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!
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
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.
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.
My Halloween spread...
Although I have only thrown one Halloween party in my life, it has got to be one of my favorite holidays. I love all of the creative things you can do to celebrate this gory, creepy time of year.
In 2007, when Joe and I were living in the Isle of Man, we decided to invite everyone over for a real American Halloween celebration; full dress was of course required. I was shocked at how “in to it” everyone got. There were some creative costumes that year to say the least – a lot were handmade, as the Isle only has one costume shop. But, the handmade costumes were some of the funniest. We went as Bacon & Eggs…me being the Egg and Joe was of course Bacon.
I decorated by changing out all of the pictures around the house to gory images. I simply printed images off the computer and cut them to fit the size of each frame. I hung skeletons and cob webs everywhere. I also printed off “Best Costume” forms for people to vote for their favorites. The winner took home the coveted plastic “Best Costume” trophy – yep, it was plastic.
Just some of the Halloween decorations...
The Halloween themed food had to be the best part. Here are a few of the items I created:
Those really are just tootsie rolls, I swear...
To make this more "bloody" sit it on top of strawberry jelly.
The Jello Bleeding Heart was made from a heart shaped mold I ordered online. To get the jello to have an opaque color simply add sweetened condensed milk to the jello.
Important Note: Probably wasn’t the best idea to a red jello heart sitting out with a bunch of intoxicated people – it actually ended up inside my friends Fendi bag, then on my living room floor. Lovely.
Crispy, crunchy, brittle bones
These Brittle Bones were made out of meringue. Once the meringue was just about at “stiff peak”, I placed it in a piping bag and piped it into a bone shape on top of parchment paper. Not the most flavorful treat, but certainly cute.
Who wants some toes?
These Halloween inspired Monster Toes are easy to make, and taste pretty good. They are made out of mini hotdogs or sausages that are wrapped with a thinly sliced tortilla strip. I cut a small notch out of the top of each sausage to form the nail bed, which I then filled with ketchup.
The original brain food...
Another one of the molds I purchased online was this brain shaped mold, perfect for Halloween dips and desserts. I used a recipe for southwestern cheese dip, the main ingredient of this Cheesy Brain Dip was cream cheese. The cream cheese helped the brain hold its shape.
Deliciously deviled eyeballs...
Deviled eyeballs are really just deviled eggs, but dressed up for Halloween. I used a sliced green olive for the eyeball, which I filled it with a tiny piece of pimento. I put ketchup into a small piping bag to make the eyes appear bloodshot.
A gross assortment...
My need for something easy took over here. This gross assortment of Road Kill Kabobs, Breaded Eyeballs & Rat Brains Wrapped in Philo Dough are your typical freezer section appetizers. I dressed them up with Halloween inspired names.
Most ideas were found online. With the internet, you will be amazed at the plethora of Halloween party ideas you can find for your next Halloween party.
Here are some of my favorite sources for Halloween food ideas:
Britta’s Halloween Recipes - Britta goes the extra mile with her attention to detail.
Disney’s Family Fun – Full of Creepy Cuisine ideas for your next party.
Allrecipes.com – A good selection of Halloween cakes and cupcakes.
Skip to my Lou – She has some cute ideas in her latest post.
More Cool Pictures – These are some realistic edible “body parts”.
It's delivery...no, it's a Pizza Cake!
A hot trend in cake decorating right now is creating a cake that mimics something from everyday life. Food shaped cakes are some of the most popular.
My brother-in-law, Joe, just celebrated a birthday… and what better excuse to bake a cake than for a birthday! Joe, like everyone else in my family, has a love for great food. He and my sister have traveled and ate their way around the globe. However when it comes down to the basics, pizza is his go to food. With that information in hand, I decided a pizza cake was the best bet for him. This was a fun cake to make simply because…who doesn’t like pizza?
I started with size and shape. I knew the cake would be round, but how just how big of a round? I opted for a 12” round not because there were going to be a ton of guests, but because I thought it would be the most realistic size for a pizza shaped cake.
Cake baked, cooled, and sliced; I needed to get busy with my plan for decorating the cake to look like a pizza. It had to look realistic. So I started with the obvious…crust first. In order to give the cake a great crust, I piped a very thick wavy line of buttercream all around the edge of the cake. After the buttercream was piped, I placed it into the fridge to set up while I worked on the fondant.
A thick, wavy piping of buttercream helped form the "crust"
I have been making my own marshmallow fondant for some time now and find that it works well for me. Plus, the cost of making your own fondant compared to purchasing fondant is like night and day. Not to mention, marshmallow fondant tastes much better than “regular” fondant – which is normally inedible.
