Darth Vader Head Cake

My nephew just turned 4 this weekend. My hubby and I traveled back across the barren wasteland that is Western Kansas, and went to his birthday party! The day before, my mom and I spent about 3 hours assembling this cake.

Specs:

5 layers of chocolate cake

Rich and creamy chocolate buttercream between the layers

Weight: 15 pounds completed

Covered in Milk chocolate modeling clay dyed black

May the fours be with you!

Demolished head cake.

Chocolate Modeling Clay

To be fair, this was my first time using chocolate modeling clay at all, let alone to cover a massive head cake. It works like fondant but tastes much better--closer to the flavor of a vanilla tootsie roll. Simple ingredients too: melted chocolate and corn syrup.

If I were to do it again, I'd make white chocolate modeling clay and experiment with airbrushing or painting it the color I want. The black wasn't worked all through the white chocolate mixture so there were splotches of little white specks.

Sculpting the cake

Sculpting this cake wasn't as hard or bad as I thought it'd be. I just made sure to use good strong chocolate cake recipes--not ones that turn out really moist or airy. I froze all my layers before I stacked them and after filling them with butter cream, froze it a bit more. It made for shaving off pieces of cake much easier! I used a serrated knife and took off a bit at a time, looking at it as I went. For the face, I used a smaller knife to cut into the cake. I then covered the whole thing in butter cream so the chocolate modeling clay would adhere to it.

Rolling out the Clay

I really wished I would have bought my mat sooner! I found out about the mat on a couple of other decorating blogs and youtube. It came in the mail today, not three days ago when I needed it. I couldn't roll out the chocolate clay in too big of pieces because A. I failed to microwave it for a few seconds to warm it up and B. I didn't have enough workspace. I think if I'd have used the mat, I'd been in a better position. Check out these two sites-- basically, it's two pieces of large nonstick plastic that you place the fondant between and roll it out. You lift one piece off and then set it on the cake instead of letting the fondant drape or fall off your usual rolling pin or hand method.

For more information or ordering

http://www.sweetwise.com/

For a video on the product

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHd77XeTCdc&feature=related

If I had to do it over, I'd have taken more time and better care in rolling out one large piece of modeling clay rather than trying to piece it together. I'm pretty happy with the result though! My nephew seemed to like it and it tasted great!

Homemade Vanilla Bean Extract II

Here are some photos of my homemade vanilla bean extract---day 1 and day 5.

Vodka and Vanilla Beans immediately mixed on the left and mixed together for about 30 minutes on the right. I've found that in the bottles that I scraped the vanilla seed out of the bean, the extract seems to be getting darker sooner. Day 1.

It appears cloudy and most likely will for a long time until it gets fully infused after about 6 months. Day 1 photos.

Two large bottles of vodka later...Day 1.

I'm sure to shake all the bottles daily to continue encouraging infusion. I'm so excited to taste it after a few months! It's a labor of love.

Day 5. It's really starting to look good! I love shaking it up and seeing all the floating beans mix with the vodka. I'm just so excited to try it.

Luscious Lemon Cake, Vanilla Bean Buttercream

I was so excited when I tested the batter for my lemon cake recipe. It was so perfect-- it had the tang of lemon with the mild sweetness of a yellow cake. I was so excited to get these guys in the oven and get them frosted!

I'll admit (shame on me?) that I use lemon oil from the candy making aisle of Michaels (Hobby Lobby or Joanns) instead of fresh lemon. SHAME! OH THE humanity! But...it yields such a great and consistent flavor.

Lemon Cake with Vanilla Bean Buttercream

(thanks to allrecipes.com)

1/2 Cup Butter

1 1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Eggs

1 tbsp Vanilla Extract

at least 1 tsp lemon oil/lemon extract. flavor to taste!

2 Cups flour

2 Tsp baking powder

1 Cup milk (However, I used 1/2 milk, half buttermilk. GREAT result)

Whip the butter and sugar until light and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time.

Add the extracts.

Sift the flour and baking powder.

Add the milk and flour mixture to the butter alternately.

Pour into cake pan that's been greased. (I used 2 9 inchers for a double recipe)

Bake until toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake. I baked mine for 20 minutes and then checked it every 4 minutes after that.

Cool and frost.

Fluffy Vanilla Bean Buttercream

(thanks to wilton.com)

1/2 Cup Shortening

1/2 Cup Butter (softened)

1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract (OR if you have fresh vanilla beans, use 3.)

2 Tbsp milk or heavy cream

max of 4 cups powdered sugar

Whip the shortening and butter until very fluffy and pale. LONG time..as in...15-20 minutes.

Add the extract and milk.

At this point, you could either dump the full 4 cups in the butter mix or add powdered sugar one cup at a time until it's the consistency and taste you'd like.

Honestly, the best thing here is just to taste it after about 2 cups. I hate that artificial sugary powder flavor that frostings overwhelm in cakes and cupcakes. If you don't add the full amount, it'll still set up GREAT and it'll taste just smooth and creamy as it should be.

Use!

If you put it in the fridge, whip it up real quick before you use it. It'll get a little stiff.

Enjoy making these lemon cupcakes...man...they are tasty!

Chocolate Cupcake

Just finished baking and decorating my chocolate on chocolate cupcakes and cake. Here's a teaser.

Yum! The cake was a request from a coworker and the cupcakes are a leaving for deployment gift to a friend from work.

