Showtime Birthday Purse

Showtime Birthday Purse
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

I made cake for my neighbour, she saw a previous cake I made and could not believe it was a pocketbook. I did not dry shoes well, so the heel started to shrink. Held it ups with chocolate. I hand painted the Gucci pattern, airbrushed cake with Super Red.

Happy baking and caking. Walk good 'till next time...

Jeannie

Lichelle Farmer - October Wedding

Lichelle Farmer
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

A dear friend called and me on "hump day' (Wednesday) said she needed a cake for "last day" (Saturday). Could not resist the sugar fix. Oh, did I mentioned it was a wedding cake?

Thanks for looking, walk good until we meet again.

Jeannie

Nico "The Diver"

Nico "The Diver"
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

My first diver. Got ideas from a few cakes I found on Flickr. I cut sea creatures using a cutter. Cake is a double chocolate cake with chocolate cream filling. TFL

Open Door Ministries - Open Bible

Open Door Ministries - Open Bible
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

I made this cake for my SIL pastor's ordination service. It's 2-11x15 cakes next to each other. One cake a coconut cake with cream cheese-coconut filling, the other a red velvet with cream cheese filling. Cake(s) covered with fondant. The writing on scrolls done with photoimage using edible ink. Scrolls were made using cardboard center form parchment paper roll (cut in half) and dowel inserted in the center the covered with fondant. TFL

Walk good untill we meet again,

Jeannie

Baby Shower

Janice-Alvin
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

This cake was for a baby shower cake for a young couple expecting their first child (a boy). Invitations had buttons and foot prints. Gumpaste baby in cot. I removed the block the cot stood on and placed it on a gold plate instead. Forgot to take that shot.

This is my first attempt at making a cake and cupcakes to go along. I really enjoyed doing this cake for Lisa. She asked me to do it for her son and daughter-in-law, Alvin and Janice. I had ample time to make the baby, cot and decorative pieces.

Thank you for looking and walk good untill we meet again,

Jeannie

Blame The Baker

Dancer-Kena 001
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

I made this cake for Kena who is not a pole dancer, but does pole fitness. It's a new fitness routine which is gaining popularity. She said since she started doing pole fitness, she has toned and gain strength in her upper body. She wish I would stop baking such delicious cakes so she could better shape her lower body.

Yeah! Blame the baker.

Happy caking, and walk good...

Jeannie

Garry A Yankee?

GarryYankee
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

This cake was a gift to my BIL (brother-in-law) since he and my sister are huge New York Yankee fans. As a matter of fact, I have a strange feeling, they maybe ghost owners of the ball club...I'm just saying...'cause if a good portion of your wardrobe has NY on it; you jewelry says NY, your shoes says NY...there is a patters here.

Apart from he and my sister Yankeeness, he was so surprise when I showed up with the cake. Happy (now belated) birthday Garry!

Walk good...

Jeannie

Happy Birthday Mommy!

MomsChicken
Originally uploaded by bakingjeannie

To celebrate her special day, I made a cake to tease her because these are some of the stuff she shouldn't eat. As you can see, it's still in the box and I have the cake in my office so she has not seen it yet!

She is going to be shocked! Worse, I forgot my camera and had to take picture with my cellphone. Snap!! I'll post a picture of her face when she sees it.

The cake is a chocolate cake I have been baking which she just loves; another thing she should not be eating also. Anyway, it's her day to celebrate and birthdays you have once each year.

Walk good, and happy caking.

Jeannie

April Shower

About one week ago I made this cake for Lesley's bridal shower. I was inspired by a cake I saw on Cake Central:

It was a lemon cake with raspberry filling covered with buttercream and fondant. This weekend is her wedding. I am so happy for her...she asked Lizca and I to do her wedding cake!

Walk good and happy caking!

Jeannie

The Shoes are Made for Eating

This is a true statment: "Women love to buy shoes, pocketbooks (handbags or purse) and articles of clothing." The reason I said this is true, is lately I have been getting a number of request from friends to make them a pocketbook cake or a cake with a pair of shoes on top. Sometime, the party has both - pocketbook and shoes!

This is Apryl's birthday cake. It was my first of this type (animal print and shoes)

This is also Apry's birthday cake. The pocketbook is similar to her baby bag. I just left off the baby stuff since it was a "birthday cake".

This cake is for my friend, Linda. A yellow cake covered in buttercream and a pair of shoes. The cake was for her Bible Study group. Lois was celebrating her 80-something birthday!

I have four more cakes to do around Mother's Day. So Mom, you will have a pocketbook you can eat.

