SilhouPETte Birthday Cake

My friend, Christine, contacted me to make a birthday cake for her best friend, Jessica, who is the founder and owner of SilhouPETte.  Jessica makes really great custom silhouettes of your pet to have as keepsakes or gifts.  Christine asked me to make a cake mimicking one of Jessica's pieces using Jessica's own dog, Dixon, as the silhouette.

Can you guys tell the boo-boo I made?  The damask print on the cake board is upside down!  I'm so bummed about this too because I spent quite a bit of time thinking of how I could closely imitate Jessica's art.  I'm used to making round cakes so this is actually the first time I've ever even used a rectangular cake board.  I didn't pay attention to the orientation of the silhouette when I set it in place so I didn't notice that it was upside down until it was too late.  Blah!  So irritated that I made such a silly mistake. 

I have been customizing my own cake boards lately by covering them with wrapping paper.  I think that it gives the cake a little more of a dramatic effect.  When I let Christine know that I would be doing an oval cake on a rectangular cake board, to give the cake the feel of a SilhouPETte, she requested that the pattern on the cake board be damask and sent me a picture of one of Jessica's pieces as an example.  I looked in several different stores to try and find a wrapping paper with a similar damask print as what Christine showed me but I wasn't satisfied with what I saw.  So, after endless searching on the internet for different damask patterns, one image lead me to Etsy.  I didn't know this but there are a few graphic artists who sell packages of digital prints through there.  I used VNdigitalart.  I paid a whopping 3 dollars and they sent me a link to download about a dozen images.  Pretty neat, I think.  So, I printed out a few sheets of the image I wanted and pasted them onto the board.

To get Dixon's silhouette onto the cake, I printed his image in the size that I wanted, cut it out and glued it onto a manila file folder.  Then I took an X-acto knife and cut out a stencil along the edge of the image.

Sorry for the funky lighting!

I had made the template intending to use the cut out and not the stencil, but really either would work. 

One more for Dixon's ear so that it would pop out on the cake.

The cake was red velvet with cream cheese frosting filling. 

Please check out Jessica's stuff at SilhouPETte!  Christine is also an AMAZING event and wedding photographer.  Check out her blog at christinechangphotoblog.com.  I am moved by her photos every time. 

Sneak Peek: SilhouPETte Cake

Here's a first look at this surprise birthday cake. More about it coming soon!

No Knead Bread

I'm not very versed in the world of bread baking.  I don't have bread flour.  I have a baking stone that we have only used once for making pizza with pre-made Trader Joe's pizza dough and it was far less than impressive.  I bought a jar of active dry yeast awhile back ago but I forgot to put it in the fridge so I think it all went dead.  The only breads I have really made are pretzel rolls and raisin swirl bread.  I tried to make brioche one time and for whatever reason it was a sticky, clumpy disaster.  Breads seems like a whole other planet to me in terms baking.  I kinda have to agree with my boyfriend who says, "Why make it when you can buy it at the store for $1.99?"

I've known about the No Knead Bread recipe for a long time but never tried to make it.  The bread requires 14 to 20 hours to rise (overnight), and I usually get my cravings to bake in the mornings.  So anytime I actually wanted to make this bread, I'd forget about it by the time it was reasonable to do so. 

After my friend, Marilyn, said she had a lot of success with the recipe, I set my mind to try it too.  I'm glad I did.  It was fantastic.  The bread's crust was amazing and the inside was chewy and perfect for slathering butter on.  We kept the leftovers in a plastic resealable bag and I thought that it kept pretty well.

The recipe calls for instant yeast.  I only keep active dry yeast packets in my house (buying the jar was an overestimation of how often I thought I would make pretzel buns and/or raisin swirl bread), and I read that other people still got great bread with it.  So, I warmed up the 1 5/8 cups of water that the recipe calls for and proofed the yeast first, then added it to the flour and salt.  I think I've read that others who also used active dry yeast skipped proofing and still got good results.

