Tuesday, February 17, 2009

The domestic goddess

I've been looking at these for ages. They have tempted me and intrigued me and I knew I just had to try them. What are they? Cupcake pops! Yes, candy covered cake truffles that are to die for! I found them on Bakerella who is the queen of these little beauties and has even been featured on Martha Stewart for them. Click here for her tutorial on how to make them and enjoy my attempt. I used a box mix for the red velvet and canned frosting which I usually hate but I was pressed for time since I was doing these for my daughter's class party the next day. This is a time consuming project but worth every minute!



Big bowl of red mush - red velvet cake crumbled with a can of cream cheese frosting! I could have sat there and eaten the entire bowl but I had a job to do!
Best thing to come out of my daughter's Easy Bake Oven - perfect sized heart cookie cutter

I got lazy after doing enough for her class and just rolled balls with the rest of the dough. One batch makes about 50 or so truffles! I stuck them in the freezer for about 30 minutes before dipping. You may want to wear gloves while doing this. I ended up with pink hands.

Dipped in white Wilton's Candy Melts and covered in sprinkles! I just melted the candy in the microwave in 30 second increments. Dipped the pops and then put them in the fridge to cool.

Wrapped in a small treat bag & tied with a bow! Happy Valentine's Day!

These are delicious! Very moist cake center coupled with the crunchy candy coating. Perfection! The supplies are super easy to find too. I found all the ingredients, lolly-pop sticks, candy coating - everything at Walmart! They have an entire Wilton's section! Who knew?!












Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Because Loretta Lynn's daughter said so

Oh my poor baking blog, how I have neglected thee. It's not for lack of baking, just lack of posting motivation. I have no excuses so I won't offer any, I'll just say sorry and jump back on the bandwagon.
Over the holidays I was commissioned to bake three cakes for my husband's boss. Since I'm really more of a cupcake kind of gal, this task was pretty daunting. The first cake was a red velvet and it came out tasty but short and my icing skills were less than novice so it looked very sad. I was embarrassed but due to time constraints, was unable to start over. To my surprise, we got a text message the next day - "Loretta Lynn's daughter thinks you should open a bakery". OMG - Loretta Lynn's daughter was at the party where the saddest looking cake ever was served?! And she liked it?! I replied that if she would like to donate the start up, I would happily name it the Loretta Lynn Bakery. Alas, they did not agree. The next cake I made was a coconut version of a Tres Leche which again, delish! But it's a basic sheet cake and not much to look at. By my third cake, I had better tools and more practice. I made a German Chocolate cake that I have been craving ever since. I decorated it, not perfectly, but pretty darn good for a beginner. I was so proud, I even did a littl "Ta Da!" move to my hubby when completed.

I then began to delve into the world of fondant. I was a bit intimidated but after reading other sites and instructions, it didn't look that bad so I made a cake for a friend's baby shower:
and some fetus cookies (blame Cakewrecks)

This past weekend, while nursing a post-surgical kidney (yes, I am a glutton for punishment) I baked a cake for the Super Bowl:
It's not perfect but it was fun to make! And totally worth the $11.99 football shaped pan.



So I have been baking, just being lazy about sharing. I promise it won't happen again soon. Tomorrow is my brother's birthday and I have a couple of ideas up my sleeve. ;)