Wedding + Cake

This blog has been quiet as of late, but it's because I've been gorging myself on food and drink, spending time with a house full of family and GETTING MARRIED!  After 10 years and 3 kids, Carson and I surprised our moms with a tiny Christmas Eve "Eve" wedding, and it was perfect.  Thank you all for the nice wishes you've posted on Instagram and Twitter!  

So now that I can finally TALK about it (my GOD that was a hard secret to keep), let's discuss how for the longest time I convinced myself I was going to make my own wedding cake.  I was all, OMG I'm totally going to do it and it will be a challenge, but also super fun, and I'll blog about it and YAY! Then the date crept closer and closer and oh, SO DID CHRISTMAS, and I became a ball of stress trying to finalize last minute wedding details while shopping for gifts.  I wisely decided, along with the advice from my new husband, that in fact making my own cake would not be fun but would be TERRIBLY HORRIBLE.  So I turned to a pastry shop in Long Island and requested a wintery three-tiered cake with three different fillings (white chocolate, fudge and cannoli).  The only major bummer was the cake topper I ordered never came, so here's my mom holding up an image of what it should have looked like...  

Perfect, right?  These photos were snapped after our photographer left, but all the black and white images that have been posted online were shot by the INCREDIBLE Pete Thompson.  What a great and immensely talented guy, I can't say enough good things about him.

So, that's where I've been, I will be back to blogging regularly after New Year's.  Until then, keep eating, drinking, and have a Happy and Healthy New Year!

Dress and jewelry were J Crew, hair was done at Dry Bar and makeup was done at Sephora :)

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Pistachio Pudding Cake

We had a friend over for dinner a few weeks ago, and at one point he started raving about his favorite dessert of all time.  It's called a Pistachio Pudding Cake, and it was new to me.  His mom made it for him a lot as a kid, and it's something he thinks about once in awhile and then starts craving like mad.  I had on my to-do list to make him one, and I finally got around to it.  Of course, I knew nothing about making this particular cake, but once I googled it I found there are a bunch of recipes out there.    I chose this one, and while I never actually tasted it (it's probably rude to give someone a present with a giant bite missing?), he said it was delicious.  Oh and I definitely stuck my finger in the frosting, don't judge.  What childhood desserts do you crave the most?

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Pink Ombre Cake

When I asked my daughter what kind of cake she wanted for her third birthday, her reply was simple: "pink!"  So I went a little overboard, and made the inside of the cake three shades of pink, with pink frosting, pink edible glitter and pink heart sprinkles.  Were there pink candles?  Um, duh.  And I splurged a bit on this cake topper from Etsy because an all-pink cake deserves a little bling.

To make the cake ombre, all you need is a little food coloring!  Simply bake as many layers as you'd like, evenly distribute the batter into different bowls, and use varied amounts of food dye to create different shades.  I made 4 different layers, but the cake started to look absurdly tall so I ditched one of them.  I used boxed white cake (two boxes) with neon pink food coloring, and followed this recipe for the Vanilla Buttercream.  It was a hit amongst the pink-loving crowd.

Now if someone could just help me figure out how to explain to a three-year-old that her next birthday is an entire year away...  

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Homemade Funfetti Cake

My baby turns ONE on Thursday.  Today, August 17th, was my due date, and it feels like just yesterday that I was waddling around, complaining about still being pregnant, shoving absurd amounts of carbs in my mouth.  Now she's almost one, moving into toddler-ville, drinking real milk and trying to walk.  I would do it all over again, each and every loooong pregnancy, just to savor these baby years.  Yet I know they must grow up, and therefore we must celebrate and that means CAKE.  We had a little pre-party the other day, and I baked a homemade Funfetti Cake following this recipe.  It was moist, delicious, and easy.  And um, fun... DUH.  

Instead of one of those giant number candles, I made a "1" using a wax paper stencil I made myself.  Simply cut out a design, place over the cake (gently), add your sprinkles and remove!  

More birthday cake fun:

Jack's 5th birthday cake.

Jack's 4th birthday cake(s).

Jack's 3rd birthday cake.

Jack's 2nd birthday cake.

Jack's 1st birthday cake.

Etta's 1st birthday cake.

Etta's 2nd birthday cake.

