tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75094606598245345092024-02-20T15:23:07.688-05:00adventures in frosting:how to fake a cake for your weddingCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-56693998849162426152008-10-30T07:12:00.000-04:002008-10-30T14:51:41.651-04:00...and the wedding recapWell my friends, as promised, here are the rest of the pics from our busy wedding weekend.<br /><br />In case you missed it, the wedding cupcakes you see here are the culmination of a whole year's worth of study and practice in all things cake related. (This was cupcake armageddon! My big TAA-DAAAAH!)<br /><br />All in all, I was very proud of how the cupcakes turned out. I thought they looked nearly professional and people simply raved about the flavor. I wish I had counted how many times I heard "you MADE these?!" during the evening, but I was too busy dancing and sipping champagne! Do you know that we didn't have a single cupcake leftover after the wedding reception? How often does that happen? So yeah, I think I'm going to call this one a success! Hooray!<br /><br /><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">CaraCakes' Spicy Fall Wedding Cuppycakes </span></em></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><em><span style="font-size:130%;">with Pumpkin Cream Cheese filling and Maple Buttercream Icing<br /></span></em></strong></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">If you want the recipe, <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html">here's the link back to the original post</a>.<br />I did make one or two adjustments to the recipe for the final go-round. I added a bit more pumpkin to the pumpkin cream cheese filling and doubled the maple flavor in the icing to 1t. just to make the flavor more pronounced.<br /><br />And without further ado, the pics:<br /><br />Ladies and gentlemen, gather your spices!<br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SO6chQVcN_I/AAAAAAAAA34/29qeJ1A94sM/s400/IMG_6105.JPG" /></img><br /><br />Beating the cream cheese and butter for the filling. Obviously this is a double batch...<br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SO6cik_MnCI/AAAAAAAAA4A/dwACd8LjlLI/s400/IMG_6106.JPG" /></img><br /><br />Mmmmmm pumpkinny orange color<br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SO6ckKVy0pI/AAAAAAAAA4I/y2-L4ZU-J7I/s400/IMG_6107.JPG" /></img><br /><br />Here are a couple tricks I've learned when making cupcakes you have to carry somewhere. 1) Line the bottom of a cake box with a cake board or cardboard to make the box more sturdy. 2) Fill and frost the cupcakes INSIDE the box! You can fold up the sides of the box after you're done filling and frosting, and then you don't have to worry about smearing the frosting as you're trying to get them nestled in their places.<br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SO6cl0yf6nI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/XUnhB5Ul634/s400/IMG_6108.JPG" /></img> </div><br />Of course I had to sample one! Really, it was just to get the pic for you. Really it was. I could have eaten all 96 of them just like this, but everyone else wanted frosting. Sigh.<br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SO6cpupONMI/AAAAAAAAA4g/-SuEcZrSj8s/s400/IMG_6111.JPG" /></img><br /><br />Through the cake box window, 24 swirly frosted cuppies.<br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SO6cssq-a3I/AAAAAAAAA4w/eefDI3cEfzk/s400/IMG_6113.JPG" /></img><br /><br />A closeup of a sparkly fondant leaf. Remember my <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/03/first-fondant-lesson-check.html">friend from up North</a> who does lots of gorgeous cakes? She volunteered to make all the fondant leaves for me as a wedding gift so I wouldn't have to worry about decorations and I could just focus on the cupcakes. Didn't she do an amazing job? These are all colored, cut, shaped and sparkled by hand!<br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SO6cwm53CCI/AAAAAAAAA5M/wlc0IAiHn1U/s400/large.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The finished product!<br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/_NiiRUMQQhrk/SOtbpJ3y8jI/AAAAAAAACFI/UgvQ3sq5lEo/s400/DSC_0106%20%281%29.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Last but not least... big smiles all around!<br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_V8KV5rr5r3Q/SQoBLLO8p0I/AAAAAAAAA_A/qVcWKTTaPp0/s400/cupcakes.jpg" /></img><br /><br />So with a big sigh of relief, there it is. I'd love to hear what you thought of the project, the final results, and any of the other projects I have attempted and displayed here for you over the last year.<br /><br />So is this the end of the blog? I really don't think so. I'm kind of on a bite-sized dessert kick now. I'm sure in our new location, life will call for cupcakes (maybe Air Force cupcakes?) and I promise to keep updating you on my adventures in frosting!<br /><br />Love,<br />CaraCakesCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-55190865041846730142008-10-28T06:37:00.000-04:002008-10-28T11:06:05.067-04:00Finally!Hello again,<br />I bet you thought you'd lost me? Well, the weekend after our wedding my new hubby and I packed up and moved to Scott Air Force Base in Illinois for a new 2 year assignment, and with all the moving mayhem, I have just recently recovered (unpacked) my camera and all the wedding pics. So I apologize for the belated post, but I promise it will be worth the wait!<br /><br />Ok, first things first! Back in September when I made the cherry chocolate chip cupcakes for the <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/09/triple-play-birthday.html">Triple Play Birthday</a> post, my hubby decided he liked the flavor so much that he wanted me to make those for the wedding instead of my Pumpkin Spice cupcake recipe that I had been working on all year! Yikes! What to do? I tried convincing him that cherry chocolate chip wasn't a fall-themed flavor, but when my argument fell flat, I opted for a compromise - I'd just make both! Why not have a Harley themed groom's cake with a flavor he really loves for our family bbq on Friday, and have my pumpkin spice cupcakes for the big reception on Saturday? That's a LOT of cupcakes, but it's the best of both worlds!<br /><br />So Wednesday, I set about making the Cherry Chip recipe. You can read all about the recipe and see pics of the work in progress in the September post. Hubby liked them with chocolate frosting instead of the cherry vanilla in the recipe, so that's what I went with. And yes, I used canned chocolate frosting (you know me by now!). It was easier for me, and since the cupcakes were from scratch I figured I could cheat on the frosting a bit.<br /><br />In going with our Harley-themed bbq, I used silver wrappers for the cupcakes, along with some silver and black Harley picks I purchased online and a Hog cake topper. I made 2 batches of cupcakes and used one more batch of batter to bake a 6" round as a cutting cake. I split the cake into 2 layers and frosted the middle, and decorated the whole thing with maraschino cherry halves. The final touches were milk- and white- chocolate motorcycles made with molds I purchased <a href="http://www.cakeartpartystore.com/store/default.asp?idAffiliate=">here</a> and dusted with edible silver luster dust. Here are the pics!<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SPeEdrlfsyI/AAAAAAAAA6o/vK-RDS8k0Xk/s400/IMG_6133.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SO6cxzRdagI/AAAAAAAAA5U/3P5G4_jTTBk/s400/large2.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SOPcA122QfI/AAAAAAAAAzA/6IgtER6J6kc/s400/IMG_6104.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SOPb99p8KQI/AAAAAAAAAyw/AhT4HGf9O5s/s400/IMG_6102.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SOPcu52ffFI/AAAAAAAAAzI/h2VGi5wRwKc/s400/IMG_6100-1.JPG" /></img><br /><br />The cupcakes went into the fridge and were still moist and delicious on Friday. If you're going to refrigerate these cupcakes, make sure you let them come to room temperature before you serve them. They are butter-recipe, and so they're really dense when they're cold. Otherwise, we were still eating the leftovers a week later and they tasted great!<br /><br />So that was round one for the wedding weekend. Round 2? Look for a post later this week. Stay tuned!<br /><br />Love,<br />CaraCakesCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-44530845359090196632008-10-07T09:00:00.006-04:002008-10-07T09:12:43.643-04:00Cupcake success, but where's my camera?!Well my friends, the big day has come and gone and the cupcake-ing was a big success! I made a groom's cake and 24 cupcakes, and the wedding cake and 96 cupcakes for that... and I have lots of great pics in my camera, which is nowhere to be found after all the mayhem this weekend!!! So until I can locate it, let me leave you with one pic of the finished wedding cake (which is what I know you want to see!) and a couple pics of the groom's cake and I will update later this week when I find my camera.<br /><br />Love,<br />CaraCakes<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SOtbpJ3y8jI/AAAAAAAACFI/pgZ1QP1ubrc/s800/DSC_0106%20%281%29.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SOPcA122QfI/AAAAAAAAAzA/6IgtER6J6kc/s400/IMG_6104.JPG" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SOPb_S17rHI/AAAAAAAAAy4/XhBT-URiuig/s400/IMG_6103.JPG" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SOPb99p8KQI/AAAAAAAAAyw/AhT4HGf9O5s/s400/IMG_6102.JPG" /></img>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-87915256285378771252008-10-01T16:26:00.003-04:002008-10-01T16:28:50.034-04:00Teaser!3 days left! 3 days left! It's almost here!!! Tomorrow is cupcake insanity day for your good pal CaraCakes... I'll be in the kitchen making 8 dozen wedding cuppycakes and a cutting cake for the top. Wish me luck, friends! This is where the rubber meets the road. Er, the spatula meets the frosting? In the meantime, here's a teaser of the project I did today... more to come!!!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SOPcu52ffFI/AAAAAAAAAzI/h2VGi5wRwKc/s400/IMG_6100-1.JPG" /></img><br /><br />Love,<br />CaraCakesCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-30076444760129351762008-09-14T09:22:00.004-04:002008-09-14T09:27:00.997-04:00Triple Play Birthday - post scriptHere's how it all turned out!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMuNZhVw_mI/AAAAAAAAB4Q/nLq8lHpqzvo/s400/IMG_6050.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMuNbOYnTVI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/d_BDlE36haQ/s400/IMG_6051.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMuNcuw_fwI/AAAAAAAAB4g/g_jnL0KTtus/s400/IMG_6052.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMuNeFPHxOI/AAAAAAAAB4o/zb2obfHD_4E/s400/IMG_6053.JPG" /></img><br /><br />The happy recipients!