Owls and cake?

I had the pleasure today to make a cake for a very special young lady.  Jenna, a friend of my daughter, really wanted a cake made by us.  So, her sweet Momma gave us a call and badda bing, badda boom - we had a cake order.

This one is a first for me though.  Jenna LOVES owls.  So, her Mom placed an order for an owl cake.  She gave me some color ideas and away we went to work.

This cake is a white wedding style cake with a raspberry filling and buttercream icing.  It is half icing and half fondant.

I found myself really enjoying the process for this cake.  I am so blessed to be able to do this for folks and to utilize my passion for baking.   Feel free to leave comments on your thoughts.

Let'm eat cake!

4th of July

 Our county has a burn ban, so there were no fireworks to be seen for miles and miles.  To celebrate the independence of our nation, we spent the evening with friends. 


Our gracious host requested that I bake a cake for her bash.  Of course, I was all to happy to oblige.   So, without further ado, here is our cake!

G

God Bless the USA!

 back of the cake

So, let'm eat cake!

Graduation 2012

We have had some pretty exciting things happening for us lately.  We had the wonderful opportunity to share in being a part of some recent graduations in our small town.  Three folks, who recently learned about Cake and Bakes, requested that we handle the graduation cakes for them.

Although this year it was only 3, it really got the word out about what we do.  It has been so nice seeing all the amazing comments on Facebook.  So many new people are hearing about us, experiencing our foods and happy to be spreading the word about what we are capable of doing.

Without further ado, I would like to share with everyone our recent creations....

Class colors were purple and silver.  School colors are blue and white.  So, we tried to combine them along with everything that he was known for in his HS career.  Football, music and track.  Cake was vanilla with a raspberry cream filling.

Miranda is such a neat young lady.  She and I came up with the design for this cake.  Miranda has a love for frogs, is very passionate about football and is a really great artist.  She wanted something different and different is what she received.  The cake was vanilla with a buttercream frosting.

This cake was for an 8th grade graduation.  Mason's mom called me and said that his favorite thing is the XBOX.  So we came up with an idea for an XBOX cake.  The controller is rice crispy treats.  The cake was chocolate with a raspberry cream filling.

I have been so blessed to be a part of these special occasions.  I am grateful for every single order that comes our way.  Thank you Lord for the opportunities that you give us and for the faithfulness that you provide even in the moments that we don't deserve it.

Don't forget to thank your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ today for all He does for you.

God bless you all!  Now, let'm eat cake!!!

Oreo Cake and business is happening!

Life in a small town - so great for our family and yet so tough for a new business

I think getting started in a small town is even harder that in a city.  Everyone knows everyone and they know who to go to even if the business isn't posted in the phone book or situated on main street. Getting the word out has been difficult at best.  If they don't know you well, then I think they are a bit unsure of you or your business.  We opened a facebook page a couple of months ago and are just now sitting at about 70 likes.   I feel a bit like we are having to pull our hair out just to get noticed.  However, the Lord is providing!

When the Praises go up, the Blessings come down!

We finally have cake orders coming in.  We have 2 highschool graduation cakes, one middle school graduation and one Mother's Day cake.  All falling in the same week.  Not sure how much sleep I will get with making sure that I get them done and the nerves of wanting them to be perfect for our customers.   I can't even begin to say how much I love what I am doing and how much we are grateful for every single customer that comes our way.

To celebrate our excitement, I decided on a whim that I would make a little treat for my family tonight.   My youngest DS came into the living room with a package of cookies.  Oh, the possibilities are endless!

 I looked at some other oreo recipes and came up with a hodge podge combo of many of them.  Betty Crocker had nothing to do with mine.  I hate using cake mixes and packaged icing.  It drives me nuts.  Sometimes I have to use one or the other for time sake, or because a recipe calls for it and I hate to change things around on the first try.  But tonight they needed something special.   You can look up your favorite version of this, but I think mine is the best.  It was an oreo cake filling with a creamy icing, oreo crumbs and whole oreos.

The end result.  YUM!   Family gave rave reviews!


On a side bar, if there are recipes you would like, please add us as your liked blogspot page and we will send it to you.

Have a blessed night my friends!  Let'm eat Oreo cake!

Garlic Parmesan Knots

Rarely will you find me posting non-sweet treat items on here.  Tonight is different.  I was inspired.  We are a spaghetti, manicotti, stuffed shells kind of family.  If it is Italian food, we probably love it.

It is spaghetti night, which happens about once every other week.  I was inspired because I am so tired of making the same bread from a box for dinner. 

With a little ingenuity,  some great Italian spices, garlic, the perfect EVOO and some shredded Parmesan - our accompaniment to spaghetti night was complete!

I described these knots on our Facebook page as "

Garlic Parmesan Knots. The perfect accompaniment to any Italian feast!

 "   

 But, I must admit, I like my DH's description to these amazing rolls so much better...

"Best dinner roll I have ever had bar none.  They were warm, soft, buttery, garlic-e, absolutely melt in your mouth good.  Your description summed it up well but words can't even compare to trying one yourself."