(And in case you're keeping track, for Jack's 6th birthday I bought an ice cream cake because that's what he wanted and I only pouted about it for a week or so.)

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Mini Cookie Butter Cake

Don't worry, no tuscan beans or rice were harmed in the baking of this cake.  Or used at all.  That photo is just for reference, because I baked this cake in a soup can!  (Which I've done before here and here.)  I mean, is there anything cuter than a tin can cake??  Not if you're a woman, because then you love mini things (don't get me started on the tiny tabasco bottles you get at hotels).

This cake is baked with Biscoff, and is topped with a cookie butter buttercream.  If you're a fan of the stuff, you will LOVE this tiny treat!  And you might do what Carson and I did, which is dip each bite in tequila.  Or rum.  Because that's a totally normal and logical thing to do.      

Mini Cookie Butter Cake

Recipe adapted from The Baker Chick

(Printable Recipe)

For cake:

1 egg white

2 Tbsp granulated sugar

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 Tbsp cookie butter spread

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

1 1/2 Tbsp milk

For frosting:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temp

2 Tbsp cookie butter spread

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an empty, cleaned soup can with baking spray.  In a bowl, whisk together the egg white and sugar until combined.  Add melted butter, cookie spread and vanilla, and continue to whisk until creamy.  Stir in flour, baking powder and salt.  Finally, whisk in milk until everything is combined.  Pour into soup can, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cake cool before applying frosting.

For frosting, vigorously stir together the butter and cookie butter spread.  Add the powdered sugar and milk, and stir until combined and creamy.  Spread onto cooled cake.

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Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake

It's Carson's birthday!  We are on day 3 of celebrating over here, after having a little party on Saturday and of course Father's Day yesterday.  It's all very confusing for our almost-three-year-old daughter, who thinks every birthday party is HERS.  On Saturday, Carson requested a "light fluffy cake" with berries and whipped cream, so I found this recipe for a Vanilla Bean Angel Food Cake.

For the first time, I made this type of cake properly with a grocery store-bought angel food cake pan.  Follow these three pointers, and you TOO can enjoy this deliciously "light and fluffy" treat:

1. As tempting as it may be, do not grease the pan.  Apparently the cake needs something to cling to. 

2. Fold your ingredients together!  Google "how to fold cake batter" if you need a tutorial.

3. Once baked, turn the cake upside down on top of a beer bottle to prevent cake from collapsing.

Happy Birthday Carson :)

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Homemade Treats for Dad

I always find Father's Day hard to shop for.  Most of the cool, techy toys I know Carson would LOVE are like, stupid expensive (I'm talking to you, drones).  I've found homemade gifts are the most meaningful, whether that's a customized beer bottle label from this site, or a baked treat from MY site!  Here are some ideas!  Exclamation points!  (Or is it marks?)

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

Golf Cupcakes

Brown Butter Banana BBQ Cake

Transformers Red Velvet Cake

Southern Caramel Cake

Mini Cherry Pies

S'Mores Cookies

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Oreo Layer Cake

I have had "get haircut" and "GO TO DENTIST" on my to-do list for months, and yes, the latter has been in all caps.  Finally, due to an issue with a tooth that I don't want to talk about (because Google has led me to believe it's DEAD), I decided that making a dentist appointment was more crucial than getting that long bob, or lob.  So today, I am going to see my new NY dentist and I'm terrified. Maybe that is because late last night, I sat and ate a giant piece of this RIDICULOUS cake and drank a glass of red wine.  BUT THEN I FLOSSED (for the first time in forever) SO EVERYTHING IS OKAY.

Our beloved nanny turned 27 this week, and since she is an Oreo-lover I wanted to find a cake that truly highlighted the famous cookie.  I came across this recipe and after realizing actual Oreos are layered below the cake batter, I knew it was the one.  Because I ran out of cookies (and because I was trying to make the cake SLIGHTLY less rich) I only layered them in one of the cakes.  This, cake, is, SO INTENSE... and so Oreoy, which should be a legit word in the Scrabble dictionary I think.  The Oreo creme filling and the chocolate buttercream are unreal.  I think my dentist will approve.     

