tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-46658547614654830282024-02-20T11:28:49.927-05:00Cooper CakesMy wife is crazy about cakes. I'm her sous chef. She bakes and I blog.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-57805642441179053962011-10-02T11:50:00.000-04:002011-10-02T11:50:28.710-04:00The Faglardo WeddingOK, so their name isn't actually Faglardo. Last month, my friend Adrienne Filardo married Kyle Fagan, and they asked me to make their wedding cake. Their wedding was going to be a simple, low-key event in their back yard, but they needed the cake to serve 100-125 people.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0sXrlmOCzFILOcNVJ2yavhYs7omK19yBX-tiLr6Kq8vBGJbzSUVbEZ2Iyn1a9Gkgk0R8NxW5I7r9RIjNMhIwha1WUBTxkxHXHkoDzRwqVbsyIKh1pOqmcp2vE8fORLx45RRT7FqYnsRX/s1600/IMG_4768.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH0sXrlmOCzFILOcNVJ2yavhYs7omK19yBX-tiLr6Kq8vBGJbzSUVbEZ2Iyn1a9Gkgk0R8NxW5I7r9RIjNMhIwha1WUBTxkxHXHkoDzRwqVbsyIKh1pOqmcp2vE8fORLx45RRT7FqYnsRX/s200/IMG_4768.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTC5Xx1GdAUyaTVGzLrVXAuhqckT0uYrluukQdMHu0TawcfVcNlGFW9VMSCWIHQgN9OWObHdhtiqlWiAv3SG0YjEeblye7o5_81KMJs9wkCFgpmpE6RJoRXFLy7xvefiVQNfIF7v_8Yae/s1600/IMG_4769.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigTC5Xx1GdAUyaTVGzLrVXAuhqckT0uYrluukQdMHu0TawcfVcNlGFW9VMSCWIHQgN9OWObHdhtiqlWiAv3SG0YjEeblye7o5_81KMJs9wkCFgpmpE6RJoRXFLy7xvefiVQNfIF7v_8Yae/s200/IMG_4769.JPG" width="150" /></a>The first stepwas baking and icing the cakes. The bottom and top tiers were Guinness chocolate cake, and the middle tier was vanilla. All were iced with vanilla buttercream.<br />
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They had a couple of styles in mind, but they decided on a 3-tiered peach colored cake with white icing decorations. The cake was covered with peach fondant and the dots were made with royal icing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_uYdvmHJP2_oPYhzDXaViUcbhMtlVhamqQ67otS9Hr8PNuu8jnETqg0DcMEcfgdV1sdHAlHGn2gAXX52XAlOocyuciK9LYMciGnfczJH3BbQPgmm4QULTGjXW9Xh7wOgjIBk2dzp73rn/s1600/IMG_4772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_uYdvmHJP2_oPYhzDXaViUcbhMtlVhamqQ67otS9Hr8PNuu8jnETqg0DcMEcfgdV1sdHAlHGn2gAXX52XAlOocyuciK9LYMciGnfczJH3BbQPgmm4QULTGjXW9Xh7wOgjIBk2dzp73rn/s400/IMG_4772.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product.<br /></td></tr>
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I have to say that the cutest part of the cake was something that we copied from www.loveandlavender.com - the cake topper. Adrienne and Kyle have chickens, so when they saw an egg cake topper, they knew that was what they wanted. It was actually really easy to make, just decorating a couple of eggs to be the bride and groom. And, yes, the eggs were hard-boiled first.<br />
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But that's not all! Adrienne wanted to surprise Kyle with a personalized groom's cake. He's a home-brewer (he actually brewed the beer that was served at the wedding), so of course that was the perfect idea for the cake: Faglardo's Lager. I told her I would make a beer mug for him, and her only requirement was that it had to be Red Velvet cake. I was a little hesitant about cream cheese icing and fondant, but after a little searching I found a great <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/professional-cream-cheese-buttercream-frosting-454493">Cream Cheese Buttercream</a> recipe that was fantastic.<br />
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So after the wedding was over and dinner was served, it was time to demolish the cakes.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBWeq66FEUPGoFCu2csm9weZl_JTnHWXJeFnB_TOruBWiiitc2xfrSUZPnXaGm8ZCe_jUYN-WqHZPbOaztVxfZzMxacVYWO8KIYa5-plqQn2pcHHXCcs8LKRRM_9fUfj6zMWKQeEiKav9/s1600/IMG_4836.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBWeq66FEUPGoFCu2csm9weZl_JTnHWXJeFnB_TOruBWiiitc2xfrSUZPnXaGm8ZCe_jUYN-WqHZPbOaztVxfZzMxacVYWO8KIYa5-plqQn2pcHHXCcs8LKRRM_9fUfj6zMWKQeEiKav9/s200/IMG_4836.JPG" width="150" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5HSbMskLtPodEYoeQrNpTE4j-ectccdLKjm4XMCo3B4Qz0S2AxdkON9yE-JTiRYs5m_c9Z4oFQHhvUh2-eIK4VyRQkYWV45ORyX1V_goBjmvjHd9Gjk9RybOzi9olLjE19EF7-f-9dgT/s1600/IMG_4835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF5HSbMskLtPodEYoeQrNpTE4j-ectccdLKjm4XMCo3B4Qz0S2AxdkON9yE-JTiRYs5m_c9Z4oFQHhvUh2-eIK4VyRQkYWV45ORyX1V_goBjmvjHd9Gjk9RybOzi9olLjE19EF7-f-9dgT/s200/IMG_4835.JPG" width="150" /></a> I don't think I've seen cake disappear so quickly. It was a great night, and I wish the bride and groom all the best. Congratulations!<br />
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<br />Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-55851749841945580792011-06-14T21:56:00.000-04:002011-06-14T21:56:46.387-04:00Graduation Day!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Well, as spring starts to seem more like summer, you know that it's time for graduations. Nick, who worked in my husband's lab asked me to bake a cake for him and a few of his friends that were graduating at the same time as him. He sent me information about each person and their respective majors, so right off the bat I knew I wanted to do something to make it a personalized treat for each graduate. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Nick asked that I stick with pretty simple/basic flavors. I decided to go with the two standbys - chocolate and vanilla. The square tier of the cake was made of chocolate cake, and the top tier was vanilla cake. I've found that when you have those two, there really is something for everyone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Since a lot of people like to write their name on the top of their graduation caps so their families can find them, I decided to do the same with the cake. I made a graduation cap and wrote each person's name on one corner. Then, I decorated each side with something to represent their major.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">The top of the cap was just gum paste that I cut and let dry for<br />
about 24 hours. I'm not sure what caused the ripple effect, but<br />
I really liked it. I thought it made it look like fabric.</td></tr>
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Three of the students were graduating from the University of Florida (orange and blue), and one girl was graduating from Santa Fe College (blue and white). Of course nobody could be left out, so I made two tassels - one for each school.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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</div>The tassels were actually not as hard to make as I thought they would be. I died fondant the different colors and then rolled them each out into thick sheets. I just happened to have my spaghetti maker handy, so I rolled the sheets through that to make the strips. Then, I just bunched the strips together, bound them by wrapping another piece of fondant around the top, and placed it on the cake. <div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Nick was a Biochemistry major and a Materials Science Engineering<br />
Minor. So, he got a DNA helix.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Kayla got her Associate's degree in Cardiovascular Technology,<br />
so she got an EKG reading</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhff5J5iKDiGMu31jvaK8cmn7b5ZlNhMMJ1DuIz6pd4SiHJK-W8XMYHFQbwrO9-vm0-i0YZ6hRXWsPJSSAJFQXz066VjNms6TAcOlhyphenhyphenRcrXz5qfvNvnsiB5QQANWrtQxNuu8YuMxz2Cvmua/s1600/IMG_4562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhff5J5iKDiGMu31jvaK8cmn7b5ZlNhMMJ1DuIz6pd4SiHJK-W8XMYHFQbwrO9-vm0-i0YZ6hRXWsPJSSAJFQXz066VjNms6TAcOlhyphenhyphenRcrXz5qfvNvnsiB5QQANWrtQxNuu8YuMxz2Cvmua/s320/IMG_4562.JPG" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Cassie was a History major, and she had me pretty stumped.<br />
She ended up getting an ancient scroll telling the world's history.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CZnAzZXfpO7BNImc92JAEreo-EVGA0ZvcNKLUy4mAtEbJ6OeaxAzCRRvC9JCwlZ6-26zN7YK2ttq5Lj9PNCFJRDO7szErt18OIqWBxmWuvPoG9KR7B0-K5h_rThQa18vSae83frOTrvN/s1600/IMG_4559.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3CZnAzZXfpO7BNImc92JAEreo-EVGA0ZvcNKLUy4mAtEbJ6OeaxAzCRRvC9JCwlZ6-26zN7YK2ttq5Lj9PNCFJRDO7szErt18OIqWBxmWuvPoG9KR7B0-K5h_rThQa18vSae83frOTrvN/s320/IMG_4559.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shane was a Healthcare Technology major, so he got a Caduceus <br />
(a commonly used healthcare symbol) and a stethoscope.</td></tr>
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</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-14223561906846222802011-06-12T13:02:00.000-04:002011-06-12T13:02:00.490-04:00Dr. and Mr. Steven Kirschner, Esq.You may remember Chelsea Magin from the post a while ago where I made her a <a href="http://coopercakes.blogspot.com/2011/03/sharklet-graduation-cake.html">Sharklet graduation cake</a>. Well, this April, her and Steve Kirschner tied the knot. Their wedding was so unique and fun. They got married at the Baughman Center on the University of Florida campus and had their restaurant at a new Gainesville restaurant called <a href="http://www.bocafiesta.com/">Boca Fiesta</a>. Their table decorations were photos of the couple held up by Dia de los Muertos skulls. Instead of throwing the bouquet and garter, they put them in pinatas and let the single men and women attack the prize like kids going after fallen candy.<br />
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A few weeks before the wedding, Chelsea contacted me and asked me to make a surprise groom's cake for Steve. After a little while, she decided that it would be perfect to have a cake decorated like a Dia de los Muertos skull. The decorations were piped with royal icing in the colors of their invitations and decorations. There was never any question about what flavor the cake should be - it had to be the Guinness cake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriEdfFR7wAx_v81VMsxDCuqA11LbO4Mkmr3Vj_oTcdfQSi3aI4LWELg_Wfc93n4EPaLGA09vcKT3UGQ5BrMYuCseIFM0VhD6Po_cIJ2DWT0VdIM89BWW_mpOn8ZGG3jHAgam0OPIDXxUV/s1600/IMG_4524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgriEdfFR7wAx_v81VMsxDCuqA11LbO4Mkmr3Vj_oTcdfQSi3aI4LWELg_Wfc93n4EPaLGA09vcKT3UGQ5BrMYuCseIFM0VhD6Po_cIJ2DWT0VdIM89BWW_mpOn8ZGG3jHAgam0OPIDXxUV/s320/IMG_4524.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cake at the couple's table. <br />
The picture next to was their Save-the-Date cards.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZNWOFW1amX-pgeCmMtQSbH_IHcONkolgGNyvq2dGDZr_sJJQTh8bjv1jgv_hR0aOxfhVBiM3uPdzYVT8QIM9_cyGJRqghRt0HDCQy9qRiAmxjLKcF1I40wdaFQ7hEW7n9tnYqV3RzuZn/s1600/IMG_4530.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZNWOFW1amX-pgeCmMtQSbH_IHcONkolgGNyvq2dGDZr_sJJQTh8bjv1jgv_hR0aOxfhVBiM3uPdzYVT8QIM9_cyGJRqghRt0HDCQy9qRiAmxjLKcF1I40wdaFQ7hEW7n9tnYqV3RzuZn/s320/IMG_4530.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very traditional wedding decorations, right?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ATQ5l45obCBde4XuwjlKZ07GBq1AjET55s4Io0IuCJC__s-297SGpO694s8ld_VnKLilWU0Yx5fGSNM-BBPUKxBAV7q-vWemmQ8EP_ytY9eVFRQlMaRecXau3FczC9qAZkHrcFlfFr5A/s1600/IMG_4533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ATQ5l45obCBde4XuwjlKZ07GBq1AjET55s4Io0IuCJC__s-297SGpO694s8ld_VnKLilWU0Yx5fGSNM-BBPUKxBAV7q-vWemmQ8EP_ytY9eVFRQlMaRecXau3FczC9qAZkHrcFlfFr5A/s320/IMG_4533.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cake topper on the right was actually made by their sister-in-law. <br />
