Improvised Chocolate Fudge Cake

Some wonderful friends from church recently adopted four children from Latvia. They are truly amazing parents and people, and are wonderful examples to me of selfless love and service.

We surprised Valerie with an adoption shower a few weeks before she and her husband would travel to Latvia to bring their children home. I planned to make a chocolate cake with strawberry filling and to decorate it with red and turquoise flowers (since those are Valerie's favorite colors). 

It was a busy week, and I realized the night before that I wouldn't be able to bake and decorate a cake in time. I decided to get a chocolate fudge cake from Sam's Club and then decorate the top myself. I'd had it before and knew it was a delicious cake.

https://www.samsclub.com/sams/artisan-fresh-chocolate-fudge-cake/prod4660165.ip

I scraped off the chocolate decoration from the middle and then smoothed out the top so that I could have a flat surface to pipe the message on. I made the flowers out of modeling chocolate and Sixlets candies. You can find Sixlets in most grocery stores (near the cake mixes and birthday candles). I love using Sixlets to decorate cakes! They look like pearls, and you can get them in almost any color.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Celebration-Shimmer-Powder-Blue-Sixlets-Candy-1.75-oz/32282501

This cake was a good reminder to me that it's okay to improvise when things don't go as planned. At first, I felt a little guilty for not actually baking the cake myself, but I shouldn't have. Valerie knows I care about her, and I heard so many people talk about how delicious the cake was, and someone even asked for the recipe later. 😊

STATS:

Modeling Chocolate

Melt 10 ounces of chocolate chips (or candy melts in the color of your choice) in a microwave or in a double boiler. Stir in 2 ounces of light corn syrup. Stir for about a minute until well combined. Spread on waxed paper and allow to cool at room temperature for 2 hours. When cool, break large chunks off and knead until soft. Store in the refrigerator in a ziplock bag for up to a month. Break off small pieces and knead when you are ready to make something with your modeling chocolate. Return to refrigerator for 10-15 minutes if it starts to get too warm and sticky from the heat of your hands.

Royal Icing

http://www.marthastewart.com/316888/royal-icing-for-sugar-cookies

We Love Our Teachers!

I'm so grateful for the teachers and teacher's aides who worked with our children this year. They really cared about them and taught them so much.

We wanted to do something special for them at the end of the year. We decided to etch some glass jars,
and then we filled them with Hershey kisses to give to all of their teachers. I was excited to find Hershey kisses wrapped in purple and gold - their school colors!

 

We etched the teacher's name on one side...

...and "thank you" on the other.

Before we filled the jars with candy, I had to see what it would look like with a light inside.

Thank you, teachers!

STATS:

Etched glass tutorial:

http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2012/12/etched-glass-tutorial.html

Guest Sweet: Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods for Valentine's Day

My friend Holly made these pretty treats for a Relief Society teacher workshop we attended recently.

They were delicious, and I love the tiny heart sprinkles she used!

I also love how she packaged them. She folded cellophane around four pretzel rods (two chocolate and two white chocolate), and taped it in place. Then she tied a ribbon around the neat package.

I thought these were so cute and a great idea for Valentine's Day, so I had to take some pictures before my family and I could dig in. Thank you, Holly!

S'More Cookies

Just another version of the Cake Mix Cookie - very easy and very good!

S'More Cookies

chocolate cake mix

2 Eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 cup chocolate chips

2 cups miniature marshmallows

2 chocolate bars

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, eggs, and oil until well combined. Mix in the chocolate chips. Using your hands, "smoosh" the marshmallows into the dough, then roll the dough into balls and place them on a cookie sheet. (Yes, "smoosh" is the technical French cooking term.) Then, break off small pieces of a chocolate bar and add a few to the top of each cookie. Bake for 7-10 minutes. Immediately transfer to a cooling rack. Cookies will be really soft when they first come out of the oven, but harden as they cool. Do not over bake.

Wanna see some more?

Yum!

For some more indoor S'More fun:

Oven S'Mores!
http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2011/07/oven-smores.html

Lace Cookies for Christmas

This Christmas, I wanted to make something special for some wonderful women I know.

