting time for baking aficionados. I always try to do something different and something traditional every year. This year, the theme for me is pie! My traditional is a fruit pie and my something different are whoopie pies. What are you baking?

If you're struggling for ideas, here are some suggestions:

Someone called this a "Buche de Thanksgiving"... I heartily agree! You get the traditional pumpkin flavor 'rewrapped' in the Pumpkin Cake Roll.

Photo from JoyofBaking.com

I plan on doing pumpkin and red velvet whoopie pies since we will be watching the Texas A&M Aggies vs. Texas Longhorns game. Hook 'em Horns!

Pie is always a favorite! Check out this slideshow from Martha Stewart's website for recipes and ideas for over 50 different pies. I have several I want to try, including these:

Sour Cherry & Pear Flat Pie and Pumpkin Chipotle Pie sound delicious!

This may be new to your Thanksgiving, but it's been a traditional in our family for almost ten years now. You can't go wrong with Pumpkin Cheesecake!

I hope this inspires you to try something new or jazz up one of your old standbys for your Thanksgiving feast this year!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Recipe: Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

2010-11-12T08:03:00.000-08:00

Fall is my favorite season for several reasons: I can wear sweaters, the brutal Texas heat has finally abated, college football has arrived, and I can finally bake with pumpkin! We all know I am thoroughly obsessed with whoopie pies right now, and it wouldn't be fair to the almighty pumpkin if we didn't include it on the list of flavors for whoopie pies.

I searched all over the place for different recipes using pumpkin in whoopie pies, and I decided that I liked this one from Rachael Ray the best. Other recipes call for vegetable oil, but I like the flavor and richness that the melted butter provides in this recipe, plus they don't feel so greasy. Pumpkin is to cream cheese frosting like peanut butter is to jelly, so fill these little guys with a cream cheese frosting for a super rich and decadent fall delight. Thanksgiving will never be the same!

One more thing...we all know I love my spice, so of course I added an 1/8 tsp of chipotle powder to the spice mix. I gotta tell ya, it was an amazing flavor combination. Throw me on a desert island and the two things I'd ask for would be chipotle powder and duct tape. If you're a little hesitant to try it, don't worry. The heat is very minimal and subtle, but it dovetails nicely with the pumpkin and the cream filling.

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies
1 stick (4 oz) butter, melted
1 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice
1/8 tsp chipotle powder (optional)
1 2/3 cups flour

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and line a couple of cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar until smooth.
3. Whisk in the eggs, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
4. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the flour.
5. Pipe or spoon the batter onto your cookie sheet, evenly spaced. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool before spreading filling between two cookies.

Filling
8 oz of cream cheese
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 container of Marshmallow Fluff

1. Whip the cream cheese until soft.
2. Add in the powdered sugar in small amounts until the frosting is thick.
3. Fold in the marshmallow fluff; don't overbeat!
4. Spread or pipe the filling in between two pumpkin cookies and smoosh together.
5. Serve up and enjoy!

Some food for thought...

You can use either fresh or canned pumpkin puree. I try to pick my battles wisely...so I use canned, but if you have the time and energy to use fresh, go for it!
You can use regular whoopie pie filling instead if you choose. I strongly encourage you to find flavors you love and experiment!
I love parchment paper because it means easy cleanup, but trying to pipe thick batter on top of it can be frustrating when it moves around. Try wetting the backs of the corners with a little bit of water and pasting it down to the cookie sheet. Cooking spray also works well!
I like that Rachael's recipe uses pumpkin pie spice for ease; if you don't have any on add, just do a mixture of 2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, and 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
On portion sizes: Rachael's recipe and method makes about a dozen large cookies. I personally prefer to make smaller ones so that I don't feel as guilty about eating more than one of something so rich and decadent. This batch made a little over two dozen 1.5" sized cookie sandwiches.
One tester's comments on Rachael's site mentioned that she felt the cookies were too large and too high (domed). To combat this, you can dip your (clean!) finger into some water and smooth the tops down a bit. You can also make the portions smaller by piping smaller amounts. This will help them bake a bit more evenly.

Dip your finger into some water and pat the points of your dough down so they are more rounded. If some are too tall you can spread them out using this method too. The oven will take care of the rest!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Halloween Cookie Pops

2010-11-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

The week before Halloween I had an order for cookie wedding favors. I decided to make some cookie pops for my daughter's daycare with some of the leftover dough and they came out really cute! I had originally wanted to do some pumpkins and/or ghosts, but creativity and energy had left me as a result of being sick with a sinus infection earlier in the month. The kids loved them and there weren't any left when I got Sybilla from school that day!

I lucked out in the packaging department with these Halloween bags that magically appeared on my desk at work last year. Really, I have no idea who left them for me, but someone decided they needed a home and placed them on my desk–and wouldn't you say I found lovely home for them, indeed?

The design was actually very easy to make:

1. Create a dam from white royal icing around the edge of the cookie.
2. Flood outline with white royal icing.
3. Working quickly, create a bull's eye out of black royal icing.
4. Use the tip of a toothpick to 'pull' the icing from the center of the cookie to the edge.
5. Allow to dry and eat!

Make a bull's eye or swirl while the flood is still wet, otherwise it won't work!

Then starting from the center, pull the tip of a toothpick through the rings, creating the webbed effect.

Once they're dry, you can make little spiders to sit on them. I made some from additional royal icing, but you could use small candies too. I think this technique would be great to use with other colors and other shapes. The trick is to make sure that you pipe the contrasting color while the flood is still very wet, otherwise, it won't work. Something else to think about too: use a very small tip to pipe the contrasting color. I was using a squeeze bottle which had a larger tip and as a result, created really thick bull's eyes.

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Black & White Polka Dot Letter Cookies

2010-10-28T17:02:00.000-07:00

I had an order for some sugar cookies for a wedding recently. The bride wanted something sweet to place in welcome boxes for all of her out of town guests and my friend Kristen asked me to make some for her. After going back and forth a bit, we decided to do packages that contained L's and W's for the bride and groom's names.

The L's were done in white with black polka dots and the W's were done in black with white polka dots. It took me a little bit of experimenting before finally figuring out the best method. I decided to flood each cookie and then use a toothpick to drip the coordinating color into the flood. Yes, it was a lot of work, but the results were worth it.

I finished them off by wrapping them in clear cello bags and tying them with black and white polka dotted ribbon. They were so cute and the bride was thrilled. Congratulations to the happy couple...may you have many years of bliss!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Pretty Girlie Cupcakes

2010-10-25T08:31:00.000-07:00

I've been sick with a horrible sinus infection/cold the past few weeks, so my baking has suffered. My best friend recently celebrated her birthday and was supposed to have a barbecue birthday party, but wouldn't you know it, everyone in her house got sick too. And it was raining. Bummer!

Everyone deserves something special for their birthday, so when I was finally feeling well a few days later, I made her some cute girlie cupcakes. Kellie likes traditional cake flavors and chocolate always make a girl feel better, so I did chocolate cupcakes with turquoise buttercream frosting and then sprinkled them with bright pink sugar to reflect her girlie nature. I must say, those cupcakes were not only lovely, but they were yummy to :o)

Happy birthday Kellie! At some point, we'll have a make up party for you or something. Hugs!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Lego Cupcakes

2010-10-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

My best friend's son Cameron celebrated his 4th birthday this weekend and he is a super Legohead. They've opened up a Lego store here in Austin now, and since Cameron was having a very small party, we decided to do cupcakes with a Lego theme. Cameron is usually a chocolate fiend, but when presented with several flavor options, he chose strawberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Yum!

After baking a dozen strawberry cupcakes, I frosted the tops with brightly colored buttercream, keeping the level pretty even. That was the easy part. I then piped tiny dots on each surface to simulate a Lego brick base. If you've ever played with Legos, you know what I'm talking about:

After the tops were done, I then took a flat tip to create some Lego pieces that spelled out the letters of Cameron's name. Our original idea was to place candy shaped like Lego bricks on top, but we couldn't find on such short notice and using real Legos meant cleaning them afterwards, which was not a fun prospect.

Cameron was thrilled with the results and we had a great time playing with Legos at the party. Happy birthday, buddy! We love you!

Everyone was wearing their Legos by the end of the party! Meet Cap'n Bluebeard :o)

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Owl Birthday Cake

2010-09-25T09:01:00.001-07:00

It's owl-ficcial: owls are hot, hot, hot! Ok, apologies for the pun. I couldn't resist!

Recently I was contacted by a gal to do a birthday cake for her son's first birthday. She loved the design I had come up with for the YMCA cake I did for my friend Julia a few months back. I gotta say, I love it too! It's simple and yet it makes a great statement. We decided on a larger marble cake for the guests and a vegan peach cake for the birthday boy, Mateo. Here is the final result:

The larger cake is marbled chiffon cake on the inside. I dyed the vanilla portion a baby blue to match the party decor and it looked beautiful with the chocolate.

I used special food writing markers to write the wording and make the feathers on the owl's chest. I can't believe I didn't invest in these things sooner...they were worth every penny!

The smash cake came out way cuter than I expected. I had to bake it twice however as something happened with my recipe the first time (I was trying to cut my normal recipe in half and I think I added too much flour). Second time's the charm, right? The birthday boy's mom had asked for a healthier version of cake for her son, and I love the vegan recipe I use because the amount of sugar can be cut down considerably since it uses a fruit puree. Peaches was the flavor of the day since it's Mateo's favorite. The small domed cake pan I used created the most adorable little owl; it reminds of me of pygmy owls!

Isn't this little guy so sweet? I love the domed pan I used for this...it's so versatile!

All in all, I am very pleased with the results and so was Mateo and his mom! Happy 1st birthday Mateo; may you have many more, cutie!

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Hugs and Stitches Birthday Cake

2010-08-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure this past weekend to make a birthday cake for a little girl's first birthday. Her mom Juleah had chosen a theme based on a line of partyware called "Hugs & Stitches". It's really very cute, with little flowers, butterflies, and lots of pastel colors and various patterns.

Juleah asked for a sheet cake which I made from vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. On top, I mimicked the partyware design and created a parti-colored backdrop with mint green, butter yellow, and lilac. Using fondant as accents, I added in a large '1', a butterfly, and a flower. I rolled out pink fondant and cut it freehand in a wavy pattern to wrap around the sides. The proverbial icing on the cake was the stitching I added in blue, which tied everything together!

I wish the picture had come out better...I totally forgot to take a picture at home and my daughter and husband were waiting in the car, so I had to hustle!

Here is the smash cake, which I coated in butter yellow and then piped on an M (the birthday gal's name is Madelyn) and added fondant flower cutouts. I love this smash cake. It's so girly and feminine without being in your face pink!

Happy first birthday, Madelyn! May you have many more!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: A&M Cupcakes

2010-08-20T12:49:00.001-07:00

If you're from Texas, you typically bleed one of three colors: red, burnt orange or maroon. For those of you not from the Lone Star State, those colors represent the triumvirate of universities in this state that have the largest numbers of alumni and fans - Texas Tech (red), UT (burnt orange), and Texas A&M. Fans of all three schools just love to razz each other about which school is greater and the rivalries are thick. It is not uncommon for a house to be divided and our family is certainly that way!

My daughter's godsister Ronnie is heading off to Texas A&M to start her undergrad and I love her so much that I allowed the color maroon to enter this decidely burnt orange household. I made her a batch of cupcakes to take with her as she moves into her dorm room on campus.

The cupcakes are red velvet with a bit of maroon dye thrown in to temper the red down a bit, and I frosted the tops with the traditional red velvet frosting. I was torn about how to decorate these because she asked for cupcakes. Colored sprinkles seemed like a good idea, but trying to find maroon colored sprinkles in this town is ridiculously impossible (something about this being the hometown for the University of Texas [grin]). I thought about printing out Texas A&M logos on paper and creating cupcake picks, but that seemed like a cop out. Then I found this while perusing the bake shop:

I rolled out maroon colored fondant and cut out a bunch of tiny Texas's, and then hand painted the Texas A&M logo on them once they'd set a bit. Then once they were dry, I laid them on top and voila! Handmade cupcake toppers that looked considerably better than any paper pick I could have made.

Ronnie Ryan, we are so proud of you. I'm sad you won't be attending UT after all, but I am thrilled you found a school that fits you like a glove...and even happier you managed to find a full ride there! Can't wait to see you at Thanksgiving...when the Longhorns pummel the Aggies, mwahahahaha!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Pink Zebra Birthday Cake

2010-08-18T18:42:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Today I had the pleasure of delivering an adorable pink and zebra patterned cake for a lucky little girl! Addison turned one and her mom picked a cute theme of pink with zebra accents since her folks are "wild about her!" I wish I had taken a picture of Addison's mom; she's 22 weeks pregnant and looked cute as a bug in her black sundress with hot pink mardi gras beads!

Here's a side view of the cake...I really like using those mirrored scalloped boards! Not only are they clean looking, but if you have fun pattern or texture, the mirror effect emphasizes it.

A full shot of the cake. I crafted ribbon roses in white, pink, and black along with lots of fondant "beads." I like to think that this was what a stylin' little girl's jewelry box would be like.

The cake was vanilla with strawberry filling and buttercream icing. I made a small smash cake to go along with it, but I totally forgot to take a picture of it. It was solid pink with black polka dots on the side, a black pearl border, and an 'A' on top piped to look like it was made from zebra print.

My painting on fondant has gotten much better...I was very pleased with the script I created for this "wild" cake.

I had a lot of fun making this little beauty and I was very thrilled with how it came out. Happy first birthday, Addison...may you have many more!

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Apologies...

2010-08-03T15:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I apologize for the lack of posts recently. I've had a lot of things happening in my personal life that have demanded the majority of my time, but never fear...when I return I have some exciting things to share!

There will be more cheesecakes, more cookies, and more whoopie pies. More cake designs coming soon and a giveaway! Yes, a giveaway! I will be hosting my first giveaway very soon, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, thank you for your patience and understanding!

Happy Baking.
Kelly

Portfolio: Monogram Cookies

2010-07-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

I admit it, I love cookies more than cake! Cake is nice, but I love that cookies are perfectly portioned for your hand. You can sometimes have more than one without feeling guilty. With cake, you eat more than one piece and people give you funny looks. Unless it's my cakes of course, in which case, they're so good you can't help but have seconds! Ha! I kid, I kid. They are mighty tasty though.

Cookies are also wonderful because they are perfect to give as gifts and especially as favors at weddings. I made these simple but elegant sugar cookies as favors for a wedding this weekend. I used a fluted round cutter which adds some texture to the sides of the cookie and made them a bit more fancy, I thought. They are all identical, with a white background and the new couple's monogram in apple green. Packaging those little babies reminded me of my dog biscuit baking days, when I would package hundreds upon hundreds of gourmet dog biscuits in cello bags and sheer ribbons. I was a little rusty, but in the end, all 284 of them were baked, decorated, and packaged well ahead of time to be delivered for the wedding.

Congratulations to the happy couple and many blessings upon you!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

America Tastes Sweet!

2010-07-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a lovely 4th of July! We enjoyed a relaxed afternoon with our friends and neighbors and ate hamburgers, ribs, sausage, and hot wings. It was good times! As usual, I brought dessert and I whipped up a humdinger of one!

My northern friends, you're probably more familiar with these than me and my southern compatriots, so forgive me for being a little loopy over them, but I am in LOVE with whoopie pies!

And so is my daughter:

Along with the rest of her friends:

These were red velvet flavored, which I dyed half of them blue and the other half red, and slathered cream cheese frosting between the two. Heavenly! Whoopie pies rock. Cupcake, you're dead to me. Over.

In addition to whoopie pies, I created this little free form tart for further Fourth festivities with my folks and frere (I love alliteration):

Behold the Galette of Glory!

It's a strawberry and blueberry galette which I further decorated by laying stripes and stars on top from pie dough. My folks had some dried orange peel in a jar that complimented the fruit nicely, and topped off with some vanilla bean ice cream, it was delightful after a heavy meal of BBQ chicken and pizza.

