The Boca Negra is long gone and it certainly left an impression.
Nate and Max didn't care for the cake, but the rest of us thought it was fabulous. Jacob and Rebecca were always asking for a slice. And on that sad day when it got down to the end Jacob and Rebecca split the last piece. She wasn't hungry at the time so she asked if she could save it for later. I told Rebecca that was fine, all she had to do was label the slice.
Later I got a look at her handy work. Rebecca made it very clear that it was her slice of cake.
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Artist of the Week: Cake Pops
This week's artist is the cutest baker ever.
One of Rebecca's presents for Hanukkah was a cake pop pan, a tiny little tray with a silicon top that snaps over the whole thing that produces golf ball sized cake balls. Very cute and not something I would want, but completely up Rebecca's alley.
She was delighted and on our first free afternoon we made a whole mess of cake balls. About half got tossed into the freezer and the rest were stuck on lollypop sticks I had leftover from an earlier rock candy making venture. For the frosting I melted some dipping chocolate (later on moving onto chocolate chips) and broke out our large selection of quints, colored sugars, jimmies (sprinkles), and nonpareils.
Rebecca had a a wonderful time helping me make the batter and decorating her creations. She was all set to do them all, but I pointed out I had only so much storage space for the finished cake pops. We could decorate more at a future date once the current ones were eaten up. The finish product was very tasty to behold and to eat. I would say it was a successful present that lets my girl do her own thing.
So guess what she'll be making in the next few days.
One of Rebecca's presents for Hanukkah was a cake pop pan, a tiny little tray with a silicon top that snaps over the whole thing that produces golf ball sized cake balls. Very cute and not something I would want, but completely up Rebecca's alley.
She was delighted and on our first free afternoon we made a whole mess of cake balls. About half got tossed into the freezer and the rest were stuck on lollypop sticks I had leftover from an earlier rock candy making venture. For the frosting I melted some dipping chocolate (later on moving onto chocolate chips) and broke out our large selection of quints, colored sugars, jimmies (sprinkles), and nonpareils.
Rebecca had a a wonderful time helping me make the batter and decorating her creations. She was all set to do them all, but I pointed out I had only so much storage space for the finished cake pops. We could decorate more at a future date once the current ones were eaten up. The finish product was very tasty to behold and to eat. I would say it was a successful present that lets my girl do her own thing.
So guess what she'll be making in the next few days.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Happy Birthday Times Two
Today is Max and Rebecca's 11th birthday. To celebrate I baked a batch of sugar cookies for Max's class and a batch and a half of cupcakes for Rebecca's class to be eaten at lunchtime. Right now their respective classrooms are thirty plus students apiece, hence the batch and a half cupcakes. It worked out that I gave treats to at least half of the entire fifth grade today. I could have handed out even more (it was so hard passing by a few of my favorites), but I had to draw the line somewhere.
The large class sizes are, fortunately, coming to an end soon. The school was able to convince the school to allow them to hire an additional fifth grade teacher. Luckily my two don't have to move, but I wouldn't protest too much if they did. The end result will be a smaller class sizes all around.
As for the treats, well there was much fist pumping when I arrived in the cafeteria laden with all my baked goods. I gave out the cookies to Max's class first and amazingly only one got dropped. I had a several extras, four to be exact, so nobody was left out. Then it was time for the rather gooey cupcakes for Rebecca's table. One child declined, I think chocolate was not her thing, so she got a cookie instead.
The whole thing was a rousing success and I had enough cupcakes leftover to bring home for us to enjoy after dinner. The official birthday parties will be held in the next couple of weeks.
The large class sizes are, fortunately, coming to an end soon. The school was able to convince the school to allow them to hire an additional fifth grade teacher. Luckily my two don't have to move, but I wouldn't protest too much if they did. The end result will be a smaller class sizes all around.
As for the treats, well there was much fist pumping when I arrived in the cafeteria laden with all my baked goods. I gave out the cookies to Max's class first and amazingly only one got dropped. I had a several extras, four to be exact, so nobody was left out. Then it was time for the rather gooey cupcakes for Rebecca's table. One child declined, I think chocolate was not her thing, so she got a cookie instead.
The whole thing was a rousing success and I had enough cupcakes leftover to bring home for us to enjoy after dinner. The official birthday parties will be held in the next couple of weeks.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Baking With Julia- Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake
Here is my very belated Nectarine Upside-Down Chiffon Cake that was supposed to be for Sept. 4th Baking with Julia challenge and err... the month is half over and I have next week's challenge just two days away.
