First Communion

This week I had an order for a First Communion Cake. The Cake design was based off the Plates and Napkins the client had chosen for the event. I baked an extra 1 inch cake layer to carve out the cross, dove and sun to create a 3D effect. The cake was really fun to make, and I was really pleased with how well it all came together.

Panna Cotta

So I had Book Club at my house this month. I had chose the book "The Miracles of Santo Fico" by DL Smith. So I decided to bake Italian based food.

I made Foccacia with olive oil, pepper and balsamic vinegar. I got this recipe from Dad~ baker & Chef. I've made this recipe before with great results but unfortunately this time I didn't use big enough pans, so they were very thick and the centers were WAY too doughy... They still tasted great, but I felt bad for my guests. Not one of them said anything and I didn't notice until later.

I also made my favorite bread sticks with Homemade Alfredo for dipping. I love these bread sticks. I got the recipe years ago from a good friend and make them all the time. My kids can eat an entire batch in one night.

I also made some Coconut pecan bread, that while it isn't Italian itself is similar to an Italian cake recipe I like, but the bread has a better success rate. I had Italian Cream cheese frosting to put with it but TOTALLY spaced it and it sat on my counter the whole evening instead of going out on the table.

And finally the recipe I've been wanting to make since September. Coconut Panna Cotta. Of course the afternoon of book club I had grand plans of making it to the grocery store, getting fresh berries and making my fruit coulis. But did that happen? No... So the panna cotta was by itself. It had a nice flavor, subtle, sweet, but not overly grand... after the event I tried it with some chocolate sauce and a fruit syrup, but they were totally wrong and had a bad effect. In fact I would say that this is one dessert that was not made better by chocolate.

The next day I got the chance to get some Blackberries and made the Coulis. AHHHHHH..... What a HUGE difference. It was perfection, a WONDERFUL balance, a great dessert. Easy to make and I plan on doing it again soon. I'm so glad I had leftovers...

1st Birthday Cake

This was for my babies first birthday! I can't believe she's one already, and for her birthday the theme was dark pink, light pink and green flowers. I found a scrapbooking set I liked, then plates and went with that. Here is the place setting (with the favors around it, edible playdough with cookie cutters, homemade coloring book featuring the birthday girl and crayons, and bubbles.)

When your guests are adults and one year old's there isn't much to do other than eat cake! And that's what we did. The birthday girl got the top, and the rest of us shared the bottom layers. Here is a shot of the layers before I assembled them, you can see how they are shaped a bit better in this photo. This is the first time I covered the cake board with fondant. It was a nice touch and I plan on doing it again.

Chocolate Cameo

Today I got to deliver the Bridal shower cake I've been working on. It's a version of a cake I've previously made, the difference is size and colors. Before I made the small oval cake (not smallest, just small). But this one was the largest oval, to feed 70. And instead of my coconut pecan with cream cheese frosting we went Chocolate. And not a little chocolate, a LOT chocolate. My kind of cake. Chocolate Sour Cream layers, with Chocolate cream cheese mousse filling, Dark Chocolate butter cream with Chocolate Ganache (basically truffle, before you let it set... SO rich)! SOOOO good. Then the red flowers really added a nice touch. My husband said he liked this one WAY better. I was surprised at a few glitches I encountered during this cake. I usually make the bride cameo out of color flow (pre-made out of sugar, dries shiny and hard), but after a week of drying here in Houston and they (I made 3 just in case) we're dried and when I peeled off the parchment paper the dresses, necks and arms broke on every one. I even tried leaving the parchment paper on the last one and just cutting around it, but one I picked it up it just shattered! So... With not much time to go I went for it and did the cameo right on the cake. The challenge with anything you do right on the cake is of course messing up... And with this type of decorating, and outline and then a thinner poured filling to create a smooth picture, a mistake is un-fixable. Of course I did fine... Next time I try color flow I'll give myself at least 2 weeks, probably 3.

Also, Look what I just made myself! How cute am I? I once saw a bumper magnet that said "Slow, flowers". And thought I should do something similar myself. Lucky for me I did it... Even with my sign, and going 10 under the speed limit I still had a few scary moments. I think that would be the worst. To get the cake just perfect and then have something happen during delivery. But we made it and everyone was pleased.

Beehive cake

Tonight we celebrated a birthday party for the Women's Organization in our church. It's one of the oldest and largest women's organization in the world. It's over 165 years old! Anyway, a month or so ago they called and asked me to make a themed "birthday" cake as the main dessert. Of course in the end we had WAY too much food and desserts, we always do. So there is a lot of cake left over. But it was really fun to make it and I got a new pan out of it. You can't see it very well, but I marbelized the fondant and it created a really cool effect. I wish it came across better. Oh well. I need a better camera and flash, maybe a few lenses, Oh, and photography classes...

I got the wondermold pan (those barbie cake with the doll sticking out the top and the cake being the skirt) and put it on top of an 8 inch by 3 inch round pan to give it the height and sides. I covered it with my new marshmallow fondant and added these fondant bee's. When I got there to set up I noticed a few bee's were missing... My children... Luckily I made plenty. The cake was a hit, and it tasted great too. Chocolate, chocolate and chocolate! MMMMMmmmmm. I changed my chocolate buttercream recipe a bit, I've just discovered Dutch cocoa (thanks Malina) and it is just INCREDIBLE!!!! Anyway, I have 3 more cakes on the book this month. So look for a weekly post!