Bridal Showers & Birthdays

The first two sheet cakes were for a Bridal Shower. The only request was for black, red and white. I wanted to find a little more modern look than the traditional flowers and came up with this. I love how it turned out.

The following cake was for a 4 year old boy that wanted a Sportacus cake. He's a character off the PBS show Lazy Town. Unfortunately I did not realize he was a real person until about 10pm last night. I finished about 2:30am. Real people are MUCH harder to do. I'm happy with the result. I guess the proof is in whether or not the little boy recognized him!

The last cake is a Chocolate Oblivian Truffle Torte decorated in white chocolate leaves plaque.

Whew!

So glad this one is done. I booked this wedding over a year ago in Omaha. At the time it was only a 45 minute trip. Today it was a 3 1/2 hour trip one way, on the coldest and ickiest day so far this year. I'd been dreading the trip for some time. But I made it with no mishaps. Done and delivered. Yay. Yay! Yayyy!!!  I was even pretty happy with the outcome. There were a few things, of course, that I would have liked to improve upon. But everything overall was great. I even managed to successfully carry the entire 4-tiered brides cake up to the second floor. You would think that a hotel as nice as the Paxton would have a cart.

This was the grooms cake. So fun! It took about 8 hours.

Brides cake. It had a lot going on as per brides request. As long as she's happy... I'm happy! One thing I did differently this time was to line both of the cake boards with fondant. It took a little more time but gave it a much nicer, more finished look.

After no sleep and the long drive, well, I guess I'm so happy to be done that I don't feel completely worn out!

Fall, tea & scones

There's nothing better with cool, breezy Fall weather than a  cup of chai and a scone. Well actually it's a bit more than breezy and I'd rather have a latte but you just can't make them good at home.  So just imagine, if you will, the nice, calm, relaxing morning this thought evokes. Forget about the reality for just 15 minutes.

Here you go....

Now you can either come over and have some with me, or buy some chai and make the scones with the recipe below. These are absolutely wonderful.

Cranberry Orange Scones

Copyright, 2006, Ina Garten, All Rights Reserved

Ingredients

4 cups plus 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
3/4 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cold heavy cream
1 cup dried cranberries
1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water or milk, for egg wash
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
4 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix 4 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, the baking powder, salt and orange zest. Add the cold butter and mix at the lowest speed until the butter is the size of peas. Combine the eggs and heavy cream and, with the mixer on low speed, slowly pour into the flour and butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough will look lumpy! Combine the dried cranberries and 1/4 cup of flour, add to the dough, and mix on low speed until blended.
Dump the dough onto a well-floured surface and knead it into a ball. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4-inch thick. You should see small bits of butter in the dough. Keep moving the dough on the floured board so it doesn't stick. Flour a 3-inch round plain or fluted cutter and cut circles of dough. Place the scones on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Collect the scraps neatly, roll them out, and cut more circles.

Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are browned and the insides are fully baked. The scones will be firm to the touch. Allow the scones to cool for 15 minutes and then whisk together the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, and drizzle over the scones.

A very very birthday

Today is my daughter's 14th birtday, and I managed to escape before it was completely over. I'm hot and tired! Still the mess to clean up, but we'll enjoy the photos first.

We had the party on our front porch. No railing on the porch yet but still fun to be able to have an entire party on a porch.

My decorating is a little understated for the large porch but I'm too cheap to spend all that money just for decorations. We had smoothies and snacks.

The birthday girl and her cake.

We better have a close up of that cake....

It was quite lovely and tasted good too!

Alex waiting to get her face painted. I painted a lot of faces.

This one is my favorite.

Girls got their own ideas and thought the water balloons were not enough. Notice the bucket.

A bunch of crazy girls.

They played Red Rover and now doing flipping contests on the trampoline. Still 20 minutes till its officially over. I guess I will go clean up. Hope you had a happy birthday, Grace!

Heavenly Bites

Today I had to make a small dessert buffet for a customer. This means a sugar high because they are just these little delicious bites and you have to make sure everything tastes just right! First there are these yummy, moist, chocolatey brownie bites topped with ganache. Rich, rich, rich!

