Cake Class #2

And here it is, my first decorating class creation:

You all may have seen my Facebook post last night about my monogrammed cake carrier and burlap tote bag.  To stick with the theme, I monogrammed an R with a rosette tail onto my cake and practiced star borders.  I'm very happy with how it turned out!

The class went over some tips of baking last week and I tried one on yesterday's cake.  If you're using a box mix to bake your cake, add one more egg than the box directions call for and a 3.4oz package of instant pudding in a coordinating flavor.  My cake came out sturdier (aka popped out of the pan without even flaking) and I had no crumbs when I frosted it!  I did funfetti with lemon pudding for fun.  It has a sweet taste with just a hint of lemon, yum.

Next week we're decorating and filling cupcakes.  Stay tuned!

Cake Decorating Class!

Now that it's the new year, I must admit: I did not make any resolutions.  Honestly, I don't think I ever do.  However, for the past several years I have talked about taking the Wilton® Cake Decorating class offered at local Michaels craft stores.  I decided to actually look into on Monday, and what do you know - classes were half off as part of their new year promotion.  Well sign me up...seriously.

Last night was my first class.  It's a two hour class that meets four times of the course of a month, so I'll have a night class throwback every Tuesday this month.  And I'm looking forward to it.  Next week, I'll be baking a cake for class, learning how to properly level the top, practicing how to ice the top and sides sans crumbs (finally,) and polishing my star tip skills (which we originally learned last night.)

Hopefully in four weeks time, I'll have a pretty little cake to post on here.  Cheers!

Irish Car Bomb Cake!

Let me start by saying I love Irish car bombs.  On my twenty-first birthday one of my sorority sisters bought one for me and I've loved them ever since.  In general, I'm a fan of most stout beers whether they are brewed over coffee, chocolate, vanilla beans, etc; I like the full-bodied taste.  Guinness is not one of my favorites, but whoever thought to combine it with a shot of Bailey's and a touch of Jameson is a genius.

As always, I'd been eying a few new cake recipes, so when my mom needed a birthday cake for her office I jumped at the chance.  We settled on a Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bailey's Buttercream frosting.  And oh my goodness, did it turn out deliciously.  Try this recipe!

Irish Car Bomb Cake

Pumpkin Crunch Cake

The weather only got into the 60's yesterday and barely touched a breezy 70 degrees today.  That can only mean one thing: fall is near and it's time to start baking all things pumpkin.  This works well; pumpkin is one of my all time favorite flavors.  Normally I like to bake everything from scratch, but today was the first day I got back into the kitchen after moving.  And it's my mom's kitchen.  So since I haven't really lived here in quite some time, I chose to do any easier recipe in case I couldn't locate a necessary item or utensil.  And that's how I stumbled upon this recipe and tweaked it for the taste I had in mind.

Pumpkin Crunch Cake
(inspired by this  recipe)

1 15oz can pumpkin puree
1 12oz can fat free evaporated milk
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups Splenda sugar blend
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 box white or yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cups white chocolate chips
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter - melted

Our First Anniversary!

Yesterday, September 3rd, was our first anniversary!  Yay!

Originally, we had planned on taking a weekend trip to Asheville, NC, but after surveying how much stuff we have accumulated over the past several years and how much packing we still needed to finish, we decided to skip the trip.  Instead we packed all weekend and made reservations for dinner on Monday night.  We ate at the Island Grille in Atlantic Beach; it was delicious!  Seriously, I highly recommend it!  Carl had a stuffed filet mignon and I chose the shrimp & scallop grits.  Normally I would not chose an entree with grits, but I have seen (insert type of seafood here) & grits on menus all over North Carolina and vowed to try it before we left.  By yesterday, my time to try this infamous dish was dwindling.  So I did.  And it was amazing!  Of course, that may be because they use gouda grits and serve it with shitake mushrooms, spinach, and bacon as well; but hey, it was great, can't argue with that.

Since it was our first anniversary, we indulged in the top layer of our cake!  (Note: I did not actually get a chance to eat any of my wedding cake last year besides the cake cutting, so the next morning I cut into the top layer and helped myself to a piece.  Therefore, I was a bit more nervous than I normally would have been about freezer burn since part of the layer had been sliced into.)

Our cake was from the Chesterton Cake Shoppe and we had two flavors - pink champagne (my choice) and raspberry (Carl's choice.)  Rather than fondant or regular buttercream frosting, we went with a French buttercream, as that has a bit more sugar and we both have a serious sweet tooth.

To get the best flavor a year later, we took it out of the freezer at least 24 hours before we wanted to eat it, unwrapped all the foil, wax paper, cling wrap, etc. and tossed it.  Then we re-wrapped the cake in parchment paper (I didn't have wax paper on hand,) placed foil over that, and put it in the refrigerator.  About 4 hours before we were going to eat the cake, we took it out and let it sit at room temperature.  There you have it!  It was completely edible and just as tasty as we remember!