cake2cake

Holiday Baking....

2011-12-18T22:04:00.011-05:00

I know that it's very close to the Holidays, but this is when I like to bake. Here are the goodies I've made for this Christmas. These are Peppermint chip flourless fudge cookies. The regular fudge cookie recipe with a cup of peppermint chips added.

Snickerdoodles, a traditional favorite that has a stronger flavor thanks to Vietnamese Cinnamon and Sparkling sugar on top.

These are already gone they were so amazing, Flourless Peanut Butter Chocolate chip cookies. I used milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet.

Another hit from King Arthur Flour, Almond Cloud cookies.

Because I can't get enough almond, Solo Almond Macaroons. These were very festive. If you love marzipan, you'll love these!

And my girls made some fun sugar cookies with Hershey Kisses!

Chocolate.....

2011-11-21T19:18:00.005-05:00

Two great but easy chocolate recipes I love. One is light and airy, the other is very rich and decadent.

Chocolate Truffles are easier than you think! I rolled some in cocoa powder and some white chocolate shavings.

Joy of Baking Chocolate Truffles

-AND-

Chewy Chocolate Meringue Cookies (sorry, forgot to take picture-too busy eating them!)

Give them a try and then share, your friends and family won't be disappointed!

Lemon Poppy Seed Cakes.....

2011-11-19T22:29:00.008-05:00

Lemon Poppy Seed is a classic cake flavor. We had it as our wedding cake 12 years ago! I recently made a very large batch of individual bite sized glazed lemon poppy seed cakes. I used a fantastic recipe from Southern Living. Because I needed bite sized pieces I baked them in the Wilton square brownie bites silicone pans. But the recipe calls for Mini Bundt pans. They are regular muffin pans but with Bundt shaped cups. These work well when eat person wants their own small cake that's about 3 bites in size.

Lemon-Poppy Seed Cakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 tsp. poppy seeds

3/4 tsp. almond extract

2 tsp. lemon zest, divided

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and cream cheese at med speed till well blended. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating until creamy and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in milk, poppy seeds, almond extract and 1 1/2 tsp. lemon zest. Mixture will be slightly lumpy.

Whisk together flour and next 2 ingredients in a large bowl. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Spoon batter into 1 greased and floured (12 cup) mini Bundt pan, filling all cups 3/4 full. Spoon remaining batter into second pan filling only 6 cups.

Bake at 350 for 24 - 26 minutes until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Remove pans to wire racks and let cakes cool 10 minutes.

Whisk together 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, 1/4 cup lemon juice and remaining 1/2 tsp lemon zest until smooth. Drizzle glaze over warm cakes. Let cakes stand 4 to 5 minutes or until glaze is set.

* I dipped the cakes into the glaze after they were cooled. And then after the glaze was set I dipped them a second time. It was my experience that the glaze takes longer to set than a few minutes, but I made my glaze thinner to allow for dipping. Obviously if you use the small squares pan the cooking time is greatly reduced.

'Chestnuts roasting on an open fire....'

2011-11-16T21:49:00.007-05:00

I love chestnuts. And this is the time of the year to get them! I don't roast them over an open fire but they still taste wonderful. Very easy to do, but it does take a little time and patience to shell them. They are best when still warm but keep in an airtight container for several days.

This is the recipe I used. I chose the 'In the Oven' method because I have a cast iron skillet. It has always worked perfectly. There are always a few that don't turn out. If when shelling them it doesn't peel off easily then discard that chestnut.

Fall Baking.....

2011-10-01T07:50:00.018-04:00

Some of my favorites to bake in the cooler, crisper fall months include Cranberry Almond cake with Orange Zest icing, Jewish Apple Cake, Vanilla Butternut Velvet Pound cake with Maple Syrup icing AND my all time favorite Apple Pie! The Velvet Pound cake and Apple Pie are 2 recipes from my favorite King Arthur Flour. They are truly reliable and wonderful and will be used over and over again. The Jewish Apple Cake is my mother-in-law's recipe and she's been baking it to rave reviews for 40 years. You can't go wrong with recipes that have been so thoroughly tested!

King Arthur Flour's The Best Apple Pie is truly a wonderful pie. I've tried tons of apple pie recipes and this one really does top them all. I used every ingredient listed, including the ones you can only purchase at KAF. But the boiled cider really adds that flavor punch and is worth the purchase.

The Jewish Apple Cake is my husband's favorite and my MIL bakes it for him every Birthday. You can use just about any apple that you have on hand but firmer apples like granny smith and cortland work best.

Joanne's Jewish Apple Cake

preheat oven to 350 degrees

4 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced thin

3 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 cup oil

4 large eggs

1/2 cup orange juice

2 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling

Grease and flour tube pan (I use a metal, coated Monkey bread tube pan)

Add everything together in mixer bowl and beat till light, batter is thick.

Pour 1/2 batter into pan, add 1/2 of the apples in a layer and then a heavy sprinkling of cinnamon-sugar.

Pour remaining batter on top and layer the rest of the apples on the batter. I press down the apples so that many of them sink into the batter but some remain on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.

Bake in oven for 75 minutes or until top is brown, crusty and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan and then turn out onto platter.

The Cranberry Almond cake is my adaptation of the Solo Almond cake recipe that I have highlighted on my blog before. Recipe can be found here. It's the same recipe with the addition of 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries mixed into the batter at the end. Add the zest of one orange and a 1/4 tsp of orange oil to the icing.

I can't say enough about the King Arthur Flour's Velvet Pound cake. Very versatile, reliable and yummy! Instead of the vanilla and almond extracts I used 1 tsp of KAF Vanilla Butternut flavoring. I also made a glaze with 1/2 cup powdered sugar and pure maple syrup. I don't measure the syrup, I slowly add it and whisk with the sugar until I have the consistency I need.

Perfect Jersey Peaches......

2011-08-10T15:37:00.026-04:00

Just in time for the all perfect peaches available here in NJ, two of my own recipes.

Nothing says homemade and summer like Peach Cobbler!

Jersey Peach Cobbler

oven temp 350

filling:

7 ripe Jersey Peaches, approx 7 cups peeled and sliced (see below for method of peeling peaches)

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup white sugar

2 1/2 TBSP cornstarch

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

topping:

2 1/4 cups Bisquick baking mix

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup milk

Cinnamon-sugar for sprinkling

Pre-heat oven to 350

In large bowl mix sliced peaches with lemon and vanilla extract

In small bowl combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon

Sprinkle sugar mixture over peaches, using a large spatula stir to coat peaches

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and pour in peaches

Mix all toppings ingredients in a bowl and stir just to combine

Using spoons (I use my fingers!) make evenly sized lumps and place them on top of the peaches

Sprinkle Cinnamon-Sugar mixture over the whole thing

Bake in oven for 45 minutes or until top is crusty and golden brown

And another one of my favorite peach recipes: Cast Iron Skillet Peach-Blueberry Crumble

I developed this recipe for my Father-in-law and it quickly became one of his favorites.