Then we have lemon tartlets. The bottom is lemon mousse made with lemon curd with a little dollop of curd on top. 

And finally New York style cheesecake with fresh strawberries and Turtle Cheesecake.

Wine Bottle Cake

I have a love/hate relationship with cake art. I get so excited to get started a on new cake and have a beautiful vision in my head of how its going to turn out. But that vision evolves as I go along, dealing with the unpredictability of cake. About half way through the project I'm usually still quite optimistic. It's usually 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through that I start to get stressed and depressed. It's not looking like the vision in my head. Flaws are appearing; everything is not as smooth as I like. But when I complete the work, I've worked through those flaws, modified my plans, and given my self some grace with the imperfections.

Such is the case with this weekends cake. I worked through running out of fondant and having to match a new batch to the same green color, which I didn't at first. Paint and luster dust saved me here. The second batch of fondant was way too soft and hard to work with, making it tear and bumpy. I was able to mask some of those problems. I wish the necks of the wine bottles were thinner, but it is cake and you need some there to eat! I was going to print out labels for the bottles on my edible image printer but couldn't find the cord since we moved. But in painting it, with the board covering and the luster dust on the bottles, the final overall effect was like an old painting and I really liked it.

Every cake I make seems to go through this process and my husband would really like to strangle me in the middle of it. But my main goal is to make the client happy. Which I received this email from the lady who ordered the cake wine bottles pictured below:

Cheryl, Your cakes were the big hit of the party! I should have taken more of your business cards, because a lot of people wanted one! We had just enough to finish today, and it was just as good as yesterday! Everyone remarked about how delicious the cakes were and how even the fondant was tasty! Attached is a picture of the birthday boy with the cakes; he was really impressed! Thanks! Gloria

This is what I work for.

For serious chocolate lovers only...

I have been making this recipe for years and it is a favorite of chocolate lovers the world round. It is so simple to make, yet puts off an elegant and sophisticated presentation. I like to keep its simple three ingredients a secret for this reason. I use it when I want to seriously impress. But here I am sharing it with the world so you too can experience this heavenly dessert. If your not the baker type, just visit me at http://www.dragonflydesserts.com/ and I will make one for you!

Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte

By Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible says this is her favorite way to eat chocolate. Beranbaum goes into great detail in the recipes in her book to enable you to get the best results possible. I have not included all the hints and tips here.

Ingredients (all at room temperature):

bittersweet chocolate: 1 pound (I use Ghirardeli bittersweet chocolate chips)
unsalted butter: 1 cup
6 large eggs

If bittersweet is just too bitter, try half bittersweet and half semisweet chocolate.

Prepare pan: One 8-inch springform pan at least 2 1/2 inches high, buttered and bottom lined with buttered parchment or wax paper; outside of pan wrapped with a double layer of heavy-duly foil to prevent seepage. One 10-inch cake pan or roasting pan to serve as a water bath. (I think spring form pans are overrated and use an 8"x 2" cake pan. I also make these in sheet pans for dessert buffets. No heavy duty foil needed for seepage.)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In large metal bowl set over a pan of hot, not simmering, water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) combine the chocolate and butter and let stand, stirring occasionally, until smooth and melted. (The mixture can be melted in the microwave on high power, stirring every 15 seconds. Remove when there are still a few lumps of chocolate and stir until fully melted....this is what I do)

In a large bowl set over a pan of simmering water heat the eggs, stirring constantly to prevent curdling, until just warm to the touch. Remove from the heat and beat, using the whisk beater, until triple in volume and soft peaks form when the beater is raised, about 5 minutes. (To insure maximum volume if using a hand mixer, beat the eggs over simmering water until they are hot to the touch, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and beat until cool.)


Using a large wire whisk or rubber spatula, fold 1/2 the eggs into the chocolate mixture until almost incorporated. Fold in the remaining eggs until just blended and no streaks remain. Finish by using a rubber spatula to ensure that the heavier mixture at the bottom is incorporated.



Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth with the spatula. Set the pan in the larger pan and surround it with 1 inch very hot water. Bake 5 minutes. Cover loosely with a piece of buttered foil and bake 10 minutes. (The cake will look soft, but this is as it should be.) Here is one I baked in a large square cake pan.


Let the cake cool on a rack 45 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, about 3 hours.

To unmold: Have ready a serving plate and a flat plate at least 8 inches in diameter, covered with plastic wrap. Wipe the sides of the pan with a hot, damp towel.
Run a thin metal spatula around the sides of the cake and release the sides of the springform pan. Place the plastic-wrapped plate on top and invert. Wipe the bottom of the pan with a hot, damp towel. (I run the bottom of the pan over a hot burner) Remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment. Reinvert onto the serving plate.

I always make a quick ganache (equal parts chocolate and heavy cream heated and blended) and spread over the top for a nice smooth finish. You can top with dollops of whipped cream flavored with espresso, or a raspberry or orange syrup. Here are some I cut into small squares to serve at a dessert buffet.



Store: 2 weeks refrigerated. Do not freeze because freezing changes the texture.
Serve: Room temperature. Cut into narrow wedges with a thin sharp knife that has been dipped in hot water.
Pointers for success: For a moist airy texture, be sure to add beaten eggs to chocolate mixture and not the chocolate to the eggs. Wrapping the pan with foil keeps it watertight. Chill thoroughly before unmolding. Use the plastic-wrapped plate when unmolding to protect the surface of cake if you're not planning to use a topping.

Understanding: Just as for cheesecake, baking the Oblivion in a water bath keeps the texture creamy throughout. When this cake is served at room temperature, you get a rush of chocolate from the moment it enters your mouth. The full flavor of chocolate can best be appreciated only in a softened state. (A chocolate bar, for example, has to start melting in the mouth before the flavor comes through.) The butter and eggs do not distract. Instead they contribute structure and the desired creamy texture.
Serves 16.

The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum (Morrow Cookbooks, September, 1988) - reprinted with permission

300 cupcakes

Last week I got to do a center piece cake with 300 cupcakes for a company in Kearney. Both were fun. I started baking at 5am and all were filled and frosted by 2! It was quite a feat. Their company logo was a bulls eye and their celebration was a circus theme.

Wedding & Grooms Cake

These are photos of a recent wedding I did at the Cornhusker Hotel in Lincoln, NE. Besides the nearly three hour drive, the heat and humidity was a killer. The cake was Tuxedo with a whipped ganache filling. Its hard to see in the image, but stenciling was done on the sides of the cake.

From the bride, "Hi Cheryl-Thank you for doing such an amazing job on our wedding and groom's cakes! Everyone couldn't say enough nice things about them! They looked and tasted GREAT!" I am always more than thrilled to hear back from a bride that they were happy with their cakes.

This is the grooms cake.... simple but fun. I love doing cakes like this. Yes, she married a doctor.

Soccer Ball Birthday

Simple and cute cake. I finally figured out how to make a decent soccer ball!

weddings, birthdays & busy days

Wow! Time has flown by. I have not kept up with my newly formed blog very well through the busy-ness. The last 3 weeks have been filled with weddings, birthdays, summer sports, camps and getting our 100 year old house ready to move into. Here is a photo of the front of it. The house has three floors. The top floor is a full room which was used as a ballroom in its day. That window on the top floor is six feet tall. I am going to post photos of the inside, before and after as the rooms are completed. It is quite a transformation and we are very excited to move our family in. It is just what we need. SPACE! Plus it is beautiful. I call it 'my immeasurably more house'. God Says he can give us immeasurably more than we can ever ask or imagine and he has!

Since cakes are fun to look at, here is a simple wedding I did last week, 3 cakes based on a Martha design. Hopefully some nice fresh flowers were added!

a few last minute cakes

I just wanted to add a few last minute cakes that were simple and cute. I missed taking a picture of the pretty tulip cake. The first was inspired by the wedding cake. The birthday girl wanted "patriotic" and "butterflies". This is what I came up with. I'm glad she liked it!

Some more mini cupcakes. I think these are just so cute! Its hard to eat just one though!

