40th Birthday

Hello friends! I can't believe it has been almost a month since I've posted! Sorry about that! Things have been pretty busy around here and I've got a big project in the works. If it all works out, I'll be posting about it soon...

In the meantime, a few weeks ago I had the privilege of making a birthday cake for a friend of mine. Happy Birthday Matt! I was given a little guidance in the design, which I always like, but was given some creative license, too. So this one was a lot of fun!

Here it is!



This was my first time attempting a square cake. I think it turned out pretty well, though the fondant gave me some fits. Perhaps I need to tweak my recipe. In any case, I really like how it turned out in the end! I really love the combination of colors on this one! Very simple, but elegant and masculine. Perfect for a 40th birthday party.

The decorations are all made of modeling chocolate, which is so nice to work with! It cuts beautifully, holds up very well, and tastes delicious. You can also fix little imperfections by simply rubbing them out with a finger. The warmth of your finger will melt the chocolate just enough to fix the flaw or join a seam.



The hardest part of this design was the argyle pattern on the bottom tier. I thought it would be simple math, especially on the flat side of a square cake, but it ended up being surprisingly difficult to get the diamonds to line up properly. After about the third try, though, I managed to nail it! Ahhhh....learning is never simple, is it? And learning was never so tasty either!



The dashes are made from royal icing that I piped on by hand. To keep them straight, I marked out the lines first using toothpicks and a ruler.

I am usually the one taking pictures of my cakes, but my friend insisted I be in one with the cake this time. I guess it's kind of nice to be in a picture with one of my creations!



This cake was also so, so tasty. One of the best combinations: chocolate cake with coffee buttercream filling, covered with chocolate ganache. I have never been so thankful for cake scraps and leftover icing!

One of these days, I should have a cake scrap party and, when I'm finished with a cake, invite friends over to sip coffee (or wine) and eat the cake scraps with the leftover icing. Who's in?? :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sunny Spring

Hello all!

Spring is finally here! Or so I think. For now maybe. I'm pretty sure the weatherman said "snow" when describing the next few days. I can't give you details because I'm pretending it didn't happen.

Instead, I'm consoling myself with this little beauty. Bright, colorful and cheerful enough to overcome all of the bad feelings brought by the weatherman! (I should really just stop watching him, huh?)



I don't like to play favorites, but I really love love love this one! Though the base color of each tier is fondant, all of the decorations are made from modelling chocolate. Now, I have only made modelling chocolate once before and it was a total disaster. I really didn't understand how anyone could use the stuff, let alone love it. But I kept reading and hearing how wonderful it was, so I watched someone make it on YouTube and tried again. As it turns out, all those lovers of modelling chocolate were right! And I had just mixed it a little too long on my first attempt, turning it into a broken, oily mess. This time, with the proper tips, it turned out beautifully and really was great to work with. For a recipe and tips, just search for Lauren Kitchens on YouTube and watch her own video on making modelling chocolate. She also has a great class on Craftsy.com if you want to learn even more.

Back to my cake! :)



The bottom tier is 8 inches around and nearly 5 inches tall, a little taller than I usually make my tiers. I found a pattern online that I liked (brackets stacked on top of each other) and turned it into a template. I sized the template so that it was the exact height of this tier and would repeat evenly without overlapping. So, I had a template for one panel and would need to repeat that panel 7 times to cover the entire tier. Once that was done, I copied it and cut out just one of the brackets. I took that little paper bracket and covered it on both sides with packing tape, or "poor man's lamination" as I've heard it called. That kept the bracket from sticking when I used it to hand-cut all the brackets used on the cake. I was also able to wipe it down afterwards and keep it to use in the future. Hand-cutting the brackets individually was definitely a time-consuming process, but worth it in the end!

To make the colors and create the ombre effect, I started by making two colors of modelling chocolate: white (or off-white in this case) and yellow. I just used Wilton candy melts because they are easy to use and I had them on hand. Once those two colors were prepared, I took about a quarter of each color and mixed it together. That gave me a lighter yellow. I needed five colors in all for the five brackets in my template, so I continued blending the colors by taking some of the original yellow and mixing it with the new middle color to get the fourth shade and by taking some of the original white and mixing it with the middle color to get the fifth shade. This leaves you with a perfectly subtle graduation of colors from bright yellow to white. I then cut out all the brackets and left them to dry a bit on the counter. One of the nice things about modelling chocolate is that it doesn't dry out like fondant does, so you can take a little more time with the overall design. You could do this design using fondant, but you wouldn't want to let the fondant sit out or it would lose the flexibility it needs to mold onto the curve of the cake. To get all the brackets on the cake, I used my template and Jessica Harris' wax paper transfer method. She teaches it on her blog and in her new Craftsy.com class, which I highly recommend! Her method worked so well for this design!



