Birthday Cakes Everywhere!!

This first cake was a white cake with rasberry creme filling. I made the marshmallow fondant and had a great time making Nemo and his Dad. My dentist's daughter Nisha turned 2 and loves anything and everything fishy. This seemed like a natural fit. I purposely made the ocean fondant thicker than normal so it would look like water at the bottom of the cake. I also set the cake on a larger cake round to be able to add more things to the "ocean floor." I fashioned a "gone fishing" type sign out of white fondant and wrote "Happy Birthday Nisha!"

This was a birthday cake for a one year old that I know. Ellie was more excited with the fondant #1 than the cake. It was a 3 layer chocolate fudge cake with milk chocolate butter cream filling and icing. The fondant was homemade using the marshmallow fondant recipe that I like so much. I also made coordinating chocolate cupcakes with light pink butter cream and chocolate sprinkles. Eventhough little Ellie was feeling a bit icky from the flu---everyone had a great time at the party!

Lollipop...Lollipop...

I have been blessed with an amazing church...we have a fantastic youth ministry that is growing and changing everyday. This month they are going through a series called "Gospel Journey Maui---the students meet Wednesday and Thursday evenings for a video presentation and discussion. I asked our youth pastor if per chance he would like me to provide snacks for the students and adult leaders----food makes everything more fun...right??

This past week I made rice crispy treat "sushi" --- forgot to take pictures of it!! Yesterday was sugar cookie lollipops----patriotic ones of course! The concept is very simple and can be used with refrigerated dough like Pillsbury or your favorite homemade recipe. Keep in mind that if you use store bought dough it will have more spread. Once you have your dough, dye it with gel food coloring (more vibrant color is achieved that way), roll "snakes" and twist them into one long rope, then coil the rope into a circle. I pressed them down on to the silpat lined cookie sheet to get a better round shape, inserted the wooden stick and then baked at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

To jazz them up and make an easier treat for traveling we covered them with a cellophane bag and tied it with some red curling ribbon.

Happy 4th of July!!!

The "Dude" Cake

We had a unique problem this weekend at Hey Cupcake. I had promised a young man that I would make a birthday cake for him. He as seen some horrible things in his young life and when he asked me to bake him a birthday cake, I was honored. He only had one request, and that was for his cake to be a "dude" cake and not girly at all. Okay --- a dude cake shouldn't be that hard...right??? Houston we had a problem...

Our problem was like an octopus...it had many arms...first I had injured myself the previous week, breaking a toe which made standing difficult. Second, I had had micro surgery on a molar in my mouth the day before, as well as 5 fillings and some reconstruction on my front teeth---translation: I was down. The last two problems were probably the most problematic of all---it was 104 degrees in Sunny Northern California yesterday, making the kitchen were we work in a hot box---not at all the primo conditions for fondant work. The last problem was we didn't have a clue what to make!

After scouring the internet for pictures of what could possibly be considered a "Dude" cake, we sat staring at each other without a clue. I had baked and frosted a 3 layer chocolate cake, it was waiting for us in the freezer. Meg made two batches of fondant...it sat waiting to be colored on the counter. Finally a thought came to us...something not "Birthday" at all...something silly and fun. How about a hamburger...we did have a 3 layer cake, although it was frosted together at that point. We did a bit of cake surgery and split it apart. We both dyed the fondant the appropriate colors and set to construction. It went amazingly well, the fondant was very warm and sticky towards the end...but all in all I think we did a great job.

Happy Birthday Dude!!! Have some cake!!

One Million Little Cakes

In all honesty it was more like 400 little cakes---but after filling, dipping, dipping again and then finally decorating...it felt like a million.

