How is it possible we have not contributed to this blog since January of LAST year?
I suppose we've been a bit busy baking...our biggest baking bonanza to date has been our beloved Katie's wedding. We made nine (count 'em, nine!) cakes for her big day, and we transported them all the way to the San Juan Islands in Washington.
This and many other cakes need to find a home online at the Busy Girls blog.
I (Kate) am working hard to gather the various photos, camera phone pics, and other such documentation of our cake creations over the past year and almost nine months!
Back to baking!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Chocolate Butter Bomb
Devil's Food Cake made with love for Mr. and Mrs. Paul (one of our best friend's parents), Jan. 27, 2010.
Katie brought the America's Test Kitchen cookbook over to the Brigade meeting, and boy were we excited. This book has page after page of mouth-watering recipes, as well as an entire section devoted to layer cakes! Mm mm mmy favorite!
We decided to try the devil's food cake and top it with butter cream frosting. We added almond extract to the frosting, and it proved to pack a flavorful pizzazz.
Mariel's about to take off for a couple of fencing competitions, so we tried to savor this bake session as we don't know when our next will be. (Good luck, Mariel!)
Now, a bit about the recipients of this cake ... Mr. and Mrs. Paul's daughter, Kelley, has been working in Germany for more than a year, and we miss her dearly. That's totally an understatement. We're counting the days until her return. Her parents have been empty nesters as her sister moved over to Germany to work, too, and her brother moved away for work also. Kelley has some of the nicest parents in the world. All nice people deserve a cake!
Katie brought the America's Test Kitchen cookbook over to the Brigade meeting, and boy were we excited. This book has page after page of mouth-watering recipes, as well as an entire section devoted to layer cakes! Mm mm mmy favorite!
We decided to try the devil's food cake and top it with butter cream frosting. We added almond extract to the frosting, and it proved to pack a flavorful pizzazz.
Mariel's about to take off for a couple of fencing competitions, so we tried to savor this bake session as we don't know when our next will be. (Good luck, Mariel!)
Now, a bit about the recipients of this cake ... Mr. and Mrs. Paul's daughter, Kelley, has been working in Germany for more than a year, and we miss her dearly. That's totally an understatement. We're counting the days until her return. Her parents have been empty nesters as her sister moved over to Germany to work, too, and her brother moved away for work also. Kelley has some of the nicest parents in the world. All nice people deserve a cake!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Big Top Barron
A different red velvet recipe and our first attempt at using the "Big Top" giant cupcake mold ... prepared for Leslee and Troy Schader, named in honor of their newborn, Barron.
Always on the lookout for a good red velvet (RV) recipe, the ladies tried one of Paula Deen's takes on the cake.
Instead of a simple layer cake, however, we tried out the latest baking utensil added to our business ... the Big Top Cupcake (as seen on TV)! It's supposed to be a giant cupcake, but ours turned out looking like a beehive. Perhaps it was because we saved some of the batter for our sample cake, which is okay when we're making a layer or sheet cake, but we now know this is definitely not advisable when baking in the Big Top.
The recipe turned out, but it wasn't the home run we've been hoping for when it comes to RV recipes.
Update: Katie attempted an RV cake away from the Cake Brigade for her dad and brother's birthdays. She used a recipe from America's Test Kitchen and said it--and the accompanying frosting recipe--topped each of the recipes we've tried. We'll have to give that one a go next time we need an RV fix.
Here is Katie's cake and our inspiration for future RV attempts:
Always on the lookout for a good red velvet (RV) recipe, the ladies tried one of Paula Deen's takes on the cake.
Instead of a simple layer cake, however, we tried out the latest baking utensil added to our business ... the Big Top Cupcake (as seen on TV)! It's supposed to be a giant cupcake, but ours turned out looking like a beehive. Perhaps it was because we saved some of the batter for our sample cake, which is okay when we're making a layer or sheet cake, but we now know this is definitely not advisable when baking in the Big Top.
The recipe turned out, but it wasn't the home run we've been hoping for when it comes to RV recipes.
Update: Katie attempted an RV cake away from the Cake Brigade for her dad and brother's birthdays. She used a recipe from America's Test Kitchen and said it--and the accompanying frosting recipe--topped each of the recipes we've tried. We'll have to give that one a go next time we need an RV fix.
Here is Katie's cake and our inspiration for future RV attempts:
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Surprise Attack
German Chocolate made with love for Mariel's fencing club, Dec. ?
We decided it was about time to try a German Chocolate cake. We made the recipe off the Baker's chocolate wrapper.
