Block O Grooms Cake

Soon after my brother Jason and his wife Monica started making wedding plans, Monica asked if I could make a surprise Groom's Cake for Jason. Of course I said yes...that was a no brainer! I knew I'd have my hands full, making 100 cupcakes as well as a surprise groom's cake..in a kitchen that wasn't mine, and trying to get the grooms cake finished without my brother finding out. I figured the best way to go was a Block O, since Jason attended the Ohio State University and was in the Ohio State University Marching Band. Our family is full of Buckeye fans...both the college "Buckeyes" as well as the candy ones. I decided to try to replicate a buckeye in the cake- chocolate cake filled with peanut butter mousse and topped with chocolate buttercream under the marshmallow fondant. I had my work cut out for me.

I did a trial run a few weeks before the wedding, to make sure everything worked out well. I originally planned just to ice the cake with red and white buttercream, but I didn't like the way it looked once it was finished. That's when I decided fondant was the way to go. I also knew this cake wouldn't be complete without the Candy buckeyes all Buckeye fans love!

All said and done, Jason knew we were trying to pull something over on him. None of us females are all that great at keeping secrets! I think he was happy with the cake though...and I know the guests enjoyed it!

Buckeye Cake recipes from many sources, listed below


Chocolate Cake: my favorite chocolate cake recipe x 2 and baked in 9x13 cake pans. Can be baked ahead and frozen if desired, as the assembly and decorating takes some time.


Peanut Butter Mousse Filling: from Cafe Johnsonia


2 C peanut butter, not natural
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 C heavy cream, chilled


In large bowl, mix peanut butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, mix until all sugar has been incorporated....this mixture will be thick! Set aside. In bowl (preferably chilled) of stand mixer, beat heavy cream with whisk attachment on high speed until soft peaks form. Using a large spatula, gently fold whipped cream into peanut butter mixture in two additions. The first lightens the mixture without deflating the whipped cream. The second lightens it even more, and smooths it out. Cover and chill until ready to assemble cake.


Chocolate Buttercream Icing from Brown Eyed Baker


2 C (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 C powdered Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla
8 oz semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled


Using whisk attachment of stand mixer, mix butter on high speed until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl as needed. Add powdered sugar in small batches, and mix well on low speed after each addition. Once all powdered sugar has been added add vanilla and mix on medium speed. Add chocolate and continue to mix until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as needed. 


Marshmallow Fondant from Whats Cooking America with Peggy Weaver


1 16 oz package mini marshmallows
2-5 Tbsp water
2 lb powdered sugar
1/2 C shortening

Place marshmallows and 2 Tbsp water in large microwavable bowl. Microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes, in 30 second increments. Stir after each 30 seconds is up. Remove from microwave, and add 3/4 of the powdered sugar to the bowl. Use a wooden or plastic spoon to stir to mix partially, then dump contents of bowl onto shortening covered work surface. Using your hands (also well greased with shortening), knead fondant like you would knead bread..I use the push, fold, turn and repeat method. Add the remaining sugar as you knead. If the fondant starts to stick to your work surface or hands, recover with shortening. If fondant starts to tear, add water, 1/2 tbsp at a time, kneading well after each addition. This is a lot of work...I find that it takes 7-8 minutes and several applications of shortening to get the fondant to a nice stretchable state. Shape into a ball, rub outside with shortening, and wrap in plastic wrap (2 layers) before refrigerating. I find the fondant easier to work with after being refrigerated. Let come to room temperature before attemping to knead. Color or flavoring can be added as you knead before rolling out. I covered my cake with white fondant, cut the "O" out of white fondant, then "painted" with red gel food coloring mixed with a little vodka. The alcohol evaporates, and it thins the gel enough to paint with. The green for the leaves I mixed food coloring with fondant and kneaded since it was such a small amount.

I suggest checking out Peggy's site for a great in-depth tutorial on working with Fondant, complete with pictures. I'm not doing the process justice,as I am still learning.


