Elmo Cake
I just had to share this adorable Elmo cake that my sister made. She sent me the photos the other day…and I knew it had to go up on the site. I am not entirely sure of the whole story behind this super cute Elmo cake, but I assume it was made for a birthday party.
How cute is Elmo?
We are already 8 days in to the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and I am hooked. The stories, the competition, the tragedy and triumph – this is what the Olympics are all about.
So what better way to celebrate and honor the 2010 Winter Olympic Games then with a collection of the best Winter Olympic inspired goodies I could find. Really, this search was prompted by one shining example, Marian’s Olympic Mascot Cookies from Sweetopia.net. She is a true sugar master. The time that goes into these cookies is incredible.
Sweetopia's Olympic Mascot Cookies - Miga and Mukmuk
Sweetopia's Olympic Mascot Cookies - Quatchi
The mascots this year are comical. Quatchi is a sasquatch – how funny is that? A sasquatch that wears boots and earmuffs no less. And Mukmuk…a marmot. “Hey, nice marmot!”
Another great example of an Olympic inspired sweet is this is Olympic mascot cake done by Anne Elizabeth Cakes. I love the mascots – she did an excellent job.
Anna Elizabeth Cake's Olympic Mascot Cake
Of course we need a cupcake – so here it is…the Olympic Ring cupcake done by Clever Cupcakes in Montreal, Canada.
Clever Cupcake's Olympic Ring Cupcake
Since the Olympics are being held in Vancouver, British Columbia we should probably have a native dessert as well. The Nanaimo bar is named for the city of Nanaimo in British Columbia and consists of wafer layer, a custard layer and then is covered in chocolate. Here, The Kitchn shows us their version of this Olympic inspired treat.
Yum...Olympic Inspired Nanaimo Bars
I hope this inspires you to make your own Olympic themed treats to eat while cheering on Team USA, of course. Win Big Team USA – you make me proud to be an American!
Coconut Cream Pie made with Dream Whip
There was a small blip in history – I remember it well – when my mom jumped onto the cream pie bandwagon. It had to be late 80s, maybe even the early 90s, when my mom would prepare these incredible cream pies; Banana Cream Pie, Coconut Cream Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie and so many other creamy flavors – all delicious. Her secret…(quiet now)…Dream Whip.
Ever heard of it? If you are over 40, perhaps you have; Dream Whip is powdered non-dairy dessert topping mix that was invented in 1957 by the Birds Eye Division of General Foods. Yes, non-dairy topping – Ewww! The sound of anything non-dairy scares me…but don’t give up on this post yet. Dream Whip has its place in your cupboard, I promise.
Kraft Foods, who has since merged with Birds Eye, now owns Dream Whip. Kraft certainly has the whipped topping market cornered; they also own competitor Cool Whip and Redi-Whip, surprisingly. The Kraft website states “With Dream Whip Topping Mix in your cupboard, you never need to go without a topping!” Well there you go…you will never have to go without a whipped topping ever again with this fantastic little box of magical powder. Thank goodness I never have “whipped topping” emergencies.
Ok, so it doesn’t make the best topping….what is it good for then? For starters, Dream Whip can be prepared and then mixed into cakes to add moisture and fluffiness. It can also be mixed with pudding or other pie fillings to become a light, fluffy, dreamy mixture. This is the absolute best use for it in my opinion.
Go ahead, give Dream Whip a chance with this Coconut Cream Pie recipe. The addition of Dream Whip creates a velvety consistency that is unlike any other cream pie. This Coconut Cream Pie recipe has another twist – it uses animal crackers for the pie crust instead of your usual graham cracker crust.
Dreamy Coconut Cream Pie
Ingredients:
Directions:
1.) Prepare your crust by mixing the animal cracker crumbs together with the melted butter. Pat them down into a pie plate, covering the sides and bottom. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Once it is baked, set aside to cool.
Crush these animal crackers for the perfect pie crust
2.) If you haven’t toasted your coconut yet, do so now. Simply place shredded coconut in the pan over low to medium heat, stirring constantly until this is browned slightly on the edges. Set aside to cool.
