Chocolate Mint Deliciousness!

Along with two children birthday parties to make cakes for this weekend I also have a good friend's birthday dinner on Saturday night...so that was more than another reason to bake!

I love Pinterest (Geoff would be the first to tell you that I'm addicted) and I love finding recipes on there. This week I saw a post for a dark chocolate cupcake with mint frosting and I knew Jami's birthday would be a great reason to test out this recipe.

The real compliment came when my mom tested one out for me and said they were fantastic (she's not a big cupcake eater). I'm thinking with St. Patrick's Day only two weeks away I have another great excuse to make these tasty treats!

Happy Birthday Jami! I hope you had a great day!

Happy Birthday Hetland Girls!

Two birthdays. One house. And drastically different themes!

My mom's boss and his wife approached me and asked me to make cakes for their six and eight year olds birthday parties which happened to be on the same weekend. One thing I love about making cakes for kids is the excitement on their faces when they see their cakes, and these girls did not disappoint.

The six year olds party on Saturday was an ice fishing theme and with her favorite color being blue, a blue fish seemed like the perfect cake for her. I made the cake using directions from Wilton.com. It is two semi-circle cakes held together with frosting and it's decorated with candy melt fins and cake ball eyes.

On Sunday the eight year old was having a very girly party and requested a chocolate American Girl Cake, which is the cake you get if you have a birthday party at an American Girl store. Her face lit up when she saw the cake, and it of course made my day.

Happy Birthday Hetland Girls!!!

When Kids say They're Bad...They're Bad!

Through my obsession with cooking shows I've learned one thing, you always try your dish before you serve it to the judges. Or as a baker, you always test a recipe before you make it for someone. As a teacher I have a great group of guinea pigs who are more than willing to try anything I make.

When I found a Cookies and Cream Cupcake recipe I thought there was no way it would not be delicious. So for Valentine's Day I made my homeroom students some treats, and luckily there were a few left over, so I had to try one. As I ate it I thought, "This is bad!" (But of course I continued to eat the whole thing, just what I needed calories and carbs from something that didn't even taste good) It was dry, hard, and just plain yucky! The kids confirmed my thoughts yesterday, kids are honest and they had no problem telling me they didn't like them.

Oh well. You bake and learn. At least they were beautiful!!!!

Me Eat Cookie!

Hands down my favorite Sesame Street character was Cookie Monster, most likely because he reminds me so much of myself. So when Geoff's co-worker wanted a Cookie Monster cake I was more than happy to give it a try!

The cake making included a few disasters. First of all, the birthday boy has an egg allergy so it was my first attempt at an egg free cake. It went alright, but I had no way to judge if it tasted good...I'm not sure what egg free baked goods are supposed to taste like. Then my habit of multi-tasking got the best of me when I was on using FaceTime on my phone while cleaning up the kitchen after a night of baking and the cookie monster portion of the cake went right into a sink full of dish water.

It all worked out great. The Birthday Boy loved his cake. I re-did cookie monster using nothing other than a cookie. And most importantly, I had a blast going back to my childhood looking up sesame street pictures online...because after all, I bake because I love it!

Cakes for a Cause

Last fall I was approached by a family friend and asked if I would be interested in donating my services to the Nativity of Our Lord School auction. It was an easy decision...a reason to make more cakes and also a way to help out...I was more than happy to say yes.

Cakes for a Year was auctioned off in early November and since then I have had the opportunity to make three cakes for a wonderful local family. I look forward each month to stopping at their house to drop off the requested cake. This month's cake is a birthday cake for the man of the house. I hope he enjoys it and I hope the family enjoys their remaining 9 months of cake eating as much as I enjoy making them.

Brewer Baby Shower

I must admit, 11 years ago when I was a senior in high school I didn't picture myself some day making baby shower cakes for my friends. A few months ago I made cupcakes for a friend, Donna's, baby shower and then later made her little girl's baptism cake. This month she asked me to make a cake for another friend we graduated with who is now her sister in law.

 

Colleen and Donna are both huge Brewer fans and since Colleen is having a little boy it was the perfect theme.

Congratulations Colleen!!!

Dreams

I have to start this post by saying it has nothing to do with showing off a cake I did (I actually think the product of this post is cheesy and messy). The cake is just significant of something more. It has been my dream for the better part of a year now to some day be able to hang up my teaching hat in exchange for an apron and open a bakery, and I really thought no one else would ever be on board with such a ridiculous idea, until I met Geoff that is.

 

In addition to being an incredible boyfriend he is also a motivator for this ambition in life ... (Who also likes to claim I never make him anything.)

So here you go Geoff...a red velvet cake, made start to finish in one and a half hours, decorated in the most cheesy way I could think of in the little amount of time I had. Thanks for believing in me more than I do at times. I don't know what I'd do without you.