Kid Stuff

Did I mention I was thinking about my "new year's" resolution for 2013?  It's a little late, I know, but I thought that something easy would be to have weekly blog updates.  So far, I don't have a post for every week since January... maybe I should set up a reminder in my calendar... yeah, that can work! :)

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Dedication Cakes

There was a lot of e-mailing back and forth regarding a dedication cake for baby Sydney.  Eventually, we settled on a design that mashed together several images found online. 

The chocolate cake was gluten-free, covered in dark chocolate ganache, then pink fondant.  The cake was flourless, but contained a lot of chocolate, making it super rich.  All the decorations were made with a fondant/gumpaste mix.

Sydney's mom was so impressed with the finished product, she requested to have a secondary fruitcake decorated.  I kept it simple, as I had a short time to complete it.  The embossing was highlighted with pearl lustre dust and the I wrapped a frilled fondant ribbon around the base of the cake.

 

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Mickey Cake Pops

Cute little Mason turned 2!  He is a fan of Mickey, hence a Mickey-themed party happened.  I made chocolate cake pops (chocolate cake + vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream + dipped in dark Belgian chocolate + dipped in coloured moulding wafers).  These favours took me FOREVER to complete... the orange and yellow chocolate decided to not have the proper viscosity (not thin enough), so I only managed one cake pop for those colours.  I have great respect for all the cake artists that use the chocolate medium, because I had such a tough time and can't imagine it being my choice of decorating.  I am so happy the guests loved it (they were eyeing it when it first showed up).

Happy 2nd Birthday, Mason!

Owen's 3rd Birthday

Our little Owen turns 3 tomorrow (Feb 12)!  We had his birthday party this past Saturday and I made it a pirate theme.  Not because he was into pirates.  That would make sense.  It was because he has a new costume that I thought he'd be too big for this coming Halloween.  Practical mom, eh? :)

I made a banner via Vistaprint, that had a pirate ship (it was a template design).  I had little "booty's" for favours that included candy, chocolate gold coins, a map, an eyepatch, a bandana, pirate tattoo and stickers.

Luckily, I had booked the Friday off work, which was when the horrendous storm hit... I spent a lot of my party prep time shovelling snow!  The change in plans made me cut a lot things out, just because I didn't have the time (ie. helium balloons were out of the question with unplowed snow on the roads; no cake cannon-pops; no railing for the ship).  The pirate ship cake was a down-to-the-wire effort, finished at 2am on Saturday morning (the party was set at 10am).

I enlisted help from friends, because I needed it.  They helped me with some food prep and putting up streamers.  Thanks, Ya & Matt!

The majority of guests made it to the party despite the weather conditions.  What troopers! :)

There were only 2 activities... only because a) I was running out of time, and b) the attention span of little kids is extremely short. We played "X" Marks the Spot. The map was hand drawn by James and the challenge was to put the treasure chest on the X... blindfolded. In truth, I don't think anyone won.

The other game was a simple coin toss... get 3 coins in a bucket, you get a prize (candy). There was no limit on how many attempts you make, but it ended up with the kids throwing coins everywhere. The best part: bribing them with candy if they helped pick them up (which they did). :)

At one point, Owen had a bloody nose from bumping into another kid... how fitting for a pirate.  He didn't like us trying to stem the flow, though.

Let's get back to the cake... chocolate with strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream and strawberry crispearls.  I carved it, then ganached it, then applied strips of chocolate fondant planks to the sides and top.  Easy, but a bit time-consuming.  My chocolate cake is not ideal for carving, but for little projects, it's OK.  So, I had to add supports to keep the ends together.  I added  inedible masts and a little pirate gingerbread man, or "BBs" as Owen calls them (see, I didn't even have time to make royal icing).  Final touches: cannonballs (Whoppers), cannons (Rolos) and a turbulent sea (blue buttercream).  This little 9" cake was carved down, and it was enough for the guests (only maybe 6 servings left over).

 

Happy 3rd Birthday, Owen! <3

Let Them Eat... More Doll Cake!