Candy Buckeyes: adaped from AllRecipes.com and previously posted on my site.

Cake preparation and assembly:
I baked my cakes ahead of time, wrapped in plastic wrap x3 layers and froze them. I had to transport all of my cooking utensils with me to West Palm Beach, so I wanted to make the process as easy as possible.

Made the mousse, stuck in the fridge, then made the frosting.

I drew the block O on wax paper and used that as a stencil for trimming the cakes before filling and frosting.
I also used a simple syrup to brush on the cakes for a little added moisture. Filled with mousse, stacked cakes, crumb-coated with a light layer of buttercream and stuck in the fridge.

While the crumb-coat was setting, I made the fondant. I didn't frost the cake until I had the fondant ready to go, as I wanted the fondant to stick to the buttercream well. I Cut out the block O, painted with red food coloring and let dry. Made the green fondant, and cut out my leaves. I adhered these pieces to the cake using a little bit of simple syrup. Tinted a little white buttercream red to pipe around the edges of the cake to give it a more finished look.

I made the buckeyes last, and placed them on and around the cake after I placed the cake on the dessert table.

One lesson learned: Warm, humid weather and buttercream don't mix...as the evening went on I noticed the fondant had cracked and started to slide a little. All in all, I was super happy with my first big fondant cake! I thought it looked great on the dessert table, and it gave the newlyweds a cake to cut for pictures!

Photo Courtesy of Dawn V. Gilmore Photography

Busy, Busy Girl!

I've had a busy few weeks, and while I've done a lot of baking I haven't had the time to do much blogging. I am a little behind with my posting, so I thought I'd at least post pics of my latest goodies and will follow up with recipes soon!!

Top of Beach Wedding Cake for Monica's Bridal Shower Dinner

Beach Wedding Cake with White Chocolate Shells

Cupcake Toppers for Jason and Monica's Wedding

Block O Groom's Cake for Jason

Cake Table at Jason & Monica's Wedding

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cake

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcake

Rose Cake

White Cupcakes with Chocolate & Maple Buttercreams Swirled

Be back soon with recipes!!

Cookie-Sour Cream Cake

I promised recipes...so here's the cake recipe! As I  mentioned in my previous post, the bottom tier of this cake is my favorite Chocolate Cake recipe, which I've used in many posts- most recently in the Snickers Cake. It's a great recipe- and it has turned out a wonderfully moist cake every time I've used it. This time i paired it with the same Vanilla Buttercream I used with the Cookie-Sour Cream Cake in the top layer.

I made cupcakes for the Cooker Boy's birthday celebration at Daycare, and tried a new recipe that turned out really well, the Cookie-Sour Cream Cake. I decided to use that same recipe for the top layer of the birthday cake because it is  really delicious and something a little unexpected. It's great paired with Vanilla Buttercream, and I topped this layer with homemade Marshmallow Fondant.

All in all, I was pleased with how this cake turned out. Being my first time making a multi-tiered cake as well as my first time making and working with Marshmallow Fondant, I can't complain. The guests at our party were all impressed, and the Birthday Boy was super excited to get the cake he'd picked out a few weeks earlier.

Cookie-Sour Cream Cake from The New Betty Crocker Cookbook
As is, this recipe makes one 8-inch layer, or 12 cupcakes. Double for a layered cake if desired.


1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup stick butter, softened
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
8 cream filled sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pan with nonstick spray, or fill muffin tin with paper liners.

Combine all ingredients except cookies in large bowl, and mix on low speed with electric mixer for 30 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl frequently. Increase speed to high, and continue beating for 2 minutes, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Stir in cookies and pour into pan or fill muffin liners 2/3 full.

Bake cake 30-35 minutes- cupcakes 25-30 minutes- or until cake springs back when touched. Cool 10 minutes, then remove from pan to wire rack.

