Holiday Baking Ideas

It's 3 days before Christmas (!!!!) and aside from the Christmas cookie tins that I made with my roomie, I haven't made any of my standard Christmas desserts. No sugar cookies, no gingerbread house, no Advent cake, no cute cupcakes!

I'm falling behind!!

So today I'm making some sugar cookies, which I'll more than likely take to a Christmas party tonight, if I have time to decorate them this afternoon. At some point, I'd like to go to the grocery store to get gingerbread house and red velvet cupcake ingredients. I don't know how I'll have time for all this before Christmas, so maybe I'll just wait until after, if I must.

Wish me luck with all my last-minute baking plans!! :)

And I HAVE to show you the Christmas ornament my aunt Jessica made for me. It is the cutest thing ever!

More Cake Balls and Disasters

Thanksgiving is coming up, and if all the holiday specials on the Food Network weren't enough of an indication, 'tis the season for delicious food!

Last week I made two different kinds of cake balls: I tried banana again, this time with a dark chocolate coating (not almond bark) and vanilla/candy corn.

The candy corn was interesting, to say the least. Joy and Haley helped me make them, and honestly, I don't think I would've ever tried if they hadn't suggested it. We made a plain ol' vanilla cake but chopped up candy corn pieces when we rolled them into cake balls. Then we tried to melt the candy corn to use as a coating, instead of chocolate.

The first problem was that the melted CC was very thick and difficult for dipping. Honey to the rescue! I suppose corn syrup would've been a good thinner too but we didn't have any of that.

The second problem was that the coating never really hardened. We put them in the freezer and everything but once they were sitting out at room temp, they got all mushy and sticky.

The solution? Coat the balls again in chocolate. The chocolate helped retain the moisture, and the candy corn took on an almost caramel-y texture and taste. The double-layer of candy coating actually turned out well. This is definitely an experiment I want to explore more.

And let me just say that tempering chocolate? It's magical. It's also pretty difficult, and I ended up with a lot of streaky chocolate, but thanks to my friends Hillary (for giving me the directions and confidence to try tempering) and Grant (who loaned me the all-too-important thermometer), I think I did pretty good.

I got some more cake ball requests from my family for Thanksgiving, so I'll try pumpkin or something equally delicious and festive. And Wednesday is the Disaster Party (an excuse to get together with friends and watch horribly corny apocalyptic movies and eat cake) which Hillary & I have been planning for a year, so I'm making the cake for that this afternoon.

So there's my baking update! I'll have lots more to share this week! :)

Professional Procrastinator

Things are seriously getting hectic at school with the semester only being a quarter of the way through, and as much as I want to make peach flavored cake balls or strawberry kiwi cupcakes, I just don't have time right yet.

But I will. You know I can't go too long without baking or I'll go crazy. :) In the meantime, I'm taking breaks between assignments (read: procrastinating!) to look for wedding cake inspirations.

No, I'm not getting married. I'm just entering a cake competition in March. Hopefully. It really depends on whether or not I can find a design I like.

I've found a few interesting and unique dresses online, but I don't think any of them are "the one." For your viewing pleasure, though, here they are!

This first dress is an Elizabeth Fillmore design. I like how eclectic and different it is. Plus the black/white combo is super classy.

This gorgeous Justin Alexander dress is probably my favorite wedding dress ever. I don't know if that's enough for me to use it as a cake inspiration, but if I was getting married soon and had a couple thousand dollars to throw around, I'd wear something like this. I found it on Bridal Snob first.

And finally, we have a green gown from Vera Wang. Who says wedding dresses have to be white? She looks stunning anyway. And a green wedding cake would be cool and unique too, but how would I translate that gorgeous flowing skirt into fondant and sugar??

I'm still keeping my eye out for the perfect inspiration, and any Floridian cake decorators who are interested in competing, check out the website for info!

One more thing: Check out All Things Cupcakes for this awesome post about Harry Potter cupcakes! ;)

Captain of Surprise

This is Captain Rex. I have no idea who he is, actually. He's the Star Wars dude on Adam's lunchbox, but my knowledge of Star Wars doesn't extend much past Princess Leia's cool hair and how much fun it is to have Light Saber duels. (I know, kinda tragic, but I'm more of a Harry Potter geek myself, and I only have enough time to dedicate to one epic pop culture phenomenon, so...)

