KitchenAid at Last!

There is something about having your Birthday so close to Christmas. That "something" usually means a combination gift! One gift that counts for both your Birthday and Christmas - and typically you feel like you are missing out on something awesome. Whether you think you are missing out on another gift or a party it feels like everyone else that doesn't have a Birthday in December is getting something extra.

I would be lying if I said I had never felt this way before. I am excited to let you know that THIS year the combo-gift is welcomed. :) To tell you how much this is appreciated I have to back up just a little bit...

Last weekend I was in the kitchen getting ready to make some cake pops...I was mixing my cake batter with my hand mixer when smoke started coming out of it! The hand mixer literally burnt up from use. It isn't that I was attached to that mixer, it had served me well. I also didn't want to spend money on a new mixer. (Just a reminder, we aren't too far away from Christmas and like everyone else I have a list of people to buy things for - or bake things for. :))

I was dreading a month of heavy baking without a mixer and started to panic. This is the month where family and friends are all waiting for me to produce tasty candies and Christmas goodies. It was going to be a loooong month. Fortunately for me, and my tasty treat recipients, the NEXT day I was given an early combo Birthday/Christmas gift - a KITCHENAID MIXER!!! Talk about perfect timing!!! Here is a stock photo of the beautiful KitchenAid Architect 6qt. mixer.

Here is another picture of the mixer on my counter, its new home, and next to my other favorite appliance - my Blendtec blender. Think of the mixing power I have now!

Here is the first picture of the mixer in action... <3

So, now that my mixing worries are over and it looks like I will be able to handle even MORE baking this Holiday season...it is time to get started! Here are a few pictures of the first items that started out with a mix in the Kitchenaid.

Cake Pops!!!

Cupcakes!!!

I hope you are enjoying the Holidays!!!

Holiday Cake Pops

The "holiday season" is upon us! I love this time of year!! When I was growing up my Mom always had me in the kitchen with her while she was baking or making candy. You can make candy any time of year but there are special treats saved for the holidays that everyone looks forward to. This year cake pops are added to the mix. :)

I was completely clueless before I tried my first batch that there was such a huge cake pop community that always traces back to the Queen of Cake Pops, Bakerella. I've only created a few batches of cake pops but I definitely know why they are so addicting now. They are delicious and such a treat but completely satisfying with just a few bites.

Even though my cake pops don't even come close to Bakerella's creations and there are no cute characters represented (yet), I think my cake pops are pretty cute and I know they taste awesome! My most recent batches were for a friend wanting to send some goodies home for the Thanksgiving holiday. I used chocolate cake with a homemade chocolate buttercream icing then dipped each one in peanut butter flavored candy melts. I then sprinkled each one with some fall colored, leaf-shaped sprinkles to make them a bit festive.

I need to give a shout out to Wilton for their Chocolate Pro Electric Melting Pot. I recently ordered this from Amazon and it was so easy to use and improved the entire process.

I also did another batch of winter-themed cake pops. I was asked to use a Coconut Cake recipe similar to one my friend's Mom would use to make homemade cakes. I thought they were delicious! I made the white cake mix as directed and then used the sour cream, sugar and coconut mixture to bind all the ingredients. I dipped each cake pop into the blue candy melts and then sprinkled each cake pop with some sanding sugar and toasted coconut.

Here are the cake pops wrapped and ready for shipping!

I hope you are enjoying your holiday baking and candy making as well! :)

Food Allergies and Cupcakes - (Recipe - SunButter Buttercream)

Peanut allergies are one of the most common causes of severe allergy attacks. I recently made some chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter buttercream icing. Unfortunately, there are some people who can't eat these due to the peanut butter in the icing. I was asked to try and make the same cupcakes but using a creamy sunbutter spread.

I used a similar recipe to the peanut butter buttercream but made a few minor adjustments. I think the icing turned out pretty tasty but I will have to let you know what they think tomorrow!