Cast Iron Skillet Peach-Blueberry Crumble

oven temp: 325

8 large, ripe, peeled and sliced peaches

1 pint blueberries

1 cup sugar

1 Tbsp Cornstarch

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp almond extract

2 Tbsp Lemon juice

1 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

Topping:

1 ½ cups flour

1 ½ cups brown sugar

2 cups oats

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp giner

2 sticks butter melted

Rinse and drain blueberries

Put peaches and blueberries into large bowl

Coat with extracts and lemon juice

In a small bowl combine sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon

Sprinkle on fruit in batches and mix gently with spatula

Pour into skillet, press down

Put all topping ingredients into bowl and stir to combine

Pour in melted butter 1/3 at a time, mix with 2 forks till crumbly

Reserve 1/3 of the crumble mixture

Top fruit 2/3 crumble, lightly press down

Put in 325 degree oven for 50 mintues, a lot of the crumble will have sunk into the fruit

Take skillet out, top with remaining crumble to fill any open spots

put under low broiler for 5 minutes or until brown but not burnt

I usually bake this in the morning to serve in the evening so that it's too not runny when serving.

Or you can serve when it's when warm over bowls of ice cream!

Best method of peeling peaches - Boiling!

I never wanted to go to the trouble of doing this but after I tried it, I never went back!

Yumsugar.com has the best example.

White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies....

2011-08-06T16:45:00.010-04:00

I love white chocolate chips in oatmeal cookies more than raisins or regular semi-sweet chips. I added a touch of finely ground coconut and omitted the pecans. They would be great with dried cranberries too! I like this recipe much better than the one on the lid of the Quaker Oats, it uses less oats which I think yields a more tender, less chewy cookie.

White Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease cookie sheets or use sheets of parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the rolled oats, white chocolate chips and pecans. Drop by tablespoons onto the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove from baking sheets to cool on wire racks.

More Chilled Pies.....

2011-07-14T15:42:00.008-04:00

In the summer it's hard to spend all day in a kitchen. Chilled or frozen pies are so easy to put together and taste refreshing on a hot day. Besides the Cool Mint Oreo pie that I did in my last post, here are some more chilled pies that I've made.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Key Lime

And the totally awesome Chocolate Peanut Butter (I opted to top it with pretzel pieces)

Cool Mint Oreo Pie.....

2011-06-26T22:42:00.013-04:00

I love chocolate and mint. I love Oreos. So when I discovered that they make Cool Mint Oreos I was VERY happy. So happy that I took a picture of them to let everyone know the good news! Of course they were just begging to be made into something more. Cupcakes? Cake? Brownies? I decided on a chilled pie. Chilled pies are always wonderful in the summer months. I came up with this recipe on my own, but it is loosely based on other chilled pies I've made before. I was very pleased with how it turned out. Now let's hope they continue to make the Cool Mint Oreos!!!

This is the baked Oreo crust. After it cooled I then put broken up pieces of Oreos on the bottom.

Filled with the cool mint filling and topped with milk chocolate ganache.

There are definitely different ways to go with this recipe. You could add green food coloring to make it festive for a St.Patrick's Day treat. You could mix the broken up pieces of Oreo into the pie filling instead of putting it on the bottom like I did. You could leave off the chocolate topping, it's just as good with out it. And if you don't want it to be super minty, add 1/2 tsp peppermint extract instead of a full teaspoon.

Cool Mint Oreo Pie

Heat oven 350 degrees

25 whole Cool Mint Oreos

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

7oz sweetened condensed milk

8oz cream cheese

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon peppermint extract

3/4 of a 8oz tub of Cool Whip, thawed

8-10 Cool Mint Oreos broken into medium sized pieces

Jar of hot fudge sauce or chocolate ganache.

Preparation:

Put the 25 whole Oreos into a food processor and pulse until they are fine crumbs and all the filling has been incorporated into the cookies.

Pour oreo crumbs into a bowl and drizzle melted butter over them.

Stir until crumbs are moist. Pour into pie pan and press crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. You can use your fingers or a the bottom of a measuring cup.

Place in oven and bake 5-7 minutes until set, don't let it burn. Remove from oven and let it cool completely.

In mixer beat together condensed milk and cream cheese until creamy.

Add powdered sugar, mix, scrape bowl and then beat well.

Add peppermint extract and beat at med speed again till incorporated.

Add Cool Whip and mix at low speed, scrape bowl and then beat at med speed till fluffy, about a minute.

At this point you could add green food coloring or the broken up pieces of Oreo.

I spread the broken Oreo pieces on the cooled crust and then poured the pie filling on top.

After you have poured pie filling into cooled crust, smooth the top, cover with saran wrap and pop into the freezer to let it set. Once it's firm, remove saran wrap and spread hot fudge sauce over the top.

Cover again and place in freezer. Take pie out and let stand for 20 minutes before cutting.

A Few Notes: This pie softens quickly and I don't think storing it in the refrigerator would keep it firm enough.

I used milk chocolate ganache I had leftover from another recipe I had made.

I honestly think the hot fudge sauce would taste better and is a much simpler option.

Hydrangea Wedding Cake....

2011-06-14T14:30:00.011-04:00

I recently had the honor of making the wedding cake for my sister-in-law's marriage on June 10. I was thrilled to be able to contribute. She decided on ivory hydrangeas for her flowers with an overall ivory, white and sage green color scheme. Knowing her personality I knew that she would not want anything ornate. I was extremely happy that my design concept translated so well into the final cake. This turned out to be the tallest and heaviest cake I have made to date. It was 4 1/2 feet tall and weighed approx 45 pounds. All 4 tiers were vanilla bean white cake and dark chocolate cake filled with vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream and chocolate ganache. I used Ivory Satin Ice Fondant. The monogram I stenciled with royal icing.

The picture below is the cake set up in the tent. I was a bit nervous about it since it was a very hot and humid evening. But after 3 hours it was still in great shape when they cut into it.

If you notice the hydrangea topper in this picture looks different than the one in the blue background picture. Hydrandea wilt very fast once they are snipped from the stem. I wound up having to completely replace all the flowers on the cake before I set it up in the tent. I like how the topper turned out better the second time I made it. I'm very happy that I thought to buy lots of extra hydrangea!

A Bowl Full of Cherries.....

2011-05-25T19:56:00.005-04:00

What to do with the amazing fresh cherries that are out right now? Well there's the standard cherry pie but what about something quick and easy? I decided to try my hand at the Cherry Clafouti. I could do a long blog about it but it doesn't get much better than King Arthur Flour's description. Mine turned out more browned on the edges than I would have liked. It still tasted fabulous. If you like fresh cherries and a not too sweet dessert, this is for you. The only suggestion I have is that once you turn it down to 350, check on it after 14 minutes, don't wait for the full 20. It was too long for mine and it browned too much.

Cherry Clafouti blog post.