That's LEGO Rex. He doesn't really pertain to the story except that I think he's kinda cool. LEGO is awesome, hands down. One day, I'm gonna make a LEGO cake. But I'm getting sidetracked...

Speaking of cake!

Adam wants a Captain Rex cake for his birthday (it won't look like this one). I wish I could do a 3D standing up version of the cap'n, instead of the flat, sheet cake version he requested. For a 7th birthday, I think that would totally rock his world. (Just picture that action figure guy in cake form. Your world would be rocked too.)

Unfortunately, I've never made a 3D person-standing-up cake, and I don't have all the pipes and wires and plywood that other fancy bakeries do. All I know is that Rex's blaster is supposed to be pointed down like a 7 (because Adam's turning 7! Get it?! The kid's a genius).

The best part, though, is not the cake. Adam doesn't know it yet, but his birthday conveniently falls during a school break, so my whole family is driving down to Florida to visit me that week!

Adam still thinks I'm going to FedEx his cake to him, but he'll get it in person next weekend!

Cool New Products

If you didn't already know, I'm always on the look out for awesome new baking products, whether it's something cute or useful or just plain new and exciting.

I think the following items fall under all those categories.

First off, we have the M-Cups, which are adorable nesting measuring cups. Go ahead and squeal all girly-like over how cute these are, because that's exactly what I did.

Next up is the Teacupcakes silicone molds. Again, waaaaay too cute. The only problem is that you only get four to a box. :/

Finally, the Cakewich. I love this pan because 1.) the name is clever (I'm a sucker for that kinda thing), and 2.) Sandwiches are awesome, cake is awesome, so it begs to be said that a Cakewich is awesome�.

I found all these products at Bake It Pretty, which also has designer cupcake liners (!!!!) and other products which I'm sure you'll love as much as I do.

And for my final note, it's not really a new product as much as a new concept. Someone recently told me that they tried a mint red velvet cake with chocolate icing. He told me it was really good, but I was just floored that this particular combination of flavors never occurred to me before. So anyone ever make mint red velvet before? Or for that matter, ever make red velvet with a non cream cheese icing?? I clearly need to start thinking outside the box when it comes to cake flavors!

Cassata

I have no idea what a Cassata torte is. Well, only kinda. It's some vanilla/rum/cannoli flavored cake of deliciousness, if the above picture and accompanying description are any indication. I found it while looking through Publix's Big Book of Cakes (or whatever it's called) trying to find the Caramel Pecan Crunch cake for a customer.

So I went home and Googled it. Apparently, it's Italian, and who doesn't love Italian food?! (Although the cannoli should've been a sign of the country of origin.) I also found a recipe. Not quite the same as the Publix version, but obviously they put their own spin on it. I'm not a fan of the almonds, but I do like the little cannolis on top. So I've definitely put Cassata cake on my to-do list. It looks pretty, it sounds unique, and I think it would be a fun recipe to try... ooooh, and how cool would it be in cupcake form?!

Ahh, the gears are turning. Time to turn on the oven! :)

Helloooo Summer!

Good news, loyal blog readers! I am officially on my summer vacation! No school, no textbooks, no finals, no 2,000 words papers... at least until August.

On the one hand, I'm disappointed, because I got a B+ in Concepts of Wellness, AKA the easiest class ever, but maybe that's because I didn't take it seriously enough... Ah, hindsight.

On the other hand, I have four long months stretched ahead of me, filled with sun, sleep, friends, and cake! I applied for a job at Publix today, and I have a really, really good feeling about that. The managers were super nice and I'm really hoping I'll get an interview, and then, of course, a job. I'm also really nervous, too, so just send your thoughts or prayers or positive vibes my way! :-)

This Sunday is Wizarding Independence Day, which is totally one of the most important holidays on the obsessive Harry Potter fan's calendar, right up there with Harry's birthday (July 31) and the release of Deathly Hallows (November 19). However, we won't be celebrating until the following weekend, when everyone else is home from college. Oh! And I'll be making a Hogwarts cake and/or Golden Snitch cake balls.

See, Hillary, I totally drew a sketch of the Hogwarts cake!

But in all seriousness, I do have a pretty good mental image of what I want the cake to look like. Now all I need is a good execution! And suggestions about what the flavors should be (hint, hint).

Now I'm off to make a cake with my little brothers before they pester me to death about it! More cakey goodness later!

I'm Gonna Need A Blowtorch

Today, two of my friends told me that they're working on a new project, involving their future career and/or favorite hobby.

