Ornamental Cupcakes

I had fun decorating holiday cupcakes.  The flavour?  Lemon and decorated with a buttercream icing.  I posted the recipe in April.  It has a very light tartness which is a nice contrast to the icing.  Check out the pics:

Just poured batter into cupcake cups.

freshly baked!

Time to decorate.

Tada!

You can keep these in an air tight container for up to three days.  ENJOY!

Coach Bag

Thank you to Sharon for requesting a cake for her sister Sophia.

The theme?  A Coach Bag.  Since Sharon would be transporting this after delivery, she asked if I could decorate this cake flat on a cake board.  Sharon is a fan of Pumpkin Spice... So Pumpkin Spice it was.  She also wanted it in turquoise and yellow.

I have posted this recipe in January of this year.  Here is a tip if you want to bake an eggless cake.  Replace your eggs and water in this recipe with a can of club soda.

Here are some pictures of the process.

Turquoise butter cream icing on the first layer.

Time to icing the top layer.

Crumb coat complete!

Let's add that icing again.

Fondant is placed over cake.

Oops.... I forgot to cake more pictures in between.  I did use two round cookie cutters to make the letter C.  One large one and a smaller one to cut out a hole in the middle.  I will add an update of this cake sliced, once Sophia has cut into it.

Cake for McKenzie

Thank you to Renae, who asked if I could decorate a birthday cake for her princess of a daughter, Mckenzie.  This is a two layered white cake, however, for the bottom layer I added pink food colouring to the cake batter.  I wish I could be there to watch Renae and Mckenzie cut the cake.

Udate: Here are some photos from McKenzie's cake event.

Here is a the recipe I used for this easy white cake.  Found on Allrecipes.com this is a can't go wrong cake.

Ingredients:

1 cup white sugar

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x9 inch pan or line a muffin pan with paper liners.

2.In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pan.

3.Bake for 30 to 40 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

Christmas Cupcakes

Well, what can I say.  I really dropped the ball on posting Halloween themed treats. But I am not one to dwell on the negative.  Let's move on to the next big season.
Christmas!

I baked Devils Food Cupcakes.  This recipe was found at about.com and is by Diane Rattray.

Ingredients:
•3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
•1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
•1 1/4 cups milk, scalded
•2 cups cake flour, sifted or stirred before measuring
•1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
•1 teaspoon salt
•2/3 cup shortening
•3 eggs
•1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation:

Prepare two 1 dozen cupcake trays with cupcake liners. Sift the cocoa with 1/3 cup sugar; pour into the milk gradually; stir until well blended. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, remaining 1 cup sugar, soda, and salt. Add shortening and half of the cooled cocoa and milk mixture. Beat at medium speed of an electric hand-held mixer. Add eggs, vanilla, and remaining cocoa and milk mixture. Continue beating for about 2 minutes, scraping bowl with a spatula occasionally. Pour into cupcake tray. Bake at 325° for 25 to 30 minutes.Cool and frost devil's food cupcakes as desired.

 

I used icing colors to dye my icing, and my designs were piped using a #2 tip, and smoothed over with a spatula knife.

Southern Strawberry Cake

Thank you to Helen for requesting a baby shower cake.  She asked if I could bake a Strawberry Shortcake.  I'll be honest with you.  I tried my hand at one awhile back and let's just say.... it wasn't very pleasant.  So I suggested a Southern Strawberry Cake.  I found this idea by Joy The Baker.

This cake is so pretty, and I thought it would work for the occasion (great for bridal showers as well).  Here is the recipe:

Ingredients Cake
1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix (without pudding)
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry jello
1 Tablespoon self rising flour
4 teaspoons granulated sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup fresh strawberries, finely diced.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F

Ingredients Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
pink food coloring
4 sliced strawberries

Wash your strawberries, cut the tops off, and dice them up.  I put them in a large Ziploc bag and rolled a can over it to crush them.

To make the cake, combine to cake mix, Jello, flour and sugar in a large bowl. Mix well. Add the oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition Add the water and strawberries and mix well.

Divide the batter evenly into two 8-inch round baking pans that have been oiled and floured. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the layers pull away from the sides of the pan. 
**I baked this cake using two 10" round baking pans.  For this recipe I doubled up on my ingredients and baked this cake for 50 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Transfer the layers from the oven to wire racks. Let them cool, still in their pans, for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, run a knife around the inside edge of each pan, then unmold each layer onto the racks to cool completely.

Frosting
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.
**I found the frosting to be a little sweet, so I added a teaspoon of salt to my (doubled up) ingredients.



I crumb coated the bottom layer and added some more diced strawberries on top.

I added the top layer and finished off my crumbcoat.

Put the coconut in a small bowl and sprinkle with two or three drops of pink food dye. Mix with a spoon to distribute the color.

Once the cake is frosted, decorate the top of the cake with the shredded coconut and sliced strawberries.

ENJOY!

Raptors Win!

Thank you to my friend Dale who requested a Toronto Raptors Cake.
I used the FBCT technique for this one and added red licorice as a border.

Perhaps if they were always baked a cake on game night, they just might win?

(Friday Oct 29/10) Toronto Raptors roasted the Cleveland Cavaliers 101-81. 

Coincidence?  I think not!