Progressive Dinner

Every year the night before Christmas Eve, my husband's side of the family does a progressive dinner. We rotate every year between the three houses - one family does appetizers, one does the main course and the final house does desserts. Guess who got desserts this year? Thank goodness because this rounds out my New Year's resolution quota of one cake a month to enhance my baking and decorating skills. Yes folks the Year of Baking has come full circle. It is the first resolution I think I have ever kept! My husband designed a lovely holly cake for me to create. It turned out lovely - homemade butter cake covered in buttercream frosting and embellished with MMF decorations. Props to my sister for the creative colorful border! Of course I couldn't just have a cake though! I also made Molasses Snickerdoodles (tasted like a cross between a gingerbread and snickerdoodle cookie) which have become my husband's favorite cookie of all time and some Raspberry Chocolate Bark which my sister claimed after the festivities. It was all very yummy and there was enough to take to my parent's Christmas dinner and share with them as well. Merry Christmas everyone - who knows what bakery creations are in store for next year?

Fancy Red Velvet Cupcakes

Christmas is almost here and that means it's my Mom's birthday! She had mentioned a few months ago that she wanted Red Velvet Cupcakes for her birthday. She thought I had forgot but I baked up these little jewels and surprised her with them on her birthday! I made the Red Velvet Cupcakes from scratch (compliments of a cupcake recipe book given to me by my grandmother for my birthday this year!), whipped up some cream cheese frosting, tinted it a cool blue and then topped them with pearlized sprinkles. They turned out so elegant - perfect for my Mom's birthday!

Brownie Cupcake "Hugs"

My husband's younger brother was involved in a pretty nasty car wreck this week. Thankfully he is okay but he did end up with a badly broken wrist. I asked my mother-in-law if I could bake him something to cheer him up and she told me she thought it was a fantastic idea. So I decided to make brownie cupcakes (easier for a one-armed man to eat) and topped them with a Hershey's "Hug" to let him know we care and were thinking about him. Hope you get better soon Matt!

Inside Out German Chocolate Cake

Thanksgiving time is here which means it's my Dad's birthday! I asked my Mom if I could do my father's birthday cake this year for Thanksgiving dinner. Dad is not so much into decorated cakes as he is into delicious tasting cakes and my Mom's one request was that I make the traditional German Chocolate Cake since it is my Dad's favorite. Personally I'm not so much into German Chocolate Cake so I decided to do a variation on it and make it inside out! I found a recipe online from a bake shop somewhere in Vermont. I thought it would be easier to make since I didn't have to frost it with the cooked pecan frosting... needless to say I should have read the entire recipe! This cake took forever! The filling took 1.5 hours to cook and the ganache had to be cooked and cooled for another hour! Putting the cake together was crazy and I had major doubts of the final product but thankfully it was over the top delicious and everyone loved it - especially my Dad.

Kaitlyn's 8th Birthday

Are you noticing a theme lately? Once September hits it's birthday mania in our family! This cake was for a cousin on my husband's side. She was turning eight and had a special request for me to make her birthday cake. She wanted a flower-shaped carrot cake (mature for an eight-year-old) in pink, purple and yellow. I decided to add the fondant leaves so I could write a birthday message - there was no room on the cake! My husband and I had a wedding to attend the same night as her birthday celebration but we heard that it was a huge hit when we returned to pick up our daughter. There wasn't any cake left over for my husband or I to try! I received a thank you e-mail from Kaitlyn the following day saying that the cake "rocked" and that she loved it. Happy 8th Birthday Kaitlyn, we love you!

Carrot cake with buttercream frosting. Marshmallow fondant leaves.

Fancy Banana Cupcakes

My husband's birthday is very close to my daughter's. So right after her celebration it was time to make him a personalized treat. I asked him what he wanted and he said banana cupcakes. I had just found an online blog of an Australian baker who did personalized cakes and cupcakes for clients. Her cupcakes were amazing! She would personalize them by doing a basic flavored cupcake, topped with icing and then garnished with goodies and sauces! I was inspired! So I baked Josh some banana cupcakes (a homemade recipe from a cupcake cookbook my grandmother got me as an early birthday gift) and then I made some homemade banana buttercream icing to top them with. Then I got the creative juices going and decided to use crumbled vanilla wafers as a garnish and finally topped it all off with a banana chip! They were a huge hit with the entire family! I hope to try a lot more of these experimental fancy cupcakes in the future. Super fun and extra yummy!

Lana's 1st Birthday Cake!

My daughter turns one today! So of course I had to make her an extra-special birthday cake. I had a really hard time deciding on a theme for her first birthday creation. The theme of her first birthday party was "A Year of Firsts" so it pretty much left me with endless possibilities. At the last minute I remembered an ice cream themed cake from one of the first cake decorating books I received and since Lana loves ice cream we had a cake idea! Here is the main cake, mainly for the party-goers:

And here is Lana's personal matching "smash" cake:

The inside of the main cake was done checker-board style - which was a huge hit but not the easiest thing in the world to do. Thank goodness for helping husbands. My sister got a good picture of the inside:

Lana's personal cake was purple and white swirled on the inside (compliments of her Daddy). I don't have a picture of that but I have this one of her enjoying it (compliments of Aunt Ashleigh):

All in all a very successful first birthday party with one very happy (and completely worn out) one year old. Welcome to toddlerhood Lana Brooke! Mommy and Daddy love you tons!