Mexican Chocolate Cake

A partial photo op, of a Mexican Chocolate Cake that I baked and decorated. I have never tasted this before, and a customer requested. OMG! This was absolutely delicious. Chocolate with a kick! I smoothed buttercream icing, and added fondant. I added a gumpaste flower as a finishing touch.

Here is the recipe:
Mexican Chocolate Cake (Makes 12 servings)

- 1(18 1/4 ounce) chocolate cake mix, prepared according to package directions
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup water
- 1/3 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Stir the cinnamon, ground red pepper, and balsamic vinegar into the cake batter then pour into the prepared pan.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let cake cool for 15 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream Icing (makes 3 cups):
- 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
- 3 tablespoons water

To turn this into a medium consistency (to ice your cake)for every cup of icing, add 1 teaspoon of water

fondant is optional.

I Promise!

Wow! I am checking out my blog post count for February so far. Yikes! below ten. You may think to yourself that my attention is waining. Not so. However, in my excitement to learn all that I can, I find that my focus tends to Jump all over the place in the world of confections. So. Here is what I have decided:

Pick one area - Cake Decorating
Blog at least 15 times per month
Practice and Perfect

Yes I know, that I have started learning chocolatiering, but my strength is growing in the decoration of baked goods. I am also finding that as I jump all over the place, my finances become a tad stretched. Focusing, on a particular trade will allow me to stick to a budget. So as I write this, my current excitement grows(which is what I need to always occur). Taking too much onto your plate, sets you up for not completing your goals and and allowing the dreaded fear of failure to set in.

On that note, LET'S GET BACK TO THE TOPIC OF CAKE DECORATING!

This upcoming week, it is on to Wilton Level 3 Fondant and Tiered Cakes. I will learn intricate accents such as embroidery and lace, stringwork, garland and ruffle borders. I will finally understand (finally)the basic concept behind working with rolled fondant. More flowers will be added to my repertoire. And last but not least, I will be assembling and decorating a towering tiered cake with beautiful stringwork, flowers and borders.

Hmmm... so can we see, why the need to focus would be very important.

Creating My Birthday Cake

Well it's that time of the year again. My Birthday. Since I am taking Cake Decorating Classes, it would be a shame if I celebrated my big day, with a store bought cake. So I present to you, the making of Dee's (that's me) birthday cake. The recipe? Pumpkin Spice Cake, with a Cream Cheese Icing. I used the pumpkin insides that I froze, when I was carving my jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. You can freeze the insides for up to 6 months.

As I type this, it is baking in my NEW convection oven. I can barely concentrate. Check back from time to time, as I am uploading my photos, as I progress.

Happy Birthday to me... Here we go!

Recipe
1 package spice cake mix
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 eggs

Icing
1 (16 ounce) can vanilla frosting
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (170 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9x13 inch baking pan, or two 9 inch cake pans.
2.In a large bowl, mix together the yellow cake mix, sugar, vegetable oil, pumpkin, water, cinnamon, nutmeg and eggs. Beat until well blended. Transfer to the baking dish or cake pans.
3.Bake in the preheated oven 50 minutes.

What I liked about this recipe, was that it was easy. I mean, this is my birthday cake, but I wanted to bake a cake that was quick and delicious.

(keep on checking, as I am adding more photos to this post)

Prepping for Last Class Level 1

I baked a yellow cake over the weekend. I smoothed burgundy icing on it. I am going to sign off now, as I will have alot more to say, once it is completed in the last class for Wilton Course 1.

Goodnight!

Stars and Stripes and a Rainbow to Boot!

So sorry I haven't blogged for awhile. You don't have to worry though. I did not get off course. My eyes are still on the prize but it has been a little hectic though.

My Level 1 Wilton - Discover Cake Decorating class began this past Monday. As you know, my goal was to book Tuesdays off at my day job. Sadly to say I wasn't able to get Tuesday off because we are completing year end inventory. I have been incredibly tired. I even had to work on Saturday this past weekend.

Anyway, this blog is not to vent about the day job (because I am thankful for it). It is a testament to show where I started, and where I end up. It is for you to follow me as I work towards my goal, of turning a love of making confections to a full time career.

And back to Wilton Level 1 / Class 1. We had learned how to make icing, colouring it and how to apply it to our cakes. The crumb coat vs using the icer tip method. Right now, I am definitely leaning towards the icer tip method. It puts on my icing nice and thick. We also learned the concept behind a leveler. I always wondered how cake decorators had their cakes looking so even.

Today we learned how to apply icing using the star method and we learned to draw stripes. Our class decorated a cake with a rainbow.

I will decorate my own cake over the weekend using the star method. I will serve it up to my co-workers on Monday. So excited!

I Wasn't Blogging But...

I have been working on my Sweet Tooth project.

Since the last time I've blogged, my mind has been all over the place, trying to decide where should I get started. I have a 12 year old niece, and we poke fun at her because she makes a list for EVERYTHING. But you know -- lists really work! Organization is not my thing. While an "organized" list may not work for me, I have started to carry around a note book in which I list random thoughts.

Starting from the front, I write my random thoughts about the Fashionista project. From the back pages (working towards the front), I list stuff general stuff. Like today, I wrote down that I would like to go online and view our hydro account, and google how to be more energy efficient.I tend to be tunnel vision mode sometimes. So having my note book include both aspects of my life, helps me to manage my life much better.

There is a book titled "Write it Down, Make it Happen" by Henriette Anne Klauser. I think the thought behind it is if think of an idea, no matter how fleeting, or great, write it down. You will find that you will embrace more. Bit by bit your ideas will grow into actions, and you will be able to achieve your goals. Actually, this blog is a little bit of my "Write it Down, Make it Happen".

So on the top of my random list, was to join a Cake Decorating class. Today I have signed on with Flour Confections in Ajax, Ontario. I am enrolled in Wilton Course 1 – Discover Cake Decorating. At $105, I believe it's a reasonable investment towards my future. Classes are on Mondays in January, so I have already booked off the Tuesdays at work. While I would love to focus as much as possible on Fashionista project, my full-time job is my first priority. Thank goodness for my vacation plan. Mondays will be a work day, then a class night -- Tuesdays will be my day of rest.