Sweet Spring Wedding [Scott & Lindley]

Oh my gosh what a beautiful weekend! I mean, Mother Nature was a bit confused about what she wanted to do, as one moment it was sunny and warm and the next was cloudy and cool but all the same, it still felt like spring and I got to cater a pretty spring wedding for a lovely couple so that was awesome!

 

When I brought a sampler box over to Lindley and Scott, their only stipulations were that there be lime flavor! And with that, I already knew this display was going to be great! Such an easy going couple... and I love that because it makes my job so easy. 

Scott and Lindley were doing a simple color pallet with blues and tans and incorporated rustic elements into their decor with touches of lace which definitely added a bit of softness! It was super pretty, and I was definitely a fan of the twine wrapped wine bottles! 

Burlap lace was a nice touch to the porcelain plates. 

This adorable chalkboard sign is a new find I scored at Michael's last week and I couldn't want to incorporate it this weekend! 

The cake pops were dipped in a mix of blue and peach/cream chocolate.  The calla lilies were an ode to the Bride's bouquet, and the roses to her Maid of Honor. 

I like incorporating different shades into a cake pop display to mix it up a bit.  The wedding's color scheme didn't have any peach, but knowing it was rustic and incorporated burlap, I knew peach would play well with the other colors without overtaking the display. 

I just love the final product! I was told they were a hit so I can't complain when I get great feedback, it makes my heart flutter!

Congrats Scott & Lindley! 

-Elena

Fling into Spring Watercolor Cake

Christos Anesti! Today was Greek Easter (I like to call it Greekster), and oh my god was it good to stuff my face and then sit in the sun! Everyone was just basking in it.... We literally haven't seen it in six months.. so glorious!!

I love Greek Easter because I love food.  Our table consisted of juicy lamb with garlic cloves, grilled chicken, spinach rice, corn, pastitiso (cheesy Greek lasagna), lemon oregano potatoes, Greek-style green beans, Greek sweet bread, salad with kalamata olives and feta, and wine of course!

We cracked eggs and laughed, as usual.. I love seeing my cousins who are like my siblings and reminiscing of our childhoods.. so much fun!

Then, we ate cake! 

Recently I found a blog post that showed how to watercolor fondant to use for cake stripes!  I thought it was really neat looking and so spring-like so I wanted to give it a try! I used gel-based food colors mixed with vodka as paints and just haphazardly painted all over rolled out fondant!  Then it took some measuring and cutting to make the strips which I then attached to the cake with a bit more vodka as glue.  You don't taste the vodka.. it dries odorless and tasteless!

I also created some of my own fondant flowers to add something special to the finished product! A ribbon around the bottom edges tied in all the colors.   This was a strawberry vanilla swirl cake with bourbon vanilla butter cream.

I really love the delicacy of this cake. The watercolor look is so different, and looks complicated even though this cake wasn't too hard to complete.  It definitely took some time though!

Cutting it is always the hardest part!!!! So happy everyone enjoyed it though!

I hope everyone enjoyed this beautiful weekend!! Tomorrow is going to be 70 degrees -- time for skirts and dresses at work! So excited! 

-Elena

Basket of Flowers Cake

The sun was finally out this weekend! It's a pretty big deal... It was also around 45 degrees.. Also a pretty big deal these days..

I had Friday off so it was a nice, relaxing three-day-weekend spent with the windows open, airing out the apartment from it's winter slumber.  It's amazing how having the heat on makes so much more dust accumulate... Spring cleaning felt good! 

Lou and I also took a drive to the NY border on Friday and enjoyed a delicious meal at The White Horse Tavern in New Preston.  I love the New England charm that Western CT has.. Even in the rain, the day was beautiful and the tavern was nice and cozy with a fire roaring and a mix of Jeff Buckley and the Beatles softly playing in the background. I ordered a Shepherds Pie... Yes it was Good Friday... Yes I ate a meat dish.... Yes the waitress gave me a slight look when I ordered it... It was so delicious I am not the least bit concerned ;)

Easter Sunday was an enjoyable day spent with family.  Louis and I always split Easter up, early afternoon with my family and late afternoon with his family.  Which means I ate double dessert.. obviously.. which means I'll be kicking my own butt in the gym today.. OH well, it was worth it!  I ate snickerdoodle cookies, a mini strawberry shortcake tart, heath bar truffle, couple bits of apple pie, a scoop of butter pecan ice cream, and a piece of my "Basket of Flowers" cake. 

No this wasn't the most original cake design, I've seen it done many times.. But I wanted to take my own stab at it! Plus I haven't piped a basket weave in a while so I figured this would be a good time to brush up on that skill! 

This was a gluten free, chocolate and vanilla marble cake, since my Grandmother's friend was joining us for Easter and often can't indulge in any of the sweets due to her gluten sensitivity, but no one could even tell the difference.  I topped the cake with a bourbon vanilla buttercream.. It was quite decadent! 