This is the handy cherry pitter I use. It pits 4 cherries at a time.

The batter is very much like a popover or german pancake batter. I'm sure it would work well with blueberries too.

Cinnamon Roll cookies....

2011-05-20T17:34:00.013-04:00

If you need to make a large batch of cookies(make 6 dozen!), something that you can make ahead of time and will please most everyone's tastes this recipe is great. It is a little time consuming so I made it in stages. When I think of cinnamon rolls I think of gooey rich cinnamon and icing. These cookies don't quite have that and I think next time I would try to add a little more cinnamon, but because these are cookies there is a limit to how much of the butter, cinnamon, sugar you can spread on them before they would loose their shape in baking. The cream cheese icing is what makes these so yummy and I was very liberal with the icing! Keep in mind that these must be refrigerated because of the cream cheese. I took them out of the refrigerator 20 minutes before serving. They are also incredible if you pop them in the microwave for a couple seconds!

Recipe can be found here at Cooking.com

I made the dough the first day, wrapped and refrigerated it. The second day I assembled them. After the cookies were rolled up I wrapped them in plastic wrap and froze them until I was ready to bake.

The third day I baked them. Took them out of freezer and put in fridge for a very short time. They cut the best and keep their shape in baking when they are very cold.

Baked cookies before the icing. I was sad that the icing covered these gorgeous swirls but they just don't taste right without lots of icing.

There will be casualties! Some just didn't hold it together, but very few! I had to eat these right away.

Lily's First Holy Communion....

2011-05-16T09:31:00.006-04:00

My daughter Lily recently made her First Holy Communion. Her only request was to have Lilies on her cake. I decided to make them more of a fantasy type Lily instead of the real deal. So I dusted them with Amethyst luster dust and used pearls for the stamens. The cake itself was a monster! It was 4 layers of cake alternating vanilla and chocolate with 3 layers of filling- whipped white chocolate ganache and chocolate ganache. When finished the base cake was nearly 6" tall. Lily loved her cake and had a beautiful Communion day.

Princess cake....

2011-04-24T14:21:00.004-04:00

My littlest princess just turned 4 and for her first ever official birthday party I made her a sweet princess cake. I made the fondant topper with a lot of patience and an exacto knife to match the party ware. My princess loved her cake but had one complaint....she wanted it to have more pink on it!!!

Inside was a vanilla cake tinted Lena's favorite colors.

Swedish Fish.....

2011-04-12T18:34:00.009-04:00

Full of red dye, super chewy and a fruity taste that you can't quite put your finger on. Which is why it was hard to duplicate the taste for swedish fish cupcakes. As luck would have it I got it right the first time!

I decided to make these for my daughter's birthday celebration in her classroom. Which happened to be on a Monday and we had a REALLY busy weekend planned. Because of my extreme lack of time these needed to be super easy to make. Which is why I chose to use a cake mix and pre-made icing. Sandra Lee would be proud! But I did use my pastry bag and tip #104 instead of the snipped off ziploc bag she's so fond of!!

But they do taste just like swedish fish! And be forewarned, they are super sweet as well.

Here's the recipe:

1 box Duncan Hines White cake mix

1 3 oz box Jello Cherry flavor

5 egg whites

1 cup water

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon raspberry flavor

2 1/2 tablespoons Red food color

Half of a 14oz bag mini swedish fish

1 5oz bag large swedish fish

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Using kitchen scissors snip each mini swedish fish into four pieces. A knife just doesn't work for this.

Set aside bowl of swedish fish pieces.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mix together cake mix, jello packet, water, oil, egg whites until just incorporated. Scrape down bowl.

Add raspberry flavor and red food color.

Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Stir in chopped swedish fish.

Fill each cupcake paper 3/4 full with batter.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Use icing of your choice. I used Duncan Hines whipped vanilla and tinted it blue.

I used tip #104 and piped "waves" then topped with the full size Swedish fish.

Cupcakes.....

2011-03-30T20:48:00.012-04:00

I had the chance to make some great cupcakes last week. A couple dozen as a raffle prize for my daughter's bookfair and some very pretty ones for my niece's Confirmation. My niece Maddie loves my pumpkin spice cupcakes topped with orange-cinnamon cream cheese buttercream. So I made those for her along with some dark chocolate cupcakes topped with raspberry cream cheese buttercream.

All decorations are fondant. I used Silk White Luster Dust and a stripe stencil for the striped toppers. I used a cutter for the dove but made the branch. For the white toppers I used a Patchwork Quilt cutter.

For the book fair I went with a cookie theme. Golden vanilla cupcakes with sweet white butter cream and crumbled Golden Oreos.

These were suer rich!!! Dark chocolate cupcakes with milk chocolate ganache and a double chocolate fudge cookie!

With the leftover cookies and ganache I made cookie sandwiches. Choco-a-holics dream!

Amelia's First Birthday....

2011-03-13T14:09:00.005-04:00

Sto Lat Amelia! A beautiful cake for god daughter's first birthday. Three tiers of my favorite Very Vanilla white cake with raspberry swiss meringue buttercream and raspberry puree. Decorations are all fondant with the exception of the large glittery letters. The cake was purple but in these photos it seems almost a periwinkle blue.

Irish Potatoes.....

2011-03-01T15:33:00.008-05:00

I happen to really like the coconut-cinnamon flavor of Irish potato candies. And as I was eating some I wondered how to translate that into a cupcake. The coconut cupcake recipe I use has finely chopped sweetened coconut in it, thus giving the cupcake that chewy coconut texture that is in the candy, but I didn't want to use a buttercream icing. At my local ShopRite I came across Dickinson's Creme Coconut Curd. It was the right creamy intense coconut flavor just like the creamy candy. You could fill the cupcake with the curd but since I was not using an icing I opted to spread the curd on top of the cupcake, smoothing it into a dome shape. Add a coating of Vietnamese Cinnamon and you have the Irish potato cupcake! I have to say it was a very close match, not as rich and sweet as the potato candies which was nice. A cute St.Patrick's Day treat.

I may not be Irish but years ago when I found a real four leaf clover I may just have a gained a little Luck O' the Irish! I laminated it and keep it with me all the time.

Mad 4 Chocolate.....

2011-02-10T14:42:00.014-05:00

I have been on a chocolate-caramel kick. It's my favorite combination, although chocolate-raspberry is a very close second. So what better time to make rich, decadent chocolate desserts than Valentines Day?

Double chocolate brownie split and filled with 2 layers of creamy caramel and topped with a thick layer of milk chocolate ganache!

I made a cute little fondant heart and arrow!

Can't see the caramel and chocolate chips but they're there. These squares stood about 2 inches tall!

Now if these are a little too over the top for you I also made these delightful Millionaire's Shortbread Bars. Also chocolate and caramel but on a shortbread cookie crust. Like a more intense Twix bar. Here's the recipe: Millionaire's Shortbread Bars

Holiday Baking....

