Spaced Out

No, this is not a description of me. Well, maybe. A little. Sometimes.
Anyway...I'm finally posting some pictures of the finished outer space birthday cake I made for my son.

I will say that it didn't turn out exactly as I had planned. The yellow stars on the black cake are not at all what I imagined. But, I was really tired, and I knew my son wouldn't care a whole lot about the stars. ;-)

So, here it is...the making and completion of the space cake.



Rice Krispy planets, covered in marshmallow fondant. Okay, so they don't look a whole lot like any planets *I* recognize. It's okay. I just made up some new ones. ;)













Swirly cake batter...pre-baked and post-baked.







Fondant stars that I had to free hand, dangit, because my sweet little 3 year old lost my star cutter.











Bottom layer was supposed to look something like the sun. ;-)








And finally...the finished cake.









My sweet birthday boy, blowing out his candles...








And wow...it was for sure a colorful cake. If I ever do another one, I won't go quite so crazy with the drizzling colors. It's a little messy. :-)


All in all, this was a fun cake to make. It's fun to just get creative and colorful with something and not really have any restrictions. It was cool having two different flavors of cake as well. I'm a certified chocoholic, but I have to say that the french vanilla butter cake with that vanilla maple buttercream frosting was my favorite. Sooo good. That was the first time I'd ever thought to make my vanilla buttercream with the addition of maple extract. You have to go careful, so you don't overwhelm it. You just want a subtle taste of maple. Yum! :-)

Chocolate Love...

So my friend Angie was sweet enough to feature me on her blog and say a lot of nice things about me and my cakes. And she's also been having kind of a crappy week. So I wanted to thank her, cheer her up, and give her a little comfort. So I made her this cake.
I call it 'Chocolate Decadence', because that's exactly what it is. Not your everyday, "oh, I think I'll whip up a cake" cake. This is reserved for special occasions. And for a serious chocolate fix.
I decided to take pictures as I put the cake together, so you could get an idea of what all is going on in there. ;-)

This is a chocolate fudge cake, made with buttermilk, extra vanilla, and chocolate chips.

On this first layer, I've spread on some thick chocolate ganache. (Bring heavy cream just to a boil, and pour over chopped chocolate. Stir til silky and melted, add some pure vanilla, and you've got a bowl full of sin right there.)

I covered the *bottom* of the second layer with chocolate buttercream. I gave the ganache layer a little time to firm up and then sandwiched the two together.


I then frosted the whole cake with chocolate buttercream, put dollops of frosting on the top of the cake, garnished with Lindt chocolate hazelnut truffles, and using a sandwich baggy with the end snipped off, I drizzled ganache over the whole thing.



I think I gained several pounds making this thing. It feels like it seeped through my pores. I swear, I feel heavier just thinking about it.

Space...the Final Frontier

Okay...I'm about to get started on baking the Space Cake. I'm a little excited about it. :-) I plan to take pictures and post of some of the steps I take making this cake. So it'll probably be, umm..interesting? Might be disastrous. We'll have to see.

I'll be making a batch of vanilla marshmallow fondant to cover my rice krispy planets. You know how I feel about fondant. But the homemade (and tweaked a little by me) is the lesser of the evils. ;-) It actually tastes pretty good, I'm just not a fan of chewing frosting. It's just weird.
But it should be okay for the rice krispy things.

I've decided on a dense vanilla butter cake tinted to be rainbow/tie-dyed for the bottom tier, (figured it would be a fun little surprise when it's cut) frosted with vanilla maple buttercream, and chocolate decadence for the top (6 inch) tier, frosted with dark chocolate buttercream. (And I'm thinking that I'm gonna be good and not eat any of this. Ha.)

Alright...time to get covered in powdered sugar. ;-)

Birthday Time!

Time to get to planning and baking my son's 11 year birthday cake. I think I've decided on an outer space theme. The idea is a really cool one in my head, I'm just hoping I succeed in the doing of it. :-)

I'm looking forward to it, I think it's gonna be a lot of fun. I can't wait to post pictures of the finished product.


Space themed cakes are awesome...there are so many elements and colors to work with. A cake decorator's dream. ;) While I was thinking about what kind of cake I wnted to make him, I also tossed around the idea of dragons (also VERY cool), Poke'mon (blah), Lord of the Rings (yay!), and several others. But the space theme just seemed like it'd be more fun.

One day I'll attempt a 3-D dragon cake, but only when I've got the time and money to do a lot of experimenting. :-) I've seen some pretty amazing ones, especially one done for a Dungeons & Dragons party by Mike's Amazing Cakes. Unbelievable. Wow. You should check that out if you get a chance. It's easy to find...there are pictures of it all over the internet.

Anyway...hope all have a great weekend!

