Petit Bites

My eventual sister-in-law has an assignment for her senior packaging class (or something along those lines..). For her project she had to come up with a fake business and present the packaging and items for the fake business. She created Petit Bites, a miniature sweets business. Knowing that I AM THE MASTER OF ALL THINGS CAKE, she asked me to make her some Petit Fours for her assignment. 

*Note to self: I am not the master of all things cake, I am the WIZARD of cake.

The first time I attempted Petit Fours, I was in high school, and even more impatient than I am now. (How is that possible?!) Anyways. The cake recipe I got then was from an old book published in the 70's ish, and the cake was almost tasteless! Problems: I'd never cut a cake in my life, much less cut it into tiny little squares, and the icing was all sugar and no flavor! Honestly, I don't even know how I've gotten as far as I have, remembering how terrible I was at everything back then! 

Practice makes perfect :)

The Petit Fours still look a little terrible. I tend to be a perfectionist when it comes to my baking, so naturally the lumps of the cake and inconsistency of the icing really tick me off. But I have to admit, they look A LOT better than they did when I made some 8 years ago. And they taste like a dream! At least, that's what I imagine dreams would taste like if they did in fact, taste. I added some orange extract and grapefruit zest into the batter, along with my vanilla extract, so it's like an orange creamsicle thing! I also added some orange extract and vanilla into my icing. Yummmmm.

Also in recent news, I've had an inquiry about cake pops. I've never made them. I had them at Starbucks once and they were terrible; once I ate them I vouched to never make them! Until this weekend, when I did. I wanted to make cake balls and a 9inch round cake to practice decorating with, so I just made some Red Velvet cake. I bought some canned cream cheese icing (eghh) and used some of my homemade buttercream icing to mix in with the cake crumbs. I definitely like the buttercream better! That canned stuff is nasty! And it's really bad for you too. The first few pops I did were messy looking.. lumpy and uneven. The rest look really great and they taste amazing! Who'dathunk'it? I used some of my seasonal sprinkles for decoration, so everyone can see all the cute sprinkle options they have! And, it lets me show off part of my sprinkle collection, muahahahaha. Now if I can just keep my dad from stealing a cake pop every time he walks by...

Ready for pictures? (As if you're going to answer..)

This is my fave. Mini bats and pumpkins are cute!!

The sprinkles on the left are not bacon pieces, they are peppermint flavored candy canes, lol

The O.G.'s For those of you that aren't up to date on your Gangsterism, that means Original Gangster.

Benefits to being friends/family of the chef? Free goodies.

LUMPS >:(

I added one of my dried buttercream flowers on top. Adorable :)

ERMERGERD SPRINKLES!

Amber: Master Chef/Baker Extraordinaire!

Please excuse the different photo sizes. My blogger is having issues with adding photos. Also, these crappy pictures were taken with my phone so they aren't the best!

I haven't posted much this summer because I've been trying to keep at my resolutions and GET OFF MY BUTT. I've been cleaning like a nesting mother, baking, practicing cake decorating, painting, drawing, working out, losing weight, etc. First things first, if you have any serious notions about becoming a professional cake decorator, DO NOT take the Wilton cake decorating classes. The beginner class will cost you about $80 bucks, more if you don't have supplies, and you only get 4 sessions. In those sessions they teach you how to do some things (if the teacher can find the time to stop by your seat in the cramped little classroom), give you bad tasting recipes, and ask you to buy more Wilton products.

If you've ever baked and decorated a cupcake or a cake, this class is not for you. Instead of spending all of that money on a class, try a few books and YouTube videos. Resources on the web for cake decorating are endless, and if there's something you can't find just ask me and I'll help. I'll leave some links to my recommendations at the bottom of the blog post.

If you have taste buds, don't use the Wilton recipe for buttercream. My 14 year old nephew tasted it and spat it out. Do everyone a favor, and back away from the Crisco. So far I've learned that Crisco is excellent for having smooth glossy icing, but it tastes bad and leaves a greasy feeling in your mouth. Butter is my choice, because anything I make better taste good and buttercream does. I threw the Crisco & Meringue powder "buttercream" away. Also, Wilton would have you buy a ~$6 can of meringue powder to make their buttercream. It's nasty. It's supposed to help so you can make icing similar to Swiss Meringue icing without using egg whites, and apparently can last for up to 4 months just sitting on the counter.

And you wonder why it tastes bad...

Fresh is best!! I have yet to make Swiss Meringue; I plan on trying it on my next practice cake. But for now, I recommend this very yummy and smooth buttercream icing recipe. When I start something new, I usually jump in head first. Which means at one point in the beginning I say, "Holy cow. What am I doing??!" Surprise, Surprise, the same thing happened with my first cake.

What's that? You'd like to see a picture? SURE! Let's all giggle at my fabulous mistake!



So this is how it started out. It was beautiful, I was happy and excited. I mean, It looks so pretty just sitting there!





This is what it turned out to look like. Nephew said, "It's like dead Pacman, cause it's pinkish purple colored." I rolled my eyes and told him it was Ombre, fading from purple to ivory. He looked at me as if I was speaking a different language. To make it an official Pacman, he used chocolate syrup for an eye.



Turns out, if your filling isn't thick like a jelly or curd, you're totally screwed. It doesn't matter how much icing you put on that cake as a dam, it's gonna go *squish* and get all runny on your masterpiece. My first round of homemade blueberry filling went in the trash because of this. My second round I used cornstarch and Sure Jell. It's much better!! A lot of people like to use jelly and pudding. Whatever floats your boat. Personally jelly is too sweet for me, and pudding too bland. If you do use jelly, heat the jar up a little bit so the jelly will spread easier.