2011-01-30T11:36:00.009-05:00

Here are some of the goodies I baked over the Holidays.

I included recipes where I could.

Chocolate cupcakes dipped in chocolate ganache and topped with peppermint swiss meringue buttercream and Andes peppermint pieces.

Fruit Pavlova recipe by Gale Gand.

Jam Blossom cookies with raspberry jam.

Pecan Tassies my personal favorite!

Lemon snowflake cookies. These are very easy to make!

Chocolate ganache tartlets.

Chocolate Chunk Chip cookies. The BEST recipe I've ever used.

Chocolate Whoopie Pies. I covered some in chocolate ganache too!

Sugared Spritz cookies. Some cut out and some with cookie press.

Chocolate Rolled cookies. My great-grandmom's recipe.

Glazed Almond Tea cakes in Christmas shapes.

Vanilla Pizzelles. I dusted some with confectioners sugar and drizzled some with chocolate!

Gluten-free Flourless Fudge Cookies. I added chocolate chunks.

Ancero Open House......

2011-01-30T11:18:00.005-05:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Holiday season. I am sorry for the lag in my blog posts. After all the baking I did before Christmas I needed a mini break.

On December 5 my Husband's company Ancero hosted an Open House for their clients and business partners. I provided a large dessert buffet along with a centerpiece cake to display our partner logos. I made 540 bite sized desserts. A selection of ganache dipped krispy treats, pumpkin spice cupcakes with orange-cinnamon cream cheese buttercream, pecan tassies and brownie bites with whipped white chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries surrounded the cake. It was a lot of work and took major planning ahead! But it was big success and I was very proud of the end results.

Fall Goodies....

2010-11-02T17:54:00.006-04:00

I've been doing a lot of baking this Fall. Here are some of the things I've made. There will be more to come!

Old Fashioned Apple Slab (this is my favorite!)

Doughnut Muffins, try adding cranberries to them!

Raisin Pumkin Loaf baked in LeCruset Pumpkin

Rich Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Buttercream

Almond Cake with Almond Glaze

My Krispy Treats dipped in chocolate ganache...YUM!

Pumpkin Spice cupcakes with Orange Cinnamon Cream Cheese Butter Cream

Halloween Treats.....

2010-11-01T11:19:00.006-04:00

Let me start by saying that I apologize for not posting any new blogs for awhile now. Life has been in full swing! Here are the Halloween treats I made before the holiday.

Krispy Treats with molded chocolates on top.

Cake pops, which had orange tinted vanilla cake inside.

Buttercream Nilla sandwich cookies.

Happy Halloween!!

Anniversary Cake.....

2010-09-09T10:50:00.004-04:00

This is the first cake I've done that the design focused on gumpaste flowers. I was inspired by Petalsweetcakes incredible flowers and cakes. The cakes were a delicious Vanilla Bean White cake with Vanilla Bean Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Cakes and board were all covered in Satin Ice Chocolate Fondant. I was very happy with how the gumpaste flowers turned out considering that I don't make them on a regular basis. But the effect was so nice I will absolutely do it again. The 35 was thin strips of fondant that I shaped using the quilling technique.

Violets for Baby Violet....

2010-08-19T21:35:00.005-04:00

A Baptism cake for a sweet baby girl named Violet Marie just had to have violets on it! I love the pale green and different shades of violet combination. I seem to do a lot of Baptism cakes, one of my favorites to make. I was happy with all the little details of this cake. And happier still that the Mom loved it so much.

Amelia's Cake.....

2010-06-29T06:02:00.008-04:00

I had the honor of becoming godmother to little Amelia Jana this past Sunday. So of course I had to make her cake! I wanted to make something sweet, feminine and soft. I started with pink and added grey ribbons and white eyelet inspired ruffles and patterns. I'm pretty happy with the end result. The cake itself was a rich chocolate cake filled with whipped white chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries.

The only thing I was not happy with was how the pictures turned out. The color pink on the cake was a much more rich pink than in these pictures. It looks very washed out here. I have been struggling with my camera recently and I think it's time to look into getting a new one.

Tropical Cupcakes....

2010-06-27T20:27:00.011-04:00

This past week I made cupcakes for a tropical themed family party. The flavors were Mango Coconut, Key Lime Macadamia with White Chocolate Ganache and Chocolate with Orange-Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream.

I got the nifty parchment cupcake papers from Bake It Pretty. I loved the colors and how festive they were but there were a little different to bake with. As you can see from this picture the cupcakes bake up into something like a flower shape, with the creases of the liner baked into them. Now I had only planned on putting swirls of icing on top so for my needs this was fine. But I wouldn't use these liners if I had an elaborate decoration for the tops.

I made fondant flowers and flip flops for some. Others had Lilly Pulitzer drink umbrellas. Which can be found at Lifeguard Press.

Here they are, all ready to go. I think there were 7 dozen in all.

Speedy Cupcake Troll......

2010-06-14T21:47:00.011-04:00

I know, the name is intriguing. It's all due to my 7 year old's vivid imagination. Her first grade has a class pet, a teddy bear hamster named Speedy. Throughout the school year Speedy has been my daughter's artistic inspiration. But my favorite of her Speedy interpretations was Speedy Cupcake Troll. Here it is:

Now I know that cupcakes are all the rage right now but I'm pretty sure I haven't seen any quite like this!!! So as an end of the year treat for the teacher, I decided to make an actual Speedy Cupcake Troll. I think he turned out pretty cute and just like her drawing!

Inside he was chocolate cake with cookies n cream buttercream.

Iron Cupcake Challenge

2010-05-23T20:35:00.013-04:00

Today was the Iron Cupcake Challenge in Moorestown. A wonderful event hosted by Kati Angelini of Kati's Kupcakes. A portion of the proceeds went to the Animal Welfare Association in Voorhees. Because of this the theme for the challenge was 'Animals'. This was the first time I've ever entered any sort of competition. I decided to make the 'Barrel of Monkeys' just like the toy. What goes better with monkeys than bananas! So the cupcakes were my popular Banana Chocolate Chip with Cream Cheese Buttercream. And even though I did not place I would definitely attend another of Kati's Iron Cupcake Challenges. If you are in Southern New Jersey and would like to attend the next one in July check out the Meetup site for Iron Cupcake Challenge.

I created a mold for the fondant monkey toppers to make sure it looked exactly like the game pieces in 'Barrel of Monkeys'.

The barrel was 2 jumbo size cupcakes put together and covered in fondant.

I also covered the cake board with fondant to give it something extra.

A Pair of Cakes....

2010-05-02T12:55:00.010-04:00

Just yesterday I delivered 2 cakes for one special party. It was combination party for the couples older son's First Holy Communion and their infant son's Baptism. I did not bake the cakes. The Grandmom has two very unique Polish cakes that she bakes for special occasions. They asked me if I could decorate the cakes after she made them. I wouldn't normally do this but it was for some friends and the Polish cakes are not something I'd easily be able to replicate myself. I was very happy with the way they turned out.