Ahh...Summer

I have mixed feelings about summer. I love it because the kids are out of school (although that feeling ends after a few days of having them all home), and because we can be a lot more flexible. I love all the in season produce...fresh berries being among my favorites. I like that the days are longer. I love the beachy smells...tan lotion, salty air...unfortunately we live nowhere near a beach. ;-) I love taking my kids swimming and watching all the fun they have.
But I hate...and I do mean *hate* the heat that comes along with it. Sweat and I are not friends. When temperatures outside exceed 80º, I start to panic. And when my stupid air isn't working right, and temps on the INSIDE reach 70º...I start to freak.
(I tend to ramble, so just bear with me)
Summer is a yummy time for cakes...think fresh peaches & cream cake, summery lemon cake with fresh raspberries, orange cake with creamy orange frosting...Mmmm...this time of year, cakes should preferrably be kept on the lighter side. Nothing too terribly heavy or rich. (Even though when you're me, heavy and rich is an all year good thing.)


It's also a good season for pies. Time to trade in those wonderful spicy pumpkin and sweet potato pies (my favorites) for fresh blackberry cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream, strawberry pie, and delicious and summery raspberry cream pie.
Fresh Blueberry pie topped with a dollop of freshly whipped cream is one of the best in my opinion, and perfect for Memorial Day cookouts.

My idea of a perfect summer day cookout:

Marinated Grilled BBQ Chicken Breasts
BBQ Sausage
Homemade Potato Salad
Tangy Bacon Baked Beans
Crisp/Tender Sauteed Asparagus
Italian Pasta Salad
Fresh Fruit Salad, tossed w/lime juice, a little sugar, and some ginger
And last, but not least...
A big ol' Fresh Blueberry Pie.

This is definitely going to be my menu for the holiday. I'll post the Blueberry Pie recipe, and if you'd like any of the others, just comment and I'll post it for you. :-)

Happy Hot, Humid, Sticky Summer!!




Fresh Blueberry Pie
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

I like to make my own crust, but for convenience the Pillsbury crusts that you unfold are great. You need one pkg. (2 crusts)

Filling:

2/3 cup to 1 cup sugar, depending on your taste

1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

4 cups (or more if you like) fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons butter (real butter is always best)

Press one crust into a 9 inch pie plate. Crimp edges. Do not bake. Preheat oven to 375º.

Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon. Sprinkle over the blueberries in a large bowl. Toss lightly to coat well. Spoon into unbaked pie crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edges of pastry with water.

Cover pie with top crust, cut slits in top to allow steam to escape. (You can be creative and adventurous and try a lattice crust, but it's a pain.)

Beat an egg with 1 Tablespoon of water and lightly brush over the top crust. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, til filling in center is bubbly and crust is golden brown. You might need to cover the edges of the pie crust with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Cool til barely warm or room temp before serving.

♥♥ENJOY!♥♥

Name Change!

Okay..I've changed the name of this blog from 'Cakes by Jen' to 'JennyCakes'. There were just too many of the other out there...it was kinda confusing. Plus this way, my blog doesn't feel like it HAS to be just about cakes I've made.
I might want to talk about something else, right? :-)

Anyway...so the blog address will change also, to reflect the name change. Hopefully I don't mess anything up too bad..lol

My Family

Here are some pictures of the fam...what a nice, handsome, testosterone laden group. There's myself..(poor me in a household of guys!)
My handsome husband, Paul...my sweetheart. ♥




The oldest, (by 3 months!) Geoffrey. He's 17, my stepson, and one funny, sweet kid. :)



Next is Nicholas, also 17...yea, lots of fun in the house with these two..lol..Nick's too grown for his own good, (or thinks he is) and knows everything. Please refer all questions to him. ;-)

Alexander is our middle son...he turns 11 in a few days. :-) Alex is so smart it's crazy...he is interested in all kinds of cool things. He's been my Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean buddy since he was really little. ~Sniff~ Yep, I'm pretty proud of that...lol


Last, but not least, is our darling little Houston. 3 years old and one huge pain in the butt...lol...but also the sweetest, funniest little kid I've ever known. He keeps me running constantly, and I love him with all my heart. I had a time talking my husband into having this one, but I pulled out all kinds of pity cards...hahaha...I wanted a child with him, and I got it. And what an incredible blessing he's been to us. ;-)

Well, that's my family. They drive me insane, make me silently wish I could escape, and cause all kinds of irritations, but I love them so much. :-) Being a mom is the most thankless, frustrating, heart breaking.....rewarding, beautiful, joyful and important job in the world. ♥♥♥♥

Sugar Love....

I guess this blog can't just be all about cakes. I have too big of a mouth to keep it shut otherwise. ;-) Plus, I'm trying to fill up a lot of space, so there's more on here to look at..lol.

But speaking of cake...today is one of those days when I'd like to do absolutely nothing at all, except recline on the couch with a good stack of movies and a big ol' platter of cakes. Yes. Plural. More than one cake. Gotta represent all the flavors, right? Wouldn't want one to feel left out or anything.

But I will be good this week and refrain from baking. Unless I'm getting paid to do it. ;-)

To sorta, vicariously get my sugar fix...I thought I'd share a quick and easy recipe with y'all. One of my favorites because I always seem to have the ingredients on hand, and it's a pretty fast one to make, and it is sooo, sooo good.