I tell you what, America never tasted so sweet. And a very heartfelt thank you to the men and women in the service who fight each day to keep it that way. Happy birthday America!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Inspiration: Fourth of July Desserts

2010-07-03T07:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day! The 4th of July is a wonderful holiday, complete with barbecues, swimming, hot weather, and fireworks. My favorite memories of this holiday always revolve around fireworks and the food–we often ate ourselves silly on grilled meats, corn on the cob, pasta salads made with home grown tomatoes, and the desserts. Oh, the desserts! Cookies, pies, cakes, and best of all, ice cream! My mom would set up the ice cream maker in the morning and make peaches and cream ice cream with peaches gleaned from neighbors (that were usually traded for some of my dad's tomatoes) and come afternoon time, the freshly frozen soft treat would be ready for consumption. My best friend Kellie jokes about how ice cream is the perfect dessert for such occasions, because it melts and fills in the little empty spaces in your stomach. I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly!

To kick off the Fourth of July, I've compiled some of my favorite ideas for desserts, along with links to the recipes. I still haven't decided what I'm making, but I think ice cream will definitely be on the menu!

Everyone loves pie...how about an Old Glory themed pie! This beautiful and whimsical pie is made with cherries and blueberries:

Use small fondant cutters or a knife to create the stars and stripes!

Of course Martha has a whole slew of amazing looking desserts and recipes. This one was one of my favorites. Shortcake is always yummy!

You can always go the cake route for something a bit more traditional. Dying cake batter in different colors and baking it together (a la the Rainbow Cake) is becoming very popular and it super easy to do. I won't give a recipe to this one, since you can use whatever cake recipe you like (or cheat and use a box mix); all you need to do is portion it out and use food coloring to dye it according to your wishes.

Photo from Taste of Home.com

If you're trying to go for a healthier take on 4th of July dessert, you can always try this fruity dish. You use a cookie cutter or knife to cut stars out of puff pastry, brush them with egg whites, then sprinkle sugar on top and bake them until golden. Serve with them a bowl of fruit and a non-fat yogurt dip and you have a simple, easy, and healthy dessert!

Photo also from Taste of Home.com

I hope these ideas inspire you to make something new or spice up your traditional Fourth sweets.

Happy Fourth!
Kelly

Friday Fun: Waffleizer

2010-07-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

Friends, by now you should know me pretty well. You will know that I love Alton Brown almost as much as I love my own husband. So when he says that you shouldn't buy certain items because they are "unitaskers" I am inclined to agree with him wholeheartedly. Because love is blind!

But now we've had our first spat.

Because as you will discover, the waffle iron can no longer be considered a "unitasker." You don't believe me? Then peruse the link below and believe!

And for the record, I want a wafflemaker now. Just sayin'.

http://www.waffleizer.com/

Cheers,
Kelly

Book Review: Cake Love

2010-06-30T09:39:00.000-07:00

Since the economy fell out under us and I had a kid, our finances have been a little bit tighter than I'd like. One of the things I had to give up was buying books which was heart wrenching, because I LOVE reading and books. But Mama always said everything happens for a reason and you know what? She's right. As much as I love bookstores, I love libraries more. There's just something about the smell of books that puts me in a happy place like nothing else.

I love all genres of books, but my favorites are young adult novels, mysteries, and cookbooks. I don't read a lot of a non-fiction; it just doesn't grab me the way fiction does. But I do love me a good cookbook, especially one that has lots of pictures and great recipes! And one of my favorites has been Warren Brown's Cake Love.

If you're not familiar with Warren and his bakery, here's a little backstory: Warren was a lawyer who didn't really like the appeal of life in the fast lane. He felt like he was missing something and one of the few things he did to escape the drudgery of his work life was baking. One thing led to another and he quit the law firm to open up his bakery, Cake Love. Since then, he's opened six more locations and is living his dream. He published a cook book that shares the same name as his bakery and it is chock full of good stuff.

One of the first things that immediately drew me to Warren's book was his story. Believe me, I've been there, done that, written the book, and gotten the T-shirt. We all have. Warren is at once warm and funny and genuine and it shines through in his writing and in his recipes. Every recipe has a story and his book is scattered with great anecdotes along the way.

I was a little hesitatnt at first to see what Warren could teach me about cake baking that I didn't already know, and I was surprised at his choice of ingredients for making a cake. Instead of cake flour, he uses all purpose flour. He never measures his flour by cups, but weighs it by ounces instead. And he uses something I had never seen in a recipe before: potato starch. Potato starch? I know, it sounds weird, but it does make a difference. I've baked several of Warren's cakes now, and the potato starch not only imparts more moisture, but the cakes have all risen well, requiring very minimal leveling after baking, if at all. I am a born again baker!

Beyond being a good read for the little stories that pepper the pages, the recipes are mouthwatering and as soon as you bake one of Warren's cakes, you will be a convert too. Warren has recipes for cakes, pound cakes, a small cupcake type confection he calls Crunchy Feet that are baked in small brioche pans, frostings and much more. The flavor combos are to die for, too. Triple Lime Chocolate Pound Cake? Sign me up!

Since getting the book, I have scoured my local supermarkets and searched high and low for potato starch; having found it now, I don't know how I ever lived without it. I still keep cake flour in my kitchen for certain recipes, but Warren's AP flour and potato starch combo has helped cut down my costs for baking, which has been a huge relief in these tough economic times...not to mention added more rave reviews on the cakes I turn out! I hope you'll check out Warren's book too and give it a whirl...it is money well spent (or well worth the wait if you try to get it through your local library!)

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Daring Bakers: Chocolate Pavlovas

2010-06-27T15:11:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Time for another DB Challenge Reveal! The June 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Dawn of Doable and Delicious. Dawn challenged the Daring Bakers’ to make Chocolate Pavlovas and Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse. The challenge recipe is based on a recipe from the book Chocolate Epiphany by Francois Payard.

So what is a pavlova? It's a meringue based dessert that was named Anna Pavlova, a famous Russian ballerina. It has a crispy crust with a soft interior that is akin to marshmallow. Australia and New Zealand have been arguing for years over who created the dessert first, but most of the research points to NZ. Either way, whoever is responsible created one heck of a yummy and elegant dessert! The version here is chocolate flavored with a chocolate mascarpone mousse on top. There are technically four components: the pavlova, the mascarpone mousse, the mascarpone to make the mousse, and a creme anglaise (which is a type of vanilla pastry cream). This is my version:

You know you want some!

Now before we get started, I have a confession to make. What with my busy schedule this month, I only got around to actually making the pavlovas themselves. I did not make the mascarpone mousse or other components because I simply ran out of time (I mastered the mascarpone recipe back in February when we did the tiramisu, so I don't really consider that a challenge, per se). However, I can vouch that the pavlovas are delightful when mixed with a little bit of whipped cream and some chocolate sauce!

Here are the individual recipes, along with construction instructions:

Chocolate Pavlovas
3 large egg whites
½ cup plus 1 tbsp (110 grams) white granulated sugar
¼ cup (30 grams) confectioner’s (icing) sugar
1/3 cup (30 grams) cocoa powder

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200º F (95º C) degrees. Line two baking sheets with silpat or parchment and set aside.

2. Put the egg whites in a bowl and whip until soft peaks form. Increase speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar about 1 TBSP at a time until stiff peaks form. (The whites should be firm but moist.)

3. Sift the confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder over the egg whites and fold the dry ingredients into the whites (This looks like it will not happen–fold gently and it will eventually come together).

4. Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Pipe the meringue into whatever shapes you desire. Alternatively, you could just free form your shapes and level them a bit with the back of a spoon (Dawn notes that you can make whatever shape you want).

5. Bake for 2-3 hours until the meringues become dry and crisp. Cool and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Some food for thought...

I piped my pavlovas a bit thinner than I think I was supposed to and they only took an hour and a half to bake all the way through.
I'd highly recommend making a couple of small pavlovas for testing. You won't know by looking at them if they're fully baked!

Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse (for the top of the Pavlova base)
1½ c (355 mL) heavy cream
grated zest of 1 lemon
9 oz (255 g) 72% chocolate, chopped
1 2/3 cups (390 mL) mascarpone
pinch of nutmeg or allspice
2 tbsp (30 mL) Grand Marnier or orange juice

1. Put ½ cup (120 mL) of the heavy cream and the lemon zest in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once warm, add the chocolate and whisk until melted and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and let sit at room temperature until cool.

2. Place the mascarpone, the remaining cup of cream and nutmeg in a bowl. Whip on low for a minute until the mascarpone is loose. Add the Grand Marnier and whip on medium speed until it holds soft peaks (Do NOT overbeat as the mascarpone will break).

3. Mix about ¼ of the mascarpone mixture into the chocolate to lighten. Fold in the remaining mascarpone until well incorporated. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse. Again, you could just free form mousse on top of the pavlova. Drizzle the cream anglaise on top, and voila!

Hope you enjoy!

Kelly

Portfolio: 90th Birthday Celebration Cake

2010-06-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

Back in 2004, my grandmother was diagnosed with congenital heart failure. The doctors told her that she would have about 2 years at most, if she was lucky. Well, I am happy to report that six years later, my grandmother is sending those doctors the bird to their diagnosis. To that end, my entire family flocked to her home this past week to celebrate having lived a very illustrious nine decades with food, fun, and cake.

Photo by Anthony Marino of Austin Area Photo

Each tier is actually three layers of cake: a layer of raspberry flanked by layers of lemon cake, all put together with lemon buttercream icing and homemade raspberry glaze. Given the incredible heat wave we experienced, it was light and refreshing. My grandmother had requested lemon and it was my cousin Katy's idea to add the raspberry. Good call, Katy!

As far as the color scheme, I chose purple and periwinkle, because those are the two colors that come to mind when I think of my grandmother. She's feminine, but at the same time, she's not a true girly girl. I had thought I would make pansies, but with all the goings on that week, I didn't have time to sit and really concentrate on it, so I created a dogwood looking flower instead. My aunt Becky had bought green and white plates for the party, so I incorporated the green as part of the scheme as well and it was a great compliment to the two shades of purple I'd created.

Photo by Anthony Marino of Austin Area Photo

I also decided to be a little bit different with the tiers...I see a lot of cakes where the patterns are busier on the bottom and the colors fade up as opposed to down. I think that by changing things up a bit, it really created a stunning cake. My only regret is the effect that heat had on this cake. The cake layers were fairly even and I tried to go easy with the frosting, knowing it was so hot outside, but I still ended up with a terrible bulge on the backside and a lot of bubbling underneath as the gasses from the frosting released and rose underneath the fondant. I had placed the cake in the fridge prior to placing the fondant on top, but it made the fondant sticky after awhile due to the condensation. And of course, this made it difficult to place flowers or royal icing on the cake!

In the end however, my worries were all for naught. My family was more than impressed with my skill and the flavor, as evidenced by the lack of leftovers. That cake fed about 50 people and the only ones who missed out were my brothers and my cousin David, all of whom don't really eat sweets anyway. (They did try bites and told me that it was fabulous) I'll post recipes later as I really wanted to show you my handiwork.

The Grand Dame herself, my grandmother Mavis... Happy 90th Maw Maw! (Photo by Anthony Marino of Austin Area Photo)

Happy baking!
Kelly

Recipe: "Kahlua" Cheesecake

2010-06-23T20:24:00.000-07:00

I've probably mentioned this before, but I'm rather quite famous in my circle of friends and family for my cheesecakes. Every year at Thanksgiving I am asked to provide my pumpkin cheesecake, which is a breath of fresh air to the traditional and sometimes boring pumpkin pie (although I LOVE me some pumpkin pie for breakfast). And every year, my husband requests a cheesecake for his birthday. Truth be told, it's actually been two years since I made him one. I was horribly ill on his birthday last year and couldn't bake anything at all, and the year before that he wanted a pirate birthday party, so I made my pirate cake. So it was about time I made him another one. I think it was over avocado margaritas with my cousin that the words "kahlua cheesecake" were uttered and Michael's eyes widened as he leaned over to me and whispered, "That's what I want for my birthday this year!" Okey dokey, honey. You want it? You got it!

I did some searching and found a great recipe at My Baking Addiction. Jamie not only has great recipes, but she has some fantastic photos too (Side note: I am now inspired to build a light box of my own so that I can take some decent photos of my work). Her method was a little bit different than mine (I usually pre-bake my cheesecake crusts for a few minutes before adding the batter) and she also uses a much smaller pan than I do. I typically use a 10" spring form or in this case, my new deep dish tart pan with removable bottom. I have been hankering after one of these since I saw Alton Brown use one on his apple pie episode. Not only can I use it for tarts, but it works beautifully with cheesecakes and pies too. Yum!

This cake went over well with all of the adults at the party we held for my husband and our friend's son who was turning one. The flavor is rich and mellow with subtle coffee undertones. It was perfectly balanced with some homemade whipping cream on top and a little drizzle of chocolate syrup. I hope you enjoy it as much we did!

Kahlua Cheesecake
For the Crust:

2 c chocolate cookie crumbs

6 TBSP butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Batter:

3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar
3 eggs

6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 TBSP whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c strong coffee
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and spray a 10" springform pan with cooking spray and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate cookie crumbs, melted butter, and the cinnamon. Mix well and press mixture into the greased springform pan.

3. In the bowl of your mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat at low speed until very smooth.

4. Melt the semisweet chocolate in the microwave in short spurts until almost melted. Then add in the whipping cream and heat one more time. Mix until smooth.

5. Add the chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and blend well. Stir in sour cream, salt, coffee, and vanilla; beat until smooth.

6. Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake in the center of oven at 350F (175C) for 45 minutes. Center will be soft but will firm up when chilled. Do not over bake. Leave cake in oven with the heat turned off and the door ajar for 45 minutes. Remove cake from oven and chill for 12 hours.

Food for thought...

I've kept most of Jamie's recipe here, but I've increased the amount of cookie crumbs and butter in the crust since I made a larger cheesecake. My pan is 10" x 2". If you use a smaller pan, cut the butter and crumbs down by half.
I've removed the Kahlua in my version. I only did this because I didn't have any on hand, and I felt that the cake was just fine without the minuscule amount her recipe calls for anyway, but please feel free to add it if you choose! You would add in 1/4 c of Kahlua (or other coffee flavored liqueur)
When melting the chocolate, I do it on 50% power for 30 second bursts in my microwave. You don't want the mixture to be piping hot, so watch it carefully. You can also melt it over a bain marie, but that's more hassle than it's worth unless absolutely necessary!
To bake the cheesecake in a water bath (which is highly recommended), wrap the bottom and sides of your pan in foil, then place it in the center of a large baking vessel that can contain the pan and about 2 cups of water. Once you've added the batter to the pan, pour water into the larger vessel and carefully place it in the oven. Check about 25 minutes in and replenish the water if needed. The moisture from the water prevents the cheesecake from cracking on top. I got a little bit of cracking, but it wasn't very noticeable once all was said and done.

Happy baking,

Kelly

Check it out: Frills Consulting

2010-06-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

If you live in Central Texas and are looking for a bridal planner or boutique event planner, look no further than Kristen White of Frills Consulting! Kristen is a classmate of mine from high school and she recently launched her own event consulting company after moving back to Austin. She worked in Houston as a bridal planner for five years and holy moly, the weddings she's done look like they came straight out of Martha Stewart Weddings. She is a consummate professional and a brilliant and organized planner. She's also one of the nicest people you will ever meet and would love to work with you on creating the event of a lifetime.

Please check her out and spread the word!

Cheers,
Kelly

Portfolio: Stars & Lace Graduation Cake

2010-06-06T09:44:00.000-07:00

My daughter's godsister graduated from high school this week and I made her a cake to celebrate! Ronnie is one talented kid...she's a cheerleader, a golfer, a straight A student, and a member of the JROTC. She's going to go to UT to major in biochemistry on a full ride scholarship from ROTC. Believe you me, her Marine mom and dad are extremely proud and so are we! Way to go Ronnie!