Vanilla Buttercream from The New Betty Crocker Cookbook


3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup stick butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk

Cream butter in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed. Add powdered sugar slowly, beating until combined. Add vanilla and milk, increase speed to high and beat until smooth. If needed, add more milk 1 tablespoon at a time to thin to a spreadable consistency.

Marshmallow Fondant 

Instead of trying to rephrase the site I got this recipe from, I'm gonna tell you to just check out Peggy Weaver on What's Cooking America. She has the recipe as well as instructions for working with fondant. I couldn't do this process justice, as I've only made it once. The fondant has a great marshmallowy taste to it, instead of the strange aftertaste I noticed when I used a pre-made version. I'll definitely be trying  this again!

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

The Cooker Boy's 4th Birthday

It's my Birthday!!

This past Sunday was the Cooker Boy's 4th birthday. I can't believe how fast he's growing up! This is the first year that he has been really excited about his birthday, and he had been planning a Spiderman-themed party for months. A group of our family and close friends gathered at our house to celebrate, Spidey Style- complete with "web"...that story will follow!

A few weeks ago, the Cooker Boy and I were both under the weather. We spent an afternoon lounging and looking at pictures of different Spiderman cakes on Flickr. The Cooker Boy was very vocal about what he liked and didn't like, and after about an hour of looking at cakes, he'd picked his favorite. I wasn't so sure I could pull it off, but I would certainly try. Check out the inspiration here.

This cake is definitely far from perfect, but being only the 2nd time I've worked with fondant, and the first time I've ever made a tiered cake, I was pleased! The bottom tier of the cake is my favorite Chocolate Cake recipe, the same recipe I used for my Snickers Cake. The top tier is a Sour Cream Cookie Cake that I found in my Betty Crocker Cookbook. It is a delicious cake! I'll be sure to get the recipe up this week. Both tiers are filled and covered with Vanilla Buttercream, and Spiderman's face is covered in homemade Marshmallow Fondant.

I made a cake the previous weekend using Wilton's premade fondant, and it worked well, but I wasn't super thrilled with the taste of the fondant. I found an easy recipe for Marshmallow Fondant and decided to give it a try. It was very easy to make and the taste is far better, but I had a little trouble with the rolling part. It seemed the Fondant was either too sticky or too dry at first- I just couldn't find the happy medium. After rolling and rerolling the same bunch of Fondant a few times, I pitched it and decided the bottom tier of the cake would just be covered in Buttercream. I saved the rest of the Fondant for Spiderman's face, and gave it a go the next day. I had much better luck the second time around!

As for the rest of the menu, we had:

Buffalo Chicken Dip with Pita and Tortilla Chips

Pigs in a Blanket

Spinach Artichoke Braid

3 Varieties of Chex Mix*

I have to say I underestimated the amount of food I'd need by far- either that or my guests were super hungry! I also forgot to take pictures of the food during the party! I'm still getting the hang of the food blogging thing, especially when it involves a party.  I'm not the kind of person to serve Pizza or premade food at a party, so I spent the morning/afternoon of the party cooking. I hadn't eaten anything all day myself, so I was shocked when I looked up to see most of the food had disappeared in minutes! I also forgot to mention that the Pigs in a Blanket were for the kiddos..(The Cooker Boy requested his Birthday Party Menu include Hot Dogs and Cheese sticks..so I compromised!) and they were inhaled by the adults! I guess we're all kids at heart.

We had a great time- the Birthday boy was super excited about having his friends over for a party, and especially about his Spiderman Cake. Here are some pictures:

Whack-a-mole! Mommy's favorite arcade game turned into a home version!

Evan helping Ben out on his new wheels

The following is what happens when your good friends (who happen to be childless at this point in time) give your child a Spiderman Glove that shoots real "web" (silly string). Revenge is sweet my friends, just wait until you have kids and Auntie Beth comes to visit!

I had "web" on my ceiling..ceiling fan..floor..walls..