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Life Lately

Oh my gosh you guys, I haven't blogged in a long while.  I can't really point to an excuse, besides my three children.  You know, the baby who doesn't sleep and the toddler who doesn't eat and the big kid who just turned 6.  Every year I make a gigantic deal about his cake (as seen here) but I just didn't have it in me this time.  He was like, "mom can you make it half Skylanders and half Minecraft" and I was like, "no."  So instead I turned to another favorite of his at the moment, High School Musical (I know every song by heart).  East High's colors are red and white, so a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting made sense.  And then I made some chocolate piano keys with a piping bag on parchment paper to line half of the cake.  Easy peasy - go Wildcats!  (I'm an adult)

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Southern Caramel Cake

Good evening!!  Coming at you strong from the epicenter of BLIZZARD TWENTY FIFTEEN!  I like to shout that as I type like a super cheesy meteorologist.  It's been a long time since I've experienced a winter storm, but having grown up in Minnesota it's definitely not a foreign thing to me.  However, it IS the first time I've dealt with a blizzard as a grown up person, with actual responsibilities like filling up my gas tank (took 30 minutes), stocking up on essentials at the market (milk, bread, vodka...), and having children who are home from school with nothing to do!  They say the worst of it has yet to hit, so I'll keep you posted tomorrow with updates from the epicenter of BLIZZARD TWENTY FIFTEEN!  DUH DUH DUNNNN....

For now, I'd like to share with you the most wonderful dessert I made this past weekend.  A deliciously moist yellow cake with a thick, creamy, buttery caramel icing.  It wasn't my prettiest layered creation to date, as I ran out of frosting to cover the entire thing, but after taking one bite I threw any aesthetic desire out the window.  Breaking news: NO ONE CARES WHEN SOMETHING TASTES GOOD.  And this is waaaaay more than just good.      

Recipe for cake and frosting here.    

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Mini Maple Ginger Cake

(*See below for Giveaway Winner)

The "soup can birthday cake" changed my life when I discovered it almost two years ago (and it was also when I found her blog, drool).  It can elevate any small celebration that otherwise might go unnoticed.  Your kid scores a soccer goal?  Mini cake!  Your husband finally fixes that thing he was supposed to fix for a couple of months?  Mini cake!  You get down to your goal weight?  Mini cake!  (Yeah, you can tell I have issues with dieting.)  The point is, it will take you 5 minutes to bake, and by adding different sweeteners and spices, it can transform to fit any occasion.  This particular cake has maple syrup, molasses and ground ginger, which makes it perfect for a winter-time celebration.  Then cream cheese vanilla bean frosting on top?  JOLLY.  

Mini Maple Ginger Cake

(Makes 1 cake)

Printable Recipe

Cake:

2 T sugar

1 egg white

2 T melted unsalted butter, cooled

1 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp molasses

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp ground ginger

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Line the bottom of a clean soup can with parchment paper, and line the rest with baking spray.  In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and egg white.  Add the melted butter, maple syrup and molasses and whisk until smooth.  Stir in the flour, baking powder, ginger and salt until combined.  Pour into soup can, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool before using a serrated knife to slice into 3 layers.    

Frosting:

2 T unsalted butter, room temp

2 T cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp milk

Whisk all ingredients until smooth.  Spread between cake layers and on top.

*The winner of the Acacia Wood Giveaway is Mia Stizzo!  Please email me (contact info above) 

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Minion Cake

My little Etta, who suddenly looks gigantic to me next to her newborn sister, turned two over the weekend.  Thankfully, she had no idea it was her birthday because I'm not exactly in the proper mindset to get a decent party together (hashtag NO SLEEP).  That said, do you think I could let a birthday go by without baking a cake?  Nope.  I like to torture myself.  Etta loves the Minions (calling them bee do's), and I'm not proud of how much "Despicable Me" I let her watch in my last month of pregnancy.  So I decided to make her a Minion Cake, using a boxed confetti mix (see: newborn baby) and a Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.  

I divided the batter into two cake pans: one round and one square.  Then I cut the round cake in half, trimmed the edges slightly, and set it on top of the square to form the minion shape.  I separated the frosting into four bowls, and used dye to make yellow, blue and grey (leaving a small amount of white for the eyes).  A large chocolate chip became the eyeball, melted chocolate for the smile, pretzel sticks dipped in chocolate for the hair, and marshmallows dipped in chocolate for the feet.  My minion had no arms.  He lost them in war.  Wait, what?  Just kidding... um, they were behind his back.  The cake was a hit!  Although Etta would have been happy blowing out candles on a cardboard cake (servers at restaurants have to re-light the candles 15 times if Etta is with us).