And I thought, I need a project of my own.

So... if anyone could loan me an oven, a few pieces of wood, a jigsaw, an industrial-size mixer, and probably a blowtorch, I'll get to work on it.

Or maybe I've just been watching too many episodes of Ace of Cakes?

But in all seriousness, I did come up with a cool new cake design which may or may not defy the laws of gravity. It might have to be a summer project though, because it is seriously epic. More details later :D

I knew it!

Last night, when I went to bed, I was thinking a lot about how much I wanted to bake.  It is the new year, after all, and I haven't done any new baking.  Not since the cookies, but those were last year's cookies.

So I was thinking about cupcakes.  And how much I really wanted to eat the chocolate ganache icing in my fridge, but how I knew that I needed to use it on a cake or cupcakes or something, and I can't just eat it straight out of the container.  However, I didn't want to make any cupcakes until I knew what the ICE challenge is.

The next thought that popped into my head was "I wonder what the January challenge will be?"  So I thought about it.  Something festive, probably... Or really interesting...  Something in the same vein as cranberries, chillis, cheese, etc.  Some of my thoughts for what the challenge should be include some interesting/weird spices, like anise, or curry, or cloves, or something.  Or maybe an exotic fruit, like dragon fruit.  I thought of all kind of ideas, including something worth ringing in the new year.  Like chamagne or wine.

Wine?

Exactly!  Just in this morning, the challenge theme for January is wine!  I don't know how I knew a day in advance, except that maybe I'm just a lucky guesser. :-)

I'm not really sure what I'm going to do for this challenge.  Especially considering that I doubt my mom wants me to use our wine in some cupcakes.  Even though the alcohol cooks out if it's in the actual batter.  And, by the way, how does alcohol affect the baking of a cupcake?  I've never used alcohol in my cooking/baking before.  And then there's the whole fact that I'm only 17, and the legal age to drink is 21.  Although I'm not really drinking, I'm just baking and eating (not drinking).  And it is for the new year and all that.

Anyway, I've got a lot to think about, and 22 days to think about it (the challenge closes on the 24th).  I hope I have time; January is going to be a very busy month!

Happy New Year, everyone!

(P.S. Thanks for voting for me @ No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner!  I appreciate it!)

Ah-Ha! Dessert Revelations

Right now, my entries into the Iron Cupcake: Earth Challenge are in the oven.  And they will be delicious, I'm sure of it this time.

And there are cake balls in the freezer just waiting to be covered in chocolate and eaten. ;-)

Also, I just decided, not even an hour ago, that the gingerbread house that I'm making this year is going to be a castle.  Not just a house; not even a mansion; a full-blown castle-- with towers and everything.

And it's going to have little gumpaste figurines and ice cream cone trees and lots of candy and royal icing decorations.  Adorable, right?

Speaking of gumpaste, I actually went to Michael's last Saturday and bought some cake stuff:  parchment bags, piping bags (the disposible plastic kind), and ingredients to make my own gumpaste (I think it's glucose and tylose powder).  I know that the ingredients are more expensive than the pre-mix, but in the long run, I think I'll come out on top.  Yeah, sure, and the process seems longer, too, but again, the effort and the initial investment will pay off in the end.  However, I do owe my dad $40 from the entire shopping trip.  And I owe my mom almost $30 for something else...  Ah well, the price you have to pay to be a cake decorator/buy your friends Christmas gifts.

OK, so I'm going to go check on my chocolate cupcakes.  I'll be back later with pictures and the recipe!

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving

Glitter Graphics - GlitterLive.com


And there is so much to be done!

For starters, there are cupcakes, Chex Mix, and a cake for Sunday.
But there's also a turkey to bake, pies to bake, potatoes to bake (and then mash), casseroles to bake, bread to bake...  You get the idea.

I'm in charge of desserts, though, so that's why I'm making cupcakes today.  And maybe some cookies, if there's time.  (Chocolate chip cookies, except we're out of chocolate chips.  Gee, I guess I'll just have to use the dark chocolate M&M's...)  I can't remember if Dad bought a pecan pie or not at Kroger today, but I sure hope so.  I love pecan pie.

The Chex Mix, I am aware, is not a dessert, but it is a family staple, and as I wandered down the cereal aisle at Kroger for what seemed like the hundreth time, I saw the box of Rice Chex, the box of Wheat Chex, and the box of Corn Chex.  And I realized:  we have to have Chex Mix.  Normally my mom or aunt makes it, but I seem to recall that last year, either everyone forgot or they thought someone else was making it when in fact, no one was.  So I took it upon myself this year to make the Chex Mix.