Well it's better late than never and it turned out to be the perfect treat to bring to tonight's oneg (links leads to a nice description) for Rosh Hashanah. Nuts and fruits are always a good choice for the new year. For a complete rundown on the recipe head on over to The Little French Bakery and The Double Trouble Kitchen (Yay fellow mom of twins!).
The whole thing wasn't too hard to make, my only stumbling block was not having a 10 pan and I decided it wasn't worth worrying about it not being quite big enough. My 9 inch pan was able to hold most of the batter and the resultant cake was just ducky. I had a fair amount of excess streusel (gee that could be related to the undersized pan- ya think) that I ended up scattering around the cake on its serving platter. I thought it was delicious and it was a hit at the oneg. The cake was light and moist with a lovely tang from the lemon juice. I might try it without almonds, otherwise this one is definitely a keeper.
Well it's better late than never and it turned out to be the perfect treat to bring to tonight's oneg (links leads to a nice description) for Rosh Hashanah. Nuts and fruits are always a good choice for the new year. For a complete rundown on the recipe head on over to The Little French Bakery and The Double Trouble Kitchen (Yay fellow mom of twins!).
The whole thing wasn't too hard to make, my only stumbling block was not having a 10 pan and I decided it wasn't worth worrying about it not being quite big enough. My 9 inch pan was able to hold most of the batter and the resultant cake was just ducky. I had a fair amount of excess streusel (gee that could be related to the undersized pan- ya think) that I ended up scattering around the cake on its serving platter. I thought it was delicious and it was a hit at the oneg. The cake was light and moist with a lovely tang from the lemon juice. I might try it without almonds, otherwise this one is definitely a keeper.
Sunday, September 09, 2012
For Laura
I'm sick and completely unable to us my brain. I was literally confused by a ringing phone today. So hooray for memes and being able to phone it in.
Laura of "Fetch My Flying Monkeys" has declared it “National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week” or NIAFPHFPPW . Since I'm all about food blogging I had already decided to join in.
Today's picture is of a cake Rebecca and I made for her end of soccer party way back in May. I'm don't know why it was never posted, but I do remember it being delicious.
Laura of "Fetch My Flying Monkeys" has declared it “National Irritate a Food Pic Hater Food Pic Posting Week” or NIAFPHFPPW . Since I'm all about food blogging I had already decided to join in.
Today's picture is of a cake Rebecca and I made for her end of soccer party way back in May. I'm don't know why it was never posted, but I do remember it being delicious.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Ask And You Shall Receive
A battle turtle cake.
When I asked Max what kind of cake he wanted he said "a battlefield in the shape of a turtle with soldiers fighting on it."
Okaaay, this was clearly a job for my cake corps and my half-of-a-ball cake pan. Max had also wanted tanks, but persuaded him to let that particular idea go.With the army men there will be enough going on the cake.
It came out rather well considering the hurry I was in to get the cake completed Friday night. The only flaw was that it turned out Max wanted an orange flavored cake (a surprise for me). Otherwise everybody was impressed with the final result.
Oh and at least one of Max's guest wanted to take one or two members of the Cake Corps home, but I nixed that idea and explained these were my army men and not party favors.
When I asked Max what kind of cake he wanted he said "a battlefield in the shape of a turtle with soldiers fighting on it."
Okaaay, this was clearly a job for my cake corps and my half-of-a-ball cake pan. Max had also wanted tanks, but persuaded him to let that particular idea go.With the army men there will be enough going on the cake.
It came out rather well considering the hurry I was in to get the cake completed Friday night. The only flaw was that it turned out Max wanted an orange flavored cake (a surprise for me). Otherwise everybody was impressed with the final result.
Oh and at least one of Max's guest wanted to take one or two members of the Cake Corps home, but I nixed that idea and explained these were my army men and not party favors.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Artist of the Week: Cupcakes
Rebecca is this weeks artist with a little bit of help from me and Charm City Cupcakes.
On Saturday I took Rebecca to a cupcake decorating event by Charm City Cupcakes over in Richmond Marriott. Earlier in the week a Groupon popped offering this event at almost half off. After a quick call to Larry to see if it was possible, I snagged a ticket for the Mommy/Daddy and Me session. When I told Rebecca what we would be doing she was absolutely thrilled.
Rebecca and I had a great time. We ran into a friend of hers from school who was also attending our session. The two girls were delighted to find each other and happily they could sit next to each other. Then we got down to business.