For the First Holy Communion cake I made a chalice, host, grapes and draping. I also handpainted a lot of gold accents!

The baby's Baptism cake was more simple. I made the cross from fondant with a little silver handpainting and some piped dots. The cake is covered in white fondant but in these pictures it looks more ivory.

Cupcake Series part 1.....

2010-04-18T13:27:00.010-04:00

I made some butter cupcakes and decided to have fun decorating them with some different ideas I had.

Butter cupcake with whipped chocolate ganache, drizzled caramel and Ghirardelli chocolate carmel squares.

Butter cupcake dipped in caramel, whipped chocolate ganache and a cherry on top!

Butter cupcakes with vanilla butter cream and whipped chocolate ganache, just trying out a design.

Butter cupcake dipped in caramel with vanilla butter cream and a cherry on top, this was my favorite one.

The cherry on top was popular with the family and so I did another version this past Saturday. Butterscotch cupcakes dipped in butterscotch, vanilla butter cream and cherries. The butterscotch sauce was much more gooey, shinny and Yummy!!!

Rock On Lily......

2010-04-10T21:08:00.008-04:00

My daughter Lily turned 7 today. She chose a Pop Star themed party and I made the cake to match her invitations. The guitar and amp took several hours and were made of both gumpaste and fondant. I used pre-tinted black Fondarific, first time using their product. I also tried to carve the cake to achieve the topsy turvy effect. I was too timid with the knife and did not carve it enough so in my mind it looked like a cake that was just lopsided!! But the cake was big hit with my daughter, she said it was the best cake and party "EVVERRRRR!!"

Surprise on the inside!! The kids loved this part.

Here's the Pop Star Birthday Girl........Rock On Lily!

More Easter Treats......

2010-04-04T07:39:00.006-04:00

These are the goodies for our Easter dinner tonight. Vanilla cupcakes and Carrot cake. My girls dyed the eggs.

Wilton cupcake wrappers, I love this bunny!

Wishing everyone a Blessed Easter Day!

Happy Easter......

2010-03-29T13:01:00.011-04:00

I rarely use butter cream to pipe decorations. I had so much fun doing these I will definitely be decorating more cupcakes with butter cream flowers in the future. White cake with butterscotch chips, vanilla butter cream, delicious combination. I hope everyone has a Blessed Easter and great Spring Break!

Perfectly browned cuppies, this is the way my husband eats them, wouldn't touch the ones with icing!!!

This one was my favorite!!!

And I couldn't have Easter cupcakes without a pathetic attempt at a marshmallow bunny, hiding in the grass!

Extra Icing.....

2010-03-24T14:37:00.007-04:00

Inevitably I always have extra butter cream icing leftover whenever I make a cake or cupcakes. Especially since my Husband does not like icing on his cupcakes. So what do you do with it? A year ago I discovered a quick and easy solution. Mini Nilla Wafer cookie sandwiches. They are bite size and easy to pop right into your mouth, too easy! They taste best refrigerated.

Here are some plain ones.

And some fancier ones.

I normally make them when I have plain vanilla butter cream but I'm sure certain flavored butter creams would taste good also. Ironically, my husband will eat these even with the icing!

Raspberries.....

2010-03-21T21:45:00.003-04:00

Raspberries, one of my favorite fruits. And what goes best with raspberries? Chocolate, two kinds!

Rich Chocolate cake with raspberry filling and iced in whipped white chocolate ganache.....YUM!

This was a huge hit and didn't last long. I have to stop taking pictures in the evening, they turn out too dark!

Confirmation cake.....

2010-03-13T21:00:00.008-05:00

I had the pleasure of being the sponsor for my Niece when she made her Confirmation. So of course I had to make her a cake for the occasion! I just love how it turned out. At her request the cake was chocolate vanilla marble with vanilla butter cream and the colors were chosen to match her dress.

The flower is my favorite part!

Unfortunately I had to photograph it at night since we were leaving early in the morning. The lighting wasn't the greatest, lots of shadows.

I piped the crosses then dusted them with super pearl.

Pineapple......

2010-03-06T18:26:00.007-05:00

I was in the mood to bake some cupcakes and wanted to try something different. I decided on Pineapple cuppies with Pineapple butter cream. I guess I was dreaming of something tropical in the midst of all the cold weather we had. I sort of made up the recipe as I went. I added some crushed fresh pineapple, the juice in place of the liquid, coconut and coconut flavor instead of vanilla. The butter cream also had crushed pineapple, coconut flavor and little bit of yellow coloring. I topped them with some dried pineapple pieces. I have to say they were not my favorite. They were moist, perfectly cooked and looked pretty cute! It was a really good fresh pineapple flavor, not an artificial taste. But my favorite pineapple dessert is still upside down cake. I couldn't eat more than one of these cupcakes at time.....that was a very good thing!

I did some in pink with sprinkles for my girls....

My Favorite Wine........

2010-02-26T15:44:00.014-05:00

Cupcake Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc. Now this isn't my favorite because it's called Cupcake. But the name is what led me to it. My sister-in-law spotted it and immediately thought of me (the baker in the family). I came across it in the store and knew it must be the one she mentioned. I tried it and fell in love. I have also had their Cupcake Cabernet Sauvignon and the fabulous Cupcake Chardonnay. I am no wine connoisseur, but I've had enough in my time to know what I like. I enjoy the light, crisp citrus flavors in this Sauvignon Blanc.

Love their cupcake design.......

I decided to chill mine in the 2 feet of snow on my back porch........

The grapes for the Sauvignon Blanc come from Marlborough, New Zealand. "Here the grapes mature slowly, giving them complexity and a vibrant zing, reminiscent of your grandma's lemon chiffon cupcakes." YUM!

Cupcake Vineyards has a wonderful website and blog that includes some delicious cupcake recipes to pair with many of their wonderful wines. Enjoy!

Grandmom's Fudge......

2010-02-16T21:54:00.022-05:00

When my Mom came to visit for the Holidays she brought with her my Grandmom's fudge recipe. The original index recipe card typed by a Smith-Corona typewriter.

As you can see, this recipe needs a bit of deciphering. I really had to laugh at the 25¢ Hershey Bars. And what the heck were chocolate bits? One of the biggest issues I faced was the vague measurements and directions. 2 packages chocolate bits, 12 to 16 ounces of chocolate bars, and is it 1 pint or 7oz marshmallow cream? In the store the largest Hershey bars I found were 4.4 ounces each. 2 of them would be 8.8 ounces, but she has written next to it 12-16 ounces. Hershey bars must have be larger back when they cost 25¢. I am assuming the chocolate bits are chocolate chips. And I decided to go with Hershey semi-sweet chocolate chips in 12 ounce bags. I have no idea what size package they would've been sold in back then. Now the marshmallow cream, what I've always called Fluff, says 1 pint. My Grandmom handwrote 7oz next to it. I knew 1 pint equaled 16oz so I assumed that she wrote that if the recipe was halved. That started me thinking about the 12-16 oz of Hershey bars. If she wrote that in too did that mean 12-16 oz was for half a batch? The proportions didn't seem right, so I just decided to wing it and go with my instinct.