And what about Sunday?  Sunday is the first day of Advent.  I know!  It snuck up on me too!  I had so much on my plate that I totally forgot that this is the last week of the liturgical calendar!  So, of course, as a tradition, I have to make a cake.  I already have a really good, tasty plan formulated, which I shall share in the near future.

As I am baking up a storm and trying not to make a mess in the kitchen, so that there's enough room to make a mess tomorrow, I shall leave you with this amazing video that I found on YouTube:

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  I just want to let you know that I am very thankful for all of you for your kind comments, suggestions, and ideas.  All the comments and e-mails I recieve from my wonderful blog readers means so much to me!  It's been a year since my first post (actually, I'm 2 days late), but it's been a great year and I look forward to many more!  I could not have done it without all of you: THANK YOU!




Glitter Graphics - GlitterLive.com

It's the Holiday Season

Has anyone else noticed that on November 1st (and in some places, earlier), everyone has begun to advertise Christmas?  And by everyone, I mean all the stores and businesses, like Wal-Mart, Coke, Sears, etc.  Everywhere is red and green.  I went to Wal-Mart last week and realized that I was humming along to Christmas tunes not just because of the festive decorations but because they were playing music on the loudspeakers!

Now, I love Christmas; it's my favorite time of year.  Despite the absolutely freezing temperatures, Christmas time makes me happy.  But not for the same reasons that Wal-Mart would want me to think.  It's not buying out their entire store that I love, but the atmosphere: the music, the love, the happy little kids, not being in school, etc.  So even though I'm loving all the little holiday reminders, it's really starting to annoy me when Christmas is associated with shopping.  Because that's just not right.

What I will associate Christmas-- and most holidays-- with is baking!  However, I'm going to reign in my urge to make little fondant Santas and snowmen for just a little while longer.  Right now, I have Thanksgiving to worry about.  Talk about some baking...

So as I'm planning my dessert scheming, I remember Iron Cupcake.  Last month I didn't participate in ICE because, well, I forgot.  I was sick, remember.  This month, though, I plan on making something good, and making something within the next 2 weeks.  I'm just not sure what yet.  The theme for November is Cranberries!

I do have a list of possible ingredients...

• pecans
• walnuts
• macadamia nuts
• almonds
  
• caramel
• marshmallows
• butter cream sauce
• orange juice glaze
• molasses
• pears
• zucchini
• coconut
• pumpkin
• apple
• white chocolate
• peaches
• ginger
• cheesecake
• lemon
• strawberries
• orange
• cream cheese icing
• chocolate
• chocolate chips
• white chocolate icing
• pineapple

So, based on that list, I'm going to make some cupcakes including one or more of those ingredients.  But not all of them.  That would be a little... excessive. ;-)

While I'm thinking and baking and humming along to "Let It Snow" (even as I wish that it doesn't get anywhere near cold enough to snow), I hope that all of you are getting into the holiday season as well.  Because we have a lot of fun baking ahead of us! :-)

Good News! Cheesecake!

My mom and I went to the store yesterday so I'm able to make her a cheesecake.  I would've made it yesterday but there was no time...  I've got a lot going on with school, student council, baking (it's my stress reliever!), and other normal teenage stuff...

But I'm still making the cheesecake.  The other reason (which I just now remembered) that I didn't bake yesterday was that Dad brought home a Key Lime Pie and Tab (best soft drink ever...) so 2 desserts would've been a bit much for a salty-rather-than-sweet lover.

Voting is still open for the cupcake challenge!  So while I'm baking, you can be voting and telling all of your friends!

Oh, and I might make some fall-themed cupcakes for the cake walk at the local elementary school's Fall Festival.  I can't go to the festival because I'm going to my BFF's homecoming game but I am making the cake walk numbers and possibly cupcakes.  I have to play it by ear though. If I don't squeeze in a few hours before Friday, I'll make cupcakes for myself!  Now to study for that Spanish test...

What is Hillary's Birthday?

My best friend turns 18 in less than a month (wow, she's old!)  She's asked me to make her cake because she seems to think, for some odd reason, that I'm good at cake decorating or something. ;-)

Her cake theme is Jeopardy, but the cake will be German Chocolate.  My plan is to make a 2-layer German Chocolate cake with the pecan/coconut filling in between the two layers.  The top of the cake will be blue with yellow/white icing, and will look like the Jeopardy game board screen thingy.  Whatever it's called.  The categories with be birthday related.