Each team had three mugs filled with excellent butter-cream icing, three mixing spoons and a decorating kit with for decorating tips and a 1/2 disposable pastry bags. On the table for all to share were assorted concentrated food coloring. The head chef directed us what to do with the tips and bags. Then the staff went around to demonstrate up close the techniques the head chef was showing us. Each team was issued 6 cupcakes and were allowed three types of sprinkles and three inedible objects to place on the cupcakes. Once we had the basics we were set loose.
We had four chocolate cupcakes and two vanilla.Rebecca decided to use the filling tip on two of the chocolate ones. She had a lot of fun squeezing in frosting into the cupcakes. Then it was time to frost. I did the basics of the three in the upper left hand corner, the sprinkles and plastic picks were by Rebecca as were the three in the lower right. The session flew by and then it was time to pack up our creations and head home. The box they gave us was pretty nifty, it had individual holes for cupcakes to be nestled in. No crashing about and being upturned.
I think the cupcakes turned out beautifully and we had a wonderful time together.
On Saturday I took Rebecca to a cupcake decorating event by Charm City Cupcakes over in Richmond Marriott. Earlier in the week a Groupon popped offering this event at almost half off. After a quick call to Larry to see if it was possible, I snagged a ticket for the Mommy/Daddy and Me session. When I told Rebecca what we would be doing she was absolutely thrilled.
Rebecca and I had a great time. We ran into a friend of hers from school who was also attending our session. The two girls were delighted to find each other and happily they could sit next to each other. Then we got down to business.
Each team had three mugs filled with excellent butter-cream icing, three mixing spoons and a decorating kit with for decorating tips and a 1/2 disposable pastry bags. On the table for all to share were assorted concentrated food coloring. The head chef directed us what to do with the tips and bags. Then the staff went around to demonstrate up close the techniques the head chef was showing us. Each team was issued 6 cupcakes and were allowed three types of sprinkles and three inedible objects to place on the cupcakes. Once we had the basics we were set loose.
We had four chocolate cupcakes and two vanilla.Rebecca decided to use the filling tip on two of the chocolate ones. She had a lot of fun squeezing in frosting into the cupcakes. Then it was time to frost. I did the basics of the three in the upper left hand corner, the sprinkles and plastic picks were by Rebecca as were the three in the lower right. The session flew by and then it was time to pack up our creations and head home. The box they gave us was pretty nifty, it had individual holes for cupcakes to be nestled in. No crashing about and being upturned.
I think the cupcakes turned out beautifully and we had a wonderful time together.
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Artist of the week: Decorated
This week's artist is my very own bumper car baby, Rebecca
The last hurrah for summer around here is the county fair. Held the last week of summer vacation before school starts, nothing and I mean nothing is going to cancel it. This year we had an earthquake before it opened and a hurricane during the first weekend. The fair did close down for a day and a half, but in the end the show must go on.
We ended up going last Friday and met up with Meryl and her niece. Meryl's niece, S, is a delightful young woman who is a few years older than Jake. The two of them hit it off with their mutual love of all things geeky and a similar sense of humor. As for Rebecca, she loved had another girl around. The two girls had fun on rides like the scrambler and bumper cars (Max had fun with S as well, but this isn't about him).
Anyhoo we met up with Meryl and her niece at the arts and crafts building. Rebecca had decided to put in and entry this year in decorated cakes. Last spring she had taken a short cake decorating class after school and she was hot to try her luck at the county fair. And it turned out her cake had garnered third place.
The only criticism has they use of plastic decorations. Rebecca would have in all likelihood placed higher if frosting had been used to make the fish and ducks. The kind lady manning the table when we picked up our entries and winnings told us that the cake was gorgeous and hoped that Rebecca would try again next year.
And I think it's pretty sake to say Rebecca will try her hand at decorating a cake next year. She did a great job this year and was able to do the whole thing herself. My only contribution was to mix up the frosting with food coloring and find the styrofoam cake form.
The last hurrah for summer around here is the county fair. Held the last week of summer vacation before school starts, nothing and I mean nothing is going to cancel it. This year we had an earthquake before it opened and a hurricane during the first weekend. The fair did close down for a day and a half, but in the end the show must go on.
We ended up going last Friday and met up with Meryl and her niece. Meryl's niece, S, is a delightful young woman who is a few years older than Jake. The two of them hit it off with their mutual love of all things geeky and a similar sense of humor. As for Rebecca, she loved had another girl around. The two girls had fun on rides like the scrambler and bumper cars (Max had fun with S as well, but this isn't about him).
