Don's Diplomat Cake

After a morning session in the kitchen, a batch of Rum buttercream and puff pastries, I finally finished the Diplomat cake and it feels great!  I could not help myself tasting the buttercream, one of the best I ever tasted!  It's not the easy buttercream made of butter and powder sugar, it requires more but it's worth the extra effort. 

I can't wait for a slice tonight.

I live in the Kitchen

3 Cakes in 2 weeks plus 60 Easter eggs equals kitchen chaos.  I am making a SURPRISE cake for my brother-in-law.  I hope he doesnot see this post until after tomorrow.  He wanted to know where to get a Diplomat cake aside from Bon Ton's.  A light bulb moment... his birthday is coming up and "I" could make him a Diplomat cake.  I found a recipe by Drew and I thought I could give it a try. Here is step one:  Make a Genoise cake and Rum syrup! Tomorrow, I will be making the Rum Buttercream and Puff pastry to layer the cake together. I will let you all know how it turns out.

Easter Egg-travaganza

I have been working on Easter cookies for my kids' friends... I made 60 eggs and now I am down to 55.  I don't know what happened to the five but apparently I have an egg thief or thieves (maybe little ones)! 
Vanilla Sugar Cookies and Lemon Royal Icing

Cupcakes, Engagement and a Wedding

Cupcake addiction? No such thing! But what do they say about people with addiction - first sign denial!

Dutch chocolate cupcakes with Vanilla buttercream.

My sis just got Engaged! Another excuse to bake a cake.  Coincidentally, I am in the midst of a wedding cake project. I will be posting pictures of the sketch.  The bride, my cousin, emailed me a picture of a cake she wanted me to replicate.  I find it more challenging to copy a cake design because you don't have artistic interpretation but I aim to please the bride!

SpongeBob Cake in Butter Cream

This is the biggest project by far.  My kids are sharing a birthday party and they wanted a SpongeBob cake.  Hence, the dilema.  I could do the usual square pan covered with yellow fondant and cut the face and limbs.  Or, do something different.  I found a beautiful cake idea from Decopac and here it is... 

Cupcakes and Fondant

One of my sins... laziness!  The last two Valentines, I baked over 250 standard cupcakes.  But, do I have pictures to show? Nope! Why? Laziness!  I need to take pictures to document it and I need to start!

Anyways, my daughter, Cait turned 6 a few weeks ago and she wanted a pink present cake.  She wanted to help and we made a cake out of Marshmallow Fondant by Peggy W.  The best tasting fondant ever!!! If you have not tried it or tried to make it- do!  Cait did all the pearl borders and the letters and helped with the ribbon. Not bad eh?

Cait's 6th Birthday

I have been always intrigued by anything creative.  I am easily inspired by the things and people around me. My first introduction to the culinary arts was when I am 7 years old.  I remembered wanting a snack and my grandma, Lola, told me to make it myself.  I chop a potato, sprinkle it with salt (I thought it was salt but it was MSG, Yuck!) and I fried it on her wok.  I learned that hot oil hurts and that I can cook! I spent countless hours watching my grandma cook.  But, my eyes opened to bigger and better things when I saw my mom make Coconut Macaroons.  When she made a Taro (Ube) Cake, I fell in love with baking!

Below is the first fondant cake I made.  I took the "fondant" class at my local Michaels and I never looked back.