Red, white and blue...this cake design could work for the 4th of July as well!

Ronnie graduated from my alma mater, Jack C. Hays High School, home of the Rebels, so the color scheme was made to match. (On a side note...it was quite a trip to talk to her and hear about some of my old teachers and see how much the school has changed in ten years!) I did a two tiered affair, with a square base and a round top. I've done polka dots and stripes and I really wanted something different but elegant, so I decided to play with textures and patterns a bit on this one. I had my heart set on trying a damask pattern with stars, but as you can see, that didn't happen. Why you ask? Well, I decided to try a new chocolate cake recipe which was really tasty, but it was dense and unfortunately baked shorter tiers. So the 4" tall tier I envisioned became a 2" tier! When life gives you lemons, you make lemon pound cake, right?

So what to do? Google revealed lots of inspiring cakes, but nothing really grabbed me. I'll admit, I had quite a number of creases and wrinkles on the sides, so I threw design caution to the wind and started to patch things up by adding a fondant ribbon border around the base (and now you know why so many cakes have ribbon borders, ha!). The corners still needed something though, and I realized that fondant half circles would do the trick nicely, but they certainly didn't make you wanna go "Wow!" That desire for texture crept back into my brain...

And this is what resulted:

The white stars in the blue lace I actually cut from white and then popped them in. This is very easy to do with cutters and can be replicated with any number of designs to keep the look flat instead of building up in layers. I didn't do it on the top tier, because the fondant behind the red lace was white already, but I could have easily added blue stars.

I carried the lacy half circles to the top tier as well and then added a medallion of sorts to the top with the words "HHS 2010" in an elegant block script. This was actually a little bit more challenging than it appears. I really wanted to have the blue circle mimc the blue lace half circles on the bottom tier, but my cutter wasn't big enough.

Finally, I topped this little lady off with a banner proclaiming the occasion. The trick to getting it from falling flat is to place little pieces of fondant underneath to support it in all the right places. Then I handpainted the words "Congratulations Ronnie" in cursive. The leftover stars were scattered on top to create quite a lovely cake.

I couldn't be more proud of this cake. I got the texture I wanted, it was elegant but not overly so, and it was delightfully feminine while being different from the traditional grad cakes out there. The technique was super easy and really made a statement. I am definitely going to have to employ it again and I will probably post a tutorial on how to make "lace" from fondant very soon. Of course, Ronnie and her family loved the cake and we had a wonderful time celebrating such a momentuous occasion.

Congratulations to all graduates this month...you've earned it!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

PS. The chocolate cake recipe I used was from Warren Brown's CakeLove, which I adapted just slightly to include the potato starch he loves to use. I will post more on that later too!

Recipe: Honey Serrano Cornbread

2010-05-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you pick a peck of pickled peppers? Why, Honey Serrano Cornbread Muffins of course! My serrano pepper plants were ready to harvest their first crop when I checked on our garden boxes on Friday. I got five of the hot little ladies and I had visions of salsa swimming in my head. But salsa can be a bit boring, so I decided to try something a little different: honey serrano cornbread! Sybilla and I spent Saturday afternoon and evening with my parents and I requested fried fish for dinner. Fried fish is also the perfect accompaniment for this cornbread recipe, but so would any Southern entree.

What makes this recipe so delightful is the contract between sweet and spicy. I've always liked my cornbread sweet, so using honey within the recipe adds a depth to the sweetness that regular sugar just can't add. And you can adjust the spice to suit your needs; in this case, I removed all the veins and seeds and we still had a subtle level of heat that was pleasing and comfortable.

Honey Serrano Cornbread Muffins
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup AP flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 c sugar
1 cup milk or buttermilk
1/4 c honey
1/8 cup canola oil
1 egg
2-3 serrano peppers, seeded, deveined and finely diced

1. Preheat your oven to 425F and spray your muffin tin thoroughly with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients together and mix well with your hands or a whisk.
3. Add in the wet ingredients and combine until everything is just barely mixed.
4. Throw in the serrano peppers and stir one more time to disperse them throughout the batter.
5. Take the muffin tin and place it in the oven for one to two minutes to heat it up, but don't let it the cooking spray blacken! Then, pull it out and pour in the batter. Bake the muffins for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.
6. Flip them up and leave them in the pan to allow to cool for a couple of minutes before removing them and buttering the tops. Enjoy!

Some food for thought...

If you don't have serrano peppers, you can use jalapenos instead. The heat of a pepper is primarily contained in the veins and the seeds, so if you like more heat, you can leave those in, otherwise, discard them. You will still have a little bit of heat even after removing the veins and seeds, but it's very mild.
This recipe is derived from the one on the back of the cornmeal package I used. My family has used Lamb's cornmeal for years since it's a Texan brand; if you can't find it where you live, I strongly suggest you use whatever cornmeal is local to your state. Support local grown! (And no, I wasn't paid to plug Lamb's. I just really like their cornmeal!)
If you're not doing corn muffins, take note: there is a slightly different method for baking the cornbread. The original recipe instructs you to place the oil in the pan you'll be baking in, then put it in the oven to get good and hot for about five minutes. Once you've done that, you pull it out and pour in the batter, then bake til golden brown. You don't mix the oil in the batter if you opt for cornbread instead of corn muffins. Whichever way you choose, it's yummy!

Happy Baking~
Kelly

Daring Bakers: Croquembouche

2010-05-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

The May 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Cat of Little Miss Cupcake. Cat challenged everyone to make a piece montée, or croquembouche, based on recipes from Peter Kump’s Baking School in Manhattan and Nick Malgieri.

May is a very special month for me–not only do I celebrate my birthday every May, but my dad's, my father-in-law's, my husband's grandmother's, as well as several cousins and friends. What can I say? September was apparently a busy month! It is also the month in which I celebrate my wedding anniversary and this month's challenge is especially close to my heart because it was this very same cake that inspired my own wedding cake. My husband and I both share a love for medieval history and while our wedding appeared very traditional at first glance, everything was influenced and inspired by medieval culture and history. In fact, here's a little historical tidbit for you: the wedding cake as we know it comes from a medieval tradition in which wedding guests would bring small cakes and stack them up upon arrival. The bride and groom were then required to kiss over the top of said cakes and it was a good sign if none of the cakes were knocked over. Eventually, it morphed into the cake we know and love today. The croquembouche is about as close as you can get to that tradition and they are very common as wedding cakes in France. Our version were mini cheesecakes for the groom and Italian cream cake for the bride - our favorite flavors!

But I digress. This blog entry is about the croquembouche, or piece montee as Cat calls it. In a nutshell, it's a bunch of little cream puffs all stacked up on each other to form a tall mountain of creamy puffy goodness. Yum! You start by making a pate a choux (pronounced 'pot ah shoe')which are the puffs. You then make a cream filling and fill the puffs. Finally, you use a glaze to glue them all together and voila! Croquembouche.

While pate a choux sounds fancy and super complicated, I'm here to tell you it's not. I first made pate a choux when I was a senior in high school and it was easy then! We all know that I ADORE Alton Brown. Well, he produced an episode devoted solely to pate a choux and explained it's workings in and out (tee hee). If you still won't take my word that making pate a choux is easy, take his. I had to use the recipe that Cat provided, but I used Alton's method. Here's my pate a choux:

Pate a Choux (Yield: About 28)
¾ cup (175 mL) water
6 TBSP (85 g) unsalted butter
¼ tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour
4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 425F degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Combine the water, butter, salt and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and stir occasionally. At boiling, remove from heat and sift in the flour, stirring to combine completely.

3. Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly until the batter dries slightly and begins to pull away from the sides of the pan (see below; this happens very quickly actually).

4. Transfer to a bowl and stir with a wooden spoon 1 minute to cool slightly.

After adding an egg. It's gets really weird looking, but it will come together, I promise!

5. Add one egg. The batter will appear loose and shiny. As you stir, the batter will become dry-looking like lightly buttered mashed potatoes. It is at this point that you will add in the next egg. Repeat until you have incorporated all the eggs.

The batter will look like this when it is ready.

6. Transfer batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip (I piped directly from the bag opening without a tip). Pipe choux about 1 inch-part in the baking sheets. Choux should be about 1 inch high about 1 inch wide. Using a clean finger dipped in hot water, gently press down on any tips that have formed on the top of choux when piping. You want them to retain their ball shape, but be smoothly curved on top.

I'd recommend just piping big balls instead of swirling it like I did. I think that is partly why that batch fell so much.

7. Brush tops with egg wash (1 egg lightly beaten with pinch of salt) and bake the choux at 425F degrees until well-puffed and turning lightly golden in color, about 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350F degrees and continue baking until well-colored and dry, about 20 minutes more. Remove to a rack and cool.

Some food for thought...

These will keep overnight in an airtight container. You can freeze them as well, but make sure they are unfilled when you freeze them!
Be sure you let these little guys dry completely; it is better to err on the side of overdone than underdone. If there is any moisture left inside them, they will sink and flatten, thus rendering them un-fillable. At that point, they're really only good for munching, which is what happened to most of mine!

Having completed the tiramisu challenge back in February, the cream filling was a cinch. I didn't have any actual lemons, so I used lemon extract instead which left a lovely lemony zing to the filling.

Here's the vanilla pastry cream recipe again:

Vanilla Pastry Cream
1/4 cup (55g) sugar
1 TBSP (8g) all purpose flour
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup whole milk

Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

Then I dipped each and every single filled puff in melted chocolate and let them dry a bit and finally, I glued them all together to form my mountain of puffs. All I did was finely chop some Baker's semi-sweet chocolate and melt it in the microwave for a minute to create my glaze.

Then do a little stacking and "gluing"...

I stacked the flat ones in the center to build the puffier ones around it. Even without the filling, they were tasty!

And voila! Croquembouche. I drizzled a little melted white chocolate on top to gild the lily a bit. Tres magnifique!

Life is sweet. Here's to four years of marriage and the big 2-8! Also, Happy Birthday to my dad, Carl, Mike Sr., Gracie, Gramma Bobbe, Michael K, Emily and anyone else who I've forgotten! The month of May rocks!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Recipe: Cherry Almond Wedding Cookies

2010-05-08T16:32:00.000-07:00

Hello, everyone! I just realized that I have been remiss in not posting this on my baking blog (I originally had it on my family blog) and since I am making these for a dinner party tonight to honor the departure of a friend, I figured better now than never!

This recipe is a slight adaptation of one I gleaned from CookingLight.com and originally called for pistachios. I'm not a fan of pistachios and they're a little expensive, so I used the next best thing: almonds! And seriously, dried cherries are so great, they're like the original fruit snack. I have to hide them from myself, they're so addictive and yummy. I really hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do; it was delightful and weighing in at a mere 86 (roughly) calories per cookie, you don't feel so bad for eating more than just one!

Cherry Almond Wedding Cookies
1 1/2 cups cake flour (about 6 ounces)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, divided
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 TBSP ice water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup dried tart cherries, chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped almonds
Parchment paper

1. Preheat oven to 350F and lay down some parchment paper on your cookie sheet.
2. Combine flours, 3/4 cup powdered sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large bowl and whisk together.
3. Add in the butter and mash the flour mixture with the butter until the mixture closely resembles sand.
4. Combine 1 TBSP ice water, almond extract and vanilla in a small bowl. Slowly add the ice water mixture until thoroughly combined. The mixture will remain crumbly.
5. Add in the cherries and almonds and mix until combined. Gently press mixture into a level tablespoon; pack lightly with the heel of your hand. Turn out onto the prepped baking sheet.
Repeat with remaining dough to form roughly 32 cookies.
4. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or just until bottoms are golden. Remove from oven and cool 10
minutes on the baking sheet.
5. Place remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar in a large bowl. Add cooled cookies; toss gently to
coat with powdered sugar. Transfer cookies to wax paper or rack to cool completely.

Some food for thought...

Cutting the cherries into smaller bits is highly advised for two reasons: 1) it disperses them more throughout the cookies and 2) it stretches them further since dried cherries can be expensive ($8.99 a pound!). But they can get sticky and difficult to cut. Take a pinch of flour and thoroughly mix the cherries with the flour as you go through the cutting process. It will make them less sticky and easier to work with!
This recipe was originally performed in a food processor. I don't have a large one, so my instructions are for mixing by hand. I started by using a mixer, but it didn't really help, so I continued on by hand. You may think you're not getting anywhere, but I promise, it really does come together in the end!
Because these cookies do not spread at all on the cookie sheet, you can put them very close together on the cookie sheet so as to bake with one sheet. You may need to rotate the pan or extend your cooking time slightly though to ensure they are all cooked, though.

Bon appétit,
Kelly

Recipe: Blackberry & Strawberry Spiced Cobbler

2010-04-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

Texas is one of those states where you have a love/hate relationship with the weather. Summertime lasts from mid-May to early October and while some of you northern folks might love a long warm period like that, you certainly won't love it when you have 68 straight days of triple digit temps. HUMID triple digit temps, I might add. But before the dread of summer sinks in, we get to enjoy spring in Central Texas and that, my friends, is what's it all about! We get wildflowers out the wazoo and the weather is perfect 99.9% of the time. Another great thing about spring in Central Texas? Berries! April and May are prime time for strawberries and blackberries and today's recipe captures those colorful little fruits perfectly. Best of all it's quick, simple, nutritious and delicious!

Blackberry & Strawberry Spiced Cobbler
2 cups blackberries
1 cup strawberries, diced
1/2 cup sugar, divided in half
1 cup (125 grams) flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt (skip if you use salted butter)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger

1. In a colander or large strainer, combine blackberries, strawberries, and 1/4 cup of sugar. The fruit will begin to exude juices as a result of the sugar drawing out water from the fruit; allow it to drain off for about 15 minutes. Don't worry, you'll still get plenty of juice!

2. Preheat the oven to 350F and spray the inside of a large baking dish with cooking spray.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter and the other 1/4 cup of sugar until light and fluffy.
4. In another bowl or large measuring cup, sift together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with the milk; beat until smooth.
5. Pour the fruit into your baking dish. Spoon the batter over the fruit. Bake until the cake on top is a nice golden brown and is cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before serving up!

Some food for thought...

This recipe makes enough for 4-6 people. You can serve it with ice cream or whipping cream if you'd like, but it's just as delicious on it's own and warm.
If you don't have blackberries and/or strawberries, substitute with other fruit! Peaches are great in the summertime, blueberries are yummy in late winter/early spring, and you can use apples mixed with late summer berries in late summer/early fall. The sky is the limit!
The spices in this recipe are optional, however I think they add some nice depth and pizazz to an otherwise plain dessert.

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Daring Bakers: English Pudding

2010-04-27T15:13:00.000-07:00

It's time for another Daring Baker's reveal!

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet. The goals of the challenge were to 1) make a suet pudding using real suet or as close a replacement as one can manage or is acceptable; and 2) to cook it by steaming or an even more traditional method by boiling tied up in a cloth. I've been on a quest to lose the remainder of my baby weight, so I opted not to use suet. In addition, it's actually a bit harder to find here in the US as opposed to places like the UK or Australia. For those not familiar with suet, it's the back fat of an animal, typically a pig or cow. You can usually substitute lard, shortening, or butter for the suet in most pudding recipes. Also, pudding in this instance refers not to the yogurty textured stuff made with milk and sugar and flavorings, but a dense moist cake, or a filled pastry.

The closet thing in the States to a traditional savory pudding is a casserole or pot pie, but I prefer the sweeter side of life. I chose to make the classic Spotted Dick for two reasons: 1) it sounded relatively tame ingredient-wise, and 2) it's a funny name that elicits the best faces from people when you talk about it. Now before you start taking me to task for my language, "dick" is aparently the traditional colloquial phrase for pudding and the spots of Spotted Dick are from the dried fruits that stud the pudding. You can draw your own conclusions from the shape of the pudding, you dirty birdie!