So here is my adapted version of the recipe:

4 1/2 cups white sugar

14 ounces Carnation Evaporated Milk

3 1/2 bars (approx. 15 oz) Hershey's 4.4oz Milk Chocolate bars, broken into pieces

2 12oz packages Hershey's semi-sweet chocolate chips (approx. 4 cups)

1 pint (16oz) Marshmallow Cream

1 tsp. salt

In a heavy sauce pot add the white sugar and evaporated milk. Stir to combine. Turn on heat to Med. Stir frequently. Once it comes to a full boil turn heat to Med-Low and stir constantly till the temperature on the candy thermometer reaches 240˚F, soft ball stage. Remove from heat and add in Hershey's chocolate bar pieces, chocolate chips, marshmallow cream and salt. Work quickly and continue stirring constantly and vigorously. Keep beating the fudge to incorporate air. When ready, pour into lightly greased 13x9 pan. Let cool completely before slicing. Best to wrap pieces of fudge in waxed paper. Yields 5 pounds.

I was VERY happy with the results! And thank goodness because 5 pounds is a LOT of fudge and I had to give most of it away. The fact that a very smooth, creamy and chocolaty fudge resulted from those very simplistic directions I think is a testament to my Grandmom's recipe! I did use a candy thermometer for the exact temp I needed rather than relying on the 7 minutes. Having all your ingredients measured out and ready to go helps greatly. I only added one at a time, mixed thoroughly and then added the next. When they are all in there, spend some time really mixing it which adds to the creamy texture. It will also give your arm quite a workout! I liked the simplicity and richness of the plain chocolate fudge, I did not add the nuts. But I think next time I'd like to add mini marshmallows, broken up oreos or even cherries. Maybe I'll work on a vanilla version as well! I know Grandmom would be proud and I'm so thrilled I get to carry on her recipe.

Snowy Trees...

2010-02-08T12:47:00.009-05:00

I never cooked a Bundt cake, never owned a Bundt pan. But I like to try new things. So I was thrilled when I received a Bundt pan and keeper from my Godson Charles. He picked out a pan that looks like pine trees in a circle. As we were getting snowed in on Saturday I found my self staring at the snow covered pines out back and thinking snow covered pine trees Bundt cake??? Perfect!

Now what kind of Bundt to make? I usually like to look in my cabinets to see the ingredients I'd like to use up. I'm a big fan of Solo products, as you can see from this picture!! I had seen the Almond paste in the store and had to have it! Almond is one of my favorite flavors in cakes and baking, so I decided the Bundt would be an almond cake, but still had no recipe. Lo and behold on the back of the label was a perfect recipe for Almond Cake that could be baked in a Bundt pan, this was really meant to be.

The Bundt pan and cake keeper. Thank you Charles!

It was very easy to make, and turned out delicious! And I think with the addition of some buttercream snow drifts and powered sugar it really does look like the snow covered pines out back! It was perfect for a snowy day!

Here is the recipe. I did not use the glaze since I knew I would be decorating it, but I'm sure the glaze is delicious with it too.

Solo Almond Cake:

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 can Solo Almond filling

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup milk

Almond Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 Tbsp. light cream

1/4 tsp. almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 10" tube pan or 12 cup Bundt pan. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in almond filling and until well blended. Stir flour, baking powder and salt until mixed. Add to almond mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until blended. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire rack. To make glaze, combine confectioners sugar, cream and almond extract in small bowl, stir until blended and smooth. Spoon or drizzle over top of cake. Let set.

Red, White and Navy Birthday.....

2010-02-05T10:29:00.011-05:00

I was asked to do a Birthday cake for a little cheerleader turning 11. Her cheer team colors are Red, White and Navy blue. Navy is a color I hadn't attempted in fondant. But I was very excited to try since I love the red, white and navy combination for cakes. I've struggled through tinting fondant red and black before and figured this would be pretty much the same. I was so right. I only needed the navy for the cake board and other fondant decorations but I wanted to make enough so that I had plenty left over in case I needed it again. Since it's not a process I'd like to repeat soon. 16oz of white fondant took nearly an hour of kneading and an entire .75 oz bottle of AmeriColor 134 Navy Blue. Note to self, wear gloves next time!

The other really fun thing about this cake was the inside! The cake layers were white cake tinted different colors! Something fun to do for a kids party. Since I wanted to use 4 colors = 4 layers, this cake wound up being 5" tall !!! I won't be at the party when they cut it so I took the picture before I iced it. I really would love to see what a slice looks like!!

The cake is iced in vanilla buttercream.....not my favorite to work with. I'm more of a fondant person. This is probably my best icing job to date, but I can still see all the flaws. Although I like the taste of my buttercream recipe I just can't seem to get it smooth enough. My future project is to try out Sharon Zambito's buttercream recipe. I hear it's wonderful to work with and tastes great. This cake also reminded me that I need to brush up on my piped border skills!!!

I am thrilled with how the cake turned out. I love the bold red and navy on the white cake. And it was a lot of fun to do since I haven't had the chance to do an occasion cake in several months. Thanks for looking!

Holiday Treats....

2009-12-26T22:11:00.008-05:00

It was ofcourse that time of the year when kids have their Holiday parties in school. I did my part to send in something really fun and loaded with sugar! Chocolate chip cookie sandwiches.

Super easy to make but big on kid appeal. I made a batch of my vanilla buttercream, making sure that is was on the stiff side so that it wouldn't ooze out of the cookies. Pipe some on one cookie, top with another cookie. I put loads of Wilton red and green sugar in a bowl, and rolled the sides of the sandwiches till they were coated.

Snowmen prefer them without sprinkles....

Pink and Green.....

2009-11-25T12:00:00.006-05:00

When doing a Lilly Pulitzer theme there's only one way to go, Pink and Green!

Strawberry cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream...YUM!

All fondant decorations.....

I also threw in a batch of my brownie bites, I just love those things!!!!

Simplicity....

2009-11-11T21:21:00.010-05:00

I love some of the stunning, gorgeous cupcakes that I see on the internet. They are really little works of art! But are they appetizing? The embossed fondant, the gumpaste flowers, the silvery dragees, beautiful yes, but not ideal to bite into. The appeal of a traditional, homestyle, simple cupcake.....you just want to open up and take a huge bite out of it! I made these rich chocolate chocolate chip cuppies with thick cream cheese buttercream for a small family party. The same thick layer of icing on top with multi colored sprinkles just like my Mom used to do....simple and delicious! Now would I want to serve these at a wedding? Definitely not, then we'd need those sophisticated refined cuppies with the fancy fondant!!

Halloween Colors.......