She drew me a picture, actually:

I think what I'm going to do around the sides of the cake is have more coconut/pecan filling.  (Like this cake.)Although I'm not 100% sure on that yet.  I've got a month to work about any possible problem, and since her birthday is during our Fall Break from school, I'll have plenty of time to decorate.  Yay!

I wonder if there is a way to flavor the buttercream to better match the cake flavor.  Since G.C. cakes typically have the chocolate, coconut, and pecan flavors, perhaps I could find a coconut or pecan extract.  (Maybe like this?)

Possible Recipes that I'll Use:
Recipe #1
Recipe #2
(both from CakeCentral)

Margaritaville

 

So you would think that because I'm fairly good at making cakes, that I would be a pretty proficient artist with marker and paper, but apparently I can't draw as well as I can ice and frost! :)

This is the cake idea that I have for my brother's best friend's older sister.  The idea from this cake comes from a variety of sources:  different cakes found online, her mom's ideas, my own thoughts.  It's a mix of a lot of different concepts rolled into one really cool cake.

Here's the background:  my brother's friend's sister turns 21 next week, although she's celebrating this weekend.  Her mom asked me to make the cake, so I e-mailed her some pictures that I found online to give her ideas.  She saw this cake and wanted it more margarita themed-- and that's what you see in the drawing above!

I promise that the cake that I see in my head is much nicer looking that what I attempted to draw, but I'm hoping that it conveys what I want the cake to look like.

Fantastic Cake Idea For My Fantastic 17th Birthday

So while I was sitting all by myself at the Wound Center Reception Desk at the Hospital, waiting to greet patients, and feeling just a tad bit bored, I found myself some scrap paper and started doodling cake ideas.

Well, I came up with some interesting ideas: how to decorate Maggie's cake (her party is this Saturday); some ideas for Adam's Yoda cake, which he keep changing his mind about; and will probably continue to change before September; a boring 17th birthday cake idea; and then it hit me.

BAM!  I know EXACTLY how I'm going to decorate my cake.  Oh, it's going to gorgeous, I just know it!  I know that it has to be gorgeous, because I remembered to spell gorgeous with an "e" this time without the spell checker-- that must be a good sign!

So... it's going to be a round 9" in cake, covered in buttercream with fondant accents.  The buttercream will be colored dark purple. --Just like that.  And the fondant will all be white (which means I will have to make some more fondant until I want to use the icky tasting pre-made stuff).  So, fondant accents, right.  Pearls.  Lots and lots of little fondant pearls along the bottom border of the cake-- and covered with some pretty sparkly stuff to make them look like, ya know, pearls.  Maybe some, oh, I don't know, pearl dust?

And then, along the top border of the cake, have some fabric-ruffle like stuff, also made of pearly fondant.  If you click on the pearl dust link, then you'll see a picture of a cake that has the kind of border I'm talking about-- but white, and prettier. ;-)

And the top of the cake will say "Happy 17th Birthday Kelsie!" (of course) and along the sides of the top of the cake will be 17 white birthday candles that I get to blow out. :-)  For my 11th birthday, I had pink, purple, and white candles that were sparkly... I wonder if I could find some sparkly white birthday candles?  Hmmm...

Okay, so anyway, my cake is going to fantabulously gorgeous.  No doubt about it.

And, despite the fact that school starts 6 days before my birthday (did you hear that?  That was the sound of me groaning in protest), I will NOT procrastinate on this cake, and it will NOT lean like last year's cake.

Oh, I'm so excited!  And this Saturday is my baby sister's 13th birthday party.  She's growing up...  But she came up with a pretty cool cake idea for her party, which I will implement in a few days, take lots of pictures of, and blog about.  Oh, and eat it.  Duh.  So you have that to look forward to, as well!  I love August/September/October!  So many birthdays, so many cakes...

Golf Chocolate Day is This Sunday

Also known as Father's Day.

Why the golf? Because it's my dad's favorite sport to play. One year for Father's Day, when I first started exploring cake decorating, I made him a sheet cake with a picture of a golf ball on it. Nothing fancy, but it was yummy (because it was chocolate).

Why the chocolate? Because my dad agrees with me when I say that chocolate is the best food group ever. :) Every cake that I've ever made for him was chocolate: cake and icing. Double yummy.

