Chicks in the Shower

A dear friend of mine asked me if I'd bake her some cookies for her upcoming shower....to which of course I said yes.  Excited with the idea of baking again, I also suggested that I could make her cupcakes and a cake as well.  Let the baking frenzy begin.

Baby chicky for the cake, made of fluffy marshmallow fondant, sitting pretty in a chocolate marshmallow fondant nest :)

Soft green royal icing and a sweet fondant chick made these cookies fun to make.  The inspiration for these little goodies came from Hostess Blog

 

Needed a helper for these little guys.  Insert hubby help here.

These cuties were patiently waiting for their nests to be made.

 Nests were made from the most heavenly caramel icing I've ever made.  At the last minute I decided to add melted chocolate...to which made this icing even more blissful.  The recipe was found here The Canadian Baker .  (I added 3 ounces of semi sweet melted chocolate).  The idea was an inspiration from Heather Drive's Blogspot

The finished product :) 

Covered in Fondant

After my daugther's b-day party, I still had a fridge full of fondant leftovers and company arriving the following weekend.  So I got to work on my new experiment....fondant covered cupcakes. 

I took this opportunity to not only cover, but dip cupcakes in fondant.  I also managed to make roses and a few garden critters as well. 



My little creations

Should have given this cutie a name before he became my mid afternoon snack. 

Holy Cake Batman!

Today I sold a cake...my first cake.  Blake, the birthday boy was turning 4 and is a fan of Batman.  At first I wanted to do a yellow vanilla frosting cake, however after spending far too much time trying to get rid of the 'lines' in the icing...I gave up.  Back to my first love, marshmallow fondant.

Here is the final product....

Besides all things 'doughy', my new love is a chocolate marshmallow fondant
(the logo is made of this heavenly goodness). 
Sweet mother, that crap is yummy.

After working on a superhero cake all day...all I wanted was a superhero to clean my floors. 
Dark floors and bakers don't mix well. 
For the record, I mopped my floors 3 times today! 
3 times...can't get that time back. 
Carpet in the kitchen is sounding like a mighty fine idea right about now.

Adventures in Parenting

It's hard to believe my daughter will be 16 in 11 days...I'm having trouble breathing already.  She has been an adventure since the moment I laid eyes on her...and has changed me for the better.

I've been preparing this cake for a while now, working on flowers one night, making fondant the next, baking the cakes....rebaking the cakes (eggs shouldn't be forgotten), icing the next...reicing.  Some may find it strange that a mother would spend what could have probably been an entire week on one birthday cake, but not for me.  There was something about taking the time, the care...the love that I just needed to do.  Now that the cake is done....I could have spend years on the cake..it would have never totalled the amount of love I have for that kid.  She's sweeter than cake :)

Here's my girl at 3 years....insert awwww here...

This cake was a couple of firsts for me, some which I'll do again...others are sitting in the bottom of my garbage can.

I enjoy making things from scratch, but someone invented 'boxes' of cake mix for good reason, my sanity.  After a horribly failed attempt at making a plain white cake, to which I forgot the eggs..I tossed it.  Then, because I'm a gluten for punishment, I tried it again, this time I forgot the milk.  Seriously?! 

Once I had my handy dandy cake mix from the grocery store in hand, it was smooth sailing.  The batter was divine...and pink :) Cake 1 / Baker 0

I then tried my hand at gum paste flowers.  Gum paste, where have you been all my life?  This stuff rocks.  I managed to make a small batch, coloured it pink, rolled it around in icing sugar and voila, instant garden.  The leaves didn't turn out as well, but the cutter I had for leaves was obnoxiously huge, so I'll have to remember to pick up a 'teeny' one next time.

I also used 'dust' for the first time.  OMG, I could use this crap as eyeshadow, it's awesome!  Once I brought home my little tube of glitter, I quickly searched the house for vodka.  No joke, the instructions on the back say 'pour small amount of vodka into a Candy Melting Plate cavity'. 

