A special treat for an amazing lady!

My grandmother was here in Florida for a few weeks and I decided to make a trip out to see her! I kept thinking as I was driving, Sherri what are you doing. Just turn around. Forget about it. It's not worth the headache. Well, I pushed on and pushed on and thought till I got into the driveway of my blood mothers house to just turn right around and go home. Obviously, I didn't. I was asked for a special request of cream puffs with "real" whipped cream! Well, I couldn't resist after I felt comfortable in my own skin to perceed with making them! Boy! They were good! I made them pink, for breast cancer awareness. My grandmother is a fighter and so far a survivor of it! Go Gram!

Chocolate Tower Torte

We all love chocolate! Right? Come on! Don't deny it! Well, I am not gonna deny it! I LOVE CHOCOLATE! Milk, Semi Sweet, Dark, and White! What I have created here is amazing! It is of course chocolate cake, with white buttercream, and chocoalte buttercream, decorated, sinfully with dark chocolate shavings and broken pieces. Talk about trying to put the fork down and not get another slice!  

Your My Best Friend

Not many people get to share a very special day with their best friend, but I do! My and my best friend share the best thing ever! Our birthday! It's almost here again! We always have to make a big compromise on what to do for a cake! Sometimes we have one cake, and lots of other times I am making two cakes! Just cause we share the same birthday, doesn't mean we have the same likes all the time! Well, This cake was super yummy! It is a chocolate cake with real coffee in it! Give's ya a lil kick in the butt to have a great birthday! It is loaded with yummy white chocolate and dark chocolate shavings! The inside had a yummy chocolate mousse! It was amazing!

I wonder what we will agree on for this years birthday celebration! I enjoy sharing this very special day with my best friend! This year it will be our 7th birthday celebration together! I look forward to many, many more!!!

Hope and Harmony

The weather here in Florida has been getting pretty hot! It has also been booming with weddings! One of my favorite things to do as a cake decorator is a wedding cake! I love the beauty and the elegance that a wedding cake can give! I also love knowing that I made that pesons day special. Everone always wants to know what the cake looks like! Right?!?! I know I do! Decorating wedding cakes brings out my true passion and my true love for the art! The cake I made here is very simple, but also very delecate and soft. To me it kind of does bring out harmony! I think so far it is one of my favorites! I love the white roses and the light olive green color, and the clear acrylic tube is something else! Who would have thought that someone would do a wedding cake in olive green? Well, you'd be surprised! Here it is guys and gals! The little one is a mini wedding cake to compliment the big one! Cute idea!

Brownie or fudge?

My sister came to visit me the other day! She told me she wanted to make brownies! So out came the good ol' recipe book. In this case it was the internet! We found such a yummy recipe! It is Bobby Flays recipe! Fudge Peanut Butter Caramel Brownies! These are sooo fudgey and chewy, that they need to stay in the fridge so they don't get all sticky and melt on you!  I tell ya, it is hard to eat just one!

The most requested part is the recipe! So here it is for all you die hard brownie lovers! Enjoy!

Ingredients

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup
Pinch sea salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into chunks
6 ounces high-quality unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, plus 4 ounces
1 teaspoon espresso powder
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown muscavado sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions

Bring the cream to a simmer over low heat in a small saucepan. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan over high heat and cook, without stirring until amber brown. Slowly whisk in the warm cream until smooth and let cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter, corn syrup, sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla extract until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and let cool until thickened at room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving an overhang on the narrow ends. Spray the foil and pan with nonstick spray.

Combine the butter, unsweetened chocolate, 2 ounces bittersweet chocolate and espresso powder in a medium bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Let the chocolate melt over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, both sugars, vanilla and salt until smooth. Whisk in the melted chocolate mixture until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the flour in 2 additions (the batter will be thick). Stir in the remaining 4 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Using a tablespoon, drop dollops of half of the peanut butter caramel every 2 inches over the top of the batter. Carefully add the remaining batter and smooth over the caramel. Smooth the top and dollop the remaining caramel over the top. Use a butter knife to swirl through the batter to get a marbleized effect.


