Birthday Celebrations

I absolutely love birthdays.  We commemorate how wonderful the gift of life is and all the joy it brings.  Nothing more makes me happier than getting to share in someone’s birthday celebration.  As I’ve grown as a baker, this usually involves me making a cake or cupcakes to bring to the party.  After all, everyone must make a birthday wish, and you can’t do that without a cake or cupcake to put the candle in!

This month I’ve had the honor of making two very special birthday cakes, both for family members.  The first cake was for a first birthday party.  Minnie Mouse was the theme!  I can’t think of a more fun theme for a first birthday.  An absolute blast to make!  All hands on deck for this cake.  I had my dad help me with the power tools.  Yes, power tools in the kitchen!  After fully washing, of course, we drilled holes into the cake boards and cake to insert a dowel rod for extra support.  This was quite the experience! 

For the ultimate introduction to sugar, chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream.  Yum.  This was made for the “smash” cake the birthday girl dug into.  I made a tiered cake for the rest of the party goers to enjoy.  Two layers were chocolate with whipped Oreo filling and the third was chocolate with a chocolate peanut butter ganache filling.  So delicious.

The second cake I had the privilege of making was for my dear sister.  


She wanted something classic but with an edge.  We decided on a black tiered cake, but miniature, with tiny roses made of fondant as an accent.  The roses really pop against the black fondant.  She wanted the cake to look sexy, so we went with chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream.  The reviews were outstanding.  I was even asked at the restaurant where we purchased the cake.  I was happy to tell the wait staff that I had made it.  What a compliment!

Happy Birthday B!!

My First Turkey

Thanksgiving is a magical time.  Family gathers from all of the United States to reconnect, spend time together and, of course, eat delicious meals.  The center of Thanksgiving is the turkey and the stuffing.  This year, as my family gathers, I have the wonderful opportunity to dive into my hobby of cooking and baking all weekend!

I'm roasting my first turkey.  A remarkable task, as it is the main dish for the meal today.  I chose Saveur's Herbed Roast Turkey Recipe.  Using a high fat butter - Kerrygold Unsalted - with thyme, sage, paprika and brown sugar as an herb butter sauce.  I've already basted the turkey three times with this delicious mixture.  In the cavity I mixed the carrots, onion, celery and lemon wedges to help give the turkey an impeccable flavor.

I added more water to the roaster to ensure an extremely moist turkey.  The house is filling with the smells Thanksgiving brings.  My mouth is already watering waiting for the turkey to come out of the roaster.  


A few hours pass and the turkey is ready!  The skin is browned and crisp from the butter herb mix.  And just as I had hoped, the turkey is falling off the bone - moist to perfection.  My dad carves the turkey as we taste test.  Once we get to the bottom, he looks at me and says "now this is the best part" pointing to the carrots and bits of meat that have fallen into the bottom of the pan with the juices of the turkey.  Heavenly.


Happy Thanksgiving!

Love for Pumpkin

I was inspired this week to create a pumpkin buttercream frosting.  Which then led to what do I put the pumpkin frosting on top of - a chocolate cupcake, vanilla?  Why not just dive in pumpkin first - Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream Frosting.  Now that's a mouthful of pumpkin!

So I began doing some research on recipes.  What makes the best pumpkin cupcake?  So many choices!  I decided I wanted a really good pumpkin flavor, so I began by using 3/4 cup pumpkin puree.  Attempting to simulate a pumpkin pie flavor while keeping a nice cake texture, I added nutmeg and cinnamon to help bring out the flavor.


The batter reached the flavor I was going for, so into the oven they went!  I brought the cupcakes out slightly early to make sure they were as moist as possible.  

The cupcakes came out perfectly.  Time for the pumpkin buttercream!  Traditional buttercream only uses butter, powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.  To amp this up with pumpkin flavor I added 3/4 cup pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, salt and pumpkin pie spice.  The texture is very similar to buttercream, but be sure to use less milk so it isn't too soft.  The flavor is unbelievable.  Pumpkin on pumpkin, it doesn't get better than this!

All About Cakes

Birthday Celebrations are the Best!


I strongly believe that everyone should be able to make a birthday wish and enjoy a really good piece of birthday cake when they celebrate turning one year older.  


This last week I've made two cakes for two very special birthdays.  The first was a friend of mine - a classic carrot cake with a classic look.  I was asked to do a vampire themed cake.  Without making it cheesy, I did a white fondant over the carrot cake with a black ribbon border.  I added black scrolls and then three red roses.  