Last year's Father's Day cake was star-shaped with store-bought (gasp!) chocolate icing. The decorations were butterceam, though. For the decorations, as well as writing the standard "Happy Father's Day!", I also made little icing pictures of my dad and my grandpa. I wish I knew how to transfer the picture (taken with a traditional film camera) to the computer, because it's a really cute cake.

This year, I want to up the ante so to speak, and make this cake extra chocolately. Chocolate cake (probably the really yummy recipe that I already use) with chocolate ganache. Mmmm, ganache... And chocolate buttercream underneath the ganache, of course.

Have you seen the commercial for the Publix chocolate ganache supreme cake? That's my inspiration.

Only, my cake will be better because it will be made with love. :)

I want to decorate the cake differently, though. Although I like the cool little bow and the chocolate fudge shells, I have to be unique and special, you know? What I don't know, however, is how exactly I'm going to decorate it. Except, it will be chocolate.

Recipes:

• Chocolate Cake
• Chocolate Ganache (pour over cake warm)
  
• Whipped Chocolate Ganache (used like buttercream)
  
• (which ganache?!)
• Chocolate Buttercream
• Or Maybe Chocolate Fudge Frosting?

Well, if I can't figure out all the "unknowns" by Saturday, I could always make a German chocolate cake (another one of Dad's favorites). I think I'll figure it out though.

'Nother Post

I'M A SENIOR!! How awesome is that? Of course, at the same time, it's terrifying, but still, it's pretty sweet.

Okay, so this post is really about some cake decorating know-how that I learned today, but I thought I'd share that wonderful news first. ;)

If you are making a FBCT, and the FBCT has letters on it, make sure you pipe the letters backwards, otherwise when you put the transfer on the cake, the letter that you had originally piped the right way will become the wrong way. I hope that makes sense.

Unfortunately I didn't do that when I made my FBCT yesterday, but thankfully it was an easy error to correct. Now I know better for next time, though!

I'm off to put the finishing touches on the cake. 3 hours to delivery.

Cakes of the Future

Or at least the Cakes of my future.

Future meaning the next few weeks! :)

First of all, after I made that Puerto Rico cake, I was asked to make a birthday cake for my brother's teacher's husband's birthday on the last week of school (on a side note, only 9 days left!). I'm excited about that, but I need to buy a new rectangular pan and red icing paste, so hopefully Michael's is also in my future...

And I still have cream cheese from that humongous block that Mom bought at Costo's, so I want to make another cheesecake. This time in the 9" pan instead of the 11".

After school ends, hopefully, I will have more free time (although since I'm doing volunteer work at the hospital and may or may not try to get a job at a bakery), and can make that TaB cake I wanted to bake...

Oh, and on Wednesday my healthcare class is having a "food day," so I think I'm supposed to make sugar cookies, but I need to double-check on that... (Shouldn't be a problem; I have dough in the freeze from the Pack Cookies.)

I don't know if I mentioned this, but I found my digital camera again, so I can take pictures of the next few baking items, unlike for the cheesecake I made for Mother's Day. :( It still tasted good though!

I'm off to do some homework and think about cake designs :) Oh, and Prince Caspian! :-D (A great movie, by the way!)

�All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, but not too much.�

So, today...

• I got my check for the wolfpack cookies
• Changed my blog layout
• Changed it again (I'm still looking for the perfect background...)
• Watched Ace of Cakes
• And did all of the normal school stuff (whoo-hoo! 92 on the math test!)

I'm looking forward to cashing the check :) There is some cake stuff that I'd like to get at Wal-Mart (or preferably, Michael's). Mostly new square and rectangular pans. But I wouldn't be surprised if I spent the money at the mall... ;)

I don't know what I changed my blog layout. I really did like the yellow. I think I'll have to make some cupcakes or something so that I can make my *own* background. That sounds yummy...

Ace of Cakes was about a Corvette cake, a manatee cake, and a roller derby cake. I am amazed at the level of talent and skills that the decorators at Charm City Cakes have! And it also made me feel a little better about my own skills to know that we all make mistakes: Duff's roller derby cake didn't turn out as perfectly as he expected, but everyone still loved it.

I'm off to find a good recipe for a Mother's Day cheesecake...

I forgot to add that I checked The Cake Bible out from my local library, and

I hate my oven. (I truly believe it hates me too.)

(^^Quoted from George Harrison)