Vodkaless, as usual, I opted for lemon juice instead and sprinkled the dust into the bowl, as I was fresh out of 'Candy Melting Plate Cavities'.  I stole a brand new paint brush from my son's model airplane kit and away I went.  I love this dust crap...I'd love it better if it was mixed with vodka though :)

I made fondant, which isn't a first for me, but this was the first time I screwed up the recipe so royally, I had to make a whole new batch.   Fondant 1 / Baker 0

Her party is this weekend, in our basement, therefore I (and my hubby) plan on enjoying this party from the comfort of my neighbour's porch...ah peace and quiet.

Here is the finished product.....

I love it almost as much as I love her :)

View from above (hard to see the 'dust' but the flowers are uber shiny)

View from back

Thankfully the brown royal icing darken, it was looking like drywall mud!

One of the many reasons I love her more than cookie dough....she bought me these flowers (with card) yesterday, while I was baking away.

Love it!!

Sore thumbs up

Well after my failed attempt at my last batch of cookies, I was at it again today.  After searching my kitchen for a rectangle shaped object for as my make shift cookie cutter, I started the blender and whipped up a batch of my favourite sugar cookie recipe. 

I learned a few things with this cookie design....

First and foremost, the #1 Tip is not for sissy's.  However, I'm sure if the consistency was a little better, my right hand wouldn't be throbbin as I type this new post.  One day, I hope to master this...yes, my dreams are small, but dream I do.

Secondly, I really should pick up a squeeze bottle for my 'flooding', it would be a time saver, a bag saver and seriously how very 'professional' of me? 

Thirdly, never pipe letters after 10 pm, it should be a law.  You end up piping sideways, your hands are tired, or better yet, you can't speell.

Lastly, I'm positive I'll learn more.

Here's my end product....

Elegant Baker like this

Score: Cookie 1 / Baker 0

All set, icing bagged, cookies all in a row, I began to pipe out what was sure to be my daughter's stellar 'girl' cookies for her birthday.  After finishing up the arms, head and green dress I came to this conclusion......these bite. 

Realizing this cookie session would quickly go from bad to worse, I squirted out the rest of the icing on the cookies and shoved one in my mouth. 

They weren't pretty, but man they were heaven. 

Discouraged, I watched my husband pull out of the driveway as he headed off on a business trip, then I heard the faint calls of the rejected girls calling my name. 

Just how many will I eat?  Can I make it through 7 days husbandless...and not eat the entire batch of the 'cookies gone bad'?  

Positive I would eat my weight in cookies, I threw the batch in the garbage.  Well, except one.

I was certainly not going to post my 'fail', but thought...why the heck not.  I'm not perfect, nor elegant all the time ;)

Enjoy

Gorgeous isn't she. 

Cookie 1 / Baker 0

Hop to it

Making sugar cookies isn't a difficult task, unless your soon to be 16 yr daughter asks you to do a parrot or a panther for her b-day party?!  What?  I'm always up for a challenge, but a parrot?  Seriously?  Argh. 

So after some bribing from yours truly she said 'frogs'?  Perfect.  Yes, I can do frogs.  I think. 

After bring the cookie cutter home from the store I stared at that damn thing thinking...how hard could it be?  Seriously, after spending at least 2 hrs of my life I'll never get back searching the Internet for inspiration on how to decorate a frog sugar cookie...I found one. 

Ready to leap.

Using my favourite Sugar Cookie recipe from my Martha Stewart Cookbook I watched my mixer go to work

In order to chill in the fridge (and to stop me from eating it) I tightly wrapped this piece of heaven.

Creepy cutouts of a 'girl' cookie and her frog peeps in the background

Meringue powder and water beatin' at warp speed.

Key to 'clogless' #1 tip...sifted flour.  What a relief.  Yes, hubby you were right.

With 6 Tablespoons of water the royal icing isn't quite perfect.

Better.

Ah, perfect.

Here's my first froggie.

Next little guy.

Maybe it's not so bad being green after all.

Me Like Cookie

There's just something about seeing 'Cookie Monster' that makes me smile. 

Could it be because back in the 70's between watching the Smurfs and Switchback...Sesame Street was my staple. 