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMuNj2U_moI/AAAAAAAAB5I/8gu9QyAUL5I/s400/IMG_6057.JPG" /><br /></img>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-5554325925038131852008-09-12T18:34:00.003-04:002008-09-12T18:36:39.732-04:00Triple Play BirthdayMy fiance and I met while singing karaoke, and we have a whole group of friends who karaoke with us on a weekly (or so) basis. One night a month, we decorate our karaoke hangout with balloons and streamers and celebrate the birthdays of all the people in our group born that month. Tonight happens to be the night for our September birthdays and we have 3 people we're partying on behalf of. <em><span style="font-size:130%;color:#993399;">I think this calls for cupcakes!</span></em><br /><br />So Ron is a Red Sox fan, Miss B. is a 4th grade teacher, and Tim is a country fan and we call him Tumbleweed Tim. My ambitious project today was to make 2 dozen cupcakes (8 for each person) with themed fondant decorations. Not one to ever make it easy on myself, I thought it would also be a good day to try making a new recipe from SCRATCH, including both cupcakes and frosting. Yum!<br /><br />One of my favorite ice cream flavors is Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, a vanilla and cherry flavored ice cream with chocolate chips and chocolate covered cherry pieces floating around in all that chilly creamy goodness. Why, I've been thinking, should ice cream get to have all the fun? Why not a cuppycake? After searching online I found a couple recipes that were for chocolate cupcakes with cherry pie filling (which I really don't like), so I googled a bit more and discovered this recipe for cherry vanilla cupcakes with mini chocolate chips and pieces of maraschino cherries all chopped up inside. Fabulous! Grab the apron and let's get started!<br /><br /><em>Cherry-Chip Cupcakes</em> from <a href="http://www.massrecipes.com/recipes/02/06/cherrychipcupcakes338353.html">massrecipes.com</a> - makes 12 regular cupcakes<br /><br />1-1/3 cups flour<br />1 tsp. baking powder<br />1/4 cup milk<br />1/4 cup syrup from jar of maraschino cherries<br />1 tsp. vanilla extract<br />1/4 tsp. almond extract<br />1 stick butter or margarine, softened<br />2/3 cup sugar<br />2 eggs<br />1/2 cup semisweet chocolate mini-chips<br />1/4 cup finely chopped, drained maraschino cherries (14-20 cherries from a 10 oz. jar)<br /><br />Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 12 regular-size muffin cups or line with paper liners. Whisk flour and baking powder in a small bowl until blended. Put milk, cherry syrup and extracts in a cup. The mixture will probably curdle but it's nothing to worry about and it will not affect the cupcakes. In a medium-size bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on high speed about 1 minute until pale. Gradually add sugar and beat until fluffy. Reduce mixer speed to medium. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until blended. Reduce mixer speed to low. Alternately beat in flour and milk mixtures just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips and cherries. Spoon batter into prepared cups. Bake 20-25 minutes until the cupcakes are godlen and their tops spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes before removing to rack to cool completely. Spread top with Cherry-Vanilla Buttercream.<br /><br /><em>Cherry-Vanilla Buttercream<br /></em>1/2 stick butter or margarine, room temperature<br />1-3/4 cups powdered sugar<br />1/2 Tbs. vanilla extract<br />1 Tbs. milk<br />1 Tbs. cherry syrup from jar of maraschino cherries - this was my addition, in lieu of another Tbs. of milk. Makes the frosting pink and pretty! You can use milk if you like.<br /><br />Beat butter in a medium-size bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar alternately with milk and cherry syrup, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla until blended. if needed, add more milk, 1/2 Tbs. at a time, until buttercream is of spreading consistency. Makes about 1 cup.<br /><br />This was the first time I have tried a butter recipe cupcake instead of the regular eggs, water and oil, so as the batter came together I was surprised to find it very thick, almost somewhere between a pancake batter and a sugar cookie dough. My concern was unfounded, though, because as soon as the cuppies hit the oven, the butter began to melt and they began to resemble "real" (aka boxed) cupcakes. Since the recipe makes only 12 (actually 13ish) cupcakes, I had to do the whole thing twice, and by the second time around I was able to whip the batter together in no time at all. Here are some pics of the mixing and baking process, along with some baked and cooling cuppycakes:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrB9fUsX_I/AAAAAAAABzs/8T41HkxkKlk/s400/IMG_6027.JPG" /></img><br />Adding the cherries and the chocolate chips...<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrCA5iLiAI/AAAAAAAABz8/zdAn3HcvSJw/s400/IMG_6029.JPG" /></img><br />Starting to melt and looking a whole lot more like cupcakes!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrCH9S9qGI/AAAAAAAAB0c/cKzFQmta2Jk/s400/IMG_6035.JPG" /></img><br />Well, what do you know? They turned out ok!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrCEY7yyKI/AAAAAAAAB0M/AqYrWc-tn9I/s400/IMG_6031.JPG" /></img><br />Hey, I had to try one before I brought them to the party!<br /><br />So on to the frosting... As I munched a still-warm cupcake, I thought it might be fun to have more than one frosting flavor, because some people just don't think a cupcake is a cupcake unless there is chocolate frosting on top. My sister subscribes to that philosophy. So does my brother, come to think of it. I happened to have an extra tub of Betty Crocker chocolate frosting sitting in my cupboard, so I decided to use that for 12 of the cupcakes and make the frosting recipe above for the remainder.<br /><br />It's a good thing I had extra frosting on hand, because that recipe really only makes enough frosting for about 10 cupcakes (11 if you skimp - and who does that?!?) so I needed a backup anyhow. Betty to the rescue! Here are some cupcakes frosted with the pink stuff...<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcG7M-7zI/AAAAAAAAB1M/BELzZHSh1BQ/s400/IMG_6036.JPG" /></img><br />How could you possibly frost 12 cupcakes with that?!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcIImz7RI/AAAAAAAAB1U/GhaD__pzqnw/s400/IMG_6038.JPG" /></img><br />Pretty Pretty Piping<br /><br />I'm going to let the decorations speak for themselves. Enjoy the pics! And have a great weekend. 21 days and counting!<br /><br />Love, CaraCakes<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrB3vroiBI/AAAAAAAABzU/nQqsTN7M7ds/s400/IMG_6024.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrBnfZ3GBI/AAAAAAAABxw/EB2q2mxX8EM/s400/IMG_6012.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcLKOvHWI/AAAAAAAAB1k/ygSuU6D7Lj8/s400/IMG_6041.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcMekkzrI/AAAAAAAAB1w/gcqCnnSK9zk/s400/IMG_6042.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcN4QHZxI/AAAAAAAAB14/r3RenuPAEcY/s400/IMG_6043.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcPVPupyI/AAAAAAAAB2A/HNPMsON5dwQ/s400/IMG_6044.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcQ9npALI/AAAAAAAAB2I/jwguO0-HPvY/s400/IMG_6045.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcSTX_U0I/AAAAAAAAB2Q/B9SXqP3omK4/s400/IMG_6046.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcThS6rsI/AAAAAAAAB2Y/ucoZpnE_8Dk/s400/IMG_6047.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMrcVIp_ONI/AAAAAAAAB2g/idTBgK28GWI/s400/IMG_6048.JPG" /><br /><br /></img>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-86645606695251943552008-09-11T07:04:00.000-04:002008-09-11T11:03:21.004-04:00Poured fondant? And getting ready for the big day!Hello, my friends! 23 days to go. And things are cooking right along, pardon the pun.<br /><br />Last week I was in Amelia Island, Florida attending a conference for work when my team surprised me with a cake! Actually, it wasn't just for me, it was also for 2 other ladies in our department with big "life events" this fall - they are both expecting babies. But I took a pic of it anyway to share with you because a) I am kinda obsessed with cake lately, and b) I'm still trying to figure out exactly how they did it. Here are a couple of pics:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMgoRGeFgWI/AAAAAAAABuQ/o--jiVzZXXc/s400/IMG_3512.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMkqkhHKE6I/AAAAAAAABvo/kaBpmSk_Zkk/s400/Congrats%20Cake.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Due to how shiny the cake appeared, I wondered if the frosting and decorations were modeling chocolate. But when we cut into the cake, it was actually fondant. So help me out here: is that what they call "poured fondant"? If not, how did they get the fondant so shiny? And how did they do it without leaving fingerprints? Some sort of gloss product? Even the little balls and accents had the same shine to them. It surprised me because I'm used to the standard matte finish. Either way, the fondant was definitely homemade. The marshmellow flavor was fresh and fluffy and actually quite tasty - not dry and packaged like the stuff you get in the craft store. Very interesting!<br /><br />In other news, I decorated my cupcake tree for the reception last night and am very pleased with how it turned out! Over the course of planning the reception, I've been focusing on the fall theme (as you know) and have somewhat unintentionally slid into a burgundy base color for the decor, with other fall colors like pumpkin and chocolate and gold as accents. This happened mostly as a result of the color of the chairs in the reception hall as well as the choices of napkin colors for the tables. So burgundy (though not my favorite color) it has become.<br /><br />The cupcake tree I bought is a series of 5 cardboard disks with rectangular pieces that fit together to make the support structure for each tier. Using a roll of cake foil I got <a href="http://www.cakeart77.com/">here</a>, I traced each circle and cut it out with scissors, then affixed it to the tier using double sided tape.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMgn8wr-ZGI/AAAAAAAABso/z2FarlYWpkE/s400/IMG_5974.JPG" /><br /></img><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMgn-WUX_6I/AAAAAAAABsw/No_VXvmliBM/s400/IMG_5979.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMgoC-wxGrI/AAAAAAAABtI/zKPHhrIeZZM/s400/IMG_5981.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMgoEkSnCcI/AAAAAAAABtQ/7XCKn4zeW8A/s400/IMG_5978.JPG" /></img><br /><br />I then measured out some satin burgundy ribbon, hot glued it to the edge of each tier, and stacked the finished tiers together. Voila!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/carajpelletier/SMkVkSXVNEI/AAAAAAAABvI/xDhbAeFJwbk/s400/IMG_5998.JPG" /></img><br /><br />I debated whether or not to cover the support pieces with foil as well, but I think when you get the cupcakes in front of them you won't be able to see the supports at all. I'm hoping that when this is all over I'll be able to take the ribbon and foil off and reuse the cupcake tree, since the website where I purchased it seems to be no longer in business. Glad I got it when I did!<br /><br />I'm supposed to make cupcakes for a birthday party this weekend. Off to that project!