Bake until the top is set but still soft and the edges are puffed and just beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 23 to 35 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center will come out still gooey (be brave!--underbaking the brownies is one of the secrets to their fudgy texture). Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the neatest cuts, refrigerate the pan for about 20 minutes before cutting the brownies. Using the foil, lift the brownie slab out of the pan. Carefully peel off the foil and put the brownie on a large cutting board. With a large sharp knife, cut the brownies into 48 squares. (The brownies can be stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3 days; they can also be frozen, well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.) I like to keep mine in the fridge! The stay in tact and are super yummy cold!

You don't know Jack!!!

I would like to introduce you too Jack!Jack Daniels that is! I say you gotta like the taste to enjoy the cake. I honestly never like the cake nor the taste, so I will just stick to what friends say! They request it to be made and I say no problem! I heard it was a good cake! I might try it someday. Maybe!!! 

I know it sure looks good!!!

Well world, this is Jack! And I tell ya what, you don't know Jack! So Jack this is the world!

When All Good Things Bitter Become Sweet And Tart!

Recently I had gone to our local supermarket and picked up a few lemons. I had some left over, so I decided to break out the ol' dusty cookbook, and explore the world of bunt cakes. It was a fun mess! Flour flying in the air with the mixer! The smell of lemon zest, and butter cruising around your smell sensors! The whole house got filled with the warm and comforting smell of lemon as the cake baked! Luckily we have plenty of friends who can help us devour this sweet ad tart creation! I know I sure will with a nice tall glass of milk! Or maybe some iced tea!!!!

Party Rascal!

I don't know what ya'll think, but I think that my little nephew Kaleb is gonna be a baseball player someday! This boy had such an awesome birthday last May! He was totally into running around, playing baseball, and just hanging out with the boys! He is soooo full of energy that all the aunts and uncles can spend the day playing with him! He is a handful! When all his energy is all draw out from running and swiming he will just plop down for a few minutes to recope, maybe steal a sip of Aunties water and just chill.

I do know one thing this boy does love more than playing, and that is cake! Of course it's Aunties cake! Well he asked his mommy for a Diego cake, so mommy requested it from me, and I was more then glad to make it for him! So I put the good ol' thinking cap on and figured out how to make his cake without an airbrush gun!

 

Happy 3rd Birthday to a hyper little firecracker!

First Birthday Celebrations for Joshua & Christian

I am an Aunt of 10 beautiful and amazing children! I have nine nephews and one niece! My 9 and 10 are angels. Joshua and Christian. Back in January my big sister Jodi was here from out of town and I decided to surprise my other sister Jessica, the mommy of my twin nephews with a surprise little family birthday party! Joshua and Christian already had a party, but I was unable to attend it due to work. I was determined that I was going to make them there first birthday cakes! No one was going to hold me back from being able to celebrate with them! Well their party was a blast! We had a food fight! Which was super funny! The boys were a little out of it becuase they had tubes put in their ears so they can hear us! My sister Jessica had no clue that I had cakes in my car when I arrived the night before the party! I was excited and couldn't wait for my sister and the twins to get back from the hospital!  

When the boys saw their cakes their eyes lite up!

Joshua was like oh man! This looks so yummy, and Christian was like hey bro, what do I do with this thing!

 

Above is Joshua devouring his cake! He looked so cute!

Above is Christian trying to figure out what to do!

Mommy and her boys before the food fight!!!

Christian always wanted to share! He was such an amazing boy! Joshua wanted to eat the whole cake all by himself!!! He literally did too!

All Gone!

That was after the food fight! It was sooo fun! We all had an amazing time! We are all so thankful to of had our angels here with us to celebrate their first birthday's! We love you both so much. We miss you lots. You will always be in our hearts, and in our minds. You will never be forgotten! Hugs and kisses forever and ever! Till we get to all be together again you will be greatly missed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=zdYVSDrPWTs

Make sure you click on the link above to see the video of Joshua and Christian enjoying every bit of their cakes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=AyTUJBaeHjM

Make sure you click on the link above to see the silly food fight!

Who loves Sesame Street More then a Big 1 Year Old!!!