Perfectly toasted coconut
3.) Beat Dream Whip whipped topping mix and 1 cup of the milk in large bowl with electric mixer on high speed 6 minutes or until topping thickens and forms peaks. Add remaining 1 3/4 cups milk and pudding mixes; blend on low speed. Beat on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
4.) Fold in ¾ cup of the toasted coconut. Set the rest aside for the top.
5.) Spoon the mixture into your baked crust.
6.) Whip your cream with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Spoon over your pie filling.
7.) Refrigerate at least 4 hours. After it has filling has set, sprinkle the remaining coconut on the top of your pie before serving so it remains crisp. Serve and enjoy.
My Version of Hummingbird Cake
Baking is a science. Unlike cooking which allows you to add a pinch of this and a tad of that to taste, baking recipes need to be followed to a tee. Otherwise, the result can be disastrous.
I, like many great bakers, borrow recipes and ideas from the pros. There are always certain things you can do to put your signature on a recipe and make it your own. Let’s take Hummingbird Cake for example…there are so many variations of this cake out there for you to try. My personal favorite is Paula Dean’s version of Hummingbird Cake. Her version is delicious as is, but I wanted to make this recipe my own and give it a personal twist.
As a guideline, I never mess with the amount or type of flour used in a recipe. The leavening agents are also something I stay spot on with. When it comes to sugar you can probably get away with adding a bit less, but I wouldn’t recommend changing the actual “type” of sugar. Brown sugar has more moisture than granulated sugar and some sweeteners such as Splenda or Equal don’t translate the same as granulated sugar. I must not forget to mention that calorie-free sweeteners can leave an unpleasant aftertaste in your baked goods as well as cause them not to rise up.
Changes should be subtle…adding a different kind of nut, chip or spice. Making a recipe your own can even be as simple as adding slightly more of one ingredient.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am a cuckoo for coconut – it is one of my favorite ingredients to work with. Simply adding a ½ cup of sweetened flake coconut to this Hummingbird Cake created a whole new layer of flavor and a bit more texture.
The next twist I made on this Hummingbird Cake recipe was replacing the finely chopped pecans with more roughly chopped toasted pecans.
***Chefs Note on Toasting Pecans***
To toast pecans simply place them in a dry pan over medium heat. Be sure to keep an eye on them and stir often. Pecans have oil in them that left unattended can burn. And no one wants burnt nuts in their cake. You will know when they are done when they smell aromatic and are slightly browned
The last change I made to this Hummingbird Cake recipe was to kick up the cinnamon. To bump up the warmth cinnamon can add, I increased the amount of cinnamon to 1 ½ teaspoons.
I finished the cake with cream cheese icing, toasted coconut and whole toasted pecans.
I am still learning about the science behind cake baking. For more information on this topic check out these sites:
About.com – Baking Ingredient Science
WilliePrejean’s Baking and Baking Science
Hummingbird Cake
Ingredients
Serves 12
FOR THE CAKE
FOR THE FROSTING
****(My changes to this recipe include…adding ½ cup sweetened flake coconut, larger toasted pecans and ½ teaspoon more cinnamon)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans, tapping out excess flour; set aside.
2. Prepare the cake; in a large bowl, stir to combine self-rising flour, sugar, oil, pecans, bananas, pineapple, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs.
3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing with an offset spatula. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until the tops spring back when gently pressed with your fingertips, 26 to 28 minutes.
4. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto wire rack. Re-invert cakes and let them cool completely, top sides up.
5. Prepare the frosting; in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugar, cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon milk on medium speed until frosting is smooth. If needed, add more milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, to achieve the proper spreading consistency.
6. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate. Spread the top of the first layer with 1/4 of the frosting. Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another 1/4 of the frosting. Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer bottom side up. Spread entire cake with remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with pecans. Remove parchment paper strips; refrigerate until ready to serve.