It was really incredible and looked awesome on top of the wedding cake (which came later).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-46781033754188533272011-06-10T16:54:00.000-04:002011-06-10T16:54:30.658-04:00Darcie and Rick's WeddingOK, this wedding may have been small (only about 25 people), but it was a pretty big deal for me. It was my sister's wedding. She married my (new) brother-in-law on April 5th, which was our mom's birthday. It was a really simple but elegant wedding held at Arizona's Boyce Thompson Arboretum. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76oCmP85YYVpR8W4f-0WS5KSrtXCi2zDd4FqVSmFlNSW6nXA4TqLHgoDI_na3Ujq5OfYw_yK-K1lpF9AKo7HUtgOLSH4Ha-7SHyvT353cdfyxiLIqMK-8shmDiOHYXmO72vQtXH-PyM9_/s1600/IMG_4383.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh76oCmP85YYVpR8W4f-0WS5KSrtXCi2zDd4FqVSmFlNSW6nXA4TqLHgoDI_na3Ujq5OfYw_yK-K1lpF9AKo7HUtgOLSH4Ha-7SHyvT353cdfyxiLIqMK-8shmDiOHYXmO72vQtXH-PyM9_/s320/IMG_4383.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the wedding to start.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEzXtlv3ChWQHIu69EwAGw1DgGngJweePwQM-4sDs2qmtO7-W3qmvcUWQ3GHcQJYayk2Ngjos8R2QIuAMu-QEqKsk_fY5F7IWXlp70rx-hVIr17nIy2zTeBjzVAkCxHLAytqwXGcmoq2k/s1600/IMG_4416.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEzXtlv3ChWQHIu69EwAGw1DgGngJweePwQM-4sDs2qmtO7-W3qmvcUWQ3GHcQJYayk2Ngjos8R2QIuAMu-QEqKsk_fY5F7IWXlp70rx-hVIr17nIy2zTeBjzVAkCxHLAytqwXGcmoq2k/s320/IMG_4416.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The happily married couple.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtS0kh1h_cy52jxnSnbiZgQYtDTMf6qMCe9abg60W39x0AjMnW9YnG1efyY53hHbfrKjvFEyluJT3LG0bL4PCgQg29SI1ngOdXYuZIU0uig4GVgXDT5O2S2WproRXm37JNJbEKvp900T2/s1600/IMG_4354.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtS0kh1h_cy52jxnSnbiZgQYtDTMf6qMCe9abg60W39x0AjMnW9YnG1efyY53hHbfrKjvFEyluJT3LG0bL4PCgQg29SI1ngOdXYuZIU0uig4GVgXDT5O2S2WproRXm37JNJbEKvp900T2/s320/IMG_4354.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The (almost) finished cake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The bride and groom didn't want to have a ton of flowers and decorations since nature did such a good job providing the colors, so Darcie just had a simple bouquet of white lilies. She wanted the cake to reflect that simplicity too. So, we stuck with something simple, which was good since I was making the cake at my parent's house in AZ and didn't want to take a bunch of equipment on my trip. The bottom and top tiers were left without any decoration except a simple ribbon, and the middle tier had a nice filigree pattern that my Aunt Jann helped me make.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekPFcEU0wneQ2psX9GRgLtwWYLfQQM0PoYbl-2XDkuvZBOMjS6P-zOtRWBo6xv-J-JySZmG45vFNL7e3iEDCvsDd15J-U3OvpVSKsI3U_10duBpi4o2K4jk86s-5e_Hg_hV4SASy9LxK_/s1600/IMG_4366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekPFcEU0wneQ2psX9GRgLtwWYLfQQM0PoYbl-2XDkuvZBOMjS6P-zOtRWBo6xv-J-JySZmG45vFNL7e3iEDCvsDd15J-U3OvpVSKsI3U_10duBpi4o2K4jk86s-5e_Hg_hV4SASy9LxK_/s320/IMG_4366.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close-up of the filigree</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ4W1QChjHXjsL27RBb7RxPWM_DRXm4IworYz3SPfbrso0p0Fq6cUjr2wDppE_j4v7q3CR4yJwRbtb84EDEO8wq7uoNpLfwYFQCdrNCHNa1XWmO3rcnGkw1WzLBV-ZUe1am9lGVWi-P5fo/s1600/Cake+with+Guest+Book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ4W1QChjHXjsL27RBb7RxPWM_DRXm4IworYz3SPfbrso0p0Fq6cUjr2wDppE_j4v7q3CR4yJwRbtb84EDEO8wq7uoNpLfwYFQCdrNCHNa1XWmO3rcnGkw1WzLBV-ZUe1am9lGVWi-P5fo/s320/Cake+with+Guest+Book.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few fresh flowers are the finishing touch.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They weren't sure of the cake flavor and fluctuated between traditional vanilla and something different, so we did both. Darcie really wanted a flavor that Rick would like, but he's not really a cake fan. He did, however, recently try a chocolate cake that he liked, and said that he liked it because it was not too sweet. Rick is also a pretty big beer fan. Well, naturally I recommended the Guinness chocolate cake recipe that's been such a big hit in the past. So, the green tiers were the Guinness cake with vanilla buttercream, and the middle tier was traditional vanilla with vanilla buttercream.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsHbR6jXLUGYP35ask0Wbrl4xI0A5BEgN6-9eMaBC4LBmLWfn9P9sqNP7RjJs5Ib7BWUfsaMlc3eWivhU_waATOhH24j2DE4a_HE-B8oaruj51V_Cgs52ht-XUz-oQt3wJB-yXE_VvqLq/s1600/IMG_4450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAsHbR6jXLUGYP35ask0Wbrl4xI0A5BEgN6-9eMaBC4LBmLWfn9P9sqNP7RjJs5Ib7BWUfsaMlc3eWivhU_waATOhH24j2DE4a_HE-B8oaruj51V_Cgs52ht-XUz-oQt3wJB-yXE_VvqLq/s320/IMG_4450.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darcie and Rick trying to figure out how to cut the cake.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Rick wanted to keep the top tier, but there was still plenty of cake to go around. The waiters at the restaurant were a little nervous about cutting the cake, so they asked that I do it. That was how I discovered that I am a more talented cake baker than I am a cake cutter, but oh well. Everyone got at least one slice, and there was still some left for the restaurant's waiters that did such a great job. </div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The demolished cake</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">All-in-all, it was a really good day, and everything went very smoothly. Congrats again, guys!</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-4568193205963147032011-05-31T18:52:00.000-04:002011-05-31T18:52:46.112-04:00Joe & Michelle's WeddingMy second spring wedding was for a couple of friends named Joe and Michelle. Michelle was an amazing wedding planner - she had the cake planned more than 6 months before the wedding! Their wedding colors were black and gold, and the bride was going have a bouquet of red roses, so the cake had to be pretty classy. She found a design she liked in a cake book called "Spectacular Cakes" by Mich Turner, so we modeled it after that. <br />
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I ended up making a three-tiered vanilla cake with peanut butter and raspberry fillings and vanilla buttercream. The cake was covered with white fondant and decorated with black royal icing and gold ribbon. Black on white - gulp! The cake toppers really made the cake. Joe and Michelle are both really big Phillies fans, and one of Joe's friends actually made them the cake toppers in the shapes of Phillie Phanatics. They were so detailed - it was incredible!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdQMtHlT6gkeaICsBSg5lldKt8HDRehmnAXPrMCzoFEVfvhZ_g6y4ajWVfvsUgB_6d6Q2YXk2FoTPGUvWtju8LZVOfUj4LI_SCqYvckNVm4KCw8bzCMgccM759D6vxqTeFHfh8PTtIdec/s1600/IMG_4276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEdQMtHlT6gkeaICsBSg5lldKt8HDRehmnAXPrMCzoFEVfvhZ_g6y4ajWVfvsUgB_6d6Q2YXk2FoTPGUvWtju8LZVOfUj4LI_SCqYvckNVm4KCw8bzCMgccM759D6vxqTeFHfh8PTtIdec/s320/IMG_4276.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bottom tier decorated in black royal icing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPgoTxT79hIuxohcaSS4LY73pGV0969ZbSAL5CcaTIA45O6ks1pA4gE7IU0U8joPZuk9GO_fkvABmfZ5kcGuFA1NJRmEyHy2SSXlLqxt40C2Ry3mGKHYJZYxyqTK7_fuURnGvGQndD8A2/s1600/IMG_4281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPgoTxT79hIuxohcaSS4LY73pGV0969ZbSAL5CcaTIA45O6ks1pA4gE7IU0U8joPZuk9GO_fkvABmfZ5kcGuFA1NJRmEyHy2SSXlLqxt40C2Ry3mGKHYJZYxyqTK7_fuURnGvGQndD8A2/s320/IMG_4281.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amazing cake toppers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBEiJenos7XG08vr1OTUv6otXKatn7xHZzjSBWBueAA0Vzvm3z9PoafgVSLt9Ki8FwvKD1xYkZrHRfC0anDAuJdaaYpXupqdyIorfe1OCnsxLJf_E9yuOBRg3XN7DJfI9yo7lF699ioCL/s1600/IMG_4280.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoBEiJenos7XG08vr1OTUv6otXKatn7xHZzjSBWBueAA0Vzvm3z9PoafgVSLt9Ki8FwvKD1xYkZrHRfC0anDAuJdaaYpXupqdyIorfe1OCnsxLJf_E9yuOBRg3XN7DJfI9yo7lF699ioCL/s320/IMG_4280.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The almost finished cake. It seems like it's missing something...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7sBDMzYEcfHTQdiNHvE7yvdFTbZYBRPr1FKYlto0YB7Ff-Nn_x1u1Ph-Uc0fqIZccKKOBs6dWbAHEvGqGdCaTA1urbGQ1MM2V4-W0D99pv2yE1dN_sg6JTORF1XNGbChVfoIpLouFCbh/s1600/IMG_4294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF7sBDMzYEcfHTQdiNHvE7yvdFTbZYBRPr1FKYlto0YB7Ff-Nn_x1u1Ph-Uc0fqIZccKKOBs6dWbAHEvGqGdCaTA1urbGQ1MM2V4-W0D99pv2yE1dN_sg6JTORF1XNGbChVfoIpLouFCbh/s320/IMG_4294.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's it. It just needed some fresh red roses to make it perfect.</td></tr>
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Now usually, this would be the end of the blog. But, Joe wanted to have a groom's cake as well. I think I may have mentioned that he is a fan of the Phillies, right? So, what better way to show his love for the team than with cake? Joe got a Phillies cap made out of chocolate cake, peanut butter filling, and vanilla buttercream. I would be lying if I told you that more than a couple of his relatives wanted him to wear it.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start of the Phillies cap.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNrnrp-MGoYWfD6tuIetF8jiCdIFyyFRN4pa4Sc0QSwNhNO_PYoEzCynyYHMwZOPj-aDzyRHPWdZwD7EG5QVSXthhjKuFPh93x6-322Wl2C-ubOkQFh_HjObpBOQL7GVkozANlDmu52KD/s1600/IMG_4295.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmNrnrp-MGoYWfD6tuIetF8jiCdIFyyFRN4pa4Sc0QSwNhNO_PYoEzCynyYHMwZOPj-aDzyRHPWdZwD7EG5QVSXthhjKuFPh93x6-322Wl2C-ubOkQFh_HjObpBOQL7GVkozANlDmu52KD/s320/IMG_4295.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavnOjh6aGWikMoH8frlZ_oshHWZTx0Tnut03C7EyYTSUFiD4wVs_Uy_zOK5EK3kAUSMFhsOuVGNXzofiSSLrnVU8xu5J39tCMRJ4OBcooXRK7IAEsMLZr6DGwTGZ2wDeA6qLgM6Tb_ZuF/s1600/IMG_4300.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavnOjh6aGWikMoH8frlZ_oshHWZTx0Tnut03C7EyYTSUFiD4wVs_Uy_zOK5EK3kAUSMFhsOuVGNXzofiSSLrnVU8xu5J39tCMRJ4OBcooXRK7IAEsMLZr6DGwTGZ2wDeA6qLgM6Tb_ZuF/s320/IMG_4300.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cake table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXf2SDziI8pGMOwxxmNI7MCPrJ1k_fO1xgXDnjKFpNBqtcAKl6cchMYtS4r6-Esurpt6UwjlQjGVzpHHLPRMXxTCouQjt4oL4QnBsrulR8otn7_-fxa7PILJ0PmZlTApZgH7PRMwrdvEl/s1600/IMG_4314.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXf2SDziI8pGMOwxxmNI7MCPrJ1k_fO1xgXDnjKFpNBqtcAKl6cchMYtS4r6-Esurpt6UwjlQjGVzpHHLPRMXxTCouQjt4oL4QnBsrulR8otn7_-fxa7PILJ0PmZlTApZgH7PRMwrdvEl/s320/IMG_4314.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joe was very gentlemanly when giving Michelle her wedding cake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhS0OvA_uPYBa4RFxCo22YhPDuJWOpbEspDTtJGbp6XknCTsHOVpR6Pl1JKOCIFfbfvrzRk-bTuvO-HH_Kb3vXNc58_PVUEv8hN4pjprSj7UimMZfFgNE0Y0b5WqJA2Ht6RvdT4ifnOSn/s1600/IMG_4324.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzhS0OvA_uPYBa4RFxCo22YhPDuJWOpbEspDTtJGbp6XknCTsHOVpR6Pl1JKOCIFfbfvrzRk-bTuvO-HH_Kb3vXNc58_PVUEv8hN4pjprSj7UimMZfFgNE0Y0b5WqJA2Ht6RvdT4ifnOSn/s320/IMG_4324.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I guess it tasted OK if she's licking her fingers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRZDcbqpvYL7YTUTK0GjewAsVGFx5Z5f5gO7IN9fx6bBRvkwqTYB49iUTjdX9uSpFm25w2JLeeONkwIjU1czWQIx3Z4D2zgdXNmLH1gH_-xCcYnw975pWDE1a1Sz0KHLKEC3ixMP7_J42/s1600/IMG_4333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguRZDcbqpvYL7YTUTK0GjewAsVGFx5Z5f5gO7IN9fx6bBRvkwqTYB49iUTjdX9uSpFm25w2JLeeONkwIjU1czWQIx3Z4D2zgdXNmLH1gH_-xCcYnw975pWDE1a1Sz0KHLKEC3ixMP7_J42/s320/IMG_4333.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to feed the masses.</td></tr>
