Cakes Cakes Cakes

So again sorry for  not posting more often, just been busy busy busy. So today i figured I'd just post some pics of cakes I've done at work. 




This was a cake i did that was designed after a display wedding cake that Jess made. The little girl liked that cake and wanted a similar version done on a small cake. All the decorations are made from fondant. I'm really glad the people went with chocolate frosting, i think it works really well with the design. 

I absolutely loved this cake, if you don't know who that is it's general grievous from star wars episode III revenge of the sith. I'm not actually a huge fan of general grievous but it was a nice change from the typical star wars characters people want. (all deco are fondant)

The client brought in a napkin that they were using for their party, and they had coordinated all their decor with, and wanted a cake to match as well. It was a really lovely design, and i loved the colors. All decorations are made from fondant. 

Here's a cake for a pretty cool 3 year old, not only does his birthday cake have a guitar on it, but it's cookies and cream! yummmm (all deco are fondant)

Well that's all for today, i have lots more pictures stored up, but I'm trying to ration them so i can have more posts. So hopefully i will be posting soon, as well as having some pretty exciting news, fingers crossed. 

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Hope everyone is staying warm! It's freezing here in the big apple, the lowest temperatures they've had in two years! So in the spirit of this cold weather i decided to make one of my favorite winter weather foods, Loaded baked potato soup. It's super easy and so delicious. 

                                     


What you'll need is:
5-6 medium red skin potatoes
3/4 of a pint of light cream (you can also use heavy cream or half & half)
1 cup vegetable broth 
1/4 cup green onions cut small 
2 tsp oregano 
Lots of salt and pepper, don't be afraid of seasoning, just remember to keep tasting, then continue until you get it just right. 
handful of shredded parmesean cheese 




Toppings:
Shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream 
chives or more green onions 
bacon--i used an uncured smoked maple bacon, using a better quality bacon adds a nice touch (for the vegetarians out there just use bacos since they're made with soy and not real bacon.)




Instructions:
 Boil your potatoes for about 25 minutes with the skins(Make sure you cut them into quarters so they cook faster) Cook them until they're very soft like you were to make mashed potatoes. 


Then drain the potatoes and with a mixer (or by hand) smash the potatoes until smooth. Some chunks are fine. Slowly add your cream while mixing. Place on a med-low heat, then add your vegetable broth (you may add more or less to your preferance) 


Add your green onions, oregano, salt, and pepper remember keep tasting. 


Once the flavor is good and the soup is hot add your shredded parmesean. Keep soup on heat so the cheese melts. 


Meanwhile prepare your bacon as desired i like mine cooked in a skillet but you can cook it as you like. Cut the bacon into chunks. 


Assembly:
Soup
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Bacon 
Chives or green onions 

Hope you all enjoy!! Stay Warm!

frosted cookies

Here are some photos of some frosted cookies I made recently for my grandfathers birthday. He has always loved horses and horseback riding so I decided to go with that theme since I knew it would make some cute cookies. 

This first cookie is a horse (there were several of each cookie however I only took a picture of one of each.) All of the cookies are chocolate and iced with royal icing.  (cookie recipe at end of post)

Here's a little cowboy boot (excuse the photo i started packing them before i took a picture)

Then we have a horseshoe

I packaged each cookie individually, then packed them all in a cute basket i purchased at michael's. Wrapped it all in cellophane then topped it with a bow and a little wooden horse decoration. This was then packed in a box and shipped off to Florida. I found this to be the best method for shipping things of this nature. There was only one casualty, one of the horses was sadly decapitated on the journey. 

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter 

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla (rum or grand marnier could be used as a substitute)

1 1/2 cup flour 

5 tbsp cocoa powder 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt 

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325F

Cream the butter until smooth then add your sugar and continue to beat until light & fluffy. Then add in the egg and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Mix together your dry ingredients then add them in two additions, mixing until just combined. Wrap and chill dough for about 1 hour or until firm enough to roll. Roll Dough to about 1/4 inch in thickness. Chill 20 minutes then cut into desired shapes. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet & bake (325F) 8-10 minutes  rotating tray halfway through. Let cookies cool a bit on tray first then move them to a cooling rack to cool completely before icing. 