I strongly encourage you to give it a try, because if anything, the cooking method revealed a delightfully moist and delicious pudding that would be tasty for any special occasion or any time of year for that matter. The prep time took about ten minutes max, then I set it to steam, walked away and came back two hours later. Voila! English pudding.

Spotted Dick English Pudding
3 oz raisins
3 oz dried cranberries
3 oz brown sugar
225g/8 oz flour
2 oz shortening
2 oz butter
2 oz milk

1. Set up a large double boiler/steamer and get the water hot and simmering.
2. In a small bowl, mix the dried fruit with the sugar. Set aside.
3. In a larger bowl, combine the shortening, butter, and flour and mix it with your hands. Add in the milk slowly until you have a very sticky dough.

4. Add in the sugar and fruit and continue to mix everything.

5. Place the ball of dough into the middle of a large piece of parchment paper and shape it into a log.

6. Then, roll up the side of the paper and twist the ends to seal it.

7. Carefully place the roll inside your double boiler and cover it. Allow to steam for a minimum of 2 hours. You may need to add more water as needed to keep the steam going.

8. Once it's finished cooking, pull it out and allow it to cool. Be careful of hot water and steam! Then unroll it and serve.

Some food for thought...

I am fortunate in that I have a large steamer/double broiler. If you don't, never fear! Another alternative is to place a bowl or plate down in the water to create a stand of sorts that the pudding will rest on. Just be sure that the pudding doesn't get into the water! You can also bake it in a 400F oven for 1.5 hours (please note, I did not try the baking method so I cannot vouch for it if you go that route; the recipe says if you bake it, wrap it in foil and then bake).
The original recipe calls for currants, but I didn't have any on hand, nor are they easy to find in Central Texas. Use whatever dried fruit suits your fancy!
Should you actually want to use suet, you will need 4 oz for the above recipe. The person who issued the challenge said she gets hers from her butcher and that he usually lets her have it for free. I believe it is also available in boxes mixed with something else, but I don't remember.
Do not be fooled by the amount of sugar in this recipe! It is not uncommon for Americans to overdo the sugar content on the majority of the sweets we make (and we wonder why obesity is an epidemic in this country), but this recipe is plenty sweet thanks to the fruit that is added to it. In addition, Spotted Dick is usually served with "lashings of custard" when it is served, thereby adding a bit more sweetness. If you don't have custard, you can use whipped cream or ice cream. Or just eat it plain! I personally would recommend something creamy to go with it to offset the fruit a little bit.

This was definitely an interesting challenge! The results were delightful and my house certainly smelled yummy as it steamed. Having made one English pudding, I might actually consider making one over the holidays this year, just to try something different.

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Noah's Ark Baby Shower Cake

2010-04-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

When it rains, it pours...literally and figuratively! We had lots of rain this weekend and I had a lot of cakes on my plate too! After completing a birthday cake, a first communion cake, I had a request for a baby shower cake as well. The grandmother to be is a friend of a friend and she contacted me to do a Noah's ark cake for her daughter's baby shower. Wilma sent me pictures of the partyware along with a picture of an adorable cookie jar her friend has that was also an inspiration for the shower.

Noah's List: Elephants, Hippos, Lions and Giraffes. And just for good measure, one white dove on top!

They requested a lemon flavor, which is one of my favorites. I made lemon butter cake with lemon buttercream frosting, and then covered it with brown fondant. I used fondant sculpting tools to simulate the effect of boards along the side of the cake and the little house on top is actually a mini cereal box covered in fondant. The roof texture was created by cutting small rounds of fondant, or scales, and then layering them on a flat piece of same colored fondant to create the effect of roofing tiles. I placed rolled up straws underneath to add some lift to the roof, which worked out nicely. I sculpted the animals from fondant and tried to match their colors and facial expressions to the partyware. Finally, I placed all of the animals on the boat and added some leftover blue fondant along the bottom to create the water.

Closeup of the back of the boat: the lions, one giraffe, and the dove.

Closeup of the front of the boat: One hippo, one giraffe, and one elephant. The other hippo and elephant are peeking out the portholes on the side!

All told, I really like this cake. I was worried that I might have got the colors wrong or that it wouldn't work out, but in the end I think it came out wonderfully. I got some great compliments on it at the party when I dropped it off. This cake almost gave me a heart attack though because it almost bit the dust on the way there–I turned a corner and the tray it was on started sliding and the cake started sliding on the tray. It was by the grace of God that I managed to catch it justintime before it hit the dashboard of my SUV. Fortunately the only damage it sustained as a result was one of the lions needed to be put back in place and the elephant on deck had some head issues, both of which were easily rectified.

I do have to laugh though...given all the rain we had this week and weekend, this cake was very appropriate in theme. The humidity did give me a little bit of trouble but the cake looked great and it appears that everyone at the baby shower loved it too, which is the most important thing of all.

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Celtic First Communion Cake

2010-04-17T15:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated my godsister's First Communion. Mathilda's mom has me do lots of cakes for her and I really wanted to do something special for her first communion. If you're not familiar with what First Communion is, in a nutshell it is a right of passage for young Catholics in which they are now able to receive the Eucharist at Mass (the Eucharist is the little bread wafer). Mathilda is one of a kind and I knew that she wouldn't be happy with a hum drum cake to celebrate this milestone in her life. I used our church's Celtic influence to inspire this simple cake.

The cake is a vanilla cake with a bit of cinnamon and ginger added to it to give it some oomph. The frosting is an American buttercream that is flavored with lemon extract and zest.

Now let me just state that I can't claim entire credit for the idea; I saw a version on Cake Central and just fell in love with it. The baker had sculpted a large sized cross and decorated it with knotwork, but in the essence of simplicity and party size, I chose a round, short armed cross. I did a Google search until I found a cross I liked, then used it as a guide for my piping. In order to make sure I hit all the right spots I took a knife and used it to trace the basic lines, which I then piped over using a large round tip in brown buttercream and a smaller round tip for the green buttercream.

To finish it off, I piped more knotwork around the side of the cake. The trinity is a big deal in the church, so I chose a triskel type of knotwork. Triskel or triskelion is the word typically associated with a symbol of that type, FYI. You didn't know you were going to get such a culture lesson with this post, did you?

I really love the concept behind this cake, but to be completely honest, I wasn't thrilled with the final result. I had a lot of things going against me and I think that if I were going to do this again, I would at least pour some royal icing within the cross border to give it some more color. I think I might also do some more elaborate knotwork along the sides and within the cross. I just feel like I could have done so much more but because of time, sick/cranky baby, and humidity (my buttercream started getting really finicky on me) the end result was not as impressive as it could have been.

Regardless of MY opinion, Julia told me later that everyone loved the cake and that Mathilda and her brother each ate several servings they loved the flavor so much (and to think that Mathilda wanted plain jane vanilla)!

Congratulations Mathilda!

And Happy Baking!
Kelly

Recipe: Chocolate Orange Cake and Orange Cream Buttercream

2010-04-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

Growing up, Terry's Chocolate Oranges were one of my favorite things to get in my Christmas stocking. I loved the pairing of orange and chocolate and the way the flavors melded on my tongue. Those chocolate oranges are the inspiration for today's cake recipe. I first did this recipe for my husband's birthday cake last year and it was a huge hit! This time around, we were celebrating the birthday of one of his coworkers, Becky. Originally this recipe was just the cake and the chocolate ganache, but I decided to add an orange cream buttercream to the mix this time and lemme tell ya, this will rock your socks, friends!

Orange Chocolate Cake
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp orange extract
2 eggs
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup milk, buttermilk, or whipping cream
1 cup (125 grams) flour
1/3 cup (40 grams) of cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 325F and prep your pan with parchment paper and nonstick spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream the butter for about 1 minute and then add the sugar. Beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add in the extract and eggs and mix to combine.
5. With the mixer on slow, add in the flour and milk/juice mixture, alternating between the two.
6. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Some food for thought...

Tangerines can be substituted for the orange juice. You can also use concentrated orange juice, but the flavor won't be as orangey or bold.
This recipe will make enough for one loaf or one 8" round layer. Multiply accordingly!

Orange Cream Buttercream
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temp
1 pkg (8oz) of cream cheese, room temp
1 tsp orange extract
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
4-6 cups of powdered sugar
Orange food coloring, optional

1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese, and orange extract until smooth.
2. Add in the powdered sugar a cup at a time, until thick.
3. Add in the orange juice slowly and mix until smooth and creamy. If you choose to tint it orange, do so now!

Chocolate Ganache for Pouring
3 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
3-4 oz heavy whipping cream

1. Roughly chop the chocolate and place it into a heat proof bowl.
2. In a large container, microwave the whipping cream on high for 1-2 minutes until boiling.
3. Pour the whipping cream over the chocolate and let sit for 2-3 minutes before whisking it together.
4. Once it has come together and is smooth and shiny, set it aside to cool for about 20 minutes. Pour it over a chilled and frosted cake.

Some food for thought...

For some helpful tips and tricks regarding ganache, check out my tutorial here.
If you plan on adding anything sprinkled on top of the cake, the time to do it is within five minutes of pouring. Once it's poured on a chilled cake, it sets up pretty quickly, so make sure you cover all those bald spots in time too!

For the giant petit four look I created, here's how I did it: I baked mine in a loaf pan, torted it once, and then cut it in half, so it formed a four layer square of cake. The orange cream buttercream went in between each layer and on the outsides, then it was chilled for about 20 minutes while I made the ganache. Once the ganache had cooled enough (about 20 minutes), I placed it on a wire rack over a cookie sheet and slowly poured the ganache all over. For the bare spots, use a spoon to scoop up any extra ganache and drizzle it over those areas. Orange peel was sprinkled on top and it was placed back in the fridge to continue chilling and setting up.

All said, I think the birthday girl liked it.

Happy Birthday Becky!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Inspiration: Cake Ball Wedding Cake

2010-04-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

My husband and I had the pleasure of having a child free night this past Saturday so that we could attend the wedding of a good friend. It's no secret that my husband and I are former theatre actors (ok, well I'm former, he still does some stuff on occasion) and our friendship goes way back to my husband's Winedale days (Winedale is a summer intensive Shakespeare class that is offered through the English department at UT and held in Round Top, TX). And on Saturday, Andy married his longtime love Nadine, who is an amazingly talented artist. As an artist myself, I love finding inspiration in all sorts of places and Andy and Nadine's wedding was no exception!

The bride is Indonesian and so the ceremony included a traditional egg stomping ritual, in which the bride and groom take turns stomping on an egg, then wash it off the other's foot.

From the moment you walked in, you could tell this was no ordinary wedding. They went for a whimsical and funky style that was simple and fun. The location provided beautiful scenery (it's a house owned by a local gardening center) and the decor consisted of paired up stuffed animals and toys everywhere. The tables centerpieces were stacks of board games which people could actually play. I saw a mean game of Scrabble going down at one table!

Aren't these two adorable?

The bride made name tags for everyone that also included two or three "talking points"–what you did for a living, how you knew the bride and groom, your hobbies, or other little items that might spark interest from others. It was great fun to read everyone's badges all night long and really got some great conversations going.

I got so many questions over who Alton Brown was; looks like I need to educate the world some more on the joy that is AB!

In lieu of a traditional guest book, the bride sketched and inked a tree onto a large piece of watercolor board and everyone stamped their fingerprints for the leaves. You then signed your name on your fingerprint. I can just imagine that hanging up on the wall with a collage of wedding snapshots and a framed shadowbox of mementos from the wedding.

The fun also extended to the food and cake. There were two buffet lines set up with food from all of their favorite places; his on one side and hers on the other. Nadine is Indonesian and I got a chance to try some amazing Indonesian dishes not to mention an entire roasted pig! For the wedding cake, they had a local bakery make cake balls, which were then stuck onto a false 3 tier cake. Some of the balls were different colors and then painted with shimmer dust while the majority were white. It was really cute and I loved the idea! I definitely have to try it sometime, if anything at least for the presentation.

The cake balls were provided by a bakery in town called Austin Cake Ball. Seriously, go check out their website, they have got some great stuff!

I hope you get inspired by these ideas just as much as I was! It certainly was a wedding to remember and the fun carried on until the wee hours of the morning.

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Tutorial: Making Ganache

2010-04-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

Ganache. Sounds fancy, don't it? Pronounced "guh-NASH" (or "guh-NOSH" depending on where you hail from), it is a French word meaning jowl or jaw. In the cake world, ganache is a mixture of chocolate mixed with heavy cream and blended to create a smooth liquid that can be used as a frosting or made into truffles. Some people hear fancy French words and think automatically that something like ganache must be painfully difficult to make, but I am here to tell you that ain't so! Today, we shall embark on an adventure–I am going to show you how to make ganache!

To get started, you will need:

Chocolate, such as Baker's Semi-Sweet Baking Squares
Heavy Whipping Cream
Cutting board
Good cutting knife, like a santoku blade
Large microwaveable measuring cup (you'll see why)

Medium sized heat proof bowl
Whisk

[Claps hands and rubs them together] Let's get going, shall we?

To make ganache, you must understand one thing: ratios. I know, it sounds scary, but trust me on this. All you really need to know is "one to one". If you're not familiar with ratios in regards to cooking, here's how it works: with 1:1, you take 1 part whipping and add it to one part chocolate. The "part" is whatever standard measurement you use. For example, I measured out 6 oz (3/4 cup) of whipping cream and used 6 oz (six squares) of chocolate. This makes a total of 12 oz of ganache, or 1 1/2 cups.

A note on chocolate: it is imperative you use either baking chocolate or a fine quality chocolate. Don't use chocolate chips and think you can get away with it. You need to have a high concentration of cocoa butter within the chocolate in order to make this work and chocolate chips don't have enough. They usually combine other ingredients like hydrogenated oils which don't produce a good ganache (not to mention those are just plain unhealthy). If cost is a contender in your chocolate choice, go with Baker's brand baking squares. I use the semi-sweet and it results in a smooth, luxurious ganache every time. Yes, Scharffen Berger is better, but Baker's is just fine and it usually retails for roughly $2 a box of 8 squares (8 oz).

If you're a chocolate connoisseur, you may be familiar with the term "bloom"; basically, it means that as chocolate ages and is exposed to humid air, it will begin to cloud, or bloom. This does not necessarily alter the taste of the chocolate, but it does shorten it's shelf life. In the picture above, the chocolate on the left is older than the chocolate on the right. It is always a good idea to store your opened chocolate in an airtight container and put it in a cool place to prevent it from going bad before it's time.

1. The first step to making ganache is to chop your chocolate. You don't need to mince it, but run your knife through it quickly and you should be ok. The idea is to increase the amount of surface area exposed to whipping cream; lots of little pieces=more surface area. Please be kind to yourself and use a good quality knife with a large, sharp blade to cut the chocolate. I use an 8" santoku blade and it works wonders.

2. Next, place your whipping cream in a large microwaveable measuring cup and microwave it on high for 1-3 minutes (microwaves will vary, so pay attention to yours). Make sure the vessel is twice the volume of what you're measuring, otherwise you might have an accident like mine:

Before...and after. Cleanup on aisle four!

3. Place the chopped chocolate in your heat proof bowl and slowly pour the hot whipping cream over the chocolate. Let it sit for about a minute or two.

4. Take a whisk and slowly stir it, being careful not to splash it everywhere. It will eventually come together into a thick, glossy, chocolatey ooze.

L: What you'll start with. R: What you'll end up with. Yum!

5.And now you're done! If you will be pouring it onto a cake, allow it to cool for about 15 minutes on the counter. DON'T put it in the fridge or else it will coagulate and become unpourable. However, if you plan on whipping it to frost a cake, put it in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes, then add a touch of powdered sugar and whip that puppy on high with a mixer until you have the consistency you desire.

There you have it! See, now that wasn't so hard, now was it? You can experiment with different kinds of chocolate, even white chocolate (you may need to reduce the amount of whipping cream a little for white chocolate because it isn't true chocolate). You can also change up the ratio a bit depending on what you're doing. Some prefer a 2:1 whipping cream to chocolate ratio for pouring and some prefer a 1:2 whipping cream to chocolate ratio for making truffles (which will have to be another tutorial for another day).