I'm interested in experimenting more with this recipe.  I'd like to try a finer ground cornmeal (I used polenta which is probably too coarse), or maybe wheat bran.  I might even invest in some bread flour.

I guess the bread planet isn't that far off after all. 

Jenn's 30th Birthday Cake

One of the most beautiful and stylish girls I know had a big birthday this weekend.  Being such a special occasion I wanted to make a cake for her that could match her beauty and style.  So, I surprised one of my dearest friends, Jenn, with this ruffled, 2-tiered cake. It will never compare to how awesome she is but I still love how it turned out!

This was my first time making ruffles on a cake so I used this video as a reference. Ruffles are super easy to make and really add a dramatic effect.  The flowers and bows were 100% gum paste and the ruffles and letters were a mixture (about half and half) of fondant and gum paste.

It is really hard to achieve black using food coloring so I mixed together pre-made black fondant with white gum paste and added additional black food coloring gel for a darker color.  The bottom two layers of ruffles are a dark shade of slate blue/purple and actually black food coloring gel is a concentrate of really dark purple (to me it is at least) so I just used less food coloring there. 

Another reason why I didn't use all gum paste for the ruffles is because it just doesn't taste very good by itself, but adding it to the fondant gives it more stretch without it cracking. 

 Gumpaste roses.

 The big 3-0!

 Pink bow on the back of the cake.

The shininess of the bow comes from edible pearl dust. One additional thing I did to the top layer of ruffles was to trim to the tops (where it gathers) with a pizza cutter so that there would be a nice even edge.

So one of the things I dislike doing is finding supplies for cake making.  There is a baking supply store that is somewhat close to me but if I ever forget something it is not convenient for me to make that extra drive out to.  That is usually where I buy my fondant and other supplies.  Lately, the Michael's store by me has really increased their baking supply inventory, adding lots of stuff from Wilton and also Duff Goldman's (from Ace of Cakes) brand of cake decorating tools and buttercream fondant.  I read somewhere that his fondant is actually very good so I used it for the first time on this cake.

Right out of the container you can smell how buttery it is and working with it was great because it stretches really easily without causing cracks or holes.  I think this is the smoothest my cakes have every looked (underneath the ruffles).  I will definitely be using the Duff brand of fondants again. 

The flavor of the cake was devil's food cake with a dark chocolate ganache filling.

 
Happy birthday, Jenn!!!

Purple Striped and Dotted Birthday Cake

Life has been particularly hectic lately, but I wanted to take a few moments to share with you all the birthday cake that I made for my goddaughter, Makayla, and her younger sister Alyssa.  Being 11, Makayla's favorite person in the whole world is Justin Bieber.  So obviously, her cake is purple because that is Justin's favorite color. 

Such cute little smiles.  Alyssa, Makayla's sister, is the middle one with the life vest. Part of the bow fell off but I guess that's just want happens when you put a cake in front of a bunch of 3 year olds that want to touch it. 

Back view of the cake.

The inside of the cake was vanilla cake with vanilla toffee bit buttercream.  Here is the recipe for the buttercream (but it's basically just vanilla buttercream with a bunch of toffee bits thrown in).  If you're not sure where to find toffee bits, I found these at Safeway in the baking section, next to the chocolate chips.

Vanilla Toffee Buttercream

5 egg whites
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 pound (4 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature
1 8 oz bag of Heath Bits O' Brickle Toffee Bits

In a saucepan, bring about an inch of water to a simmer.  In a bowl of an electric stand mixer, whisk together egg whites, sugar and salt by hand.  Put bowl over simmering water and continue to whisk until the mixtures is warm to the touch and the sugar has dissolved.  

Transfer bowl to electric stand mixer.  Using the whisk attachment, beat the mixture on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes.  

Change to the paddle attachment mix on medium speed.  Add butter a few pieces at time until incorporated.  The mixtures will look like it is separating.  This is normal.  Continue to beat on medium to medium high speed until the buttercream smooths out.  

Remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in toffee bits by hand.  

