A Taste of Fall

I love that fall is finally here! I love the crisp autumn weather, the beautiful colors and all the deliciousness of the season. There are so many wonderful recipes that can be made with the many pumpkins that accompany fall.

While I am sure that there are numerous healthy pumpkin recipes out there, this recipe for pumpkin muffins is one of my family's favorites! This recipe was passed to me from a friend to whom I will forever be indebted! While it may not be healthy, it is most definitely tasty!

(I plan on topping these with my favorite cream cheese frosting recipe and calling them cupcakes one day very soon! But for now let's call these little lovelies "muffins"...sounds a little healthier, don't you think!)

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 16 oz can pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix together the first four ingredients. Sift dry ingredients and add to wet ingredients. Mix, and then add chocolate chips and stir. Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes.

What is Black, White and Pink All Over?

A zebra striped cake for a little diva, of course!

The birthday girl was getting her room redecorated for her birthday in what else, but pink with zebra stripes! She wanted her party theme to match her new room decor. So here is her fun cake:

I used the Wilton grass tip for the border and love how it turned out!

Sweetopia Giveaway!

Ok, so this is a great giveaway! Who wouldn't love to have this pretty, little thing in your kitchen? I love the Kitchen Aid that I have, but do think that it could use a sibling! This one is especially nice because it has the really cool clear mixing bowl!

Sweetopia is hosting this amazing Kitchen Aid giveaway which is for the 10th anniversary Cook for the Cure. You will also find a great cookie tutorial that will help you honor the women in your life who have battled breast cancer.

What a wonderful way to
simply celebrate their strength and beauty!

Sweet Baby Girl!

Such a sweet way to celebrate the arrival of a couples first daughter!
I know she will bring many sweet days to their lives!
Congratulations!

Baby Shower for Henry!

This was one of those cakes you are so happy to be able to make!
After a miscarriage with her previous pregnancy, it was so wonderful to celebrate with the mother-to-be the upcoming birth of her healthy baby boy.

Celebration Time!

This turned out to be such a fun cake! It was to celebrate the completion of grad school. After I delivered the cake, a festive topper was put in place. It looked so great! It was so bright and cheerful and the flavors were pretty good too!

The bottom layer was a strawberry with vanilla butter cream, the middle layer was a yummy lemon with a lemon cream cheese filling, and the top was the ever popular chocolate!

Nuts about Doughnuts!

So, I have these really cute nephews...and they really like doughnuts...and since I am such a great aunt...well, I always take them for doughnuts when they are in town.

It just so happened that we were all going to be in Atlanta at the same time and I knew they would ask to go to the "doughnut store", so I thought I would take advantage of some of the amazing local bakeries that the city had to offer.

The first place we went (yes, we visited more than one "doughnut store"!) was
Sublime Doughnuts.


And yes, they really were sublime.




Okay, so here is what we tried: The A town (for my daughter), the peanut butter cup (for my son), the Nutella (for me- see previous Nutella post!), the Oreo, Strawberries and Cream, S'mores, Red Velvet, Cheese Danish, and the Orange Cream.

Don't ask me to pick a favorite because they were all so yummy! Next time you are in Atlanta make sure you stop by, sample a few for yourself and then tell me if you can pick a favorite!


The next box(es!) we got were from a little bakery that I had never heard of but was glad that we stopped in! Dough in the Box doughnuts were some of the best we had ever had! I have to say that they beat a glazed Krispy Kreme. Hard to believe, I know!I would love to show you a picture of the deliciousness, but by the time I got my camera they were a thing of the past!

We had a great time while in Atlanta and definitely
celebrated the sweet moments!

Graduation Cake

Congratulation to all to the 2011 Graduates!

This is was such a fun cake that included so many different parts of the graduate's life!
I like the end result because it had a more mature look as well. The graduate's mother and I made sure to incorporate the sports he played and the school mascot as well as the logo of the university he is headed to.

front

side

Easy Fix for that Chocolate Craving!

So, I'll admit it I get the occasional chocolate craving. Am I alone in this? I'm thinking, no! I'm talking the craving that has you rummaging...ok, tearing through the pantry in search of that chocolate goody that may have slipped to the back. Such disappointment when you come up empty handed. So, then you head to the cookbook only realize that you don't have a complete list of ingredients for any recipe you have!!

Well, here is the answer the that chocolate dilemma!

photo from The Pioneer Woman- The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake Ever!


This recipe is so great because all of the ingredients are things that you already have in your well stocked pantry! It is easy to make and even easier to eat!

You can find this recipe in the cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes From An Accidental Country Girl or on her website.

Now, go face that chocolate craving and enjoy!

Mod Baby Shower

I love, love, love this cake!

The request was for a cake that would not be the typical baby boy shower cake. Orange, blue and avocado green were the colors for this non-traditional baby shower!

Simple, modern and oh, so sweet!



The flavors were a chocolate with chocolate cream cheese filling on the bottom and the mother-to-be had her favorite on top, coconut!

