Thursday, September 29, 2011

Toilets are not so easy to make out of cake

So...I made a toilet out of cake and it went a little something like this.

I prepared until I could not prepare anymore because I knew this would be stressful if I wasn't prepared. I  made two batches of fondant, I made the handle, I made the toilet paper roll, and I had the cake board all ready. I started to assembly the cake on Thursday because they needed the cake at 1:00PM the next day. By naptime Thursday I had the toilet bowl shaped...I thought I was doing good.

Then it seemed like one thing after the other went wrong! The fondant I made was WAY too dry so I was going to have to make more (remember I made 2 batches of this!). Fondant needs time to sit so it was already after dinner and I was pushing it for time. I wanted to be done with this cake so I could start on the 3 sheet cakes that were needed for the weekend and a two tier cake! I made another batch of fondant and added less sugar...dud! So at 10:00PM I sent my happy husband to the store for the stuff to make marshmallow fondant. Made it...then let it sit for an hour. This made for very soft fondant! I had issue after issue but at 5:00AM I was happy with what I had....

Behold...an ediable crapper!

Here it is with fake doodie
(I know these pictures are horrible but by the time the cake is finished I just want it out of my sight:))

On the toilet paper roll I wrote Happy Birthday and then on the lid they wanted something to the effect...everything turns to "fill in the blank" after 50!

Turns out they loved the cake!



We also celebrated Michael's grandma's 90th birthday over the weekend! Happy Birthday Grandma Wilma!

We had a wonderful time spending the whole weekend with family. That's what those 3 sheet cakes were for and this two tier cake. It's another awful picture but the only picture I took of it was with my phone...oops!

Monday, September 19, 2011

Cake makes rainy Monday's better!

This might sound a little crazy but...an idea for a cake came to me in a dream. Actually it was more the waking up and laying in bed forever because you don't want to get up state! The idea was to take circles and overlap them all around the cake.  That was a little too plain so I added a sugar paste flower. 

Here is the result

The cake is a chocolate mud cake and a vanilla bean buttercream.  I was trying out a new recipe for a toilet cake I am making on Thursday.  Yes, you saw that right...a toilet cake! Stay tuned for more on that this week.

It has been pretty rainy here the past few days so I thought I would brighten up the kids day with a piece of cake.
This kid loves icing! I'm not sure where he gets that from?

We also had a lesson in sharing (we have plenty of those throughout the day) Reese passed this morning.

Happy Monday!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Fall's a comin...

I thought since Fall is right around the corner I would share a great recipe with you guys!  Pumpkin squares with cider caramel sauce and we add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. I half the recipe so I don't eat the whole pan.

Here's a little peek...

You totally want to make these now don't you?

Pumpkin Squares
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. cinn. or pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup veg. oil
1 (15oz) can of pumpkin
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

Heat oven to 325 degrees and grease a 9X13 pan.
In large bowl, combine first six ingredients for the squares. Then add the oil, pumpkin, and eggs. Whisk until the batter is evenly blended. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake cake until toothpick comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.


Cider Caramel Sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2/3 cup apple cider
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. butter
salt to taste

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar and cornstarch. Add the cider and stir well to dissolve.  Cook the mixture over med-high heat, whisking constantly, until large bubbles form around the pan, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and allow the sauce to continue to simmer until it thickens, about 2 minutes more. Remove the sauce from the heat and whisk in the cream and butter. Let the sauce cool slightly, then add a pinch of salt if necessary.

I think this recipe came from Parenting Magazine but it's been a few years so I'm not certain. Cut those pumpkin squares up add some ice cream and on top of that some cider caramel sauce. Eat it up and go back for seconds!

Hope you guys enjoy! 

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Welcome to Cake Eaters!

Hi everyone! I am new to this blogging world sooo.....bare with me.

To "kick off" (this can also be in reference to the NFL starting up tonight...goodbye husband on Monday nights!) I made a chocolate cake with fluffy buttercream icing and a dulce de leche filling. It was super yummy! And if it doesn't leave my house soon I will have gained an extra 10 pounds....seriously.


I needed to try this new technique for a cake I'm doing in a few weeks so I thought this would be the perfect time to practice. I'm pretty sure everyone is calling this the petal effect. I'm kind of in love with it. Simple yet differently beautiful...and imagine it with a sugar paste flower one top! OK, enough of this...let's get to the good stuff.



I know what you're thinking...That piece of cake on the plate doesn't match up to the size that was taken out of the cake. Yep, because I made this cake last night and couldn't wait until today to eat a piece. The piece that was on that plate is already eaten as well. Aaanndd....another piece might be calling my name right now. I told you this cake has to go!