Funky Roller Skate Birthday Cake

This was a last minute order that came in and I had 3 days to figure out what I was going to do and create it. Good thing I work good under pressure. Actually I think I work better when I don't have too much time to over think things. I took inspiration from two different cakes I had found online and merged them into this beautiful and fun cake. I cut the skate out of fondant (mixed with tylose powder) and hand drew and painted the details with edible markers and paint. The roses are made using circles stacked and rolled. Then using purple, pink and black I swooshed and swirled all over to create a gorgeous cake for a special girls skating party. 

1st inspiration cake

http://cakecentral.com/g/i/3017967/roller-skate-cake/

2nd inspiration cake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakesbyashley/5520532065/

(okay I pretty much copied her skate. Just changed the colors but it's a beautiful cake)

How to make the circle rose

http://cakecentral.com/g/i/1149096/a/1150096/just-a-short-instruction-from-me/sort/display_order/

Doc McStuffins Bandaid Tutorial

Doc McStuffin's Band Aids

I did a Doc McStuffins cake for my niece last weekend and figured as I was making the band aids I would take some step by step pictures to show others how I did them. It's not like this is not easy enough to figure out or hasn't been written about before but I thought I would show you how I did them. 

1. I began by cutting ivory fondant into strips about 1" wide. I then cut them into 2.25" pieces. If you need bigger ones or smaller ones just change up the measurements based on your needs. 

2. I then used a circle cutter that was larger than the strip and pressing down on just one side of the cutter cut the ends into an arc. 

3. I used the angled fondant tool to gently press 2 lines into the fondant. If you don't have these tools don't worry you can use the back of a bread knife instead or anything that has a thin straight edge. Just remember to use gentle pressure. Enough to leave an indent but not enough to cut the fondant.

4. I used the small ball tool but the end of a pin would work as well. Again with slight pressure press the end of the tool into the fondant creating the holes of the bandaid. You don't want it to go all the way through. Create a grid of 9 dots (3 rows of 3) on each side. 

5. Cut out a little pink heart. Using edible glue, glue the heart in the middle of the bandaid. 

These are adorable toppers for cupcakes or to use to accent a Doc McStuffins cake. Here is the link to the cake I created. 

http://secondgenerationcakedesign.blogspot.ca/2014/01/doc-mcstuffins-birthday-cake.html

Bacon & Kale Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I was in the mood for a pasta dish the other night so I went through my fridge to see what I could throw together. I pulled out some Kale, there was also some bacon and as I was searching through my many condiment jars I zeroed in on the roasted red peppers. It was actually quite delicious. I brought it with me to work the next day and ate it cold and it was just as good. 

Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

1/4 cup Mayo

1 Roasted Red Pepper (finely chopped)

1 tbsp Mustard

1 Tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce

1 Tbsp Honey

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Smoke Paprika

1 tsp Dill

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix. Yes it is that easy!

Kale & Bacon Pasta

1 cup dried pasta (I used little shells)

Approximately 5 leaves of Kale

6-8 pieces of Bacon

1. Cook Pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile cook bacon in a pan on the stove. 

2. Remove bacon from pan. Add kale and cook for just a minute. 

3. Drain pasta. Add pasta, kale and bacon to a bowl. Pour on sauce and toss. Serve either warm or cold. 

Doc McStuffins Birthday Cake

I created this cake for my niece. She wanted a Doc cake with Chilly, Lambie, Hallie and Stuffy on it. I also had to include a stethescope and odoscope. She is a huge Doc fan and her whole party was a Doc theme. My sister didn't skimp on any detail. There was a homemade doc kit for each kid, they decorated their own doc badges. Their take home gift was a bag of "lambie tails" (marshmallows), a packet of hot chocolate and cookie bandaids.