For the top tier, I did just a simple little band with a bow in the bright yellow color I started with. The flower on the top is also modelling chocolate in that same bright yellow with a white center. I think I will be using these flowers a lot more often. They are so easy and require no drying time at all. The modelling chocolate petals will hold their shape right away and can be joined together by simply warming the ends with your fingers and pressing them all together. (You could also use melted chocolate, which may work better with a larger flower.)



I hope you liked this cake as much as I did! There are so many more detailed instructions I could give, but perhaps I'll save those for another time. Or this post would have no end!

Until then, here is a slice of the top tier for you. Lightly lemon cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. Delish! I would have saved some of the bottom tier for you, too, but we were hungry! That one was chocolate cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. So good! Enjoy!

Mini Lemon Bundt Cakes

Here's another little taste of spring for you all.

These little cuties are just as delicious as they look!




I made these in a great pan with 4 mini-bundt cake molds. It is great because each cake is different and oh-so-cute. Perfect to give away, too!

Check out the details, which you can see a little better before the glaze covered them.




I think this little one is my favorite.




A lightly-lemon glaze was the perfect finish!




It fits perfectly on my little DIY cake stand! You can read about how I made the cake stand in this post.


And, so you can all make these for yourself, here is the recipe! If you don't have the mini pan, this recipe will also work in a full-size bundt pan or 2 8-inch round cake pans. Enjoy!


Lightly-Lemon Bundt Cake
(makes approximately 6 cups batter)

For the Cake:
3 cups (12 ounces) unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon potato starch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups (14 ounces) granulated sugar
3 whole large eggs
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoons freshly-grated lemon zest
3/4 cup (6 liquid ounces) buttermilk
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare bundt pan by spraying thoroughly with non-stick cooking spray or greasing with shortening, making sure that all the nooks and crannies are well-greased.

Whisk together the flour, potato starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and a splash of the buttermilk. Set aside.

Add the rest of the buttermilk and the butter to the flour mixture and mix with the paddle attachment on low speed until moistened, then on medium speed for 90 seconds. Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.

Whisk the lemon juice into the egg mixture, then add in three parts to the flour/butter mixture. Add each part on low speed, then mix on medium speed for 20 seconds after each addition.

Divide evenly into the prepared pans and bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes for mini-cakes or 40 to 45 minutes for a full-size bundt cake, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Cool in pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely. After the cake(s) are completely cool, drizzle with the glaze, below.

For the Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Heavy whipping cream

Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl and add the lemon juice (the amount you use will depend on your own taste). Whisk in the heavy cream a teaspoon at a time until you have a glaze that falls in ribbons from your whisk or a spoon. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cooled cakes.

Spring Has Sprung

Hello!

That title is wishful thinking for me. Spring has not made it here quite yet, though I am wishing hard for it! Maybe soon it will be here. And maybe I can help it along with this cheerful little cake.

I recently saw a clutch on Pinterest with cute little folded circles on it. I immediately thought of cake and fondant circles. This week, I had the opportunity to try it out and I love how it looks!

I so wanted to post the inspiration picture here, but in my non-tech-savviness I cannot figure out how to do it. But I can give you the link! I do hope you take a look! Click here to see the inspiration for this cake! Here is the direct link to the blog post where I found the picture. Go and visit and show her some love too! And if any of you sew, she has some really fantastic ideas!

Now, back to the cake.




I wanted to use spring colors and my kids helped me to choose. We decided on green for the main color and a peek of yellow and orange in the circles, though in the pictures it looks all yellow. Of course, you could do this in any color combination or design.

To make the design, roll out some green fondant pretty thin and cut out all the circles. This design, including the little flower in the top of the cake, used 18 circles and a 1.5-inch round cutter. Cover them all with saran wrap to keep them from drying out while marbling some orange and yellow fondant. Use big pieces of each color and don't knead them together very much at all because they will just blend more when you roll it out. You can see from mine, above, that by the time I was finished with them, the orange had nearly disappeared. Roll and cut the marbled fondant just like the green, creating 18 new circles. Next, place the marbled fondant circles on top of the green fondant circles, sticking them together with a brush of vodka. Roll each one just a little to bond them together. Make sure to keep the rest covered so they won't dry out. The rolling will stretch out the circle a bit, so cut a new one with the same cutter and smooth the edges with your finger. Immediately fold over the top part of the circle on each side to make a little roll at the top with the bottom flared open. Seal the fold with a bit of vodka and press lightly but don't flatten it altogether. Place them on the cake beginning with the lowest line. Cover the pinched tops with the next row of circles. The pinched tops of the upper row can be covered with a strip of fondant.

