Come Fly with Me

I had a cake to make for For Goodness Cakes for 1 year old twins.  I was just going to do something simple, like blue polka dots or something, since they were babies.  When I started getting things together, I remembered my odd obsession with cookie cutters.  Collecting cookie cutters is not weird, unless you've noticed the lack of cookie posts I've made.  That's right, I don't really bake cookies, but I am always getting new cutters!!  Well, they're not just for cutting cookie dough.  I like to use them with fondant.... So that's when I started to piece together my idea for this cake.  I'm really happy with it!

The fluffy clouds make me smile. :)

Sarah

Woo Pig Sooie!

Woooooooooooooooooo Pig! Sooie!

I LOVE football season!  It is my favorite season of the year!  To celebrate the first game, I made these cute razorback cupcakes.  They were so much fun! (and quite tasty, if I'm allowed to say...)  I am now obsessed with my new buttercream frosting, so this was a good one to load it on!

GO HOGS!

Sarah

Pop!

I just finished an order for 45 cake pops... Phew!  It was actually a lot of fun, and I learned a lot. :)  That seems to be a reoccuring theme with my cooking/baking.  But that's what keeps it interesting, huh?  Not only did I make the cake pops, but I made the display box, as well. 

And there just happened to be a couple extras.... ;)

Funfetti :)

I like to call it "quality control".  I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do!

Sarah

Oh My Ganache!

I just had a delicious lunch....

I have found a new favorite chocolate cake recipe!!  It's sooo yummy!  It is double chocolate; I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips in it.  This is also my very first bundt cake.  I made a Ghiradelli chocolate ganache to pour over the chocolate cake and added chocolate covered strawberries for a fancy touch.  

I guess to be a nice blogger, I should share my recipes, huh? :)


The Best Chocolate Cake Ever
Check out Kevin and Amanda's Blog

1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 small pkg Jello instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a very large bowl, mix together everything except chocolate chips. Batter will be thick. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into cake pan of choice.

For cooking time, I use the cooking times on the back of the devil’s food cake box as a guide and usually add 10 mins to whatever it says. Then I do the toothpick check, and if it’s not done, I check on it every 5 mins after that. 

Chocolate Ganache
I randomly found this while google-ing. :)

3 oz  bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tablespoon corn syrup
1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter

In a small saucepan, bring the cream to a boil. In a heatproof bowl, combine the remaining 3 ounces of chopped chocolate with the corn syrup and butter. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let stand until melted, about 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.

Pour the ganache over the cooled cake.Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving.


You will not regret making this.  It's actually very easy, so impress somebody!  I did the strawberries the simple way... melted chocolate bark and dipped.  That's it!

Enjoy!

Sarah

Happy Birthday, Dixie!

My Grandparent's puppy, Dixie, had a birthday last week.  Since my Mom was on her way to visit them, Grey (my puppy) and I decided to send her a cake. :)  I have made Grey puppy-friendly sweets before, but this one was for humans only... but we decorated it for her.

Mom helped me design it.  We made the border a leash.  I was so excited to use my new luster dust!  Coolest. Stuff. Ever.  That's how we got the buckle of the leash to look like metal.

I have a fabulous Mom who traveled all morning with this cake box.  The cake was able to have it's own seat on the first leg of the flight. haha

The cake under the seat during take-off and landing for safety.  :) :)

And finally, the best Mom ever, letting the cake sit on her lap for the last part of the trip.

I haven't seen a picture of it since it made it to Grandma and Granddad's, so hopefully it made it without much turbulence damage. ;)  Thank you, Mom, for agreeing to take the cake all the way to Indiana!!  You're the Best!

I hope you enjoyed the adventure of my furthest delivery!

Sarah

Hippity Hop Hop

Easter's... already past, but I'm still eating my candy, so I'm still allowed to post about Easter, right? :)

I made a few Easter cakes and cookies, and I wanted to share them with you.  We were headed to my parents' house, so I was able to do some "long distance" deliveries. :)  It was very nice of our friends from home to think of me.

The first was an order for Peep cupcakes; pretty straight forward, but I loved the colors with the Peeps on top!

I made a fondant-covered cake with glittery Easter eggs around the edge for our friend's first grandbaby.

I also made a strawberry Easter cake with fresh strawberries between the layers... B and I almost ate this one before delivering it. :/

I also enjoyed making treats for our family and my brother-in-law's family.  I made bunny cookies for the Easter Bunny to put in our baskets ;), egg cookies to be used as place cards at lunch, and flower cookie cupcake toppers.  Sugar overload?  I'll let the family answer that one.

This was my first try at decorating with royal icing, so I know I have a long way to go, but I really enjoyed it.  I'll definitely be trying it out again.

I hope you all had a great Easter!  We had a lot of fun hanging out with our family, going to church together, and having a wonderful lunch... and desserts. :)  Oh, and of course we had an Easter egg hunt, too!  

Have a great week, everybody!

Sarah

Baking Bucket List

Before I get started, I need to tell you how excited I am about my first blog shout-out!  Elizabeth, from Many Faithful Journeys, shared my blog with her readers.  You should check her out!  I love her humor, her take on life, and her pugs are just the cutest. :)

Ok, so this is a work in progress, but I figured I should put it in writing (or at least virtual writing) so I'll get started.  The following is a "bucket list" of things I want to bake/cook.  I know the best goals have a deadline, but for now, I don't.  I want this to be something I enjoy and not something I stress over.  So here's what I've got for now.  Please comment any suggestions for additions to the list.  Thanks! :)

* Macarons

* Woven pie crust

* Wedding Cake

* Petits Fours

* Granny's Rolls

* Pizza Dough

I know this is short... I want to hear your ideas.  What's on your list?  Or what is something you are proud of for making?

I couldn't post without a pictures, so I guess I chose this one because I was excited to learn how to make calla lilies, our wedding flower. :)
Looking forward to hearing from YOU!

Sarah