I modeled each character out of fondant and hand painted doc on fondant using edible paint. I baked a 9x13 cake (2 layers). I cut a 9" square and used the left over 4" to cut the bag shape out of. I then covered it all in buttercream and added fondant decorations to pull it all together. I was SO happy with how this cake turned out. I had a bit of a hard time fitting everything onto the cake but it turned out just as cute as I thought it would. 

I made my niece very happy!

Valentine's Day Love Cakes

I had a design in my head for a heart tattoo cake that I wanted to offer for Valentine's this year. I was doing a show last week so used it as an opportunity to create this design in a dummy cake. As I was doing the "tattoo" I found another design that I thought would make an awesome cake. So on top of the love tattoo cake I created a rose tattoo cake as well. I also wanted to play around with some popular frosting techniques so I ended up designing two more cakes as well. Love is the perfect topper for a simply piped rose cake. I had fun playing around with these designs and new techniques. 

Superman 1st Birthday Cake

Morgan messaged me for a cake for her sons 1st birthday. She asked for Superman which I though was an odd but cute theme for a 1st birthday. I created this cake and matching smash cake for him. I had never received his name so I had a tag ready to write his name one with an edible marker same as the Happy Birthday ones. I did finally get his name the day of pick up and it all started to make sense. His name is Clark. Perfect 1st birthday cake for this little guy!

Carrie's Chelsea Loaf

 I was in the mood to try something new last week. I was watching Anna Olson's Bake and she made Chelsea buns. They looked so good that I got up and made my own version based on the ingredients I had on hand. I am sure Anna's dough recipe is fantastic I have my own that I just love and have worked very hard to perfect. I also didn't have the dried fruit hers called for so I just used the cranberries and apricots I had in the cupboard. I used up all my butter in the filling but I did have coconut oil so I created a coconut oil glaze to top them off. I haven't had the original version but this glaze I believe took them over the top. They were so good I ate way too many that first day.

Chelsea Loaf/Buns

Dough

1 tbsp Dry active yeast
1 cups Warm Milk (I use 2%)
3oz cup Sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp Cardamom
2 eggs
1lb 4 oz flour 
3 oz melted butter

1. In mixer bowl combine the yeast, milk and sugar. Let stand until it is foamy, about 5 minutes. Add salt and eggs and begin to mix on low with the dough hook. Reserve a few ounces of flour and mix in the remainder. Mix in the butter. 

2. Knead for a few minutes. Add more flour if needed to reach a firm enough dough to roll. Continue to knead until dough until smooth and elastic, about 5-8 minutes. Cover and let rest for half an hour. 

Filling & Assembly

3/4 cup Butter softened

3/4 cup Sugar

Orange zest

1/4 cup Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice (I'm not entirely sure of this measurement as I used 2 tangerine sized oranges. I'm estimating it would be about this much. Pour in enough to give the orange flavor but not make it too runny)

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

1/2 cup Dried Apricots (chopped)

1. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the zest, juice and vanilla and mix until combined. 

2. On a lightly floured surface roll the dough into a rectangle, about 20x10. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the entire surface. Sprinkle the dried fruit evenly over the butter layer. Roll the dough from the longer side. Cut the dough in half lengthwise and then in half widthwise. Twist 2 pieces of dough together as tightly as possible, then repeat with the other two pieces of dough, then twist both of these pieces together. (don’t worry even some of the fruit falls out – you can sprinkle it overtop once in the pan). Place the twisted dough into a greased 10-x-5-inch loaf pan. Or you can turn into buns by cutting a dozen evenly sized rolls and placing them in a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rest again for half an hour. 

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Bake buns for about 30 minutes and loaf for about 50 minutes. I do suggest placing a parchment or silicone lined baking sheet under the loaf as it will bubble over and leave a huge mess in your oven. I learned that one the hard way. 

Coconut Oil Glaze

3 Tbsp Water

1/3 cup Sugar

2 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1. In a small saucepan heat all ingredients over med high heat until sugar dissolves. Brush over hot buns or loaf (yes I said hot buns) and let cool 15 minutes before removing from pan. For loaf wait about 30 minutes before removing from pan. 