Anyhoo we met up with Meryl and her niece at the arts and crafts building. Rebecca had decided to put in and entry this year in decorated cakes. Last spring she had taken a short cake decorating class after school and she was hot to try her luck at the county fair. And it turned out her cake had garnered third place.
The only criticism has they use of plastic decorations. Rebecca would have in all likelihood placed higher if frosting had been used to make the fish and ducks. The kind lady manning the table when we picked up our entries and winnings told us that the cake was gorgeous and hoped that Rebecca would try again next year.
And I think it's pretty sake to say Rebecca will try her hand at decorating a cake next year. She did a great job this year and was able to do the whole thing herself. My only contribution was to mix up the frosting with food coloring and find the styrofoam cake form.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Why Did I Wait?
Rebecca and Meryl requested I make some sort of chocolate treat. Rebecca was thinking along the lines of a cake, while Meryl was more in a mousse frame of mind. After a bit of digging in my files I pulled out a recipe I had printed from an email I received waaaay back in 2005 for chocolate truffle cake with raspberry sauce.
I don't know why I never made it, but it was absolutely unbelievable.
Everybody liked it.
Admittedly some passed on the sauce, but that's their loss. The raspberry is a lovely counterpoint to the rich chocolate of the cake. I served the sauce on the side, however if I ever bring this somewhere I'm going to flood the top with the sauce. It would be visually stunning and a delight to eat.
Some with out further ado here's the link to the chocolate truffle cake with raspberry sauce.
Of course I had to modify the recipe a little bit.
The whole thing was dead easy and was a huge hit. I'm glad I had held onto the recipe so long, but I wished I had tried it out sooner.
I don't know why I never made it, but it was absolutely unbelievable.
Everybody liked it.
Admittedly some passed on the sauce, but that's their loss. The raspberry is a lovely counterpoint to the rich chocolate of the cake. I served the sauce on the side, however if I ever bring this somewhere I'm going to flood the top with the sauce. It would be visually stunning and a delight to eat.
Some with out further ado here's the link to the chocolate truffle cake with raspberry sauce.
Of course I had to modify the recipe a little bit.
- I used a nine inch spring form pan lined with wax paper (the loaf just didn't cut it in my eyes).
- I used 12 oz of raspberries instead of 10oz (because that was how much was in the bag and I couldn't be bothered).
- However with the increased number of raspberries I did not change the amount of Karo. I wanted the sauce to be on the tart side.
The whole thing was dead easy and was a huge hit. I'm glad I had held onto the recipe so long, but I wished I had tried it out sooner.
Friday, November 12, 2010
A Birthday Party A Day Late
Veteran's Day is Nate's birthday, but we didn't celebrate it until today.
As per Nate's request I made him yet another war themed birthday cake and I really outdid myself this year.
I carved out craters on the top and sides, made two tanks (one intact, the other broken and trapped in a crater, and had a rather bloody Cake Corp on top.
The cake was a huge hit at the party. It was declared epic and all the boys liked the the red sparkly gel icing I applied generously to the downed soldiers. If you click on the picture it will take you to my Flickr page and the complete photo-set.
Bloody and gruesome is what 11 to 12 year old boys loved to have on their birthday cakes.
As per Nate's request I made him yet another war themed birthday cake and I really outdid myself this year.
I carved out craters on the top and sides, made two tanks (one intact, the other broken and trapped in a crater, and had a rather bloody Cake Corp on top.
The cake was a huge hit at the party. It was declared epic and all the boys liked the the red sparkly gel icing I applied generously to the downed soldiers. If you click on the picture it will take you to my Flickr page and the complete photo-set.
Bloody and gruesome is what 11 to 12 year old boys loved to have on their birthday cakes.
Sunday, July 04, 2010
Happy 4th of July
Here is the cake I made today featuring the American Flag.
And yes, it has all 13 stripes and 50 stars.
Patriotism never tasted so good.
And yes, it has all 13 stripes and 50 stars.
Patriotism never tasted so good.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tres Leches
Ree over at Pioneer Woman is a very, very good cook. She also is all funny as get out and is a hoot to read. If you don't know about her go over right now, I'll wait.
Anyhoodle a few weeks ago she posted the most divine sounding recipe, Tres Leches. I mentally bookmarked it as one to try and waited for the right occasion.
Last weekend I had a dog club potluck to attend, as per usual I volunteered to make desserts. I figure I should stick with my strengths and my club is always very, very happy to eat my baked goods. So I made my flourless chocolate torte ( dead easy and delicious) and the Tres Leches.