<br /><br />Keep counting down with me!<br />Love, CaraCakesCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-13857135387810427112008-08-16T17:31:00.024-04:002008-08-16T20:38:24.692-04:00It's Crunch Time!There's all kinds of fun to be had with iron-on letters...<br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdtxhpz0nI/AAAAAAAAAjg/k4ObemSOH5w/s400/IMG_5881.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The Cupcake Armageddon counter on this site says only 48 days until our wedding weekend. Is that possible?!?! Where has my summer gone? Back in the innocent hopeful days of spring, I had all these visions in my head of a summer full of cakes, recipes and fondant, and weekends of nonchalant and relaxed wedding preparations. As it turns out, I have spent 6 of the last 10 weeks on the road traveling for my job and have had little time to do much of anything except squeeze a few wedding details in here and there between flights out of town. In fact, I was supposed to be on the road again today headed back to Atlanta to teach a week of classes, but my Monday and Tuesday class was cancelled and so I'm not leaving until Tuesday night. My groom is playing golf this afternoon so I found myself with a couple of free hours to pick up where I left off with cake making.<br /><br />I feel at this point like I have the whole cupcake thing down pat, but I still need work on the 6" round cake that is going to top the cupcake tree and will be used as our cutting cake for the reception. I want to get the frosting picture perfect and see if my homemade cake topper is going to work the way I want it to. I need to cover the cake tiers in the burgundy foil I bought in Atlanta, add some ribbon and some silk leaves and see how the whole thing is going to look put together. If I don't do it this weekend, my next opportunity will be the week of September 8 and that's a bit too close to the reception date for comfort. So this afternoon's adventure was to make a practice cutting cake, mess around with the cake stand, and enjoy some yummy new flavors.<br /><br />Hmmmm, what kind of cake to make? This week I was in Manhattan working with a client and they took me to a cute little cupcake shop called <a href="http://www.crumbsbakeshop.com/">Crumbs</a> to try out their recipes. Being in New York City, I expected the cupcakes to be off the hook, but I must admit I was a little disappointed. Our group tried 4 different cupcakes: Key Lime, Pistachio, Cookie Dough and Chocolate Espresso. I found all the cupcakes were moist and had great texture, but on each one the frosting was way too sweet and the flavors too subtle. When I bit into the Pistachio cupcake, the faint hint of pistachio goodness was quickly overwhelmed by sugar and the shortening used in the frosting. I think I was spoiled by the <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008_04_01_archive.html">key lime cupcake in Atlanta</a> where the lime flavor knocked my socks off and that's set my expectations for all other bake shops too darn high. As an aside, I know, I know, I have yet to blog my cupcake safaris in Phoenix and more recently in Washington DC. Someday I hope to have the time...<br /><br />After the underwhelming chocolate espresso cupcake in NYC, I thought maybe I could give that flavor profile a go and see where it took me. I have been thinking lately that a mocha cupcake with hazelnut frosting might be tasty... this sounds like a plan. I googled Nutella frosting a couple weeks ago and ran across a simple recipe that might work...<br /><br />If you have never experienced <a href="http://www.nutellausa.com/">Nutella</a> before, let me just say I could eat the stuff right out of the jar with my fingers, no spoon required! Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread about the consistency of thin peanut butter and is a very popular breakfast and dessert spread in the UK and Europe.<br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdt2Csq6iI/AAAAAAAAAj8/mlRlcSMqs6Q/s400/IMG_5885.jpg" /></img><br /><br />I've eaten it before on bagels and things but never used it in a recipe and was quite excited to give it a try. It is very sweet, and combined with powdered sugar in a frosting recipe I knew I would need to make a bittersweet cake to balance out the flavors. I wondered what would happen if I took a boxed (you know me!) dark chocolate cake mix and simply replaced the water with strong brewed coffee? The dark chocolate and the bitterness of the coffee should complement the Nutella frosting, right?<br /><br />Well, this came out better than I could have imagined, folks. The cake is moist and savory and the frosting simply dreamy. If you make this recipe, you'd better be ready to lick the bowl and forget about your supper, because this is one amazing cuppycake!<br /><br />Here's the recipe:<br /><br /><strong><em>Dark chocolate mocha cupcakes:</em></strong><br />1 box dark chocolate moist cake mix<br />eggs and oil as called for on the box<br />replace the water with very strong brewed coffee, cooled<br /><br />(I didn't wait for the coffee to cool because I was too excited about making the cake. If you're impatient like me, be sure to add the eggs and oil to the cake mix first, then add in the coffee slowly in small parts so that you don't accidentally cook the eggs with the hot coffee! For best results, just be patient!)<br /><br />My cake mix made my 6"x3" round plus 9 cupcakes. Bake according to box directions.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdtzd4xc3I/AAAAAAAAAjs/Pec6Bur_V8Q/s400/IMG_5882.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><strong><em>Nutella Frosting (borrowed from <a href="http://www.recipezaar.com/313044">Recipezaar</a>):</em></strong><br />3/4 c. butter, softened<br />3 c. powdered sugar<br />1 t. vanilla<br />1/3 c. milk<br />1/2 c. Nutella, at room temperature<br /><br />Beat together.<br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdt5AEPjxI/AAAAAAAAAkM/PToSJdvbxrs/s400/IMG_5888.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The Nutella and the room temperature butter make this a very soft frosting, not great for piping. Next time I make this I will probably add a bit more powdered sugar to stiffen it up because I found myself putting the whole bowl of frosting in the fridge between the crumb coat and top coat on the cake and also storing all the finished goods in the fridge. The one good thing about the soft frosting is how easy it melts in your mouth... yummmmmmmm (extra mmmm's for emphasis).<br /><br />Here's a finished frosted cuppy:<br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdt6JzX5vI/AAAAAAAAAkU/L5Ux3r4QXBE/s400/IMG_5896.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Just for good measure and a little bling, I threw some small silver dragees on the top of the cupcake and I loved how they stood out against the tan frosting. I'm considering adding dragees to the wedding cupcakes too.<br /><br />While the cupcakes baked and cooled, I played around with my <a href="http://www.cupcaketree.com/">cupcake tree</a>, adding burgundy cake foil to the top 2 layers and gluing ribbon around the edges. I also added skewers to the bottom of what will become my cake topper. I really like the cake toppers I've seen that are metal initials with crystals on them, but they are outrageously expensive if you buy them from any of the online wedding retailers or from a catalog. Back in December, I ran across some gold "N" Christmas ornaments with rhinestones on super clearance for about $1 a piece, so I picked up 4 thinking I could make them work as a cake topper. Here's how my improvised topper came out:<br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdt3lnJCbI/AAAAAAAAAkE/w3BlKmFr6wM/s400/IMG_5886.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Not too shabby! Lenox and Swarovski, eat your heart out.<br /><br />Some pics of the finished cupcake and (very imperfect!) cutting cake on the mocked up cupcake tree:<br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdt9-VzAQI/AAAAAAAAAks/acixWbKM-B8/s400/IMG_5899.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKdt_YiDatI/AAAAAAAAAk0/4UUtRW_rU7c/s400/IMG_5900.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SKduBybZmpI/AAAAAAAAAlE/ZHUo8mLfm4k/s400/IMG_5902.jpg" /></img><br /><br />So we're not quite there, but we're making progress. My playing around definitely helped today. I'll be icing the sides of the cake flat with my offest spatula instead of trying to use the icing comb because I didn't like how the comb pulled up some of the crumb coat and I can get the sides perfect with the offset. I know the consistency of the <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008_02_01_archive.html">maple buttercream frosting </a>will be much more shelf-stable at room temp and therefore more conducive to icing and piping than the soft Nutella frosting. I kind of gave up on piping the Nutella frosting after a few go-rounds. It definitely tastes much better than it looks here! I will be doing small piped stars around the top and bottom of the cutting cake, and I will be looking for another ribbon to use on the edges of the cake tree because the sheer ribbon just doesn't cover the cardboard the way I want. These are good things to know now instead of 2 days before the wedding, right?! Practice makes perfect.<br /><br />Suggestions or comments for me? Let me know. 48 days and counting!<br /><br />Love, CaraCakesCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-22063378074024468432008-07-10T07:02:00.000-04:002008-07-10T09:48:46.868-04:00Hole in One Cake!Happy Father's Day, dad!<br /><br />My dad has been an amazing athlete all his life. In high school, he taught himself to racewalk by reading a book, and set many state records within just a year or 2 and competed on the national level. He also played hockey, field hockey, ran cross country, ran marathons, and trained for the Olympics. Unfortunately, he suffered knee injuries that prevented him from competing in the Olympic games, so he shifted focus and became a cyclist in his 30s. Now that he's getting, er, older, he's taken up golf. Like the talented athlete he is, it hasn't taken him long at all to become quite good at it!<br /><br />This year, he made his first EVER hole in one just a couple weeks before father's day. To celebrate, I decided to make him a Hole in One cake. I know, I know -- after all the cussing involved in the <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/05/you-know-youve-watched-too-much-ace-of.html">Old Spice cake</a>, I said I was going to stick to cupcakes for a while, but this one promised to be much simpler - no carving involved.<br /><br />The plan was to make a 2 layer square cake, decorated to look like a putting green with a round hole in the top layer and a white chocolate golf ball in the hole. My challenge this time (remember, <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/06/graduation-goodies.html">I promised </a>that each new post would involve me trying something new!) was to bake him a luscious carrot cake from SCRATCH!