SunButter Buttercream:

1 stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup Creamy SunButter

1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 pinch of kosher salt

1 Tbsp whipping cream or until you reach the desired consistency

1 tsp molasses

I had the butter out until it reached room temperature. I added the other ingredients and mixed until well blended. It still has a pretty nice fluffy texture compared to the peanut butter. If you think it is still too thick to pipe the icing add a little bit more of the whipping cream until you get a consistency that is easier to work with. It was enough icing for 12-14 standard-sized cupcakes.

Now all you need is a glass of milk to drink with it! :)

A Very Lemon Birthday

I have a friend who really enjoys lemon. I never thought I liked lemon but I do love these cupcakes! A lemon cake, lemon curd filling and a lemon cream cheese icing. Sound like too much lemon? It is just enough!!!

I used the extra lemon curd to add a little bit of color to the top as well. :)

 

Lemon Curd Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens:

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 teaspoons finely shredded lemon peel

6 tablespoons lemon juice

6 tablespoons water

6 beaten egg yolks

1/2 cup butter or margarine, cut up

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan stir together sugar and cornstarch. Stir in lemon peel, lemon juice, and water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly.

2. Stir half of the lemon mixture into the egg yolks. Return egg mixture to the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Add butter pieces, stirring until melted. Cover surface of the curd with plastic wrap. Chill at least 1 hour or for up to 48 hours. Store covered in refrigerator up to 1 week or transfer to a freezer container and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in refrigerator before serving. Makes 2 cups (sixteen 2-tablespoon servings).

Harry Potter Birthday

A little girl was turning two on Halloween and was dressing up as Harry Potter! I love Harry Potter so I was excited to make these cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with a cream cheese icing with fondant toppers. Yummm! I had a Hogwarts scarf, Harry Potter represented, Platform 9 3/4, a broom and snitch, Hedwig and a Slytherin Snake for the different designs.

The owl, Hedwig, was one of my favorites!

Baby Reveal

I was so excited to do this cake! A friend approached me about creating a baby reveal cake for her. The couple has family ties to Hawaii and for some reason it made me think of a sea turtle. I was given the envelope with the sonogram picture and waited to open it....waited until my friend was far enough away that she couldn't see my reaction when I opened it! She already has a little boy so when I opened the envelope and saw it said GIRL I knew they would be so excited! We had discussed cake flavors previously and decided that if it was a girl that I would bake a strawberry cake. Strawberry cake with a strawberry filling and a vanilla buttercream icing.

I was nervous the night before the baby reveal party. As soon as I opened the cake box I could smell strawberry! I was scared she would know what she was having before she even sliced the cake. Luckily, after I iced the cake all you could smell was vanilla. :)

Slicing the cake!

First slice is out.

 Here was the first picture they posted to announce to friends who weren't present when they cut the cake. Family was present and some were participating via Skype. Such a great way to get everyone involved and to share such a joyous moment.

Remembering a Loved One

It had been a few months since Garrett had passed away and it would have been his 25th Birthday. Family wanted to celebrate him and remember his life. He was always wearing a hat with a Monster Energy logo on it which inspired the cake.

Matching cupcakes.

Modern Barbie Birthday

Another Birthday! This time a little girl was turning six. :) They were looking for a modern Barbie themed cake and provided me with some cute cupcake liners too. Fondant success! I cut the silhouette out freehand aaaand backwards. That way when I was finished cutting it out I could flip it over and the edges would be smooth.

Here are the matching cupcakes! Z is for Zoie. :)

Cake Pops for a Cure

I was going to be walking in the Race for the Cure again. I thought this time I would try to raise a little money by selling cake pops. One of my first attempts and the money went to a great cause.

Strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream dipped in white and dark chocolate. Yum!!!!

Duh' Winning!

Charlie Sheen inspired this team name, Duh' Winning! The team placed first in the Alliance Corporate Softball League.

I created cupcake toppers with each player's jersey number. The medal they were given had five stars across the top of it so I incorporated the stars on the toppers as well.

Chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing. I added a few sprinkles and ta-da!