Oh my.
It was goooooood.
It perfectly complimented the dense chocolaty goodness of my other offering. And even better, it too was dead easy to make. It is not at all a fussy cake to bake. Especially if you follow along on Ree's website. She loves to take pictures of each and every step.
So head on over and try out her Tres Leches cake, it's worth the calories. You can always say it's for swine flu prevention if you use vitamin D fortified milk.
Anyhoodle a few weeks ago she posted the most divine sounding recipe, Tres Leches. I mentally bookmarked it as one to try and waited for the right occasion.
Last weekend I had a dog club potluck to attend, as per usual I volunteered to make desserts. I figure I should stick with my strengths and my club is always very, very happy to eat my baked goods. So I made my flourless chocolate torte ( dead easy and delicious) and the Tres Leches.
Oh my.
It was goooooood.
It perfectly complimented the dense chocolaty goodness of my other offering. And even better, it too was dead easy to make. It is not at all a fussy cake to bake. Especially if you follow along on Ree's website. She loves to take pictures of each and every step.
So head on over and try out her Tres Leches cake, it's worth the calories. You can always say it's for swine flu prevention if you use vitamin D fortified milk.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Artist of the Week: Costco
Today was Nate's baseball team's end of season party. Like last year it was a pot luck at a pool and, like last year I made the cake. Or at least I planned on making the cake, instead it was more like provided the cake.
I was happily baking away today. The first layer was baked and I was just sliding it into the refrigerator to cool when disaster struck.
I dropped the cake.
It collapsed into a big crumbly mess on the floor. In utter frustration I shouted out a very, very bad word. The kids told me later that the noise was so loud and unexpected they thought it came from a passing car. They had no idea what I said, it was just the sheer volume. I tried desperately to piece it together, but in the end I had to admit it was a lost cause and tossed the whole mess in the garbage.
Now I had no cake, very little time and not enough ingredients. I could try cobbling together something from the bit of cake leftover from Jake's Bar Mitzvah and the remaining layer that I hadn't baked yet, but I decided that was a bad idea. Instead I would go to Costco, they have great cakes and you can usually pick one up at the last moment. They have one of the very few commercially available cakes I deem acceptable.
An hour later I had a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream frosting and chocolate mousse filling. I opted to get the one with little flower buds on top, I decided it was a bit better for the boys than a cake with a huge pile of chocolate roses piled on top. To see a vanilla version of the cake click here (group events) and here for a picture of a selection board of Costco cakes in Japanese, it's the scored rosebud over on the right second from the top.
The cake was a big hit. It looked great and tasted fabulous. Go Costco, you really saved the day.
I was happily baking away today. The first layer was baked and I was just sliding it into the refrigerator to cool when disaster struck.
I dropped the cake.
It collapsed into a big crumbly mess on the floor. In utter frustration I shouted out a very, very bad word. The kids told me later that the noise was so loud and unexpected they thought it came from a passing car. They had no idea what I said, it was just the sheer volume. I tried desperately to piece it together, but in the end I had to admit it was a lost cause and tossed the whole mess in the garbage.
Now I had no cake, very little time and not enough ingredients. I could try cobbling together something from the bit of cake leftover from Jake's Bar Mitzvah and the remaining layer that I hadn't baked yet, but I decided that was a bad idea. Instead I would go to Costco, they have great cakes and you can usually pick one up at the last moment. They have one of the very few commercially available cakes I deem acceptable.
An hour later I had a delicious chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream frosting and chocolate mousse filling. I opted to get the one with little flower buds on top, I decided it was a bit better for the boys than a cake with a huge pile of chocolate roses piled on top. To see a vanilla version of the cake click here (group events) and here for a picture of a selection board of Costco cakes in Japanese, it's the scored rosebud over on the right second from the top.
The cake was a big hit. It looked great and tasted fabulous. Go Costco, you really saved the day.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Baking With the Pioneer Woman
In honor of the red boys birthday I decided to make a cake for the non-canine members of the family. As to what kind of cake, well I had a three pound box of strawberries and a a couple of bricks of cream cheese in the fridge. The two big ingredients for Ree's Strawberry Shortcake Cake.
It looked and sounded so good on her website I just had to give it a whirl.
And boy did it deliver. The whole thing was scrumptious. I brought it to services Friday night for oneg and it was a big hit. On Saturday one of my fellow congregates asked, with a twinkle in his eye, did you make this? Good, my birthday is in August.
Just one lone slice may it back home.