<br /><br />I have a friend I work with who studied at the <a href="http://www.ciachef.edu/">CIA</a> and makes the most delicious cakes I have ever tasted. I decided to give her time-honored recipe a try, with -of course- a few tweaks of my own, cuz that's how I roll. This recipe is originally supposed to make 3 layers, but I did 2 big fluffy ones instead.<br /><br />CaraCakes' Carrot Cake - say that 10 times fast!<br /><br />4 eggs, well beaten<br />1c. packed brown sugar<br />1c. white sugar<br />1.5c. vegetable oil<br />1c. white flour<br />1c. wheat flour (always use King Arthur!)<br />2t. baking soda<br />2t. baking powder<br />1/2t. salt<br />2t. cinnamon<br />1.5t. nutmeg<br />4c. shredded carrots<br />1c. finely chopped and toasted walnuts<br />1c. finely chopped and toasted pecans<br />80z. can crushed pineapple, drained<br />1c. golden raisins<br /><br />Preheat oven to 325. Grease and flour 2 8" square cake pans. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add oil and mix well. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add slowly into wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Divide batter into pans and bake for 45-50 minutes until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.<br /><br />Here are some pics from the mixing and baking process:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XJyH0rnI/AAAAAAAAAek/47MThIV4b30/s400/IMG_5758.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XL8om08I/AAAAAAAAAes/QByssvm5Uzo/s400/IMG_5759.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The baked cake is moist and dense with all the fruits and veggies. It is such a gorgeous cake to look at, and the smell is divine! I used cream cheese frosting for the middle layer, and buttercream for the sides and top. Before I frosted the top, though, I used a round cookie cutter to cut out the hole for my golf ball...<br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XPRdc33I/AAAAAAAAAe0/3GtFWCvK68Q/s400/IMG_5760.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XRXMAdNI/AAAAAAAAAe8/g-EBNg-erfc/s400/IMG_5762.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XTW0V2zI/AAAAAAAAAfE/kPA668Ia9gg/s400/IMG_5763.jpg" /></img><br /><br />And while the crumb coat set, I turned my attention to the decorations. I had a mold for the white chocolate golf balls that also had golf tees, but the tees were wimpy wimpy and kept breaking. So I decided to make some out of fondant instead:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XDySKcnI/AAAAAAAAAeM/USmizIKiEMM/s288/IMG_5750.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XFSi8FJI/AAAAAAAAAeU/dAlS2CiWKHo/s288/IMG_5751.jpg" /></img><br /><br />I also used a brand new ingredient this time around: <a href="http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/misc/chocopan.htm">choco-pan</a>. My same culinary friend just finished up a wedding cake where she used choco-pan to cover the cake instead of fondant, and she dropped me off a couple pounds to play with. Choco-pan rolls and colors like fondant, but it tastes much better - like white chocolate! The only thing I don't like about choco-pan is that it never gets really hard like fondant, so for decorations you still need to use fondant, gumpaste or modeling chocolate. But the green below is made of choco-pan. 2 new things in one post! How's that for ya?<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XHT5tscI/AAAAAAAAAec/fNk846nFbT8/s400/IMG_5756.jpg" /></img><br /><br />After cooling the cake in the fridge, I rolled out a small piece of white fondant to use as the lining of the cup, then covered the entire cake in green fondant.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0YCtiCJ0I/AAAAAAAAAho/5HYSl-Cr-ZE/s400/IMG_5765.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Here's the cake - almost done! Love the argyle pattern? How golf is that?<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XXan7mKI/AAAAAAAAAfY/6OHuu7U-A8s/s400/IMG_5767.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XcJMuUpI/AAAAAAAAAfw/GSdxBj-5OM4/s400/IMG_5771.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Aaaah, the flag! Hole #11, where dad scored his hole in one. The finishing touch!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XnfM7SeI/AAAAAAAAAgo/YM6MGzIT77Y/s400/IMG_5783.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The happy dad...<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0Xqw7YnHI/AAAAAAAAAg4/MSuIL4dT7PI/s400/IMG_5786.jpg" /></img><br /><br />And as always, the carnage! By the way, because this cake is so moist, it freezes really well for up to a month.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0Xwk6SN1I/AAAAAAAAAhI/FrJGRQrTKM4/s400/IMG_5790.jpg" /></img><br /><br />2 more birthdays this month... more to come!<br /><br />Love, CaraCakesCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-92226177657431039052008-06-23T07:46:00.000-04:002008-06-23T08:49:16.125-04:00Teaser!Oh my goodness did I have fun making a cake this weekend! I hope to get the blog post up this week while I'm on the road for work. In the meantime, here's a teaser to get you ready...<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SF0XJyH0rnI/AAAAAAAAAek/47MThIV4b30/s400/IMG_5758.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Love,<br />CaraCakesCaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-63033727408833776472008-06-04T18:53:00.000-04:002008-06-05T09:26:44.507-04:00Graduation GoodiesTomorrow night, my fiance's son is graduating from high school! Of course you know by now that I think any occasion worth celebrating is an excuse for cuppycakes! So I set out this afternoon to make some over the top, purple and white, high school spirit-filled, ooey gooey good goodies that would give him enough of a sugar high to stay awake all night for project graduation.<br /><br />Without sounding too full of myself, can I just say I'm starting to feel like a pro at this cupcake thing? I know now that to make 24 perfectly even cupcakes from a box of cake mix, you fill the cupcake liners using <em>exactly </em>one level 1/4 c. scoop. At 350 degrees, my oven takes <em>exactly</em> 18 minutes - no more, no less - to bake those 24 cupcakes into a lip-smacking fluffy but moist state of delectable dessert heaven. And one can of frosting will frost 23 - yes, 23 - of those cupcakes with a nice swirly dollop of frosting, leaving one naked cupcake for snacking. Or for the dog.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBN-yG1gI/AAAAAAAAAZg/LAGNkQEWZ-8/s400/IMG_5593.jpg" /></img><br />Perfect cuppies, all in a row<br /><br />So as far as making cupcakes for the wedding, I think I can safely say that the cake making part of my technique is good to go. But there are multiple cupcake occasions between now and October - Father's Day, 4th of July, my brother's birthday, my mom's birthday, my sister's birthday, and also my own birthday (although I refuse to make my own birthday cake - someone else had better step up!) and I don't want to get bored with this whole thing. So I've decided that for each cupcake event going forward, I am going to stretch my skills by doing something I have never done before. Whether that is baking from a scratch recipe, experimenting with different types of icings or fillings, or doing something completely crazy with fondant, each new blog entry should showcase something new I attempted (for better or worse!)<br /><br />For this go-round, I decided that I would attempt to pipe the tops of the cupcakes with not one, but 2 different frosting colors at once. I had read online from one of the other Cupcake Renegades that if you fill the sides of your bag separately with 2 colors, when you squeeeeeeze out the frosting, the 2 colors combine making a swirl effect. Sounded easy enough, so why not?<br /><br />Turns out that filling the 2 sides of your piping bag separately is a bit messy, but can be done with the right tools (a butter knife) and a little patience. I did find that I had to wash the bag before I refilled it so that the old frosting wouldn't color the new, and also that it's best to fill the bottom of the bag about 2 inches deep with each color and then work your way up in 2 or 3 inch sections instead of trying to slather the entire side of the bag with one color and then switch sides, because the skinny part of the bag at the bottom tends to try to stick to the other side as you're working. Here's how a filled bag looks...<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBhuyG1qI/AAAAAAAAAa0/IrZ0Ub1NNFk/s400/IMG_5610.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBfuyG1pI/AAAAAAAAAas/IOAdAswtppk/s400/IMG_5609.jpg" /></img><br /><br />And the lovely looking finished product!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBpuyG1sI/AAAAAAAAAbE/jEOBGOztl6E/s400/IMG_5613.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Oooh, aaah, as the Smurfs would say. For some reason, my camera picked this up as blue and white, but the frosting is really a violet color. You can kinda see the the violet a little better if you look at the first picture of the open frosting bag. Despite the messiness, this was really fun and caused me no stress at all! Not a single cuss word, not even once! What a change from my last <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/05/you-know-youve-watched-too-much-ace-of.html">cake project</a>, eh?<br /><br />So now for the decorations. I liked how the candy melt letters came out on the <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/05/you-know-youve-watched-too-much-ace-of.html">Old Spice cupcakes</a> and thought that they would be fun and tasty on these cupcakes, too. So I used a mold to form the letters Congratulations Corbin 2008 and WHS.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBSOyG1iI/AAAAAAAAAZ0/VIFNsTNdago/s400/IMG_5596.jpg" /></img><br /><br />In addition to letters I wanted to make a few graduation caps, diplomas, and some school books.<br />The graduation caps were really simple. I just colored some white fondant with black food coloring gel, rolled it out to about 1/4 inch thick, and cut out circles for the hat and slightly larger squares for the mortar boards using cookie cutters. I then rolled some small "snakes" with purple and white fondant, frayed the edges using a paring knife, and voila! I had tassels. By the way, I've started using <a href="http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E318C60-475A-BAC0-53AEC08EB2A9FD03">Wilton Decorating Gloves </a>when I color my fondant, and they have made cleaning up my hands a snap!<br /><br />For the books, I cut rectangles of white fondant, then rolled out a thin layer of purple fondant and covered the rectangles on 3 sides, like a book cover. With the back of a butter kinfe, I indented each side of the book to look like a spine, and used those amazing <a href="http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E31926B-475A-BAC0-5E213F624C3CDCEB">Food Writers </a>to write Math, English, Science and History on the covers of the books.