Tall, Dark, and Handsome

This phrase is typically used to describe a guy.

I use it to describe this cake. This Salted-Caramel-and-Chocolate-Fudge Cake.

Because it was tall. Only a tiny little 6" round, but very tall. 6 layers'll do that to ya.  And dark - check out that icing. Spreadable fudge, ladies and gentlemen. Heaven on a spatula.

And handsome. I just love the contrast between the dark chocolate cake and the lightly salted caramel buttercream.

My family went nuts - it was a small cake, but nearly half of it was gone in 10 minutes. Then again, I have 5 brothers, so I guess I shouldn't be shocked.

By the way - wanna know a secret about how to get really, really good chocolate cake?

Here it is: . . . . . . . . . . . . .Coffee is to chocolate as salt is to beef.

Now I know what you're thinking - 'Eeewwww! I don't like coffee! I don't want to taste that in my cake!!!'

But you won't taste it!!! It is a seasoning in your cake rather than a flavor. A flavor adds a new element to the dish, while a seasoning enhances the flavor that is already there.

So, basically, coffee makes chocolate chocolatier. Uh, yum! And dark chocolate cocoa powder also makes chocolatey things chocolatier. I never use anything else.  And I like things chocolately. Like those 72% caco bars from the store - I buy 'em for baking, but always end up sneaking a few pieces. Just. So. Good.


I've heard that there's such a thing as too much chocolate. . . . .but I haven't experienced that for myself yet.

Guess I'll have to keep trying. ;)

Short and Sweet

is what this post is gonna be. I'm tired and ready to go to bed - it's been a long day and I'm sick of being awake and having to face my problems. So let's get this over with.

Buttermilk Cappuccino Cake
 - a birthday for a little girl who specifically requested this flavor and color scheme.

Always set up everything neatly - you will feel better AND work better.

First, level your cakes. Always, ALWAYS do this. You should have NO EXCUSE not to - this is ALWAYS necessary. 

Then, spread with espresso soaker. By now the scent of coffee is permeating the air. :D

Frost with Swiss Meringue Espresso Buttercream. . . . . .uh, YUM!

And spend the next couple hours cutting out, embossing, and tacking on ribbons and polka dots.

*phew* That went quicker than I thought.


Buona notte.

~ Elisabetta

MOHNSTAH!

No, honestly, I can spell.

This is just how somebody I know pronounces the word 'Monster.' And no, this is not a Halloween related post.  I am referring to the very popular Monster energy drink. At the Chick-fil-a where I work, it's kind of like a cult. I mean, EVERYBODY drinks Monster - except a few of the older ladies that work there. And there's only 2 of them. So yeah, it's pretty much everybody. And it's pretty much every day, too. I mean, I'm not one of the hard-core drinkers, but occasionally when I work from 5:15-2 & have school from 4-9 for 3 or so days in a row, I indulge in a little synthetic energy.

So, a few weeks ago, my boss sat me down and said, "Elizabeth, I have something serious to talk to you about."

*gulp*

"You are going to be required to. . . . . .make Monster cupcakes."

*humongous inner sigh of relief*

I am known around my Chick-fil-a as 'Queen of the Kitchen' or 'The Cupcake Goddess.'  Yes, people seriously call me that. So in addition to being Monster addicts, these people really like baked goods. Anyway, awhile ago, I had brought in Mountain Dew cupcakes - and they were a huge hit. The icing was a little fizzy, and after the first 'meh' bite, the flavor snuck up and slapped you in the face. In a totally good way. So I figured, eh, why not just substitue Monster for Mountain Dew? It'll totally work.

I thought about adding Pop Rocks on top for a little surprise,  but couldn't find them anywhere. :(

So there ended up being about a whole can of Monster in the batter. . . . .and then more in the icing. Again, very fizzy, and the overall effect was declared 'bangin' - but also 'very sweet'. So that's something I have to work on with this particular recipe.  But that's what coworkers are for - to give feedback so I can perfect stuff like this.

Baby mohnstahs

Speaking of green monsters - when I was driving to work the other day, I saw a large green van with the license plate 'HLK SMSH'.