Arni was the tallest guy around, and could still barely get the "web" off my ceiling!

Thanks to everyone who came to the party- we had a great time. Your friendship and love mean so much to Ben and I- loud games and silly string included!

Check out my friend Kaytie's blog, Confessions of a Viking Wife. I love her account of the web incident! Kaytie and her hubby Arni are newlyweds, and they are leaving the Sunshine state to move to Colorado in January. We're gonna miss you, but I'm glad I can follow your adventures on your blog!

Recipes will follow soon!

*The Chex Mix was generously provided by General Mills as part of a MyGetTogether party package I recieved through my participation in the Psst...network.

Fun with Fondant

Just have to share that I finally tried covering a cake with fondant- and it doesn't look horrible!

This is a test run, I wanted to get used to the feel of rolling fondant and covering a cake with it before I attempted the birthday cake the Cooker Boy has requested. We spent hours looking at pictures of Spiderman Cakes on Flickr a few weeks ago when we were both home sick, and this is what the Cooker Boy has decided his 4th birthday cake must look like:

from FredBarnie on Flickr

I certainly wasn't going to try to make something like this without playing with fondant first! Now that I've got the feel for it, I can't wait to see how this cake turns out next weekend!

Wish me luck...

Ghosts in the Graveyard

 

This project was an entry in the Nestle's Toll House Spooktacular Baking Activity Contest. The contest requirements were to create a baking activity that could be done as a family using Nestle's Toll House Refrigerated Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I decided to do a graveyard, as I really wanted to try my hand at fondant- and ghosts seemed like an easy option!

I'm sad to say that my entry didn't move on to the top ten to be voted on by the public, but I'd still like to share it with you. I had a great time with this project, and was really pleased with the end result. I wasn't able to convince The Cooker Boy to help me with this project, but there are several elements he could have handled.

Printable Recipe

You will need:

1 Big Batch Roll of Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

1 can chocolate icing (or make some Chocolate Buttercream, using this recipe)

20 Oreos, finely crushed

1 package white fondant

Candy Pumpkins

Royal icing

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp meringue powder

2 tbsp water

Black Gel Food Coloring

Preheat the oven according to cookie dough package directions. Line a 13x9 baking sheet with foil.Set aside enough dough to make 3-4 cookies. Press remaining dough into a rectangle covering 3/4 of the baking sheet, and place cookies on bottom 1/4 of baking sheet. Bake 14-15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely.

While cookies are cooling, make fondant ghosts. Knead fondant with hands until nice and pliable.Take a small piece of fondant and roll between hands to form an oval. Press on table to flatten the bottom. Repeat for desired number of ghosts, and set aside. Roll remaining fondant out to 1/16 in thickness. Cut out circles using cookie cutters or drinking glass, depending on size of ghost desired. The radius of the circle should be wider than the oval is tall. Take a circle and drape over each oval, draping to get a nice ghostly shape. Set aside to dry. When dry, use a toothpick dipped in black gel food coloring to apply faces. When not using fondant, keep wrapped in plastic wrap as it will dry out quickly.

When ready to assemble, prepare "tombstones" by using a knife to cut cookies into a tombstone shape. Prepare royal icing by mixing all ingredients except food coloring in a small bowl. Continue mixing until icing has lost its shine, and is at the desired consistency. Add more powdered sugar for thicker icing, more water to thin if needed. Add a small amount of food coloring, and stir until desired gray color is achieved.

Cover tops and sides of "tombstones"  with gray icing, and let dry. Spread a thick layer chocolate icing on big cookie, and top with crushed oreos. Reserve some of the crushed oreos to mound in front of tombstones. 

When tombstones are dry, use a toothpick dipped in black food coloring to write RIP or desired messages. Place tombstones in desired location on big cookie, and prop up with toothpicks if necessary. Mound crushed oreos in front of tombstones.

Place ghosts and pumpkins where desired. I even tried to make fondant bones. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your ghostly creativeness.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!