1st post-move cake!

I haven't made a cake since May! 

(might have something to do with the fact that this summer I drove through 16 states in 30 days and we moved halfway across the country)

So, I don't have a ginormous kitchen any more (although I'm thinking I actually have the same amount of counter space in this apartment...hmm....) but I was anxious to get back to baking!

My husband volunteered me (behind my back) to make a cake for a going away party at his work. 

For someone he's barely met. 

Because he didn't want to pay the $10 toward the party. 

(Does he know how much these cakes cost???)

Anyway...  my husband tells me that this person worked in HIV research and could I make an HIV cake for him? Well, sure! 

Here is my reference picture:

Of course while I'm counting how many circles and bars to make he's blabbing to me about how it doesn't have to be perfect. Um... death stare! Of course it should be exact!

(Later I realized that he meant this is a 2D pic of a 3D form and we're looking into the inside and there could be lots of little yellow 'trees' all over the outside of the form, not necessarily 13 of them or even these colors... but oh well, right?)

Okay...this time around I tried to do a little more photo documenting instead of just presenting a final product. 

Unfortunately, I didn't remember this until I had baked and covered the cake. 

Oops!

It's a shame too, because I used a dome cake this time (thanks to my friend J for giving that pan set to me!) and it would have been neat to show how I had to fit it all together.

Maybe S will take a picture when they cut into it at the party?

So, I remembered to take pics right in the middle of my mess-making...

I, of course, always make a mess when I bake. 

You can see a small part of that constarch-y explosion with my little cut pieces:

Just imagine it all over the kitchen!

I got the base fondant layers on the cake:

No, those aren't two different cakes... I was trying out flash settings on my iphone. The second picture is a little more realistic of the actual colors.

Once I was able to focus on the details part of the decorating, I realized that my 'trees' were going to be way too big to put on a toothpick and still be supported in the cake. I almost taped toothpicks together to make it longer. (I was desperate!)

Then I remembered I had some lollipop sticks from some cake pops! Phew!

Cover with a little fondant rolled around the middle and they're all set!

Next up: add the yellow tops to the 'trees'. 

Maybe I should ask my husband what the 'trees' really are? naaaaah!

And then while those were setting, I got the orange and white balls and added them on.

My next step was going to be to get the last tiny bit of my buttercream frosting to pipe the little white lines and dots in the center of the image. 

But, I couldn't get my makeshift piping bag (ziplock) to pipe that small in a smooth line. 

Enter the fondant again!

I ended up painting the top of the little designs with some gel coloring b/c I was afraid it would take too long to color each part of the fondant the way I wanted (and make it in time for the party), but I'm actually really pleased with the painted look. 

It's kinda fun, and the white borders make them stand out!

Next, I added the 'trees'. 

Looks pretty, huh? I really like the bright colors against each other!

And, I like how the 'trees' give it a little more 3D awesomeness.

Okay, and just for a little comparison:

This was fun to make, and I'm happy to be baking again!

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got a text from S after I took it up to his work:

'Everyone loves it, by the way. Dr. Gillis identified it right when I walked in the door and she made Marc ID it before the party started. He had a great look on his face. Good job, babe.'

Hooray!

Bang Bang!

I was fortunate enough to be in two different musicals with a local church, First United Methodist. 

The first year I was in My Fair Lady (top 5 favorite musicals of all time) and this last year I was in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. 

The cast was really an amazing group of people and I really wanted to do a little baking for them. 

But, with a cast of 60+ a regular cake during rehearsals would be a little tricky. 

So, I decided to tackle the cake balls again. 

Now, two years ago, I had successfully made 2 cake pops:

hello kitty - for my friend Jessica's birthday, and

a little chickie I was trying to take to an Easter/Family reunion thing. 

So, 2. Oh believe me...there were supposed to be more:

The problem was that my chocolate was a brand I'm not fond of (but had no other option) or that I had them too cold before I dipped them.... because all the rest cracked or oozed and weren't cute at all. :(

But, that was then, and these were just cake balls. 

A little dip in the vat of chocolate. A nicely contrasting drizzle on top. Easy and done :)

It also helped that they were in the mini cupcake liners. Made them look like truffles I think. 

Strawberry, cream cheese truffles covered in white and dark chocolate.

YUM!

Bakerella?

Somehow I managed to stumble upon the website www.bakerella.com

I am in heaven. She's just marvelous!! I saw some postings about cake balls. 

I didn't know what they were but I knew I wanted to try them. 

So, I decided that K's 3rd birthday would be based on the Very Hungry Caterpillar book and I could make cake balls for the body segments.

My awesome friend Liz made her invite for me....and totally rocked it!!

So it's the day of, I'm rushed (as usual) and I'm ready to get this stuff going.

Apparently I was so excited about the cuteness of cake balls, I didn't really read the instructions well. 

I almost made them without baking the cake first! I thought you just used the dry mix with the frosting. 

Good thing I thought it seemed really weird and double checked!

Well, I made the 'the right way' but since I really didn't know what I was doing...they flopped.

Partly because my town only has a certain brand of melting chocolates (they suck) and they didn't cover the balls well. Also because I didn't know it would take so long to dip each ball and I was in a hurry.

So there are the 6 segments on the caterpillar. And you see that leaf to the right? Yeah...the one that looks like a cake sandwich? Yeah...that's the leftover mix there. Live and learn, right?

But, the kiddo was happy about the party (and literally will still bring it up today, 1.5 years later!), and I did get all of the fruits and other foods from the story made (and in the correct number) so that was awesome. :)

Oh yeah! And looking at this pic reminded me that I also tried this cherry pie pop recipe from Bakerella and they were perfect! Probably my favorite, actually :)