I mentioned in a post a few months back that I was going to make a wedding cake. Well, I did! And it was so fun! The cake received great reviews. Apparently it was rather tasty!
The MIL and I also catered a great brunch. Crepes, French toast, and mini frittatas were just a few of the items on the menu. Sadly, we didn’t get any pictures of the food, but my hubby snapped a few of the cake.
I loved being a part of the couple’s special day. It was so wonderful to see how happy they were.
For Memorial Day (yes it was two months ago) I decided to try my hand at a fresh fruit tart. I have always wanted to make one cause they look so delicious! And berries are in season now, so I couldn’t waste the opportunity.
I used a short dough crust, just flour, sugar and butter. You can’t go wrong there. It is the same recipe I use for New York Cheesecake, which I need to make again. Yummy!
I made lemon curd and added freshly whipped cream for a filling. It lightened the curd just so it wasn’t too overpowering.
Then I topped it with strawberries and blueberries. It wasn’t exactly how I wanted it to look, but it sure tasted good. Especially with a dollop of cream to top it off!
I don’t typically use mixes when I bake, but there are a few exceptions (Betty Crocker fudge brownies are my favorite). But I was seriously lacking energy and needed to take a treat to a barbecue. So I ran to the store and grabbed a cake mix and some frosting ingredients. I can’t buy the can, I just can’t. I perused my cupboards and fridge, and decided I would make strawberry lemonade cupcakes. Delicious!
Here is what you do:
With a regular white cake mix, exchange the water for lemonade (I used Crystal Light). I added the zest and juice of one lemon since my sugar free drink doesn’t pack quite the punch that real lemonade does. Add the other ingredients and bake according to your specific directions. One tip: Use an ice cream scoop to portion the cupcakes.
When I make frosting, my standard go to is an American buttercream: butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, maybe a little milk. For the fresh strawberry buttercream, I finely chopped about six average sized strawberries to add in after beating the sugar and butter together, omitting the milk and vanilla.
Can I just tell you that I hate strawberry frosting or cake or ice cream, but this stuff was so good because it was so fresh. It’s the only way to go.
Here is the result:
Go buy a cake mix, and let me know what you come up with!
I am pregnant, and I like to eat. It’s a problem, but baby gets hungry. And that’s how I justify eating whatever I want, whenever I want. I have had some bananas aging on my counter now for a week or so, and they have been calling my name. Not to eat in their plain and somewhat healthy form though. I actually won’t touch a banana if it has even one little brown freckle spot on it. Traces of green indicate the ideal stage of ripeness for eating bananas.
Anyway, I have been watching them age and thinking how much I really want a banana cake. Finally, I gave in today. I made my mom’s banana cake recipe. I love it, and will share at the end of my excessively chatty post.
I gave in to the craving partially because I wanted the cake, but also to serve as a practice cake for frosting. Yes, I actually have something to practice for! In May, I get to make a wedding cake. It’s the real deal ladies and gentleman! My lovely mother-in-law has been asked to cater the wedding and has employed me as her assistant and cake baker. Actually, I think bakeress sounds better, even if it isn’t a real word.
So here is the photo that I was sent. This is what the bride wants. And we all know that every bride gets what she wants :)
This is my practice run. It doesn’t look as fancy without the flowers, and I was testing out a couple things. But it’s a start.
I won’t be using the dots on the bottom, or maybe a version of them will end up bordering the top and bottom. Or it will be the ribbon all the way. Not to mention, the cake probably won’t be a banana cake either.
I am really excited about my project, and can’t wait to post the final product!
I almost forgot! The recipe:
Banana Cake
2 1/3 cups flour
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups smashed bananas (I used four whole bananas today and never really measure this part. Use at least 2)
2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a bit of vinegar)
3 eggs
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup finely chopped nuts
Follow the general rule for mixing…bananas, sugar, oil, then the eggs. Add dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk, or just throw it all in and mix. It will work just the same because its that simple of a recipe. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes (8 or 9 inch rounds).
Yummy, yummy! I want some now!
So, I am really proud of this post. Not so much my words though. Blah, blah, blah! I am really excited about my cake. It was just another German chocolate cake, not really complicated. And the frosting wasn’t even perfectly smooth. But I made a gun! Out of fondant! A fancy fondant revolver! For my dad, because he loves guns, and it was his birthday. And I love my dad. So certainly he needed a gun cake!
I would have attempted sculpting it, but coconut pecan frosting isn’t particularly obedient, and it needed to look decent. So, I pretended I was five again playing with play-doh.
Just a side note, fondant is way better than play-doh, but just as messy!
So this was the result:
Happy Birthday to an amazing Dad! Love you!
Vegetables and cake don’t mix, or at least that’s what my husband said on Sunday as I was baking his dad’s birthday cake. He learned yesterday that this is just not so, as he ate a good portion of that vegetable infused carrot cake.
I admit, I am not the biggest carrot cake lover (I think it has something to do with the raisins), but this was a mighty tasty cake. It also helped that the sides were coated with cream cheese frosting, toasted coconut and walnuts.
I used my Martha Stewart Cupcake book again for the cake recipe. This has been my go-to book lately, and it has yet to disappoint.
Here are some shots of the cake:
Happy Birthday Doug!
Basically, I have been on a sugar cookie baking frenzy! Last week I made over one hundred sugar cookies for a church event my mom was in charge of.
Our church has a program for teen girls called Personal Progress. It serves as a method for teaching young women to set and accomplish goals that will help them to be strong women in the church, as well as in their community. Last week’s event was a way to introduce the program to the girls and their families.
The Personal Progress program uses eight values that the girls base their projects on. Each value is assigned a color. I decorated the cookies in each of these colors, piping the values on some of them. The eighth value, virtue, was recently added. We used bees instead of coloring them gold. Bee virtuous!
I had so much fun making these, and it was really great practice for the piping skills.
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