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

Swimming in Frosting!

No how-to's this week!  I will give you a photo-filled post with all the cakes I've been working on lately. :)

First, I had my niece's birthday.  She wanted a guitar cake that matched her own guitar for her 50's themed party.

Then, I made a fun zebra cake for a girl at work to surprise her daughter on her birthday.

Then my other niece picked out a cake in a magazine for me to use for her candy themed birthday party.





Sunday I helped host a baby shower with the girls from our Life Group at church.  This cake matches the bedding she picked out.

So, I guess you could say I've stayed a little busy lately.  I'm excited about the cakes I have coming up.  I'll keep you posted.

Side note: I went to see Hairspray with Jenny Saturday night at The Rep.  It was soooo fun!!!  If you are in the area over the next few weeks, you should go!

I hope you all have a great week!

Sarah



Breakfast? Snack? Both...

I have really enjoyed using my KitchenAid mixer I got for Christmas.  I'm always looking for an excuse to make something with it.  I found a really simple quick bread recipe that is so yummy! 

Marbled Cinnamon Sugar Quick Bread
(adapted from food.com)

I doubled the recipe and made one regular size loaf and four mini loaves.  I'm leaving it as a single recipe on this post to make it easy. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350° and grease and flour a 9x5x3" loaf pan.

Mix 1/3 cup sugar and cinnamon together and set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt and remaining 1 cup sugar in a large bowl.

Combine egg, milk and oil and add to flour mixture.

Stir until moistened.

Pour half the batter into prepared loaf pan.

Sprinkle with half the cinnamon sugar mixture.

Repeat with remaining batter and cinnamon mixture, then draw a knife through batter to marble.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

Wrap and store bread overnight before slicing.

Breakfast is served... Enjoy! :)

Sarah