It is DONE

I was asked my a family friend to make a cake for their youngest daughter's wedding. I was pretty excited to do another wedding cake, it's been a few months:) Then she pulled out the picture and my wheels started their turnin'. I really prefer not to hear about a cake too far in advance because I stew about it. I lose sleep thinkin' about all the aspects of building it. (dumb, I know) Anyway, it turned out that it was good to have a heads up on this one. I started to build that huge flower out of gumpaste. I thought I would just add a few petals each day. As I began, I had to figure out something that would anchor it to the cake. I found a cake flower spike and built the center of the flower onto it. cool. Then, as I added petals, it started to feel REALLY heavy. YIKES. I stewed about that for a few days. Then, the idea to do all the petals separately came. Okay. But how to stick them to the fondant....found a recipe for a meringue powder glue. cool. I was back on track. I made 36 of the petals and the center of the flower. They dried rock hard and were all done 2 weeks before the cake was due. Ahhh. Then, I started worrying bout the fondant. It had to be PERFECT because any flaw would show on this cake. I discovered a lade online that answered ALL my hangups. She is my hero. She invented this double layer mat that you can roll out the fondant inside. It keeps the fondant moist (avoiding the elephant skin look) and enables you to roll it out 1\2 as thick so it isnt as heavy on the cake. You can actually transport the fondant to the cake while it is still stuck to the mat. No more worrying about positioning it wrong or tearing it in transfer. It was only $18 for the mat and TOTALLY worth it! So, that's the story. It was a beautiful day. I got to go to the temple with Tom and soak up the fabulous day. Love a happy ending...for a cake:) This is the response from the bride's mom:

Karen, Thank You so much for the cake. It turned out so beautiful, and so many people commented on how pretty it was. Someone even asked if we tried to coordinate it with the style of Mallory's dress!! Also, it was delicious. The banana layer was my favorite. Aaron's sister said it was so good that she actually had 3 slices! One funny thing that happened....when they cut the cake, Aaron took off the entire funfetti layer, cut it in half, and each of them held half the layer and "fed" each other! At first I was thinking...oh no.... I hope we have enough cake left for the guests! No problem, we had plenty and even brought some home!

Love it! The groom requested the funfetti layer. I was nervous about that because I make my cakes from scratch and have gotten away from store bought mixes. Glad he made the most of it:) Ha ha! The other layers were chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese mousse filling, white cake with blueberry\raspberry mousse filling, banana cake with bavarian cream filling. Supa!

Lellow.is.purdy

I am so excited to be scrappin' pictures of such happy memories. I think that is the best part about scrapbooking for me. I love that I can pick up one of my books and just sink into pure bliss while peeking into the past. My boys, my hubby - they are my life and my joy. I am so blessed. I heard that Martina McBride song on the way to work the other day...and I must admit that I cried a little. That perspective is essential to my happiness and joy in this life. These pages are titled after a song that I remember my Daddy singing since I was tiny. LOVE IT.

HEIDI!!!

Just seein' if yur payin' attention, Heidi. I found the most luxurious frosting reciper EVER! This stuff is so smooth, not overly sweet, creamy, lovely. Aaaah. Thanks to Williams and Sonoma.
It takes a few steps, but it is sooo worth it.
Step 1: In a stand mixer, beat 1 1\2 cups unsalted butter (room temp) until it is the consistancy of mayo. Transfer this to a small bowl and clean out the mixer bowl.
Step 2: In a small sauce pan, heat 1\2 cup whole milk and 1\4 cup sugar on medium heat until bubbles form around the edges, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: Using the stand mixer, beat 5 egg yolks and 1\2 cup sugar with the whisk on med-high speed until the mixture is pale and thick (3 minutes) Reduce speed to low and slowly add milk mixture. Return this new milk mixture to the saucepan. (Wash your mixer bowl again)
Step 4: Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly until it registers 170F (5 minutes) Pour this mixture back into the mixing bowl and beat with the whisk on medium until it cools (5 minutes) Beat in 2 tsp. vanilla and add butter in 4 stages. I kept beating it for another few minutes until it cooled enough to thicken. OOOHHHH. Then, I added melted chocolate for chocolate frosting. IT was delish! So creamy and light. NUM.

To Die for Banana Cake

So, I love finding PERFECT recipes...I am always on the hunt. I found this one online. It was SOOOO moist and yummy. It's a keeper.
Cake:
2\3 cup sugar
1\2 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 Tbsp butter, softened
2 mashed bananas
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1\4 tsp salt
1\2 tsp baking soda

Frosting:
2 Tbsp butter, softened
1\4 cup heavy cream
1\2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1\4 cup confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and butter. Add mashed bananas and vanilla. Add flour, salt, and baking soday. Mix well. Pour into greased 8X8 pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes (using the toothpick test) Cool completely.

top with frosting. NUMMMO. Scrummy.
This recipe doubles easily into a 9X13 pan, too.

frower

I am attempting a Garganshoooous flower made of gumpaste. As I started forming the petals, I discovered that the flower is going to be way too heavy to put on the side of the cake. So, I decided to make only this central part of the flower one piece. Then the bigger, outer petals can glue on the cake itself around the center and cascading down the cake. I can't wait to see the finished product. I normally don't like to think about cakes too far in advance, but I am so glad I do on this little wonder. I probably would have made the flower whole, had I not thought about how heavy it would be...or I would have waited til it was too late to wait between adding rows. ..only 36 more petals to make for the cascade. Lovely.

Great Memories

When we were "homeless" for a year, I felt a need to get out and explore...to get the boys away from the everyday stresses. We visited parks, went to new eateries, and found places that we had never been. This was a BEAUTIFUL day March of 2010. It was such a perfect day, we decided to walk across the new Tacoma Narrows bridge. It was spontaneous (as usual. It's better that way). Then we found this nummy little cafe in downtown Gig Harbor to have lunch and round off the day PERFECTLY! Aaah. What a great memory (except for the part when one of my lovely children spilled their entire glass of water on my lap).

Sweet Treats!

This was my second attempt at making a "better" Christmas card. I like these better, but they are not mail-able. They have bumpies on them and that makes Mr. Postmaster mad. He likes to charge me muchos for any bumpies on my cards. GRRR. think flat, Karen!

My new interest is perfecting the whoopie pie. I have tried two different recipes so far...getting closer, but not there yet. These were kinda yummy with cream cheese filling and candy cane crunchies on the outside. I gotta find a moister recipe. I know they have to be kind of cookie\cake mixeyish. We'll see. I'll be sure to share when I accomplish this task:)