The only thing i would change is to cut back just a bit on the sugar in the cream cheese frosting, but that's it. Even if you don't bake you should really check out Ree's site. The directions on baking the cake are worth the trip.
I quote: "Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly like my bottom."
Lord the woman is funny.
It looked and sounded so good on her website I just had to give it a whirl.
And boy did it deliver. The whole thing was scrumptious. I brought it to services Friday night for oneg and it was a big hit. On Saturday one of my fellow congregates asked, with a twinkle in his eye, did you make this? Good, my birthday is in August.
Just one lone slice may it back home.
The only thing i would change is to cut back just a bit on the sugar in the cream cheese frosting, but that's it. Even if you don't bake you should really check out Ree's site. The directions on baking the cake are worth the trip.
I quote: "Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes, or until no longer jiggly like my bottom."
Lord the woman is funny.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Guerrilla Cake Decorating
Or sometimes I just can't help myself.
As I mentioned in the post below from Friday, Max had an invite to a birthday party this weekend. Our normal modus operandi is to leave for a party about 45 minutes earlier than necessary and pick up the present on the way. I throw some wrapping paper, tape, and a pair of scissors into the car before leaving and we're good to go. This time I even had an appropriate card on hand for the birthday boy.
Max and I pulled into Wallyword and found a halfway decent spot. Max told me as we walked in that he knew just what to get his friend Tanner for his birthday. He marched us to the back of the store, looking for the LEGO aisle. After one false start he found just where he wanted to be. He quickly scanned the available sets and pointed out one.
"That one Mom, I would like to get him that one."
As I reached up I asked him "Do you want the green one or the red?"
"The green one."
I pulled down the green Bionicle and told him we were all done. He nodded his head and was happy to go.
I was shocked, I had planned 45 minutes and we were done in less than 15.
I took my time wrapping the present, but we still had almost a half an hour to kill before the party. I ended up taking him to a nearby Goodwill. He thought it was great, mostly because he found a little fox puppet to buy with his allowance.
Back in the car I saw we would only be 5 minutes early and I figured that was close enough. We headed on over to the party.
The party was at a local sports park- one of those mini golf, batting cages, and go-karts kind of places. We were directed to the right room and found Tanner's family setting things up. Max went off with Tanner and I stayed behind to meet his Mom. One of the things they were doing was putting together the cake. They had gotten a half sheet with a baseball diamond with a baseball glove in the foreground holding a ball. It was very nicely done, but there was no inscription.
They had a matching bag of frosting and they were planning on doing it themselves. I watched as they struggled to get the frosting down to the tip. It turns out they were unsure about the whole thing and I offered to help out. I excel in free form lettering on cakes. I really seem to have a knack for it, the letters come out evenly sized and spaced. They happily turned the frosting over to me and let me have at it.
It came out very nicely with the funniest moment being when Tanner came in the room. He didn't say anything, but his expression was priceless. It was basically why is Max's Mom making MY cake. He then shrugged it off and went back to messing around with his friends.
I didn't expect to help decorate a cake, but I certainly did have fun doing it.
As I mentioned in the post below from Friday, Max had an invite to a birthday party this weekend. Our normal modus operandi is to leave for a party about 45 minutes earlier than necessary and pick up the present on the way. I throw some wrapping paper, tape, and a pair of scissors into the car before leaving and we're good to go. This time I even had an appropriate card on hand for the birthday boy.
Max and I pulled into Wallyword and found a halfway decent spot. Max told me as we walked in that he knew just what to get his friend Tanner for his birthday. He marched us to the back of the store, looking for the LEGO aisle. After one false start he found just where he wanted to be. He quickly scanned the available sets and pointed out one.
"That one Mom, I would like to get him that one."
As I reached up I asked him "Do you want the green one or the red?"
"The green one."
I pulled down the green Bionicle and told him we were all done. He nodded his head and was happy to go.
I was shocked, I had planned 45 minutes and we were done in less than 15.
I took my time wrapping the present, but we still had almost a half an hour to kill before the party. I ended up taking him to a nearby Goodwill. He thought it was great, mostly because he found a little fox puppet to buy with his allowance.
Back in the car I saw we would only be 5 minutes early and I figured that was close enough. We headed on over to the party.
The party was at a local sports park- one of those mini golf, batting cages, and go-karts kind of places. We were directed to the right room and found Tanner's family setting things up. Max went off with Tanner and I stayed behind to meet his Mom. One of the things they were doing was putting together the cake. They had gotten a half sheet with a baseball diamond with a baseball glove in the foreground holding a ball. It was very nicely done, but there was no inscription.
