Elisha's Birthday Cake

So far, my cakes have been on the fun and whimsical side. I really wanted to show that I could do something that is classy and sophisticated.

This cake accomplished two things for me: I got to work more with flowers and also the chance to do a damask style cake, which I have been wanting to do for awhile.

I wanted the flower to look like a chrysanthemum, which I guess I sort of accomplished. I would have liked it more if it was more cupped than flat. I followed the steps on this guide that I found. I probably didn't get the result that I wanted because I didn't have the right tools. Or maybe I just wasn't doing it right.

Jasmine's Maple Chocolate Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Bacon Crust

Sorry for the delay in posting this. I've been busy but I can't really think or what I have been busy with.

After hearing that there was BACON in Jasmine's crust, it was a no brainer that she would win for "Most Original". From what I remember, it wasn't terribly obvious that bacon was an ingredient in the crust. In my opinion, the bacon added nuttiness and smokiness.

This is Jasmine's first time competing with us and if this is just a glimpse of what she has to offer, then I am really excited to see what else she has up her sleeve for future competitions.

Recipe after the jump.

Old Fashioned Summer Strawberry Peach Cake

As I do for almost everything I make on whim, I try to use up what I've got in the kitchen or fridge. I had a pint of unopened heavy whipping cream on hand so it was perfect for the filling in this cake. It is based off of Martha's Old Fashioned Berry Layer Cake from her Baking Handbook. It is the one featured on the cover. I decided to make a mini version and halved her recipe, which seemed to work out perfectly. I used 6 inch rounds. Her cake is four layers, but mine is just two. Instead of berries I used a combination of peaches and strawberries.

2009 Cheesecake Challenge Results

I am still amazed at how creative my friends are. This year's cheesecakes were truly spectacular and in combination with the great people and perfect weather, the day was absolutely fantastic. So much fun.

Cupcake Pops

After carving the two birthday cakes (see previous posts), I had plenty of scraps left over. I scooped them into a bowl and refrigerated what was left after my parents picked at them. I knew before I started baking that the scraps would be perfect for making these cupcake pops.

My first encounter with these guys was at my goddaughter's birthday party earlier this year. Her mom, Jasmine, presented us with something probably a hundred times cuter than what you see here. They were almost too cute to eat. Almost. You can find the instructions on how to make them here.

After that day, I wanted to find a reason to make them and found the perfect opportunity when a friend asked me what ideas I had for party favors at a baby shower. I didn't get a chance to take photos when we made them then, but gladly got them this time.

Blue & Orange Whimsical Cake

Here is cake numero dos that I made for this past Saturday. This one went to my friend Jeff and his buddies who were also having a joint birthday party. I was quite afraid that no one would eat it and just throw at it each other instead. But alas, my hard work was not in vain. I'm pretty sure Jeff is still running around in circles from his sugar high since he did not want any of the cake to go to waste. [Cut to Jeff in fetal position on the floor getting cake sweats.]

I forgot to mention in the previous post that the cakes were Martha's One Bowl Chocolate Cake as well as her Caramel Buttercream. The one suggestion I have is to mix the cake batter well. It tends to be lumpy and they don't cook out. The buttercream recipes yields 8 cups which I found to fill and crumb coat two 8-inch rounds and one 10-inch round. I had enough to fill the 6-inch but not give it its crumb coat. This cake is a carved 6-inch on top of a carved 8-inch round. I used the same cake recipe and icing to save myself some time for both cakes.

Something I learned in cake decorating class was to use a template for the diamond shaped pieces on the bottom tier. I didn't make a template and don't think I would have preferred to. I wanted all the points to hit at the same spot and because of the geometry of the cake, using a template wouldn't have provided that anyway. So, I basically eyeballed it and divided the cake into even sections and made a slight marking on the top. Then, I just cut each piece by hand making sure each piece fit as I went.

Pink & Lime Green Polka Dot Cake

Since I took the cake decorating class, I've been eager to test my new skills. In fact, I was a little too eager and promised 2 cakes to 2 different people for the same day. You'll read about the 2nd cake in the next post.

My god daughter, Makayla, and her two sisters had a joint birthday party so I offered to bake the cake as a gift. Makayla wanted a pink cake with lime green polka dots, so I used that as a starting point. It was also mentioned that the cake should be "whimsical and girly". In my mind, I felt the things I learned in decorating class would be perfect for this cake. In the course of looking for ideas, I decided to add the bow topper and the ribbon roses, both which looked easy enough to tackle for creating my first cake alone.

2009 Cheesecake Challenge

It's nearly time for the Cheesecake Challenge again! This year, our competition will be held at Parkside Aquatic Park in San Mateo on Saturday, August 8th and our theme ingredient is chocolate.

Last year, we had a great time with an amazing group of tasters and judges. This year, we are hoping that we will have the honor of having the same crowd plus more. For the results from last year, go here.

Our bakers, so far, are: Elisha, Cynthia, Marvin, Jasmine, Jeff and myself. All creative and talented people, so the competition is going to be tough! Since the theme ingredient is chocolate, it is a good thing we are having the competition at a park to be able to run off the instant pounds we are surely going to gain.

In the last two competitions, we've had 4 judging categories: taste, appearance, texture and originality. We've decided to add one more category: crust. It's such a huge part of the cheesecake experience, it is a surprise that we did not have this category to begin with.

If you would like to join us, please reply "Yes" on the official evite here. Everyone is welcome to come! There will be plenty of cheesecake to taste.

Whose name will be added next to the coveted Golden Whisk Award?

Topsy Turvy Cake

I've been doing research on baking and cake decorating classes in the Bay Area for a little while now, and I think I've found a gem. Combined with what people had to say on Yelp and his website, signing up for a class with Baking Arts in SOMA was a no brainer. Your teacher, Richard, works out of his beautiful loft and keeps class sizes small. He provides everything you need and gives each student plenty of attention. Along with this Topsy Turvy Cake, some of his other classes are Whimsical Cupcakes, Gumpaste flowers, Choux Pastry, etc. So, there is plenty to choose from.

This cake was lots of fun to make. Richard had baked and chilled the cakes for us already. He assembled the top tier for us but showed us how to carve the bottom tier and cover it in fondant. The most time intensive portion of the class was rolling out the fondant and making the decorations. Richard walks you through the whole way but towards the end lets you have free creative reign over your cake. He even gave us a brilliant idea to make the daisies. To give the centers a bit of texture, roll out the fondant and put a piece of tulle down over it. Then, take a round cutter and press down over the tulle into the fondant. Gently peel away the tulle and you'll have the center of the daisy. Simply just dab a little water onto the back and attach to the flower.

Taking this class has definitely encouraged me to try making more cakes with fondant. It's very time intensive (and the fondant doesn't taste like much more than sugary clay), but the product is beautiful.

Strawberry Puff Pastries

I've been on a bit of an unintentional hiatus, mainly because I've discovered that baking as a hobby is quite the pocket drainer.

Anyhow, I had some left over puff pastry in the freezer and the idea of these Strawberry Puff Pastries sprang to mind. As a child, my mom would treat me to a strawberry pastry at Grain D' Or (now Anderson's Bakery) every once in a while. To this day, those pastries bring back pleasant memories so I wanted to create something similar. After doing a little research, I used a recipe for Sunny Side Up Apricot Pastries, from Baking with Julia, as a starting point.