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</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-8051209913156286092011-05-31T18:04:00.000-04:002011-05-31T18:04:43.614-04:00Desiree & David's WeddingOK, I know it's been a month or two since my last post. Well, this was a busy wedding season for me. I had a a bunch of friends and family getting married, so I decided to focus on the cakes and not the blog. Then, of course I needed a little bit of a break. But now I'm back to show what I worked so hard on.<br />
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Kicking it off was Desiree and David's wedding. They were having a ceremony for about 75-80 people and needed a cake. These two came to me asking if I could do something a little different for their wedding since they weren't having a very traditional ceremony (they described it as Celtic/Buddhist with a friend officiating). Of course a traditional wedding cake was out of the question.<br />
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After a quick discussion, the couple decided on cupcakes, which I was so excited for. Half of the cupcakes were made with the bride's favorite flavors - chocolate and orange - and half were made with the groom's favorites - vanilla, peanut butter, and chocolate. The chocolate cupcakes with chocolate-orange buttercream were in green wrappers, and the vanilla cupcakes with peanut butter filling and milk chocolate buttercream were in blue wrappers. I love how creative they were with the flavors. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzQzZq6k_ouk8GMMdN4Uo2ZGBpjICfbSAGusOeYD8tb9kSCxdLbSWed_-gqcU3-acZ1eOQS5h8loLoDfjjre56_D-lzU61z0LyQRt2iOXYvaC2c10__Ofes-yf5OZKnefoKERuflBz-2R/s1600/IMG_4228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyzQzZq6k_ouk8GMMdN4Uo2ZGBpjICfbSAGusOeYD8tb9kSCxdLbSWed_-gqcU3-acZ1eOQS5h8loLoDfjjre56_D-lzU61z0LyQRt2iOXYvaC2c10__Ofes-yf5OZKnefoKERuflBz-2R/s320/IMG_4228.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rows of chocolate cupcakes with chocolate-orange buttercream.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3MB-V3iRmnC-uPQSs2stImvTaLzdsJ3cWbfC4M3qBBsuMp5UWDiEn_qt9YpGk8d9RISXKAvCaA0qiPq33TXKNGqEEKCAK-WZm22Zkqgno919TRXGaafkdqqkBJ3Fm9CFeYnO2z4DY0d9/s1600/IMG_4231.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP3MB-V3iRmnC-uPQSs2stImvTaLzdsJ3cWbfC4M3qBBsuMp5UWDiEn_qt9YpGk8d9RISXKAvCaA0qiPq33TXKNGqEEKCAK-WZm22Zkqgno919TRXGaafkdqqkBJ3Fm9CFeYnO2z4DY0d9/s320/IMG_4231.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanilla cupcakes with peanut butter filling and milk chocolate frosting.</td></tr>
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As far as the design, we decided to model them after cupcakes in "Martha Stewart's Cupcakes." The ones they liked had a gumpaste heart sticking out of the frosting with an initial written in them. Since not many people I know enjoy eating gumpaste, I suggested they switch that heart out with a sugar cookie. Of course they had to throw in another little twist - Desiree wasn't going to change her last name, so they didn't have a common initial. Luckily, their first names both start with D's, so it was meant to be.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAKVCH6zxOnNjeOvu28uQJrjTl6IB0VdNHpgkQvKwVltZbeJEwEOiR6VhECUvnZg2UO00Gpj1KRYOASWjZqNpvUMoEQTKHfsK-6gSS4PdlRLSY776xylHi5teONZaw02eTxYkSsBvQXsM/s1600/IMG_4232.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyAKVCH6zxOnNjeOvu28uQJrjTl6IB0VdNHpgkQvKwVltZbeJEwEOiR6VhECUvnZg2UO00Gpj1KRYOASWjZqNpvUMoEQTKHfsK-6gSS4PdlRLSY776xylHi5teONZaw02eTxYkSsBvQXsM/s320/IMG_4232.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many trays of sugar cookies to decorate the cupcakes with.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCn7Xtb6Cqmi6q9JOaBMI5MonxvHByt3DTaQOXTP4SD1m2Kc0lpDldaqi3UqkSQ6wSflRYTA5NHlPhecJE5kHnfThW2xGTlHgkEXFZwEnAXGt0xhNJbp995fi4UAprT7-sc8XOhr9P4Is/s1600/IMG_4242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTCn7Xtb6Cqmi6q9JOaBMI5MonxvHByt3DTaQOXTP4SD1m2Kc0lpDldaqi3UqkSQ6wSflRYTA5NHlPhecJE5kHnfThW2xGTlHgkEXFZwEnAXGt0xhNJbp995fi4UAprT7-sc8XOhr9P4Is/s320/IMG_4242.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished products.</td></tr>
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</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-72500217072656618792011-04-20T21:18:00.000-04:002011-04-20T21:18:26.131-04:00Sophie Moon's Baby ShowerMy coworker Trecia was getting ready to have her first baby, and she asked me to make the baby shower cake. Of course I jumped at the chance to help her out. The baby's name was going to be Sophie Moon, so she wanted the cake to be girlie and in the shape of a moon, but she didn't have any requests other than that.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Since it's Spring, I suggested she go with a light, fruity flavor. I went with Lemon Lust cake with raspberry whipped cream and lemon curd fillings. Mmm...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">After the cake was baked and frosted, I had to add a few girlie touches. A bedtime teddy bear, a little baby blanket, and some blocks did the trick.</div> <br />
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To make it extra special, some stars were added around the cake. <br />
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I am happy to report that Miss Sophie Moon was born a little while ago, and mommy and baby are healthy. Congrats!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-47768371440106417772011-03-21T14:26:00.001-04:002011-03-21T14:27:45.337-04:00Sharklet Graduation Cake<div>Recently, a fellow grad student of Scott's graduated with her PhD. They have worked together on a number of projects -- mostly on our research dealing with product called <a href="http://www.sharklet.com/">Sharklet</a>. Sharklet is a product that uses the roughness of its surface to prevent attachment of organisms like bacteria, algae, and barnacles. It gets its name because it mimics the surface of a shark's skin, which naturally prevents growth and attachment. It was actually recently featured on PBS's NOVA science series. You can watch the program <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/tech/making-stuff-smarter.html">here</a> (and you can see the back of Scott's head in a couple of the shots!).<br />
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<div>So for her graduation, I was tasked with making a cake for the graduation party. Naturally my first thought was to make one about Sharklet. I asked Scott to help out, and he actually got out a ruler and drew out a pattern for me. He was so detailed that he was measuring to the millimeter!<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Because of the recent success with the Guinness cake from Christmas, I decided to stick with that. This cake was a Guinness cake with vanilla buttercream.Add a few gummy sharks and gummy microbes around the border (because they can't stick to the surface of course), and there you go.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr339RwjqLRIuq7ZIkoYR9nB4o5wezzjFRttZ_fsnlIJCBXolFFYbbpKfXHyo90R-mQoLgN_v8i0gOJK7UpBLHZPfvZOEyrcV5EG5Lni47L04wJdxxaF1H5PNdIG6zqDPjFnqK74pkX3Tt/s1600/IMG_3819.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583366081751355570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr339RwjqLRIuq7ZIkoYR9nB4o5wezzjFRttZ_fsnlIJCBXolFFYbbpKfXHyo90R-mQoLgN_v8i0gOJK7UpBLHZPfvZOEyrcV5EG5Lni47L04wJdxxaF1H5PNdIG6zqDPjFnqK74pkX3Tt/s320/IMG_3819.JPG" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; display: block; height: 225px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Cutting the cake at the graduation party.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjB18Yfv3pZl7zEnnX9iSxy3FGPrLyf3YMxtlLEbBm1YyVsfz4oB9AA0XG52HB4fVpcWpcO9G0IrP2XGvSvL5DopMqs3uUoqwcDEji5QKsTE8L-RprY76eJMA24HE2UkK3Tu8YvF1i2BF/s1600/IMG_3834.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5583366066353408050" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjB18Yfv3pZl7zEnnX9iSxy3FGPrLyf3YMxtlLEbBm1YyVsfz4oB9AA0XG52HB4fVpcWpcO9G0IrP2XGvSvL5DopMqs3uUoqwcDEji5QKsTE8L-RprY76eJMA24HE2UkK3Tu8YvF1i2BF/s320/IMG_3834.JPG" style="cursor: hand; display: block; height: 250px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-18947994368978316242010-12-25T23:07:00.006-05:002010-12-25T23:28:00.060-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#12) Candles<div>Merry Christmas everyone! For the last day of Christmas, we have a special, luminary treat. Jessica made candles like the kind that are lit in windows during this time of the year. The difference is, these candles are edible.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeznwhKj7iFhQqaXS7zyV9eoivYbfGyEi_ER1PXYnYmUtZKTBA_rT8g6LsPRhiWTFu7losELnRlcgOBtdBTrbfPMpzdbKqrGQo5ALanUzDmMtcc4stuOLtlRO3uW0l-SONz4Gzg2vaddc/s1600/IMG_3668.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPeznwhKj7iFhQqaXS7zyV9eoivYbfGyEi_ER1PXYnYmUtZKTBA_rT8g6LsPRhiWTFu7losELnRlcgOBtdBTrbfPMpzdbKqrGQo5ALanUzDmMtcc4stuOLtlRO3uW0l-SONz4Gzg2vaddc/s320/IMG_3668.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554839057287216002" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The cake recipe was a lemon poundcake.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfpJlspFKMkB3kFdpeItNsYWcSDLqYjCs5vC8f8DWw__s6m9pXV5A6N1N2ZOyWbebj-U5kLkYy4foLTo7-W57QShrlZe1CoCo6nDutEtCGht9ziONCF9dpsP5fdOSddtbUA6za75rmGb4/s1600/IMG_3673.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlfpJlspFKMkB3kFdpeItNsYWcSDLqYjCs5vC8f8DWw__s6m9pXV5A6N1N2ZOyWbebj-U5kLkYy4foLTo7-W57QShrlZe1CoCo6nDutEtCGht9ziONCF9dpsP5fdOSddtbUA6za75rmGb4/s320/IMG_3673.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554838958699713218" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">A double batch of poundcake, three candles, and some Styrofoam were all that was needed for building the candles. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2H_2j83666Te4jnojAzjPtO715yWRb4HcoNHDwYXGl5sL3Z_jpVfF-Th0RqkgYhbDJ7WziwnXR0dq_03uF3XMHO6PZ1GJlMW6IsiaEdVwZ8R7kAT8Yf8TvhvuQ07TpKnRm4G30fIs8sng/s1600/IMG_3675.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2H_2j83666Te4jnojAzjPtO715yWRb4HcoNHDwYXGl5sL3Z_jpVfF-Th0RqkgYhbDJ7WziwnXR0dq_03uF3XMHO6PZ1GJlMW6IsiaEdVwZ8R7kAT8Yf8TvhvuQ07TpKnRm4G30fIs8sng/s320/IMG_3675.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554838955071622306" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Using a circular cutting tool and some careful slicing, the cakes were shaped into the right form for candles. Styrofoam gave the cakes the right height. Cutting into the center of cakes made circular holes just big enough to fit taper candles down the middle.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDQqAbVZMQsq5xChqJh7CS2mz6dt9xviWPbATNOLkaRlAM95y8qrTUt5yOMVq98RhFCjJUan19nE_7rVrywe9J6RjQEKrnOvslCciu7yjb-PjSdeMqfEf34gccP2XDoMG9h1MWvXpltHp/s1600/IMG_3681.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 314px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyDQqAbVZMQsq5xChqJh7CS2mz6dt9xviWPbATNOLkaRlAM95y8qrTUt5yOMVq98RhFCjJUan19nE_7rVrywe9J6RjQEKrnOvslCciu7yjb-PjSdeMqfEf34gccP2XDoMG9h1MWvXpltHp/s320/IMG_3681.