A Rose By Any Other Name Is...Yummy!

When I saw this beautiful cake at I Am Baker, I couldn't wait to try it! It is so simple with a classic elegance! And really, just think of all that icing!

I realized too late in the game that I didn't have the same tip that she used so I used one that was similar. It worked ok but I would recommend using the 1M (Wilton) like she did. Oh, I used a cream cheese frosting; she recommends a good crusting butter cream.


So, here is how my 2 layer rose cake turned out. I will definitely make this one again! So pretty and so delicious!

Remember to Simply Celebrate!

I am really enjoying the current trend of dessert tables. I love to read about them and plan them and I love when I have the occasion to put one together. Sometimes, though, I think we can get overwhelmed with the planning and forget to simply celebrate the moment.

We need to remember that the celebration of friends and family is more important than what the table looks like. Don't get me wrong, I love a beautiful table and I am an avid Amy Atlas follower! But it is ok if our table is not Amy approved, as long as the celebration is sweet!

Where am I going with this, you may wonder? Well, my children have birthdays that are 7 days apart and most of our family lives out of town. So when the majority of our family was going to be at our house on the same weekend, it just made sense to celebrate my kids special day with the people special to them! I put aside my grand birthday ideas (trust me they were grand!) and threw together an impromptu party incorporating each childs favorite treat.

My son loves Sprecher's Root Beer! So his side of the table (that didn't even have a table covering!) consisted of all things Root Beer. He had a Root Beer cap cake, Root Beer Float popcorn, RB truffles, RB cookies, and RB jelly beans. Of course, we also had several bottles of the favorite Root Beer!




My daughter loves all things lemon, especially lemon pie from Chick-fil-A. While I felt somewhat bad that I didn't make her a cake or pie, I did have a houseful of guest, after all! For her side of the table we had the lemon pie, lemon drops, mini lemon cakes (again, store bought...remember the houseful of guest!), two varieties of lemonade and some pastel candies.

So while, our table was not the award winning dessert table that I desire to have one day, it was a special day for my children.

They were able to simply celebrate with cousins, aunts & uncles and grandparents! And on top of that they had their favorite treats! What could be more special than that!

So, while you plan your next celebration, remember to stay focused on the truly
important things and
simply celebrate the sweet things in your life!

A Pretty Cake!

This was a birthday cake for a 4 year old who was so excited about getting a "pretty cake"...no pressure there! After all, you can never be sure what the definition of pretty is to a 4 year old!

After much discussion, the birthday girl decided she wanted a "Tangled" cake.

I used Rice Krispy Treats to make the tower, covered it with fondant and
added simple royal icing drop flowers.

A pretty cake a pretty birthday girl!

Tea Time with Earl Grey Cupcakes

This is the perfect cupcake for a tea party!

I made these Earl Grey cupcakes for a bridal shower tea party and topped them with yummy lemon butter cream. For added decoration, I candied some lemon peel and placed it on top.

I used this recipe that I found at the blog Annie's Dish.

Earl Grey Cupcakes (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

* 1 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup butter
* 2 eggs
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 3/4 cup whole milk
* 4 Earl Grey tea bags

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Heat milk on high in microwave for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes until hot and steamy. Do not overheat! Put tea bags in milk to steep and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.
4. Remove tea bags from milk and measure out 1/2 cup and stir into batter until smooth. Discard remaining milk. Pour or spoon batter into the prepared pans to 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they spring back to the touch.

Lemon Buttercream (adapted from group recipes)
You only need half of this.

Ingredients

* 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
* 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick) softened
* 1/4 cup of milk
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 Tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Cream together sugar and butter. Mix in vanilla.
2. Add in milk until desired consistency.
3. Stir in lemon juice.

Frost cupcakes after they are completely cool.

For the Love of Buttercream!

This cake request was for butter-cream lovers! So, what's the best way to add extra butter-cream to a cake?

Roses, of course!

I seem to work with a lot of fondant these days, so it was nice to be able to go back to basics and make the butter-cream roses!

Nutella + Cake = Yummy!

I am somewhat fond of Nutella. Really, what's not to like about it? It is creamy, chocolaty goodness on a spoon! Did I say spoon? What I meant to say was that is great on whole wheat bread. I mean, really, who would eat it straight off a spoon!

So, now that we have established my fondness for Nutella, let's move on to the yummy recipe.

Nutella Swirl Pound Cake!

I found this recipe while looking through a copy of the magazine real food from Sendik's Food Market. The recipe is originally from the book Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. You can find the recipe here as well. It is definitely a keeper!

So go ahead, have your cake and Nutella, too!

1. 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2. 4 large eggs, at room temperature
3. 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4. 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
5. 1/4 teaspoon salt
6. 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
7. 1 1/4 cups sugar
8. One 13-ounce jar Nutella

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. In a glass measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer.
3. Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top. Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife. Do not overmix.
4. Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut the cake into slices and serve.