2009-10-26T14:19:00.008-04:00

My daughter wanted to bring in cupcakes for her little birthday snack in school. Since it's so close to Halloween we decided on Halloween colors. The cuppies were chocolate with vanilla buttercream. Each cupcake has an oreo cookie in the bottom of it....YUM!

Happy Halloween!!!

Book Fair Treats.....

2009-10-19T21:24:00.023-04:00

The annual book fair at Baker school had a family fun night complete with food, DJ, dancing and balloon animals. It was our first time there and it was tons of fun. These were my contribution and they went fast!

My own krispy treats recipe with little fondant books and Baker 'B' logos.

Birthday Cupcakes.......

2009-10-14T14:45:00.005-04:00

We had a combined Birthday family party for my Daughter's 9th and my Niece's 14th.

Since I knew there would be other desserts I decided on cupcakes since they are always the perfect portion! Chocolate cuppies with Vanilla buttercream. All decorations were made from fondant.

Pecan Pie......

2009-10-11T21:07:00.007-04:00

It's Fall, and most people associate Apple Pie with the change in season, but my husband loves Pecan Pie. So this time instead of using corn syrup I decided to incorporate another Fall favorite: Maple Syrup. It was big hit.

Gorgeous Pecans, Maple Syrup, Dark Brown Sugar, and Vanilla......can't go wrong!

My daughters made their own seasonal treats, Halloween candy!

Nanny's Key Lime Pie....

2009-10-01T14:24:00.014-04:00

My Mom doesn't like to bake cakes, more of a pie person. Doesn't mind eating cakes though, especially mine. So awhile back she developed her own key lime pie recipe. But this one is different because it's designed to be low-fat, low-calorie and best of all it tastes amazing! She kindly shared with me, but now that I've posted it for all to see, she might regret it!

I added a couple drops of Americolor mint green just to give it some glamour, but now that I look at it I think I added too much. It would be perfect for St.Patrick's Day!

I also use the zest of a key lime for garnish on top.

Now the best part is that with the pre-made gram crust you can pop the plastic lid back on, and into the freezer it goes. Very easy to transport to a friend's house.

Blueberries and Key Lime? YUCK!

No, this isn't for the Key Lime pie, I used my Mom's recipe and made my own version using my favorite flavor combo: Blueberry Cheesecake!!!

Both versions are really delish, but my Blueberry Cheesecake is definately higher in fat and calories!

Nanny's Key Lime Pie

1 large (8oz) graham cracker pie crust
1 8oz fat free cream cheese (use only 4oz)
1 8oz low fat cream cheese
3/4 cup of powder sugar (slightly less for a tarter taste)
7oz of a (14oz) can of sweet condensed milk
1/3 cup of key lime juice (slightly more for more tartness)
3/4 container of an 8oz low fat cool whip (thawed)

Place cream cheese in a mixer bowl and allow to soften...add powder sugar and mix at medium speed.... scrape down edges if necessary.... add condensed milk and key lime juice and continue mixing until blended....turn speed to low and add cool whip just to fold in until smooth....place in pie shell and cover with plastic lid and freeze.....put in refrigerator an hour before serving.

My Blueberry Cheesecake Version

1 large graham cracker pie crust

2 – 8oz low fat cream cheese

¾ cup powdered sugar

7oz sweet condensed milk

¾ container of 8oz low fat cool whip

Blueberry pastry filling, I use Solo brand

Frozen Whole Blueberries, I use Dole

Place cream cheese in a mixer bowl and allow to soften...add powder sugar and mix at medium speed.... scrape down edges if necessary.... add condensed milk and continue mixing until blended....turn speed to low and add cool whip just to fold in until smooth....pour into gram shell.... plop globs of blueberry filling on top...take knife and swirl a the filling along the top....scatter whole blueberries on top....put plastic lid on and freeze.

Back-to-School night goodies.....

2009-09-17T16:53:00.007-04:00

I offered to bring a treat to Back-to-School night so I thought something bite size would be the best. And who doesn't love brownies? These brownies though, are topped with whipped white chocolate ganache and raspberries. Just gives them a little bit more glamour! I decided to use Ghiradelli Brownie box mix. In the past I've used both scratch recipes and box mixes. And although not all box mixes are good, I believe the Ghiradelli mix to be as good as scratch. Not to mention I was pressed for time!

I also used Ghiradelli white choolate chips for the ganache. A simple 8oz of chips to 8oz heavy cream was enough to top all the bites. Once cooled I whipped it up and filled a piping bag. It just so happened that the raspberries were huge! So each one may wind up being a very LARGE bite size....maybe even 2 bites. I've made these little gems many times before and they are perfect for a party and always a crowd pleaser.

Ryan's Christening cake.....

2009-08-23T15:38:00.007-04:00

I was thrilled when a friend asked me to make her son's Christening cake. My first cake in the new kitchen! I had also made her baby shower cake months ago. She liked it so much she went with the same flavor, Chocolate Chip White cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

I was so excited to make the cake but the weather was working against me. The humidity for the past week seems like it's been 120%. Fondant just doesn't like that. It was one of those times when the cake gods just weren't smiling down on me. Don't get me wrong, I like how the cake turned out, but I had a lot of problems along the way. In the end the cake tasted amazing and my friend was happy.

The Best Banana Bread.....

2009-08-13T21:37:00.007-04:00

Who knew that the best chocolate chip banana bread was made by a 2 year old? I should have her help me bake more often!

I think mashing up the bananas was her favorite part.

I prefer my banana bread with mini chocolate chips, so do the kids!

I've made this recipe several times and it always comes out perfectly. I highly recommend it, with or with out the cute 2 year old baker! Enjoy....

Perfect Banana Bread

3/4 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 blackened bananas

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar by hand.

Mash bananas and add to creamed mixture.

Add by hand eggs, vanilla, baking soda, flour and salt.

Stir in buttermilk and chocolate chips.

Pour into 2 greased loaf pans.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour (keep an eye on it).

We like to eat it warm, but that's probably because we just can't wait longer!

Moving is HARD!!!

2009-08-08T21:54:00.005-04:00

Whew.....I'm so glad that's over! Overall the move went very well. Unpacking is by far easier than packing. I'm very happy to be settled into our new home. And I have a christening cake to make very soon.....the first cake in my new kitchen! So stay tuned for that. Here are some photos of the boxes piled high in our old house right before they were packed in the truck and delivered to our new home.

Boxes piled floor to ceiling....I never realized we had so much stuff!

You couldn't even walk into this room....I'm so glad it's over. Hopefully we won't be doing that again for many, many years!

The Last Bake....

2009-07-21T08:19:00.008-04:00

In just short of a week we are moving. Relocating about an hour away from our current home, and fortunately into a bigger house as well. But I couldn't leave without baking one last time in the kitchen which really saw the start of my cake baking passion. I didn't have the time to do a fancy cake but I thought some yummy cuppies would make do.