Highlight of my day. :)

You Look Like a Little Monkey!!!

Did you know. . . . .

that more than 1,500 new cat videos are posted to Youtube each day?

Yup. Ain't it great.

Y'all have probably seen this already. . . . . .but if you haven't, then enjoy giggling hysterically.


P.S. You'll only understand the title if you watch the video.

Cakes of the past. . . . . .

So, I figured I'd give y'all some of my background in cake decorating.

It all started waaaay back in 9th grade when I was shopping with my mom at our local Michaels. As we perused the aisles, I happened to notice a flyer advertising 'Wilton's Intro Course in Cake Decorating."

It was just 8:00-9:30ish on Monday nights (I think. . . . somewhere around that time, anyway) so not so bad. After the first lesson (which seemed to go SO SLOWLY) I went home and in a few days, had finished going through the entire book. I just couldn't wait until the next lesson - I had to learn everything now. And as I was elbow deep in powdered sugar, tasting cake batter, and piping shells and stars, I realized - I was happy. Totally, absolutely blissful.

One night many years later, I was in our kitchen at school putting pan after pan of cookies into our giant convection oven. (I go to culinary school, in case y'all didn't know.)
And all of the sudden, that feeling came over me again. Not the kind of happy when it's your birthday, or even when there's 7 inches of snow that's perfect for sledding. A deep-in-your-heart-and-soul happy. That utter sense of belonging and peace you get when you're doing that special something you're good at, that thing that makes you YOU.

I walked around the rest of the night with this huge grin on my face.

So between 9th grade and now, I've made many cakes. Some that I loved, some that I hated. Some I hated so much that I didn't take pictures or let anybody eat them - I just threw them away in disgust.

Yes, I can be a little melodramatic at times. But it makes life more exciting.

So I've decided to show y'all some of those cakes. . . . . .starting with the cake which, at the time, I was inordinately proud of.

I mean, it took me HOURS to pipe all the little bitty stars all over it and place the sprinkles on with tweezers.

I thought I was so awesome. Lol.

 

This next cake was my very first attempt at fondant roses. Look how fat and chunky they are - eeewwww.

Since the fondant roses were an epic fail, I  moved on to  royal icing flowers - and those looked better, so I went with those.

These cakes were for a wedding - an addition to the big cake, since there were a lot of guests. 

Nobody even touched them. :(

And this cake was my first attempt at fondant - I was ecstatic with how it turned out. 

And then these cakes came afterward, staggered over the months - I don't have picture of every cake I've ever done. . . . .kinda wish I did.

This was for a little boy who is ALL about sheriffs - he even wears his badge to church, and dreams about having a 'shewiffs cah wif a siren on top'. He's only 4.

On this one, I had to come up with a cake that was anniversary/returning-home-from-the-army themed. And she wanted camouflage and flowers - so this is what I came up with. Kinda works, dontcha think?

Atlanta Braves cake with Chipper Jone's jersey number and signature for a coworker's husband's birthday. 

And if you look at the previous posts, you'll see the X-box cake, the piano cake, and the wedding cake. I have some wedding cakes scheduled months and years away, and some birthday cakes scheduled soon - I'll be posting pics of those when I'm done. 

And I know it's a Monday - but just try to make the best of it. 

See y'all later.

*Sigh* Glad It's Over

The title says it all. Last week. . . . . .well, let's just say I'm never doing that again. A body cannot be creative on just 4 & 5 hours of sleep a night several nights in a row - it simply isn't going to happen. And I'll say that I'm glad the replica cake was canceled. . . . . I just would not have had time for it this week. I am never triple-booking again.

Here's just an idea of how my week went.

Monday: Awake at 3:30 a.m., work from 5:15-2:00, school from 2:30-ish to 9:00

Tuesday: Off of work but homework GALORE (I had several research papers this week)  'til class from 5:00-6:15,  then supply shopping sine I was over on that side of town already, then home to do more homework.

Wednesday: Homework, chores, washing cars, cleaning the house, etc. And a school catering event from 4-9:15-ish, basically setting up food, serving food, then washing up afterwards.