I found a design for intricate lace cookies at http://cakecreationsforyou.blogspot.com/. Nadia is the decorator from the site, and she creates beautiful cookies.

I'm really happy with how the cookies turned out!

To make the lace pattern, I first outlined the heart shape with royal icing. Using the same icing, I made 14 straight lines running diagonally across the cookie.

Then, I added perpendicular lines to create a grid.

I used glace icing (in a flood consistency), to fill in the larger spaces of the heart.

Then, I added dots of icing into the grid, creating a pattern I liked. There are so many patterns you could make using this technique. Have fun and get creative! 

I noticed that you get a very different look in the lace if you allow the grid to dry before adding the dots of icing. In this photo, I piped the dots while the icing of the grid was still wet. You can see how the design has sort of "melted" together.

On this cookie, I allowed the grid to dry before piping the dots. The dots stayed separate and are quite distinct. Honestly, I think both techniques made a pretty cookie, and I can't decide which I like better.

For the gold lettering, I mixed a little brown food coloring into the royal icing to get a tan color. I piped the words with the tan royal icing and allowed it to dry. Then, I mixed gold luster dust with a little vanilla extract and used that to "paint" the words. You can see the difference the luster dust makes here, where I only used luster dust on the letter "o" in "world."

I used zip-top baggies with the corners cut off as the icing bags for this entire project. If you would like to use piping bags and tips, I would suggest using a #1 or #2 writing tip.

I loved making these cookies and thinking about the women I'd be giving them to. I hope they know how much they are loved. 

STATS:

Nadia's Video: "How to Make a Lace Cookie" Tutorial

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKjM7Wm845w

Chocolate Roll-Out Cookies
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Roll-Out-Cookies-240668

How to "flood" a cookie with icing
http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/07/outlining-and-filling-cookies-with-royal-icing/

Royal Icing
http://letsgetcaking.blogspot.com/2012/12/royal-icing-recipe.html

Glacé Icing
http://www.thatreallyfrostsme.com/2010/05/glace-icing.html

Guest Sweet: Cake Bites for a Wedding

One of my mom's friends was recently married and asked my mom to make the cake, along with some cake bites. The cake looked beautiful, and I love the vibrant colors of the ribbon and the butterflies!

The butterflies are made from gum paste, and they were carefully cut out by hand. My mom then used food coloring mixed with almond extract to paint the beautiful colors onto the butterflies.

Here is the cake set up with just some of the 650+ cake bites she made for the wedding reception. If you look at the flower arrangement behind the cake, you will see how perfectly she matched the fondant ribbon and butterflies to the wedding decor.

If you've ever made cake pops or cake bites, you know it's no easy task. Candy melts and melted chocolate can be finicky and difficult to get perfectly smooth when dipping those fragile rounds of cake. For this project, my mom tried using Paramount Crystals in the candy melts, and she said they made a HUGE difference. Adding the Paramount Crystals to the melted chocolate produces a more fluid product, making the overall process much easier and faster.

Tips for making cake bites:

- Use only half a can of frosting (about 1 cup or 8 oz.) for one baked cake mix. If you use more, the mixture will be too soggy.

- Use a Tbsp. to measure and scoop the cake ball mixture. Make sure to level it, and you've got the perfect amount for a cake ball.

- The Tbsp. will make the perfect size to fit inside 1 1/4" mini cupcake liners.

- If you don't own a chocolate dipping fork http://www.bakedeco.com/detail.asp?id=8306&categoryid=336#.UA_-zPUn2So, you can make do with a disposable plastic fork. Just break off the two middle fork tines, and it'll work just fine.

STATS:

Cake Ball Tutorial
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/03/cake-pop-lesson-1-the-cake-ball/

Candy Melts
http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=pg_candymelts

Paramount Crystals
http://www.confectioneryhouse.com/paramount-crystals

Mini Cupcake Liners
http://www.amazon.com/Wilton-Mini-Muffin-Cups-Count/dp/B0000AE61X

Happy Caking, Everyone!