When ever there is a special occasion for my nephews who live close to me, I always make their birthday cakes! It is something I have done for many years now! Well back in November it was my nephews first birthday! I got an extreme request from my sister! She wanted a sesame street themed cake for him! Alright, I thought! That's easy! Well, I was thinking it was going to be one of Wiltons Sesame Street Toy kits! Then the pictures started to come in! Oh boy! I was getting antsy! She emailed me a picture of this huge three tier cake! I was like, wow! Is this for a wedding! Lol! Well all jokes aside, I had to think out how I was going to do this. I had to travel from my house with this cake on a 2 1/2 hour drive. First thing I thought was, I will just do the whole thing at my parents house where the party was going to be. Then I thought, no I will ice the tiers and only have to put the cake together. That though surpassed. So, now my thought was to just crumb coat it and freeze it over night then travel with them frozen. Plan worked! Got to my parents house safely with the crumb coated cakes!

       So now I was on a time schedule the next morning! I thought, this is going to be a breeze! Well, not when your tired from traveling! And all stressed out over when the party starts and not having any problems! Yikes! What a nightmare! Well I pressed through with the help of my little nephew! He was a big help too! I think as he gets bigger he can help me make his cakes! He seemed very interesting in what Auntie was doing! After, I'd say about 3 hours of work. Extreme frustration, patience, and concentration paid off! I managed to master this beast! Even though there was a slight problem with the cake being tilted, and having to remove it to fix it. That was scary! Well, this is my master piece! And it was a good piece at that! Just ask the birthday boy and his momma!

Awwww. Pumpkin!

Did ya'll here that the Pumpkin was going to have a shortage from the field freezing, during the fall? Well I did, and I sure made a big deal about stocking up on my Libbys! I think I went pumpkin crazy during the fall season! About every other week I was messing around in the kitchen creating something to do with Pumpkin! I took a few snap shots of my creations! This first phot is of my Pumpkin Whoopie Pies! They have a smooth and cream cream cheese icing for the filling, and a fluffy and moist cake for the cookie part. I sprinkled some yummy cinnamon on top of them to enhance the spices some more! Perfect ending to a long day!

What about these yummy pumpkin mini mufins and this super moist pumpkin bread!Pumpkin just fills your house with such warmth and comfort! I like to save the best for last, so here it is! It was asked for since as long as I can remember. Well request granted! Someone very dear to me asked me to make this Pumpkin Roll multiple times! I was always hesitant, but I got over that real qick and just did it!I think all of these were fun and yummy! I can't wait till this season to get more creative with Pumpkin! I was thinking Pumpkin cheesecake, or Pumpkin Spice home made ice cream! You will just have to wait and see! Until then continue to droll over my creations! Until next time! I am sure you will be dreaming of these yummy Pumpkin Creations!

Picture Perfect!

When I think of a fella who enjoys fishing I think of a kind man. A respectful man. A man who is pround of his name, and very proud of his family! That would be Poppa! Mimmi and Poppa were down here for a few days back when Poppa had a birthday. I was super excited that I said I want to make him a cake! Home made! Well, I stuck the cake in the fridge and I ment to take it out so it was at room temperature. I forgot too. It was a bit dense! Hey, we win some, and we loose some! I lost the cake part, but I sure did win the design part! I came up with this clever idea to make Poppa's cake! I wanted it to resemble something he loved to do! I said hun, I'm gonna make Poppa a cake with a man fishing and I am going to call it Picture Perfect! I named it that cause it looks like a picture and it fits perfect with Poppa's hobby to fish! I am sure he thought it was very appreciative! I know I was very happy to make him a cake!

The funny thing is, I never cut out a stencil and then make an image from it with icing onto the cake. It was tricky! All my hard work pulled off!

Easter is Right around the corner!

One of my favorite times of the year is almost here! Easter! I love this wonderful day! Not because you get an excuse to buy candy, or eat some sweets, but because you get to be with family and create wonderful memories. I love family gatherings!

This is another wonderful strawberry short cake I made for an Easter dinner. There was only four of us at the dinner table, but it was an amazing time! I cooked the complete meal, and I said grace, and We all sat to enjoy a nice Easter dinner. Then came dessert! The best part! This was Easter 2007, so it was 3 years ago.

Cake walk.

I never in my life heard of a cake walk. Have you? Well here is the scoop about a cake walk! It is sort of like musical chairs! Except when you are the winner you get a cake for free! That's right! FREE! Well someone very special and dear to my heart has an annual Cake Walk for fun at work! He asked me to make a cake to donate it to his work as part of the fun! Of course I couldn't turn down a good deed! I said no problem! As long as I was able to particiapate, or witness the fun! I will do it! I asked, what would you like me to make? He said, would you make the chocolate cake with the coffee and the chocolate mousse and the fudge icing? Sure! Ummm, I did it backwards! I filled it with fudge icing and iced it with chocolate mousse! I was still good! Just very difficult to ice! Well, then I got a bit creative with chocolate chips and decided to decorate it in a creative fashion!