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554838952069714578" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The cakes were rolled in coconut and the tops were poured with a thick icing to give a "melted wax" look.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9JVrZnX3XcYI1Nh8VAOmlPUcga6QdmYm5ZsPAa7cMSk12_OLtjpM9z77hOnttFHpxVZNYpTyxEuTf3EszhCDO9rHdTYq3qvLpfvBpxFpEFjREqCnS_P5myxkDWLHDoEJJFfcvQuFOn0V/s1600/IMG_3701.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 307px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW9JVrZnX3XcYI1Nh8VAOmlPUcga6QdmYm5ZsPAa7cMSk12_OLtjpM9z77hOnttFHpxVZNYpTyxEuTf3EszhCDO9rHdTYq3qvLpfvBpxFpEFjREqCnS_P5myxkDWLHDoEJJFfcvQuFOn0V/s320/IMG_3701.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554838953006371570" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The best part of these cakes are that they can be lit!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2Mk_X2X4PGBLCbL44vLa5k6l7cJmaaosReoSw4zG7XQChZchzh4Ez6ChpOtjYlScxxonbQ2KaUgBUi68sYDu8XMBi3VmnTQTxJx1xo33S4N9OUGENLGb0FkNA19ZTHebM9OawNQjPs87/s1600/IMG_3699-2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 307px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP2Mk_X2X4PGBLCbL44vLa5k6l7cJmaaosReoSw4zG7XQChZchzh4Ez6ChpOtjYlScxxonbQ2KaUgBUi68sYDu8XMBi3VmnTQTxJx1xo33S4N9OUGENLGb0FkNA19ZTHebM9OawNQjPs87/s320/IMG_3699-2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554838948894486626" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">And light up a dark room nicely.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Twelve Cakes of Christmas 2010 are over, but my waistline will be remembering it for some time to come.</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-18764814725363614042010-12-25T00:12:00.006-05:002010-12-25T00:41:18.695-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#11) Gingerbread House<div>Christmas Eve is here and what's better than snuggling up in a warm house with family? To capture that cozy feeling, Jessica decided to make a decadent gingerbread house. The recipe was for a ginger cake which contained raw ginger, candied ginger, and ginger powder. It made a thin, dense, hearty cake.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSScXCn8kVGOsQVB4sr7m_yVQkoLuQaD4LH2fRA2XnVTHfRBiRclMTMqQtyQ_KT0qkNVsyWD6lF9WqcbLD99-4csWx5d3bx8jeW-G5-naEEr0HSRoBKyItBgEaw1CxIpjm6zYAXzRATVJa/s1600/IMG_3705.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSScXCn8kVGOsQVB4sr7m_yVQkoLuQaD4LH2fRA2XnVTHfRBiRclMTMqQtyQ_KT0qkNVsyWD6lF9WqcbLD99-4csWx5d3bx8jeW-G5-naEEr0HSRoBKyItBgEaw1CxIpjm6zYAXzRATVJa/s320/IMG_3705.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554483948266936290" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Six layers of the cake were assembled with a cream cheese frosting. Because the cake was so heavy, they tended to slide back and forth. A little chilling in the freezer helped keep it all together.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqm6w_RS08JS5fPOgK-vINiUlFCB-cmH2sO6VYi3Q2VrLJhyL1XPwXBFjtyc0zp5mZA4R6RpTob7nSo0IXkyy_U8VDZ2ajTeK87RBGM1ysM9d0FOidGcR39sdiP4egVYqJXFHfw5Mxpdj/s1600/IMG_3706.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqm6w_RS08JS5fPOgK-vINiUlFCB-cmH2sO6VYi3Q2VrLJhyL1XPwXBFjtyc0zp5mZA4R6RpTob7nSo0IXkyy_U8VDZ2ajTeK87RBGM1ysM9d0FOidGcR39sdiP4egVYqJXFHfw5Mxpdj/s320/IMG_3706.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554483848558599554" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Once chilled, the layers were covered with fondant.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCEtD5uuzLgJH0XBZpGMssGxh7iHcdK4PdOFosadYhlFHOqNTkcjEXYwCpjp45G7zr-LKh7S_Z78ZgtMSSE67BNJuIfn3XbwaWToLQd3JQznko_3PiblOUWLhzNu-E-VmTX1CR1wyJV8AZ/s1600/IMG_3708.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCEtD5uuzLgJH0XBZpGMssGxh7iHcdK4PdOFosadYhlFHOqNTkcjEXYwCpjp45G7zr-LKh7S_Z78ZgtMSSE67BNJuIfn3XbwaWToLQd3JQznko_3PiblOUWLhzNu-E-VmTX1CR1wyJV8AZ/s320/IMG_3708.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554483841833429730" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Jessica made a couple rectangular pieces of gingerbread for the roof and glued them on using royal icing. We slipped some LED lights underneath the roof as Christmas lights.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqwQma2C_UPN-WlHNTfiokpgwEtIK4983pZvh3wrlqEVa4uPa6yyWNO6pHEJ3oVxDU-d2O3GEIZDuvkCki9lfVd81Al-XsNCLKWoWOHoof8jRdFK77N7PSxapLh6XB-244Wd8gZcYWi1D/s1600/IMG_3710.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqwQma2C_UPN-WlHNTfiokpgwEtIK4983pZvh3wrlqEVa4uPa6yyWNO6pHEJ3oVxDU-d2O3GEIZDuvkCki9lfVd81Al-XsNCLKWoWOHoof8jRdFK77N7PSxapLh6XB-244Wd8gZcYWi1D/s320/IMG_3710.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554483843093832386" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">With some more royal icing, gumdrops, candy canes, M&Ms, and lifesavers, the house was complete.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-bVKzb7FMJT488BxKslJCXdGnJ7W8jI6GmP_NhwzCbYYRqT4stH2dqlf3-Q2hA-hTNsmE__4znCjqdwuKGieqRelfUPDTJReAMy7Xrx9EcVBbct5nUJ4F96d2mzB8oywRkNjHY9o_MzX/s1600/IMG_3719.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-bVKzb7FMJT488BxKslJCXdGnJ7W8jI6GmP_NhwzCbYYRqT4stH2dqlf3-Q2hA-hTNsmE__4znCjqdwuKGieqRelfUPDTJReAMy7Xrx9EcVBbct5nUJ4F96d2mzB8oywRkNjHY9o_MzX/s320/IMG_3719.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554483833973466882" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">And glowed in the dark like a true Christmas house.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx-G0NXMr7oNs-mTABxx33xdWlILjGBZW3tDCMYMHcH-P1bCm-eDmMBehIeExTh4gfa_FEE5W4TRfyVuKLbOgJ75MNF94YwSxMgCUgqOVV1Hdzmi1J7nzq3ha068JWEsnbYDcTzoM_QP0/s1600/IMG_3725.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimx-G0NXMr7oNs-mTABxx33xdWlILjGBZW3tDCMYMHcH-P1bCm-eDmMBehIeExTh4gfa_FEE5W4TRfyVuKLbOgJ75MNF94YwSxMgCUgqOVV1Hdzmi1J7nzq3ha068JWEsnbYDcTzoM_QP0/s320/IMG_3725.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554483835502933650" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Ready just in time for Christmas!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you're keeping warm and cozy!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-294888991356942912010-12-23T21:51:00.004-05:002010-12-23T22:16:12.541-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#10) Hot Chocolate Cupcakes<div>The last in the series of 3 cupcakes Jessica made for her coworkers. Jessica made faux-hot chocolate cupcakes. The cakes were from a flourless recipe simply called "chocolate intensity." The cake batter was cooked in the mugs they were to be served in. A water bath provided even heating of the mugs to prevent cracking.</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnN24RMZDiVY6PqT0UPr5_Jd_1i840X_Vh4vdW6nI5yhWJnmDPkEyhaPqyIhhSuGBul2E1ImViFa6szXBbhps55MxsVX63CH_9GCkU6veezzW3gDBaCdYs_QRaPAVSRdCem-NvDdy6rO6g/s1600/IMG_3840.JPG"></a><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnN24RMZDiVY6PqT0UPr5_Jd_1i840X_Vh4vdW6nI5yhWJnmDPkEyhaPqyIhhSuGBul2E1ImViFa6szXBbhps55MxsVX63CH_9GCkU6veezzW3gDBaCdYs_QRaPAVSRdCem-NvDdy6rO6g/s1600/IMG_3840.JPG"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnN24RMZDiVY6PqT0UPr5_Jd_1i840X_Vh4vdW6nI5yhWJnmDPkEyhaPqyIhhSuGBul2E1ImViFa6szXBbhps55MxsVX63CH_9GCkU6veezzW3gDBaCdYs_QRaPAVSRdCem-NvDdy6rO6g/s320/IMG_3840.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554077349172656722" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">To be true to form, marshmallows had to be added on top...</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnN24RMZDiVY6PqT0UPr5_Jd_1i840X_Vh4vdW6nI5yhWJnmDPkEyhaPqyIhhSuGBul2E1ImViFa6szXBbhps55MxsVX63CH_9GCkU6veezzW3gDBaCdYs_QRaPAVSRdCem-NvDdy6rO6g/s1600/IMG_3840.JPG"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0cd8wFv3_H0mW4vL4wGzDf9hbd2s0Z52p6rGFwLzw1dp0ntHJQLd_xowiIqvNxCrc_uUvsoT5aLdScGpD4GzvkuQhSYYfr71ljJpnkV3SxhReWZh7ZPwbeSU2MpEMW0f5wLPXiYWruFj/s1600/IMG_3843.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0cd8wFv3_H0mW4vL4wGzDf9hbd2s0Z52p6rGFwLzw1dp0ntHJQLd_xowiIqvNxCrc_uUvsoT5aLdScGpD4GzvkuQhSYYfr71ljJpnkV3SxhReWZh7ZPwbeSU2MpEMW0f5wLPXiYWruFj/s320/IMG_3843.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554077355433285842" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 277px; " /></a><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD0cd8wFv3_H0mW4vL4wGzDf9hbd2s0Z52p6rGFwLzw1dp0ntHJQLd_xowiIqvNxCrc_uUvsoT5aLdScGpD4GzvkuQhSYYfr71ljJpnkV3SxhReWZh7ZPwbeSU2MpEMW0f5wLPXiYWruFj/s1600/IMG_3843.JPG"></a><div><div style="text-align: center;">...and lightly toasted to make them nice and gooey.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSozp55KaDE0wFknTjNFgxVzo7baDEUKXU-uD-esW4Enri5lcf7pToEbZAYHF3QtpDgfTTi57SWvMLBr6puMbIC6oMB1T2j5hCChlWhsyrL6zK0t7gX2CeF7Iq8wkDaEYEsmiXwX8lB2lL/s1600/IMG_3845.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSozp55KaDE0wFknTjNFgxVzo7baDEUKXU-uD-esW4Enri5lcf7pToEbZAYHF3QtpDgfTTi57SWvMLBr6puMbIC6oMB1T2j5hCChlWhsyrL6zK0t7gX2CeF7Iq8wkDaEYEsmiXwX8lB2lL/s320/IMG_3845.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554077358984336050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">A final candy cane was added for full effect.</div></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">These (along with 2 other cupcakes) made a great gift, which were very well received. Comments were that the cake was very rich -- appropriate as a "hot chocolate."</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-47106911818186763202010-12-22T20:21:00.006-05:002010-12-22T21:13:23.346-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#9) Holly Cupcakes<div>This year, Jessica decided to give her coworkers a set of 3 cupcakes. Yesterday's post ("mini cakes") was one of them. With the next cake, she decided to go with a new recipe: red velvet cupcakes.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj401YOMjAiyK8OuG26bf78yRJVtyfT7UDxJjtjhrfz-q-iV3WaRXrE7S4kGJqEhfe6HE4qiZfvyJOG82V0niteqCKIgp5c5oesFY5bt3Zp5Ow4McFQys_RW62mVdoddhFZy3b_dLPco7Z/s1600/IMG_3837.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj401YOMjAiyK8OuG26bf78yRJVtyfT7UDxJjtjhrfz-q-iV3WaRXrE7S4kGJqEhfe6HE4qiZfvyJOG82V0niteqCKIgp5c5oesFY5bt3Zp5Ow4McFQys_RW62mVdoddhFZy3b_dLPco7Z/s320/IMG_3837.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553683355535341602" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The cake is a fairly standard red velvet, but without the obscene amount of red dye that most recipes call for.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJvC_PDI1A_Mlqwc_hv_vQ4j6z_W0iVOlHj0iORAW3ughVdpG_wXk8QdnvJZti6DY_hMYl3m4xdTxZdG83qhBpsCByhTanAMcTDA3TEsEnfiAD7iR6gKhdwaMl7m0FyUIZHCCbpcjRB25/s1600/IMG_3854.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyJvC_PDI1A_Mlqwc_hv_vQ4j6z_W0iVOlHj0iORAW3ughVdpG_wXk8QdnvJZti6DY_hMYl3m4xdTxZdG83qhBpsCByhTanAMcTDA3TEsEnfiAD7iR6gKhdwaMl7m0FyUIZHCCbpcjRB25/s320/IMG_3854.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553683357937952882" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The red velvet cupcakes were classically combined with cream cheese frosting. Holly berries made out of fondant provided the topper.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGAP_lm8r4ZGzASabuzMeIv2CacwmvUWzWHCVhlCAPAyTsGax3kFP1VrbkYQllhsn9hbet3blC4QZ0z8-XcPqsqxwkvBRb_gXrhRUrkyYBovGRXcVYv8KNrKCiKYj8xealhICOJQWaznW/s1600/IMG_3855.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigGAP_lm8r4ZGzASabuzMeIv2CacwmvUWzWHCVhlCAPAyTsGax3kFP1VrbkYQllhsn9hbet3blC4QZ0z8-XcPqsqxwkvBRb_gXrhRUrkyYBovGRXcVYv8KNrKCiKYj8xealhICOJQWaznW/s320/IMG_3855.