For the flower on the top, Place six of the folded circles together with the flared ends facing out and cover the center pinched ends with tiny balls of fondant bunched together to look like a flower's center.



This cake was just for my family, so it is pretty small (6 inches). It is lightly lemon cake with strawberry jam and strawberry swiss meringue buttercream filling. I covered the cake in swiss meringue and then in fondant.

The whole time I was planning and working on this cake, I had in mind the inspiration that I linked to above. When I was nearing the end, it finally dawned on me that these little rolled circles were shaped just like calla lillies! There is nothing new in the world, huh? Well, I think this is a new spin on the calla lilly shape. I hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Gluten Free Almond Caramel Cookies

Today, I have another recipe for you! These cookies are AMAZING. Very good with a cup of coffee. And gluten free! You all are going to LOVE them! I promise!

You're going to need some almonds for this. You will be grinding some and making your own almond butter. You will see how absolutely easy making your own nut butter can be. A lot of recipes will call for added oil, but I never add any. Just keep your food processor running until the almonds (or other nut) release their own oil. Not only is it healthier, but it tastes fantastic! Also, the oil doesn't separate from the butter, so no pesky and annoying stirring to get the oil back in like with the natural nut butters you can buy in the store.

Okay, I'll end the infomercial on homemade nut butters now! :)



You will also have a chance to make your own caramel for this recipe. It sounds intimidating, but it's really not hard. You will need a candy thermometer, though. I use one just like this one and I love it.

If you just don't want to make your own caramel sauce, though, don't worry. Melted store-bought caramels will work too! Just add a little heavy cream (also sometimes called "whipping cream") to the melted caramels to thin them out a bit if you need to. Drizzle leftover caramel sauce over ice cream, on top of hot chocolate, on a slice of cake, or on just about anything! It is also excellent by the spoonful. Or so I've been told...

These cookies are also very good without the caramel sauce on the top. Yum! Enjoy with a nice glass of milk.



Here is the recipe! Enjoy!

Almond Caramel Cookies
For the Cookies:
1-2/3 cup (4-1/2 ounces) almond meal/flour, lightly spooned and leveled
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2-1/2 cups raw almonds
1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed (5-4/5 ounces) light brown sugar
1/2 cup (3-1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the Caramel:
3/4 cup (5-1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 cup (4 liquid ounces) heavy cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

To make the cookies, first preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together the almond meal, baking powder and the salt; set aside. Place the raw almonds in a food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Remove approximately 3/4 of a cup and set aside. Continue to process the remaining almonds until the oil is released and it turns into almond butter. This may take 5 minutes or more.

Place almond butter, butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in the egg and the vanilla. On low speed, gradually mix in almond meal mixture and reserved chopped almonds.

Drop tablespoon-sized balls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. If the dough or dough balls are getting too warm, briefly chill in the refrigerator. They should not spread at all before baking. Bake in preheated oven for 6 minutes, then gently flatten the cookies with the bottom of a glass. Bake an additional 6 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Let cool on sheets for 2 minutes then remove to wire racks to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling, make the caramel sauce. Combine the sugar, water, lemon juice and salt in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture just barely begins to simmer. Stop stirring and boil undisturbed until the mixture turns a medium-dark copper brown color. While it is boiling, brush the sides of the pan with a damp pastry brush to get rid of any sugar crystals.

Remove the pan from the heat, immediately and carefully add the cream, which will cause the mixture to bubble vigorously. When the bubbling subsides, add the butter and stir until the butter and cream are fully combined with the sugar mixture. Clip on a candy thermometer and return the pan to the heat. Boil the caramel until the temperature reaches 240 degrees F. Pour immediately into a glass jar or other open container.

Using a spoon, drizzle the caramel over the cooled cookies. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for one week or freeze for one month. Store extra caramel in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one month.

Gingerbread Cupcakes

It's another cupcake post! Don't you all just love cupcakes? I especially love mini cupcakes. They are so cute and little. And easy to eat.

You will love these mini cupcakes. They are easy to whip up and sure to impress.

I made these little beauties for Christmas, but I think they would be delicious any time of the year!

You can also make these into a cake. That would also be delicious.