The second, for a party this weekend, is R2D2.  This was by far the most difficult cake that I've made, but it was the most fun!  I used three 6 x 3" cakes and a dome cake for the top.  I painted the dome with a silver edible paint mixed with vodka.  The vodka evaporates (safe for kids to eat!) and leaves a nice silver color on the cake.  The arms were the most interesting piece of the cake to design.  I used Rice Krispies treats to mold the shape of the arm and covered those with fondant.  I never thought I would be molding Rice Krispies treats into robot arms.    


I hope each individual has a very special birthday!

Let's Celebrate Fall

Fall is my favorite time of the month.  The sticky August heat wave comes to an end, and the cool fall breezes sweep through the air.  The leaves start to change colors and, in time, illuminate the streets with breathtakingly beautiful colors.  Apples are in season and pumpkin patches are on my mind. 

I loved taking trips to the apple orchard and pumpkin patch as a kid.  We’d pick apples all afternoon followed by a glass of cider.  Then we’d get to pick out the biggest (best) pumpkins in the patch.  When we got home, the house would fill with smells of apple crisp while we carved the pumpkins with dad on the front porch.  We’d slide the candles into the pumpkins, light them, put the tops back on, and line them up on the steps.  As the sun set, our porch would glow with our freshly carved pumpkins – it always made our Victorian house seem slightly eerie, but in a perfect way.  Isn’t that the whole point of Halloween? 

Mom would make pumpkin pies and pumpkin desserts.  Her pies are the best.  The perfect amount of pumpkin, the flakiest crust and just the right amount of spice.  Oh how I love you, fall.

Today screams fall.  The temperature has dropped, the leaves have begun to fall and people have dusted off their jackets.  To evoke my favorite memories from this time of year, I’ve made a pumpkin gooey butter cake. 

A crust of butter, sugar, flour, egg and milk is patted down on the bottom of the pan.  I pour on top a pumpkin, cream cheese, powdered sugar mixture with, you guessed it, more butter.  Next, sprinkle on the chocolate chips.  I used a combination of milk chocolate and white chocolate chips to kick this dessert up a notch. 

Exactly as I thought it would, the house filled with that delicious pumpkin smell.  This pumpkin gooey butter cake is precisely that – pumpkin, gooey, butter crust, delicious.  I think I’ll have seconds.

I LOVE Birthdays.

Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday, so we had to have cake to celebrate. 

My lovely sister wanted to make me a birthday cake.  I have been wanting to make a cupcake house (adapted from Wilton) for ages.  What better time than for my own birthday!  With my assistance, my sister crafted this amazing birthday cake for my birthday celebration.  We used a white wedding cake recipe for the batter and my traditional, signature buttercream frosting.  B was in charge of dying the frosting.  I haven’t quite mastered colors!  She always has to tell me when I’ve hit the color I’m shooting for, I’m not sure why this is so difficult for me.  The doors and windows were the hardest part.  I piped them on, and she smoothed them down to make them look like actual  doors and windows.  They turned out fabulous!  I think I’ll hire her full time as my color expert and window/door shaper. 

The trickiest part was assembling the house.  Using a dowel rod, we slid the small cupcake on top of the larger one, being careful not to completely ruin all of the work we just did!  B spread the pink frosting on top of each cupcake as the roof.  Sprinkles added a little something special, as did the candied dots on the window and door trim.   To finalize the house, grass was added.  I think this is my favorite cake I’ve made so far.  It is too cute!

Thanks B for your help and wanting to make me a fabulous cake!  And thanks to my very good friends who joined me on Saturday for a pre-birthday celebration.  Dinner, drinks and birthday cake.  What could be better?!  The celebration was one to remember, and I know there are only more to come!  

Dedicated to J

The best cousin ever sent me an amazing gift, a KitchenAid Mixer!  Seriously, there is no better gift a baker could ask for than a new stand mixer.  Mine was on the fritz, and this one arrived just in time.  I cannot thank you, J, enough!  This one goes out to you.

In honor of the new stand mixer, and the fall season that is suddenly upon us (or am I just slow to admit summer is gone?), I made pumpkin cupcakes with a maple cream cheese frosting.


This KitchenAid beats and mixes so smoothly and fast, it is truly amazing.  The batter came out a smooth texture, perfectly mixed in minutes.  I think it was my fastest batch of cupcakes yet!





Once the cupcakes cooled, I made a maple cream cheese frosting.  The final product was super moist, with the perfect amount of pumpkin flavor.  






The maple syrup added an extra hint of sweetness to the cream cheese frosting.  


The perfect fall sweet treat!