Great things Coming!!!

Hey all!  My site is under some remodeling so please be patient as I make some fun and exciting changes!  Check back to see my updates soon!!!

Yummy Mummy!

So it has been a crazy week! So you know that I have been baking to counteract the insanity! Here is a easy and fun cake for Halloween. It is a edible Mummy with a surprise for the kids inside topped in cream cheese frosting.

I made two different cakes to give this cake some height. One is vanilla and the other a yellow cake then I tinted them green and purple for Halloween. Here they are layered with cream cheese frosting.

Once you have a very base coat of frosting on your cake decide what side is the front and add a small patch of black and your eyes out of frosting. Once the eyes are in place you can add the "gauze" wrappings. I used this tip by Wilton. One side is smooth the other has ridges. I used the ridge side out to create the mummies wrappings.

Here is a slice of the inside with the fun purple and green stripes. My kids loved making and eating this one with me!! Happy Halloween!

Owl Cupcakes

I made these today for my Sisters Baby shower. She loves owls and I thought it would be a fun thing to give guests as they went home. It also would be a fun thing to make this month for Halloween, so because I am nice I thought I would share with you!! I have to admit I saw these in a magazine and ripped the page out so I don't know which, but they are super easy and super cute. Give them a try!

Basically for this cupcake start by baking your favorite cupcake recipe or mix. For the eyes buy double stuff Oreos and using a spatula cut through the cookies so all the frosting is on one side ( I needed more than one package for 24 cupcakes). I saved the other half of the Oreos for a cookie crust, but you can just dunk them in some milk too. Frost your cupcakes normally and stick on two Oreo halves. Next stick on two junior mints with frosting to complete your eyes. Use a banana runt for the nose and complete with a few swooshes of frosting above and below the eyes. I used a star tip for this part so it would have a textured look. They are soooo cute, and tasty too!

Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Cake

So this recipe is dedicated to my fantastic cousin Emily. Pardon the pun, but this cake recipe has been baking in my head for a long time. I had all the ingredients including the Nutella sitting in my cupboard, but I was waiting for a time that I really could work out the frosting. This is where my cousin enters the scene. She face booked me that she tried a new Nutella recipe and that I should check it out. It was like she read my mine. We must have some kind of baker/cousin telepathic thing going on. Long story short, I gave it a go, with this cake from my head and tastiness was born!!! We are talking a Devils Food cake with a caramel filling frosted in Nutella frosting and wrapped in chocolate Hazelnut cookies. What's not to like? Ok, maybe that whole sharing part. Just remember that sharing was what created this beauty in the first place. So here is a cake for you my sweet cousin Em who inspires me not only in the kitchen but in all aspects of life. Love ya girl!!

Here is the caramel filling. I had to slap that second layer on quick before my husband saw all of its caramel glory otherwise I would have never finished in. Be sure when you put that caramel in to build a nice wall of frosting around the edge to hold it all in. Mmmm caramel.

So here is the cake hiding all the caramel to surprise you when you least expect it. Give the outside a nice coat of your Nutella frosting and start sticking on your chocolate hazelnut cookies. I did cut them to the appropriate height.

Here we are all edges in cookies. Notice on the bottom that I made sure they were stuck in some frosting this secures them so they don't fall of the cake. Then add a small border to lock them in!!

I just used a big star tip to make a basic boarder and then did the swirls on top. It gave it a really pretty finish.

Then you dig in for all that happy chocolate, hazelnut, caramel goodness. Enjoy!!

Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Cake

1 Duncan Hines Devils Food Cake mix

Bake in two nine inch rounds according to the directions and cool.

Caramel Filling- Melt two bags Werthers Original chewy caramels with 4 Tbs. evaporated milk. Cool and set aside.

Nutella Frosting
2 Sticks Butter room Temperature
2 Cups Nutella (I admit I upped this a bit because I like Nutella a lot)
5 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
Pinch of Salt

Heavy Cream (This is what makes it silky smooth and fabulous!!)

Combine all together in a mixer and add heavy cream until a creamy smooth and spreadable consistency. Spread on the cake before you eat too much!!

Back to School Cupcakes

I made these yesterday for my kids first day of school. The chalk board is a chocolate covered graham cracker, the apple is a red hot candy and the chalk is a ti tac. Who knew school could be this sweet right!!

Rosette Cake

So this is a technique I learned from the I am baker website (listed below). She did this on a round cake like the one below. I loved it so much I topped a sheet cake with it and loved how it turned out. This is a simple way to dress up a sheet cake and it perfect for any occasion. All you do it put your frosting in a pastry bag that is fitted with a really large star tip. Make rosettes all over the cake close together and then fill in any empty spots with a swoosh of frosting and you are done!! Happy Frosting!!http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/

Here is how is looks on a round cake and sprayed with edible food spray. It make it look like fresh cut roses!!

Here is a view from the top down, I love the pattern and texture to it!

Strawberry Lemonade Bars

So I made these recently and they were very tasty. The strawberry added a nice sweet factor to go along with the tart lemon flavor. They are light, refreshing, simple and delicious. I found this recipe at allrecipes.com

Strawberry Lemonade Bars
Crust
2 Cups Flour
1/2 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 Cup Butter Softened
Combine until it resembles a crumbly pie dough and press into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes until just golden.
Filling
8 Eggs
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup lemon juice
2 TBS. Lemon Zest
2 Small Pkg Strawberry Jello
Combine and pour over baked crust. Bake for another 20 minutes or until set. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar when cool and serve.