A Birthday Cake... and Muffins

It seems like ages since my last post. Lots of changes since then... both the boys started daycare. With that, comes illness. Because their fevers have been yo-yo-ing and with other ailments, they've missed quite a bit of daycare since they're not allowed to come back for at least 24 hours. My husband was sick with the flu, and it appears that it was from the daycare, too.  For the worst day, I took a day off work to be Mama Bear and tended to the little (and big) sickies. Now, I have a cold, as well, but at least it's not the flu.

Anyway, back to yummy goodness...

My favourite client wanted a vanilla chocolate chip cake with sweet icing. Sweeter than my usual Swiss meringue buttercream. I had to go for another recipe, so I found a whipped vanilla icing that used icing sugar. It does not hold up as well as meringue, but as long as it's taken out of the fridge a half hour before serving, it will sustain its shape.

I had free reign on design and settled on an arty autumn theme. The icing didn't want to co-operate with me; it was very soft to pipe with, and needed to be refrigerated several times so I wouldn't pipe blobs. Other than that, I'm pleased with the results for the amount of time I spent on it (which is not as much as I wanted but my commute really takes a chunk out of my day).

Happy Birthday, Thad!

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Today is my co-worker's last day in our department. We'll still see her, but she'll be on a different floor. She is a health nut. Or, she tries to be. :) I wanted to make carrot muffins, but mini-sized (for those watching their caloric intake). This was my first attempt at carrot muffins... ever. I hope everyone enjoys them!

Good luck, Jessie!