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553683351825393074" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The fondant was pressed into a silicone mold to give a true, leafy texture. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As I sit here writing this, I'm having one right now. And I can say they are delicious! (...love that cream cheese frosting...)</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-6632659277369607412010-12-21T20:34:00.005-05:002010-12-21T20:48:46.584-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#8) Mini Snowflake Cakes<div>For gifts to coworkers this year, Jessica and I decided to do cookies and cupcakes. This is the first in her batch of cupcakes going to her fellow employees. These "cupcakes" are really miniature cakes meant for one person. This one's a coffee lover's delight -- these are mocha cakes with a chocolate-mocha buttercream filing. </div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakK5QdD_qVcJlnwkXuR2l_62rgTNPRaar_QcndH1beo6tluCbYFXYPUHjliOZW-W4ZyXt_hzOYxgaQRUcPtTUY_1ivlvUoE5CxplU57DL_mv4cfF7tSAbBnXFFepl5RleWntzZ4Vzp1In/s1600/IMG_3836.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakK5QdD_qVcJlnwkXuR2l_62rgTNPRaar_QcndH1beo6tluCbYFXYPUHjliOZW-W4ZyXt_hzOYxgaQRUcPtTUY_1ivlvUoE5CxplU57DL_mv4cfF7tSAbBnXFFepl5RleWntzZ4Vzp1In/s320/IMG_3836.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553314348527785026" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">First baked in square cake pans.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgQULSLHuu_fsq8cd_4lHJ3sDOU6tz9REtR9WTJ9pTJ92ZiAwZAZzVZGs-dzUWvkXtCPGLSO9SDKQrHK5sXU05hXmC1_MejRyazprcYZM2xOLty2tbwE4DhENiG7cBf3l4FeaVTJzzdnV/s1600/IMG_3848.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 231px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPgQULSLHuu_fsq8cd_4lHJ3sDOU6tz9REtR9WTJ9pTJ92ZiAwZAZzVZGs-dzUWvkXtCPGLSO9SDKQrHK5sXU05hXmC1_MejRyazprcYZM2xOLty2tbwE4DhENiG7cBf3l4FeaVTJzzdnV/s320/IMG_3848.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553314343810717858" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Then cut into little cubes, stacked with two pieces of cake and covered in the mocha-chocolate buttercream frosting.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhEI7W5yJc_QTy0aaCWEDU_7tluZPqEadDnWco5_ADDhRowgoK2BBSDBd0kj_W8FKoPc8k7OnhscSJqBv_gN2R54_6GQuwbGrIBfLo5cnSq8oTHAH0iGo0IPxHbFg07aPXQbT3aW3m7Yp/s1600/IMG_3862.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXhEI7W5yJc_QTy0aaCWEDU_7tluZPqEadDnWco5_ADDhRowgoK2BBSDBd0kj_W8FKoPc8k7OnhscSJqBv_gN2R54_6GQuwbGrIBfLo5cnSq8oTHAH0iGo0IPxHbFg07aPXQbT3aW3m7Yp/s320/IMG_3862.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553314342502712754" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Once frosted, the cakes were covered in a light blue buttercream fondant (the good stuff). Then a snowflake was piped with royal icing and silver dragees were placed on the snowflake.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5QC0SNrnLpCgWu2FgPuazramjCILJXaCwltWaVmxJkKTlzONWrTLSh44SbMQbVVAj2nqxGwUh_kKfDmd-ZkJZ_O5ZsmaMCt5yQWuzE-SHBz6E1Rp3CpmHH17dSBuz7Jwmc9w8OHliGXN/s1600/IMG_3864.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr5QC0SNrnLpCgWu2FgPuazramjCILJXaCwltWaVmxJkKTlzONWrTLSh44SbMQbVVAj2nqxGwUh_kKfDmd-ZkJZ_O5ZsmaMCt5yQWuzE-SHBz6E1Rp3CpmHH17dSBuz7Jwmc9w8OHliGXN/s320/IMG_3864.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553314339448450978" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">I really like the silver dragees. I think they really add a touch of class to the little cakes.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Christmas is only 4 days away! To all of you who are seeing actual snowflakes this year -- keep warm and safe on the roads!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-46604429431996114192010-12-20T19:12:00.006-05:002010-12-20T19:37:39.188-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#7) Santa's Face<div>One of my favorite cake recipes is an apple cake. My mom used to make it all the time. It always comes out moist, with that sweet, cinnamon-brown sugar flavor. So naturally I was excited when Jessica decided to make the next cake of Christmas an apple cake. The form of the cake was going to be the true challenge -- a realistic Santa face.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWqvxmJHeZOvV9_0C8UxJ4HCFRd-X6mbcmVYGcfnWEFDJkCQlsBNlZKMrZWKJjmhfp4JPHC81lteqnK6y1ftZiT2TqkaPJtyId3LQ0GDVl3QW7guDMQ38276sRBNPdublGsS_t3N2hqug/s1600/IMG_3853.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWqvxmJHeZOvV9_0C8UxJ4HCFRd-X6mbcmVYGcfnWEFDJkCQlsBNlZKMrZWKJjmhfp4JPHC81lteqnK6y1ftZiT2TqkaPJtyId3LQ0GDVl3QW7guDMQ38276sRBNPdublGsS_t3N2hqug/s320/IMG_3853.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552921998090291650" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Cinnamon, brown sugar, ginger, and cloves make for a delicately spiced cake.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLuHtJoE2kqspV1dWnsxdyUWIXviqez0PxgpLOc1qUSn-Asm9o-LC0ihJLqIvUJrmO8h46ClEu9kR3V_ye-5A5D-zhJm8IxSYcXiZxlDtRLbjYVXLjvj8z1QkqwjLKyG8ek-VnWjpIUjHy/s1600/IMG_3740-1.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLuHtJoE2kqspV1dWnsxdyUWIXviqez0PxgpLOc1qUSn-Asm9o-LC0ihJLqIvUJrmO8h46ClEu9kR3V_ye-5A5D-zhJm8IxSYcXiZxlDtRLbjYVXLjvj8z1QkqwjLKyG8ek-VnWjpIUjHy/s320/IMG_3740-1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552921990541886722" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The finished product! The beard and white part of the hat were made from a meringue-like icing to keep the applied texture. The skin part of the face was made from fondant (not as easy as it seems) with cheeks painted rosy.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Comments when I took this one into the office included:</div><div style="text-align: left;"><ul><li>"I love your wife, but my thighs do not"</li><li>"So...much...frosting...!"</li><li>"It's terrifyingly realistic"</li><li>"The eyes follow me wherever I go. It's like the Mona Lisa" (to which I responded, "...he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>awake")</li></ul></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-36233866769600119132010-12-19T21:58:00.005-05:002010-12-19T22:38:51.977-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#6) Christmas Ornament<div>The Guinness chocolate cake (see <a href="http://coopercakes.blogspot.com/2010/12/twelve-cakes-of-christmas-3-santas-toy.html">cake #3 of Christmas</a>) was such a hit, Jessica decided to do use it again as the building material for the latest inspired cake. This time the goal was to make a huge, shiny ornament. </div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sLDfzNOv4BgfB3Ub6TsZ9_7c40tE1JySaU4RUHR_iKHU2oL92q90zu8JdxLYm8C-IRfyyTGW6bvUQnTdZBOpVCD5qGMlBIEP-8jrH0FQJW6i21Z7A0O7wupzxDgT_DoYgGsxkF4LII_U/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1sLDfzNOv4BgfB3Ub6TsZ9_7c40tE1JySaU4RUHR_iKHU2oL92q90zu8JdxLYm8C-IRfyyTGW6bvUQnTdZBOpVCD5qGMlBIEP-8jrH0FQJW6i21Z7A0O7wupzxDgT_DoYgGsxkF4LII_U/s320/IMG_3800.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552598334558858946" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Once again, the chocolate Guinness cake ingredients. This was a double batch so there were actually 2 cans of Guinness in the whole thing.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQE3xDRup78RXjCGjmtAKXm4sEq9deO6oAD6zXxpV2PngFaBbng9ScWESS7zHEuoDVyaf4CU0l8ICQ6Q5xSwM55Pfse8FlRKjvVtH-mXdRwVt32QHuCXeahPDCJEy6xeWgR0p5sPc1UQ0q/s1600/IMG_3801.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQE3xDRup78RXjCGjmtAKXm4sEq9deO6oAD6zXxpV2PngFaBbng9ScWESS7zHEuoDVyaf4CU0l8ICQ6Q5xSwM55Pfse8FlRKjvVtH-mXdRwVt32QHuCXeahPDCJEy6xeWgR0p5sPc1UQ0q/s320/IMG_3801.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552598328967761842" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The cake was baked in two semicircular pans, then glued together to make into a ball using vanilla buttercream. The ball was then covered with a hefty piece of fondant. This was the fancy buttercream fondant, which is far less prone to tearing than the Wilton stuff.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDJNnXGsIj1AQFXJF31yoO1ZJ39iXirL2DpM4G2bXqhlwVBK9ypfxtqMFqeibPWGJpTnl-RSBGn33DG9arUVdanxNW6PiXUrIzwfuw1dN_-SWLUY9NyaxMihyphenhyphenxAMO-M9pC77rhAPNjf0v/s1600/IMG_3806-2.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 281px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDJNnXGsIj1AQFXJF31yoO1ZJ39iXirL2DpM4G2bXqhlwVBK9ypfxtqMFqeibPWGJpTnl-RSBGn33DG9arUVdanxNW6PiXUrIzwfuw1dN_-SWLUY9NyaxMihyphenhyphenxAMO-M9pC77rhAPNjf0v/s320/IMG_3806-2.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552598324466737954" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The fondant was then painted with silver and gold luster dust. Silver dragees were attached with tweezers. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTz_nUsDWvDayZU8O7DadyfDynNX8dhJZS7zSjuD1GInGvX0DFPDrd4wkYbzd4rhyphenhyphenwKfzhOj8MQgdRUFoz1jDUI7ul72pcsJrfvvV3Ok3eeAW-_yYnJ2hDXat3dekJFF47wBCmHrirBKz/s1600/IMG_3809.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 307px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTz_nUsDWvDayZU8O7DadyfDynNX8dhJZS7zSjuD1GInGvX0DFPDrd4wkYbzd4rhyphenhyphenwKfzhOj8MQgdRUFoz1jDUI7ul72pcsJrfvvV3Ok3eeAW-_yYnJ2hDXat3dekJFF47wBCmHrirBKz/s320/IMG_3809.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552598323861067842" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">For the bow, we first had to learn how to make one (thanks to some <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70gvnlixO04">YouTube clips</a>), then tied one and placed it right on top of the cake.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVYFo2ZAWqopLhVXVfbt2h0SXjfySW4ffNvb07XMkyieOPIIbgogYLALeWYJcAqmsOdGdFAwMDS41rYVxDxUy_YKYZR1Rd0fkqQ-fPNk1d1Igm6esDy_5YDSPkvUu7vFKFo_kxiZ_afTx/s1600/IMG_3816.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVYFo2ZAWqopLhVXVfbt2h0SXjfySW4ffNvb07XMkyieOPIIbgogYLALeWYJcAqmsOdGdFAwMDS41rYVxDxUy_YKYZR1Rd0fkqQ-fPNk1d1Igm6esDy_5YDSPkvUu7vFKFo_kxiZ_afTx/s320/IMG_3816.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552598316981611362" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The cake cut really clean and there was plenty of chocolaty goodness!</div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We served the cake at a holiday party for our neighbors, and it turned out just as yummy as the first time we tried the recipe. Guinness chocolate cake is certainly a keeper!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-68505033018686144562010-12-18T19:21:00.006-05:002010-12-18T20:00:40.991-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#5) Bûche de Noël<div><span class="Apple-style-span" >Almost to the halfway mark of the 12 Cakes of Christmas, and this one nearly made Jessica want to give up the whole project. Thi<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; ">s cake was a </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Bûche de Noël, a French cake that resembles a log and is traditionally served around Christmas. The cake is baked thin, then filled with icing and rolled up like a Swiss roll. She made this cake a couple years ago with no problems, but wasn't able to find the same recipe. This recipe she used gave a cake that consistently ripped -- meaning that Jessica had to go through 4 iterations to get it to come out the way she wanted. </span></span></div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3j05iOkOg4KhMoK3ybfwhwgWCaj3yAV5K37iZOxNpiXbGJ-pAUl9JkabycHMRbUrsxnz6IcDIhEjvA5UI3feiX17TxHTc7fDeN-GRelg3N99jS9_7wBV_iIAPrUnult79rldGS5EJpsKq/s1600/IMG_3785.