Hello, Kitty!

A little girl was turning one and was in need of a birthday cake! A small Hello Kitty themed birthday party was going to take place so a cake was needed. We needed something bright and colorful for the birthday girl so a small strawberry cake with cream cheese icing was decorated.

I also made a dozen vanilla cupcakes with a vanilla buttercream to go with the cake. Cute and delicious!

Sons of Anarchy Cake

I have to admit that I have never seen an episode of the TV show, Sons of Anarchy. When I was asked to do a birthday cake with one of their logos I had to do a little bit of research. I was going to be doing the drawing freehand so I ended up just taking a portion of one of the logos and putting that on the cake.

I did a vanilla cake with a cream cheese icing, so sweet!

Party time!

I was excited to get this next project. It was my most complicated fondant design yet just due to the fact that there are so many different colors. It takes a long time just to prep all that fondant! The birthday party had a peace sign theme with a really cool pinata to match.

I finally think I have got the hang of covering a cake with fondant. Nice and smooth with no bubbles! A little bit of cornstarch left over but that will be an easy fix later. ;)

 I thought it would be easier to put a solid black circle in the center and do colored zebra stripes.

 The peace sign in the middle was different colors and instead of trying to blend various pieces of fondant I decided to do one white piece of fondant. I cut the peace sign out and then used the food coloring gels to paint the peace sign like watercolors. Ta-da!

It was a 12 inch vanilla cake with a vanilla buttercream icing. Yum!

Some Kute Kupcakes

The official year since I began baking cakes and cupcakes was in August. After the first attempted cake that was HUGE we decided some simple cupcakes would be just fine to celebrate this birthday. To add some cuteness to them I thought I would try making a letter topper on each cupcake.

I melted a white chocolate and added some food coloring. Once it was melted I piped the letter K on a cookie sheet that was covered with wax paper. You need to work quick so that the chocolate doesn't harden. If you are using a disposable piping bag you can always remove the tip and put the bag in the microwave for a few seconds to keep the chocolate soft. After I piped the letters, I put the baking sheet into the refrigerator for a few minutes to quickly harden the chocolate. Once the chocolate was firm I placed the letter on top of each cupcake. Voila!

Mmmm...cupcakes....

Delicious!!! Carrot cake with cream cheese icing and some walnuts on top. I love carrot cake and these cupcakes went to one happy friend on her birthday.

Monster Birthday

My next cake attempt had a lot of meaning for the little guy receiving it. This cake was meant to resemble the Monster Energy logo. A close friend had passed away who always wore Monster gear and the cake was for Maison so the M fit. :) This cake was actually never eaten! Maison saved it to remember his best friend.

Cupcakes and Babies

Months went by. Many Birthdays and various events. Cupcakes came to be the norm whenever I needed to bring something with me. I attempted another small cake with fondant again for a friend's baby shower. We welcomed baby Lily with some chocolate cake and my first attempt at making a gum paste flower. :)

Another Birthday, Another Learning Experience

A few weeks later I had another family member with a birthday. By now family and friends were interested to see what I could come up with when faced with the challenge. I decided to stick with the marshmallow fondant and starting investing in more tools to create my "art". :) A Texas Ranger fan, a birthday, and some chocolate cake...

I used two, eight-inch cakes, topped with a portion of a smaller six-inch cake for the ball shape on the top. I used a cream cheese icing and all decorations were fondant.

Lemon?!

My next cake was for a friend. A couple of friends encouraged my new hobby by buying me a fondant/gum paste kit. Another birthday, another attempt at fondant and this time I even tried to use gum paste too. I switched from a buttercream fondant to a marshmallow fondant. This was much better and easier to work with. I told my friend she could pick whatever flavor she wanted for her cake. After all, it was HER birthday. When she told me she wanted lemon cake with lemon icing I responded with, "Lemon?!".
I guess I figured everyone would want a chocolate cake and later learned that lemon is a really awesome flavor. :) I used a lemon cake, lemon icing and even made a lemon curd filling. Delicous!