This past Saturday, we celebrated the birthdaysO of 4-year-old twin girls with a pajamarama party!  Obviously, they like princesses, so their mom asked for Rapunzel and Ariel doll cakes (and she provided the dolls and design in mind).

The Ariel cake was chocolate cake with strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream and strawberry crispearls.  The "ocean" was the same buttercream tinted blue and had a few seaweeds, flowers, and pearls throughout.  The fin and scales were piped with green buttercream.

The Rapunzel cake was chocolate cake with chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream and milk chocolate crispearls.  Under the fondant dress was dark chocolate ganache.  It was a triple chocolate combo!

Transporting the cakes was fun... I had to actually hold the Ariel cake, since it was stuck on the cake stand.  Rapunzel sat in a box, so no worries there.  Good thing our friend didn't live that far.

The only thing I didn't really like about the doll cake pan (I've only used it once before) was the baking time.  My chocolate cake is pretty moist, so I was afraid of burning it by leaving it in the oven longer than the recommended time of the pan's manual.  Having said that, the concern was whether the cake would slide easily out of the pan without leaving any cake stuck to the sides.

I was happy that the girls and everyone loved the cakes... this will be the end of doll cakes for a while...

 

Happy 4th Birthday, Clara & Giuliana!

Why, Hello, Tink!

First post of the new year... a little belated!  I'm sorry it took me a month!  New year resolution starting in February: weekly updates! :)

I'm going to be discussing the cake I made for this past Saturday.  A Tinkerbell doll cake for dear Solmaz's daughter's 4th birthday.  Her birthday was in December, but the party was postponed.

I finally purchased a dome pan for doll cakes.  Yes, no more stacking layers then carving them down! :)  It will help cut down the cake prepping part, especially when I have two more doll cakes for this coming weekend!

Solmaz showed me a design from Kat's Cakes, and this is my take.  I made the fondant petals more distinct in hue (light to dark, from top to bottom).  The petals, I've added lustre dust for that little sparkle that fairies have.  Of course, frilling took the majority of my time for this cake!  I added a ribbon sash which was meant to conceal a gap from a pull-string that chimed and made the wings light up.  I like the simple butterfly at Tink's waist.

The cake board was yellow fondant, embossed with butterflies; also it was my first time using corn syrup as an adhesive to the board (instead of piping gel).  It seemed to get the work done, so I guess anything sticky would suffice.

The cake was chocolate, which I cut in two and added a third base layer (it didn't seem like a lot of cake since Tink was a shorter doll than the standard).  The filling was strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream with Callebaut strawberry crispearls (yummy chocolate-coated puffed rice cereal).

Here's the pic of the cake in the venue... with Solmaz's scrumptious macarons in the background (something I haven't attempted yet, but I plan to... eventually).

All in all, everyone was happy with the cake... Solmaz, the guests, Melina, and myself! :)

 

Happy 4th Birthday, Melina!

End of December 2012!

Hiya folks, I didn't forget to post, only that I lacked time!  This month, it has been CRAZY, with the holidays and all, but I didn't think it would have prevented me from blogging for such a long time.

I will try to keep it short... but here's what I've been doing this past month... enjoy! :)

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Heart Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing

Here's the pic, as promised!

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IRB Cookies

I received an order for logoed cookies once again this year... but I encountered a hiccup.  I haven't been using my edible ink printer since last Christmas, so the ink dried up on me!  Looking at the cartridges, it appeared full but I guess it was just dried up colour.  Lesson learned: to extend life of ink, remove from printer when not in use and seal it with plastic wrap then in a resealable container.  I ended up having to pipe it all by hand but Sean (the client) was happy with it.

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Mint Chocolate Brownies with Candy Cane Sprinkles

I consider this treat my signature dessert.  I baked these for a United Way bake sale at work, and also for my Christmas potluck as favours.  What I did different this year was melted milk chocolate chips with mint chocolate chips to spread on top of the brownie and I decided to "garnish" the brownies with crushed candy canes for a holiday touch.