Yield: About 6 cups

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

 

Summer has finally arrived in the San Francisco Bay Area.  So here's a nice summer themed treat for all of you who have waited so patiently for the warm weather to arrive.  

I think the main reason why I wanted to try making a lemon meringue cupcake was because my good friend Malia raved about one that she had at Off the Grid.  She told me that I had to try making one similar and described her cupcake as having a graham cracker crust, lemon cake, lemon curd and topped with meringue.  

I don't think I've ever even tried a real lemon meringue pie, so I don't know if I'm equipped with the knowledge to tell you how much like the pie these cupcakes are.  What I can say is that the cupcakes were light and refreshing.  Not overly tangy, not overly sweet.  Great for bringing to your next pot luck (that's what I did) or serving at a BBQ. 

I opted not to include the graham cracker crust but would like to try adding it when I make these in the future.  The recipe I followed was Martha's (of course), which was similar to the one Malia described.  You can find the recipe here.  (I actually don't know why I bought her cupcake book.  She offers most of her popular cupcakes on the website anyways.)

I suggest eating your cupcakes the same day.  I had one the next day, from the fridge, and the texture of the cake changes and gets denser. 

Enjoy! 

Red Velvet Rose Cake for Lisa and Chris's Engagement Party

 

I'm almost embarrassed to blog about this cake.  This is what I made for my long time friend Lisa and her fiance, Chris, for their engagement party over the weekend.  I'll tell you why I wasn't happy.  

I saw I Am Baker's rose cake tutorial on Tastespotting and was really anxious to have the opportunity to try out the technique.  Her cake is friggin' beautiful.  Well, as you can see my cake looks nothing like hers.  Mine is like the sloppy mutant version of her perfect bed of roses.  

Full view of the cake.  Doesn't come close to the original.

I have a few theories as to why mine didn't turn out exactly as planned.  Ignoring the fact that I have somewhat poor piping skills, the first thing that went wrong was that I was working with cream cheese frosting.  It tasted delicious but it did not hold up to the heat of my hands in the piping bag.  So, the longer I held the bag the more that it melted and drooped as I piped.  Next time, I think I'll need to keep the bag with frosting in it in the fridge for awhile so that it is nice and cold.  Also, I should have put on a thicker layer of frosting after the crumb coat and before the piping.  The red velvet cake really shows through the gaps between the roses and that bugs the heck out of me.  Thank goodness that the taste of the cake made up for the appearance. 

I understand that this technique is not meant to come out perfectly.  That's why I love the original rose cake by I Am Baker.  There is a classic, rustic feel to it but the way that my cake looks gloppy really is not good enough for me.  

Close up of the bottom layer.  I chose the best shot from the best angle.  Overall, the cake was not so pretty.

Even though I got many compliments on the cake, I wasn't happy.  I knew I could have done better, but I had no time to try again.  Maybe I'm being too critical.  My feeling about the cake is (and I'm quoting Cher from the movie Clueless here) that it's a Monet.  "You see, it's like the painting. Seen from far away, it's okay; but up close, it's a big ol' mess."  From far away the cake looked nice but up close you could see the sloppiness of it.  And no, I'm not embarrassed to be quoting Clueless, a definitive coming of age 90's film. 

 From my Instagram app.  It makes things look puuurty.

The rose cake has not conquered me!  I will try again! 

Oatmeal Brulee

Portland, Oregon robbed me of something.  Actually someone.  So last weekend I went there to try to reclaim what was mine.  I returned home without accomplishing my mission, but I left knowing that Portland is worthy of having (but really just borrowing) my best friend.

It was my first time in Portland and I discovered some really amazing food:  Marrow bones with onions, aged balsamic vinegar and toast; grilled flatiron steak with truffle creamed spinach and pickled onion rings; roasted chicken and seasonal vegetables, garlic mash and rosemary jus.  Just to name a few.

Portland is known for their brunch and I had mine at Gravy.  I knew before my plane even landed that I would be having the oatmeal brulee.  Just the sound of it seemed amazing to me. 