Homemade Vanilla Bean Extract

I don't know if I can express to you my utter joy and excitement when I realized what I wanted to make for Christmas presents this year. I'm a huge fan of homemade gifts and have been mulling over homemade cocoa mixes, stamped card sets, etc. Suddenly, like a deer in the headlights, my eyes lit up and I thought of what I wanted to do-- Homemade Vanilla Bean Extract.

I set my sight on purchasing vanilla beans wholesale. Who else is frustrated at the price of vanilla beans in store? Two for $7.99? SERIOUSLY? Shoot me now. I mean, with prices like that, saffron won't any longer be the most expensive spice.

I did a little research and found a site called Amadeus Vanilla Beans. I searched their site and almost keeled over in my chair when I found the price for a pound of vanilla beans-- $45.99. GASP! Oh the humanity! Then I realized how many beans were in a pound-- over ONE HUNDRED vanilla beans. Oh my goodness.. is there ANY way I could NOT buy these guys?!

I placed my order for one pound of Tahitian Vanilla Beans.

I waited by the mailbox...

I eyed the postal worker suspiciously with a hint of hope when he drove up and dropped off the mail...

I waited...

FINALLY They came! My hours of waiting at the faux mailbox finally paid off when I opened it and saw a little box with my name on it!

I opened it up..and..

VANILLA BEANS!

Oh boy... I was giddy.

My next goal will be to find little glass jars with lids and some high quality vodka to finish my ingredient list for homemade vanilla bean extract. The process isn't hard but it is time consuming. Vanilla extract won't be ready overnight...in fact...it's best to let it cure for about 6 months.

SIX MONTHS?!!!

Yes. Six months! The bean needs time to settle into the vodka (alcohol) and release all the flavor. In all actuality, I've read that flavors get released within two months..but the longer you let it sit and marinate, the more potent your extract will be!

I have yet to test this recipe, but it's pretty straightforward how it works. Happy Extracting!

Homemade Vanilla Bean Extract

(Thanks to Stephen Block)

2 cups vodka (you can use brandy or rum)

6 vanilla beans

glass jars/vials with lids, sterilized (boil them for about 10 minutes to kill germs)

Pour the vodka into the jars/vials.

Cut the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out the bean. Place both the bean and the scraped seeds into the vodka. If the bean won't fit, cut it in half or thirds.

Shut the lid and shake vigorously. Some people recommend you shake it daily, others say shake it weekly. Either way, shake it up!! Keep it stored in a dark place.

Voila!

Not only would this make an excellent addition to your spice cabinet, but it would make an even better gift!! Oh the possibilities--lemon extract...hazelnut extract.... WEE!!!!

Have a fantastic day. I'm off to go enjoy my vanilla beans!!

Lemonade from lemons

I've been busy the past few nights!

Two Tiered Baby Shower Cake! One tier is chocolate with chocolate buttercream, the other is a lemon cake with strawberry buttercream. All covered in fondant!

The cute fondant crown for the cake!

Dueling layers of peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake on a shortbread crust!

Luscious Lemon Cake! Covered in Swiss Meringue Buttercream and a tart lemon sauce.

Had a few lemon rinds left over--soaked some raw sugar in the rinds to make lemon sugar! It's safe in the fridge until I make some hot tea and have honey handy.

Whewee! Time flies when you're having fun. I've got a couple more cakes for next week that I'll be sharing pictures of as well.

Hope you're having a great weekend! Make it the best one yet. Be positive!

Fondant Tulips and Chocolate Bowls

I'm on a mission to create fondant tulips! I'm making a birthday cake for a woman who loves tulips. I had some fondant, toothpicks, and my hands. Off to work! These will be painted with a mixture of edible color dust and clear vanilla extract. I'll wait for them to harden.

The start of my tulip. Pretty easy-- I just rolled out the fondant into a ball and kinda squished one side to make it a cone shape.

I used a pair of scissors to cut twice in the top, making four little petal tops. I then used my toothpick to indent down the side of the cuts to make it look like the petals coming together. I stuck a toothpick in the bottom and hung them on a cooling rack, as I will want to poke these in my birthday cake when the time is right. I suppose you could use wire too.

This is one of my more open tulips. I've searched for a few tutorials on fondant/gumpaste tulips and found one, but you seem to need specific tools. I'll give it a whirl later with things I have around the house--maybe it'll turn out just as great?! Here's the link to the other fondant tulip tutorial.

I've been getting more and more excited about working with fondant. It's like edible playdoh. I searched sugar art and caramel bubbles at work tonight. Ran into a pastry competition that occurs in France and was inspired by all the sugar art and fine attention to detail.

Here are the tulips being painted. I had a blast painting them!!!

The finished cake!! I think it is lovely. I'd totally do this cake again and make the fondant tulips.

Chocolate Bowls

(Never heard of caramel or sugar bubbles?) They remind me of my mom's edible craft project she taught me and my sister years ago. Blow up small balloons. Melt almond bark (or chocolate) and dip the balloon into the warm runny chocolate. Set them on wax paper to harden, and then pop the balloon! There you have a hardened chocolate bowl, perfect for ice cream or a scoop of strawberries. While the chocolate is still warm, however, why not dip it then in crushed up nuts or cookies? You could really have fun decorating these bowls for any occasion!

All that attention to detail and perfection in pastries made me realize that my country bumpkin way of cooking really is out of the norm. It's okay though! As I've said, I use what I have to create whatever I want. It works for me! Maybe someday this girl will break down and buy a fondant smoother or a set of tools specifically fashioned for use in making fondant tulips.