Photo courtesy of Joshua Wood Photography
December is a month full of activities. Holidays, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and if you have children, well they are home from school for half the month. This past December I took on a new task, one that was not only stressful but also worthwhile as it would test both my organization and baking abilities…I signed on to do my first wedding.
Weddings are a whole other department in the baking world. This isn’t just someone’s graduation cake or birthday cake…this was someone’s WEDDING! Most brides want it to be the most perfect day of their entire life…that’s a lot to live up to.
The bride and I met back in April for a cake tasting. She sampled the four flavors of cake I had so skillfully prepared…Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Swiss Meringue Butterceam, Spice Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream, Funfetti with Swiss Meringue Buttercream, and Strawberry Cake with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.
Along with eating cake we discussed her vision for the wedding. One thing that remained an unchanged constant was the wedding cake. She brought me a photograph from Real Simple, the cake was elegant and understated…quilted white fondant with silver floral and pearl accents – perfect for a winter wedding.
Fondant that has a quilted effect and pearl accents.
The wedding cake was going to be used simply for display and the cutting ceremony; whereas, the cupcakes were to be served as the actual dessert. The bride wanted each guest to receive three mini cupcakes, in three different flavors: chocolate, spice and funfetti. Each cupcake would be decorated with a gum paste flower that would mimic the flowers on the wedding cake.
The wedding cake consisted of three layers, each a different flavor. The bottom layer was Funfetti Cake; Funfetti being the bride’s favorite cake flavor from her childhood. The middle layer was Chocolate Cake…who doesn’t like chocolate? The top of the wedding cake was Spice Cake; her fiancé’s personal favorite.
Once the month of December hit, my stomach went into knots. I found myself thinking about it day and night. Was I up to this challenge? I found my mind racing at night while lying in bed. “How much butter?”, “How many eggs?”, “How much gum paste is needed for 650 daisies?”.
Gum Paste Daisies, 650 of them...
One thing I knew for certain is that I needed to organize myself by creating a timeline. The timeline was crucial for staying on task. Baking is the easy part in my eyes. The real time comes in the decorations and details.
The gum paste flowers for 650 mini cupcakes were definitely the first order of business. The next step was figuring out how much butter, sugar, flour, etc. I would need. I did this by breaking down recipes and with a couple of calculations…viola, the list was together.
The week of the wedding came and I had briefed my family on the rules. There was to be no whining, no hanging out in my work space, no friends over, and we would be doing a lot of carryout meals.
The kitchen became more of an assembly line on certain nights with my good friend Bridget and my husband Tom working the line. They were incredibly helpful…love you guys! Somehow it all came together just in time. I officially have a wedding under my belt, and boy am I proud of myself and my work.
Photo courtesy of Joshua Wood Photography - www.JoshuaJWood.com
Special thanks to photographer, Joshua Wood, for the use of his gorgeous photos of the cake and wedding. www.JoshuaJWood.com
First I want to apologize for the lack of posts this past month, wow there was a lot to do. It seems like there isn’t enough time in the day, let alone the month to fit everything in! Now that it’s all over we can get back to business.
Santa did bring me some wonderful presents and I plan to feature some of them on the site in the coming months. I can’t wait to try out my sister’s new camera, the NikonD5000 to be exact. But in the meantime this post is meant to pay homage to my baby, my good old Canon EOS Rebel xs. I too, have not finished the manual (not sure if I ever will?). This camera is a joy – I love taking pictures and having good equipment makes it that much better. Here are a couple of Christmas season photos Canon Style!
Nutcracker
christmas bulbs
My Stocking
Daisy
Our New Addition...Boo Boo
Alex asleep in closet next to Boo Boo
Knex rollercoaster...only took 6 1/2 hours to build
Hope your Holidays were as wonderful as mine!
A grade school legend...the Peanut Butter Square
Growing up we called them Peanut Butter Squares, some called them Hollywood Squares (anyone who grew up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) – these little peanut treats are sure to bring back memories of grade school lunches.
