Spongebob Cookies

These were very labor-intensive. Lots of colors to mix and flood. I had to do everything by hand, so they're a bit wobbly. I made these as a surprise for a friend.



I'm not sure, after all the work, that I'd like to make these again. They take so long. But they are cute, no?

Birthday Cakes - Hello Kitty style

Yes, we are on a Hello Kitty kick. First the cookies, then the cupcakes for school and now, the birthday cakes.



I was too busy and too rushed to get pictures as they were being made. I lost a day (long story) to a dress rehearsal Jake had to go to Friday night (the party was Saturday), so my baking schedule got kicked into overdrive.

Here are the final pictures of the two cakes I made for her party. Why two? She wanted carrot cake and I was not sure if everyone invited was a fan of carrot cake, so I made a butter cake as well.










I hadn't put the inscription on the cake yet.





On the left, we have the carrot cake with cream cheese icing. On the right, an almond butter cake, with butter cream icing, covered in homemade marshmallow fondant and gum paste accents.

Birthday Hello Kitty Cupcakes

Happy 6th Birthday to my wonderful angel-muffin.

I decided to make Hello Kitty cupcakes for her class. Her birthday is today, Monday March 1 and she will be in school most of the day. I opted for boxed cake mix because it is quick and easy. I also opted for premade frosting as well, so I could try a new trick I learned off the internet.

I took the icing, tinted it pink, and microwaved it for 5 seconds, took it out stirred it and microwaved it another 5 seconds. This made the premade icing very runny. We took the cupcakes and bobbed them up and down in the icing (see Isabel below.)



We then set them on wax paper to set. Look how pretty they look and how smooth.






We then used royal icing to outline some Hello Kitty head shapes onto the icing. Do not use the thinner "flooding" consistency to fill or flood them in; too runny. We used the same icing we used for the outlines to fill them in.








After they dried, I used some black royal icing to make the eyes and whiskers. The nose and bows were made using Food Color pens.

Voila! Hello Kitty Cupcakes.




UPDATE: We are not allowed to bring home baked goods to school.

What a sad, sad world.

My co-workers and family will have to enjoy these labors of love my daughter and I made. We ended up buying premade ones from Wal-mart. :(

Words Fail (a Cake Wreck)

I am by no means professional. I was pretty much self-taught until I took two Wilton classes last fall. I've only made silly/cutesy cakes. I wanted to try something new and classy.



I also decided to try a new recipe at the same time as being new and exciting with the decorating.



I am an idiot.

The cake itself was very tasty. I got this recipe from Cake Central. It was like eating a soft Oreo. The problem was they all broke coming out of the pans. All 4. In the soft cake, I placed a strawberry filling. Then I decided to try a new icing recipe; chocolate ganash. So, new cake, filled with strawberry, & new icing.

All is well, sort of, until I try to ice it with buttercream. The broken parts broke even further. The cakes were leaning. The home made fondant was sticking, the ganache was oozing from under the fondant. ARGH!!!!

I gave up.






I didn't want red icing. I wanted a red ribbon, but the ganache made it impossible.

It's also "bowl-shaped because there was no way to carve this cake level. It tore.

Words failed me. Oh wait. They didn't.





If at first you don't succeed...


pitch a fit, swear you're never trying a fancy cake again and go to bed angry.

Then wake up, breathe and know you will try again.

Hello Kitty Cookies

First, you order some cookie cutters. From Japan. Not kidding. Overpriced but what can I say, I wanted them. :)



The smaller cookie cutter is a set that has feet which are supposed to slide into the body. We baked, cooled and iced the cookies. Here are the feet.











There's that tongue again. :)










Cookies don't bake exactly the same, so you are never going to get the feet exactly the same every time. Getting these to stand was a chore.









When all is done.......Om Nom Nom!!

Superbowl Party Cake

We were invited to a Superbowl Party. Now, we none are sports fans (except for me, and pretty much only when it involves my Alma Mater, the Florida Gators.) We're going for the food and company.

I offered up a carrot cake, as its been the cake of choice these past two weeks. I decided to add a little fun to the cake.

Say Hello to the New Orleans Saints fan. Cool hair, eh?

This is a ratty couch. Hey, it's my first couch, give me a break. :)

Here are bug-eyed lady and her man, Saints Fan.

At their feet are some snacks, cups and a Colts football cap.

Here is Mr. Colts Fan, standing up, holding his arms aloft. What is he whooping at? Why is Mr. Saints Fan pointing? WHAT are they looking at?

This.

The frosting's ugly, but I still like it!

Be it the Colts or the Saints, I hope everyone has a fun time watching the game this evening.

A Topper for a Friend

Remember the birthday cake I made for my friend Jose? Click here. I made the cake for him on his actual birthday, which landed on a Wednesday. His wife threw him a 40th birthday party yesterday, Saturday. She had saved the "Jose" topper and gave it to the person making Jose's cake for the party, asking her to put it on the cake.


Jose's wife Nelly calls me on my cell as I am driving home from work on Friday, and asks me if I could please make a figurine of her so she could place it on the cake next to Jose's figurine.

Here she is, without her teeth.







Here she is, almost assembled.







The problem with gumpaste is that it needs more than 24 hours to harden. I had less than that to get it made and to her, so I was very worried.




At the party, we placed the topper on the cake and propped her up because she was stil soft. Nelly loved her!