<br /><br />The diplomas were relatively simple, too. I just rolled out thin squares of white fondant, then rolled them up like a tortilla and gently stretched the center of each roll to make the edges look bigger than the middle. Again using the food writers, I wrote DIPLOMA on each one, then wrapped the center with a small ribbon of purple fondant. Here's a couple pictures of the works in progress and the finished decorations:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBUeyG1jI/AAAAAAAAAZ8/c96fURfPLJk/s400/IMG_5600.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBaOyG1mI/AAAAAAAAAaU/mus5VxQDEyo/s400/IMG_5606.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBcuyG1nI/AAAAAAAAAac/GSBuMzYc-9E/s400/IMG_5605.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><p>The only thing left to do? Assembly of the finished product! I am really happy with how this project turned out. Let's hope it delivers a serious sugar rush to the recipient!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcBxOyG1vI/AAAAAAAAAb0/Ge94-IMYkcw/s400/IMG_5617.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcB3eyG1xI/AAAAAAAAAcE/sb2RSoe7ftM/s400/IMG_5628.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcCAOyG10I/AAAAAAAAAcg/sd4lm2JWyvo/s400/IMG_5620.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcCFuyG12I/AAAAAAAAAcw/zHoHNtdw7lU/s400/IMG_5621.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcCH-yG13I/AAAAAAAAAc4/UqSprWsVSAE/s400/IMG_5622.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcCLuyG15I/AAAAAAAAAdI/C3Nr4aHtWnI/s400/IMG_5626.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SEcCOOyG16I/AAAAAAAAAdQ/wABDw7gr76M/s400/IMG_5625.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-46125012626672286752008-05-23T07:36:00.003-04:002008-05-23T13:52:55.812-04:00You know you've watched too much "Ace of Cakes" when...<span style="color:#663333;"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>...you start thinking, "I could do that!"</strong></em></span><br /></span><br />Cake #3 for me last week was the 39<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> birthday cake for my fiance. He's in the "best" branch of the military, and it just so happens that his nickname from his time spent overseas is "Old Spice". As in, the cologne. He even has the Old Spice clipper ship tattooed on his arm. So when I was thinking about what to make for a cake, I fist settled on some cupcakes with letters to spell out Old Spice and maybe a couple small ship decorations.<br /><br />Then I had a stroke of ... genius? Insanity? Maybe a bit of both. I have a confession to make. I am an Ace of Cakes <strong><em>addict</em></strong>. I absolutely love that show. If I had it to do all over again, I would go to pastry school, move to Baltimore, and try to get a job with Duff and the crew. What a fun group of talented, creative people! If you have never watched Ace of Cakes, the show is about a business called <a href="http://charmcitycakes.com/">Charm City Cakes </a>that makes the most <a href="http://charmcitycakes.com/index2.html">wacky</a>, off the wall, amazing cakes for pretty much any occasion. The thing is, just like all professionals, they make even the most difficult techniques look really easy. So after you watch a few dozen episodes in a row (thanks to your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">DVR</span>) and down a few Jack and Diets, you begin thinking that maybe carving a shape out of layers of cake isn't that big a deal.<br /><br />I was about to find otherwise. So my stroke of genius told me I should make a cake in the shape of an <a href="http://www.lostwackys.com/images/original-series/5th/Old%20Spice.jpg">Old Spice cologne bottle</a>, cover it with fondant, and complete the look with a silver top and the ship design and Old Spice logo. I'd do the bottle laying on it's side, not standing upright. (Even on my bravest day, I wouldn't attempt that!) <strong><em>How hard could it be?</em></strong><br /><br />I started with 3 9x13 yellow cakes, cooled, leveled and the edges cut off to make perfect rectangles. Layer 2 went fine on top of the first layer, with a generous helping of chocolate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">buttercream</span> to cement the 2 together. However, layer 3 had a mind of it's own. The cake cracked when I flipped it over to lay on to layer 2, and by the time I had it resting on top of the second layer, it was in about 7 completely irreparable pieces. There was no way in the world that I cold stick the pieces together with enough frosting to make it work.<br /><br />A few cuss words later, layer 3 was resting in my garbage can, and I decided to sculpt the bottle out of 2 layers instead. The cake with 2 layers was about 4 inches thick, big enough for me to sculpt into the dome shape I wanted. The next challenge was carving the cake to resemble the Old Spice bottle. Compounding the challenge was the fact that I had already frosted the top of the second layer to prepare it for layer 3, so I was carving into a chocolate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">buttercream</span> MESS.<br /><br />A few more cuss words, however, and I had the shape I wanted. The sides of the bottle sloped in a semi circle down to the cake board, and the top of the bottle sloped down to the cap. Not too shabby! I gave the whole thing a dirty look, a generous coating of chocolate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">buttercream</span>, and set the monster in the fridge to let the frosting harden for the fondant layer.<br /><br />Meanwhile, I realized that the shape I had carved had really shrunk the size of the cake, and I was afraid there wouldn't be enough cake to go around at the birthday party. This called for cupcakes! While the cake was chilling out, I made 24 yellow cupcakes with chocolate <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">buttercream</span> swirls on the top, then experimented with molding letters and numbers (39!) out of candy melts in blue and red to match the Old Spice logo colors. The cupcakes came out great! Here they are:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SC2VVSfJZfI/AAAAAAAAAUA/eSvpcHW24AE/s400/IMG_5518.jpg" /><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SC2VZyfJZhI/AAAAAAAAAUQ/ILWfFj4HTxw/s400/IMG_5522.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><br />Holy Ship... get it? <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">HAHAHAHA</span><br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ok</span>. Back to business. After pulling the cake out of the fridge, I used an offset spatula to smooth out any big ridges in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">buttercream</span>, and prepared myself for my first EVER attempt at covering an entire cake in fondant.<br /><br />I rolled out a large circle of fondant super super thin, then draped it carefully over the cake. Then I realized it wasn't quite large enough to cover the entire thing. A few more cuss words... and a bit more rolling, and it was finally the size I needed. I used a fondant smoother to get rid of any wrinkles and bubbles. The covering wasn't perfect, as you can see below, partially because the frosting job wasn't as smooth as I thought it looked, and partially because of the weird angles of the bottle shape itself. After cutting off the excess fondant, I decided I could disguise some of the imperfections on the edges with a decorative icing border later on.<br /><br />I laid on the Old Spice logo, ship, and bottle cap that I had created earlier, and... <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">taa</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">daaah</span>!<br />Here's what I had:<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SC2VOCfJZbI/AAAAAAAAATg/Vtb6O3yybTU/s400/IMG_5514.jpg" /></img><br /><br />I used those <a href="http://www.preparedpantry.com/browseproducts/Food-Writer-Edible-Color-Markers-(Bold-Tip)-by-Wilton.html">Wilton <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">FoodWriters</span> </a>to draw the ship and write "cologne" on the bottom of the bottle. The Old Spice logo, gray cap, borders, and "tacks" on the edge of the ship are all fondant.<br /><br />Next , I used silver luster dust and water to paint the bottle cap and tacks to resemble metal, and piped a border of red icing around the base of the cake to hide the flaws in the fondant. The finished cake looked like this:<br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SDDfMSfJZlI/AAAAAAAAAVI/vrD45EYGcl4/s400/IMG_5525.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SDDfOCfJZmI/AAAAAAAAAVQ/Yj3qbQWYATk/s400/IMG_5526.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SDDfQyfJZnI/AAAAAAAAAVY/m7kV21Knd-8/s400/IMG_5527.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SDDfSifJZoI/AAAAAAAAAVg/Hf5PR6cMmP0/s400/IMG_5528.jpg" /><br /><br />My fiance loved it! And frankly, I was surprised that it turned out at all. Although there were some visible flaws, I was actually really proud of the finished product.<br /><br />I had to laugh - a bunch of the people at the party said they thought I should do this for a living... I told them it would involve far too many cuss words for me to retain my self respect! It wasn't even close to being a professional-grade product. I think I'll stick to the smaller canvas of cupcakes for now!<br /><br />Have a happy Memorial Day weekend! Next week, I'll fill you in on our Phoenix Cupcake Safari. Until then, let me leave you with a picture of the cake carnage...<br /><br />Love,<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">CaraCakes</span><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SDDfbifJZuI/AAAAAAAAAWU/R_j7hUSDlfA/s400/IMG_5548.jpg" /></img>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-38972900641469837802008-05-15T18:40:00.003-04:002008-05-16T10:02:06.443-04:00Mother's Day Mayhem - Part 2!Sorry to keeep you waiting on cake #2! It's been a 3-cake week for me (more on #3 later) and I have hardly had time to even think, let alone post a blog! As promised, here are the pics from the Mother's Day cake I made for my mom:<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBsZNbOd08I/AAAAAAAAAK0/49aM3XWX0Tg/s400/IMG_5333.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBsZUbOd1AI/AAAAAAAAALU/-fmx48mzYi8/s400/IMG_5339.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBsZS7Od0_I/AAAAAAAAALM/A-0io7-buTY/s400/IMG_5338.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCh9lCfJZSI/AAAAAAAAAQg/Ma703uqOAkk/s400/IMG_5502.jpg" /></img><br><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCh9ryfJZVI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/PkgeQf88q5E/s400/IMG_5500.jpg"></img><br><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCh9nifJZTI/AAAAAAAAAQo/aE7WoD11YNI/s400/IMG_5503.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCh9pyfJZUI/AAAAAAAAAQw/-ozFGPOG_vQ/s400/IMG_5509.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCh9uCfJZWI/AAAAAAAAARE/RADaWz5jI6g/s400/IMG_5504.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><br />I wanted to make something really summery for my beach-loving mom. This was a lemon layer cake/lemon cupcakes with the same raspberry cream filling I made to go in the <a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/03/naughty-cupcakes.html">Naughty Cupcakes</a> a couple months ago. I added 1t. of raspberry extract to really kick up the flavor of the filling. It was a perfect complement for the light, springy lemon cake.