I borrowed this recipe from the Hollywood Squares recipe originally printed in the Cuyahoga Falls News-Press. After going over the ingredients, I was a bit hesitant in preparing it – it’s really nothing but sugar and fat. Not the best recipe to be publishing so early in 2010 when many resolutions are already hanging by a thread.
These Peanut Butter Squares are certainly delicious and very rich. Kind of like a peanut butter cup on steroids. One tiny square and your peanut butter craving will be cured. Yep, I said “peanut butter craving” – I get them all the time. I usually cure mine with a bit of Skippy Peanut Butter mixed with vanilla ice cream. Now I have a new medicine.
Peanut Butter Squares, aka Hollywood Squares
Ingredients:
Topping:
Directions:
1.) Combine all ingredients except topping ingredients. Mix well and place in a buttered 9″x13″ square pan.
2.) Melt the topping ingredients together and spread over the top of the peanut butter mixture.
3.) Chill until topping is firm.
Peanut Butter Squares on Let’s Get Cookin’
Hollywood Squares on Tasty Kitchen
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
If you are seeking the perfect dessert to serve this Thanksgiving, look no further. This is the perfect twist on your classic Pumpkin Pie. The filling is very similar to pumpkin pie, perhaps a bit sweeter, but also a bit creamier. The crust is soft and extremely buttery. The combination of the two create an amazing mouthfeel and offer a satisfyingly sweet end to a rich Thanksgiving dinner.
The Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake sits amongst my favorite all time desserts. After serving it to family and friends, I imagine it sits at the top for many people. Since this is a classic Paula Deen recipe, you shouldn’t be too surprised at how rich it actually is. And like the name implies, it is not lacking in butter.
But, it is Thanksgiving after all. It is the one time of year you are expected to overindulge. Oh Paula Deen and your butter rich recipes…you kill me.
Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake
Ingredients:
Cake:
Filling:
Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.) Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
3.) To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
4.) Serve your Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cake with fresh whipped cream.
With the holidays sneaking up on me, I haven’t had much time to post. Ok, that is a lie – it has nothing to do with the holidays – I’ve simply been busy with other projects. But regardless of my excuse, the holidays are right around the corner…
I posted these Thanksgiving cookies because they came out so darn cute. I used a basic sugar cookie recipe, cutting them out in the shapes of leaves and acorns. I made several batches of colored icing in red, orange, yellow, green and two shades of brown. Very fall appropriate colors.
After icing the Thanksgiving cookies, I sprinkled color cordinating sanding sugars on the top – very pretty. You can get these sanding sugars at your local craft store.
The cookies sparkled in the sun and were completely gobbled up before the party was over.
Finished Yankees Cake
Growing up in the Cleveland area can be a nightmare for a sports fan. “There’s always next year” is our regular end of season moto. Cleveland has had the longest sports championship drought out of any other U.S. city. 1964 was the last time Cleveland, Ohio saw a championship team, when the Browns won the NFL Championship.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have some very exciting players and make it to the playoffs regularly, but can’t seal the deal. In 1948 the Cleveland Indians last won the World Series…one can see the pattern of our sports teams.
The New York Yankees are a team either loved or loathed by people. This could have something to do with the Yankees leading Major League Baseball in both revenue and titles. 27 World Series titles, 40 American League penants and some of the most celebrated players (Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, and Yogi Berra) is an impressive and intimidating resume. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when I was asked to create a Yankees theme birthday cake for a long time fan.
Fondant Mitt and Royal Icing Baseballs
The Yankees cake was decorated using Marshmallow Fondant and Royal Icing. Royal Icing is tempermental in its consistency, but when right it can make the most fabulous decorations. I used royal icing on a few areas of this cake…the stitching on the baseballs and the actual baseballs along its sides.
To create the baseballs, I piped royal icing onto a silpat and let it dry overnight. Before lifting the baseballs with an offset spatula, I detailed them with a bit of red royal icing stitching. Marshmallow Fondant was used to make the Yankees logo and baseball mitt. The mitt was hand sculpted and painted. This Yankees cake was perfect for any sports fan’s birthday and could be transformed to represent any team…even the Cleveland Indians.
