The Newest Member of the Kitchen!!!!!! 2014

I've only had this a few weeks, and it's already been operated twice!  I'm such a fan of the Hobart mixer.  This is a 12qt. and weighs in close to 200#.  Thank you Mom and Dad for a great contribution to this mixer in my work-in-progress kitchen. 

Scones 2014

As a 'thank you' to our friendly realtor for helping us find our wonderful new home I finally got around to asking him what type of dessert he would enjoy.  These may not look like much, but scones are fairly unique.  Not understood by all, scones are made to be dry and crumbly and appreciated with a cup of tea or coffee.  They are not a cake or a muffin...but their own slice of yumminess. 

Also, I couldn't find my rolling pin or biscuit cutters (most things are still in boxes around here), so they are a bit more rustic looking and larger than I normally would make them.  But tasty none-the-less! 

Here are my Pecan-Mixed Berry Scones:

Veteran's Day Instructional Cake 2014

Becca got to plan and build a cake for her Dad to celebrate Veteran's Day.  We worked together and made a chocolate cake.  She chose strawberry bavarian cream as her filling and chocolate buttercream for the frosting.  She added chocolate dipped strawberries to the top for decoration.  I was very impressed with her determination to practice her piping for a while before putting her application on the cake.  I taught her how to comb the sides and smooth the top of the cake.  She also wrote 'Dad' on the cake with melted chocolate.  This was a fun project to teach a kiddo how much hard work goes into creating a cake.  I am very proud of Becca!  

Megan's Baby Shower 2014

Andrea ordered a cake for her friend Megan who is expecting a baby girl.  The mother's requested no pink for the shower, so the colors were decided to be purple and yellow.  Other desserts that were also served were pies and cookies, not provided by me.  This cake is a traditional white cake with vanilla buttercream, a raspberry mousse filling and pressed against the outside are toasted sliced almonds.

Happy Birthday Andrea! September 10th, 2014

I was very surprised to receive an email for a cake order this September.  My family has currently been moving, but I surprised myself and pulled this one out of my new (to me) oven!

Michael was in search of a light cake for his wife's birthday, with peaches, blueberries, and raspberries, without much frosting.  He asked for a 10 or 12" cake which is very large for just a couple, but it seems like they are already half-way through it!  The cake you see is 10".

Each layer is:  Yellow Chiffon, Peach-Ginger Jam, Fresh Blueberries (from a local farm), and an Italian Meringue Raspberry Mousse (raspberries were also from a local farm).

 Michael brought me the peaches from a local farm and they came out beautiful and juicy for the top of the cake.  Finished the fruit with a peach glaze to encase things and keep the oxygen out.

Happy Birthday Stewart! 6/27/2014

 My first cake order of the year!  Super thrilled and excited to have built this cake for Mackenzie.  She asked for a cake not too rich or heavy and I think we nailed this together!  I haven't eaten a touch of sugar for about two months, so she helped taste the bases of the fillings to make sure I was on track with what she requested.  This is a yellow chiffon cake!  Which means it's light like an angel food cake, but a bit more flavorful being that they have egg yolks, among other things angel food cakes do not contain.

Here is a shot of the inside layering.  Raspberry and Mocha filling alternating rings, and each layer is alternating as well, so when consumed, she should be getting a bite of everything altogether.  Yum!

The outermost layer is whipped cream, which the cake will be frosted with.

It turned out to be a high cake (I don't believe in tossing cake just so there is less height).  Four cake layers, three layers of filling!  No simple syrup needed.  Cake will be plenty moist and delicious without it.

And here's the final product, a wonderful birthday cake for Stewart!  Frosted in whipped cream, garnished with fresh raspberries, and chocolate covered espresso beans on top.  The bottom which is a little difficult to see, I shaved some raspberry chocolate (found at the health food store) and created a flat scalloped border.  Hard to see, but this is not flat iced, I used a comb on the side.