I topped my mini-cupcakes with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream (see the recipe here) and some candied ginger. You can make your own candied ginger. That does sound like something I would do, doesn't it? Stop laughing, those of you who know me! :) I did not make my own, though. I love the candied ginger pieces made by The Ginger Poeople and I always have some on hand. I get mine at Williams Sonoma. Remember that a little goes a long way!

Once your cupcakes are baked and cooled, top with a swirl of the buttercream and a sprinkling of the candied ginger. Yum!

Here is the recipe for the cupcakes! Enjoy!

Gingerbread Cake

1/2 cup (4 ounces) unsalted butter
1-1/2 cups (11-2/3 ounces) brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons molasses
3 whole large eggs
2-3/4 cups (9-2/3 ounces) sifted cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare cupcake tins by lining with cupcake wrappers. Or prepare 2 8-inch round cake pans by greasing them with shortening and lining with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and the molasses and blend well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the cream, beginning and ending with the flour and mixing after each addition just until blended.

Fill each cupcake liner halfway (or divide evenly between the two cake pans). Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 15 minutes for mini-cupcakes, 20-25 minutes for regular cupcakes or 35-45 minutes for cakes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Remove cupcakes from pans immediately and allow to cool completely on wire racks before frosting. If baking as cakes, allow to cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Chocolate Peppermint Mini Cupcakes

Hello!

I want to share with you all some cupcakes I made for an event at my church before Christmas. They were absolutely fantastic. Lest you think I'm tooting my own horn, everyone at that little party kept telling me how much they liked these little beauties.

Yes, I did just use the phrase "tooting my own horn." Because that's how I roll. :)

I dare you to say you don't crave chocolate now!

Take a decadent brownie-like cupcake and top it with vanilla bean swiss meringue buttercream, crushed peppermints and rich chocolate ganache. This is what you get. Perfect for the holidays, of course, but also for any time of year and any occasion. Maybe you could whip some of these up for your sweetie, or just for yourself, on Valentine's day.

And ... drumroll please ... here is the recipe! Please go right now and make these cupcakes. You will not regret it! This recipe also works well as regular cupcakes. The cake recipe I posted here would also work very well as these cupcakes. Enjoy!


Midnight Mini-Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream, Crushed Peppermint and Chocolate Ganache

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar
1 cup (7 3/4 ounces) brown sugar
3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) dutched cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons espresso powder
3/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
3 large whole eggs
1 3/4 (7 3/4 ounces) all purpose flour
3/4 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a heavy medium saucepan, whisk together the sugars, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a separate small saucepan, heat water with espresso powder to boiling. Once boiling, pour the water a little at a time into the cocoa mixture, stirring constantly to prevent sticking. Continue stirring and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn off the heat and allow to stand in the hot saucepan for 10 minutes.

Pour the hot cocoa mixture into a large mixing bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the oil and extracts; beat on low for 10 seconds. Add the eggs and mix on low just until combined. Add the flour alternately with the cream, beginning and ending with the flour, and mixing after each addition just until combined. The mixture will be fairly thin.

Spoon or pour the mixture into lined mini-muffin cups three-quarters full and bake in the preheated oven for 9 minutes or until the center springs back when touched lightly with your finger, being careful not to over-bake. Let cool for a minute or two, then remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks.

Top with a swirl of buttercream, a sprinkle of crushed candy canes, and a drizzle of dark chocolate sauce.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

3 large egg whites (3 ounces)
6 ounces (by weight) granulated sugar
Pinch salt
9 ounces unsalted butter, very soft but not melted (I leave mine out overnight)
1-2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract or vanilla paste

Whisk together the egg whites, sugar and salt in the top portion of a double boiler, or in a pan set over (not touching) boiling water. Heat, whisking constantly until the mixture reaches 165 degrees F on a candy thermometer. The sugar will be completely dissolved by this temperature and will become frothy. Once the mixture reaches 165 degrees, pour through a strainer into the bowl of a stand mixer. You can mix this by hand, but it's much much easier in a stand mixer! Begin mixing on low, then on high until it comes to stiff peaks and the bowl is completely cool to the touch. Add the softened butter in all at once and mix on LOW speed until it comes together and becomes very creamy. This will take awhile and it may look curdled in the meantime. Don't worry, just keep mixing! Don't try to speed up the process by turning up the speed on your mixer. You will only ruin your buttercream that way. When the buttercream comes together and becomes creamy, add in your vanilla and mix on low until well-combined.

Dark Chocolate Sauce

1 cup (8 ounces) heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) granulated sugar
8 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, chopped

In a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, heat the cream, espresso powder and sugar until steaming. Whisk in the chocolate until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.