My next goal was to practice iced flowers and borders, so I got to it. I really liked that part!! It speaks to my artsy side! Just to note, whenever you color your icing or fondant use toothpicks, BUT use a different toothpick for every color. Also use food color GEL. (Wilton is actually a pretty good brand for that, but you can find many good brands on amazon.com.) If you mix the colors in the jar, the gel colors will get contaminated and must be thrown away. Or else mold will form and you'll get sued for giving someone moldy icing. Time for some more pictures!!

I was supposed to make little rosettes... I made pretty blue flower things instead.

Personally I think they're prettier than rosettes. I would tell you which tip I used.. but I honestly have no idea. *Note to self: write that stuff down!

My nephew is an apprentice cake decorator now...

And now the border, which took me an hour just to get this far. Apparently I was doing it wrong, following Wilton's directions. Thanks, YouTube!!

Now it's time for the last practice cake I made. I did MUCH better with this one. The filling was jellied and the cake baked and torted. To torte a cake is to cut off the rounded top and cut through the middle. Basically it creates a nice level surface for fillings and icings. I made my delicious buttercream icing and started icing the cake!

Look at that!!!! Isn't it just the most wondrous thing you've ever seen??

I took it slow and steady, and eventually, out came a success! Just look at this beautiful smooth cake.



The best way to ice a cake is to have it on a turntable like the cheap one mine is on. Grab an offset spatula and turn and ice. Again, YouTube is the place to go for good video. Just search, "how to ice a cake". You can also Google for good results. Once it's been iced, or "crumb coated" let it sit out for 10-20 minutes until the icing is dry to the touch. Cut some parchment paper that will fit over the top, another piece that will be wide enough for the sides, and a fondant smoother. Now, take the top parchment piece, lay it on the top of the cake, and use the fondant smoother on top to smooth the icing underneath. Do the same for the sides. Sorry I don't have a picture of that! Just keep smoothing until you get the results you want. Be careful not to push too hard, you could make a dent.

That's all I've got for right now!! I'll go ahead and list some recommendations for beginner cake decorating!

1. YouTube
2. My pinterest, I have a board called I <3 Wedding Cakes. http://pinterest.com/chickzyj/
3. Books (can be found on Amazon): The Complete Photo Guide to Cake Decorating by Autumn Carpenter
   The Contemporary Cake Decorating Bible by Lindy Smith
   Almost any books by Christie Matheson, She owns a cool bakery called Confetti Cakes, she knows what she's doing.
4. BLOGS!!! There are a million amazing blogs out there with equally amazing people (like me) that are willing to help a brotha' out.

If any of you ever need help, just comment or send me a message!

Chocolate & Coconut Lovers Duo

I got a request for anniversary cupcakes for a friend's parents. She told me one likes coconut, the other likes chocolate. I really REALLY wanted to do a coconut chocolate mix but I decided I better stick with safe instead of risking sorry!

I wanted an elegant, romantic look for these little cakes. I wanted to express an emotion with them. In my imagination, I saw an elegant happy couple, eating dinner in candlelight on the terrace of a castle.

Basically, I imagined Beauty and the Beast (in his Prince form) NOMing on some of my decadent cupcakes.

With that in mind, I created these little Beauty's.. tee hee :)

Check my Recipes tab for recipes on these cupcakes and other decadent delights!

Skills to pay bills!

Yesterday I slaved in my kitchen for 12 hours straight baking cupcakes and cookies for a twirling competition at my local middle school. I got three and a half hours of sleep and sore feet, but it was all worth it to see and hear the feedback for my cupcakes! If it weren't for my friend helping me out, I would have pulled an all-nighter! 

Within the first couple of hours we sold almost all of my boxes of 6 and a lot of single cupcakes, along with some cookies. An hour before the competition was over, all the boxes were gone and I was almost sold out. So many people came back for more cupcakes and wanted boxes to take them home!

For the twirling competition, I wanted to bake three different types of cupcakes that had flavors that would appeal to girls and moms. I also wanted them to look feminine and girly. Something vanilla, something chocolate, and something a little bit different. Here we have Vanilla cupcakes with Strawberry filling and a Strawberry Buttercream icing, Chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter filling and Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge icing, and Red Velvet cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.
The Strawberry Vanilla was the absolute best in my opinion, and a lot of people agreed! So I've decided to share a recipe with you, along with my pictures. Enjoy, and comment with questions or feedback!

Make Ahead!!

Strawberry Filling:

• 1lb Strawberries in syrup. You can make your own simply by cutting strawberries in half and pouring one half to a whole cup of sugar on them. Let them sit out, covered, for a few hours until all sugar is dissolved. VOILA! Strawberries in syrup.
• 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons of corn starch

Put strawberries with 1cup of syrup in a blender, chop or puree, your preference (chunks make filling cupcakes difficult.) Pour blended strawberries into a pan, add other ingredients and cook until mixture starts to boil. Take off the burner and let cool completely, the mixture thickens as it cools. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Can be used in cupcakes, icing, for toast, biscuits, whatever! Mmmmmm


Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing & Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter filling and Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge icing



Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing



Strawberry filled Vanilla cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream icing



Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter filling and Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge icing



Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese icing



Strawberry filled Vanilla cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream icing



My Display at the table and my super bored friend