I can't believe my baby girl is 2!  And I can't believe I have another baby girl that is over 2 weeks.  

And I can't believe there will be ANOTHER Royal Baby (actually I can believe that and don't care).       

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Mini Brown Butter Bundt Cakes

This one time (at band camp), I bought a mini bundt pan for $5.  I rarely make Bundt Cakes (although remember this and this droooooool), but I still couldn't resist buying something MINI that was FIVE DOLLARS.  I mean.  I'm a woman after all.  We love mini things (there's a Michael Scott joke there) and sales.  However, this pan has been sitting amongst my baking supplies for months, feeling very unused, most likely.  I felt sorry for my little ittle bittle panny (gross, stop that, Siri).  So the other day, in an attempt to appease Carson and make a "lighter" dessert, I came up with these Mini Brown Butter Bundt Cakes.  They were moist, not overly sweet with a lovely hint of that nutty brown butter flavor, and perfect served with strawberries and whipped cream.        

Mini Brown Butter Bundt Cakes

(Makes 15)

Printable Recipe

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, at room temp

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or regular vanilla)

1/2 cup heavy cream (or whole milk)

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat until it starts to brown and foam.  (It will start to smell nutty at this point, be careful not to let it burn.)  Remove from heat and pour butter in a bowl.  Let it sit until it hardens slightly (you want it in softened butter form).  In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350.  Spray bundt pan with baking spray.  Once butter is ready, place in a bowl with a standing mixer and add sugar.  Mix for a few minutes.  Add eggs, one at a time, and then vanilla bean paste.  In a separate bowl, whisk together sifted flour and salt.  Add half to the wet ingredients, mixing slowly, then the heavy cream, then the rest of the flour.  Do not over mix.  Add batter to pan (I filled mine almost to top) and bake for 15-18 minutes, until edges start to brown.  Let cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pan.   

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Chocolate Chunk Buttermilk Cake

We had a lot of people in and out of our house this past week, and I think when your home is all a hustle and bustlin' (I'm an elderly woman) you should have cake to offer.  Right?  I want to be that lady who greets a visitor with, "hello can I get you a piece of chocolate cake and a nice cold glass of milk, wait, did you say no thank you, well here one is anyway..." and then I shove it in their face.  That's probably what Ina would do.  So I made cake.        

I had leftover buttermilk, and after googling "chocolate buttermilk cake best ever" I found this recipe.  Jack, my tiny assistant baker, was helping me when suddenly he asked if we could put chocolate chunks in the cake.  My first response was no but then he said, "why not?"  And I stared at him and couldn't think of one good reason why not.  So we threw a bag of chocolate chunks into the cake, and it was the best idea my 5 year-old has ever had.  Carson even said this is the best chocolate cake he's EVER had.  It's ridiculously moist, and the chocolate chunks add a fudgy texture that takes the cake to a whole new level.  And then of course I used my favorite frosting ever, found here.  

Please come over so I can shove this in your face because otherwise I WILL slowly finish it all.    

All that's left anyway...

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Lemon Cake with Candied Lemons

I love when you people send me recipes.  Sometimes I get stuck, and tend to visit the same online sites for inspiration, so new ideas are ALWAYS welcome.  Especially delicious ones, that include butter and sugar (I promise I won't be pregnant for much longer).  A friend of mine (who also happens to be pregnant) sent me this lemon cake and said a chocolate lover declared this the "best cake he's ever eaten."  Well, as a fellow chocolate lover, I knew I had to investigate such a bold statement.  So I took my GOOD butter, eggs and buttermilk from the Hamptons and set off to bake a cake... (why am I talking like a hobbit on some epic adventure).       

Well, I'm still a chocolate girl, but it IS delicious.  Not overly sweet, perfectly moist, with wonderful lemon flavor.  I decided to use this Vanilla Butter Cream frosting, because I thought that the subtle saltiness in it would balance out the sweet, tartness of the lemons.  I was right!  I love being right.  Also, I don't know if the candied lemons on top are necessary, but they sure are purrrty...  

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