Button Flowers:
The button flowers are made from gum paste, using the button flower cut & press set.
The pansies are also made from gum paste, using a fondant cutter and various tools to thin & curl the edges.
A collection of my sweet treats
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Wilton Flowers
Flowers from the first day of Flowers & Cake Design class:
Button Flowers:
The button flowers are made from gum paste, using the button flower cut & press set.
Pansy:
Button Flowers:
The button flowers are made from gum paste, using the button flower cut & press set.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day
If you are unfortunate, as I am, and had to spend St. Patrick's Day at work, these cupcakes are a perfect way to celebrate. Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes, as they have so affectionately been names, are a chocolate cake made with stout, filled with a Jameson Irish Whiskey chocolate ganache, and finally topped with a Bailey's Buttercream.
I made the recipe last year & it was a big hit. I knew I couldn’t show up to work today without these! I wish I could take the credit for these delicious cupcakes, but the recipe comes from one of my favorite food blogs, smittenkitchen.com. As expected, these cupcakes were thoroughly enjoyed by my coworkers today.
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 18 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)
Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.
Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Use the “cone method” to carve a hole out of the centers of your cupcakes to make room for the filling. Discard (or eat!) the pieces.
Baileys Frosting
6 to 8 cups confections sugar
2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
4 to 6 tablespoons Baileys
Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, pour in the Baileys, starting with 4 tablespoons, and increasing to reach your desired consistency.
I made the recipe last year & it was a big hit. I knew I couldn’t show up to work today without these! I wish I could take the credit for these delicious cupcakes, but the recipe comes from one of my favorite food blogs, smittenkitchen.com. As expected, these cupcakes were thoroughly enjoyed by my coworkers today.
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, and bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 18 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.
Ganache Filling
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)
Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. Add the butter and whiskey and stir until combined.
Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped. Use the “cone method” to carve a hole out of the centers of your cupcakes to make room for the filling. Discard (or eat!) the pieces.
Baileys Frosting
6 to 8 cups confections sugar
2 sticks of butter, at room temperature
4 to 6 tablespoons Baileys
Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. Once all of the powdered sugar has been added, pour in the Baileys, starting with 4 tablespoons, and increasing to reach your desired consistency.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Wilton Cake
The cake is a 4 layer lemon cake with strawberry filling & lemon curd/whipped cream filling, frosted with a vanilla buttercream, & covered in fondant. The stripes are made of black tinted gum paste, and the daises are also made from gum paste. The border is made of a 50/50 fondant gum paste mix. The cake is on a fondant covered cake board.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Butterfly Cupcakes
This is a jumbo sized chocolate cupcake, with cream cheese/whipped cream filling, and covered in dark chocolate ganache. The butterfly is made by drawing the wings with melted chocolate onto parchment paper. Let them set, and use marshmallows or chocolate chips to prop into place. Pipe the butterfly body on after the wings are in place.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Wilton Cake
This is my final cake from Wilton's Basic Cake Decorating Class.
It's a 3 layer lemon cake with strawberry filling & lemon curd/whipped cream filling, and a basic buttercream frosting.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
When watching "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" I find myself usually wanting to try the competitors recipe more than Bobby's.Although Bobby is an amazing chef, his twist on the recipes aren't usually what I'm looking for. After watching the Pineapple Upside Down Cake, that was exactly what I did.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake
from the Brass Sisters
Ingredients
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
7 slices/rings of canned pineapple from 20 oz can, and 5 Tablespoons reserved juice
1 cup cake flour (not self rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Rack should be in middle position.
Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In 9 inch cake pan (I used a cast iron skillet), swirl butter to coat the bottom and sides of pan. (Do it over the sink in case of drips) Most will settle to the bottom. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bottom of the pan. Using a paper towel pat pineapple slices dry on both sides and arrange in a decorative pattern on the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl stir egg yolks just to break them up and add sugar, vanilla and 5 Tablespoons of reserved pineapple juice. Mix well and stir in flour mixture until combined. Set aside. Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat until just stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into the batter already in the large bowl until fully combined.
½ cup butter, melted
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
7 slices/rings of canned pineapple from 20 oz can, and 5 Tablespoons reserved juice
1 cup cake flour (not self rising)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Rack should be in middle position.
Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
In 9 inch cake pan (I used a cast iron skillet), swirl butter to coat the bottom and sides of pan. (Do it over the sink in case of drips) Most will settle to the bottom. Sprinkle brown sugar over the bottom of the pan. Using a paper towel pat pineapple slices dry on both sides and arrange in a decorative pattern on the bottom of the pan. In a large bowl stir egg yolks just to break them up and add sugar, vanilla and 5 Tablespoons of reserved pineapple juice. Mix well and stir in flour mixture until combined. Set aside. Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixer fitted with whisk attachment and beat until just stiff but not dry. Fold egg whites into the batter already in the large bowl until fully combined.
Pour batter into cake pan and bake 45-55 minutes until tester inserted into middle comes out clean. Cook pan on rack 2-3 minutes then invert onto another cooling rack. It will still be quite warm and very moist. Scrape any remaining bits of sugar or fruit from pan onto top of cake.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
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