Zebra Stripe Cake and Uniform Sized Fondant Ball Border

I made a cake yesterday. It was my first zebra stripe cake. I thought it would be pretty easy and fast, but it was very time consuming.

I planned out where to place the stripes before "gluing" it down to the cake. That's probably why it took so long. In addition to that, rolling the fondant ball border took a while also. I learned a neat trick though to get the balls to be all the same size.

To get uniform or same sized balls for your border, you roll out your fondant flat using spacers, or rolling bands to get it to the same width. Then, using any small cookie cutter, cut out several pieces. Then roll them into balls. Every ball will be the same size. Yay.

The stripes were pretty random, I just cut them out randomly, but carefully planned the placement of each stripe. On top of the cake, there is suppose to be the letter "G" in hot pink fondant. It was still drying when I took this photo. 

I learned another trick to get fondant to dry quicker and more sturdy. Add gumpaste. I made a 1/2 gumpaste 1/2 fondant mixture and formed the initial "G," it was the only one that defied gravity. The pure fondant ones broke. Sad =[ Gumpaste is my new love.

This is the letter "G" that will go on top of the cake.

Just imagine it on top. =]

I have been pretty busy this month making custom desserts for people. I'm having tons of fun and learning all these neat tricks that I get to share with you. I'm going to post some wedding sugar cookies I did this week next.

Cinnamon Roll Cupcakes

I had a small birthday party this past Saturday. I was planning to make cupcakes instead of a cake for over a month now. I just didn't know what flavor to make. The horror.

So I decided to make something I'd like to eat the night before the party - cinnamon rolls. So I came up with a cinnamon roll cupcake. The guests loved it! They even took some home. 

I also made tons of other foods. I made mini New York style cheesecakes with a raspberry sauce, chocolate dipped pretzels, mini donuts, caramel popcorns, red velvet cake pops...and oh yes - savory foods too. Which included bruschetta, chipotle shrimp wonton cups, buffalo wings, and mini pretzel dogs. The beverage of choice was raspberry lemonade. 

 Of course, in the picture below, some guests have already eaten some foods before I could shoot a picture. Oh wells.

The cupcakes are actually quite easy to make. I'm sure you and your family will love them too!

CUPCAKES:

Basic Yellow Cake Recipe -> FOUND HERE Or use Yellow Cake Mix

1 Cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 24 cupcake pans with liners.

Prepare the basic yellow cake batter. Use the recipe above or store bought cake mix.

Fill each cupcake liner 1/4 full with batter. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of cinnamon mixture all over the cupcake batter. 

Fill each cupcake liner again until 2/3 full, but no more. Sprinkle another teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Using a toothpick, swirl the cinnamon sugar all over the cupcake.

Bake for 15 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack.

FROSTING:

8 oz block of cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 cups of powdered sugar

In the bowl of a mixer, using paddle attachment, cream butter with sugar until fluffy. Add cream cheese and vanilla. Beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Frost cupcakes.

GLAZE:

1 stick of butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter with sugar and cinnamon until combined and pourable, but not boiled. Let cool for a minute and drizzle over frosted cupcakes.

I hope you enjoy these cupcakes as much as my guests did.

Mini Fruit Tarts

I made mini fruit tarts before, but not this tiny. These can be eaten in one bite, a little bigger than the size of a quarter. I made 70+ tart shells from the dough, which is enough for a 9 inch tart shell. I made these mini fruit tarts for my fiance's co-workers. They were a complete hit!

So the recipe for the original fruit tarts can be found here. Make the dough and pastry cream, then follow the directions below to make them extra miniature. If you don't have a food processor, you can cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

After chilling the dough for 2 hours, roll the dough out on lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thick. Using rolling pin bands will help make the dough thickness even throughout. 

Use a 2 inch round cookie cutter with scalloped edges to cut out several small shell pieces. Flip a miniature muffin pan upside down. You will be using the back of the muffin pan to shape the shells. Place one shell piece on each muffin-hill. Try to center it in the middle.

Bake for 5 - 7 minutes, or until light golden. Remove baked shells, and repeat with remaining dough.

Proceed by filling each shell with a small amount of pastry cream and decorate with fruits. Enjoy!

 The recipe for the original fruit tarts can be found here.

First Year Birthday Cake

Tomorrow, March 28, marks my blog's first birthday. I baked a two tier cake for my blog! This is my first tiered cake with columns. I enjoyed making it!

During the first year, my top three favorite recipes to make and eat are:

Click for Recipes

1. Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

2. Opera Cake

3. New York Cheesecake

Of course making Cake Pops was definitely an honorable mention.

I hope you guys enjoy my first year of recipes. I'm excited to continue posting new ideas and recipes in the years to come.

Opera Cake (Miniature and Bite-Size)

So, I wanted to make a cake with tons of layers. Then cut it up to petit four sizes for easy eating. I'm making these mini opera cake bites for my fiance's co-workers. It was the first cake I've made with this much layers. It was worth it, because the cake tasted super delicious. His co-workers were going crazy for these bite-size cakes.

So an opera cake is basically a coffee and chocolate cake. The flavor combination is absolutely delicious. The layers of different colors make it so pretty to look at. The cake took a long time to make, but I think it's worth it! Give it a try.

I basically followed Martha Steward's Opera Cake recipe, which can be found here. However, I didn't have any almond flour on me, so I made the cake layers with a pound cake instead.

Pound Cake:

Ingredients:

3 large eggs, room temperature

3 tablespoons milk, room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sifted cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

13 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray with a non stick vegetable spray, a large sheet pan with sides (Also known as a jelly roll pan). Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter or spray the paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.

In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), place the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended. Add the butter and half of the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about one minute to aerate and develop the cake's structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake's structure.  

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 15 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean.

Look at all those beautiful layers. Cut the cake up to 1 inch squares.

Bacon Roses

I made these roses for my fiance for Valentine's Day. He never ate them, but displays them at work. They're super easy to make.

You will need:

A miniature muffin pan

Rolled fondant or marshmallow fondant

Thick bacon strips

Skewers

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Roll bacon strip up and place into muffin pan. Repeat with all bacon strips.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove each bacon rose onto a paper towel and pour out bacon drippings from pan. Put back the roses into the pan and back into the oven. Repeat the 10 minute cooking time for approximately 40 to 50 mins or until cooked throughly.

Cover a skewer with green fondant. Allow to dry. Add leaves. Push sharp end of skewer into cooled bacon roses. 

Give to your lover.

Superbowl Football Cake Pops

So these are made with the same recipe I always use. Which can be found here.

Shaping the cake pops into a football is a little different then just regular balls. I do roll them into balls first and then roll half of the ball gently until an edge form. I repeat with the other side. I use my fingers to help pinch them pointy.

I hope everyone has a great super bowl this year. May the best team win!