Rose Cake

I saw a cake like this on I am Baker, and thought it was absolutely gorgeous....as well as something I must try! I found this lovely little cake stand at T.J. Maxx, and needed something to put on it, so I decided to try my hand at this decorating technique. I used a chocolate cake mix to get my cake layers made quickly, and whipped up a batch of Kahlua Buttercream, and went at it.

I prepared this like I would any other layer cake- froze, filled, crumb coated, and frosted. I put the cake in the fridge to set the base layer of frosting, so I could wipe off any mistakes if I needed to (which I did...a few times). Once I got the hang of it, I realized that Amanda of I am Baker is a genius. This is a really simple technique that when finishes leaves you with a stunning cake!

I will send you to Amanda's site, I am Baker, as she has wonderful step by step instructions on how to make this cake. I promise, it IS as simple as it sounds. The rest of her site is amazing as well- I try a lot of recipes I find here. If you find yourself with a few minutes, nose around. You won't be sorry!

Kahlua Buttercream

2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
4 tbsp Kahlua or Kahlua flavored creamer
1 tsp vanilla

Cream butter in bowl of stand mixer using whip attachment. Add powdered sugar in small additions, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla then Kahlua (or creamer) 1 tbsp at a time, using more or less to achieve the desired consistency.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

Big Birthday Cake for my Little Brother

My "little" brother turned 30 this year, and that makes me feel older than my own 30th birthday did! My brother is the general manager of a local bar, so we decided to celebrate his birthday there and let some of his staff and customers in on the celebration. I decided  I'd make two cakes for his birthday, one for our family dinner, and one for the celebration at the bar.

The big cake was a moist chocolate cake covered in chocolate ganache with a hint of Chambord, filled with the same ganache and seedless raspberry jam. Yum, yum, yum. I am a big fan of chocolate and raspberry, and this was the best combination yet! I also made a small amount of white chocolate ganache flavored with Chambord to use for decoration. Obviously I need to work on writing on cake...Ganache probably wasn't the easiest to start with! The white chocolate, however messy, was a great contrast to the rest of the cake,

This cake recipe is large..it made 2 full 9x13 layers! I ended up mixing the batter in halves based on the suggestion of Deb at Smitten Kitchen, the blogger I got the recipe from...the full recipe would have been way too much for my mixer to handle.

Chocolate Butter Cake with Bittersweet Chambord Ganache
adapted from  Smitten Kitchen

Cake:
5 1/3 C. cake flour
5 1/3 C. sugar
2 2/3 C. unsweetened cocoa powder (not dutch process)
6 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
5 1/3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 C. buttermilk
5 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
2 2/3 C. freshly brewed coffee
1 C. seedless raspberry jam

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 9x13 inch pans with baking spray, and line bottom of pans with parchment paper.

Combine dry ingredients in large mixer bowl. Whisk ingredients until combined. Add buttermilk and butter and mix on low until moistened. Increase speed to medium high and mix until batter is light and fluffy, between 2-3 minutes.

Combine eggs and coffee in a medium bowl, and whisk until combined. Add to batter in 3 additions, scraping down the bowl after each addition and mixing until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared pans, each pan uses about 5 1/2 cups batter.

Bake at 350 55-60 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pans on wire rack 10-15 minutes, then carefully turn cakes out onto rack to cool completely.

Bittersweet Chambord Ganache

2 lbs bittersweet chocolate chips, I used Ghiridelli
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 C. heavy cream
1/3 C. chambord liqueur

Place chocolate chips in large bowl. Heat cream in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, removing from heat just before it boils. Pour over chocolate chips, and let sit for one minute. Whisk until smooth, then add butter, continuing to whisk until smooth. Stir in liqueur, and let cool to room temperature.

Assemble cake:

Place one layer on cake board and top with a thin layer of cooled ganache. Let ganache set, then spread 1 cup raspberry jam on top. Top with 2nd layer, and apply thin coat of ganache as a crumb coat to top and sides of cake. Let ganache set, then spread the remaining ganache over top and sides of cake. Top with fresh raspberries.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!!

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