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Large Owl Cake

2010-04-09T17:02:00.000-07:00

Halt! Whoooo goes there? Why this lovely little fella, of course:

My friend Julia works for the Y in Buda as a lifeguard and they recently held a fundraiser. Julia told the gang at the Y that if they met their goal, she'd get them a cake to celebrate. Well, they met their goal and then some, so to celebrate she asked me to make an owl cake. Again. Last year, I made this cake for one of her friends' birthdays. Because this one was going to feed a lot more people, I decided to change the design a bit. And it sure didn't hurt that I managed to snag this baking tin on sale for $.50 after Easter. Yes, you read that right. FIFTY CENTS, Y'ALL! I don't know who was looking out for me, but the Sale Gods sure were nice to me! And I have to thank whoever it was that lost all of the packaging the pan came with...because otherwise, the exhausted Target staff may not have been willing to let me have it for $.50.

Moving on...

This design are very easy. To make this cake, I baked two 12" round layers out of velvet cake (no coloring was added) and the egg shape out of orange flavored chiffon cake. I chose chiffon cake partly for it's volume and weight and partly because I had a lot of eggs on hand (which were also on crazy sale...two dozen for a dollar). I then iced the round cake in green buttercream and added some flowers and leaves to make it look like a tree top or a bush. I am very proud of myself; I finally managed to only make enough chiffon cake to fit the pan. Ok. And a little extra. But apparently third time's the charm!

The egg shaped cake was perfect for an owl body. The only thing I needed to add was the ear tufts and a few details that scream "owl!" I decided to use this picture of Marion's owl cookies as part of my inspiration (Side note: if you have not checked out Sweetopia yet, you need to. Marion is such a doll and very talented. There is a link on the sidebar as well!):

I iced the owl in chocolate buttercream. On the other owl cake I made, I had layered slivered almonds to create the feathery chest. I wanted a more mod, cutesy look this time, so I instead laid a large circle of lilac colored fondant down for his tummy/chest piece. I then went over them with chocolate ganache to create a feathered look. The eyes are also fondant with buttercream accents and the "horns" are Hershey's kisses. His beak and feet are buttercream.

I really, really, really wanted to be cheesy and write, "Congrats on reaching your g-owl!" but my good sense triumphed and I restrained myself. And there wasn't really any space or time to write anything. Although it would have been super funny and cute, IMO.

Julia was DEE-lighted when she saw the cake and so was everyone else back at the YMCA. I am really proud of this cake for coming together so nicely and being a cinch to make, especially in the middle of the week! The cake I made was enough to feed about 50-60 people, so if you wanted to recreate it on a smaller scale, you could definitely do so. You would need to use a different sized pan for the owl body (a 6" round trimmed a bit on the sides or a smaller dome pan would work beautifully) or you could just do the owl out of fondant or buttercream only and have it flat and one dimensional instead.

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Easter Cookie Pops

2010-04-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Spring came early to Central Texas and with it, so has Easter!

To celebrate the return of spring and Easter, I made some bunny cookie pops for my daughter's class. I had joked with her daycare provider about making chocolate bunnies, well, I did just that! Sort of, anyway.

I had planned on doing them with chocolate royal icing, but my plans got ruined when I forgot to set the timer on the first batch of cookies.
Yes, you read that right. The FIRST batch of cookie pops. See, I'm a multi-tasker when it comes to baking and if you don't set a timer, well...bad things happen to good bakers. Burnt things, specifically!

I got distracted by blogging and getting my daughter ready for bed that when I walked by the kitchen some time later I wondered to myself what the weird smell was. [Smack forehead] The cookie pops! I hurriedly pulled them out, but it was too late. They weren't blackened too terribly, but they weren't edible either unless I didn't care about my reputation. So after the kiddo was in bed, I started over and barely had enough lollipop sticks to finish them. Then I let them cool while I puttered about getting things ready for the next day and finally got a chance to decorate them around 11:30. I was really tired so I nixed the chocolate icing and just did white (I added some Americolor Super White to make it bright and punchy) bunnies with blue eyes.

All the drama aside, those bunnies sure were cute and the kids loved them. In fact, they'd already finished them off by the time I arrived that afternoon for the kids' Easter egg hunt. Now I need to think about the next holiday cookie pop I'm going to do! Maybe some flowers for Mother's Day...

Anyhoo, "hoppy" Easter to you and yours!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Recipe: Black and Tan Brownies

2010-03-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

I love all things Irish. And even though my grandfather gave up his birthright to the motherland thus causing it to be ridiculously hard for me or my own to claim legal citizen status there, I still claim my heritage. Silly, I know. My family's been removed from Mother Erin for four generations now, but that doesn't stop us. My cousin married a fine Irish gent by the name of Barry and now she spends half a year there (and yeah, I'm super jealous). I have never been to Ireland, but that doesn't mean I won't make it someday. In fact, my favorite Irish cookbook author, Margaret Johnson, didn't make it until she was 40 and she's been there over 50 times now! If she can do it, so can I. And the recipe today is one of hers, that was in this month's issue of Cooking Light.

I made these for our annual St. Patty's Day dinner with my husband's cousin and everyone really liked them. The flavor is very different from a traditional brownie and you could taste the stout in them. They weren't bad tasting by any means, but it was a taste unlike anything we'd ever had before. It was rich and deep, and did I mention very rich? Most of us had a hard time finishing just one brownie! I highly recommend these for any time of year, but definitely for St. Patrick's Day!

Black and Tan Brownies (from Cooking Light, March 2010)

Tan Brownies:
6 TBSP butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
4.5 oz AP flour (roughly 1 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Black Brownies:
3 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 TBSP butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup Guinness Stout
4.5 oz AP flour (roughly 1 cup)
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 350F and prep a 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.
Make the Tan Brownies first. In a large bowl, beat the brown sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
In a separate small bowl (or your measuring cup), mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture and the pecans to the wet mixture, mixing until just combined.
Spoon into your prepped pan and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the Black Brownies. Melt the chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl for about 1 minute on high, stirring every 20 seconds or so.
Add the sugar stirring until combined.
Add in the remaining eggs, vanilla, and Guinness stirring with a whisk until well combined.
In a separate container, mix the flour and salt and add to the wet mixture, stirring to combine.
Pull the Tan Brownies out of the oven and pour the Black Brownie mixture on top, then pop it back into the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out almost clean.
Cool and cut to serve. Enjoy!

Some food for thought...

Mise en place is the key to success for this recipe. Both brownies use some of the same ingredients so make sure to measure everything out, then separate it into Black and Tan areas on the counter to minimize confusion.
Don't have pecans? Use walnuts instead! Don't like nuts at all? More's the pity I say, but if you don't like them (or Heaven forbid are allergic to them), you can leave them out.
I made mine in a 10"x10" baking pan and got 16 very large brownies. They were very rich and I could have probably doubled that and been just as happy. Cooking Light says the recipe makes 32 servings at 162 calories, 7 g of fat, and that sounds about right to me.
Per Cooking Light, "...the phrase 'black and tan' referred to the much-reviled auxiliary force of English soldiers sent to Ireland to suppress the Irish rebels after the 1916 Easter Rising. Eventually, a much loved drink made with half Guinness Stout and half Harp Lager assumed the name..."
CL's recipe actually calls for 1 cup of sugar for the Black Brownies, but they also call for unsweetened chocolate. I used semi sweet chocolate, so I reduced the amount of sugar to compensate. You can go either way on this one, I think.
If Guinness is not your thing, you could probably substitute a different brand of stout for this recipe. Unfortunately, I really don't think there is a way to make these without the beer in them, so if you're not a drinker, it's probably best to avoid these even if most of the alcohol bakes off.

Happy Baking!
Kelly

Cake Notes: Saving Money on Supplies

2010-03-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

In these tough economic times, it can be hard to pursue a hobby like cake decorating. My husband lovingly refers to my baking as my "expensive hobby" and he's right. I've spent more on baking supplies than I have on my own wardrobe in the last year, which is saying a lot.

Truth be told, I hate shopping...for clothes. I really do. I love clothes, I love the fabrics, I love fashion, but let's face it, when you have an hourglass figure with long torso, short inseam (27"!), and broad shoulders with big boobs, it gets ridiculously hard to find clothes that a) fit and b) are within your price range. Typically, when I find something that meets criteria A, I usually have to back away quickly from the item lest my bank account gets drained just by looking at it. I have good taste and a hard figure to fit.

So when I say that I love to find a good sale, it means I love the sleuthing that goes hand in hand. You can sale stalk a baking book and if it doesn't fit the moment you try it on, you can always wait until the next sale. Unlike that ridiculously cute chocolate brown vintage inspired Michael Kors one piece swimsuit that fit like a glove and made you look damn sexy but was still too damn expensive even on 50% clearance...ahem. I digress.

[Loud stage whisper] So what is my super secret to finding baking supplies on sale?

Know before you go. To get the best deal, you need to know the average price for an item first, so it's imperative that you do your homework and shop around before you buy anything.

Sale stalk like crazy. Major retailers often have quarterly or seasonal sales on their baking goods. Check out the websites and fliers for them too; they might have extra coupons that you can use. Example: Michael's Crafts Store publishes a 40% any non sale item each week in their flier and I use it quite frequently to purchase some of the larger items I need, like cake pans, etc. Amazon also has great deals, plus it has user reviews which can be very helpful in determining if a product is even worth considering. There are tons of online stores that sell baking supplies, so make sure you look at all your options. And don't forget about restaurant supply stores. At Target, you can buy a cookie sheet for $10. At my local restaurant supply, I got a commercial half sheet pan for $5 and it was bigger than the one at Target!

Be willing to shop more than one location and be patient. As much as I love my bake shop, it's a little further north than I'd like to drive on any given day and they don't always have the best price on an item. Sometimes they are the only place that carries a particular item so I have to go there. But more often than not, I get my stuff from several different places. Hobby Lobby has the best prices on cake boards and some basic decorating supplies in my area, and Michael's has a weekly coupon that I use all the time. Amazon has a great selection of items, and if you can qualify for Super Shipper Saving, you save a bundle on shipping costs. You may have to wait a bit to get the item(s) you purchased, but often times, you'll get a better price online than buying it in store. Like mama always said, patience is a virtue.

Purchase multi-taskers to get more bang for your buck. I don't buy one hit wonders a.k.a. uni-taskers. Those are the tools and gadgets that can only do one thing in the kitchen. As Alton Brown says, the only uni-tasker in the kitchen should be the fire extinguisher. You might pay more up front for a multi-tasking item, but it will pay for itself in the long run. Cake pans are a great example. Don't buy figurine pans unless you know you can reuse them several times in different ways. I have a pirate boy pan that I bought years ago. I thought i would never use it again. But the basic shape is great for any kind of standing figure, like my daughter's cowgirl cake.

(On a side note...wow...my photography and my decorating skills have come a long way baby!)

With that said, sometimes there are uni-taskers that you need to buy. Pastry bags are a great example. You won't really be able to use them for anything but piping, but they can be used with any kind of medium: frosting, royal icing, sponge cake batter, whipping cream.

Use everyday items or make your own. Think outside the box. Are there items in your home already that can be used in a pinch or permanently? For example, I could spend $6 on flower forming molds, but instead I use plastic Easter eggs leftover from the year before. Or small bowls. Or cleaned out egg cartons. I may end up spending that $6 on the molds someday, but for now, my free items work just fine. If you can recreate an item for free, don't spend the cash on it; make it!

Time is money. This ties in with #5. Sometimes you just need to belly up and pay up. Know when to bite the bullet and when to get creative. Your time is better spent baking and decorating than trying to figure out some engineering issue. If $6 saves you three hours of cursing and frustration, then that's $6 well spent in my book. TRUST ME. Your spouse/children/friends/neighbors/pets will be much happier, and so will you.

Don't let this be you. Just know when to call it a day!

If you're really determined to save money on baking supplies, you'll figure out the best method for yourself. If you know other baking enthusiasts, try trading and borrowing supplies. If you don't have the cash for an item now, rethink your design. Sometimes it sucks, but that challenge may actually cause you to come up with a much better design, and one that is unique to you as an artist. Hard times force you to think more creatively. Utilize simple designs. The more elaborate something is, the more you might have to actually purchase to carry it out. In the end, quality always trumps quantity.

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Littlest Pet Shop Cake

2010-03-13T17:23:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since I posted; I spent almost every weekend for six weeks baking and making cakes and I desperately needed a break! I also needed to do some spring cleaning and my bedroom, closet, and master bathroom are now sparkling and organized. [Happy sigh] Nothing makes me think better than a clean space! And now that I am somewhat rested (because being mom to a rambunctious two year old is never restful) I wanted to show you the latest creation in my portfolio that was made for Sydney, who lives next door to our friends Madeleine and Cameron. For her birthday, she requested a Littlest Pet Shop (LPS) cake that was based off my lovebirds cake.

At first I was kinda bummed because she wanted it to be almost identical, with slightly different colors and LPS figures on top instead of lovebirds. Now, don't get me wrong, I love the lovebirds cake. I think it's ridiculously cute and wonderful, if I do say so myself. But I love taking an idea and creating something that is singular to the person who is being honored, not to mention I thrive on the challenge of creating something different each time I go into the kitchen. So when Sydney's mom Amy emailed me a couple of days before the party with some design changes, I got super excited. Sydney got a cake that is what she wanted, and I got to create something new that was unique to her.
I baked a vanilla butter cake and dyed it pink, then frosted it with American buttercream icing, and then covered that with pink fondant. Amy wanted a square cake instead of a round cake, to make it easier to cut, and I deliberately chose not to level it because it created a nice pillow effect. Yes, some people will call it laziness, and while I level the majority of my cakes, for this one it worked out better not to, in my opinion.

The paw prints were made using a small round fondant cutter and a round icing tip. I thought this would be painless and easy, but it took way longer than I imagined and I felt like I was a human hole puncher. Just when I would think I'd done enough little circles, I'd count and discover I didn't have near enough. Grrr.

The figures were made from fondant and they were actually easy enough to put together. I tell you what, LPS has changed a LOT since I was a kid! Just for comparison, I took a photo of one of mine from childhood (yes, I still have it after all these years!) so you can see what I'm talking about. The new ones are almost kind of scary. But I digress! The hardest part on the figures were the eyes and making sure everything was balanced. The heads are large which I had to dry them separately to prevent them from crushing the bodies. The wings on the butterfly were also a bit of a hassle too. I should have given them a full 24 hours to dry, but they only got about 12 and so they slowly drooped while I was trying to finish the cake this morning. I ended up putting the butterfly in a small container with supports until we arrived at the party to make sure that they didn't flop completely.

Sydney requested a butterfly and a dachshund for the figurines on top

The eyes were a challenge, because they're those big manga anime type eyes. At the cake show two weeks back I bought some Americolor Super White, which was really handy for this project. It's like white-out for cakes! In fact, I kinda almost wish they made it in a pen type applicator (Americolor, if you're reading this, you should totally run with that. I'd buy it!). I used it to apply the white part on the pupils, which completed the whole look of the figurines.

This was an easy design by my standards, but it was more time consuming than I had anticipated. If any of you should decide to do something like this, be sure to give yourself plenty of time! It was worth it in the long run; I am happy to report that Sydney loved her cake and so did all of her little friends.

Happy birthday Sydney!

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Tutorial: Baking a Cookie Cake

2010-03-04T19:50:00.000-08:00

Ever walked through the mall and seen the Great American Cookie Company with their cookie cakes on display? Or maybe you've seen them in your local grocery store bakery? It wasn't so long ago that the ubiquitous cookie cake was a novelty, an rare little item. These days, they're everywhere and most often covered in some decorator's buttercream scrawl with the words, "Happy Birthday!" on them.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE me some cookie cake. I think the cookie cake is genius: it's a giant cookie! And who doesn't love cookies?! Definitely not this guy:

At least he did, until childhood obesity became an epidemic and now he's the Veggie Monster. C is for Cookie, which is good enough for me!