They had a matching bag of frosting and they were planning on doing it themselves. I watched as they struggled to get the frosting down to the tip. It turns out they were unsure about the whole thing and I offered to help out. I excel in free form lettering on cakes. I really seem to have a knack for it, the letters come out evenly sized and spaced. They happily turned the frosting over to me and let me have at it.
It came out very nicely with the funniest moment being when Tanner came in the room. He didn't say anything, but his expression was priceless. It was basically why is Max's Mom making MY cake. He then shrugged it off and went back to messing around with his friends.
I didn't expect to help decorate a cake, but I certainly did have fun doing it.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Cake of Resignation
I love Cake Wrecks and yesterday this gem popped up.
The cake itself is not a wreck per se, it's the fact that it was Neil's resignation letter.
If you click on the photo it will lead you over to his Flickr photostream and the text of the cake.
The man certainly has style.
The cake itself is not a wreck per se, it's the fact that it was Neil's resignation letter.
If you click on the photo it will lead you over to his Flickr photostream and the text of the cake.
The man certainly has style.
Friday, February 20, 2009
About Those Cake Balls
Last Saturday I slipped on a little picture of some cake balls I made for Valentine's Day.
I first learned about cake balls from Cake Wrecks: Sunday Sweets (a sort of unicorn chaser to all the horrors shown each week). Bakerella had made an outstanding Valentine's box of chocolates and had included a tutorial.
I was initially tempted to recreate the whole thing, but then I realized it involved fondant and I refuse to have anything to do with it. So I decided to just make the cake balls, with of course a few modifications.
For the cake ball interior I used my flourless chocolate torte. For the cream cheese frosting I used the oh so easy and oh so tastey one over at Slashfood.
After the cake completely cooled I added about a cup of the cream cheese frosting. It was pretty darn goopy so I refrigerated the whole mess before making the balls. The balls, even with refrigeration, were very sticky si into the freezer they went. Because of all the goings on they spent about a day and a half in there until I could finish making them.
For the chocolate coating I used the store brand chocolate bark in small batches. It worked out very well. I plop in the frozen ball, roll it around a bit to coat and then place it on wax paper. If we wanted to add sprinkles, we had to act fast before the chocolate set up. Rebecca loved the Valentine themed decorations I had picked up. For the gel writing we had to wait until the chocolate had completely solidified. Rebecca made some hearts, a snail and a red bird. I made the sun, the blue bird and the red heart with an arrow through it. We had a great deal of fun decorating the cake balls.
For varieties sake I picked up some almond bark, white candy coating. It was a real pain to work with. It was hard to melt and the cake balls kind of melted into the coating. I ended up with only a few white cake balls, the rest came out like dirty snow balls.
As for taste... they were a big hit, even the white ones tasted good.The cake ball interior tasted like a high end chocolate truffle. We will definitely try these again.
I first learned about cake balls from Cake Wrecks: Sunday Sweets (a sort of unicorn chaser to all the horrors shown each week). Bakerella had made an outstanding Valentine's box of chocolates and had included a tutorial.
I was initially tempted to recreate the whole thing, but then I realized it involved fondant and I refuse to have anything to do with it. So I decided to just make the cake balls, with of course a few modifications.
For the cake ball interior I used my flourless chocolate torte. For the cream cheese frosting I used the oh so easy and oh so tastey one over at Slashfood.
After the cake completely cooled I added about a cup of the cream cheese frosting. It was pretty darn goopy so I refrigerated the whole mess before making the balls. The balls, even with refrigeration, were very sticky si into the freezer they went. Because of all the goings on they spent about a day and a half in there until I could finish making them.
For the chocolate coating I used the store brand chocolate bark in small batches. It worked out very well. I plop in the frozen ball, roll it around a bit to coat and then place it on wax paper. If we wanted to add sprinkles, we had to act fast before the chocolate set up. Rebecca loved the Valentine themed decorations I had picked up. For the gel writing we had to wait until the chocolate had completely solidified. Rebecca made some hearts, a snail and a red bird. I made the sun, the blue bird and the red heart with an arrow through it. We had a great deal of fun decorating the cake balls.
For varieties sake I picked up some almond bark, white candy coating. It was a real pain to work with. It was hard to melt and the cake balls kind of melted into the coating. I ended up with only a few white cake balls, the rest came out like dirty snow balls.