<br /><br />One of my cake-making friends gave me a hint on how to prevent your filling from oozing out between the layers of your cake when you're frosting it, and it worked so well I'd like to share it with you. Before applying your filling to your layers, pipe a ring of your frosting around the outside edge of the layer, making a frosting barrier between the filling and the edge of the cake. Works like a charm!<br /><br />Once the cake was frosted and the cupcakes were given watery waves of blue icing, I rolled out a strip of blue fondant and hand-cut a wave pattern, then wrapped it around the outside of the cake. I dusted the top and sides of the cake and 2 cupcakes with graham cracker crumbs to give it a sandy effect and topped with the sea shells and beach fondant decorations I made the week prior (giving them plenty of time to dry!). The only thing on the cake that is not edible is the umbrella.<br /><br />Each cake I make, I'm learning more and more about how to work with fondant. It's definitely less intimidating each time around! When I was in Atlanta, I bought the chocolate molds for the seashells, as well as the edible metallic luster dust I applied to the "cap" of the sunscreen bottle and the tops of the seashells to make them shimmer. I've heard you can mix the luster dust with clear vanilla extract or vodka, but I've been using water and have had great success. The water does make the fondant sticky, so you have to be careful not to touch it until it's had a lot of time to dry.<br /><br />So that is cake #2! My cake #3 of the week is for a party tonight... more on this next week. Oh! And I still owe you a write up from the fabulous cupcake safari my sis and I went on in Phoenix last week! Too much to do and not enough hours in the day. Stay tuned!<br /><br />Have a great weekend,<br />~CaraCakes<br /><br />PS - My mom didn't wait to cut into her cake! Here's a fuzzy shot of the carnage from my camera phone...<br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SC2MWSfJZZI/AAAAAAAAAS8/W0BsqHXHjOg/s400/IMAGE_081%5B2%5D.jpg" /></img>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-24747946158726973722008-05-12T07:33:00.002-04:002008-05-12T14:37:20.739-04:00Mother's Day Cake Mayhem!Well, yesterday was Mother's Day. I hope you remembered to call your mom! If not, lemme tell you from past experience: a belated call today is 1000 times better than no call at all.<br /><br />My fiance's parents live in a small, 2-stoplight town way up north in our great New England state, and my folks live about 20 minutes away in a suburb of our city. Being that both families are within driving distance, we have had to employ some creativity over the last 2 years in deciding which part of what holiday weekend to spend with which set of parents. Mother's Day was no exception to this quandary!<br /><br />This year we drove the 3 hours north to spend Saturday evening and part of Sunday with my fiance's family. My mom graciously agreed to postpone her Mother's Day celebration until this evening, so we'll be heading over there for supper tonight. I decided to do a surprise cake for each of our moms to celebrate their special days and - of course! - get some much needed practice for the wedding cake.<br /><br />A couple weeks ago, I bought a 6"x3" round cake pan that I'm going to use to make the top layer of our wedding cake. I hadn't experimented with it yet, so this weekend gave me a chance to test it out not once, but twice!<br /><br />I figured that one standard cake mix would probably make enough batter to do the 6" round plus about a half dozen cupcakes, so my plan was to make a cake with a theme for each mom and display it surrounded by cupcakes that matched that theme.<br /><br />I started my theme-scheming with the cake for my future MIL (Mother-in-Law). She has been driving the school bus for their small town for years and years, and looooooves to tell stories about the bus. It's kind of a running joke in the family that you can't have a conversation about anything with MIL without her bringing the bus into it somehow. So I thought it would be fun to make a bus-themed Mother's Day cake for her with a fondant road on buttercream "grass", fondant buses, road signs and traffic lights.<br /><br />Here's how it came out:<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBsZL7Od07I/AAAAAAAAAKs/wdOrFdoLpPA/s400/IMG_5332.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCTqmSbU9dI/AAAAAAAAAMg/iriHOvJoLLE/s400/IMG_5344.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCTquibU9hI/AAAAAAAAANA/js99Tx4UZ8k/s400/IMG_5490.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCTqyCbU9jI/AAAAAAAAANQ/xd_45VMT-Os/s400/IMG_5493.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCTqwSbU9iI/AAAAAAAAANI/44rYGcde5nc/s400/IMG_5494.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SCTq0SbU9kI/AAAAAAAAANY/jPEUoMY2D3g/s400/IMG_5492.JPG" /></img><br /><br /><br />Since the decorations were all bright primary colors, I picked out a <a href="http://www.pillsburybaking.com/products/product_detail7.aspx">funfetti cake mix</a> to coordinate the color scheme with the cake itself. I took a break from filling the cupcakes this time around and instead split the cake into 2 layers and frosted between them with the green buttercream.<br /><br />The writing on the buses and signs was made using <a href="http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=pg_foodwriterprimary&CMP=AFC-CCF">Wilton FoodWriters</a>. I used a candy mold to get the buses the right shape, but everything else was fashioned by hand and I mixed all the fondant colors myself.<br /><br />My only big challenge on this cake was getting the cake itself to bake evenly in that tall pan. It took about 40 minutes for the entire cake to set, and the middle had sunk a little due to my impatient poking and testing (I was afraid it might burn!). Thank goodness frosting covers a multitude of sins!<br /><br />Despite the fact that it was less than perfect, I was very pleased with the results. The best reward, though, was how surprised MIL was. She took about a dozen pictures, and although the cupcakes disappeared quickly, by the time we left yesterday, that darn cake was still intact. She didn't want to cut into it and ruin my hard work. I kept telling her that it was meant to be eaten, not saved! I wonder if it will still be there the next time we go up to visit? Oh well!<br /><br />One down... on to the second round! Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this post!CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-15173526101234349582008-05-02T08:16:00.001-04:002008-05-02T09:45:23.907-04:00Not exactly a cupcake...<img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBsYcrOd05I/AAAAAAAAAKg/tsvEkYpcEsk/s400/IMG_5343.jpg" /></img><br /><br />... but it's wedding related, so I think it counts!<br /><br />My fiance's aunt is going to be the officiant at our wedding. She works for a bank and is a notary, and as a matter of policy "doesn't do weddings," but in our case she was willing to make an exception. His aunt lives up North in the small, 2-stoplight town with the rest of the family on his mom's side, and hadn't yet visited us in the "big city."<br /><br />It happened that she and her hubby were going to be in town Monday, and we invited them over to see the house and have some dessert. Had I more time to come up with a plan and a theme, I would have practiced my cupcake and fondant techniques. However, on short notice, I decided to opt for a family favorite instead -- mom's Buster Bar.<br /><br />Buster Bar is so called for the <a href="http://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/eats-and-treats/menu/treats/buster-bar/">Dairy Queen </a>dessert of the same name, which is basically a vanilla ice cream treat on a stick with hot fudge and peanuts in the middle. In mom's version, an oreo cookie crust is layered in a 9x13 pan, topped with vanilla ice cream, spanish peanuts, and a homemade hot fudge sauce, then frozen solid and cut into squares.<br /><br />This dessert is so good that I usually ask mom to make it in lieu of a birthday cake for me every June. My dad says "it's better than homemade sin" - whatever that means. Try this one for a summer gathering. You won't be disappointed!<br /><br />"Mom's Truly Delicious and Magnificent Buster Bar" (this is how she labeled it in her email! The recipe below is hers, verbatim.)<br /><br />Crust:<br />Crush 1 bag of Oreos<br />Add 1/2 cup melted butter<br />Mix and pack into 9x13 (or larger) pan.<br />Freeze.<br /><br />Second Layer:<br />Cut 1 gallon vanilla ice cream into slices and lay on top of crust.<br />Smooth together.<br />Add 1 1/2 c. spanish peanuts over top.<br />Freeze.<br /><br />Hot Fudge Sauce:<br />Boil for 8 minutes:<br />2 c powdered sugar<br />1 1/2 c milk<br />2/3 c chocolate chips<br />1/2 c butter<br />1 t vanilla<br />Cool to room temperature. Pour over top of peanuts and Freeze.<br /><br />When I make this, I add the vanilla extract after the hot fudge sauce has cooled to room temp. The key to good Buster Bar is making sure that you freeze the layers in between, that the hot fudge sauce is truly at room temp when you spread it, and that the whole thing has at least 8 hours to set in the freezer before attempting to slice and serve.<br /><br />You could also make this hot fudge sauce just to serve with ice cream on a hot summer day. It would be fabulous if you added a bit of coffee, or some raspberry flavoring, or even some orange zest.... yummm! Now I'm thinking I might need to go and make up a batch just for fun!CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-87523113208883716302008-04-28T18:05:00.001-04:002008-04-29T13:28:46.907-04:00Atlanta Cupcake SafariIt's been waaaaay too long since my last post! Can you believe in the last month not a single occasion in my life has called for cupcakes? What's wrong with me?! Thank goodness Mothers' Day is right around the corner. I have a mom and a future MIL who will need some sort of cupcake-ish goodness, I'm sure.<br /><br />I was feeling cupcake withdrawal the other day and decided to do the next best thing to baking my own. I'm back and forth to Atlanta once or twice a month on business and have been reading up on the growing number of bakeries in that area specializing in cupcakes. Since I happened to have a couple hours between the end of a meeting and my evening flight, I cranked up the rental car and headed for the area of Atlanta known as the Virginia Highlands, east of downtown inside the perimeter. For some reason, there are at least 4 bakeries within a 2 mile stretch of each other all on North Highland Avenue. Is this the secret center of the cupcake universe? I was about to find out!