Butterflies in Flight

Nice title for the cake, you think? Wow, I think it all came together, not without a few mishaps, not the least being falling with a cake! The butterflies are handmade, by me :-), out of wafer paper.

The cakes are covered in fondant. The main cake is pink champagne with strawberry and cream cheese filling... YUMMM! One of the side cakes is red velvet with cream cheese filling and the other tuxedo (alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate).

It was fun putting some creativity into these cakes. Wedding was at the Holiday Inn in Kearney. For future brides, you may consider the background for your photos. This one is not too nice.

Go Big

This was given to me by a friend and I find it really inspiring. I hope you do too.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

This inspiring quote by Marianne Williamson is from her book, A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, Harper Collins, 1992. From Chapter 7, Section 3 (Pg. 190-191).

a few cakes from the week

This week was graduation for many high schools so I thought I'd post a few of the graduation cakes that I made. Congratulations to all of the graduates!


The first two aren't your conventional graduation cakes, but that is what I like the most, the unconventional!

I made two New York style cheesecakes, the first topped with caramel, toasted walnuts and ganache.


The second has a fresh strawberry puree with sliced strawberries. So refreshing!



Just a hint when making cheesecakes. Spring form pans are waayy over rated. You can bake a cheesecake in regular cake pans, any size you wish. I have made them in large sheet pans as well. As long as you cover the bottom with parchment and grease the sides they will slide right out. I run the bottom of the pan over a hot burner to ensure that it loosens well. These cheesecakes were baked in 3" high pans for greater height.





The following are your more traditional graduation cakes complete with fondant scroll and flowers. They also include edible images. (loving my edible image printer!) I was also touched to have customers drive 2 1/2 hours to get my cakes. Thank you!

And, last but not least, a little birthday cake thrown in with the rest. Now time for me to rest!

My next blog will include some of my favorite baking tips. Stay tuned!

Brownies on a Stick

My first entry.... no pressure there! Well, I'm just going to dive in with what I am here for. I want to put up a stand at the local farmer's market. I don't want to sell your everyday, packaged on paper plate food. So I am testing a few ideas.

Here's the first one: Brownies on a Stick. Everyone loves food on a stick. People like to buy a simple one serving, yet decadent treat these days. So I began with testing the brown recipe. I had a good reason. Today was my turn to bring the treats for my son's first grade class. What better treat than brownies on a stick! I did feel a little sorry for the teacher, loading them up with sugar like that.

Well, I've been told before that brownies from a box were just as good as homemade, if not better. They definitely have not tried Ina Garten's Outrageous Brownies! The recipe was very close to my Chocolate Oblivion Truffle Torte from Rose Levenbaum (which I will share soon!) Oh my word, these brownies are heavenly. You can not describe the texture. It will be my base brownie forever. The options are endless with these beauties.

First the recipe:

Outrageous Brownies

Copyright 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

This was adapted from a recipe for chocolate globs in the Soho Charcuterie Cookbook. Prep Time: 30 min Cook Time: 30 min Level: Difficult Serves: 20 large brownies

Ingredients

• 1 pound unsalted butter
• 1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
• 6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 6 extra-large eggs
• 3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
• 2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 cups diced walnut pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan. Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool thoroughly, refrigerate well and cut into squares.

Brownies on a Stick

Now, for the purposes of the Brownies on a Stick, I omitted the 3 cups diced walnut pieces and the 12 ounces of chocolate chips. After brownies were cooled and refrigerated, I used a 2" circle cutter.... you could pick any shape and size you wish, but keep in mind these little beauties are rich. I placed the brownie circles on a cookie sheet, inserted a Popsicle stick into the center and placed them into the freezer. I did not have time to let them freeze completely but it worked well any way.

Then, take some melted candy coating (Ghirardelli or even chocolate bark) and dip each brownie on a stick into the coating, covering the stick where it enters the brownie for more security and allow the excess to drip off. I then dipped the ends into sprinkles.

The possibilities are endless with decorating these little treasures in fun or decadent ways... for kids or adults. They definitely were a hit with the first graders and I can't wait to sell them at the farmer's market.