As for taste... they were a big hit, even the white ones tasted good.The cake ball interior tasted like a high end chocolate truffle. We will definitely try these again.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Artist of the Week: Cake
So hey, it's my turn to be artist of the week. I'm pretty proud of the cakes I made for the football banquet and I thought I'd share them (or at least the pictures).
Originally I volunteered to make a team cake, but the next day I was asked if I could make more, as in enough for the banquet. After a bit of consideration I figured what the hey, it'll be easier than the last big cake I made. At the very least it's all local driving and not the massive multi-state trek it was for my brother's wedding.
The first order of business was figuring out how much cake was needed. I consulted with the guy catering and he said it was a bit of a crap shoot. It could be 120, 150 maybe even 200. Four sheet cakes (technically they were half sheets) would fill the bill. The rule of thumb I heard said 100 servings per cake, but that's a load of crock. At most I could see 75 servings per cake and those would be pretty mingy. Since there were four teams (Flag, Minor, Junior and Senior) there should be four cakes. Since this would be a boatload of batter I requested that I not foot the bill for all the ingredients (pictured to the right). The caterer arranged for the athletic association to pay the tab and he would drop off the stuff.getting the ingredients.
The party was on December 1st and I got the stuff a couple days before Thanksgiving. This gave me plenty of time. I decided I would bake the cakes on Saturday and Sunday. Start assembling them Sunday night and finish them up on Monday when the kids were at school.
For once i was able to pretty much stick to my schedule and I had all the cakes done early Monday afternoon. Jake came home from school just as I was piping the final borders. I had a little assembly line going on the dining room table. I would do one particular aspect of the cakes and shuffle through them before moving onto the next element. I free handed the G logo on the cake and I was very pleased how all four turned out. All I had left to do was to get the cakes to their final destination.
I gave the caterer a call and I arranged to meet him at the venue at about 4:30-4:45. This would give me enough time to drop off the cakes and get back home to get the kids and return for the banquet. It had to be done in two trips because I could not realistically fit four cakes and four kids in the van at the same time. And no, having each kid balance a cake in their lap was not an option. In fact you can see here I folded down the rear seat and slid the cakes in on a clean table cloth.
The caterer was impressed with the cakes and I got a ton of compliments at the banquet. All of the cake was gone and it looked like we had well over 200 people in attendance. Not a bad weekend's worth of work.
Originally I volunteered to make a team cake, but the next day I was asked if I could make more, as in enough for the banquet. After a bit of consideration I figured what the hey, it'll be easier than the last big cake I made. At the very least it's all local driving and not the massive multi-state trek it was for my brother's wedding.
The first order of business was figuring out how much cake was needed. I consulted with the guy catering and he said it was a bit of a crap shoot. It could be 120, 150 maybe even 200. Four sheet cakes (technically they were half sheets) would fill the bill. The rule of thumb I heard said 100 servings per cake, but that's a load of crock. At most I could see 75 servings per cake and those would be pretty mingy. Since there were four teams (Flag, Minor, Junior and Senior) there should be four cakes. Since this would be a boatload of batter I requested that I not foot the bill for all the ingredients (pictured to the right). The caterer arranged for the athletic association to pay the tab and he would drop off the stuff.getting the ingredients.
The party was on December 1st and I got the stuff a couple days before Thanksgiving. This gave me plenty of time. I decided I would bake the cakes on Saturday and Sunday. Start assembling them Sunday night and finish them up on Monday when the kids were at school.
For once i was able to pretty much stick to my schedule and I had all the cakes done early Monday afternoon. Jake came home from school just as I was piping the final borders. I had a little assembly line going on the dining room table. I would do one particular aspect of the cakes and shuffle through them before moving onto the next element. I free handed the G logo on the cake and I was very pleased how all four turned out. All I had left to do was to get the cakes to their final destination.
I gave the caterer a call and I arranged to meet him at the venue at about 4:30-4:45. This would give me enough time to drop off the cakes and get back home to get the kids and return for the banquet. It had to be done in two trips because I could not realistically fit four cakes and four kids in the van at the same time. And no, having each kid balance a cake in their lap was not an option. In fact you can see here I folded down the rear seat and slid the cakes in on a clean table cloth.
The caterer was impressed with the cakes and I got a ton of compliments at the banquet. All of the cake was gone and it looked like we had well over 200 people in attendance. Not a bad weekend's worth of work.
Monday, November 17, 2008
One Tasty Car
I found out about this luscious car cake over at Cake Wrecks.
To get the full story here is a much longer video with the back story of the ad.
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