What I don't love about cookie cakes is the price. They are outrageously expensive but ridiculously easy to make. I'm not joking. Here's how to do it:
Step 1. Make or buy cookie dough.
Step 2. Press onto parchment paper on cookie sheet.

Step 3. Bake at 300-325F (depending on oven) for about 15 minutes or until set.
Step 4. (My favorite step) EAT THE GIANT COOKIE!!!

Yes, it really is that simple. Now you're probably wondering what my secret cookie recipe is. Oh, I'll tell you. [Loud stage whisper] You can find it on the back of the Nestle Tollhouse package! [Normal voice] Yeah, that's right. My chocolate chip cookie recipe comes from the back of the Nestle Tollhouse package. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it! (Although Alton's recipe for The Chewy is pretty dang good too) I like to melt the butter when I make mine, then it definitely guarantees chewy cookies every time. Yum!

But in case you're wondering, there ARE a few tricks to this:

Make sure you reduce the oven temp down by about 25F to 50F...otherwise you'll have a very crispy and un-yummy cookie on your hands.
ALWAYS use parchment paper underneath. You're mashing the cookie down and you need to be able to get it back up again.
Bake it longer than the instructions tell you to. I bake it for about 12 minutes and then watch it like a hawk to make it sure it doesn't overbake. Remember, it continues to bake on the sheet after you pull it out of the oven.
Homemade buttercream icing spread on top is to. die. for. No lie. You will think you have died and gone to heaven, it is that yummy.

And here's another great thing about chocolate chip cookie dough: it freezes wonderfully, so you can make it ahead of time and freeze some of it for later. I love being able to have something to whip up for my friends and family on a whim, knowwhatimean?

I hope you'll give cookie cakes a try! If anything, they are easy to make, quick to bake, and pretty fail safe, IMO.

Happy Baking,
Kelly

That Takes the Cake 2010

2010-02-28T19:28:00.000-08:00

OMG what an awesome weekend! Me and my college buddy Brianna took a much needed mommy weekend and attended the That Takes the Cake Show 2010, hosted by the Capital Confectioner's Club here in Austin. We met up at about 9:30 Saturday morning to drop off our competition pieces then went and had some breakfast before heading back to the show in time for opening.
We saw tons of great cakes and got some great ideas for cakes we want to try and make. The theme this year was Science Fiction and Fantasy and man, did the showpieces deliver! There were a couple cakes based on the movie Avatar (both of which were phenomenal pieces) and others to ET. My favorite by far is this bad boy:

Check out the detail on this one...talk about amazing! Seriously, the creator of this cake is an artist.

I also liked this one too:

While this wasn't a fantasy or sci-fi theme, the skill and overall design just catches my breath. The stringwork is superb and I loved everything about it. I didn't have a traditional cake at my wedding, but if I were, this would have been a top contender for me!

I love this one...there were little robots all over the cake and they were all cleaning! Too cute!

And this one was fun also. It was my husband's favorite too!

I love all the sci fi and fantasy references on this. A really simple design that is incredibly detailed too!

My husband said he wanted this for his birthday cake...now I need to learn how to do a crawfish boil to make it complete!

I loved the level of skill and detail on this. I was NOT crazy about the colors. Personally, it looks like they skinned an 80's floral pattered couch! But beautiful nonetheless!

This fella was impressive. Not only is he 4 feet long and about 3 feet tall, but he is also anatomically correct. He looked like the real deal, only smaller!

This entry was also very realistic. It made me nauseous to look at it because I hate oysters, but I loved it because of it's authenticity. What can I say...I guess oysters ARE aphrodisiacs!

We looked at a lot of the cakes in the categories we entered and we caught several people admiring the cakes we made. I gotta admit, it was some tough competition in the adult beginner's novelty one tier! On hindsight, I think I had the chops to enter in the adult intermediate, but this being my first show, I'll have to wait to do that for next year. I didn't place in my category, but Brianna took 1st in her division and category! I was so proud of her. Here is what she made:

Brianna's entry

1st Place in Adult Beginner 1 Tier Novelty - there was a little diorama inside the egg too, which was also equally amazing. And can you imagine how much time it took to make all those flowers!?

2nd Place in Adult Beginner 1 Tier Novelty - while this one was lovely and very well-executed, it just didn't grab me.

3rd Place in Adult Beginner 1 Tier Novelty

There were a lot of great cakes in my division and while I don't think I should have placed 1st or 2nd with my entry, I am peeved that they chose this Lego cake for 3rd place. If not mine, there were at least three or four others that should have deserved top honors too and were considerably better in execution and detail than this one. Sorry, but there it is. Maybe y'all can help me out, but I'd really like to know why the judges picked that one over some of the other entries for third place.

Beyond the competition though, one of the highlights for Bri and I was meeting Mike McCarey. Yes, THE Mike McCarey of Mike's Amazing Cakes. He was really warm and funny and very sweet to take his picture with us. Seriously, we were like a couple of tweens at a Miley Cyrus concert. Ok, maybe not so much screaming, but I think the excitement was obvious! We also took a class on Sunday morning that he was teaching with Lauren Kitchens and Kathy Scott. I had my reservations about Kathy Scott, but she turned out to be the most hilarious of the three!

Me and Mike McCarey

All three folks were warm, funny, genuine, down to earth, and did I mention funny? I think what was most striking about these folks is that they are celebrities, and yet they are so accessible. Brianna and I are both theatre majors, and we've met quite a few film and stage stars in our time. I think the difference between Mike and Lauren and someone like George Clooney is that at the end of the day, Mike and Lauren can go home and relax. George and company can't. Because of that, all of the instructors at the show were so nice and warm and in good spirits, and that makes a huge difference!

The class overall was chock full of info and if there was anything I took away from this weekend, it was these two things: 1) Modeling chocolate is a medium I need to work in and 2) I still have much to learn or, practice makes perfect.

From L to R: Lauren Kitchens, Mike McCarey, Nicholas Lodge, and Earlene Moore. In front are the cakes Lauren made that "muppetized" the other three cake artists.

We also perused the vendor stalls and I have quite a few items on my wishlist as well as the vendors I want to contact in order to obtain. Now all I need to do is figure out how to subtly suggest to my friends and family those desires when it comes to birthday time!

It was a great show and it was a great weekend. I got to catch up and visit with an old friend, see some amazing cakes, meet Mr. Amazing Cakes himself, and learn some new things. I can't wait to see what next year holds!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Daring Bakers: Tiramisu

2010-02-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking. They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession.

Ta da! My tiramisu charlotte

Our challenges for this month were to make:
A. Tiramisu (includes zabaglione and vanilla pastry cream)
B. Mascarpone Cheese
C. Ladyfinger/Savoiardi Biscuits
When I first copied the challenge into a Word document, I was overwhelmed by the ten pages it consumed. But where's the fun in life if you don't take the bull by the horns? When all was said and done, this really wasn't that bad of a challenge. It was, dare I say it? Almost too easy. I should probably count my blessings though, given it was my first challenge! My biggest struggle was breaking everything down into a time line that fit around my schedule. Here's what I would recommend:
Day 1: Make mascarpone cheese and ladyfingers.
Day 2: Make zabaglione and vanilla custard.
Day 3 (or later in Day 2 if you start early enough): Assemble tiramisu.

Making the ladyfingers was a breeze and the mascarpone wasn't too bad either. I have to be honest though; I ended up having to use ultra-pasteurized whipping cream because after searching five grocery stores and specialty stores here in Austin, I couldn't find non-ultra pasteurized WC anywhere. I know Texas has some funny laws regarding milk products and pasteurization, so I don't know if I just didn't look hard enough or it's not widely available/legal. And another thing: I have no idea how to determine the fat content on whipping cream because they don't effing publish it on the side of the carton. Grrr!

The day before the party, I had to hit the grocery store after work and make dinner before I could start the zabaglione and custard, so once they were completed, I put them in the freezer for about 45 minutes to speed things up since bedtime was rapidly approaching and I didn't have the luxury of waiting out the mandatory four hours.

I got a little creative in my presentation and decided to make my tiramisu into a charlotte instead of the traditional presentation. I lined a bowl with plastic wrap and then lined the ladyfingers inside the bowl, using a pastry brush to soak them with coffee. Then I started layering it on the inside until I reached the top. I had created about 30 ladyfingers and one 6" round ladyfinger to place on top. Then I weighted it down with a small plate while it chilled in the fridge.

I gotta tell ya, this was hands down the BEST tiramisu I have ever tasted...and I have had the pleasure of tasting quite a few in my lifetime.

For the zabaglione, vanilla custard, whipping cream, and tiramisu construction: Carminantonio's Tiramisu from The Washington Post, July 11 2007
For the mascarpone cheese: Vera’s Recipe for Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
For the ladyfingers: Cordon Bleu At Home

To make the Mascarpone cheese
Ingredients
500 ml whipping (36%) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering.
Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. If you do not have a thermometer, wait until small bubbles keep trying to push up to the surface.
It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

This recipe makes 12oz/ 340gm of mascarpone cheese

Vera’s notes: The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.

Kelly's notes: I had a problem with the majority of the cream mixture seeping through the cheesecloth into the bowl. This was probably because I used the ultra-pasteurized whipping cream. Several participants also had trouble getting the mixture up to 190F, but I used a metal bowl over the double boiler and had no trouble at all.

To make the Ladyfingers/Savoiardi Biscuits
Ingredients:
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons/75gms granulated sugar
3/4 cup/95gms cake flour, sifted (or 3/4 cup all purpose flour + 2 tbsp corn starch)
6 tablespoons/50gms confectioner's sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 F (175 C) degrees, then lightly brush 2 baking sheets with oil or softened butter and line with parchment paper.
Beat the egg whites using a hand held electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually add granulate sugar and continue beating until the egg whites become stiff again, glossy and smooth.
In a small bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly with a fork and fold them into the meringue, using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour over this mixture and fold gently until just mixed. It is important to fold very gently and not overdo the folding. Otherwise the batter would deflate and lose volume resulting in ladyfingers which are flat and not spongy.
Fit a pastry bag with a plain tip (or just snip the end off; you could also use a Ziploc bag) and fill with the batter. Pipe the batter into 5" long and 3/4" wide strips leaving about 1" space in between the strips.
Sprinkle half the confectioner's sugar over the ladyfingers and wait for 5 minutes. The sugar will pearl or look wet and glisten. Now sprinkle the remaining sugar. This helps to give the ladyfingers their characteristic crispness.
Hold the parchment paper in place with your thumb and lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it on the work surface to remove excess sprinkled sugar.
Bake the ladyfingers for 10 minutes, then rotate the sheets and bake for another 5 minutes or so until the puff up, turn lightly golden brown and are still soft.
Allow them to cool slightly on the sheets for about 5 minutes and then remove the ladyfingers from the baking sheet with a metal spatula while still hot, and cool on a rack.

This recipe makes approximately 24 big ladyfingers or 45 small (2 1/2" to 3" long) ladyfingers. Store them in an airtight container till required. They should keep for 2 to 3 weeks.

Kelly's Notes: I highly recommend doing two things: 1) use a big ziploc bag for the piping and 2) use a big bowl to mix this all in. Egg whites are deceiving little buggers!

For the zabaglione
Ingredients
2 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar/50gms
1/4 cup/60ml Marsala wine (or port or coffee)
1/4 teaspoon/ 1.25ml vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Heat water in a double boiler. If you don’t have a double boiler, place a pot with about an inch of water in it on the stove. Place a heat-proof bowl in the pot making sure the bottom does not touch the water.
In a large mixing bowl (or stainless steel mixing bowl), mix together the egg yolks, sugar, the Marsala (or espresso/ coffee), vanilla extract and lemon zest. Whisk together until the yolks are fully blended and the mixture looks smooth.
Transfer the mixture to the top of a double boiler or place your bowl over the pan/ pot with simmering water. Cook the egg mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, for about 8 minutes or until it resembles thick custard. It may bubble a bit as it reaches that consistency.
Let cool to room temperature and transfer the zabaglione to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

For the vanilla pastry cream
Ingredients
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1 tablespoon/8gms all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup/175ml whole milk

Mix together the sugar, flour, lemon zest and vanilla extract in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. To this add the egg yolk and half the milk. Whisk until smooth.
Now place the saucepan over low heat and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the mixture from curdling.
Add the remaining milk a little at a time, still stirring constantly. After about 12 minutes the mixture will be thick, free of lumps and beginning to bubble. (If you have a few lumps, don’t worry. You can push the cream through a fine-mesh strainer.)
Transfer the pastry cream to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.

Kelly's Notes: I did not have lemons, but miniature clementine oranges were sitting in the fruit bowl, so I used them instead. I highly recommend orange instead of lemon–it was an incredible tasting!

For the whipped cream
Ingredients
1 cup/235ml chilled heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup/55gms sugar
1/2 teaspoon/ 2.5ml vanilla extract

Combine the cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric hand mixer or immersion blender until the mixture holds stiff peaks. Set aside.

My mis en place, ready to go for tiramisu construction! Clockwise from left: warmed coffee and sugar mixture, whipping cream, lady fingers in bowl with plastic wrap, ladyfingers for layering and mascarpone, zabaglione, and vanilla pastry cream.

To assemble the tiramisu
Ingredients
2 cups/470ml brewed espresso, warmed
1 teaspoon/5ml rum extract (optional)
1/2 cup/110gms sugar
1/3 cup/75gms mascarpone cheese
36 savoiardi/ ladyfinger biscuits (you may use less)
2 tablespoons/30gms unsweetened cocoa powder

Have ready a rectangular serving dish (about 8" by 8" should do) or one of your choice.
Mix together the warm espresso, rum extract and sugar in a shallow dish, whisking to mix well. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat the mascarpone cheese with a spoon to break down the lumps and make it smooth. This will make it easier to fold. Add the prepared and chilled zabaglione and pastry cream, blending until just combined. Gently fold in the whipped cream. Set this cream mixture aside. Now to start assembling the tiramisu.
Working quickly, dip 12 of the ladyfingers in the sweetened espresso, about 1 second per side. They should be moist but not soggy. Immediately transfer each ladyfinger to the platter, placing them side by side in a single row. You may break a lady finger into two, if necessary, to ensure the base of your dish is completely covered.
Spoon one-third of the cream mixture on top of the ladyfingers, then use a rubber spatula or spreading knife to cover the top evenly, all the way to the edges.
Repeat to create 2 more layers, using 12 ladyfingers and the cream mixture for each layer. Clean any spilled cream mixture; cover carefully with plastic wrap and refrigerate the tiramisu overnight.
To serve, carefully remove the plastic wrap and sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa powder using a fine-mesh strainer or decorate as you please. Cut into individual portions and serve.

And there you have it! I know it's a lot of information to take in, but seriously, you won't be disappointed if you give this bad boy a try. And before you even ask, I really don't think there is a way to reduce the fat and calories in this (I don't even want to think about how many are in it!), so plan on making and eating this for a very special occasion.

Happy Baking!
Kelly

It's Showtime!

2010-02-26T21:39:00.000-08:00

It's here, it's here, it's finally here!

The weekend I have been waiting for is finally here...the weekend of the That Takes the Cake Sugar Arts Show! Thanks to general forgetfulness, mommy stuff, crazy stuff at work, and Sybilla's birthday I completely missed the show last year and was kicking myself over it. Next year, I swore, next year I will make it. And not only will I be attending, but I will be competing as well! My first competition! Ok, technically second, but this is the real deal, y'all.