If you make it, let me know how it turns out for ya...and this picture isn't mine. It's borrowed from Flickr (common pics). I didn't have a picture of mine. :-)

**Warning**......these are HIGHLY addictive, and might cause a noticeable increase to your backside if consumption exceeds common sense. :-D

Brown Sugar Brownies

1/2 stick salted butter (not margarine!)
1/2 cup EACH packed light and dark brown sugars
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. PURE vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray an 8 inch square pan with cooking spray.

In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter. Turn the heat off, and add the brown sugars, stirring until smooth. Stir in the beaten egg. Sift the flour and baking powder together and stir it into the brown sugar mixture. Add vanilla and pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepped pan and bake for about 20 minutes.

When it's cool, dust the top with some powdered sugar, then cut into squares. Store them in a plastic container with a tight fitting lid. (If there's any left. :-) )

Think carefully before you make these, though. You most likely will overindulge. ;-)

A few more cakes. :-)

Okay...so here are a few of my fancier cakes. I wish I had more pictures. But I didn't think about photographing them in the beginning. Everything I've done so far has been with buttercream or cream cheese frosting (bases...they can be all kinds of flavors).

I'm not a huge fan of fondant. I'll use it if insisted upon, but I don't care for the taste. I've made some homemade marshmallow fondant (Thanks to my cousin Sara, for the recipe!) and it's far more palatable, but in my opinion, you can't go wrong with a smooth, creamy frosting. Real butter, real vanilla, cream, pure cane powdered sugar, rich cream cheese and various other flavorings just always taste best, hands down. And I think you can achieve a beautiful, smooth look as well.

The 'Thomas the Train' cake was for a friend's little boy's birthday. It was a fun one to make. Just simple chocolate buttermilk cake with vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream (for the fence, track, and tree trunks).

My stepdaughter's cake was a double chocolate butter cake filled and frosted with cream cheese frosting. This was my first attempt at a semi large wedding cake. Her wedding colors were a little on the difficult side to work with, I was afraid it was going to end up looking gaudy. Her 'Precious Moments' cake topper was a little bit of a challenge to incorporate, too....it was all pastel, which doesn't pair too well with the brighter colors. So I tried to bring them together with the blue stars. She loved it, and that was all that mattered. :-)

The black and white cake was for my niece's wedding. There's a picture of it before being finished up with rose petals, and after. The topper she chose was beautiful, too. Her cake was fresh lemon, filled with lemon buttercream and raspberry jam, then frosted with vanilla buttercream. Really good combination.

Cakes!

Just a few of the cakes I've made...The first was for my husband's birthday. He's a lemon cake lover, so I made him this fresh lemon cake, filled and frosted with a really good fresh lemon buttercream frosting. The 'Congratulations' Cake I made for Cakes Across America, just a simple butter cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, the cinnamon pecan carrot cake with fresh orange cream cheese frosting is one of my personal favorites. This one was done for a Birthday/Easter celebration. Then there's a double chocolate chunk cake with vanilla cream cheese frosting that was done for a Relief Society birthday celebration at church. The 'Cake Poker' cake was one I did for Cakes Across America, and the picture of my goofball son holding the cake was a 'candy' cake I made him last year for his 16th birthday. Buttermilk chocolate chunk cake with peanut butter filling and frosting, trimmed with chocolate buttercream and loads of mini candy bars. ;-)

Umm........

What the heck do you put on a blog? I keep waiting for something genius to come to me, but that ain't happening.
And how do you just post pictures? Do you have to do it with a comment? I'm old and confused...I am a technological retard.
Oh well...for now I'll just post a picture with each comment! Lol..So...
this picture is of the baby shower cake I made for my stepdaughter.
It was dark chocolate buttermilk cake with fresh strawberry truffle filling and cream cheese frosting. Mmmm...
The little baby was made from fondant, and was the first time I had ever used fondant. I was a little intimidated at first, but it was actually fun. I also learned that fondant needs a lot longer drying time than the couple days I allowed it. My stars and moon were also made from fondant, and I had a lot of trouble with them drooping.

I keep letting my love of chocolate (dark being my favorite) get the better of me. I'm trying to eat healthier, which I do most of the time, but my sweet tooth is such an evil monster that it pushes aside my good sense sometimes...lol

I made a small cake for a bake sale the other day...there was leftover cake batter, filling, frosting...well, you can't just throw that stuff away, right?......Right?
So I made cupcakes. Rich, dark, chocolatey cupcakes filled with a peanut butter filling and frosted with buttery chocolate frosting. Yea, I told myself I was making them for my kids...hahaha. I ended up having 3. And they were good, too. ;)

Sigh....it's hard to try and live a healthier lifestyle when you are obsessed with baking. I have to test the finished products...can't just foist them off on unsuspecting people, not knowing if they're delicious or not..lol.

So anyway..tomorrow is Monday, and time for firmer resolve to get my butt on my elliptical and keep cupcakes out of my mouth for a while. ;-)

New at blogging

So...I'm new to the whole blogging thing, and am enduring being made fun of by my teenage son, who says I'm a 'dork'. Lol...I probably am, so I'm not offended. :-)

I have no idea what to do on here, or how to really get started, so any advice is appreciated.

The main point of starting this blog is to be seen by people in my area that are interested in ordering cakes (or other confections). I'd love to find a starting point to getting some orders. :-)