<br /><br />I started at the bakery closest to downtown and worked my way out. The first stop was <a href="http://www.highlandbakery.com/index.html">Highland Bakery</a>. While admittedly not just a cupcake place, their red velvet cupcake had won an award in a magazine I saw, so I wanted to give it a try. And it was a good excuse for me to have something healthy for lunch before I piled on the frosting. So I started with a Thai chicken and shrimp salad, which was really tasty. It was almost like a peanut stirfry with glass noodles on top of a bed of lettuce. I only ate half, saving plenty of room for the main event!<br /><br />Highland sells cupcake minis along with their regular sized cupcakes and a huge assortment of homemade breads that looked to die for! I opted for 2 minis - a red velvet and a coconut. I'm not usually a red velvet fan, and this case proved to be no exception. The cupcake was a bit dry, and the cream cheese frosting just tasted a bit... off. Can't explain it except to say it was not hard to leave the rest of the cupcake on the plate. The coconut cupcake itself was much better, but they topped it with the same cream cheese frosting. Since it tasted kinda funny there, too, I decided it was definitely the frosting and not yours truly.<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXGLOd0oI/AAAAAAAAAHo/t0Tq1zE9Ywc/s288/IMAGE_057.jpg" /></img><br /><br /><br />A little disappointed, I left for my next bakery - the <a href="http://theatlantacupcakefactory.com/">Atlanta Cupcake Factory</a>.<br /><br />Wow, wow, wow is all I have to say about this place. My only regret here was that I brought just my camera phone and not my real good digital to capture the lovely little cakes that lined the counter and display case.<br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXH7Od0pI/AAAAAAAAAHw/6IszvfzeR-g/s288/IMAGE_058.jpg" /></img> <img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXJrOd0qI/AAAAAAAAAH4/7hC7gF1LmXc/s288/IMAGE_059.jpg" /></img><br />The assortment was dizzying... and I wished I could have tried more than just 2, but I had 2 more bakeries on my list. The sweet lady behind the counter helped me choose a Key Lime and a Chocolate with Dulce de Leche icing. I retreated to the rental car and took my first bites.<br /><br />The Key Lime cupcake was moist and dense, but not too dense. The lime flavor hit you right away. And the cream cheese icing was somehow light and fluffy, a magnificent contrast. There were even little sprinkles of graham cracker crumbs around the edges of the frosting. I had to forcibly restrain myself from polishing off the entire thing in 2 bites. It was absolutely outstanding and by far the best cupcake on the safari!<br /><img src="http://lh6.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXNbOd0sI/AAAAAAAAAII/V_mrLK33nIo/s288/IMAGE_061.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The chocolate cupcake did not disappoint either. Again, the cake was moist and very flavorful, and the icing was sweet but not overly so. I thought it could use just a bit more caramelly flavor, but it was still an 8 out of 10.<br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXL7Od0rI/AAAAAAAAAIA/TfwmCHLkPqw/s288/IMAGE_060.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Starting to feel a sugar rush, I ventured onward to the <a href="http://www.bellystore.com/BELLYSTORE/home.htm">Belly General Store</a> where I opted for a PB&J cupcake - peanut butter cupcake with raspberry jam in the center and buttercream icing, and a white cupcake with a chocolate truffle center and chocolate icing. The PB&J had a tremendous flavor. I was afraid that the peanut butter would be too sticky sweet, but it really tasted (somehow!) like natural PB on wheat with raspberry jelly and frosting on top. My only complaint was that the jelly had sunk to the bottom of the cupcake and fell out when I unwrapped it, but the taste made up for the mess and it was my second favorite cupcake on the safari.<br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXVLOd0wI/AAAAAAAAAIo/NsNsCFrhBA0/s288/IMAGE_065.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The white cupcake had the same problem, where the truffle center was falling out the bottom, and the buttercream icing was warm and slightly runny. That one only got one bite before I wrapped it back up.<br /><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXZ7Od0zI/AAAAAAAAAJA/cRHA1uFj40k/s288/IMAGE_068.jpg" /></img><br /><br />I also bought a bag of soft peppermint puffs and a pound of <a href="http://www.dancinggoats.com/Dancing_Goats_reg_Blend_16_oz_P854C293.cfm">Dancing Goats </a>coffee from the Belly store which I've been enjoying all week. Had I more room in my carry on, I would have picked up a dozen of their homemade bagels and brought them back to my fiance!<br /><br />My last stop was at <a href="http://www.auroracoffee.com/">Aurora Coffee </a>which is the distributor for cupcakes from <a href="http://www.sugarmamascupcakery.com/home.html">SugarMama's Cupcakery</a>. SugarMama's supposedly makes a great Red Velvet cupcake, but after the disappointment with the previous Red Velvet, I wanted to try something else. I was struck by how cute the white cupcake with white buttercream looked: the icing was piped in a squiggle instead of a circle, and was adorned with white dragees.<br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXbLOd00I/AAAAAAAAAJI/OVRIzUzfUJY/s288/IMAGE_069.jpg" /></img><br /><br />The cupcake was served cold, and I was warned by the cashier at the coffee shop that they taste best when they are room temp. But I had to get to the airport, and I had no time to spare. So I unwrapped the cupcake, and was really impressed to see that there were specks of vanilla bean in the white cake. Very classy, very tasty, and very well presented. I actually liked the frosting cold, too. Next time, I hope Aurora has a few more of SugarMama's flavors in stock so I can try another!<br /><br />I will be in Phoenix next week on vacation with my sister and hope to try a cupcake safari there, too, if we have the time. Until then... here's one last pic of the cupcake carnage. Enjoy!<br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/caracakes78/SBdXhLOd03I/AAAAAAAAAJg/WSu_QD_hmkU/s288/IMAGE_074.jpg" /></img>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-73046948148462042542008-03-30T12:32:00.000-04:002008-03-31T10:54:44.988-04:00Naughty Cupcakes?Ok, before you read on... this experiment was all in the name of practice! For the easily embarrassed and those looking only for G-rated cupcakes, please check out someone else's blog today!<br /><br />So my fiance and I were invited to a "toy" party at a friend's house last Saturday night. That's not really our thing, but we don't do a whole lot of socializing with our crew, so we decided to go. I (having been raised by a proper lady who taught me never to show up to a hostess' house empty-handed) asked what I could bring to the party. Wouldn't you know it? The hostess asked for dessert! Cue the cuppycake theme song... this calls for a practice round of filled cupcakes with fondant decorations!<br /><br />I immediately knew exactly what to make. Call it a moment of frosting inspiration, call it too much coffee. Whatever. I decided to attempt some decadent dark chocolate cupcakes with a raspberry cream filling and pink buttercream frosting and some, ahem, "themed" decorations on the top.<br /><br />The cupcakes would be easy enough to make, I guessed - I decided to use a boxed cake mix (I know, I know! I promise I will get around to making my own cakes later. But in a hurry, Betty and Duncan will have to do) and then just alter my<a href="http://caracakes.blogspot.com/2008/02/recipe-check.html"> Pumpkin Cream Cheese Filling</a> by substituting raspberry jam for the pumpkin.<br /><br />So what to do about those decorations? I needed to find a way to cut out some anatomically correct fondant shapes. But 3 party stores and a store called <a href="http://www.qualitycondoms.com/Pages/about_us.html">"Condom Sense"</a> later, all I could find were some shaped chocolates, gummy treats, and hard candies. I found one cookie cutter for a bachelorette party, but it was too big (and actually, a little scary) and not at all what I was looking for. What I needed were a couple of small cookie cutters in male and female shapes. After rummaging through my own cookie cutters, I realized I might be able to bend the metal on a couple to make exactly the shapes I needed. A quick trip to a local kitchen store for a heart shape and a dog bone, and I was on my way!<br /><br />The raspberry filling came out better than I had hoped. I wound up using about 3/4 c. of the raspberry jam instead of the 1/2 c. I initially planned, and used vanilla extract. Next time, I would opt for raspberry flavoring in lieu of the vanilla for a more robust flavor and try to find seedless jam, although the seeds didn't do too much to detract from the texture of the filling. I used a bismarck tip to get the cupcakes really full, and a large open star tip to pipe the tinted pink buttercream. To finish, I dusted the tops of the cupcakes with some hot pink sugar left over from Valentine's day.<br /><br />Here are some pics of the filled and frosted cuppycakes:<br /><img src="http://lh4.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXTG8ghUI/AAAAAAAAAC0/Jc0_53XCwrE/s288/IMG_5254.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh4.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXYG8ghWI/AAAAAAAAADE/oPCvLqujqNg/s288/IMG_5258.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh5.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXeW8ghZI/AAAAAAAAADc/CNL_FkgSxqQ/s288/IMG_5260.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh4.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXgG8ghaI/AAAAAAAAADk/05NrLunQBYo/s288/IMG_5266.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><br />Now for the really fun part - the fondant decorations! I started by tinting some packaged fondant with Wilton copper food coloring gel. When you add copper in small amounts, you get a nice peachy flesh color perfect for body parts. (Did I really just say that?!) For the "male" decorations, I simply rolled out the fondant and cut it into the desired shape using the custom-bent dog bone cookie cutter I purchased. I used the edges of the cutter to add some detailing lines to the shape, and draped each one over a paper towel tube wrapped in plastic wrap to allow the shape to dry with some dimension. Easy enough... on to the "females"!<br /><br />For the ladies, I used the altered heart-shaped cutter, and cut out shapes using the same peach fondant. For details, I again used the edges of the cookie cutter, then added some brown food coloring to the remaining fondant, rolled it out again, and cut small rounds with a Wilton circle cutter. I brushed the backs of the rounds with a tiny bit of water to make them sticky enough to adhere to the other shape, then placed them in position. For the final details, I added just a touch more brown to the fondant and rolled and cut out the same size rounds as before. Then, I divided each round into quarters using a knife so that the pieces would be of uniform size, and rolled each piece into a tiny ball. A little more water, another paper towel tube for draping, and voila! 12 ladies and 12 men. Perfect!