I catered a Ladies Tea two weeks back. Our menu consisted of Crustless Quiche, Petit Fours (lemon, double vanilla & strawberry), fresh fruit, mocha truffles, cupcake bonbons and butter cookies. I found a new love in candy melts---they coat like a dream and are available at my local grocery store in bulk. One problem with them is you cannot use gel or liquid coloring on the white melts---they will sieze---HORRIBLY, I might add. Michaels carried the 3 colors that I needed, other colors are available online. We also made all the top fruit decorations out of fondant. It was tedious work, but they made the petit fours look so much nicer.

After the tea was over, I sat back for awhile and rested, knowing I had completed a job well done...then 4 days later I slammed my foot into the metal leg of our futon...and broke my toe.

Cinco de Mayo...Hey Cupcake Style

Cinco de Mayo was yesterday, I thought I would do something silly and make cookie tacos.

The shells were made from pizelles that we hung over dowels and as they cooled the bent into the taco shell form. For the meat I made a simple chocolate brownie cookie, ground it in the food processor and then added some vanilla butter cream to make it hold together.

Every great taco has lettuce, cheese, sour cream and tomatoes...for the lettuce I rolled green gum drops out with my hand crank pasta roller, the sour cream was marshmallow cream, the tomatoes were cut up Swedish Fish and the cheese was vanilla candy melts dyed with orange coloring gel.

Amazing they were very well received!!

The Littlest Petshop...

Today is a special day...my dear friend Valerie turns 11 years old. Valerie is funny, great to hang out with and really awesome at Wii!! She has lived next door to us since she was about 2 years old, my first memory of her is her constant asking me "What's your Name?"

A couple of weeks ago she was playing Wii while I happened to be making cupcakes. I asked her if she would like me to make her birthday cake, knowing that was coming up quickly. After checking with her parents and getting a design theme figured out ---we settled on the octopus from the "Littlest Petshop" line of toys.

Our octopus proved to be a challenge to make entirely in fondant----so she was first constructed in foil and then covered in fondant. Other than the foil she is completely fondant and edible. Valerie's cake request was simple, vanilla cake, vanilla icing. We decorated the cake with corresponding polka dots and a magenta banner.

Happy Birthday Valerie---you are one in a million!

A Trader Joes Inspiration...

It's funny how sometimes the strangest things become and inspiration. Today I made an 8 layer cake frosted with chocolate buttercream---sort of a knock off of a cake I saw on Bakerella's site back in February. I didn't have enough parchment paper to do all 14 layers, so I made as many as I could...8.

I had originally thought I would frost the cake with buttercream and then add a fondant bow and ribbons, like in the previous cake. I really wanted to give the fondant covered cake another go ---so I made yet another batch of marshmallow fondant and dyed it "Tiffany Blue."

As I was looking around at my horribly messy kitchen I noticed a package of Trader Joe's Blueberry Bran Muffins, the label was blue and brown with a leaf and twig design. I did it in reverse --brown on blue. I am getting a better feel for fondant work---although it still scares me just a bit.

If Cupcakes Had Babies...

You would get baby cupcakes of course!! Aren't these the cutest things on the planet?? I am catering a ladies tea in 2 weeks and needed something sweet and small.

I used my mini muffin tin and baked the cake in heaping tablespoon fulls.I used a yellow cake, I think I will go with a white cake next time. I filled them with a mixture of fresh strawberry curd and vanilla butter cream. I piped plain vanilla butter cream on the tops.

Then we made the little strawberries out of fondant dyed green and red. Perfect for a tea party, or just to pop in your mouth!

A Tale of Two Cakes

Friday was a crazy mixed up day. It was the day that I was going to make a "gift box" cake for a client. She really wanted a cake made of fondant like she had seen on "Ace of Cakes," but she was unaware that fondant can taste nasty and is usually taken off before the cake is eaten. I found a recipe for marshmallow fondant that tasted great --- we made it on Thursday afternoon and colored it in the evening. Everything was in place to bake and decorate a fantastic cake...

Friday morning the cake layers were baked off and the raspberry creme filling was made. I filled the cake and crumb iced it---freezing it for just a bit to firm it up. After applying the fondant we noticed that the cake was starting to fall and lean a bit. We tried to firm it up in the freezer, but fondant and freezers don't play well together. It was a "cake wreck" a true disaster. So we started again...buttercream this time.

The cake turned out fantastic, the only fondant on it was the bow and ribbons---the rest of the cake is iced and decorated in colored buttercream. I prefer buttercream over fondant at this point...maybe someday I will try again!

Nests of Milk Chocolate

I needed a an Easter cupcake for a client. She wanted something for her grandchildren, but also wanted to keep them from looking like "mega mart" cupcakes. We found this idea on the web.

I took it a step further and filled the milk chocolate cupcake with a smooth milk chocolate filling, topping it with a white chocolate cream cheese icing. I shaved the "twigs" off of a large brick of milk chocolate. The birds eggs were Cadberry Mini Eggs--they have wonderful pastel colors and a matte finish.

We were very happy with the outcome!

Who Needs Starbucks!!!

Triple Chocolate Coffee cupcakes with Mocha Creme Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Icing---honestly who needs the drive thru??

I wanted a cupcake that tasted like Mocha Chip Ice Cream, or better yet a Frappachino. I started with a Betty Crocker triple chocolate cake mix, substituted cold coffee for the water. I filled the cupcake papers with 1/4 cup batter each. Once they had cooled, I took out the centers with of all things my microplane nutmeg grater . Filled them with buttercream filling that had been laced with instant coffee powder. I made a deep chocolate buttercream, piped that on with a large star tip, grated white chocolate and coffee beans over the top and added a chocolate dipped coffee bean.

Serious buzz off these---and they look amazing!

A Seussical Birthday Indeed!!

About a year ago I stumbled upon this cake at "Zoe Bakes" a baking blog I read frequently. Zoe had made it for a friend. My daughter's birthday had already passed, but she wanted the exact same cake for her 17th birthday.

I had never worked with rolled fondant before, so at Zoe's recommendation I used Wilton premade fondant. The 17 was made of gum paste with the dragees "glued" to it with royal icing. We made the flowers of gum paste that was colored to match the dots. There were a few mis-steps along the way. Next time I use fondant I will make my own --- it will be edible that way. Wilton fondant does not have a great flavor, and we ended up peeling it off.

The concept behind a fondant covered cake is pretty cool actually, you get a smooth and seamless look on the outside. When in actuality the cake is covered in a wonderful butter cream icing underneath...you peel away the fondant and you are good to go.

It was also my first time with a tiered cake, I learned a few things, would change it up next time..all in all it worked out and she was happy.

And that was the most important thing.

Cupcakes, Crowns and One Awesome Dentist!

I have an amazing dentist, he is kind, gentle, courteous and gosh darned fun to be around. I also have genetically horrible teeth, which in turn makes me a regular to root canals, crowns and the other major dental procedures that make the regular person shudder. The gals at the office know me, and understand my quirky sense of humor. In general we all have a great time. Today I went in for a crown after having a root canal 2 weeks ago. The procedure was quick and painless.

To thank the office, I came home and whipped them up a batch of cupcakes. White cake filled with homemade lemon curd and iced with a cream cheese butter cream. I garnished them with lemon zest, grated white chocolate and edible glitter.

Just my way of saying thank you to a marvelous dentist and his awesome team.

Thanks guys...see you in a few weeks!!

Bread Rising Baskets

Ever since reading the Bread Bible and Breads from the LaBrea Bakery, I wanted bread rising baskets. These baskets are not necessary in making artisan bread. I have had wonderful breads that were risen the more traditional way. For some reason---I just had to have them. Unfortunately, their cost was prohibitive---I think they were in the $30 range---each. So I made due with what I had.

The idea behind them is simple: on the dough's final rise, you place it in a well floured basket and cover it with a cloth. The baskets are made from willow branches that have their bark removed. The loose construction allows air to circulate and give the dough a better rise.

Once the dough reaches the top, you then dust it with cornmeal and carefully invert the dough onto a pizza peel. You then bake your bread on a pizza stone until done. I have used simple recipes from the bread machine, to very complex ones that take 3 days to "build".

Last summer I gave in and purchased my bread rising baskets at SurLaTable in Carmel, California. We were on a quick vacation and I splurged. I am so very glad I finally did.

One thing is for certain, no matter what the recipe, the bread rising basket makes a very beautiful loaf of bread.

Pizzelles

Please welcome Violet...my guest blogger for the day. Violet is going to show you how to make some Pizzelles...a very easy cookie to make. Thanks Violet for sitting in for me---W

I'm not the best cook in world, my family often calls me Miss Measure because I hardly ever make something without mis-measuring at least one of the ingredients. The only exception to the rule is with cookies. I can generally make a batch of cookies, even difficult ones, without messing them up too badly.

I love all kinds of cookies, but one of my favorites is Pizzelles, because they are very simple to make and they look really impressive. Pizzelles are Italian butter cookies, cooked in a waffle iron. The dough is similar to a quick bread dough in that it is sticky like a batter doesn't form a ball like a normal cookie dough.

Pizzelle irons work on the same premise as a waffle iron, they are easy to use and readily available at most cooking stores. They're are pretty much plug and play. Once the iron heats up a light will turn on, load the iron with a rounded tablespoon of dough in each compartment shut the iron and wait for the Pizzelles to cook. The light will turn on again when the Pizzelles are done. Be careful when you use it, because some irons run hot and will burn the Pizzelles if you leave them in for the full cooking time. If you find that your Pizzelles are black when the light turns on, then take them out early.

In order to get a complete circle you need to over fill the molds a little so the dough reaches to the edges. The Pizzelles will have extra dough on the edges, but there's a way to fix that.

As you can see to remove the Pizzelles from the iron I use a fancy Italian tool called a butter knife. I'm sure there is some special way to do it, but I've found that butter knives work best because they are small and don't tear the cookies.

If you want to clean up the edges so that the Pizzelles are a perfect circle, while the cookies are still warm, carefully cut the extra edges off with kitchen shears.

And in case you wondered the extra edges make a super delicious snack!

Pizzelles-- simple to make, look impressive, super delicious!

White Mountain Frosting---The Recipe

White Mountain Frosting is really just an Italian Meringue. The technique is fairly straight forward, beat egg whites until stiff with cream of tartar. Adding a hot sugar syrup to the mixture, which cooks the whites, resulting in a lovely stable marshmallow cream frosting. Here you go Lisa and Mariam...the recipe!

If you per chance have left over frosting...you can pipe (or drop by the spoonful) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat, bake at 225 degrees for 2 hours, then let cool in the oven for another 3 hours--Presto Magico...Meringue Cookies!

White Mountain Frosting (adapted from Cooking Light)

4 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

Dash of salt

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract
(other extracts such as lemon or coconut can also be used, decrease vanilla to 1/2 tsp and use 1/2 tsp of your desire extract)

Place egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or other large mixing bowl--taking care NOT to use plastic. Beat with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 250 degrees. Pour hot syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed. Stir in extract.

White Mountain Icing...

Makes me smile.

Leftover Frosting...Throw it Out???

After making the Elmo cake --- I found I had too much colored icing left over. This was just a bit of what was left, I also had 2 piping bags full in the fridge. What do do???

It dawned on me sometime in during the afternoon on Sunday...ladybugs were red and black, how about making a quick batch of ladybug cupcakes? Violet iced them for me this time as my wrist was acting up. They were delivered to my dear friend G this afternoon---much to her 3 boy's delight.

In these tough economic times...it is just a waste to throw out good icing.

Elmo Cake

Elmo isn't exactly a cupcake...if he was he wouldn't feed 30 people!

A friend of mine asked me to make a cake for his son's 2nd birthday. What he and his wife wanted was an Elmo face cake. This is the first character cake I have ever attempted, I was nervous that the outcome would be something that E and K wouldn't be happy with. Wilton makes a pan for this, but in usual Hey Cupcake fashion, we decided to make our own pan and place Elmo on top of a sheet cake.

The cast of characters was simple and rather basic, I used cake mixes with the instructions found on the Betty Crocker website for a wedding or tiered cake. You use a bit less water, egg whites instead of whole eggs and a small amount of oil. I added lemon zest to change up the flavor just a bit. It will get rid of the commercial cake mix taste very well.

As with a normal cake mix, it is basically "dump" and go. All ingredients in the recipe for the cake go in the bowl of my stand mixer. I love my mixer--I actually have 2, but that is a story for another time. The cake was mixed on high for 2 minutes. I was careful to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times as well.

Elmo needed to have eyes and a nose that were separate from the rest of his face. I improvised and used my ebelskiver pan for the eyes and a 1/4 cup measure for his nose. Both "pans" were sprayed with cooking spray and floured.

I poured the batter in each well of the pan and then the measuring cup nose as well.

I was a bit over zealous with the cake batter and had to remove about half from each well. The last thing I wanted was a bunch of "eyes" that were stuck together.

This is the cake pan that M formed out of an aluminum 8 inch cake pan, that we bought for a whopping 29 cents at a craft store. Much more cost effective than a 20 dollar Wilton pan that we would most likely never use again. It was also sprayed and floured before the batter was poured in.

Once the eyes and nose were done, I removed them from the pan to cool on a rack.

Now that the cakes were done, it was time to concentrate on the icing. I made a basic butter cream icing and then dyed it the appropriate Elmo colors. First softened butter goes in the stand mixer bowl.

Then I added cream cheese and vanilla, beat it until it was well incorporated. Sometimes I add the vanilla at this stage, sometimes I wait until later...just depends on my mood.

Next, I added the powdered sugar, this time I slowly beat it into the butter mixture, amazingly ---there was no powdered sugar all over the cupboard.

I thinned the frosting just a bit with Half & Half, to make it easier to spread.

One side note, if you are using red food coloring, make sure to get the "no taste" red. For some reason the other red tastes horrible---I'm not sure I want to know what they put in it!

For everything that needs food coloring, we use Wilton Gel Colors. The gel coloring is easy to use, and the colors are more vibrant. It will take much more liquid coloring to get the desired hue, I think it is probably cheaper in the long run. One small jar costs $1.54 at Walmart.

I stirred orange and black in to separate bowls to make the colors for Elmo's eyes and nose.

Looks kinda cool like a spider web.

I then "crumb coated" the eyes and nose. Crumb coating is the first layer of frosting in a decorated cake. The main purpose of this is, once a cake is crumb coated with icing---any stray crumbs you may have are locked into the cold frosting.

This is the sheet cake before the crumb coating.

This is the crumb coating being applied...not really rocket science.

This is Elmo's crumb coating, he was more of a salmon color at first, once it sat for a bit the red coloring became much deeper and a truer red. I also added just a touch of black at the suggestion of a dear friend who has had some experience with red paint.

Once Elmo's eyes and nose were crumb coated, I froze them. Once they had hardened I smoothed the icing to give them more of a fondant look. Then I piped the black pupils on the eyes. I made several eyes as back up in case of a disaster. We ate them later on.

We piped "fur" instead of the stars in the Wilton instructions. It was much more Elmo-ish.

A thick layer of white butter cream went on the sheet cake.

Once all the pieces were complete, I placed Elmo on top of the frosted sheet cake and attempted to write Happy Birthday on top...it took 2 tries.

I was not exactly thrilled with the writing, but it worked out okay in the end.

Adding the 2nd helped quite a bit.

Elmo complete and in his cake box, ready for the party!