Samoa Scones

I made these delicious scones this morning. They taste just like the Girl Scout Cookie.

Zombie Cake!

The same friends who asked for the Army Cake wanted me to do a Zombie Cake for their other son's 15th birthday. I originally wanted to do a carved cake but again, time escaped me (I was only in town for about 4 days out of 14 and knew I just couldn't devote time to it). So I made a sheet cake and made a cemetery scene on top.

The cake is actually red velvet (although you can't tell). I wanted them to be surprised when they cut into it and it was blood red. The top is covered in chocolate buttercream and then I tinted coconut to look like grass. I did a little carving of the cake. There's a little hill on the left side of the cake (where the zombie dog stands) and then it slopes down to the end of the road. The road is graham crackers and Oreos pulverized and then sprinkled on.

I made the cemetery gates and the spooky trees using my Cricut machine and heavyweight black cardstock. The headstones are made of chocolate and the zombies themselves are glow in the dark plastic figurines. I liked the idea of having "toys" on the cake so at least they had something to play with after the cake was gone. I purchased them online and they arrived in the nick of time.

I am really quite proud of this cake. My friends were blown away by it, too. It made me happy that they loved it so much. Especially since I'm just starting out with the cake decorating.

Please add me on Facebook or contact me if you've got an idea for a cake (or cupcakes or cookies, etc) that you'd like for your next party or gathering. I'm open to almost anything and my prices are reasonable. I live in Minneapolis, but can deliver (or schedule a pick up) to almost anywhere in the Twin Cities area. We can discuss the fee for delivery if needed.

Enjoy the Zombie Cake!

Army Cake

I have been struggling to find a full time baking job since I left culinary school. I worked for about a month at a place downtown in the skyway. It was a good gig, but my boss had to let me go due to the fact that he couldn't afford to keep me on. I was pretty bummed out.

I am the head baker at the Hunt Hill Audubon Sanctuary in Sarona, Wisconsin. It's a pretty sporadic job, but I really, really love it. I get to work with one of my closest friends (she's the head cook) and I can think of lots of luscious deserts to make on my own. I help her with the cooking, too, which will help me in the long run. Being a sous chef AND a pastry chef never hurts, right?

To supplement my income I've been making treats for friends. Birthdays, anniversaries, etc. It's really an honor to bake for my friends. You'd think they would be biased and love everything I do, but actually they give me great constructive feedback. And I really appreciate it.

I'm also working on a project called the Hot Handful. It's like a Hot Pocket only made with all natural ingredients. So far I have a Ruben, Ham and Cheese, Sloppy Joe, and Apple. The trick is perfecting the dough. I want it to be flavorful and not too tough (or too flakey). I'm trying to get some local bars to buy them from me (frozen) so they can offer Hot Handfuls to hungry patrons when they want something other than pizza.

Here is the Army Cake I made for our friends Rob and Lynn. Lynn's son turned 9 a few months ago and he's really into Army stuff. They were on a budget and I was dealing with a time crunch. I wanted to make the outside of the cake camouflage, but I just didn't have time. So I did the next best thing--I made the inside camo. They loved it and it was a total surprise. The outside is green buttercream and I made chocolate stars to go around the base. The US ARMY is cut out of a sugar sheet and I added plastic Army men and toys to the top of the cake. They loved it, but their son was just overjoyed. And that's what's important to me.

Hooray for mobile apps!

Installed the blogger app. It's going to make things a lot easier, for sure.

Rhubarb Strawberry Jam

I made another batch of Rhubarb Strawberry Jam. This is different than my Strawberry Rhubarb Jam, as there's a higher rhubarb to strawberry ratio in this batch. I also added vanilla, which I think gives it a rounder flavor.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a pint of this deliciousness, they are $5 each. Let me know your zip code and I can calculate shipping costs.

Cupcakes and Tarts

A friend of mine needed treats to take with her to a baby shower. So I decided to make her Lemon Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting and Lemon Curd Tarts. The tart dough is Pâte Sucrée dough, which in my opinion, is the best dough to use in sweet tarts. It's simple to make and keeps well in the freezer if you do not use it all.

I was worried about the seeds in the raspberry puree I made being too much in the buttercream, but it turned out really well. The flavor is both sweet and tart and I think it's a good balance with the lemon cupcake.

I hope that her guests enjoy them. I'm going to keep this on my list of cupcakes that are winners so I can make them again in the future.

Pickles!

This was an experiment. I used the same brine and canning techniques as my Grandmother's pickled beans formula. They turned out perfectly. The only thing I'd like to change is to try and keep them as refrigerator pickles instead of shelf stable pickles. The shelf stable ones taste delicious, but they lose that vibrant green color. Plus, they don't hold on to the crisp crunch that refrigerated pickles have. At any rate, I've sent these to multiple friends and they have all had rave reviews. Sure, it's not a "sweet", but even a Sweet Girl can make Sour Pickles.