Walk good and happy caking,

Jeannie

Cupcake Craze

I have Bible Study tonight and what better to share other than cupcakes? Last night I knock-up these yellow cupcakes; cover them with buttercream (not Swiss Meringue Buttercream - it was almost as fluffly) and fancy them with fondant/gumpaste decorations. I was in "sugar heaven." Check them out:
By the way, I made 12 cupcakes...the cupcake caper strikes again!
Walk good and happy caking...


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Dol-fan Cake

Have you ever heard of a “Dol-fan?” Well a Dol-fan is a diehard, win or loose, hands down, supporter of the home team, The Miami Dolphins kind-a-fan. In other words, this is the unofficial name for my nephew, Michael – he is a Dol-fan.

So it was no surprise for his birthday cake he wanted a Miami Dolphins theme cake. A few years ago I made him a Miami Dolphin cake for his birthday and ended up having to make a New York Jets cake for his older brother, Dominic, two months later. I am sure he thought I was going to make a sheet cake and put the Dolphin logo in buttercream on the cake. I surprised him with this cake gift: 

Michael was turning 11, so I placed it above the Dolphin on the helmet. He plays Impact football and his number is five, so the five yards line fell right in place. The Dolphin I drew on sugar paper and coloured with gel food colour. He wanted a chocolate cake, so I made a cake filled with whipped chocolate cream filling and covered with chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream then covered with fondant.  The biggest challenge was stacking and carving the cake; plus making the grill out of gum paste. The grill broke and I had to patch it (forgot to make an extra one) in a number of places – oops!

My sister told me that he said, if his NFL career does not take off he would like to become a baker. Sweet! We have another baker in the family.

Walk good and happy caking!

Jeannie

Cheetah Cake

In January I had a special request for a birthday cake from my niece, Lady Katherine. That request was for a “Cheetah Girls” theme birthday cake. Well, I was up to the challenge, because that’s exactly what it was – a challenge to my cake decorating skills. I got a few ideas from a few bakers from one of my favorite addiction: Cake Central.

The cake was a French Vanilla cheesecake-flavored yellow cake with cheesecake filling and Swiss Meringue Buttercream. The cheetah print was on sugar paper along with pictures of the group on the side. Additional decorations were done using fondant. Lady Katherine was so thrilled! She said the cake was so delicious. With this cake I scored extra “Sweet Auntie Brownie Points!”

Walk good and happy caking. Sweet!!!

Coconut Cake Recipe

I found this recipe on the Epicurious website and it is the most delicious coconut cake I have every baked. It’s moist and has a whole lot of  magic in it because after it’s bake, the cake disappears! I mean, really disappears.  Try it for yourself and let me know.

The cake is know as the Awesome Coconut Cake at The Shubox Cafe, Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

Coconut Layer Cake (Bon Appétit | December 1999)

Yield: 10 servings

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour (I used cake flour)

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)

4 large eggs, separated

1 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup buttermilk

Pinch of salt

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

 

4 cups sweetened shredded coconut

 

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 2-inch-high sides. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter and sweetened cream of coconut in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract. On low speed, beat in dry ingredients and then buttermilk, each just until blended.

 

Using clean dry beaters, beat egg whites with pinch of salt in another large bowl until stiff but not dry. Fold beaten egg whites into batter.

 

Divide cake batter between prepared pans. Bank cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. cool cakes in pan on rack 10 minutes. Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen cakes. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely.

 

Place 1 cake layer on cake plate. spread 1 cup Cream Cheese Frosting over cake layer. sprinkle 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut over. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. sprinkle remaining coconut over cake, gently pressing into sides to adhere. (Coconut Layer Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 2 hours before serving.)

 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

 

2 (8-ounces) package Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco Lopez)

1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Preparation

Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until fluffy. Add butter and beat to blend. Add sugar, sweetened cream of coconut and vanilla extra and beat until well blended.

 

Source: Epicurious.com

Christ in Christmas & Happy New Year!

Can you believe it? Today is January 12, 2009 just twelve days since the start of the new year and I am feeling like Christmas flew right by me in a flash. Let me see what I have done over the holiday…I baked cakes; baked more cakes; even more cakes; and still more cakes. Lately I am starting to look like I enjoy eating the cakes I bake. About  five or more pounds heavier plus an inch or two in places that are easily seen. My take on this is…if you bake delicious cakes it should show that you like to eat them too.

Now the cake I really wanted to do for Christmas dinner was the only cake I did not get to bake. Here is a picture of the cake I had for Christmas dinner (picture at right). It was an Buttermilk Yellow sheet cake covered with Swiss Meringue Buttercream (I love this buttercream – butter is the operative word here. Butter, lots of it!!) The figures on the cake I made following one of Lorraine McKay’s tutorial. It was so simple making the Christmas trees and Frosty the Snowman, I could hardly believe I was making them.

