We'll never forget..

Although I have posted two other blog entries discussing celebratory times, We will NEVER forget what happened 09/11. I will be thinking of all of those that have lost loved ones.

Here comes the Bride.. and that is Katie

Katie is getting married and I made her shower cake again. I made a cake about a month ago for her first shower and I was asked to make another cake. Purple is Katie's favorite color. I chose a lavender.

 Katie deserved a present for her shower cake. There were about 20 people at the shower and this is a 9x9 cake. I made a yellow cake with bittersweet chocolate ganache filling and my butter cream frosting. The ribbon detail is marshmallow fondant and the roses are made from frosting.

 The last bit of cake was saved for the groom, John. It was yummy.  A few guests went back for a second slice.

I scream You scream.. we ALL scream for Ice Cream!

So, Chris turned another year older and asked for my famous ice cream cake.. Well, it is famous, only after my mom told me how to make it.

Ingredients:
Ice Cream sandwiches
Microwavable fudge
Cool Whip
nuts (optional)

How to:
Line a 9x9 square pan with ice cream sandwiches (cut if necessary to fit)
Do not microwave the fudge (you'll have ice cream soup)
Pour, squeeze or what ever you need to do to get the fudge out of the can, jar or tube over the ice cream bars. Smooth the fudge over the bars.
spoon the cool whip over the fudge as evenly as possible.
Add nuts if you choose.

 cover and freeze. 

 People will try and guess what is in it.. and always guess wrong!

It is best to freeze overnight 

John, Katie, Chris, Maria and Patrick all celebrating Chris's birthday. We had Mexican food and topped it off with ice cream cake. 

Labor Day 2011

We spent Labor Day 2011 with our friends, Patrick and Maria. I, of course, offered to bake. I finally decided on cupcakes and two different kinds at that.

One cupcake was a vanilla cupcake with a Reese's peanut butter cup in the center and my Ah-Maze-Ing peanut butter frosting and the other was a vanilla cupcake with chocolate ganache frosting.

 My Reese's peanut butter cup cupcake was similar to the Tagalong cupcakes I made in March. This time I baked a peanut butter cup in the center of my cupcake. This was a hit at the party.

The frosting was a HIT! peanut butter, powdered sugar and honey (a few other ingredients to.. but who cares about those?). Yum Yum!

 My other cupcake was covered in a mexican chocolate ganache frosting. This recipe was similar to the ganache filling I made for Andrea's 9th birthday party cake. I tweaked a few thing! First, I heated up the heavy cream with cinnamon and let it seep for five minutes. This time I left the chocolate with a few more chunks in it. I also used chocolate that was more bittersweet than what I used before. Who knew that there was different levels of bittersweetness. Acutally, what I learned was that there varying levels of cocoa and that is what creates the sweet, bittersweet or dark chocolate.

Andrea turns 9

We let Andrea turn one year older.  I can't believe it.. she is 9 years old. I have tried to make sure she stayed only 8 years older.. but darn it another birthday came again.. What is amazing is that next  year she will be the..duh duh duh.. (music was played here)... double digits.. 10 years old..

This blog isn't about my fear of her turning another year.. rather.. about the sweet tooth we have. I decided to make her a "pool" cake as she became a little fish this summer. She lived in the pool all summer long and cried when it rained or if we didn't have time. A "pool" cake was the most appropriate.

This is a yellow cake with butter cream frosting and a chocolate ganache filling. We had 12 swimmers in our pool and they were honey flavored teddy grahams wearing bathing suits and sunglasses. I forgot to add the diving board (made of graham crackers)

Chris said it was the best filling he ever had. My mom too! She said it was just enough to make the cake better than what it was. I took one Ghiradelli semi sweet chocolate bar and cut it into pieces and then ran it through the food processor to make sure it was small enough chunks. Then I put one cup of heavy cream on the stove and waited until it came to a soft boil and poured it over the chocolate. I let it sit for 15 minutes and then covered and put it in the fridge. It needs to be super cold. It is best to leave it over night but at least 6 hours will do.  After refrigeration, beat with a hand mixer until creamy.  This is only good for a filling and not good for frosting.

Over all, Andrea loved her birthday party with the family and loved her cake.. 9th birthday.. SUCCESS

They are Going to the Chapel.. AND They're Gonna Get MARRIED

Katie and John are getting married October 14, 2011 and I can't be happier for them. Katie is Chris's sister.

Bridesmaids, Junior Bridesmaids and Flower Girls

(From Left to right)- Back Row- Jenn, Joanna, Me, Katie, Ali, Jessica, Julie, Charisce

Front row- Andrea, Vivian, Dani, Stephie

The hosts of her first bridal shower asked me to make a cake for the occassion. Katie loves purple and loves butterflies. Once the hosts decided on the style of cake they wanted it made sense of how to bring it all together. I used two recipes of a french vanilla cake and fresh strawberries along with buttercream. I then created several royal icing/sugar flowers to place on the cake (All purple of course). I also added edible wafer paper butterflies.

Thanks to Chris, I was able to get a very smooth surface to use. He is amazing when it comes to making smooth icing.

I thought my flowers turned out the best that I have ever made. The purple roses, violets and apple blossoms (I think).

Don't pay attention to the bit of strawberry juice spilling out through my buttercream. That is what sometimes happens with fresh strawberries.

My teacher would be so proud of these roses!

Birthday Party and Party in my mouth

John (my future brother-in-law) turns one year older every March 17th. This year I experiemented with his favorite ingredients. Well who doesn't like girl scout cookies and cupcakes. I took the Tagalong cookie and put in the center of a vanilla cupcake. I then topped it with the yummiest peanut butter icing.

Peanut butter, honey and sugar.. YUM! Chris (husband) said it was the best frosting he has ever tasted.

   

At first I wasn't sure if I should put my cookie in after I filled my cupcake papers with batter or before. I realized after baking them it is better to put the cookie in after I fill my cups. If not, your cookie falls out of the bottom.  I made a real vanilla cupcake but not too sweet so it wouldn't take away from the cookie. I can't wait until girlscout cookie time again.. What can I do with Thin Mints or Carmel Delights?? Yummy