Thursday: Up at 5, work from 7-3, classes from 5- 8(with homework in-between classes and work). Baking from 8:30 to past 11 p.m.

Friday. Get up at 5:30. Work from 7-4. Drove home and worked frantically on that X-box cake 'til after 2 in the morning.

Saturday. Get up at. . . . . . I don't remember when. I think it was 6 or 7. Finish said X-box cake, drop it off, work from 10-3, come home, begin working on piano cake. Finish said piano cake at 3 a.m. Fall into bed and then get up before 8 on Sunday so we can be ready to leave for church.

So yeah. . . . . . .just a little busy. But I was going out of my mind on Saturday night - and early Sunday morning - because everything went wrong with that piano cake.

Everything.

I'm not just saying that. I mean everything from the cake board being too thin from the rice krispies falling off the piano legs to the support structure being very tipsy to there not being enough cake or black fondant and the buttercream ran out and the gold paint wasn't working so I couldn't paint the inside of the cake. . . . . .yes. Everything.

I think it turned out awful. Horrible. I was so ashamed. I had planned to do an open baby grand (this thing was actually more than 20 inches long) with the wires and different parts inside, painted wood grain on different parts, and the Steinway logo above ivory keys.

Instead, at 3:00 a.m., this was what I had. 

 {By the way,  the white spots on the cake are just some photo effects I used on this picture - in reality, it was all black and shiny. It also reflected the camera flash. :0 }

I didn't have enough fondant to cover the lid piece, so I just had to make it look like the lid was already on the cake and just closed, and the rice krispies were what made up the legs of the piano, but they were awful - too moist to carve (I didn't make them right) so the piano legs looked like. . . . . . .well. . . . . like squishy black columns of rice krispies. And by then, I wasn't going to run to the grocery store for supplies to make more black fondant and rice krispies!!

And I won't complain to you anymore. Suffice it to say I was so glad it was not for a paying customer!!! It was for my brother's 22nd birthday - he's a music major in college. But my brother thought it was great, so I figured I'd go ahead a post a picture. And besides, I told y'all that I would. *sigh* But I shall not let this cake conquer me!! I am going to keep making pianos until I get it how I want it. And I shall never again experiment on a cake style with a 20"+ cake. It was a ridiculous amount of cake to have to deal with when you're not sure what you're doing!!


Allright, now let's get to the good stuff.

THE X-BOX CAKE

This is how it all started. 

 An 11x15 dark chocolate cake and a bowl of peanut butter buttercream - my own special recipe. It's to die for - basically tastes the inside of a Reeses cup. O.o Very dangerous if you like Reeses. Which I do. Very much.

I had to mix black fondant for some of the effects on this cake, like the vents on the side and the parts of the back. 

 For those of you who have never made marshmallow fondant (abbreviated mmf in future posts) it is SO much cheaper to make -and so much better tasting - than the store-bought stuff. :p Seriously, that stuff is plastic. THIS stuff, however, is marshmallows , water, and powdered sugar. Yumyumyumyum. And if you want black, you add melted chocolate. 

'Nuff said, I think. 

Here it is, carved and dirty-iced. This step is very important - you have to carefully carve all the angles, dips, and curves you need, and then ice it perfectly smooth - any lumps and bumps will show underneath the fondant. Basically, whatever is on the inside is also seen on the outside. Kind of like us, I suppose. :)

Now for the controller - I had to carve it out of Rice Krispie treats . . . . .

. . . . .ice it with buttercream so that the fondant would stick. . . . .

. . . . .then add carefully sculpted and painted gum paste buttons.

I was getting excited by this point. Everything was starting to come together.

And finally. . . . .it was finished. 

Yes - I did go a little crazy on the details. Like the CD drive, the USB ports, the glowing green button, the vents on the top. But it was so worth it.  I was very happy with this cake.

And when I put the controller on the top. . . . .I was even happier. It just added so much! Didn't make the top seem quite so plain.

And this cake was actually for a boy. . . . . .but his sister's nickname for him was 'Nancy.'

So, what do y'all think? I'm open to questions, comments, or snide remarks, and am always looking to improve if you guys have some tips and tricks to share. :)