2007: Getting a Little More Creative

It looks like I only have pictures from Easter and my birthday this year. I was definitely spending more time skating and less time in the kitchen; my how things have changed in just a short few years.

This 3D bunny was really simple to make, especially since I had a pan with two bunny halves and all I had to do was glue the cake together with some icing. Grandma's Pound Cake was the cake of choice for the bunny since it is a dense cake and would withstand being stood up. I remember using a paint brush to apply the buttercream, giving the bunny a fur-like texture. I had a lot of fun making this bunny :)

Along with the bunny came some cupcakes topped with colored coconut and jelly beans; a must for Easter. 

Choo-choo-train cakes have been a tradition in our family for decades. My grandmother always made a choo-choo-train cake for my father's birthday and soon my sister and I were getting them for our birthdays too. Sometimes we received train wrecks; especially if my mom helped. A few times they "ran" off the counter-top and sometimes they just weren't put together well. No matter how pretty they looked, they always tasted yummy.

The train cakes my grandmother made for my dad were never as colorful as the one pictured above, but always had at least a car or two and a caboose. I made this train cake for my birthday and decided to make it very colorful. I used random candies we had in the house and I think it turned out pretty cute.

I also made this flowery cake for my birthday that year. At this point I had no clue how to make edible flowers, so I used real ones to decorate this cake. After I made this cake, I was determined to learn how to make flowers out of fondant and gum paste; and a short time after this, I did!!!

2006: The Year of Making Cakes with Random Stuff in the Pantry

As I look back through the pictures of the cakes I made in 2006, they all had a similar theme; open the pantry doors and see what's inside . . . then turn it into a cake. I find that I've been doing this more often as time goes on. I usually have the basic ingredients for a cake in my pantry at all times and sometimes, when I get a craving for a slice of cake, it is nice to be able to just open the pantry doors and get to baking.

Here is a cake that I'm pretty sure I just made one day because I was craving something sweet. 

I don't remember what the cake or icing was, but I can tell by how beautiful the fruit looks on top that I made this cake in the spring time. I love pairing fruit with cakes and it always adds great color to what sometimes can be a plain cake.

This cake below is one that I made for my birthday. I must have been in a colorful mood that day because every color icing is on this cake.

I usually make myself a Wacky Cake for my birthday since I love chocolate and I'll never get tired of eating a wacky cake. I remember buying the candles and balloons years prior thinking, "I'll use these for something, someday." I tend to find myself saying that a lot these days (especially when I go to Michaels or A.C. Moore). Anyways, a bunch of my friends were coming over to celebrate my birthday and I wanted to make a fun cake; I think I definitely did.

This next cake was for Christmas.

I always look at this picture and think to myself, "what on earth was I thinking?" To this day, I still don't know. This cake was once again a Wacky Cake with some Wingnut Icing (which I will post the approximate recipe for at some point in the near future). Peach rings, peeps, and oddly colored candy canes some how made it onto the cake and although I don't think I would ever make another cake like this, it sure was interesting!!!

The 2005 Holiday Season

This year pies seemed to be what everyone wanted. Pumpkin pie is a necessity for Thanksgiving and I remember that this year was the first time I tried a new recipe. I always used to make pumpkin pies with the recipe off the back of Libby's pumpkin cans; that was until I tried Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Pie Recipe. Her recipe is super easy to make and absolutely delicious. The pumpkin filling just melts in your mouth and is uber pumpkiny. I made the pie crust as well and here is what it looked like.

And here is a close up of the crust. I rolled out the pie crust and used a little pumpkin cookie cutter to make the design on the border. I affixed the pumpkin cut-outs with some egg wash and the stuck on pretty well. 

I also made an apple pie. I believe I used Martha's Pate Brisee recipe for the crust and cut-out little snowmen for the border. (This pie was for Christmas).

 Like the year before, I also made a snowman . . .

. . . and a Christmas tree. Both of these cakes were made out of Wacky Cake. 

Easter 2005

Every year for Easter, my parents and I would head over to Dr. Fuller's house for the holiday. Dr. Fuller is like my second dad and his family adopted me the second the tried my cheesecake. They always did the food and I always made the desserts. It started out with just a cheesecake and then they asked me to make a carrot cake and a chocolate cake and lemon squares (those are Dr. Fuller's favorites). Before I knew it, every holiday I was making about nine different desserts to bring over to their house. All the family members put in their orders for the next holiday and the amount of desserts soon grew to ridiculous numbers. 

This Easter I made a bonnet cake for Jane made out of a whipped cream cake, that is really light and fluffy, and iced with buttercream. My mom had a cute bow in the closet which I added on with some ribbon to make it look like a real bonnet.

I also made some Wacky Cake cupcakes that I baked in ice cream cones. They are really simple and are great for kids parties. However, to make them look like real ice cream cones, you need to use a lot of icing.

Simple Buttercream Frosting

This recipe I use most of the time when I need a simple and quick buttercream frosting. It takes about 5 minutes to make and always turns out great. It is a bit on the sweeter side, since it calls for one pound of sugar to one stick of butter, but if you don't want it super sweet, just cut down on the sugar a bit. This recipe comes from the side of the Domino's Confectioners' Sugar box :)

Simple Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1lb confectioners' sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3-4 Tbsp milk

In a large bowl, with mixer at low speed, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla. (I usually cream the butter a bit first, then slowly add the sugar, milk, and vanilla). Beat at medium speed for 1-2 minutes until creamy. If desired, add more milk until frosting is spreading consistency. (I never really need to add more milk unless you want a thinner icing).

The 2004 Holiday Season

I always seem to get more creative around the holidays and want to make festive cakes. The next three cakes were all made for Christmas Day and I definitely spent a bit more time working on my presentation. I remember having a lot of fun decorating the snowman and Christmas tree cakes. Once again, both were made of Wacky Cake, and decorated with buttercream and lots of candy. I believe I found the pans in Michaels' or AC Moore and have used them a bunch over the years. You just have to make sure to grease them well otherwise the cakes won't turn out; and that's never fun.

Spongebob was requested by one of the little ones that year and I think he came out pretty cute. I used Grandma Theresa's Pound Cake for this cheerful guy and then piped lots and lots of stars of buttercream to cover him up. I think this pan was purchased at Michaels' as well :)

The Volcano Cake

This has got to be one of the most disastrous cakes I've ever made. My mom and I decided to try making our own fondant. Yeah . . . . as you can see from the picture below . . . it didn't work. We poured the fondant on the cake while it was too hot, so it just melted the cake, causing a crater to form straight down the center of the cake. Not good :(