We decided it was about time to try a German Chocolate cake. We made the recipe off the Baker's chocolate wrapper.
Breakfast in Vermont
Maple Layer Cake prepared with love for Mariel's dad, Robert ... also known as the "Default Delivery."
This was a Martha Stewart recipe, and all I can say is it was quite a letdown. Numerous errors on our part--using less maple syrup than called for, not really grasping the concept of "softball stage" when using a candy thermometer, and attempting to use less than five (count 'em, FIVE) sticks of butter--but really, Marty? Really? I was expecting this to taste like a giant maple bar, but it turned out tasting like a pancake breakfast, heavily doused in maple syrup ... hence the name, Breakfast in Vermont.
This was a Martha Stewart recipe, and all I can say is it was quite a letdown. Numerous errors on our part--using less maple syrup than called for, not really grasping the concept of "softball stage" when using a candy thermometer, and attempting to use less than five (count 'em, FIVE) sticks of butter--but really, Marty? Really? I was expecting this to taste like a giant maple bar, but it turned out tasting like a pancake breakfast, heavily doused in maple syrup ... hence the name, Breakfast in Vermont.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Substitute Save
(Brownie Bottom Lemon Cheesecake)
Prepared with love for Mariel's mom's tennis potluck, Nov. 10. (Formerly called the "Advantage Cathy" cake.)
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Mariel's mom, Cathy, is set to host a potluck for her tennis club. Cheesecake is Cathy's favorite dessert, and Mariel chose this recipe to add a bit of pizzaz to the traditional cake.
The brownie crust smelled irresistible as it baked in the oven, and the rich batter with its lemon juice and zest wasn't too shabby to taste!
The bake time was a little lengthy, and there was an overflow of filling ... so we made two mini cheesecakes to devour on our own!
We think Cathy holds the advantage in this potluck! ;)
UPDATE: The cheesecake was a huge hit, an ace ... let's just say it was a grand slam! Apparently requests poured in for the recipe. Cathy said the potlucker who was supposed to bring a dessert didn't, so this cake was clutch!
Prepared with love for Mariel's mom's tennis potluck, Nov. 10. (Formerly called the "Advantage Cathy" cake.)
.JPG)
Mariel's mom, Cathy, is set to host a potluck for her tennis club. Cheesecake is Cathy's favorite dessert, and Mariel chose this recipe to add a bit of pizzaz to the traditional cake.
The brownie crust smelled irresistible as it baked in the oven, and the rich batter with its lemon juice and zest wasn't too shabby to taste!
The bake time was a little lengthy, and there was an overflow of filling ... so we made two mini cheesecakes to devour on our own!
We think Cathy holds the advantage in this potluck! ;)
UPDATE: The cheesecake was a huge hit, an ace ... let's just say it was a grand slam! Apparently requests poured in for the recipe. Cathy said the potlucker who was supposed to bring a dessert didn't, so this cake was clutch!
Tres Bitches
(The Pioneer Woman's Tres Leches Cake)
Prepared with love for the Woodmans, Nov. 10.
Words cannot express the utter joy that came from this cake.
Kate's newest obsession is The Pioneer Woman, introduced to her by way of a recipe for Katie's newest obsession, tres leches cake. Mariel's kitchen provided the outlet for the ladies to meld their obsessions ... and out popped the moist, melt-in-your-mouth goodness that was "three milks."
I (Kate) had never even heard of tres leches until I met my cowboy boyfriend, but once he shared a taste with me, I was hooked. And, it was quite fitting that Katie shared The Pioneer Woman's blog by way of this recipe.
There's three of us in the Cake Brigade, and we were quite catty to each other the night we made this cake, so that's why we gave it the "Tres Bitches" moniker.
The Pioneer Woman inspired us to embark on an intense journey of photo documentation for our cakes.
Prepared with love for the Woodmans, Nov. 10.
Words cannot express the utter joy that came from this cake.
Kate's newest obsession is The Pioneer Woman, introduced to her by way of a recipe for Katie's newest obsession, tres leches cake. Mariel's kitchen provided the outlet for the ladies to meld their obsessions ... and out popped the moist, melt-in-your-mouth goodness that was "three milks."
I (Kate) had never even heard of tres leches until I met my cowboy boyfriend, but once he shared a taste with me, I was hooked. And, it was quite fitting that Katie shared The Pioneer Woman's blog by way of this recipe.
There's three of us in the Cake Brigade, and we were quite catty to each other the night we made this cake, so that's why we gave it the "Tres Bitches" moniker.
The Pioneer Woman inspired us to embark on an intense journey of photo documentation for our cakes.
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