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3j05iOkOg4KhMoK3ybfwhwgWCaj3yAV5K37iZOxNpiXbGJ-pAUl9JkabycHMRbUrsxnz6IcDIhEjvA5UI3feiX17TxHTc7fDeN-GRelg3N99jS9_7wBV_iIAPrUnult79rldGS5EJpsKq/s320/IMG_3785.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552183986005695330" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The recipe was for a a chocolate cake with a delicious mocha buttercream filling.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmRpwO-mrU4qfMbGDqStHWmG8Kx-xTc6sUVjRDuVtj59ruer_gacqoqLhxCe_OQTqvWZLVJgvg-fhiVo08eGu_B2jH-RaLVoH1CQkjcKk7GPfV3IESn84L_WmQghi4iwcAMIR39vYiF22/s1600/IMG_3796.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxmRpwO-mrU4qfMbGDqStHWmG8Kx-xTc6sUVjRDuVtj59ruer_gacqoqLhxCe_OQTqvWZLVJgvg-fhiVo08eGu_B2jH-RaLVoH1CQkjcKk7GPfV3IESn84L_WmQghi4iwcAMIR39vYiF22/s320/IMG_3796.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552183983258603122" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The finished product, complete with fondant holly berries and mushrooms.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaUHEL8SZPdSiTxLG77q6VFjSHAEycyWdmIAQqSWwr5d1Ixx-baVCYZ-xTSnDyV0S21aU9QwfQZ-xwzLNYR9j1Sioq25859eh2ukJ0rMsuUhfauZCa2obUQjikpG60_h9DwKn2yhJeM17/s1600/IMG_3792.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcaUHEL8SZPdSiTxLG77q6VFjSHAEycyWdmIAQqSWwr5d1Ixx-baVCYZ-xTSnDyV0S21aU9QwfQZ-xwzLNYR9j1Sioq25859eh2ukJ0rMsuUhfauZCa2obUQjikpG60_h9DwKn2yhJeM17/s320/IMG_3792.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552183981361193250" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Side view showing the spiral rolled cake and filling.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Jessica was finally delivered this one on time, albeit with a few more grey hairs. Lesson learned: if the recipe ain't working, change it to one that does!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-23447390482559348732010-12-17T23:50:00.004-05:002010-12-18T00:15:08.628-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#4) Present<div>Following up on the post from yesterday -- what is Santa's bag filled with? Beautifully wrapped presents! That's what Jessica decided to make here with this very moist genoise cake. This is a French/Italian cake that doesn't use any leavening agents. Instead, the cake relies on the puffiness of beaten eggs to provide the airiness in this dough. When piped into strips, genoise cake is know as lady fingers.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7V6voXE61IxxTt9Gv6I0m5D3Jzf52fff5OYFf9hgoqzI2uR37_W6HSoGPn484BMjgJMoLmeK2fvjQUvdqdA52n3lrtwuJCG-bEd9oiBV2gmXXiKDNl1CrblgrtYrxTFxHog1EUrgMrMgk/s1600/IMG_3626.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7V6voXE61IxxTt9Gv6I0m5D3Jzf52fff5OYFf9hgoqzI2uR37_W6HSoGPn484BMjgJMoLmeK2fvjQUvdqdA52n3lrtwuJCG-bEd9oiBV2gmXXiKDNl1CrblgrtYrxTFxHog1EUrgMrMgk/s320/IMG_3626.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551882350707930546" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The recipe was pretty simple. This was everything for the lemon genoise cake and the chocolate buttercream.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiKEMXBIpFnsZkeZAlofYyZJnhaoHjt8h3Sx_MhwFSH4xxq7koV0HKElNep0TuXKJ39S2KpbGpclpD03ZPdA1a3oauoCIm4GZqMqMffRg1EJ7kLVTMZxG67suI2mnaLnQ4ciXUzF85mt4/s1600/IMG_3622.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifiKEMXBIpFnsZkeZAlofYyZJnhaoHjt8h3Sx_MhwFSH4xxq7koV0HKElNep0TuXKJ39S2KpbGpclpD03ZPdA1a3oauoCIm4GZqMqMffRg1EJ7kLVTMZxG67suI2mnaLnQ4ciXUzF85mt4/s320/IMG_3622.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551882347488509490" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Starting off with a little bit of eggs.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6ErCRwfmxeD68mvD5Ya-NuAutwrVpVTFy2Jc_KiTbFpIbozpA9gGChAZpXcTu33I9GLGQsecoOHpYBdTbF97JKVTjHMkULkPc5psl6mfPQb004xuLqIKzVYMAUZEVcvF6P9YlkO8MiwU/s1600/IMG_3625.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ6ErCRwfmxeD68mvD5Ya-NuAutwrVpVTFy2Jc_KiTbFpIbozpA9gGChAZpXcTu33I9GLGQsecoOHpYBdTbF97JKVTjHMkULkPc5psl6mfPQb004xuLqIKzVYMAUZEVcvF6P9YlkO8MiwU/s320/IMG_3625.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551882343228510754" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Which get tripled in volume from vigorous whisking.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrqd4N3fHItWGqSZdvqnetKVAGQsQzue6BMXgOksvFNqduBKuZpsYsu4SOSLTp1HS2bNsgv_70jz3KVSV_4bJmBJ_9AO3Dmp6-n7sZ3TBIHR_EM7SR_tNuN0Zum_-3h9HtJl-nEIXVAQu/s1600/IMG_3648.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrqd4N3fHItWGqSZdvqnetKVAGQsQzue6BMXgOksvFNqduBKuZpsYsu4SOSLTp1HS2bNsgv_70jz3KVSV_4bJmBJ_9AO3Dmp6-n7sZ3TBIHR_EM7SR_tNuN0Zum_-3h9HtJl-nEIXVAQu/s320/IMG_3648.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551882337227560226" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Covered with fondant and decorated with a bow it looked like it belonged under the Christmas tree.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyPTFMfCKMi7hVL0nFEfq-t0YDuVas6UMLrJ93DyhNcLHlksNvK51Ij-QKR8XviXsy56CwXa9lo8j8CpBZXR6g1ARiZjsrJRZmsmDINjImOtw8WPmr3Fd9vjbn8UaaqvSXXzr28L87t0A/s1600/IMG_3651.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNyPTFMfCKMi7hVL0nFEfq-t0YDuVas6UMLrJ93DyhNcLHlksNvK51Ij-QKR8XviXsy56CwXa9lo8j8CpBZXR6g1ARiZjsrJRZmsmDINjImOtw8WPmr3Fd9vjbn8UaaqvSXXzr28L87t0A/s320/IMG_3651.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551882339812118850" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">It was a fairly stiff cake that cut fairly clean.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Overall, this wasn't our favorite cake because of the spongy texture of the Genoise cake. But, lesson learned and it made a nice little decorative present along the way. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-92207668174159428842010-12-16T20:19:00.008-05:002010-12-16T20:59:43.859-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#3) Santa's Toy Bag<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u><br /></u></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">Why do we leave cookies and milk out for Santa? After schlepping around all those toys, I don't think that's what he really wants. No, I'm sure what he'd really like is a beer. And my guess is that living at the North Pole, he drinks those hearty, thick, warm-you-from-the-inside-out kind of beers. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1azhhj1dGdxmRJ9oV5WpSWbzxn6T0mPHWQ0Ha0fQ4oSTXREGwf_hpqaq9yLlTfBnv-d_ZBHMBLF8e4rDMBcMhDWHrRgJnWtGTx6O4xb_gk7uBM_mD-8aW_4AaVEB4cj5sb9IpC5lJYAG/s1600/Creepy+Beer+Santa.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1azhhj1dGdxmRJ9oV5WpSWbzxn6T0mPHWQ0Ha0fQ4oSTXREGwf_hpqaq9yLlTfBnv-d_ZBHMBLF8e4rDMBcMhDWHrRgJnWtGTx6O4xb_gk7uBM_mD-8aW_4AaVEB4cj5sb9IpC5lJYAG/s200/Creepy+Beer+Santa.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551458403867968866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 173px; height: 200px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Who's to say Santa doesn't like beer?</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I bet Santa would be even jollier if the tradition was to give him a tall glass of Guinness and a slice of chocolate cake. Why not? Well, Jessica knows that I'm a beer aficionado (I brew my own) and with her passion for cakes -- she decided to make the two things happen at once. Yes, a Guinness Chocolate cake. Sound strange? It's really not. The recipe was from her cake bible, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cake-Book-Tish-Boyle/dp/0471469335">The Cake Book</a>, and let me tell you, this cake is delicious! It's moist, has a subtle dose of chocolate, and perhaps just a tad bit of roastiness from the Guinness. It was such a hit, we've had 2 requests to make it again!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-J-Wh1ZLeFi0bFdzrOcr9w48Z1z_vPiTroxusaULS2yzWi5BN8WPAGx0VKOBWqSqSBfdEhzLdhnbJ1sbuYv6w5CWIHQqUsnPBz_KCMd7pJ2gqTweoTXTGIt9JI4V2mlLXr_00po0rfJJ/s1600/IMG_3800.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-J-Wh1ZLeFi0bFdzrOcr9w48Z1z_vPiTroxusaULS2yzWi5BN8WPAGx0VKOBWqSqSBfdEhzLdhnbJ1sbuYv6w5CWIHQqUsnPBz_KCMd7pJ2gqTweoTXTGIt9JI4V2mlLXr_00po0rfJJ/s320/IMG_3800.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551456334625594418" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Recipe has about 1 can of Guinness stout, cocoa powder, vanilla, and cinnamon.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xZKmo_2POOnVnqYk-3C46rEmL8J1YIEYRGNmBLSgOwidqSXJuqJk5jqLEdIcfQE4wP63-B4oXweKKXYUNE945U_JrWeHnI8fkrujygrT47xWvGbV4ndaeaAhrxBRm1NKtj_Itegt-jNJ/s1600/IMG_3747.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9xZKmo_2POOnVnqYk-3C46rEmL8J1YIEYRGNmBLSgOwidqSXJuqJk5jqLEdIcfQE4wP63-B4oXweKKXYUNE945U_JrWeHnI8fkrujygrT47xWvGbV4ndaeaAhrxBRm1NKtj_Itegt-jNJ/s320/IMG_3747.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551456333406362994" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">This was a double batch of cake (made in springform pans), then cut to give it rounded edges. Fondant was draped over top of the cake, leaving excess fondant around the edges. Then we flipped the cake over and used newspaper to hold up the excess fondant while it dried in place. The result was Santa's bag that we could stuff with toys.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_viw9Zv9P5tGN24ZWKYLkOFRTmZN4zsyi-DAD9Rfqn0QYpxfOku7x1IGh86a2nS3qCsBvNIANARfkmx90UW94A_XW0lbt3iR2pb58ChFMrDatKbSnpc6ys_d_3qMomIHXStb4EkDF4L9/s1600/IMG_3751.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD_viw9Zv9P5tGN24ZWKYLkOFRTmZN4zsyi-DAD9Rfqn0QYpxfOku7x1IGh86a2nS3qCsBvNIANARfkmx90UW94A_XW0lbt3iR2pb58ChFMrDatKbSnpc6ys_d_3qMomIHXStb4EkDF4L9/s320/IMG_3751.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551456328623751490" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The rope is fondant painted with gold luster dust.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatyeLEuaCwlUbd6n7egT3tlpZvvEkuK3otxSbj-FHwkGrsfXrGhIa28JsnX_BP_-2VthZ8M5PrPdUP6sKRKIR-IMmlPcTrVRp0FN35SnjPoLim91jXyVBgLr4hQclZTRwM0bVCAfiDG_y/s1600/IMG_3756.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjatyeLEuaCwlUbd6n7egT3tlpZvvEkuK3otxSbj-FHwkGrsfXrGhIa28JsnX_BP_-2VthZ8M5PrPdUP6sKRKIR-IMmlPcTrVRp0FN35SnjPoLim91jXyVBgLr4hQclZTRwM0bVCAfiDG_y/s320/IMG_3756.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551456323920279954" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">All the toys are made from fondant, except the candy canes (which are real candy canes).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">And the best part about this cake? I get to drink the leftover Guinness. Cheers!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-89092203477904609392010-12-15T22:30:00.005-05:002010-12-15T22:54:31.701-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#2) The Grinch<div>So when Jessica was hunting for ideas for Christmas cakes to make, my research group suggested The Grinch. What better Christmas icon? (I know, there's Santa...just be patient...). We figured it would be most appropriate for the Grinch to be made of devil's food cake with chocolate buttercream.</div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1blpRPlWWR8kG7uzDWgQWrrDGYwTJolH6S5MVOnKR-EcizUPot8nsKB8k-5wdik602Z9Vxi9VxJYDmCMBTuAu1IUPvrogr1O05rg4Plt4zwVi2tK34Gbt4w4t2Se8cHCSsxFYE27PFFnc/s1600/IMG_3636.