Once the fondant was rolled, I brought the cake out and went to work covering it. The crust of a pizza is a multitude of colors and shades. To give my pizza cake this illusion, I watered down some brown gel food coloring and started sponging it on with a crumpled paper towel. The crust ended up turning out great; it looked just like a Papa John’s pizza crust.
Sauce was my next task. I chose strawberry preserves to which I added a dash of red food coloring. I spread the “pizza sauce” edge to edge.
The pizza "sauce" is strawberry preserves.
On to the cheese – most people’s favorite part! I have seen cheese done several different ways, my way was to melt white chocolate and drizzle it in a caddywampous pattern over the top. Then, it was back to the fridge to set up.
Now on to the toppings! So many to choose from, where do I start? Of course I chose pepperoni, the classic pizza accompaniment. Since Joe is a meat lover, chunks of sausage made sense. I added black olives for their round shape and unique color. And finally, green pepper, to add a hint of green which rounded out the overall look.
Anyone order a pepperoni, sausage, black olive and green pepper?
All toppings where made out of marshmallow fondant and then hand painted with gel food coloring. A more random arrangement worked best when it came to the toppings. The end result was a super realistic pizza cake which everyone adored.
My good friend Sherry decided to host a surprise 40th birthday for her husband Scott. The party was to be a casual gathering amongst close friends. I, being the girl who bakes, was in charge of all things CAKE related. I got busy thinking about the cake…size, flavor, and of course, the shape.
When baking a cake for a friend or family I always want to give it a personal meaning. Scott, like many men I know, has an affection for sports and beer, Heineken Beer to be more specific. What better way to celebrate such a milestone than with a beer inspired birthday cake?
I set out to surf the Internet for ideas for this cake and I couldn’t believe how many I found! There were bottles of beer cakes, ale flavored cakes, bottle cap cakes, beer can cakes and of course, cakes shaped like beer kegs. I turned my attention to the bottle cap designs thinking this would be easier than some of the others to pull off. Sweet Retreat was an incredibly useful website, giving me clear step by step instructions on the process of building this cake. Click here for their step by step Heineken Beer Cap Cake instructions.
Heineken Beer Cap Cake
I did choose to modify a few things in order to give it my personal stamp. Another difference, I don’t own an airbrush…yet. I had to hand paint the cake which is nice for certain things but was not ideal for coloring this particular cake.
I also decided to change up the lettering. To do this, I looked for the Heineken Beer font online, downloaded it, installed it on my computer and then printed the letters in my desired font size. From here I took the printed letters and covered them with sheets of wax paper, whipped up a batch of royal icing and began piping.
When piping letters, be sure to pipe more than one of each letter as they will break every once in a while. I let the letters dry overnight. The next morning I lifted them off of the wax paper using an offset spatula and placed them directly onto the cake….great effect! The cake was a hit and the party was too much fun.
Over the past year the world of cake decorating has gotten great exposure due to television – especially the Food Network. I am like a moth to a flame when one of these shows are being aired. Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, Amazing Wedding Cakes, Food Network Challenge, the list goes on from here. These programs have given people like me the tools and inspiration to try cake outside the box.
This past month in cake has been fantastic! Many fun and creative confections have come from my kitchen in the past couple weeks. Here are a few of the highlights.
First on the list was a beach inspired birthday cake. Nilla Waffers were the perfect ingredient for making sand, not to mention they taste great too. The palm tree, beach ball, starfish, coconut, and shark fin were all crafted out of marshmallow fondant. When finished, I couldn’t help but smile.
Beach cake with Nilla Wafer "sand"
A 59th birthday cake was next on the list. This one needed a bit of edge to it, something to laugh about. I had made a few cakes for this couple before and knew my boundaries. After much research, a decision was made – a toilet bowl. What better way to say it, “Another Year Down the Shitter”. I was there for the grand unveiling of this masterpiece and you would have thought they won the lottery by their expressions. It was a sure fire hit!
Lovely isn't it? Yep, that is a toilet.
The most recent cake to come out of my kitchen was for a dear friend’s surprise birthday party. When baking a cake for a close friend I try and give it some personal meaning. Immediately after hearing about the party, I knew what I was going to make. Kristy, our birthday girl, hates the sight of bare feet. What better way to say Happy Birthday than a gnarly foot! The look on her face was priceless and I’m sure we’ll be talking about it for years to come!
Really, we don't want to gross you out.
Baking gets me in my happy place, it allows me to be creative and put a smile on someone elses face. I find with every new challenge I become more confident and comfortable with this craft. Keep’em coming – I can’t wait for the next challenge! If you are interested in ordering your next cake from Frosted, please email me at Jody@LifeWithCake.com.