He loved it! Well the function went on the next day and I brought it to his work. Everyone was oohing and ahhing at my creation! They said where did you get that. I said well, I imagined it and created it at home! They were pretty impressed! Well, there was lots of cakes! Lots got donated, but they saved mine for last as the big hit! Who ever got this one was going to have the best cake of all! I don't remember who won, but I know it was a fun time! I might have to throw a cake walk with the ladies some time!

Spring is here, the sky is blue.....

Well it is spring time! I think that Spring should be named Weddings! I have a friend who is getting married in a month and she asked me back a few months ago to make her a birthday cake with daisies! Real ones of course! So, I said ok.

She had some strange and unusual ideas as to what she wanted for the cake. She requested white cake, with almond flavoring, almond flavored buttercream, homemade raspberry jam {that her grandmother made} and coconut all around the outside. OH WOW! Originally she was getting ideas for wedding cakes. Luckily she fell in love with another design and she kept this as her birthday cake! Very interesting I thought. Well, she is a daisy lover. So she wanted me to decorate it with a spray of daisies! Request accomplished! Not my favorite combination of flavors, but she loved it! To each their own! But for me I will stick with strawberries and whip cream as my number one favorite!  I do like the coconut effect with the daisies on it! Very unique! Interesting at that!

Key. Lime. Time.

Guess what time it is again? That's right it's a few days away! Saint Patty's Day! Time to get your green on! In this case, time to get your lime on! Keylime that is! I have to say this is the first citrus cake I have made! It is amazing! Sweet, tangy, and hard to eat just one slice! Not to mention the white chocolate frosting! This cake was a hit last Saint Pat's Day at my house! Everyone enjoyed a slice! Some more then others! Not to mention any names! {Bill}

 Oh by the way! He was caught red handed! I have the evidence to prove it! Yeah, he just couldn't resist! He had to try and sneak have a bite! Well, watch out! Camera in hand! Thanks to one of my favorite chefs, Mrs. Paula Deen for her recipe! Another one from her Chocolate Celebration Magazine!

Another Short Story!

A few years ago when strawberries were at their peak, I got a bit creative!

1. I had a major sweet tooth!
2. I wanted some strawberries!
3. I was bored!
4. I couldn't sleep!
5. We had some company!
So this is my creation out of boredom! Gotta love my style of boredom!

Just Because....

We all love those words, just because.... How about, just because I love you or just because I missed you, or my favorite! Just because I wanted something sweet and yummy and delicious, and oh so good, but oh so bad for you at the same time!
Oh. What was that. I got out of hand. Oh. Sorry!
But seriously, I love those just because cakes and desserts! I am sure if you were able to enjoy them with me you would love those just because... too!

Girls love Chocolate!

Ever go into a bakery and go straight for the chocolate cake, or the chocolate pie. How about the chocolate brownies! I know I have! A matter of fact, I am a brownie lover! I know lots of girls who love brownies! The chewy texture, the smell, the sweetness! I know! Stop! I am getting hungry too! Have you ever ate my brownies?

Well, boy are you missing out! What we have here my friends is the only P.M.S. cure! We got gooey moist Ghiradelli Chocolate Brownies with fudge icing on the inside and an oh so reasonable layer of ganache! These are to die for! If you can eat a whole slice then your golden for the rest of the night! I am telling ya, they are soo good! You won't have a reason to argue! You will be so filled with glee and cheer and happiness from eating just one bite of these sinful little things! I know you will probably put up a fight if someone asked you for a bite! You would have to say, go get your own!

I LOVE Cupcakes!

I made these cupcakes a while back! Reason. Well, I was bored! Boredom gets the best of me in the kitchen! Cupcakes are a fun way to play with your food! I know I had fun! The picture doesn't do justice for "all" the cupcakes I actually made! I gave them away to everyone! They loved them! Some didn't want to eat them cause they were so pretty! I know I didn't hessitate! I ate more then a serving! None of them went to waste! If you were over you were surely eating some yummy cupcakes, and taking a few home!