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone

Here is my halloween cake i made for the window display at work

I think this is by far my favorite cake i have made. I was really happy with the end result :] 

Hope you all enjoy and hope everyone has a wonderful halloween 

White Bean Ravioli with brown butter caper sauce

White Bean Ravioli with Brown Butter Caper Sauce 

The original recipe is from sandra lee, this is my edited version of it.

Recipe For Ravioli:

Ingredients:

1 15 ounce can navy beans 

1 egg

About 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar (i may have used a bit more, i did it by eye)

1/4 cup grated parmesan (if using fresh grated parmesan up it to 1/2 cup)

About 1 tbsp Italian seasoning 

1 tsp salt 

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp oregeno

1 package wonton wrappers (i use NaSoya wonton wrappers)

Recipe For the Sauce:

1 stick unsalted butter  

Italian Seasoning to taste roughly 2 tsp

Salt

1 tsp oregano 

3 tbsp capers 

Fresh grated parmesean for garnish

Instructions:

First you will need to make your filling, Drain then rinse the beans then mash them in a bowl, beat in the egg, then all the rest of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 30 min (this can also be made the day before.)

Meanwhile you can make your sauce. Place the stick of butter in a large skillet and melt it, continue cooking until it begins to brown and gets a nutty aroma. Turn off heat then add seasoning and capers. Set aside. 

Bring a pot of water to a boil add some salt and olive oil to the water. You will need to work in batches only do about 4 at a time. Lay 4 wrappers out, and have a small cup of water near you. Place about half of a tablespoon in the middle of each ravioli. 

          

                                     

Then dip your finger in the water and run it around the edge of the ravioli.

                                     

Then fold one corner over to the one across from it, creating a triangle 

Seal the edges with a fork

Place the raviolis in the boiling water for about 2 minutes or until tender.
















Place the raviolis into the brown butter sauce, then place on serving dish. Drizzle with a small amount of sauce  and top with fresh grated parmesan. 




                                       

This is deffinately one of my new favorite meals :] 

piping

Heres a cake i did recently, it's white fondant with royal icing piping 

This wasn't for anything special, i just wanted to practice on my piping 

I should be posting more stuff soon, just been really busy 

pizza

      

A brown turkey fig

So I know that i've been bad about updating. I just haven't had a chance to do any baking at home lately. So even though tonight's post isn't pastry i figured it was about time for an update. 

Tonight i made a fig and goat cheese "pizza" it's not really a pizza but not really sure what else to call it. 

It's pretty simple and sooooo good. Definitely one of my new favorite foods. 


Heres what you need:
Plain (or traditional) naan bread 
Goat Cheese
Figs (i used a combination of black mission & brown turkey figs 
Olive Oil
Thyme 


Balsamic Vinegar (optional)

You must first infuse your oil with thyme. Pull the leaves off the thyme trying to not get the stems (some of the small stems are fine) yes i know this is tedious and annoying but well worth it in the end. When you've added your thyme to the oil heat it in a pot on low heat for an hour (however since i'm impatient  i only did it until the oil was hot then took it off but it was delicious none the less. 


Brush your oil/thyme on the naan bread make sure to get the leaves on it with the oil. Then slice or  crumble goat cheese evenly over top. 


Now cut the stems off the figs the slice them and lay them evenly over top the goat cheese. Sprinkle with more thyme/olive oil. I then placed a sprig of thyme on top for visual effect. Place on a non stick baking sheet and place in the oven at 450 F. I didn't time it i jst checked on it a few times but if i had to guess i'd say about 10 minutes. You want the goat cheese to be melted, and the naan will be very dark around the edge it will be slightly burned but trust me it's good that way. 

The pizzas before they go into the oven 

While it's in the oven you can make a balsamic reduction to drizzle on top. This is very simple you just have to be careful to keep a close eye on it. 


Pour your balsamic vinegar into a pot (i did mine on a non-stick fry pan)
Heat on med-high if using a pot when it starts to simmer you must keep whisking it or it will burn if you use a fry pan i simply would swirl the pan every few seconds to keep it moving so it wouldn't burn. Do this until it is reduced by half and has thickened into almost a syrup consistency. 




When the pizza is done lightly drizzle the reduction on top and enjoy!!