I did a variety of piped flowers, including romantic roses, standard roses, hydrangeas and leaves.  I just haphazardly placed them all over.. no rhyme or reason.. was just sort of jamming out to HAIM in the kitchen and doing my thing! 

I'm happy with the results! And the cake was devoured :)

This week I am working on a 21st birthday cake which is very exciting! I'll also be doing another cake for Orthodox Easter which is next Sunday with my Greek side of the fam... So basically my week will be work, gym, cakes every single day, but I'm not complaining :)

-Elena

The Hydrangea Cake

My mom said cake.. the lemon rosemary cake I made her for her birthday with the almond buttercream... that is what she wanted me to make for Easter Sunday. No question!

This cake is work.. you have to be so careful with the mixing of the egg whites and the meringue and making sure not a spot of oil is ANYWHERE in the kitchen so the meringue rises and then folding it into the batter. It's carefully executed, like a science experiment. 

She wanted me to make the rose bud cake again and I really wanted to, so gorgeous and lovely, but I wanted something brighter. Bolder. Whimsical.

I had seen a post about a hydrangea cake on one of my favorite blogs, I am Baker, and fell in love instantly.  I needed to try it! I obsessed over it actually, sneaking looks of it every day, creating the process in my head of how I was going to execute this thing! Finally I just went for it.

I added more rosemary this time around to my cake batter and the kitchen smelled like herbacious, lemony heaven as they baked. I held back a bit on the almond extract for my buttercream, so it was a bit more muted but still delicious. It crusted like a dream, which is super important when piping things like flowers.

To create the hydrangea petals, I used a 2M tip normally used for drop flowers.

When I piped, I added a lot of pressure, twisted, and released.  When you cram each one in, it starts to look like hydrangeas! This is one way of doing it.. Another would be to use a 104 tip and pipe each individual petal, which would take forever and is a bit methodical. I wanted this to be crazy, and fun, sort of all over the place.

The key to the multi-tone petals was to first, add a thin layer of white to my piping bag with a knife and spread it all around the outside, then add my colored buttercream on the inside.

I love how some of the flowers folded over, to give an authentic look. 

I was nervous about this one, but once I started going, it was super easy.. Icing on the cake! 

A little piece of confection perfection!

My little cousin Katie was enjoying the cake pops from yesterday's post! Little cutie!

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter, a sunny day spent with family is always good!

-Elena

Peanut Butter Babies

I started this lovely week off with some baby heads!  My mom’s coworker is having a baby girl and what better way to celebrate than with some bright, cheery little girls mixed with spring flowers!

  

Aren’t these baby girls just the sweetest with their little flower headbands?

I found this scrapbook paper over the weekend in my travels and fell in love.  The brightness of the pattern just evokes the feeling of happiness!

For these little girls, I did two types of cake – classic chocolate, and peanut butter!  I have recently tried a few recipes with PB, however this one just knocked it out of the park for me.  Baking with peanut butter will leave you with a very heavy, thick end result.  This cake is NOT fluffy and soft like a vanilla meringue would be… it’s dense, but moist at the same time! And the creaminess of the PB makes the cake roll beautifully and my secret when making cake balls--- mix the cake with half buttercream, and half peanut butter to get even more of a peanut butter taste!

Everyone has their own preference when it comes to PB—Skippy, Jiff, the natural stuff, chunky, creamy… I grew up on Skippy and don’t mind it (yea I know it’s “fake” pb), however I have grown to love fresh ground peanut butter from Big Y or Whole Foods.  I like the chalkier, crunchy consistency with less of a sugar taste! That is what I used for this recipe but really you can use whatever you’d like.  I also cut down on the fat a bit and subbed almond milk for milk, and coconut oil for vegetable oil but if you don’t care about these things, go for the original recipe!

Creamy Peanut Butter Cake

2 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 Cups White Sugar

1 Tsp Baking Powder

½ Cup Milk

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract (I use vanilla paste, find it a Homegoods!)

½ Cup Butter

1 Cup Water

½ Cup Vegetable Oil

½ Cup Peanut Butter

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a baking 9X11inch baking pan. (This cake is thick, don’t use anything smaller than this).

2.       Whisk flour, white sugar and baking soda together in a bowl.

3.       In an electric mixer, beat eggs, milk and vanilla into flour mixture on low until smooth.

4.       In a sauce pan, combine water, butter, vegetable oil and peanut butter and heat over medium heat until mixture is smooth (not boiling!). Should take about 5 minutes.

5.       Stir peanut butter mixture into flour mixture and mix until combined.  Pour into baking pan.

6.       Bake until a toothpick insterted in the middle comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Keep an eye on it!

Pair this cake with a peanut butter or chocolate buttercream and YUM!