Baby Shower Cupcakes

My friend Ashley asked me to make cupcakes for a baby shower she was hosting for her sister. Her sister loves giraffes, so we decided the cupcakes would be decorated with baby giraffes and some cute pink bows in honor of her new baby girl.

Pink Lemonade Giraffe Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes filled with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Filling. Topped with Ganache and a Fondant Bow.

I can't take credit for the beautiful photography. Natalie Eisen (the talented photographer and owner of Memories by Natalie) took the photos. You can see more of her work here:

Memories by Natalie on Facebook

On to more gorgeous photos by Natalie!

The beautiful table display.

I love the little frames and cards they used to write the names of the desserts!

Don't you just love the slices of lemons and limes in the flower jar? What a great center piece!

 The beautiful pink table...

 Homemade fans - perfect for an outdoor tea party/baby shower!

You are going to die from the amount of cuteness in this last photo.

I told you! Cuteness overload, right? I can't think of a better way to display tiny baby clothes than on a clothesline with wooden clothes pins. Genius!

Ashley and her mother Penny did an amazing job creating a beautiful baby shower.

Happy caking, everyone!

STATS:

Chocolate chip cookie dough filling
http://cakecentral.com/recipe/chocolate-chip-cookie-dough-icingfilling

Ganache
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/master-ganache-recipe/index.html

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
http://realmomkitchen.com/6745/pink-lemonade-cupcakes/

Rhonda's Ultimate Marshmallow Fondant
http://cakecentral.com/recipes/3183/rhondas-ultimate-mmf

Brush Embroidery Cookies

My brother Christian and my new sister-in-law Amber recently celebrated their marriage at an open house in Maryland. I was able to attend their wedding and reception (which were held in Utah), but I couldn't make it to the open house. I really wanted to participate in some way, and I decided to make cookies for the celebration.

These were dark chocolate cookies with a hint of cinnamon. This was a new recipe for me, and I really liked the flavor. They're delicious!

I used glace icing for the white background. After allowing the icing to dry overnight, I used royal icing to add decorations on top. I used a #2 writing tip to pipe the design. The flowers and leaves were done using the brush embroidery technique.

I used homemade green fondant mixed with modeling chocolate for the green background on these cookies. This technique is much faster because you can just roll out the fondant mixture, cut out circles, and attach them to the cookies with a little glaze. Very quick and easy. These were lemon sugar cookies.

To keep the cookies fresh, I wrapped each cookie in plastic wrap. To package them, I placed a big piece of bubble wrap in a box and then one layer of the wrapped cookies. I continued to layer plastic wrap and cookies until the box was full. I sent the cookies USPS. Luckily, the cookies traveled well and arrived in good shape. I think the biggest thing is to make sure there is no room in the box for the cookies to jostle around. If there is any extra room, they can shift during transport and break.

STATS:

Chocolate Roll Out Cookies

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Roll-Out-Cookies-240668

Glace Icing

http://cakecentral.com/recipe/toba-garretts-glace-icing

Royal Icing

http://www.wilton.com/recipe/Royal-Icing

Tutorial on how to flood cookies with royal icing or glace icing

http://www.sweetsugarbelle.com/blog/2011/07/outlining-and-filling-cookies-with-royal-icing/

Brush Embroidery Tutorial

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW0kxZ8wK4Y



Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found this recipe a few years ago, and it is my favorite chocolate chip recipe by far! The cookies are chewy, the edges don't burn, and the cookies are delicious! (Just make sure you follow the directions exactly, even down to the parchment paper.) I'm not sure where I found the recipe, but I shared it on a friend's blog in 2009:

http://jbeanrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/04/perfect-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

Take time to browse through Jill's blog. She's collected a TON of great recipes!


These were an experiment. I wanted to make some big cookies, and these guys were HUGE! I used maybe a little more than a quarter cup of dough for each one. Usually these cookies bake in 10-12 minutes, but these giants took about 18-20 minutes.


I washed and saved some restaurant take-out containers because I thought they were really pretty. I figured that I could put them to good use. These cookies are for my good friend Kristi. Thank you, Kristi!