Yes there is a LOT of patience that is required to make these but they are WORTH the wait! Best if eaten the day you make them but you can still enjoy a day or two later by microwaving them for about 10-15 seconds to soften. 

Want fresh baked Chelsea buns in the morning? Prepare them but do not bake. Place in fridge over night and in the morning place in cold oven. Set oven to 350F and once oven reaches temperature set timer for the 30 minutes. 

Holly Christmas Cake

This cake was ordered for a treat for the Faith Chapel Church. She wanted something pretty to serve them the weekend before Christmas. I was given creative freedom and this is what I came up with. I wanted to keep it simple but beautiful. I started with a big red bow and then added some holly and berries to the scroll work. They were very happy with the cake!

Christmas Wedding Cake

This beautiful cake was for a wedding the weekend before Christmas. It is based on a Cake Boss design but we changed it up with some gold, a red bow and my style of snowflakes. 

Snowflake Baptism Cake

I was asked to make a special cake for a little girls baptism. She wanted a cross and snowflakes on it and said I could run with the rest of the design. I love these kind of cakes because I love creative freedom. I started with the snowflakes and then MANY tiny white dots of fondant swirls to make them look as if they were falling on the cake. I then used my new letter punch to write "God Bless in fondant. Why I didn't use frosting to do all the dots? Well butter is not white (why manufacturers feel the need to put yellow coloring in butter still baffles me) and would give the dots a yellowish tinge that would take away from the crisp whiteness of the snowflakes and cross. I decided on the purple background color because I just love the look of snowflakes on purple. Was a little nervous about the purple but they loved it!

Pumpkin Roll Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Filling and Maple Candied Walnuts

Sunday afternoon we were setting up my Mom's new oasis room. We sent her upstairs with the kids for their nap time and my sister and her husband decorated her new room for her. I had just fell flat on my back on Friday on the ice so I wasn't much help during the heavy lifting part so I started peeking around the pantry to see what I could create for dessert. I found a can of pumpkin and walnuts and in the fridge there was cool whip and some cream cheese. I decided a pumpkin roll cake would be a nice sweet end to a special day. It was a hit. Here is how I made it...

Pumpkin Roll Cake 

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup pumpkin

3/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray jelly roll pan, line with parchment and spray again. 

2. In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices. Set aside

3. In a large bowl whisk the eggs and sugar for about 1 minute. Add pumpkin and whisk until combined. 

4. Fold in the dry mixture and pour into prepared pan. Spread out evenly. Bake for 12 minutes.

5. While it is baking lay out a clean kitchen towel and sprinkle with icing sugar. When the cake comes out of the oven run a knife along the edges and turn out onto the towel. Roll the cake in the towel and place on a cooling rack until cool. 

Maple Cream Cheese Filling

1 package cream cheese

1/2 cup Maple Syrup

1 cup Icing sugar

 In a large bowl with electric mixer whip the cream cheese. Add the Icing sugar and Maple syrup and whip until smooth. Place in fridge until ready to assemble cake. 

Maple Candied Walnuts

2 cups walnuts

1/4 cup Maple Syrup

1/2 tsp allspice

In a nonstick skillet toast the walnuts for a couple minutes. Add the maple syrup and allspice. Stir until every nut is coated. Cook over medium high heat until syrup is reduced (approx 5 minutes). Pour onto a piece of parchment and set aside until ready to assemble cake. 

Cake Assembly

Unroll the cake . Spread the cream cheese filling evenly on the whole cake. Gently roll the cake and place on serving tray seam side down. Spread with whipped cream. We used cool whip because it was in the fridge but would be even better with whipped cream. Would be even better with some cinnamon or nutmeg in the whipped cream as well. Top with the candied walnuts. Cut and serve!

I'd tell you how to store it but you are not likely going to have any left anyways!

