Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Cake Decorating!

These classes were so much fun. It was challenging, but definitely fun! I'm so glad I had the chance to take them! I can't wait til my Fondant and gum paste flowers class starts next week! I'll have more pictures to show. Enjoy these pictures and a yummy recipe!

I dedicated my first cake to my sweetheart
 
Yellow Layered cake with Strawberry jam filling

This night we learned how to make clowns and drop flowers. Quite frankly the clowns were scary so I put drop flowers on mine instead!

Red Velvet Cake


Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese frosting
My first roses that worked.

Cake with writing and sweet pea border(for a friend at Ronnie's work that was really ill)

Tiered cake to celebrate my Sister's and Grandma's birthdays that are only 2 days apart!
It was fun to surprise them.
Many Roses that worked, Yeah!
Cheesy picture of me with my first tiered cake!

 These flowers were fun to learn. You use royal icing to make them(the same icing that you use to glue gingerbread houses together). So you learn the different flowers each week of class, let them dry and harden. Then at the final class I got to put them on!


My cake from the final week of the second course It was so much fun to learn the basket weave piping technique!





Yellow Layer Cake from scratch
This is a great dense cake, frosts very well, and pairs well with many different flavors of filling and frosting.

2/3 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 cups milk
2-1/2 cups frosting of your choice

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition.

Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans*. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes(I don't recommend skipping these 10 minutes) before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Spread frosting between layers and over the top and sides of  the cake Yield: 10-12 servings.

*I grease each of the pans and then press a round piece of parchment paper into the bottom. It insures that the cake comes out on the pan really clean! Last thing you want is to work hard on a cake just to have it adhere it to the bottom of your pans. 

Enjoy!

Friday, April 2, 2010

Lovely Earrings!

At 28th Street photo & gifts They're giving away these adorable earrings! I really think I could wear these everyday! Take a look at this cute shop. She does an amazing job on her earrings and her photographs are amazing too! Go to her sponsor at "Love and Photographs" to enter! Good Luck!