Oven S'Mores

For Family Night last night, my kids asked if we could make S'Mores. We were going to attempt to roast them on the grill after our dinner. Sadly, the sky turned dark and in rolled a huge thunderstorm. The night turned out to be even more fun than we planned, though. The graham cracker box had instructions for making S'Mores in the oven, so we gave it a go. They turned out really pretty, and the kids were able to help! It was a great time - eating the sticky goodness while watching nature's beautiful fireworks from inside our home.

Oven S'Mores

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
-Line baking sheet with foil

(Now the kids can help)
-Break the graham crackers in half and place squares on baking sheet
-Place one large marshmallow on top of each square

-Put them in the oven for 5 minutes
(Make sure to turn the oven light on so the kids can watch the marshmallows grow!)

-After 5 minutes, pull the baking sheet out and place 2 squares of chocolate on top of each marshmallow.
-Allow chocolate to sit and melt for 1 minute.
-Top each S'More with another graham cracker square.

Wait until the S'Mores are cooled down enough to eat (not too long), then devour!

German Chocolate Cake

This was my first time applying simple syrup to a cake layer. (Simple syrup is just 1 cup of sugar boiled together with a cup of water until the sugar dissolves. For added flavor, you can add a little vanilla, almond, or orange extract to the syrup once it is cooled.) This will ensure the cake is nice and moist. For this size cake, you only need about 1/3 of the syrup mixture. I found out after I made the cake that once you apply the simple syrup, you should let it rest for a couple hours before frosting your cake. This will allow the syrup to evenly spread throughout the cake layer.


I decided to trim the edges off of the cake before I added the coconut pecan filling because I think I overbaked it a little (oops!).


Frosted and smoothed. Almost done!


And.....Tadah! The finished cake!


This was my first attempt at a reverse shell border. Here's a link to a tutorial for the border if you'd like to try your hand at it:
http://www.bakedecoratecelebrate.com/techniques/reverseshell.cfm

Chocolate Apple Cake Pops

1 baked and cooled chocolate cake (can use cake mix or any favorite recipe)
2/3 can of your favorite pre-made frosting (or your favorite homemade recipe)
14 oz. bag red candy melts
pretzel sticks
green royal icing

lollipop sticks

Crumble entire cake into very large bowl using fingers.

Add about 2/3 of can of frosting to crumbled cake, using fingers to incorporate well. Use slightly more or less frosting, depending on the consistency of your mixture. It shouldn't be dry and crumbly, but it shouldn't be sticky either. It needs to be able to hold together when you start shaping it.

Shape into quarter-size balls. (You'll end up with about 45 or 50.) Pinch one end in a little to give it the tapered shape of an apple. Create an indentation in the top of the "apple" with your finger. Place apple-shaped cake balls into the refrigerator to help them become firm.

While they are cooling, start melting your candy melts. Heat for 30 seconds at a time on 50% power in your microwave. Stir every 30 seconds, and repeat until the candy has completely melted and looks smooth. Boil a cup or two of water in a tiny pot. Remove from heat. Place bowl of melted candy on top of the pot of hot water. This will keep the melted candy warm and smooth, without burning it.

Retrieve cake balls from refrigerator and place a lollipop stick 1/2 way up through the bottom of each ball. Dip in candy melts and use spoon to coat evenly. Place sticks in styrofoam blocks to allow candy to harden.

While the candy is still soft, place 1/4" piece of pretzel stick on top of each apple cake pop. Allow to completely dry and harden (15-20 minutes). Pipe leaves onto apples using royal icing. Allow to dry completely before wrapping.

And...a close up of the cute little apple!

All dressed up and ready to go!


Thanks to www.mylittlecupcakepop.com and http://bakerella.blogspot.com/ for the inspiration!

Eggless Chocolate Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

2 cups hot water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and mix well. Mix wet ingredients in separate bowl. Add wet to dry and whisk. Pour into 2 (lightly greased) 8-inch round cake pans. Bake 35-40 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and finish cooling on baker's rack.