Peter Pan Birthday Cake

This cake was fun to do. I dusted cocoa all over the white fondant to give the aged paper look and traced and filled in the silhouettes using an edible black marker. Added some silver "pixie dust" streaked through the cake. This cake is based on this image http://bit.ly/1cZrNDy

Winter Thank You Cake

I was asked to make a cake for the student who has been doing her placement at my Mom's work. It was her last day with them so they wanted to do something special. I had found a card online that had the tree and bird on it with some snowflakes and it inspired me to create this cake. I have found that cards are an excellent place to find inspiration for cake designs. Really inspiration can come from anywhere!

Haystack Cupcakes

These cupcakes were for my cousin's little guys 3rd birthday party. He was having a tractor theme and my aunt (Gavin`s Grandma) was making the cake but they needed some gluten free ones as well. Lesley asked me to do up some cupcakes but I decided that they needed to match the cake. They are coconut cupcakes with coconut buttercream. I dyed some shredded coconut yellow and topped the cupcakes to make them look like little bales of hay. I know I`m not the first to do this but when I thought of the idea (middle of the night) I felt pretty brilliant!

Delft Blue Anniversary Cake

This was a very special cake for me to create. I have had this design in my head for a long time and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to create it. I decided what better than my Oma and Opa's 55th Anniversary party. The clogs are ceramic. I borrowed them from my Mom. I made the red tulips and hand painted the delft blue design on the cake. I wasn't my cleanest cake but I think it is one of my favorites! My Oma and Opa were very happy with it! 

Open Book Christening Cake

I was sent a picture of a cake that they wanted for this very special day. I was happy to create this beautiful cake for them. My new letter punch came in handy to create the fancy wording. The blocks and teddy bear add such cuteness to a beautiful open book cake.

Link to original cake

http://www.celebration-cakes.co.uk/Christening-cake-gallery(2356115).htm

Blue Birthday Cake

I created this birthday cake for a woman who likes pretty blue things. It may be simple but sometimes those are the nicest cakes. 

Special Agent Oso Birthday Cake

This was an exciting cake for me to make. I was glad when it was out the door though because I couldn't get the theme song out of my head the whole time I was making it. I watch this show with my niece often. Couldn't stand it at first but it has grown on me. Kids sure do learn a lot from Oso though. Quite frequently when we ask Tobey where she learned something she'll say "from Oso". 

Coconut Banana Rice Pudding

I was in the mood to bake something completely different today and for some reason rice pudding came to mind. I also wanted to get rid of some of the ripe banana's I have in the freezer so I decided to turn it into banana rice pudding. The coconut was an after thought but worked really nicely. If you don't have coconut cream on hand you can just use all milk or add in some heavy cream to make it REALLY creamy. Have fun with it and make it your own! Here is how I made it...

Coconut Banana Rice Pudding

1 1/2  cups milk

1 cup coconut cream

1/2 cup rice

1 egg

1/3 cup sugar

1 banana (ripe)

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla

nutmeg to taste 

In a heavy bottom pot bring the milk, cream and rice to a boil. Turn down to medium and let simmer until the rice is soft and tender. This took close to 45 minutes for me. In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Add a small amount (about 1/2 cup) of the hot rice mixture to the eggs constantly stirring until mixed thoroughly. Add to the rest of the rice and stir well. Stir in the mashed banana and nutmeg. Stir until thickened. Serve hot or cold...it is much better hot though! A drizzle of caramel wouldn't hurt it in any way either...I tried it with my second bowl!

Rustic Winter Wedding Cake

I have had this design in my head for a long time and finally had some time to make it happen. This is a dummy cake that I created to be displayed at the local bridal shop. I love making roses and peonies are also one of my favorites flowers. I made the pine cones out of fondant as well. I was going to make the berries red but when I went in to my color drawer I saw the copper dust and thought that would be gorgeous...and I was right! The red would look nice too. This is the style of cake I would like if one day I ever get married.