I chose one of my husband's favorites, Banana Chocolate Chip with Cream Cheese frosting. And since I was making the cream cheese frosting I decided to try something new. I took inspiration from my favorite ice cream flavor: blueberry cheesecake. Made at the best homemade ice cream place: Springer's in Stone Harbor, New Jersey. So the second cuppies were Blueberry Cheesecake. And as you can see below, when they were out of the oven, they sank slightly. Those little wells provided the perfect spot for a large swirl of blueberry cream cheese frosting.

I happened to have these rainbow cupcake liners just sitting around, begging to be used! They photographed beautifully. I only had time to do a simple icing swirl decoration. My favorite were the Blueberry Cheesecake, my kids preferred the Banana Chocolate Chip.

This will be my last baking post for a little while, just until we get settled into the new house. And as I fondly recall all the numerous creations I made in my old kitchen I look forward to the future and the many new possibilities that await me! So keep checking in on cake2cake. I am thinking I will try and post some photos of our chaotic moving experiences!

For the Brides....

2009-07-15T19:40:00.005-04:00

I've recently updated my Distinctive Cakes website with a page specifically designed for Brides and their wedding cakes. It's still a work in progress but I think I've created a good starting point. I have only created a few wedding cakes myself, but they are sooooo much fun once you get past the stress of knowing it's the centerpiece of the reception on one of the bride's biggest days of her life and that responsibility is in YOUR hands!!!!!!!! So the wedding cake or wedding cupcake tower, is a very important part of the big day and many brides use it as a way to express their personal taste and theme of the wedding. And there's no better way to find inspiration for your wedding cake than browsing the many cakes of talented decorators all over the world. On my BRIDES page I have provided them with all the links they will need to find that perfect wedding cake inspiration. If you know any brides in need of wedding cake help please direct them to www.distinctivecakes.com!!!

The decorated treat....

2009-06-26T20:13:00.009-04:00

Well as yummy as they are I couldn't just leave them plain!!!! As I browsed all the fancy, beautifully decorated cupcakes on flickr, I thought, why not decorate a krispy treat????

A fondant covered one, which is pretty tasty, the sweet n chewy texture of the fondant goes nicely with the krispy treat....

There's one entirely covered in chocolate...

I did these recently in bright summer colors......

Chocolate and coconut on a krispy treat....my personal fav!

Or just chocolate dipped....YUM!!!!!!!

My art deco contribution......

And finally my ode to summer and hopefully more sunny weather....

A different kind of krispy....a tutorial

2009-06-26T14:14:00.016-04:00

I love rice krispy treats. I don't like just your normal back of the box treats. My favorite were the Starbucks krispy treats. Until one day I decided I could my own that tasted just as good. So I set out to create a really good krispy treat and much to my delight had great success! Although I have to say, it's not too difficult to create yummy krispy treats. Here is how I did it, and I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

9oz box of rice krispys

1 bag mini marshmallows

1 16oz jar of Fluff

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

Crisco with flour baking spray

wooden spoon

rubber spatula

Bakers Secret 8x8 2"deep silicone pan

food scale

large bowl

6qt non-stick saucepot

wax paper

To start, measure out 8oz krispies in the large bowl on the food scale.

Spray corners of pan, rubber spatula and wooden spoon with Crisco spray.

Heat butter in saucepot over med-low heat, once melted add 1/2 container of Fluff, stir till mostly melted and then pour in 1/2 bag of the mini marshmallows.

Heat till mostly melted, stirring the whole time.

Pour in the rice krispies in 3 batches, stirring with the wooden spoon till incorporated, keep saucepot over heat for this so that the marshmallow mix stays soft and warm, that makes it easier to stir in the krispies.

Once it is all mixed you can add the second half of the mini marshmallows and stir just to distribute them, don't over mix or they will melt and break up and you will not have whole marshmallows in the treats.

Remove from heat, dump the mix into the silicone pan, using the rubber spatula press down hard so that the mix is level with the edge of the pan, this requires some muscle!

Lay a piece of wax paper over the top and press to smooth.

Leave to cool in the pan, atleast 4 hours. If you remove sooner it will stick to the pan and ruin the shape. I do not cut my krispies in the pan since it is silicone. I also like to cut different shapes and sizes. I use a very sharp, 12" knife, and I press down to cut, do not use a sawing motion. For the circle treats I use a 3" tall round metal cutter.

Here is my pan and spatula sprayed with the Crisco.

This is the Fluff being mixed in with the melted butter.

Here is the mix of Fluff and marshmallows melting before the krispies are added.

The mix piled high in the pan!!! Pressing it all down into the pan yields tightly packed 2" tall treats that cut beautifully.

All packed in nice and neat and ready to cool.

The finished treat out of the pan and ready to be cut up. See how nice and dense it is? And you can see those whole mini marshmallows. There's lots of other things you can add also: chocolate chips, M&Ms, white chocolate chips, nuts, pretzel bits, the possibilities are endless!

YUM!!!! I cut a circle, square and rectangle. Ready to be decorated, if they make it that long!

We have a winner!

2009-06-23T09:00:00.005-04:00

Congratulations to Amy! Enjoy the DVD. Thank you to all who left such nice comments and participated in my first giveaway! Please continue to follow cake2cake, I have lots of neat ideas for future postings. I hope everyone is enjoying the start of summer. Here in the Northeast we are beginning to think summer is going to skip us this year! So in the gloom of rainy skies I decided to do a summery treat to cheer us up! Later this week I'll be posting my summertime krispy treat tutorial. Go away rain and clouds!

Here is the link on Random.org for the drawing: http://www.random.org/draws/details/?draw=683

LINDY SMITH GIVEAWAY

2009-06-15T15:02:00.004-04:00

In celebration of my new blog I decided to do a giveaway! I've always been a big fan of Lindy Smith and her wonderful cake design ideas. I love her clean style and wonderful use of colors. The cake jewelry she has created is truly unique and innovative so it seemed a natural that her brand new DVD "Lindy's Cake Jewellery Gems" is the perfect item to share with my new cake2cake friends. The drawing will run from today to midnight June 22. Please make sure to leave me a comment and include your email address so I can contact you if you win the DVD. I will be using Random.org for the drawing. Good luck and please be sure to check in with cake2cake next week to see my krispy treats tutorial!

Golden Goodness

2009-06-11T14:52:00.012-04:00

Beginning of summer means end of school. I whipped up a batch of cupcakes to deliver to the teacher's lounge as a thank you for a great year. These cuppies were my yellow cake with a golden oreo on the bottom and topped with buttercream and crushed golden oreos. I guess you could say it was my vanilla version of cookies n cream cupcakes. They were a big hit!

Here they are ready to be devoured by some very tired teachers!

Welcome to cake2cake!!!!

2009-06-10T09:38:00.002-04:00

My latest creation - the cake2cake blog. My hubby's response: "because you don't spend enough time on the computer already." But this time I will be able to highlight all my latest baking adventures and other fun stuff! I hope you enjoy it as much as I love creating it. Please visit often!