Custom Confections

One of my favorite activities is baking unique and interesting treats for friends and family. I've never had any special training, but they (usually) come out well. I tell people that, if they want a professional cake, go buy one. If they want a cake they can pass off as their own, homemade, then ask me to make it :-). I guess I have confections on my mind today because, this week, I get to make one for my niece's second birthday. I'm actually making two creations for the party, and neither of them are anything I've ever really done. So, it should be exciting!  

In the meantime, enjoy the following photos of my various creations to date. In no particular order...

 Train Cake: Aidan's First Birthday

 Marzipam: Alan's 2nd Birthday

 Marzipam Figurines & Vanilla Cake: Alan's First Birthday

 Chocolate Cheesecake & Marzipam: Aidan's Baptism Cake

 Easter Cake & Marzipam Figurines

 Easter Cake Surprise!

 Marzipam Panda

Marzipam Penguin

 Marzipam Puppy

 Marzipam Tiger

 Orange Pumpkin: Halloween Treat

 Mother's Day Rainbow Cake & Marzipam Roses

 Pirate Cake: Aidan's 2nd Birthday

 German Chocolate Cake: for Tom & Luke

 Unicorn Poop Cookies

 Marzipam Rose

 My First Marble Cheesecake

 First Double Layered Chocolate Cheesecake - Oreo Crust

 White Cake covered in Marzipam: Clara's First Birthday

Surprise Cake: Alan's 4th Birthday

If you're curious how I did any of these, feel free to send me an email or comment on this post. In some cases, I even have step-by-step photos of how I made the cakes. 

On Chocolate Cake and Pecking Birds

Photos & ramblings from May 22nd, because a certain someone has requested more frequent updates on her favorite little person, and these represent a really happy day for me.

Dark Chocolate Cake - have you ever seen such a black cake?! I used the recipe on the back of Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder as a rough guide, reducing the sugar significantly. The icing was the same cocoa powder, butter, some powdered sugar, and 2 cups of blueberries. Chad thought it tasted like biting into 72% dark chocolate, which is pretty much exactly the taste I was going for. No one has been able to taste the blueberries, but I can pretend that this is a healthy cake because it contains fruit :). I will definitely make this again.

Update: since so many people seem to be finding this page on Google, I'm including the recipe, as good as I can remember it. Enjoy!

Ingredients (my modification): 1c sugar, 1 3/4c all-purpose flour, 3/4c Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa, 1 1/2tsp baking powder, 1 1/2tsp baking soda, 2 jumbo farm eggs, 1c skim milk, 1/2c vegetable oil, 2 capfuls vanilla extract (the real stuff), 1c boiling water.

Directions (simplified): mix the dry and the wet ingredients (minus the water) separately, then combine gradually, scraping the sides as you go. Then, add the boiling water. Batter will be thin. Pour into two 9in round pans with parchment paper on the bottom (essential). Bake 30-35min until toothpick comes out clean. Cool, remove from pan...keep safe from curious cats and small children...etc until it's time to frost. I frost my cakes as soon as they feel about room temperature because I am quite impatient.

Frosting: Cook down about 1c frozen blueberries until they thicken, then puree. Melt 1 stick of butter, then add 1 3/4c Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa. Add blueberry puree and cook on low. Never stop stirring. Alternatively add powdered sugar and skim milk until you get the consistency you want. I probably had about 1/3c milk and about 1 1/4c powdered sugar...but don't quote me on that as I never end up measuring what I do for frosting. I also had about 1/3c cooked blueberries that weren't pureed that I added to the mix afterwards. These were the tiny, frozen wild blueberries that you can get from the freezer section. I've also done this recipe with fresh picked wild blueberries with similarly excellent results.

Aidan is proud of the mess he's made.

I had some blueberry "juice" left over from when I defrosted the blueberries. Aidan loved having his own "winebeer" juice.

It goes without saying that he needed a bath after that cake.

And Finally,

Dear Pecking Bird,
Why must you incessantly peck at my window all day long? Are you tormenting my cats, or do you really think that if you peck long and hard enough, that the glass will miraculously disappear? You had better be careful: while I find you amusing, my husband does not. Right now, I am the only thing standing in between you and his paintball gun. You've been warned.

Regards,
Mel

P.S.
We know where your wife and babies live.