I decided to enter in the Adult Beginner level based on the qualifications for that division. I'm not quite an intermediate, and honestly, there are a lot of good contenders in the Adult Beginner division anyway. A gal at the bake shop was telling me that it's the biggest division, so it's hard to get noticed. Well, I hope I at least get noticed for this little gem:

Profile view

Side view

Full on head shot

The theme for this year's competition is Science Fiction and Fantasy and anyone who knows me knows I was freaking out over that. I LOVE sci-fi and fantasy. Love, love, LOVE it. But for something I loved so much, I was seriously stumped at what to do for the competition. I started making a list of everything that said "sci-fi/fantasy" to me and one of the things I came up with was mythology. And from there I started thinking dryads, naiads, and nymphs. That made me think of the green man, which if you're not familiar with him, in a nutshell he is a pagan entity that is a nature spirit typically signifying spring and/or fertility. You can find carvings of him in churches all across England and Ireland and he is typically seen as a face that is made up of leaves, sticks, and vines.

My piece therefore, is inspired by this beautiful piece of work:

This picture is NOT the picture I was using to model my design after, but I couldn't find the one I used on my computer and a new Google search turned this up. [sigh] Essentially same thing, though just not in color! Also, this piece is apparently mass produced by some garden art company called Neo Mfg.

I have no idea what the weekend will bring, but I am stoked about the event. I am also going to take a class on Sunday that has Mike McCarey as one of the instructors. It is my goal to get my picture taken with him. My good friend Brianna from college is coming into town for this event as well and I am so excited about seeing her in such a long time. I also get to meet her darling daughter Emily for the first time and my husband will have a chance to catch up with her husband too.

Good things are coming. Good things!

Stay tuned, because I will post more about the show and what I see there!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Happy Birthday Sybilla!

2010-02-21T23:12:00.000-08:00

Today my daughter Sybilla is two years old, which means that Billa Cakes is two years old too. Well, technically, Billa Cakes wasn't born until about two or three months after my daughter was born, when I took that life-changing drive to work. But I digress! To celebrate my munchkin's second birthday, we had a Sesame Street themed party. I made four dozen cupcakes, each dozen representing a different Sesame character.

Part of my reasoning for cupcakes this year was twofold: 1) We were having her party at a park and cupcakes are just easier to eat on the run and 2) I had another cake that I had agreed to make for this weekend (I know...I'm such a masochist). I really had to be careful about how I allotted my time to all of this, so I prepped a lot of things a couple of weeks ago in anticipation and let me tell you, it's a darn good thing I did–it saved me from having a mommy meltdown!
I had originally wanted to do some really cute goodie bags with rubber duckies, coloring books, stickers, crayons, and play dough for the kids to take home, but after pricing it all out, the party budget was quickly exceeding what I wanted to spend. After the success of the valentine cookie pops, I figured sugar cookies was a great favor idea. Besides, how much more useless toys and crap do kids need to have anyway?

The primary colors for the party were red, blue, green, and yellow, so all of the cookies were iced in those colors and then placed in cello bags.

I chose to make S and 2 cookies because part of the magic of Sesame Street is the "sponsors." If you remember the show, you no doubt remember the credits in which they announced that the show was brought to you by various letters and numbers.

Besides baking, my other passion is party planning, so playing on that theme, I made gift tags that had a little thank you note saying, "This party was brought to you by the letter S and the number 2. Thanks for sharing this special day with me. Love, Sybilla" On the other side, was a character's head, which I made from cardstock and scrap paper. Needless to say, they were a hit. To make the tags, I used a scalloped circle punch to create the muppet's head and used hole punched paper to make the eyes. The pupils were colored in with permanent marker. Big Bird was a little bit of a challenge because of the beak. I ended up making them 3D to get the effect of his beak. Oscar looks a bit more demonic than I would have liked, and Elmo came out looking more like Telly, but hey, the kids knew who they were supposed to be!

For Sybilla, I made a small cake that was slightly larger than cupcake size and decorated it to look like Elmo, her favorite character. She was thrilled with her "Mo."

I was actually going to purchase a cupcake stand, but the one I wanted was at Costco and Costco was closed when I went to purchase it the night before the party. So I drove to Target and my husband spotted that lovely two tiered display stand. He pointed out that it was more versatile so we got that...I'm glad I did! He was so right!

Now for the deets...I know you're all dying to know how I made these adorable little cupcakes!

COOKIE MONSTER: Hands down, the Cookie Monster cupcakes needed to be cookie cake! I used a star tip to create fur and used marshmallows for his eyes. For that cookie crazed look, I made sure to offset the pupils at weird angles. A candy melt created the mouth. I stuck pieces of Cookie Crisp cereal just outside his mouth to make sure everyone knew this was Cookie Monster and not Grover (although there is nothing wrong with Grover).

The Wilton method of decorating cakes, as much as I love to knock it, is perfect for this kind of project!

ELMO: I baked a dozen red velvet cupcakes and used a star tip as well to create "fur" on top. I then used orange jelly bellies for his nose, marshmallows for the eyes, and a chocolate mint candy melt cut in half for the mouth. Because Elmo's head isn't actually round, I added a bit more icing on the sides to create the illusion that his head was more oblong. The red was created by mixing Wilton tasteless red.

BIG BIRD: For Big Bird, I baked a dozen yellow butter cake (vanilla) cupcakes. I did add a bit of yellow dye to them to make them pop some more. Big Bird has feathers as opposed to fur, so I used a ribbon tip and worked my way around in a circle, starting from the outside and moving in to create a feathered look. His eyes are marshmallows with royal icing pupils and his beak is made from fondant. I used lemon yellow and a touch of ivory to create the perfect Big Bird color.

OSCAR THE GROUCH: Flavorwise, nothing really came to mind for Oscar, but he always seems to be surrounded by brown, so why not chocolate? Divine intervention convinced me to add marshmallows (a la Rocky Road ice cream), that added a little something to the flavor, but made the batter spill over the sides a little. Oops! I baked his cupcakes in silver foil cupcake liners to suggest his signature trash can. I used a grass tip to create his fur at first, but then switched to the star tip like I did for the others for consistency. Candy melts made his mouth and the eyebrows were buttercream. In order to make him look like he's frowning, you need to do the eyes first, then add the eyebrows on top.

Giving Oscar some eyes

I had a blast making these and even more fun playing on the playground with daughter all day. Happy Birthday, my little heart...you are my inspiration and I love you more than anything else!

Blowing out the candle (and yes, that's spittle hanging from my daughter's lips...she got a little zealous in blowing out the candle!)

Cheers,
Kelly

Portfolio: Bridal Shower Cake

2010-02-20T18:36:00.000-08:00

My friend Beth co-hosted a bridal shower this weekend for her boyfriend's brother and his fiance. She asked me to make a cake for them and I happily obliged, even though it was cutting close for me to make my daughter's birthday cake.

I found out that the wedding colors were a rose pink and a darker pink with white, and that the bride and groom were Aggies. Playing with that, I created this lovely little piece:

Beth had requested an Oreo cookie cake a few weeks back for her boyfriend's birthday and there was so much talk about it in his family that the bride, Rebecca, requested the same flavor for the shower cake. I baked three layers due to the denseness of the cake and iced it with cream cheese icing. Then, I covered it in pink MMF and decorated it with hearts of varying sizes on the side, a ribbon made of fondant on the bottom, and two lovebirds on top. I used pink, white, maroon, and Caribbean blue to add some pizazz and contrast to the cake.

I realized after everything was done that some of the hearts were not more evenly spaced. I was using a dowel to help me center things, so for future reference, use something flat instead. Actually, maybe some string would be better. Drape four pieces at even intervals and then use a pin to mark off where the fondant pieces will go. That should help to ensure they are evenly spaced AND centered!

A close up of the lovebirds...aren't they sweet? To complete the cake, I hand painted the word "Congratulations Heath & Rebecca" on top. I had to be super careful not to misspell it...I didn't want to somehow end up on CakeWrecks for something like that!

Beth and Sean were delighted when they saw the cake and I've heard nothing but rave reviews about it since! I was more than happy to contribute a show piece for them.

Congratulations to the happy couple...may you have many happy years together!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Friday Fun: Manly Cupcakes

2010-02-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine posted the link to this blog post about "manly cupcakes" on his Facebook this morning. Being a baker, I just HAD to check it out. And lemme tell ya, I was rolling on the floor laughing my butt off. My favorite line had to be, "They don’t bake cupcakes, they build them. With, like, levels and measuring tapes and sh*t." The engineer in me has found a new crush...

Check out these bad boys! Aren't they adorable? I mean...manly. Or maybe handsome is more appropriate?

You can also check out the Butch Bakery here. I love ideas like this. My friends and I came up with this idea once for manly scented candles, but sadly, we discovered someone else had thought of it too. And why not? Who wouldn't want a Chuck Norris scented candle? Speaking of Chuck Norris, the Butch Bakery needs to have a Chuck Norris cupcake...I think I might just suggest it!

Happy Friday!
Kelly

Portfolio: Valentine's Day Cakes and Cookies

2010-02-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

Ah, for the love of cake...it was Valentine's Day yesterday and I made a lovely batch of goodies to celebrate! Hannah is the daughter of a former coworker who turned 6 this year and her original birthday plan was for a spa themed Barbie party. But then she saw an American Girl doll she really wanted instead, so she opted for the doll and a less elaborate cake. Her mom is an event planner for a huge real estate company and between all the planning for their annual event and her daughter's birthday, I am still amazed at how well Stormi keeps it together. Here is what we came up for Hannah's party:

The inside of Hannah's cake is pink vanilla - vanilla cake dyed pink. I've discovered that the majority of kids aren't that adventurous with their cake flavors, but they sure do love color. Dying cake batter is an easy way to personalize and spice up a cake while retaining the simplicity of a flavor everyone loves!

The roses on the cupcakes were very simple; you cut out strips of fondant and then rolled them. It took a little bit of practice however, because you don't want to roll them too tightly or they won't look like roses anymore.

We also did two dozen cupcakes, half red velvet and half pink vanilla, to go along with the cake. It was also Stormi's mom's birthday, so I made her a cake as well that coordinated with Hannah's cake.

I "antiqued" the edges of the hearts a bit to give them some more character and create a more cohesive look for the cakes. Otherwise, they were very bright and almost out of place with the vines and swirls on the side.

The cakes themselves were covered in buttercream and fondant, and I then attached fondant hearts all over the edges. The vines and swirls are painted on. Unfortunately, my red fondant turned more brown than red as it dried, so I used what little bit of red coloring I had to paint in the hearts on Hannah's cake. I swirled buttercream and cream cheese icing on the cupcakes, then delicately placed the fondant hearts and roses on top.

Lastly, we also did heart cookies to give to the kids to place in their goodie bags. Stormi sent me a list of names and I piped them onto the cookies for a personalized touch. Hannah was so excited as she recognized her friends' names on the cookies and even more so when she saw that got one too. And how could she not? I do make a mean batch of sugar cookies!

Happy birthday Hannah! May you have many more wonderful years ahead of you!

In short, I think everything turned out well for everything and Hannah and her mom were pleased as punch. To all you lovebirds out there, Happy (slightly belated) Valentine's Day!

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Valentine Cookie Pops

2010-02-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

As I slaved away in the kitchen making cookies for a party and cookie pops for my daughter's class, I realized I am becoming my mom. My mom is a very talented seamstress and I don't have near the patience or precision that she does (which is saying a lot, considering I made both of my prom dresses in high school and the majority of my wardrobe throughout high school and college and worked in the costume shop).

Finished cookie pops

For Valentine's Day (and Halloween and Christmas too), my mom refused to give in to what she considered the easy way out--buying a box of pre-printed character valentines and writing on them. No, she prefered to challenge herself a bit and really make the holiday special. Instead, she would sew tiny stuffed hearts for each child in my class. And my brother David's. And my brother Philip's! And if that weren't enough, she'd then use puff paint to applique each kid's name on them. We're talking roughly 100 hearts each year (and candy canes and pumpkins). The kids loved these and they loved them more than anything else. In fact, I still had classmates in high school who would tell me that either a) they still had theirs or b) they always remembered that as their fondest class memory of that holiday.

So as I'm piping red royal icing onto heart shaped cookie pops, I had a moment where I realized that I am becoming just like my mother. The rebellious kid inside me who always hated being compared to her mom suddenly panicked. "I'm becoming my mom!" But the mother aspect of me pushed that aside and asked gently, "Is it really THAT bad?" I thought about for all of two seconds and then decided, "No...not really." I actually felt kinda proud to carry on my mom's tradition of doing things differently (I'd say legacy, but some people might think she's dead, which she is very much NOT, thank goodness!).

And you know what? I'm glad I did.

Our daycare provider told me later that she had told the kids they could have one treat from their Valentine's Day stashes and as soon as they saw the cookie pops, that was what they wanted, no if's and's or but's. Seriously, could anyone NOT burst with pride for that?! I mean, I knew the kids liked the cookie pops from Christmas, but I didn't know they liked them that much. I'd even made sure to include some extras for any parents that were around that day. Out of the twelve I sent, I came home with one.

Billa's class getting ready to eat their cookie pops

So now cookie pops have become a tradition...and what a sweet tradition that is to carry on!

My biggest fan...and the reason I wear my heart on my sleeve!

Happy baking,
Kelly

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it...

2010-02-01T08:23:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited! Last month I took the plunge and joined the Daring Kitchen as one of the Daring Bakers. It's an online forum for cooks to try new recipes and challenge themselves. The Daring Kitchen also reviews cookbooks, provides recipes, and is a great place to find neato food blogs. DK welcomes foodies of all cuisines, all levels, and all sizes, so long as you meet one criteria: you love food! Each month, they issue a challenge to all of the Daring Chefs and Bakers and today is the first one I get to participate in! I already know what they have in mind for us this month, but YOU won't get to know until February 27th, which is the day that we all show off our reveals on our blogs!

Stay tuned later in the month to see what I whipped up!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Hungry Little Caterpillar Cupcakes

2010-01-31T20:23:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I posted about a cake I did for my friend's daughter Madeleine. Her cake was one of two I did this weekend; the other was for another little girl named Madeline, the daughter of another friend (and I really wish that both of their names were spelled the same way so that it wouldn't make my brain hurt as much when trying to type them out!). Madeline's first birthday is tomorrow and to celebrate, her mama requested cupcakes done up like the Hungry Little Caterpillar. It's one of my daughter's favorite books, so this was a really fun project for me on so many levels (shoot, this whole weekend was full of fun baking projects).

The leaf cake board is a piece of foam board that I cut into a leaf shape and then used a large tip brush to apply watered down acrylic paint in large strokes. It created a watercolor type effect that matches the book's illustrations really well.

Madeline's smash cake would be the head of the caterpillar with cupcakes making up the rest of his body. Because the cupcakes were so easy, I went the extra step of making a leaf-shaped cakeboard for them to sit on. My favorite part about this project was the colors of the icing I came up with. Anyone who knows me well knows I don't just LOVE color, I LIVE color. In fact, if I had to use one word to describe myself, I think 'colorful' would be it. So of course I was just going gaga over these crazy awesome colors I whipped up:

I don't think any of the pictures I took really do the colors justice, but believe me, they were vibrant, beautiful, and perfectly matched the book! The red was made using pink, maroon and red. The green on the top was made with sky blue, ivory, and kelly green. The bottom green color was made using yellow, ivory, and kelly green. All coloring used was Americolor gel color.

Technically speaking, the cupcakes were either vanilla or red velvet, with Madeline's smash cake being red velvet. Caroline requested no fondant, so I made sure that only the fondant in sight were the caterpillar's peripherals, thereby making them easy to pop off in time for eating. To make the caterpillar's antennae, I covered Q-Tips with fondant and then jabbed them in once they had dried (making sure to cut off one of the cottony ends, of course!). His feet, nose, and eyes, are also from fondant. The feet were cut from small hearts, which I tweaked the shape a little bit with my fingers to make them more like the illustration. The swirled color effect of the green body parts was made by putting both colors of icing into my piping bag, one on each side and then letting them meet and meld in the middle.

Close up of the swirled color effect. Again, the picture just doesn't do it justice!

So lovely! It broke my daughter's heart that she couldn't eat them.

Madeline's mama called me this afternoon to tell me that her little girl loved the cake; in fact Madeline loved it so much she said, that if she hadn't taken it away, the kid would've kept on eating! Ha! My job is done here.