<br /><br />I must say, I was giggling like a teenager making these decorations. But I am quite proud of the finished product, and they were a huge hit at the party! Here are some pics of the finished product. Enjoy!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh6.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXFm8ghOI/AAAAAAAAACE/b-bY4bpQL_s/s288/IMG_5241.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh6.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXDm8ghNI/AAAAAAAAAB8/Td7YeGaSxyg/s288/IMG_5240.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh3.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXI28ghQI/AAAAAAAAACU/_GJK48yICX8/s288/IMG_5247.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh6.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXKm8ghRI/AAAAAAAAACc/NZEXOyGfHIA/s288/IMG_5245.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh3.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXh28ghbI/AAAAAAAAADs/vZ-1z7kYb0U/s288/IMG_5269.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh6.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXjm8ghcI/AAAAAAAAAD0/_Qx9CXfvEJM/s288/IMG_5271.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh5.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXnW8gheI/AAAAAAAAAEI/YGbE71oUz2E/s288/IMG_5272.JPG.jpg" /></img><br /><img src="http://lh6.google.com/caracakes78/R-eXqm8ghgI/AAAAAAAAAEY/yPa98PiD3s8/s288/IMG_5273.JPG.jpg" /></img>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-32793197198396736932008-03-17T21:37:00.000-04:002008-03-22T10:26:08.777-04:00First Fondant Lesson? Check!Even though I'm going to make my wedding cake on my own, I want it to look classy and (dare I say?!) professional. After deciding on wedding cupcakes, I began looking for design ideas and to see what other fall wedding cakes were out there. Do you know you could waste a whole day online googling wedding cakes? Not to mention the hours upon blissful hours one can lose at Barnes and Noble sipping a latte and perusing wedding cake magazines or watching the cake decorators' challenge on the Food Network!<br /><br />I think the most polished and professional-looking cakes by far are the ones decorated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fondant">fondant</a>. Fondant can be colored in any hue, molded to any shape, and just has that clean beautiful look that makes it such a perfect match for wedding cakes. I love the cakes and cupcakes I've seen in my research with fondant fall leaf cut outs painted with luster dust and the like. So next mission: learn how to create fondant decorations for each one of my 100+ cupcakes without losing my mind. Or going broke. Or scaring my fiance.<br /><br />My first inkling was to sign up for a professional class. Most of the craft stores in my area offer the Wilton 3 class and also the fondant class. The only problem with those classes is that they are spread out over 4 consecutive Saturdays. I travel about twice a month for my job, and Saturdays I often find myself sitting in an airport. So the traditional method just wasn't gonna work for me. Hmmmm....<br /><br />I have to tell you, it's been a lot of fun meeting and getting to know the old friends of my fiance. One of his best friends has a lovely wife who, I learned, makes cakes in her spare time. She graciously agreed to show me the ropes of working with fondant last weekend.<br /><br />So we packed the dog in the car and headed 3 hours north to the woods to meet with the wonderful and gracious Lauri. While the men drank beer on the couch, we got down to the business of coloring, cutting, and sculpting fondant leaves.<br /><br />For those of you who have never worked with fondant - do not be afraid! Did ya ever work with playdoh as a kid? OK! You're qualified to be a fondant guru. Really! I was shocked at how easy it is to use the gel food coloring to color the fondant, roll it out using the <a href="http://www.fondantsource.com/peheropin.html">plastic fondant rollers</a>, make leaf veins with -yes!- a toothpick, and sculpt the edges of the leaves to add dimension using these <a href="http://www.fondantsource.com/pmegumotoset.html">plastic fondant tools </a>and a <a href="http://www.fondantsource.com/wifoshfoset.html">simple sponge</a>. Within about 2 hours, we had cut about 40 leaves out and had a lot of fun in the process. I even got brave and marbled a few leaves by mixing 3 or 4 colors together.<br /><br />Admittedly, the results were not perfect. We didn't make the colors all that fall-like (just didn't want to use all the food coloring necessary to get the deep browns and maroons) and my layer cake was a little lumpy and the frosting uneven. But it was a GREAT start to my journey, and I hope to find a lot of excuses to make cupcakes over the next few months to practice all my techniques until they are second nature!<br /><br />Here are a few pics from the cake. Unfortunately I took them with my cell phone, so they're a little fuzzy. Lesson learned! The next pics will be with my fancy-schmancy digital camera. Enjoy!<br /><br /><img src="http://lh5.google.com/carajpelletier/R-Px4sYP2wI/AAAAAAAAAec/x6-BJWuBfOs/s288/IMAGE_023.jpg"></img><br><br /><img src="http://lh6.google.com/carajpelletier/R-Px58YP2xI/AAAAAAAAAek/RoWOfR0G8iQ/s288/IMAGE_024.jpg"></img><br><br /><img src="http://lh4.google.com/carajpelletier/R-Px8cYP2zI/AAAAAAAAAe0/MvqBryFqajQ/s288/IMAGE_030.jpg"></img><br><br /><img src="http://lh6.google.com/carajpelletier/R-Px-8YP21I/AAAAAAAAAfE/QxMPpr9aYb8/s288/IMAGE_032.jpg"></br>CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-66198730853849280192008-02-15T13:35:00.000-05:002008-03-31T08:57:39.192-04:00Recipe? Check!Allllllright! Progress is definitely being made.<br /><br />I've settled on a recipe. I tried a couple in January that weren't quite right, but ran across one that I have tried now with both cupcakes and a layer cake, and I am a happy camper!<br /><br />First, a warning for all you professional bakers out there: you might want to look away and never return to my blog again. I'm sure the recipe and techniques I'm about to describe fly in the face of all higher-level culinary instruction. I make no apologies: a thrifty bride's gotta do what she's gotta do. Ok? Fearless pioneers and fellow kitchen crazies, read on.<br /><br />The recipe I made the first time was one I found online for homemade spice cake with a bourbon maple cream cheese frosting. Not only was it expensive and difficult to get right, it was simply too much hassle to scale up and fuss with a few days before my wedding. And it felt like it was just missing... something. So I decided to try making cupcakes Sandra Lee style - Semi-Homemade.<br /><br />That's right. Move over, Martha Stewart and <a href="http://www,colettescakes.com/">Colette Peters</a> (who is a GENIUS by the way). Betty Crocker just became my best friend! Your adventurous CaraCakes marched her unpretentious behind straight into the cake mix aisle and proceeded to doctor up a boxed yellow cake with a few spices as the base of her cupcakes. Can I just say, please - there's a reason they make boxed cake mix! It's cheap, tasty, and virtually idiot proof. Big sigh of relief.<br /><br />Just as I thought I had everything under control, my fiance suggested that I make cupcakes with some sort of ooey gooey filling to render them even more decadent and wedding-like. After much googling, I doctored a pumpkin filling recipe I found online to squirt into the middle of the spice cakes, and the result was VERY good!<br /><br />So here's the recipe for my cupcakes. Love 'em for their simplicity or hate 'em 'cause they're from the wrong aisle in the grocery store... they're still worth a try!<br /><br /><br /><strong><em>CaraCakes' Spicy Fall Wedding Cuppycakes with Pumpkin Cream Cheese filling and Maple Buttercream Icing:</em></strong><br /><br />1 box yellow cake + ingredients to make<br />1 t. cinnamon<br />½ t. ginger<br />¼ t. nutmeg<br />¼ t. cloves<br /><br />Combine spices with dry cake mix. Add wet ingredients and mix as directed on box. Pour by ¼ cupfuls into 24 paper-lined cupcake molds. Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.<br /><br />Pumpkin Filling<br /><br />4 T. butter, at room temperature<br />8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature<br />1t. real vanilla extract - don't skimp on the cheap stuff!<br />1 1/3 c. confectioners sugar<br />1/2 c. canned pumpkin<br /><br />Beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla until creamy. Add sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in pumpkin puree. Place filling in pastry bag fitted with bismarck tip. Squeeze approx. 1T filling into the center of each cuppy cake.<br /><br />Maple Frosting<br /><br />1 container prepared buttercream frosting - oh yeah, I used Betty here too!<br />½ t. maple flavor<br /><br />Mix maple flavor into frosting. If desired, add extra powdered sugar and mix to stiffen up frosting for piping purposes. Frost filled cuppy cakes with Maple Frosting. If desired, use pastry bag with star tip to swirl frosting onto cuppy cakes. Enjoy! Yum!CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7509460659824534509.post-25239253489474787462008-01-18T13:04:00.000-05:002008-03-22T10:18:03.326-04:00The mission, should I choose to accept it...My fiance and I are getting married in October, and we're paying for the whole wedding ourselves. Needless to say, we're on a very tight budget. Being one who has always had a strong DIY way about her, I decided to make pretty much everything in the wedding myself - from the invitations, to the centerpieces, to the favors, and of course, the cake! That way, we can splurge a little on a nice meal at a great reception hall and still afford to invite about 120 people.<br /><br />When we chose a date, we picked October for a few reasons. First, it's the month we began dating. Second, we both LOVE our New England state in the fall... the crisp air, the leaves, the bright beautiful days. Third, several couples in both our families have October anniversary dates, so it's a good month all around.<br /><br />But the thing I happen to love the most about fall are the flavors - apple, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg... yum! We've chosen to center our reception around the colors and flavors and natural beauty of the season. And that means I'll want to tie in a few of those flavors to our cake.<br /><br />Now, I am not a baker or a professional cake decorator by trade. I just like to tinker in the kitchen. So in lieu of trying to learn how to bake, stack, frost and decorate a tiered nightmare, I've decided to go fun and trendy, and make a cupcake tier instead.<br /><br />I bought a GREAT <a href="http://www.cupcaketree.com/">cake tier </a>online and think it will do the trick. My plan is to make a small 6" cutting cake for the top tier, and have individual cupcakes for all the guests. How hard could that be?<br /><br />So I've got my plan, and I've got my tree... now all I need is a recipe for great fall cupcakes and some lessons in making fondant decorations. Wish me luck as I get started!CaraCakeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08630072370360123542noreply@blogger.com0