Of course, this could be where my obsession with cookies stems from, however Cookie Monster doesn't eat the dough, as far as I know. 

Maybe it's because I had a Cookie Monster stuff animal, no bigger than my hand, but when you shook him, his eyes made this hilarious sound...either way, I love Cookie just as much as I love dough.

While searching the internet for baking inspiration, I fell across what had to be the cutest cupcake that ever was (Cookie Cupcake).  Ack!  This rocks.  To kitchen me go.

Here's how I made Cookie in my kitchen...

Yes, those are the cutest measuring spoons/cups you've ever seen. 

A sweet gift from my hubby (Chief Bake Taster) which were picked up in a cute shop in Halifax, NS called The Hen House. 

You can pick up these adorable kitchen helpers from DCI Gifts

I will not eat the icing...I will not eat the icing. 

It's 'Cookie' blue

My 'Cookie' naked

'Cookie's' outfit

Open wide 'Cookie'!

Sweet mother of pearl...me love Cookie

Finally someone that loves cookies just as much as me

A Royal First

Last year my daughter's high school had a fundraiser for Haiti and they were looking for baked goods. 

I decided to give sugar cookies a try.  Having never made royal icing before, let alone never mixed up a batch of sugar cookies, I wasn't really prepared.  

But I was determined and of course if they didn't turn out, I'd eat the rejects and pick up a box of cookies from the grocery store.... a win win.

Why is batter so hard to resist?

Wrapped all pretty and ready to set in the fridge for 1 hr

I'm in love with sugar cookies and still a little shocked that my royal icing worked!

Fully flooded with minimal spill over...sigh I'm almost in tears at this point, as well as sporting a fresh tummy ache from a tad too much batter.

My first attempt at both sugar cookies and royal icing.....I love them.

All prettied up and ready to sell.

Fondant First

It's been over a year since my first attempt at making cakes with fondant and I'm not sure I'll ever go back.  It's so easy to work with, the marshmallow fondant is to die for...and the mess you make...priceless. 

It was all things Transformers for my 8 yr old last summer, therefore the cake had to be so.  My hubby, who's birthday is 3 days before my son's, was away from home on business for his birthday, so the cake was for both the boys in my life.

It all started with a sketch...

I may not look like much now....but give it time

Made my marshmallow fondant and added some rocking bright colours.

Starting to look more like a cake.

I was pretty happy with my first attempt with fondant :)

and I think they were too.

How to eat a Storm Trooper.....one bite at a time

Last year's cake for my son's 8th birthday party was a 'Transfomer', so of course I had to top it this year.  After much debate with the soon to be 9 yr old, a Storm Trooper themed b-day, complete with S.Trooper cake, cookies and 'Light Saber' Tag was agreed upon.  He picked out the design he wanted for his cake (from this website), as well as his cookies and the challenge commenced. 

I dove in head first, eating the rejects and battling the temptation yet again eat the dough.

Here's how it went....

I used a piece of cardboard as my basic template these tough guys, when fully cooled they were piped with white royal icing. 

Flooded the poor guys and let them set overnight. 

Working one line at a time, using a ton of patience and maybe a little icing to help me pull through

Not quite an army of troopers yet...looking more like little spaceships

Almost complete and ready for battle

Army of dark side almost done!

Mission complete.  Poor little guys, I have a feeling they aren't ones for 9 year old birthday parties

Next on my list of missions, was the cake.  Again, I choose to make the fondant myself, not only because it tastes better, I know what's in it....but it's the fun of gettin' my hands all gooey.  Ah...the perks to being a baker.

Found this template off the internet, the son loved it.

Not exactly ready for action yet

Good grief, the dreaded crumb coating.  After he was slathered in buttercream frosting, he needed to chill in the fridge a bit.

Gave me time to make my fondant

Sigh...need to find a way to take pics of me making this gooey goodness.

All rolled out and ready to dress my trooper

Poor guy...it's almost over.

Finally he can see!

Happy Birthday to my Jedi Cameron. 

I am positive this trooper was less than impressed.