I have a logo!

I have a new logo.  Bought a pre made logo on Etsy last night, and this morning I got my files! Check this lady out, she is awesome! http://www.etsy.com/shop/stylemesweetdesign

I'm Ridiculous

I was thinking I would like to get some cards made up, not that I'm looking to start up a new business or anything just yet, but it would be nice to have something handy with all  my info (phone #, email, blog address, etc) on. Which lead me to thinking; well, I'll need  a cute logo made up with my name on it, which got me thinking, (yup here's the ridiculous part); maybe I should change my blog name (AGAIN!)  Was thinking 'Sweet Treats' (is that redundant? Is there any other kind of sweet?)  Or maybe 'Sweet Designs' 'Sweets By Jen' Can you tell I'm partial to the word 'sweet'? 

Race For The Cure Donation Cake

This cake was made for a silent auction to help raise money for Race For The Cure.  The guide lines were elegant and decadent.  I made a 6" chocolate cake with alternating layers of vanilla and rootbeer buttercream.  The idea was a rootbeer float cake. 

 The stand is also part of the auction.  I was admiring a friends cake stand (she's very crafty too) one day and she told me she had made it.  The idea is so simple I almost feel dumb for never thinking of it.  This cake stand cost me about $1 to make.  It is a plate and vase found at a thrift store glued together.  Brilliant!

Sweet Little Cake

I think I may be on a cherry kick.  But I needed a simple, pretty little cake I could make to take up to my in laws for dinner.  My Mom used to make this cake when I was growing up and I always thought it was so pretty.

This is a  6" vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting and topped with cherry pie filing.  So simple and so pretty. 

Happy Birthday Dad!

My parents are visiting from California right now (yay!), it was very recently my Dad's birthday so I wanted to surprise him with a cake when he got here.  I wanted to make him a ice cream sundae cake incorporating his favorite ice cream; mint chocolate chip.  I only had a short time to figure this cake out, and no time to order any special pans or supplies, so I had to use what I had on hand.  While my boyfriend might think I have too many baking supplies, this is soooooo not true, because if I had the right pans my cake would have been more proportional and turned out better.  C'est la vie.  

I wanted the bottom to look like a waffle cone, but it ended up looking like a giant egg on top of a saggy bowl :)

I will try this design another time, I think it's a cute idea, but really what I'm getting to is the cake, I was really happy with how the actual cake turned out!

The bottom layer is my Awesome Chocolate Cake recipe, which was of course super moist and awesome.  Then I made a mint chocolate chip layer. 

I started with a boxed white mix

added oil, water

1 tea mint extract

1 drop green food coloring

fold in egg whites that have been whipped until fluffy

fold in mini chocolate chips that have been coated in flour

It smelled & tasted just like mint chocolate chip ice cream!

I also made a chocolate and mint chocolate chip buttercream

For the mint I used:

butter

cream

powdered sugar

vanilla bean paste

mint extract

green food coloring

mini chocolate chips

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD LOVE YA!!

As American As Cherry Pie!

I couldn't let a holiday go by with out baking something, but I was short on time and hadn't found anything new or exciting to inspire me, then I remembered Cherry Pie Cupcakes.  I had always wanted to make these they are so cute and incredibly simple. 

I used a box mix of yellow cake to save time (replacing the water with buttermilk to make a moister cake), I made a cream cheese buttercream:

1 box cream cheese

1 stick of butter

1-2 tea lemon

1 tea heavy cream

1 tea vanilla bean paste

1-2 cups powdered sugar

All measurements are approximate.  When I make my buttercream I start by:

Creaming my butter &/or cream cheese. 

When that has become smooth I add my liquid; cream/coffee/liqueur/lemon juice, etc

Then I add powdered sugar, about 1/4 cup at a time so not to over sweeten.

Stop, scrape down sides, taste test.  Add more sugar/liquid/butter/cream cheese as needed. 

Blend, stop, scrape, taste as many times a needed until it is right.

For the cherry pie topping, I just used a can of cherry pie filling, so simple!

I cut the tops of the cupcake off so that the cherry pie filling would not fall down the sides.

Put thin layer of frosting on top of cupcake

Piped standerd boarder to hold in filling and give 'crust' apperence

Topped with cherry pie filling

Piped a basket weave on every other one

The result; the cutest cherry pie cupcakes that tasted like a cherry creamcheese cake, yumm!

I was trying to finish these quickly so that I could play bubbles outside with my son, so I only made 4.  With the leftover frosting, I quickly smeared it on the rest of the cupcakes.  I'm usually a fan of the piped frosting on cupcakes, but there's something to so yummy looking about a messy cupcake don't ya think?

Happy Fourth Everyone!

Flavored Sugars

I just bought this new book that I'm now head over heals in love with; 'Booze Cakes' by Krystina Castella & Terry Lee Stone.  They combine 2 of my most favorite thing, can you guess what they are, ah ya, they are booze, and cake (I know it was a bit tricky to guess).

Not only are there awesome desserts, I have a feeling this blog might turn a bit into a boozy cake blog, but they also tell you how to make liqueur from home, cream puffs, marshmallow cream, even your own lady fingers (!), where were you 2 weeks ago when I wanted to make tiramisu?  (Although, I'm sticken to my pledge that Milano cookies are a fabulous substitution)

I have big plans with this book in the next few weeks, but for now I'm starting with making my own flavored sugars, so simple, why haven't I done this already?

Flavored Sugar:
2 cups confectioners', super fine, or granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean, cleaned & dried

Vanilla: Put sugar in an airtight container, burying the vanilla bean inside.  Seal the container and store in a cool place at least one week.  It will stay fresh for up to 3 months.

Lemon: Replace vanilla with zest of 3 lemons.  (Hmm, vanilla/lemon might be really good)

Orange: Replace vanilla with zest of 2 oranges

Herbal: Replace vanilla with 1/4 cup dried herbs, such as whole cloves, cinnamon sticks, or star anise

Lavender: Replace vanilla with 1/2 cup dried lavender buds