I really wanted to make a Coconut Cake with a  Nativity scene on the the cake and the words: “Happy Birthday Jesus!” on it. Well it seems like Frosty got top billing on the Christmas cake. Thank God, it’s Christ who made the “mass” possible. Although Frosty is on the cake, Henry and I made sure we kept Christ in Christmas by our love for Him and how we share it with the people we love and care for. Even if “Jesus” in not on the cake, He is in the right place with us—He is in our hearts!

Happy baking, and walk good ‘till next time.

Jeannie

The Turntable

How many of you remember what a turntable looks like? Or even know what is call an LP or a 45? When April emailed me a picture of a turntable cake and asked if I could make one as a surprise for her husband’s birthday, I was up to the challenge. As usual, she wanted the now famous, Almond Cream Cheese Pound cake to make this special surprise.

Well, the cake was made and the birthday party was on. Last week I got a call from one of the family member who was at the birthday party telling me how lovely the cake was, only wish she could taste it. I ask why she could not taste it? She said Aubrey did not let anyone cut his cake. He took it home to have it shellac!

I am reminded of the Saturn TV ad regarding the new look of the Saturn. The two Saturn employees told the very surprised and baffled, prospective customer when he was not sure if he was really in a Saturn dealership, that ‘they get that all the time’. Yes, I hear it all the time too, especially when I do sculptured cakes: ”Jeannie the cake was so pretty, no one wants to cut the cake!”

Happy caking and walk good ‘till next time.

Jeannie

A Friend – Sugar Character

Last week I got one of Lorraine McKay’s “The Icing on the Cake – Tutorial” to make the female character and was so excited I could hardly wait to download the file. I had to print it three times because my inkjet printer kept on jamming. Spent most of the night doing it and the picture here is what it looks like.  I even made the coffee and toast, plus painted the cup and plate! The hardest part of doing the figure was getting the facial features just right.

I have looked at so many of Lorraine’s tutorial and is just amazed at how talented she is. Her sharing what she knows is such a blessing, because I believe that’s how she gets better at what she does. Aine2, I’m a big fan!

Well, I did not stop with this figure. I made the snowman and Christmas trees! Saturday I made a bunch of carrot cakes and one especially for a friend using another figure I made.  As you will notice, her mouth was not as ladylike as I would have like. The cake I made as a sofa and placed it on a tiled surface (fondant and used a brick impression mat.

My girlfriend loves to invite me over to have tea and crackers and cheese. Here I placed the toast I made, plus a pot of roses because she is an avid gardener. The cake is a carrot cake covered with Swiss Meringue buttercream and white chocolate fondant.

Crazy Cake Weekend

I believe my sugar numbers are off the chart today. Why? I was eating so much cake since Thursday, it’s frightening!

Thursday I baked Pink Champagne cupcakes, for Bible Study on Friday night. Friday night, well lets call it Saturday because it was 12:30 in the a.m., I baked two double batch of my all time best, Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake for three cakes I would be decorating later. I have been making the pieces for one cake ahead of time. With all this baking, I was making tons of samples. Yup! Those mini cupcakes. The ones you just pop in your mouth and it disappears. Suddenly I noticed one tray was empty and I gasped! Who is eating all the cupcakes? I’m the only one in the kitchen?! There are about eight empty wrappers in the garbage can…hum hum…where did they go?

Walk good and happy caking. God bless yah!

Jeannie

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Where are the bees?!

My niece Katherine, yes the owner of the Easy Bake Oven, made it to the Regional of their Spelling Bee. So I made he a yellow cake with daisies and bumble bees covered with Swiss Meringue Butter Cream. She loved it! Taking a closer look at the bees, they look like they could do with some good sleep or tomato juice with bitters, in other words: sleep depraved or drunk!

On the day of the regional, I made her six cupcakes with butter cream and fondant flowers, but not bees. Of course the question was asked,
"Auntie Jeannie, where are the bees?!?" Oops! they flew away I wanted to say...pity my dear niece did not know I had to download the "Bee Movie" desktop background to get a very good look at what a bee should look like. Plus Auntie Jeannie's fingers were hurting. Anyway, I later hear how "delicious" the cupcakes were.

I'm so proud of her even though she got knocked out in the fourth round. Her prissy attitude was, "I did my best, but there is next year..." Oooohhhh! Maybe she could help me with my spelling.

Walk good...

Jeannie