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Christmas Cookies

Gingerbread is King during Christmas time.  During a work vendor sale, where it benefited United Way, I reduced my prices for sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.  I wasn't going to offer gingerbread, but a colleague suggested that I add it to my sale, since it's very Christmassy.  I pre-sold 5 dozen of each kind and all were redeemed before Christmas (cookies are great to give away or shared at home).  A few people said that the cookies were thoroughly enjoyed (albeit too quickly) when they were served.

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Handy Manny Cake, Take 2

Another blast from the past!  Little Mikayla, who turned 5, wanted this cake ever since her mom showed it to her when I first made it.  It's funny how she still loves Handy Mandy and didn't change her mind on what her birthday cake would look like when the date loomed closer.   To please most of the guests, the cake was vanilla with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC).  There are a few changes to the design, so it's not the exact replica of the original.

Happy 5th Birthday, Mikayla!

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Montreal Canadiens Cookies

Originally, these were supposed to be baseball sugar cookies.  But the time frame was too short, and I was requested to make Montreal Canadiens logoed hockey pucks, instead, for a later date.  I made royal icing transfers of the logos, which was way easier than piping it directly onto the cookie.  It felt weird making hockey cookies when there wasn't a hockey season this year... but it felt weirder, maybe even blasphemous, that I was making logos of the rivals of the Toronto Maple Leafs (James, my husband, is [unfortunately] a fan).

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Cupcakes with Candy Cane Sprinkles

This was also a Christmas party/dinner order... the last one for me this year.  I was told not to make it fancy, so I made my chocolate cake with vanilla SMBC.  I couldn't leave the top go untouched... I decided to add of touch of festive with crushed candy canes.  I was told that they were enjoyed by all.

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Panettone Bread Pudding

No pic of the bread pudding I made with panettone.  It was the first time I made it, so I baked it longer than the instructed time.  In my defense, I was worried that it didn't set, and I would hate for guests to become sick from uncooked eggs.  I could not believe how much cream and eggs were required.  You do not want to know!

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Gluten-Free Banana Cake

For my dear step-brother-in-law.  We are having a Christmas brunch, belatedly, and I wanted to bring something that most would enjoy.  I reduced the sugar because I added an extra banana, but I think maybe I should have also put in more rice flour because it didn't set as hard as I'd like (even thought it was in the oven for over an hour).  Still, it was tasty and not overly-sweet.  I would make this again.

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That's it!  Have a great time up to the new year, then an even better 2013!

Cookies 'n Cakes

Baby Boy Onesies Cookies

My favourite CIP (insurance courses) instructor, Melanie, was due to have her first baby (note: since I made contact with her last, she was having her baby!).  I wanted to ship her a box of cookies to celebrate (she ate them before the baby was born, so I guess he had a taste of them, too).

Little boy onesies for a really lucky baby!  Mel is into ATVs and such, and I would not be surprised if he rode on that before a tryke.  Oh, the poor Mennonite neighbours! :)

Welcome, Baby Boy!

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Theatre Birthday Cake

My friend, Yahaira, wanted to practice making a cake for her son's upcoming birthday, so we made a cake for her friend's birthday, as a test.  This was also a test for me, because I haven't taught anyone how to decorate anything before.

He was into drama, so we made that our theme.  We made marshmallow fondant (it was giving our hands a workout!) to cover the chocolate cake (not homemade but the vanilla filling was).  Luckily, she had gloves so we didn't get red or blue stained on our hands when we coloured the fondant!

Pretty good work for a beginner, eh?  Hopefully, the birthday boy appreciated the effort!  I am proud of my students' (her husband helped out, too) work!

 

Happy Birthday, Dan!

 

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Ariel Birthday Cakes

Big girl Nikki turned 5, and she loves the Little Mermaid.  Now, this is my first Ariel cake, so I had a few challenges... one being working with the gumpaste!  It didn't want to harden, so I don't know what's up with that.  Gumpaste is supposed to dry faster than fondant, so how come it didn't work for me?  Oh well.

