Week 19 :: Cutout Cookies for Dogs!

This week my sweet dog Napoleon and I made some dog cookies!  They are really easy and Napoleon loves them but then again he eats bugs and dirt. Here is my handsome man posing with his cookies:

Doggy Cookie Cutouts

::Prep Time:: 10 minutes

::Cook Time:: 2-4 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion salt
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup chicken or beef stock

::Directions::

1. Mix the dry ingredients together.
2. Add egg and stock.  Mix until moistened.
3. Form dough into a ball and turn out onto floured surface.  
4. Roll out dough and cut as desired.
5. Place cutouts on microwave safe plate and microwave for 2-4 minutes in batches.
6. Allow to dry and cool completely. 

 Here is a pile of all the cookies we made!  And don't judge, but yes, I did try them and they aren't bad :o)

Week 18 :: Carrot Cake for Mom!

Happy Mother's Day!!

This week I made a carrot cake as it is one of my mother's favorites!  I used what I had to make a new cream cheese frosting and it turned out awesome (and super easy!).  Some people suggest mixing the pecans in to the frosting but I chose to decorate with them, either way is fine.  I certainly recommend trying this spring-time recipe while it is still in season.  Happy Baking!

Carrot Cake

Prep time :: 10-15 minutes

Bake time :: 40-55 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1/2-1 cup pecans 

::Directions::

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour (2) 8-9-inch round cake pans, (3) 6-inch, or (1) 9x13-inch pan.
2. In a large mixing bowl sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together.  Mix well.
3. In a medium bowl beat eggs, add oil, vanilla extract, and sugar and mix well.  Add to dry ingredients.  Fold in carrots and pecans.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-55 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Prep time :: 5 minutes

::Ingredients::

• 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 1 cup pecan pieces (optional)

::Directions::

1. Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract together until smooth.  Slowly mix in powdered sugar.
2. Fill and ice cake as desired, decorate with pecans if desired.

Week 17 :: Baby Shower Cake

I've been on a cake kick for a while now because there have been so many special occasions for friends and family. I have to admit I love it that my friends trust me with such special events in their lives! This week I made a baby shower cake for a boy.  No new recipes but I added a few "tricks" below.

Tricks:
1. If you're not getting the straight lines and edges you want with the crumb/dirty coat, let the coat sit for a minute then take a paper towel and place on top of the cake or around the side of cake...use your hands to rub the paper towel and smooth out the buttercream....pull off the paper towel slowly and ta da!
2. If it is going to be rainy or humid, start a couple days early. Fondant and humidity do NOT get along and it takes for-ev-er to dry!  I made all of the buttons, the bow and the baby days before--anything that is not going to be eaten, give it time to harden.
3. The lid is made out of a rice crispy treat. You can mold them into any shape that you want....they are a great support and perfect for little accents like the lid. You can also use them in the base of a cake for extra support and height.

Week 16 :: Happy Birthday (NAS)DAD!

This past week the family went to NYC because Dad was asked to ring the opening bell for NASDAQ.  It was a super short trip but it was really great to get to share that with him.  Here is a pic of him doing his thing, being awesome...

Well just a few days later was his birthday, so what better way to celebrate than a NASDAQ (or NASDAD--thanks Anna!) cake.  I used the Guinness cake recipe with a Bailey's Irish Buttercream frosting because those are his favorite; however, he refuses to cut the cake so I guess he'll never know!

Happy Birthday Dad from your biggest fan!

P.S.--I did take what few free hours I had in NYC to hike it over to Hoboken, NJ to visit Carlo's Bakery from the Cake Boss....no dice!!  There was a 4-5 hour line just to get in!

Week 15 :: Peeps cookies

I got this idea from the amazing SweetSugarBelle.  Her blog is incredible, with innumerable tutorials on how to make some pretty incredible cookies in just a few steps.  You can find the tutorial for the Peeps cookies here.

 

I love holiday baking so this is the first of many Easter creations this month including new recipes for "Bunny Bread" and Carrot Cake.  

Happy baking!

Week 14 :: Engagement Cupcakes

Congratulations to my friends Andres and Melissa on their engagement!  To celebrate, the girls went out to Arrington Vineyards just south of Nashville.  The weather was perfect and the view was incredible, if you're in the area I highly suggest a visit!  

These are chocolate cupcakes with chocolate and strawberry frosting.  The decorations I made out of fondant 24 hours before and let dry.  Here's a close up of the love birds!

Week 13 :: Topsy Turvy Cake

When I started out this year I never thought I was going to love cakes this much!  But the hours of hard work and (many) failures are worth it when you make a finished product that is JUST what you wanted!  I love a challenge--so when a friend had a special request birthday cake, I got to work and created this chocolate-flavored-black-and-pink-hip-hop-and-music-themed-sweet-16-cake!  (More pics at bottom of post)

The whole process starts days before...3 days before the event I baked the cakes and froze them....THIS IS SO HELPFUL!  I baked three of each tier....chocolate, strawberry, then chocolate again!  When you freeze them you can just brush off the crumbs, fill them, and dirty ice (crumb coat) them and they are ready to go!  Here's a peak inside my freezer....

Don't stack them as they will flatten out and freeze.  The next day of so when you are ready to decorate, take them out, trim them as you please and crumb coat.  If you are making a topsy turvy cake, you just stack the first two layers normally, and then cut the third layer of each tier at a diagonal BEFORE you cut a hole in the middle.  Use the second tier's cake board as a template to cut out the hole.  This way the second tier sits flat, and reduces the risk for catastrophe (sinking, shifting, etc.)...if you want to know more...here is a great video of how to make a topsy turvy cake.


If you need extra tips refer to Week 9 :: Christy's Cake.  This week I used all recipes I have used before, except a from-scratch strawberry cake recipe is below:


Strawberry Cake
All recipes
::Ingredients::

• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) package strawberry gelatin
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 2 3/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup strawberry puree made from frozen sweetened strawberries

::Directions::

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour (2) 9" cake pans.
2. Cream together butter, sugar, and gelatin.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  
3. Combine flour and baking powder and add to butter mixture alternating with milk.
4. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree.  
5. Pour into prepared pans.  Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean.