Not a Cake, but Oh So Good

I couldn't help myself. This Irish Soda Bread turned out so beautiful. I added cherries and almond extract. My house smelled wonderful. My guests had already arrived, so they got to have it piping hot out of the oven. This was my second attempt. A couple of weeks back I tried and it turned out hard as a rock. I had to drench it in honey and butter (not too terribly awful :) This time I just barely stirred it (with my hands) until it was completely mixed. Then I only turned over twice to make sure the dough was covered enough with flour to move it to the baking stone. Finally, I washed it down with egg and cream. And I followed my nose. The suggested baking time was way too long. I'm excited to see what other kinds of Soda Bread I can make.

Coming next...

I have the pics from my Red Velvet and Hershey's cakes; I've just misplaced the camera. Also, requested by my dear friend Brandy, Carrot Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling.

St.Patty's Day Lucky Charm Cake

I'm finally getting back to my computer after all the family has come and gone. We had a great time, but a proper hostess probably shouldn't submit to her computer addiction. Not the best form of entertainment. Anyway...

I got to make my first Topsy Turvy cake. I whipped up a white cake recipe and swirled in green. The cake was covered in a white buttercream with green shamrocks stensiled on. I found a recipe for homemade candy jewels and placed them all over the cake. On the top I piped a traditional Irish knot design. The luster dust didn't work out the way I was expecting, but there was still a pretty sheen all over the cake. Over all it was about three batches of cake. What the websites did not mention was how to cut a topsy turvy cake. You don't cut it like you would a regular round cake. The pieces start to fall off to the sides. I have a little more research to do. If you find directions on how to do this, please feel free to relay them.

Let's Give It A Go

Hello and thank you for stopping at my site. My name is Carolyn. I am a amatuer cake decorator, job-searching stay-at-home-mother of two beautiful, rambunctious children and wife of 7 years to Jeremiah. I'm starting this blog for a few reasons. I hope this to be the beginning of a great adventure where I can show you my talents and you can give feedback and advice. I look forward to new challenges. And by that I mean, tell me about your upcoming event and let's see what fun, spontaneous, hit the nail on the head creation we can come up with! If you see a cake, cupcake or dessert on TV, in a magazine or book, and want it for your birthday, anniversary, shower, etc., then that's what we'll do. I'll stop here for now and upload a few photos. Come back soon though; I'm very excited for my "Lucky Charm" and "Stained Glass Window" cakes next week! I picked up the molds, spray paints and food colorings today!

p.s. I will have three test cakes to offer by Wednesday or Thursday.

This was my daughter's 5th Birthday Cake. She wanted chocolate cake with chocolate filling. I layered a 9" round with a bowl cake and shaped it to look like a strawberry laying down. The strawberry candies on the sides are strawberry coconut candies, a recipe my aunt had passed to me.

My first German Chocolate cake from scratch.

Denise took this Prelines and Cream Carrot Cake to her Thanksgiving dinner. I was told family members literally came to take the leftovers with barely a hello. She'll have to keep the next one a secret.

My dad also requested German Chocolate for his birthday. It is covered in chocolate buttercream. I was very sad that I had piped the letters ahead of time in semi-sweet chocolate so that they could cool, harden and stand up, only to have them fall out of the fridge as the door opened. Do over.

My very first Fondant Cake, for Denise's birthday. I invited her over to my house this time so she could keep the cake all to herself. Raves all around though.

This cake was a ton of fun! I saw a picture on coolest-birthday-cakes.com. I think I got the call on Wednesday or Thursday to have it Saturday at noon. I searched high and low for a Thomas candle, but ended calling the mom back to ask for a figurine. There are no Thomas candles in the stores anymore. She was very impressed. I came super close to the original picture: http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/coolest-thomas-the-train-cake-103.html

Karolina did not want "a bunch of frosting" so I suggested fruit fillings, maybe a torte. Above is a Vanilla Chiffon cake with Raspberry and Strawberry fillings, perfectly complimented with a Lemon Mousse. Three-fourths of it was gone between 4 or 5 of us before I left the party. She said it was finished off before bed.

For my MyOmahaMommies group, I wanted to make something special for Valentine's Day. I made a chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting and a chocolate truffle nestled on top. Heaven in your mouth truffles. I could easily take up truffle making along-side my cakes.

My mom loves lemon cake. Here we have one with Lemon pudding filling and topping and lemon buttercream. Lemon Layered Supreme

Lots to bake this week. I shall return.