Week 33 :: Happy Birthday Jill!

Happy Birthday Jill!

A friend of mine had a big birthday this year and this was the cake (and matching cupcakes).

The cake is chocolate with a peanut butter buttercream (yum! yum! yum!).  Here is the recipe I came up with:

Peanut Butter Buttercream
::Ingredients::

• 2 1/2 cups peanut butter
• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 stick Crisco
• 2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup +/- milk or cream

::Directions::

1. Mix together butter and Crisco until creamy, add peanut butter and mix well.
2. Add powdered sugar a little at a time, alternating with milk until you reach desired consistency.

Note ::  If you have a kitchenaid, you can dump the sugar in all at once and let mix on medium speed for a couple minutes, add milk gradually.

Happy Baking!



Week 32 :: Drama Queen Cake!

This cake was made for my preceptor's birthday.  Simple, but I love it.  I mixed white fondant with stabilizing powder to make it more of a gumpaste quality to make the tiara.  Other than that, a straight forward German chocolate with caramel-pecan filling!

Happy baking!

Week 31 :: Cupcakes, cupcakes and more cupcakes!

So over the past couple of weeks I have made several sets of cakes and cupcakes.  I just love cupcakes--they are quick, pretty, and easy to eat.  Cakes--not easy to cut once you've spent 78865 hours decorating it.  I have never felt like they do on Cake Boss--I don't make a cake and then as soon as I get there say "who wants some cake!!"  No, in fact, it is often painful to cut a cake.  So, I began making matching cupcakes.  The first set was for a sweet friend--her father's retirement party.  The pictures below make more sense when I tell you he owned a garage door business.

Close-up of the car bumper and plate:

Matching cupcakes!

Wanna know a super easy way to fill all 24 cupcake lines is <1 minute.  Here it is: the no-drip-super-awesome-cupcake-filler (thanks, Mom, once again for an awesome find!).  Such a breeze.  I don't even think I can remember how I filled cupcakes before.  Seriously.  This tool has certainly made my top-10 tools for bakers.  Get it.

On to more cupcakes I have made this week--red velvet with cream cheese frosting, chocolate-chocolate, and birthday cake with buttercream.  This buttercream recipes makes the perfect amount for 24-generously-iced cupcakes.

 
Happy baking!

Week 30 :: M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

Well a big happy birthday to little Maria!

I made this cake for a little one's very first birthday--a big fan of Mickey Mouse.  This was a white cake with caramel pecan filling.  No new recipes but here are a couple more tips:

• When I make a cake with a unique shape, I cut the supporting cardboard to shape before cutting the cake, then cut the cake, a little at a time, to fit the cardboard support
• I put a small straw through the back of the cake after I cover it in fondant to prevent any bubbles in the fondant

Happy baking!

Week 29 :: Snickerdoodles

I actually made cookies this week! Gasp--I know.  Well...honestly, I made a couple cakes too (to be posted later) but cookies first!

These snickerdoodles were amazing--I have established (what I think) is the perfect recipe.  These cookies are light, fluffy and cinnamon-sugar-deliciousness.  But then again, you can't exactly go wrong with butter and sugar (why I love baking).

Snickerdoodles

Prep time :: 25 minutes

Bake time :: 8 minutes/batch

::Ingredients::

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup shortening (butter flavor preferred)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. white sugar
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon

::Directions::

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, eggs and vanilla together.  Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.
3. Place dough in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes.
4. Blend remaining sugar and cinnamon together.  Shape dough into balls about an inch around and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture (picture below). Place cookies 2 inches apart on baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes.
   
   
   

   

   
   

Happy baking!

Week 28b :: Tennessee Titans Cake

There were two cakes this week so I thought I would do another quick post on Lisa's Tennessee Titans Birthday Cake!  Here is a quick shot:

Happy Baking!

Week 28 :: It's a Girl!

This week is another cake (surprise!) for a baby shower.  I made this cake for one of the assistants at my dentist's office.  She has always been so sweet to me and I was thrilled to be asked to make a cake for her!  If you are looking for a dentist in Nashville, check out Nina Foley--everyone in their office is loads of fun, they do great work, and they give you headphones and blankets (among many other comfort measures) during your visits.  I highly recommend them!

Close-up of the bubble bath:

One tip for the week.  If you use a Kitchenaid (AKA God's gift to bakers) there is this little attachment that makes SUCH a difference, the Silicone Pour Spout, and it's $5.  It will fit other bowls as well but fits the Kitchenaid PERFECTLY.  Here is an action shot:

Shout out to my sweet Mom who found this wonderful tool for me!

Happy Baking!