The chocolate cake was filled with pink vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and covered in blue fondant.  I added ocean details as finishing touches.  The brown sign is made with chocolate fondant.

I made a second sheet cake, because there were a lot of guests.  It was decorated with flowers, lettering and buttercream. 

Happy 5th Birthday, Nikki!

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Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing

Sorry, don't have pics of this one... I had to make it twice because I forgot the add sugar the first time (don't ask how I missed it!).  This was for a playdate lunch, so I cut out pieces with a heart-shaped cookie cutter, then piped a heart with the icing.  It was so yummy!  I will make this recipe again, and I'll do the same design so I can post up the image.

 

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The following two items were for a bake sale at work to help raise money for the United Way: 

Milk Chocolate Fudge Crackles

A new recipe... had to use 1/2 tablespoon scoops because 1 tablespoon-sized made the cookies spread horrifically.  The smaller size made the cookies bake evenly and enticed those who would've refused a larger cookie (due to diet).  What a mess I made when rolling the cookie balls into icing sugar! :/

Snowflake Gingerbread Cookies

A classic, just in time for the holidays!  I changed it up by having a darker blue tint for the royal icing, as well as adding silver dragees and random pearls throughout.  These, I packaged then tied with blue curling ribbon, as I thought it would be great to save for later or for a loved one.

End of October Post (Belated!)

"O" is for "occupied"... which was what I was last month!
Here's what kept me busy:

Team Umizoomi Cake (#3)

This cake is making it's third appearance on this blog for 3-year-old Gabriel!  It is comprised of 2 layers vanilla and 1 layer chocolate cake and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.  And dark chocolate ganache before the fondant covering, of course.  It also survived the rainy weather the day of delivery.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Gabriel!

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William & Owen's 1st Halloween Party

This was the year that they would be old enough to appreciate it!  Having made a few friends in the East, we had a total of 11 kids.  No haunted house, though, because I thought they were still too young.  Maybe next year.

Items on the menu on tent cards... with creative names:
Monster goosebumps (grapes)
Bleeding hearts (strawberries)
Decrepit spinal discs (crackers)
Bone shavings (mozzarella cheese)
Dried pus (cheddar cheese)
Fried skin (tortilla chips)
Blood 'n guts (salsa)
Frankenstein's vomit (strawberry yogurt)... nobody touched this!
Vampire juice (cranberry juice)
Yellow bile (lactose-free milk dyed yellow)... nobody touched this, too!
Zombie urine (apple juice)
Satan's sweat (bottled water)
Bug-infested mold (chocolate chip cookies)
Deadly candy (Smarties... but I labelled it "M&Ms" in error)
Yummy worms (gummi candy)... this disappeared fast!
Rotting flesh (various deli meat)
Fried goblin brains (popcorn)

 

I had activities planned, but it was too rainy for an scavenger hunt in the backyard (my minimalistic house made it hard to hide things indoors).  Instead, we played musical chairs (where the adults had to play first to garner some interest with the kiddies), we passed a chick for the "Hot Potato" game, and attempted to have a dancing party (no one took the bait... the majority were boys, so I guess the plan failed before it began).  Other than that, the boys William's age were running around the house.

There were a few superheroes at the party.  3 princesses also attended.  William was a robot and Owen was a dragon.  James was a zombie (again) and I was a mime (that broke the golden rule of silence).

The party was 10am to 12pm.  Who thinks it's crazy to have a kid's party that early on a Saturday?  Yes?  Then, join James, 'cuz he thought I was nuts.

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Vanilla Cake Eyeballs

Mixed with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, I dipped it in white chocolate wafers, then painted on the blood vessels and topped with a black Smartie.  I brought these to a kid's Halloween party the next day, and a lot of kids didn't want to touch them at all.  I guess it looked more realistic in unjaded eyes.

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Spiderweb Cookies

I did it again.  For each house that we visited on our trick-or-treating rounds, I gave out one or two of these cookies.  Just plain sugar cookies, with royal icing web and spider.  Sprinkled with disco dust.  Many people were surprised at receiving something in return after handing out candy! :)

Happy Halloween!