Hmmm...what is this sweet sensation? I think I like it! (And can you believe those huge eyes? Just gorgeous!)

I just love this picture...that's right, kiddo, just go for it!

All in all, I was thrilled with the end result and so was Madeline and her family. From the Guerra's, Happy first birthday, Madeline! May you have many more!

Happy Caking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Flower Cake

2010-01-30T22:17:00.000-08:00

What a weekend! I had two cakes this weekend, both for little girls named Madel(e)ine! (Their names are spelled slightly different, hence the 'e' in parentheses within the name, FYI) My best friend's daughter Madeleine had wanted a Tinkerbell cake for her birthday last year, but then she decided that it wouldn't match with her bowling party, so instead we did a pink bowling cake. (Yeah, I know, I never expected that from a four year old, but considering that my daughter is just as precocious as Madeleine, I better get prepared!) Needless to say, I wasn't surprised to hear Madeleine ask for another Tinkerbell cake this year. I had to take into consideration that this party is for about 8-10 little girls, so I settled on a 9" two layer round cake, single tier. Madeleine's family doesn't mind fondant, but they aren't the biggest fans, so I tried to keep it to a minimum on the design.

To accomplish this, I iced the entire cake in pink buttercream icing. I then rolled out green tinted fondant and cut strips of grass which I pushed into the sides of the cake. I saw these gorgeous flowers on one of my favorite blog's the other day (scroll down that post to see them in closer detail...aren't they amazing!?) and just had to try and recreate them. I don't have the same flower cutters that Marian does, so I used a star shaped cutter to cut the flowers out from fondant and then draped them over a slightly domed surface to let them dry. My domed surface of choice? Plastic Easter eggs! Because they were so small, I couldn't use a bowl and I didn't have the time (or the cash) to run out and buy flower forming molds. (On a side note, it's totally possible to compete with the best; you just need a little creativity, some ingenuity, and a ready supply of kid's toys to choose from!) For the large flower in the surface, I used a leaf cutter to cut the individual petals and then laid them inside a soup bowl to get the gentle curve. Then I cut out tiny stars from white MMF for the flower centers and once everything was dried enough, I just pushed them into the buttercream. Once everything was in place, I finished it all off with a purple ribbon of fondant along the bottom, which tied everything together, but also hid the the bottoms of the grass quite nicely.

The cake flavor was vanilla and chocolate marble, but I colored the vanilla pink, since I know it's Madeleine's favorite color. I wish I had a picture of what her face looked like when I told her that, she was WAAAAY excited, lol!

Now you're probably wondering where Tink comes into all of this. She doesn't, actually. My brother Philip came over with a video game and I got a little...um, distracted. So I didn't have time to go out and get a Tink candle much less make one from fondant (which to be honest, I wasn't planning on since I knew I didn't have time for that originally). But it didn't matter, because Madeleine, her family, her friends, and her friends' families all thought it was an amazing cake and all of the party decor was pink or princess themed anyway.

See what I mean? Cake is cake! Yum!

All things considered, Madeleine loved her cake and I was more than happy to oblige my "niece's" fancy.

Happy birthday, Maddie Moo! Auntie Kelly, Uncle Michael and Baby the Billa love you!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Basketball Cake

2010-01-24T23:02:00.000-08:00

It's becoming very apparent that as "Auntie" to lots of my friends' kids, I am also their fairy cakemother. Today we celebrated Ben's 7th birthday and true to fairy cakemother form, I made his cake for him again this year. He had originally requested a Bumblebee Transformer cake, but in the end he chose to go with a sports theme again. Right now he plays basketball so I made a three dimensional basketball out of chiffon cake using my Wilton sports ball mold.

The design itself was pretty easy and decorating the basketball was the fastest I had ever decorated a cake! The net however, took a little bit more precision and time. Despite my increased speed on this one (it was really a four hour venture as opposed to a three day one!), there was a huge learning curve on this one.

Lesson #1: Chiffon cakes don't do well in large, deep baking pans. That probably should have been a no brainer, but hindsight is always 20/20 vision. What should have only taken thirty minutes to bake took an hour and fifteen and the bottom of the cake burned a bit as a result. Fortunately, I was able to cut that off with no taste consequences since chiffon cake also tends to rise quite a bit. If I were to do this again, I would use a heating core

Lesson #2: One batch of chiffon cake was more than enough. Apparently this lesson didn't stick the last time I made chiffon cake. I had so much batter left over that I was able to make a 9"x3"x4" loaf cake...which was very tasty with some chocolate ganache for dinner when my parents dropped by unexpectedly. Note to self: one batch of chiffon cake was more than enough for the big Wilton sports ball mold!

Lesson #3: Fondant rolled into little tiny ropes dries out REALLY fast. Like, freakishly fast. I had started rolling out the little net ropes and made them very thin and lovely and was setting them aside so that I could put them all in place at the same time. NOT a good idea. Most of them broke during "gluing" so some spots looked a little worse for wear and I ended up having to trash the rest and start fresh on the parts I had left. I didn't waste much fondant, but still, it was a pain in the patootie! I used SatinIce for the net and MMF for the basketball and I think that using MMF for the net as well would have been a much better idea.

Other than those lessons, I think everything went off without a hitch. I made the basketball color using the leftover reddish colored MMF from the airplane cake two weekends ago and added orange and brown to it. Having it dyed red already greatly helped, so my advice is to never throw out any fondant that's still in good condition because you can use it to make a different color! I created the basketball lines by using a bowl scraper to imprint the lines and then painted them with a black gel color/vodka mixture (don't worry, the vodka evaporates!). If you don't have a bowl scraper, use a soft plastic spatula or even a butter knife. For the curvy lines, I used a paper plate that I gently held in place and carefully worked my bowl scraper around. A round Tupperware type container would have worked well too!

Ben loved his cake and I daresay I outdid myself from last year's cake. Happy Birthday Ben!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Recipe: Cherry Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-01-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

We had a get-together with our close friends this evening for homemade hot wings and beer. Typically, we provide dessert and beverages while our friends provide the hot wings, sauce, and anything else and tonight was not unlike any other night in which we do this. I did however, bring something new to the table to try: cherry double chocolate chip cookies!

I've been hankering for some homemade chocolate chip cookies lately, but that seemed kinda blah to me, so I decided to jazz things up a bit. I had some leftover dried cherries from an earlier recipe this week (I'll post it soon, promise!) and I saw chocolate covered cherries on sale at my local Sprouts which made me practically drool over the weekly ad. I love chocolate, and I love cherries. So what could be better than combining the two into cookies? Not much actually!

So here is the recipe for what I came up, I hope you like it. You can increase the amount of cherries if you prefer; everyone thought the amount I had was good enough, but I kinda craved more. I must also mention that I will not eat a chocolate chip cookie unless it is chewy and puffy, which these are, so this recipe is also loosely adapted from Alton Brown's Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

Cherry Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 sticks of butter, melted
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla (or cherry liquor if you have it on hand!)
2 cups of AP flour
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp of kosher salt
1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips (about 12 oz)
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped finely

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and sugars and mix for about 1 minute.
3. Add in the eggs and the vanilla, mix to combine.
4. Add in the cocoa and salt until incorpaorated. Scrape down the bowl as needed!
5. Add in the flour and baking soda until flour is mixed in. Fold in the chocolate chips and dried cherries.
6. Roll into 1" balls, chill for about minutes in the fridge and then bake for 12-14 minutes. Allow to cool on pan for about one minute and then remove to racks.

Enjoy with a tall glass of milk, or for an even more sinful treat, ice cream on top. We had a Culver's Turtle ice cream cake with ours as well, and it was sooooo super delicious!

Some food for thought...

Dried cherries can be expensive so to make them stretch a bit more and get more cherry in every bite, chop them finely. I recommend tossing them in a pinch of flour first though to keep them from sticking. Repeat as needed! The amount of cherries here will lend a very subtle taste, you can increase the amount as desired, or skip them entirely for a different kind of dried fruit! Strawberry, raspberries, even dried blueberries would be tasty in this cookie!

The batter will be very soft and almost like thick brownie batter. Allow it to chill for about 15 to 20 minutes before rolling it to ensure that you don't have too many problems with it sticking.

Cookie dough always freezes well, so you can pre-roll the balls and place them on a cookie sheet, freeze them, and then put them in a bag for single baking as you desire. If you're trying to cut out some of the calories, you might be able to get away with cutting out half a stick of butter and not adding the entire bag of chocolate chips, but these are so rich, that you probably will feel satisfied after eating just one of them!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Dried Cherries

Portfolio: Bug Birthday Cakes

2010-01-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks!

Before the holidays got swingin', I was asked to make some smash cakes for a set of fraternal twins who were turning one! I didn't post about them then since I forgot to take my camera and had to use my phone to take the picture of the cakes and I FINALLY uploaded them this week (I know, little Ms. Tech Geek here didn't know how to upload photos from a phone!).

The birthday mom was doing a party theme based on a book that featured a ladybug and a bumblebee, so the cakes I made coordinated with the theme. It was a small family only gathering, so she didn't want anything too large.

The bodies were made using a dome shaped pan and the heads are cupcakes. The bumblebee's wings are made from cardstock. The cake was vanilla butter cake with standard American buttercream.

I achieved the look of these cakes by using cupcakes and a specialty pan that I found the week before at All in One Bake Shop. I've said it once, and I'll say it again, I don't normally like to use specialty pans because they're one hit wonders; you can only usually them for one character or design. There are some though, that a baker should get and have in their personal stock for specialty cakes. This dome shaped pan is perfect because it can be used to create many different things.

This dome pan is actually about 5" diameter; that's a regular teaspoon next to it for scale. And it's a true dome, so you have to be careful about balancing it in the oven or you might have some spillage in the oven!

Because I only bought one pan (I had to make sure it would work), I had to bake and complete each cake separately which increased the amount of time I spent on baking. But it was worth it as I could have never achieved such a perfect dome by carving. Sometimes a specialty pan is worth the cost and cupboard space just to save some time and a little bit of frustration!

In the end, I think it was worth the $6 I spent on the pan as it made these smash cakes a breeze. And the mom was thrilled with the cakes as were the twins' older brothers!

Happy Baking,
Kelly

Portfolio: Dog Birthday Cake

2010-01-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

Another week, another cake! This week I made a cake for my friend Beth who asked me to make a cake for her boyfriend's birthday this weekend. Sean and Beth have two dogs Cede (pronounced Sadie, apparently) and Brodie and Beth wanted a cake that featured the pups on top. Sean actually lives a couple hours outside of Austin so he and Beth frequently visit each other on the weekends, so this is a big surprise for him!

Here is a picture of the final product:

The cake was cookies and cream and was frosted with cream cheese icing. I tried to tint it blue like snow, but it turned more green thanks to the yellow from the butter!

And here's the real deal! The one on the left is Cede, complete with white paw and chest patch and black tipped tail. Brodie is the blonde fella on the right.

To be completely honest, these two pretty pups are my first foray in figure modeling with fondant. I tried to do it my way first which was a disaster. After three hours of swearing, grumbling, crushing, restarting, and more swearing, I finally gave up and did a Google search for how to's. Lo and behold, I stumbled across Lorraine McKay, which if you don't know who she is, she's freaking amazing. Not only is she one of the foremost educators on fondant figures, but she also spends a lot of time working with special needs people, which is awesome. And she's Scottish. Seriously, it's a whole new experience to watch a video with a Scottish woman instructing you on how to make a "dun peavey dohg!" I found a YouTube video of how she does dogs in fondant, so I followed along and managed to create two of the cutest canines this state has ever seen in about 20 minutes!

I let them dry overnight, which if I may offer a word to the wise, they settle a bit depending on how much fondant you used. I think I should have allowed all of the pieces to dry separately and THEN pasted them together, but whatever. It is what it is!

Beth was over the moon when she saw them, which made me proud. They did look pretty darn good for my first fondant figure attempt! I've decided I need to start practicing some more with figure work and coming up with stuff, perhaps a few tutorials to demonstrate. If you're interested in seeing some more of Lorrain McKay's stuff, look for Aine2 on YouTube or you can visit her website here.

Happy Baking everyone!
Kelly

Recipe: Cookies and Cream Cake

2010-01-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

UPDATE June 2011: A poster alerted me to the fact that while my ingredients didn't include baking soda, my instructions did. Oops! Thanks Fourmadcats for pointing that out; the post is corrected now!

This weekend I posted about an airplane cake that was a cookies and cream cake and I promised to share this delightful recipe. I searched all over until I found a suitable recipe that didn't involve a cake mix, because that's how I bake.

The person who posted the inspiration recipe claims it is a butter cake, but while this does have butter in it, I disagree. I think it's more along the lines of a WASC (white almond sour cream) cake since the amount of butter is so small. Her mixing instructions were also kinda whack; she had you dump everything in a bowl and then whip it for about 2-3 minutes straight. Anyone who is a fan of Alton Brown will understand that this violates one of the cardinal rules of baking: NEVER overmix flour. Mayhaps she assumed you would automatically understand the natural order of things with a cake, but I'd be willing to bet that plenty of folks had terrible cakes following those instructions to the letter. (I would like to point out that a mix cake has all sorts of additives and preservatives in them to keep the cake texture fluffy and fail-safe, so beating THOSE for 2-3 minutes is completely appropriate!)

Also the cake did not rise terribly well, so I removed the baking soda from the recipe entirely and made the leavening agent all baking powder. I just don't think there was enough acidity in the sour cream to make the baking soda work effectively. Baking powder, to my understanding, simply requires "wet" to work.

So without further ado, here is the recipe, slightly altered and restructured for clearer instructions.

Cookies and Cream Cake
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1/2 cup fat free sour cream or Greek yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup cake flour
7 Oreo cookies, roughly chopped

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prep a 9" round pan with parchment and spray; set aside.
2. In small bowl, combine flour and baking powder and whisk together and set aside. Combine the milk and sour cream together in a measuring cup together; whisk together briefly and set aside.
3. In large bowl, use a hand mixer to mix together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add in the egg and continue to mix until creamy.
4. Alternating between dry and wet, add in flour mixture first, then milk mixture, then flour, until all ingredients are combined.
5. Fold in the chopped cookies and pour the batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched in the center. Cool on wire rack.
7. Frost with cream cheese icing and crumbled Oreo cookies.

This recipe makes one 8-9" cake. Suggested frosting is cream cheese frosting!

Some food for thought...

I think this recipe works best with a hand mixer. Yes, that seems like more work, but trust me on this one, it's really not. I whipped it up in a stand mixer for my mom's birthday and it came out tough and chewy because it's easy to overbeat flour in a stand mixer. And like I said, it's really not that difficult to whip this with a hand mixer, even in bulk amounts.

The original recipe called for full fat sour cream; to reduce the fat, I used fat free sour cream or even fat free Greek yogurt. I drink 2% milk, therefore that's what I use in everything, but you could use 1% if you wanted. Reduced fat Oreo cookies are also available to further reduce the fat. Cutting more fat helps to cut the calories some and by my calculations, you actually drop this down to about 200 calories per serving by using lower fat ingredients, even with frosting (assuming you are using reduced fat or low fat cream cheese, natch). Lastly, I chopped my cookies by hand, I'd be willing to bet that the number of cookies could be reduced by chopping them finer or using a food processor, but I like the larger chunks.

A tip on efficiency that I picked up from baking dog biscuits: when you're measuring a thick, messy semi-liquid ingredient like yogurt, sour cream, or peanut butter, displacement works wonders! If you were baking one batch of the above recipe, you'd pour in 1/4 cup of milk, and then scoop in enough sour cream until the milk reached 3/4 cup in your measuring cup.

Don't worry about the small amount of sugar; the cookies makes up for it! Also, this cake has a fluffy mouth feel but it comes together very well. It created very few crumbs when I was carving it for the airplane cake which was very nice indeed. However, I would not recommend using this cake for sculpting unless you use buttercream instead of cream cheese frosting.

Happy Caking!
Kelly