Oatmeal brulee, orange juice and a biscuit with gravy.

The bruleed crust was so delicious and added lots of sweetness to the oatmeal that had rolled oats and fresh berries.  I loved the idea so much that I stole it. 

My own oatmeal brulee with steel cut oats, strawberries and blackberries.

As you can see it doesn't look quite the same.  Mine definitely didn't have the same kind of crust that you use your spoon to break into but I still managed to get a few crunchy bits.  I think the restaurant may have used the broiler whereas I used a mini torch.  If you wanted to try it, prepare your oatmeal like usual but pass on any sweeteners. Sprinkle brown sugar over the top and brulee. The crust itself adds quite a bit of sweetness to your oatmeal. 

 

To accompany my oatmeal, I made myself a coffee with cardamom and honey, another great idea I discovered in Portland.  The honey cardamom latte I had at Dragonfly Coffee House was life changing.  To me, it tastes like a chai flavored coffee.  I watched the ladies at the shop making my coffee and it was so simple.  Just add about 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom and about 2 tablespoons of honey to your coffee cup.  So so yum. 

So, you win Portland. You have one of my best friends and you have some amazing food, but that doesn't mean I won't put in a good fight.  I'll be back.  

30th Triathlon Cake for Drew

One of the cutest couples that I have the pleasure of knowing are Drew and Val so I was delighted when Val contacted me to make a surprise cake for Drew's 30th birthday.  Drew is an avid athlete and triathlon competitor.

When Val told me she wanted a triathlon themed cake, I immediately knew it would be a challenge.  As I always do, I looked up ideas on Google and I took much of my inspiration from Pink Cake Box's Ironman Cake (Pink Cake Box has an awesome blog.  I check it daily. You should too).

My main concern was the bicycle.  When I did a search online, I saw plenty of... how do I say... really shitty looking gum paste bikes on cakes.  So I was worried that I couldn't pull off any sort of decent looking bicycle on my own cake.  What I ended up doing was using angel hair pasta as the spokes on the wheels and glued each strand of pasta onto a disk of gum paste.  I modeled each piece of the frame and then attached them together on the cake.  Most of the gum paste work (all the heads, the swimmer, the legs on the runner) were done several days ahead to allow drying time.  On each tier I used a grass piping tip (Wilton #233) to make green shoots of grass and added chocolate rocks. 

The inside of the cake was white cake with cinnamon buttercream.

Cinnamon Buttercream

4 egg whites
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 sticks butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine egg whites and sugar.  With the bowl set over a pot of simmering water, whisk egg whites until sugar has dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch.  Remove from heat and with a whisk attachment, whisk mixture on high for approximately 6 minutes until glossy stiff peaks form.  Change to a paddle attachment and on medium speed add butter a few tablespoons at a time.  When the mixture begins to look like it is separating turn the mixer to medium-high speed and continue to beat until buttercream comes together.  On medium speed, add vanilla and cinnamon.  Mix until combined.  Reduce speed to low and continue mixing for another minute to get the bubbles out.  Makes about 4 cups of buttercream.

Chocolate Salted Caramel Mini Cupcakes for Elisha

I could make this blog post really long and miserable and try to fast forward through how three girls became best friends and soulmates.  I won't because somehow you will see my tears streaming down this post in some weird kind of stigmata way. 

Elisha (of Cheesecake Challenge fame) moved to Portland on Sunday and this weekend we celebrated this new chapter in her life.  For her, I made Chocolate Salted Caramel Mini Cupcakes from Martha's Cupcakes.  Something sweet and salty for this equally sweet and salty moment. 

Each mini chocolate cupcake had a little bit cut out from the top and the homemade caramel was poured in.  A little sea salt goes on each caramel, then dark chocolate frosting tops each. 

Lisha reading her cupcake message.

I would have used "cry ourselves to sleep each night we are apart" instead of "miss you" but I didn't have that many toothpicks.

Elisha, Mary & Sylvia:  Soulmates