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1blpRPlWWR8kG7uzDWgQWrrDGYwTJolH6S5MVOnKR-EcizUPot8nsKB8k-5wdik602Z9Vxi9VxJYDmCMBTuAu1IUPvrogr1O05rg4Plt4zwVi2tK34Gbt4w4t2Se8cHCSsxFYE27PFFnc/s320/IMG_3636.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551120050080259490" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">Pretty straightforward recipe with lots of cocoa powder!</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdemjjJ-xyo3cXQnqA6_5jUl-WRZ5d-As4voQbqqrEsv81bJwB3WOQBXeFTjQllIZNRZGHZ2K6JswutDyoauNK-64lfvdPblsKn7yQCw2xY6LMHRk1mU79pBtMHjdELaK3GWw2LRpbdCX/s1600/IMG_3665.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdemjjJ-xyo3cXQnqA6_5jUl-WRZ5d-As4voQbqqrEsv81bJwB3WOQBXeFTjQllIZNRZGHZ2K6JswutDyoauNK-64lfvdPblsKn7yQCw2xY6LMHRk1mU79pBtMHjdELaK3GWw2LRpbdCX/s320/IMG_3665.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551120047233435826" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">The finished result!</div></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IbvczuZb3_pm0AsxuZJPamIs2usN2qXXTci02pJwWZbFkQqJvTwL683OC07DkW2CXW03euh9C7jDeixQmiEbTDc_AUvlIMpXAfJLFbqT8PqGY5EuOJpyMKyhFrugz8gqLFKp4rIZhaGJ/s1600/IMG_3664.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 234px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_IbvczuZb3_pm0AsxuZJPamIs2usN2qXXTci02pJwWZbFkQqJvTwL683OC07DkW2CXW03euh9C7jDeixQmiEbTDc_AUvlIMpXAfJLFbqT8PqGY5EuOJpyMKyhFrugz8gqLFKp4rIZhaGJ/s320/IMG_3664.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5551120042308723218" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>This one was covered with a <a href="http://www.thebakerskitchen.net/Satin-Ice-Buttercream-Flavored-White-Fondant-2lb.aspx">butter cream fondant</a> (the blue background), which spreads a lot thinner than the Wilton fondant. To be honest, it tastes a lot better, too. The Grinch was piped out of royal icing. This cake disappeared in one day amongst the 10 or so people in our office.</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-44123441939076118082010-12-14T21:26:00.009-05:002010-12-14T22:05:58.754-05:00The Twelve Cakes of Christmas - (#1) Snowman<div style="text-align: left;"><i>On the first day of Christmas, my true love baked for me...</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div>...isn't that how it goes? Well, that's what I've been feeling like this holiday season. Jessica decided this year to bake 12 cakes in honor of Christmas. So starting today, we'll be posting one Christmas-themed cake a day until December 25th. Here's the first one to start it off.</div><div><br /></div><div>Since we live in Florida and have no realistic chance of making a real snowman (despite recent freezing temps), Jessica decided to make an edible Frosty the Snowman. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><u><br /></u></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyetSGnXeCXZbqqbvvkGZxRtiDMZQMHqrZlgUl1t_QW0heCcJsRyZs6qFI6vZDOTW5mxEd-VrxQ17o4uroxMjbmibWeuU_7OZWZx7WVYA0qy4AiB0KUyNxqXgePKVrdtcTqrOr-vLKMKx/s1600/IMG_3595.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyetSGnXeCXZbqqbvvkGZxRtiDMZQMHqrZlgUl1t_QW0heCcJsRyZs6qFI6vZDOTW5mxEd-VrxQ17o4uroxMjbmibWeuU_7OZWZx7WVYA0qy4AiB0KUyNxqXgePKVrdtcTqrOr-vLKMKx/s320/IMG_3595.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550732170437407522" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">This was a coconut cake with coconut custard and coconut buttercream from one of Jessica's favorite recipe books, appropriately titled <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cake-Book-Tish-Boyle/dp/0471469335">"The Cake Book."</a></div><div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3nO8ppmLrEoa13kpclpri-VFNTeaWVqUoi8nbKONah5twdlvZt6yAQMySFZK8NMTc9J24XnNgecmpVjySjIAHmP6p_11dl4-rv5qGFZPtNCdw5VNYkJHOjO1_yg8jZMcOXM15ObhDAY_/s1600/IMG_3601-1.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH3nO8ppmLrEoa13kpclpri-VFNTeaWVqUoi8nbKONah5twdlvZt6yAQMySFZK8NMTc9J24XnNgecmpVjySjIAHmP6p_11dl4-rv5qGFZPtNCdw5VNYkJHOjO1_yg8jZMcOXM15ObhDAY_/s320/IMG_3601-1.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550732171725189250" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px; " /></a></div><div><div style="text-align: center;">The cakes and buttercream prior to assembling.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcY2XslcWNrmEQSEreNwanzQqaidu4VLzcjaWEqqxpYLSuPwlqVlbPbWH3FVEjJCWrt6FAHDJymOJMilrbB1EqxJbIp2Vqb1ftBAvXZIJ3EOXQi10MFZrFOn5rEyQjntJHsgA2slQsrQWl/s1600/IMG_3603.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcY2XslcWNrmEQSEreNwanzQqaidu4VLzcjaWEqqxpYLSuPwlqVlbPbWH3FVEjJCWrt6FAHDJymOJMilrbB1EqxJbIp2Vqb1ftBAvXZIJ3EOXQi10MFZrFOn5rEyQjntJHsgA2slQsrQWl/s320/IMG_3603.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550732178717616274" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The head (actually a cake ball), abdomen, and bottom.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzDOCe4Jlma6ixqXUdZrTvi5skVmAglmMK4k8ZGMkMAs3stmwOqwytjS440o-aykBJUChfaffol1TSpqiHywPSd0nh_LZa26XZNiLcShyqhqwLuA7Hp6yLfLtQw2SoaXJdMwpCgcG9ndF/s1600/IMG_3616.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzzDOCe4Jlma6ixqXUdZrTvi5skVmAglmMK4k8ZGMkMAs3stmwOqwytjS440o-aykBJUChfaffol1TSpqiHywPSd0nh_LZa26XZNiLcShyqhqwLuA7Hp6yLfLtQw2SoaXJdMwpCgcG9ndF/s320/IMG_3616.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550732182615439410" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 320px; " /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">The finished product.</div><div><br /></div></div></div><div>I was reminded of the <a href="http://web.mit.edu/wuster/www/img/calvin/">twisted snowmen from Calvin and Hobbes</a> from my childhood. However, Jessica probably wouldn't go for making Killer Monster Snow Goon out of cake.</div><div><br /></div><div>Check back tomorrow for the second cake of Christmas!</div>Scotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01538532273836361725noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-42721098215353385172010-11-30T21:58:00.000-05:002010-11-30T21:58:52.166-05:00Maple Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Last week was my work's potluck Thanksgiving dinner. Of course I could have brought in stuffing, or green bean casserole, but I thought I'd use the opportunity to try out a recipe that I've seen. This one was out of "Martha's Cupcakes" and it seemed perfect for the fall. Here was what was needed for the maple cupcakes (and yes, that is a ridiculously huge bottle of maple syrup).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCTcsB_Kz5KX0hXuvrzZlzBkNXCtJ55ESXwKJVNFv-tRi3ncXAJ7fScEQ6LJlRnl6uUeBMrD1JSIgnd8sdG-QcXrYJGlx9dJacxtQ5oGuJWsqewhYz076GlyaitrDrSxqGVjFPczYneog/s1600/IMG_3635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCTcsB_Kz5KX0hXuvrzZlzBkNXCtJ55ESXwKJVNFv-tRi3ncXAJ7fScEQ6LJlRnl6uUeBMrD1JSIgnd8sdG-QcXrYJGlx9dJacxtQ5oGuJWsqewhYz076GlyaitrDrSxqGVjFPczYneog/s320/IMG_3635.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The cupcakes were pretty easy to make. The cake itself tasted like a really sweet dessert pancake. The frosting was really yummy too, and pretty unique. If you have this book and want to make this recipe, though, I would suggest only making half of the frosting - there was a ton left over. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZT64k6nbordbldqjrLYJ49JXZDpyKvSyqxc0j_pAws94o5sasVcy-xJc01wlyq7nCPQiig8nGYz4AqUtNSH_Doo1CbSAR8oBzmT3i49wE8QitXY_4bcodZFufAyU91ShSQwsmlQp5UeR/s1600/IMG_3656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibZT64k6nbordbldqjrLYJ49JXZDpyKvSyqxc0j_pAws94o5sasVcy-xJc01wlyq7nCPQiig8nGYz4AqUtNSH_Doo1CbSAR8oBzmT3i49wE8QitXY_4bcodZFufAyU91ShSQwsmlQp5UeR/s320/IMG_3656.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Then, you just make little marzipan leaves (I used store bought marzipan to save time) and color it with some red, brown, and orange. I couldn't believe it, but one tiny package made enough to cover all of the cupcakes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7e3oKe9apvPIEKALxmwv0-B1so8c6wrnHgJP96LVEiXUI4wg6_zegEeLrerqC5AwdVMvPOcStANSGU-k7Z6ptwgF9erUox4qyyumzS4g88QvkEeFMqVdkZIOj6XyUK-fNn5HLdKuB2hc/s1600/IMG_3658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7e3oKe9apvPIEKALxmwv0-B1so8c6wrnHgJP96LVEiXUI4wg6_zegEeLrerqC5AwdVMvPOcStANSGU-k7Z6ptwgF9erUox4qyyumzS4g88QvkEeFMqVdkZIOj6XyUK-fNn5HLdKuB2hc/s320/IMG_3658.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
All-in-all, I think these turned out pretty good. They definitely looked pretty and made enough so just about everyone could have some. I'm just lucky I got them out of the house. I think Scott may have been sneaking bites here and there.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-67382409878184967672010-11-30T06:53:00.000-05:002010-11-30T06:53:59.022-05:00Diaper CakeSo...the cake in this post was not exactly edible. My friend, Tiffany, is going to be having her first baby soon, so I decided to make her diaper cake for the baby shower. This was my first attempt at a diaper cake, but I think it turned out pretty nice.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9v6JFuka4LtFFmyT58-OVNW0_qGA5DYS4SKENNQfTr3EhDAPc7FUYzQ1CCSmh9JPcyetiy1Z1uL1KZIoBgZCorciuKP7TSZAFbDfbSUvvF4e8cJS2-8VgF-msBchfejhQA-c-EuEd62vJ/s1600/IMG_3584.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9v6JFuka4LtFFmyT58-OVNW0_qGA5DYS4SKENNQfTr3EhDAPc7FUYzQ1CCSmh9JPcyetiy1Z1uL1KZIoBgZCorciuKP7TSZAFbDfbSUvvF4e8cJS2-8VgF-msBchfejhQA-c-EuEd62vJ/s320/IMG_3584.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Of course it had to be all pink since she is having a baby girl. The only diapers I could find had blue edges, though, so I had to kind of overcompensate with the pink. :)</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1lDu0HCYE2YIVeaKmiieMDQ2YgjUc_PyYQkv-Txpbwuipag4uL50uJr2qfMCTrIsXzS3PxHiNtboSGlodiYowWBqw8QcNIYynEUF769CPmRiz-2LtDqG-Bw0fUFyLC6jnS5tcKem3cVk/s1600/IMG_3586.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1lDu0HCYE2YIVeaKmiieMDQ2YgjUc_PyYQkv-Txpbwuipag4uL50uJr2qfMCTrIsXzS3PxHiNtboSGlodiYowWBqw8QcNIYynEUF769CPmRiz-2LtDqG-Bw0fUFyLC6jnS5tcKem3cVk/s320/IMG_3586.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