Wow!  What a compliment!   They were all that and a bag of chips!   Don't you want some now too?

Have a blessed night my friends!

Let'm eat cake... breakfast bread or.... the occasional Garlic Parmesan Knot!

Oh my Bread!

Our little in home bakery received its first big order at the end of last week!  Praise the Lord for His faithfulness!   I was so excited I thought I would bust.

There were so many items they need for 4 different functions.  It got my brain running through ideas all weekend.  The thing that struck me the most was the breads that our customer wanted.  They were looking for a breakfast bread.  Something away from the ordinary/traditional banana nut.

So, I came up with an idea to do a danish type of treat.  Two breads.  One with strawberry and one with blueberry; both with a sweet cream filling. 

I am so impatient that waiting for that bread to rise was painstaking for me.  I could barely wait to cut into it once it was done.  There is a glaze on the top just to sweeten the deal.

The filling was creamy and a melt in your mouth experience.  The bread was so soft and sweet too.  The strawberry was definitely my personal favorite.  My DH seemed to really enjoy the blueberry though.  I don't think you could go wrong either way.

My family didn't seem to mind being the taste-testers.  They practically ate 2 loaves of bread in one night.  Only 3 pieces left!  What a huge compliment to give me!

I expect the functions to be a hit for our customer.  Can't wait to get the feedback from their guests!

Have a blessed day my friends!

Let'm eat cake! or...... fruity breakfast bread.

Peanut Butter Eggs

My sweet treat for today is Peanut Butter Eggs.

I make these every year for Easter and they seem to fly off the shelf the minute they are set up.  My mom use to make them for us as kids.  Back then I felt a little sad that we didn't have Reese's peanut butter cups like all the other kids.  Now, I realize the value of what my sweet Momma was doing for us.

Every meal or dessert that she made came straight from her heart and was her way of showering us with her love.  I am so much like my Mom that I see more of her shining through me every day, from the words I say to my showering of love upon my family.

She made these amazing peanut butter eggs so I started the tradition with my family a few years ago.  I hope to be able to share it with our friends and neighbors when we open our cafe'.  I have no doubt that they too will love them.

Would love to hear your thoughts and comments!

Let'm eat cake or the occasional peanut butter egg!

Oh, Sweet Orange Rolls

This week my sister and I went to the local butcher.  We both want to start feeding our families with more natural, less preservative foods.   While we were there I noticed that a local baker had some orange rolls for sale at the butcher's shop.  I was so excited to see them.  They are one of my sister's favorites.  It inspired me to make them for her as a little treat just to show her how much I love her.

I started this off with real oranges.  No extract used for the orange taste of these things.  It always surprises me just how much of an orange taste can come from the zest of the orange.   Easier than peeling the orange and squeezing it for the juice.

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The recipe was so simple.  Easy as 1,2,3.   A little orange, soft dough for the rolls and a citrus glaze.  I think the hardest part of this whole thing is waiting for the dough to rise and the rolls to cook.  I am a "need it now" kind of gal, so waiting is not really in my vocabulary.  I assure you, these were worth the wait!



I baked these sweet treats at 375 for 20 minutes and poured the sweet glaze all over them.

They turned out really good.  My family loved them.  My six year old actually kept saying "yum" while he was eating his piece.  He is so picky, so they must have been exceptional.  There are some minor changes that I am going to do in order to get to perfection.  Less sugar, more orange and most importantly, BIGGER rolls.   A recipe might be in the works if there is an interest in sharing it.

I have so many amazing treats to come.  Hope you stay tuned for more sweet treats!  Like I always say, let'm eat cake. Or in this case, sweet orange rolls!

Life is so sweet!

This morning started out rather rough today.   I lay in bed this morning and I hear the alarm going off.  I think to myself, "why in the world is the alarm going off on Saturday?"  Snap back into reality.  It is only Tuesday.   I can promise you it was not happy thoughts that I had immediately following this upset in my world.

My friend Michelle calls me later that morning to remind me that we have a meeting this evening and I am suppose to bring something along as a snack or dessert.  Sweet.  Am I prepared?  No.  Okay, well that't not completely true..  I always have something on hand to make.  I struggled today though because I am trying to break into the community with my new baking talents and I want to take something to impress.

So, I came up with an on the spot treat that I am just going to have to brag on.

Chocolate Caramel Cups

These sweet treats are a chocolate cookie that is much like a cake.  Caramel oozes in the center of these treats.   They were so good.  The caramel was thick and creamy.  Of course I am a caramel lover from way back.  Honestly, I think I could eat it on just about anything.  Hand me a roof tile with caramel smeared on it and I probably would give it a try.    

I am going to try making them as cheesecake cups too.  Can't wait to try that!

What a sweet end to a rough day.  I think these treats can make anyone change their attitude.   So, if you want to make someone's day.......Let'm eat cake!

God Bless!

Goldilocks bakes a perfect cookie!

If you are like me, sometimes I feel like Goldilocks looking for that perfectly baked cookie.  Not crunchy, not so soft that it falls apart as soon as you pick it up, but somewhere in the middle.  The edges are a little crunchy but the center is just melts in your mouth. 