Now for a 4 day work week which means I get an extra day to work on all the Easter goodies I have planned! 

Enjoy the sunshine! 

-Elena

Simple Chic Bridal Shower

Today I brightened another rainy day bridal shower with bright, springy cake pops!  My friend Becky is in a wedding this spring for a friend of hers, and I'm happy she asked me to make these for the shower!

These were simple and chic, not a whole lot to them in terms of complexity--the shower was meant to be simple but elegant and that is what I was going for here with scroll piping patters, fondant flowers and muted white/gray colors with pops of pink.

I went with the square plate for this one, as I think they are simple and allow the cakes to shine on their own without the distraction of ribbons and bows. 

Sixty little cakes, in red velvet, vanilla and chocolate flavors, sure to brighten anyone's day!

I hope the bride loves them!

-Elena

The Rose Bud Birthday Cake

Even though it is still a little chilly, and I am feeling a bit under the weather, it still does not change the fact that I am yearning desperately for spring.  I want to put the uggs and jackets away and slip on my capris and a light sweater and not worry about being cold! I want the sun to shine and the flowers to bloom and have it be warm enough to run after work everyday without a scarf and gloves!

With my mom's birthday in sight, I knew I wanted to make a cake that evoked the feeling of spring. I wanted to make something fruity and sweet, fresh and aromatic to celebrate her special day. As I perused some of my favorite food blogs, I found a recipe for a fluffy lemon rosemary cake, and I knew this was it!  My mom absolutely loves lemon cake, and the thought of using my absolute favorite savory spices in a dessert was super exciting.  I love rosemary. I go to Whole Foods and buy a few twigs of it, dice it up and mix it with butter to pour over purple potatoes and it's the best side dish EVER.  However, I would never have thought to use it in a dessert!  This cake has proved how versatile this spice is, and now I love it even more.

Adding 100% fresh ingredients to cake batter gives your senses something more-- you're feeling and tasting these ingredients while creating a visual in your head of what you're eating. I love that.

First, the dry ingredients-- flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

Then the wet ingredients--melted butter, buttermilk (I used almond milk + lemon juice), oil, vanilla, lemon zest, egg yolks and then the minced rosemary.

The great thing about this cake is it is made with a meringue! My mom LOVES meringue! I am not a meringue fan (I dislike eggs, a lot) but it is mixed in with all the ingredients at the end of the mixing phase, so it adds a fluffiness to the cake without eating a large layer of meringue on top like a lemon meringue pie.  With that said, then you make your meringue by mixing egg whites and sugar until stiff peaks form. 

 After incorporating the meringue into all the other ingredients CAREFULLY (don't want to deflate all the air you just whipped into your meringue, that's what gives the cake its fluffiness), you bake for 25-30 mins at 350 degrees!  Once the cakes were done, I cooled them, wrapped them and threw them in the freezer until I made the butter cream which was today!  This is when it gets fun-- carving the cake and icing it! 

So I carved away... Due to the meringue they baked a bit unevenly on the top but I did not worry, as you always cut off the top part and the sides of the cake before icing!  I decided on an almond butter cream which I added some fresh lemon juice to.

Filled the middle with butter cream, then added some lemon zest shavings for an extra lemony flavor!  Usually I would take better care in cutting my cake edge and cake round but due to my plan to ice it, it did not matter if it was cut evenly.

Once the middle was filled, I put the second cake on top and did a crumb coat. This crumb coat was a bit thicker than I would usually do, but again, my plans for later meant I needed to do a thicker coat.  I then put it in the refrigerator to set.

Of course, my displays mean just as much to me as my actual product does, as you eat with your eyes before your mouth, so I wanted to choose a cake plate that would be simple but gorgeous, and leave the cake to really shine on its own.  So I chose this vintage glass plate that my Grandma Pauline gave me! I absolute love it and I know my mom will too since it is her mother's plate.

In terms of icing the cake, I have been waiting to try and make a rose bud cake. I think it is such an elegant but again, simple design.  So I attempted, using my Wilton 1M tip.  Just start in the middle and twist as you make round "roses" that sort of overlap each other. You don't want to see the cake underneath. 

And here we have the finished product!  I did two layers of roses on the side, and three in the middle, with the outer layer sort of on top and on the side to blend and give the cake a more "rounded" look.  

Adding yellow and silver sugar pearls on top gave it a more "romantic" feel. Plus my mom loves silver!  And the yellow hints at the lemon flavor!

God I love beautiful food!

My mom loved it and we all devoured a piece as we sat around the table, sniffling and coughing because we're all under the weather! The almond butter cream was so smooth and complimented the lemon cake beautifully! I can't wait to make the cake again, and experiment with different sized tips to make different roses. It was very fun to make and I'm happy my end product was amazing.


-Elena