The bottom tier is made with size 2 diapers and the top two are size 1. (I don't like the idea of making the cake with newborn sized diapers since some babies are born too big for those.) Each diaper is rolled and secured, and then they're bundled together to make tiers. In this case, the bottom two tiers are bundled around a bottle. Then the layers are stuffed with goodies for the baby.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUftm4ZBGpDGmBx0w24lgMP7x97P6GB-7wCSMuXjKIgCN2EheBPfBqz7UaTkZq-wL6usalXN10eRpwwpOt4rC2Lyot8-pJJTeMwArDdow0fPK4jrwLRMSU0OICgAeK0LqC1ebEawHm5VlO/s1600/IMG_3592.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUftm4ZBGpDGmBx0w24lgMP7x97P6GB-7wCSMuXjKIgCN2EheBPfBqz7UaTkZq-wL6usalXN10eRpwwpOt4rC2Lyot8-pJJTeMwArDdow0fPK4jrwLRMSU0OICgAeK0LqC1ebEawHm5VlO/s320/IMG_3592.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Congrats Tiffany!</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-41641023983878712912010-11-07T21:05:00.000-05:002010-11-07T21:05:45.837-05:00Joshua's Birthday, Take 2Some of you may remember a little boy named Joshua who turned 1 last year and got a Teddy Bear Birthday with a <a href="http://coopercakes.blogspot.com/2010/02/joshuas-first-birthday.html">Teddy Bear Cake</a>. Well, he turned 2 this weekend, and this time his parents threw him a Super Why party. I was asked to make a Super Why cake similar to this one found on <a href="http://www.cakecentral.com/">Cake Central</a>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyfpfu8r1B7rjQQQ5AN1fBDt3uQSjzoDj4LX5I_cLrQxW6Em9Ec4x8EMj-X_2R0aXtuSqvtZYobhnETQsq6WZiT2S4YMZwJjQDVJTzELtCU_KBSSj5VECSBQL7Zz9frUEGzm91NIj9ON0/s1600/Super_Whyresized.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyfpfu8r1B7rjQQQ5AN1fBDt3uQSjzoDj4LX5I_cLrQxW6Em9Ec4x8EMj-X_2R0aXtuSqvtZYobhnETQsq6WZiT2S4YMZwJjQDVJTzELtCU_KBSSj5VECSBQL7Zz9frUEGzm91NIj9ON0/s320/Super_Whyresized.JPG" width="312" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGyfpfu8r1B7rjQQQ5AN1fBDt3uQSjzoDj4LX5I_cLrQxW6Em9Ec4x8EMj-X_2R0aXtuSqvtZYobhnETQsq6WZiT2S4YMZwJjQDVJTzELtCU_KBSSj5VECSBQL7Zz9frUEGzm91NIj9ON0/s1600/Super_Whyresized.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Now, I wasn't sure what Super Why was, so I did a little research. It's a PBS cartoon where a young boy named Whyatt and his friends, the Super Readers, go into books to solve problems. He calls up his friends using his "Super Computer" (which looks like a PDA), and then they have story book adventures. I wanted to keep the cake similar to the picture, but of course I had to have my own spin on it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First thing's first - I needed to bake some cakes.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoQtn1xxrIme1c1zxmkT-bdscaKWs1-0_hkFhyphenhyphenO3l4nPi24mf5fAnDEnEaCjPJwCA5v-WXLS_Q3M6lvEv5DRSYvYk8I7XLoyWtvSJ_FxKkdh1QuL0zbwqbXPL5RLgYP6D8UG0tFv07zel/s1600/IMG_3549.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheoQtn1xxrIme1c1zxmkT-bdscaKWs1-0_hkFhyphenhyphenO3l4nPi24mf5fAnDEnEaCjPJwCA5v-WXLS_Q3M6lvEv5DRSYvYk8I7XLoyWtvSJ_FxKkdh1QuL0zbwqbXPL5RLgYP6D8UG0tFv07zel/s320/IMG_3549.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then it was time to start icing the cake. This was a yellow cake with raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61rcte3Dx7167UrweHOQ_TGyyK-HBGzbfjTjDMT6-DH9zUxP-4JN7vKk2-EMdC1d6s3G6RSrzpWu6PpUkApxDNYV8mf2z23pDJxivUakbeI5EJzl3to4TW5gjovCaVLZJ9McfYwtCuUAz/s1600/IMG_3560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh61rcte3Dx7167UrweHOQ_TGyyK-HBGzbfjTjDMT6-DH9zUxP-4JN7vKk2-EMdC1d6s3G6RSrzpWu6PpUkApxDNYV8mf2z23pDJxivUakbeI5EJzl3to4TW5gjovCaVLZJ9McfYwtCuUAz/s320/IMG_3560.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I think every super hero needs his face on cake, don't you?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhuYsxhrSDoaKpwAP2HcGnyQ5wNZuLBp3TxP-_d02C5JQx2-CUwmHzzDvkBhSa_HLDKntBFLjV5RKaIxH1G-5mWKkBHdVuCRpmzKya0NhBAum8s3jWwc8rTEyC8gJQqbMKjxcOPYd3iAY/s1600/IMG_3561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhuYsxhrSDoaKpwAP2HcGnyQ5wNZuLBp3TxP-_d02C5JQx2-CUwmHzzDvkBhSa_HLDKntBFLjV5RKaIxH1G-5mWKkBHdVuCRpmzKya0NhBAum8s3jWwc8rTEyC8gJQqbMKjxcOPYd3iAY/s320/IMG_3561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I really liked the book in the original cake, so I decided to stick with that idea.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0dsolFm7tnsuFAC9JyaUMgqVSR1vk0eu0NeI4FGsSbLJ6Ir1pLvt7X6pvc1lMHvQN1Uncn09pB95TPmqiVKnXUAgiOnkEnxbMhTDTAIgK22GbC_u-bH5kvr52A9WMOyHvdKrSRYoXT4c/s1600/IMG_3555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq0dsolFm7tnsuFAC9JyaUMgqVSR1vk0eu0NeI4FGsSbLJ6Ir1pLvt7X6pvc1lMHvQN1Uncn09pB95TPmqiVKnXUAgiOnkEnxbMhTDTAIgK22GbC_u-bH5kvr52A9WMOyHvdKrSRYoXT4c/s320/IMG_3555.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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But then I decided to make a Super Computer as well.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDdklJ9xdpAw70hlOj5fxlUgwaXfSLGy1ET5fKz3XhuzxPiHPWhBX5-N-BVSY4FKMB9tqnHlewIOvMvKARuzTzgPN0zhCsTekbOdZIXlQjjPAhvpVolaHwzihcIN4edxfM5kqjmmyish3/s1600/IMG_3557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKDdklJ9xdpAw70hlOj5fxlUgwaXfSLGy1ET5fKz3XhuzxPiHPWhBX5-N-BVSY4FKMB9tqnHlewIOvMvKARuzTzgPN0zhCsTekbOdZIXlQjjPAhvpVolaHwzihcIN4edxfM5kqjmmyish3/s320/IMG_3557.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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Then it was time to add some finishing details with lots of bright colors.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7kDZb4pRuGqvVN9rUNDQmkoSW-3-ILHu9gEorTFxViqn0aET9pPecdLBTdERzIz7PXPewYqaqBIBrwKJ81OhCZJDLaqLDEu5zEk30XATFmyS-u2YaNY76xRimROlEAXfrN3lhsRBwyjW/s1600/IMG_3574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7kDZb4pRuGqvVN9rUNDQmkoSW-3-ILHu9gEorTFxViqn0aET9pPecdLBTdERzIz7PXPewYqaqBIBrwKJ81OhCZJDLaqLDEu5zEk30XATFmyS-u2YaNY76xRimROlEAXfrN3lhsRBwyjW/s320/IMG_3574.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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Add to that some fondant letters.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Put it all together, and you get a birthday cake fit for any super hero! Happy birthday, Joshua! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsLqK4ewtOOcFk2O6SLI5LA3kH18073cgUYve9Db-HVPD0y0mSGxYWpCIHVooMWYRAEVNyRCKAfXuxVEQpl-27GcphuliR8ASRHcEaG6bOqr8lr8nxiH-Kk6GHfRWmFAh-CXi6_szh1_1h/s1600/IMG_3578.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecoraP6x6s9pnNOLzzXxalXJUlsN5jjkLFluT55sVXp79C05w8kQWIFdWMy8Z94q0BkbTlEIcx4W1frJDCCDsdQV61JX3i37615uJT0QvH54BIgdxDsK2OrqDvT51zXMd-Ml18JmCQ8hh/s1600/IMG_3576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecoraP6x6s9pnNOLzzXxalXJUlsN5jjkLFluT55sVXp79C05w8kQWIFdWMy8Z94q0BkbTlEIcx4W1frJDCCDsdQV61JX3i37615uJT0QvH54BIgdxDsK2OrqDvT51zXMd-Ml18JmCQ8hh/s320/IMG_3576.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-72077798788574971142010-10-30T12:54:00.005-04:002010-10-30T13:18:15.313-04:00Jennifer's Baby ShowerOK, time for a more recent post. My friend, Jennifer, is having a baby (due in December), and she had her baby shower last weekend. It's a baby girl, and they shower was zebra themed, so everyone was having a lot of fun with it. When they asked me to do the cake, they told me that they wanted it to be kind of like this diaper cake that they found:<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d4Vmf5ng5JxseJeaQpfh7DGO77zs0MC7_bT2Oa4Y8BVOs40tdzHr234i5kxv5R9iuNv9M2udWKjQiXcAnA8bvADVqn-yNQ1v_GRtCEUduDH6DydgSnaNqS9ZJTy25xJvYcL7ZID-LDI/s400/IMG_4909.jpg" /></div><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; ">There were going to be about 30 people there, so I knew a 3-tiered cake would be WAY too much. I drew up a few different designs, but finally settled on one that I thought would make her happy.</div><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left; ">So, I, of course, kept with the zebra theme when decorating the cake. Jennifer said she wanted vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, so that was the bottom tier. The top tier was lemon cake with a raspberry buttercream for the people who wanted something a little different. </div><div style="text-align: left; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijblMjmOE-4H9zAkpzqkklZKQIgYRrrXzHIkf1IzK8Zsnh5Y4GR7L1cjRN0DS7qMjOqwFQoILmY28_2u89cAVsFjfKw9JQF3ycJgdMR00VHE9OpBE_LrMSZfEeewgD1diPkbgs6OrMcCET/s320/IMG_3464.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533885295628632194" /></div><div>This was the cake without most of the little add-ons that I made - those were put on the cake when we got to the shower. The zebra and all of the coverings were made from fondant, and the pink "grass" was colored coconut. </div><div><br /></div><div>When we got to the shower, they had a place all set up and ready for the cake. We could really see how the zebra stripes make good camouflage. </div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhplbf9ZWXdY2yK1I9qbYCB8w4F3h7i4QCHlDDk7FwLA8_2yg2L8Z6sKSz0E9mHEVrTZRTNKWywul7DePqlGIk4vMhlNlHcfXfBiIxTEp140iA3-q6Tz0QFEWJ1_O11g1SeW0vsYBjTMzu5/s320/IMG_3468.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533885594538282994" /></div><div>I added all of the little accessories. I had made mini cupcakes and little baby-themed chocolates, along with all of my fondant accessories. The ring that the cake was in was made from decorated chocolate bars. How cute was that?</div><div><br /></div><div>Overall, I think the glowing mama-to-be was pretty happy with it. </div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBj34JsHmIWbvFzWNlTD6bMOos2ANTucIqPyACIXRKFEceE2MJyRope8dH1L6NNYs9c5un4GFp93kNukuGCcwZHOk5otf7ZojfEWhHzaNl0_Q8tNVN-7VNsttljdihdrMSfzKHgM6RRurE/s320/IMG_3471.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533885599343550946" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Congratulations Jennifer and Shane!</span></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4665854761465483028.post-17844812242148475372010-10-30T12:19:00.003-04:002010-10-30T12:49:27.920-04:00Birthday CakesOK, so let me start by just saying how incredibly late I am in posting this. These cakes were for birthdays back in the beginning of June. I have completely dropped the ball with this blog, but I figure late is better than never. Anyway, here it is:<div><br /></div><div>My friend, Tina, and her boyfriend, Tom, both had their birthdays during the same weekend, but they each needed their own cake. Tina wanted hers to be an orange dream cake with chocolate filling and chocolate ganache on the outside.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie2PuW33trCgD3D9BBIqB6P7trYNtZqZ3HFeM9z00GRbK5jcZ7Uirrc0oqjuQQWfzqLcHSz6hGNdqZSE6xQeUbDg-Wf9h4k_nfRGN4YsHyqY9lLJmTD5ihGwszJzUVwH5yOPrX3nvrLKD8/s320/UK+Trip+2010+082.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533875528198896530" />I have to say, it turned out pretty yummy. Good flavor choice, Tina.</div><div><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxXAO3OR0d0YTTNdITN4n62PR8t-b4TqVn_n0OcnjB9tu4UdxGwn5ULw-6TRwMpjmPodaqWpyB3IWNgeX_r-_5HI4762v9z2oD_6Ks0VjFP6GV90HxGk0RwiYQbU0pMyjK6Kg_CG3yIuz/s320/UK+Trip+2010+084.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533875537030312962" /></div><div>Of course I had to add a little flair with my homemade candied orange peel for garnish.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So, once Tina's cake was all gone (which didn't take too long at all), it was time to move on to Tom's. It's been so long since I actually made the cake that I can't quite remember exactly what the flavors were. How sad is that??? I think they were my homemade chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream.</div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOtSV_gcMPvwTYdojS5TEEwh_tMINyXFqT6a7RY8KgHCo9zdfpDb4mHW4f7VjN6HDWfpkTr1khWuYXY4fnIEiJ78w25szgFZWxjK2oFBAsDyLXoh5ehcFbiQubFoZ2gC1N55nWQzWGQL4/s1600/UK+Trip+2010+086.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOtSV_gcMPvwTYdojS5TEEwh_tMINyXFqT6a7RY8KgHCo9zdfpDb4mHW4f7VjN6HDWfpkTr1khWuYXY4fnIEiJ78w25szgFZWxjK2oFBAsDyLXoh5ehcFbiQubFoZ2gC1N55nWQzWGQL4/s320/UK+Trip+2010+086.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533875554822114466" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPda8CW4whSzG417k-CzuPwUIS7Yg8jQ6pPK6T7N8b6cE7VNG1dWWkl9sHksnD2X3QDd9H69uNMeh2WaIsJcPpcBtr-L30Bb-MCQzYxQM1ArXbYfk1zym4BMYQtdrPNHlU2yjVaFFi72f/s1600/UK+Trip+2010+085.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfPda8CW4whSzG417k-CzuPwUIS7Yg8jQ6pPK6T7N8b6cE7VNG1dWWkl9sHksnD2X3QDd9H69uNMeh2WaIsJcPpcBtr-L30Bb-MCQzYxQM1ArXbYfk1zym4BMYQtdrPNHlU2yjVaFFi72f/s320/UK+Trip+2010+085.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533875546493013586" /></a><div style="text-align: left;">I didn't actually try any of this cake, but from what I understand, Tom was pleased. That's all I can ask for. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05842146874789156633noreply@blogger.com0