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.

Happy 50th Jerry and Judy!

A co-worker that I refer to only as "Mama May" (she is my work mom) asked me to make a birthday cake for her husband and his twin sister's 50th birthday party at the beginning of this month. After searching for ideas to incorporate 100 years (their ages combined), I decided to go with the practical "Over the Hill" theme but add some of my own touches to it. Happy 50th Jerry and Judy! May your next 50 be just as fabulous!

It's Been a While - Flashback

 

Unfortunately the start of the new school year along with finishing up my masters degree has taken up the majority of my time and time I'd like to be baking is spent writing lesson plans. While I have a few upcoming cakes to make for family and friends I decided to have a flashback to my summer.

This summer I was able to teach a cooking class at the middle school. Our final project of the summer was making and decorating cakes...here are my future baking assistant's pieces of art!