To achieve the perfect cookie there are some key things that the expert cookie bakers are doing to make sure that theirs are a step above the rest.  Well, you don't have to be a professional pastry chef to get a perfect product from your favorite cookie recipe. 

Here are some secret tips to cookie greatness. 

Secret #1 -  Choose the right flour.  Not all flour is created equally.  Most cookies call for all-purpose flour.  Try substituting cake flour in place of the all-purpose.  1 cup of cake flour is the same as 1 cup of all-purpose.  This change will yield a much lighter cookie.


Secret #2 - Never use eggs and margarine/butter straight from the fridge.  Leave them out a few hours or the night before you plan to bake.  The temperature of these two ingredients can significantly change your end results.    For chewy cookies, melt the margarine before adding it to the sugar.

Secret #3 - Use brown sugar in place of white sugar.  Brown sugar will suck up all that moisture in your cookie batter and leave the cookie with that perfect chewy center.

Secret # 4 - Don't over mix.  Well, don't under mix either.   Overmixing will thin out the cookie and under-mixing will make them crunchy.  So, for Goldilocks to get that perfect cookie, she should mix the ingredients until they are well blended and the batter is fluffy.  This will take your cookie from good to great! 

Secret #5 - Cool the batter!  Before you form your cookies and place them on your tray, cool the batter in the frige before you put them in the oven. 

Finally, to create that perfect center, remove them when they are cooked through, edges crispy and centers are still soft and goey.

So, no excuses now friends.  The perfect cookie is now attainable!

With that I bid you adieu!   Let them eat cake!!  (or a really amazing cookie)

Don't touch or I will spork you!

This is one of those treats that will make you want to stab your loved one with a spork if they even think about touching your share. 

Today's treat has a delicious cake bottom with fillings of cream cheese, pudding and whipped cream.   It so good even my DH ate his whole piece.  He isn't a "sweets" kinda guy, so for him to clean the plate means it is well above exceptional.  I did modify this from an original recipe that I found online. 

Get ready to take a mouth watering look...




Chocolate cream dessert 

 

Ingredients:

1 pkg - chocolate cake mix         1 pkg - cream cheese                    2 pkg (3.9 oz) - inst. chocolate pudding
1 egg                                             1 1/4 cups - confectioner sugar                           3 cups - milk
5 tbsp - butter                               4 - 5 cups - whipped topping/divided


Directions -
Grease a 9x 13 baking pan.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a bowl, combine cake mix and butter.  Mix until blended.  Beat egg and add to mixture.   Blend well to creak a crumbly mixture.  Press into well greased baking pan.  Bake for 15-17 minutes until it is set.  Remove from oven and comletely cool on a wire rack.  If you add the cool ingredients before completely cool they will run and separate.

Once cake base is cool, proceed with following steps. 

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese & confectioners sugar.   Once creamed, fold in 2 1/2 cups of whipped cream with spatula.    Spread onto cooled base.


In medium bowl (preferrably metal to keep ingredients cool) combine chocolate pudding mix and milk.  Let this stand so that it thickens to a pudding consistancy.  Spread layer on top of the cream cheese mixture. 

Top layers with remaining whip cream.  I like to top this with chocolate shavings or morsels to give it that extra appeal.

Let'm eat cake!

For the love of cheesecake... or pie!

So excited to announce that I have added a Facebook page for Cake and Bakes!  Please check it out an join the party!

A sample of what you might find.....

Oh, pumpkin cheesecake.  How I love thee!  This is so much like a pumpkin pie and yet it is creamier with the cheesecake just melting in your mouth!

How about this sweet favorite.

Home-made Pecan Pie

 Pecan pie that is made from scratch from the crust up.  What more can you say about a classic favorite?!   I don't think this is a treat just for the fall holidays.  My family just gobbles it up whenever it is around here! 

What is your favorite (homemade or store bought) treat?  What would you like to see posted on here to encourage your love for baking? 

 Post your comments and remember....

 Let them eat cake!  (or cheesecake, whatever you prefer).

Celebrate with cake! Happy Valentine's to all.

Now, let it be said that I am not much for the commercialized holidays and all that goes with it.   Feeling obligated to get gifts, receive flowers, candy, etc.   Tell the person/people in your life that you love them every day, not just when the retailers want you to!  Besides my need to fight "the man" on this, my dad passed away at Valentine's, so this "holiday" really doesn't stir up the emotion within me to celebrate.

This year however, I decided to treat my family to a special day.  My sister and I made our families dinner.  To end the evening right, I make a yummy two tier cake all decked out in Valentine's garb.

The cake was amazing.  Strawberry/cream cheese on one tier and the other tier vanilla with a strawberry filling.  Can you say yum?   I have edited a fondant recipe that I found on the net and whollah!  Fondant that tastes as close to icing as it can possibly get.  Who could ask for more?


In future posts I will add recipes, but this being my first post (and only my second ever fondant cake), I wanted to keep it simple.

So, I think a picture speaks louder than all my gibberish and without further ado -

Let them eat cake!