Club Penguin Birthday Cake

A friend of mine asked me if I could make a "Club Penguin" birthday cake for her granddaughter. I said "sure, what is Club penguin?" I really had never heard of it, but why would I? Anyway, she brought over pictures of some cakes that had been made with "Club Penguin" characters so I would have some idea what I was getting into. It seemed simple enough to do.......

I had never made 3D figures for a cake before. So I did some research and found out how to use rice cereal treats to make them. That was the easy part. Covering them in fondant, which I initially thought would be easy, was more challenging than I imagined. I figured it out after some trial and error and maybe a few curses too. They did turn out pretty decent for a first attempt. 

They were huge, totally out of scale for an 8" cake, but I made it work!

Boxing it up was another challenge. Here is a picture of the" jimmy rig" I did. I set another cake box over the cardboard sides that I taped on.

Strawberries; a great way to kick off the summer, it is coming...

I saw a Martha Stewart recipe for strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting, my mouth began to water. I have been wanting to make a strawberry cake. Since they were on sale and my daughter had a friend visiting from college, the timing was perfect. I had to make a cake for our guest. I decided to make a vanilla cake,(so many tunnels, another story) fill it with strawberries and make strawberry frosting. I wasn't sure how many strawberries to use in the frosting so I guessed about six. I think it was too many because it was a very soft. I added more sugar and it was too sweet and maybe too stiff, so I added a few more strawberries and a dash of lemon( I read that would cut the sweetness some). I suppose I should have followed the recipe. I chopped up some strawberries for the filling, about six, and then gave the inner layers a crumb coat of frosting so the juice did not absorb into the cake. I was concerned about sogginess. The frosting was a little soft so I refrigerated it and it was fine. As you will see in the picture, some of the juice leaked but that did not have any affect on the cake. It was delicious, I had a large piece just to be sure. Then I had a smaller piece for breakfast to make sure it was still good. It was. 
I packed it up for my daughter to take with her when she returned to Philadelphia. Otherwise, I would have had it for lunch too :-)

Over the Rainbow for the GSA

This is the second time I have made this cake. The first time was for Samantha's 21st birthday. This time I made it for "The First Annual GSA Gala" for the local high school. When I got the invitation for this event, I was immediately planning to make this rainbow cake.
I noted that when I cut open Samantha's cake the seven minute white frosting had disappeared. I think it absorbed into the cake. This time when I made it, I brushed simple syrup on the cake hoping to seal it and prevent the above from occurring again. It worked somewhat. I'd still like to see more white in between the layers. I'll try more icing along with the simple syrup next time.
Then there is the frosting on the top. I tried to mimic what was on the inside but the colors got muddied. I couldn't help but think "Cake Wrecks". But then I added some piped dots and that helped it. I do love how seven minute frosting stays in whatever shape is made; the peaks are fabulous. The cake was delicious and well received.

Flowers for Mom

I made these beautiful cupcakes to give to Mom on Mother's Day. Flowers say "I love you" and they satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time!

Butterflies Are Free

Butterflies, so pretty and delicate, just like these cookies!

Here Comes The Sun....

Put a little sunshine in your life. These sunny cookies are made from my favorite cookie recipe. Such a simple recipe with only five ingredients. I never tire of making them or eating them!