simple Birthday Cake

I bake and put this quick and simple birthday cake and I want to put this in the blog for my records. I need to work on getting a darker hue on the purple color. Also, I would change up the orange backing into a rectangle to give a cleaner cut ... it will do for now.

Theme Safari Baby Shower Cake for Baby Calvin

I got a request to bake baby shower cake. I am delighted and excited to make this cake. By popular demand, this will be a 2 tier carrot cake :), dressed with abundance of shredded fresh carrots and blended with organic sundried raisins and chopped walnuts ... hmm ... all the extras ... and of course lots of sweet frosting! It better be yum! (will find out after the party is over)

Top tier is a 3-layer, 6 inch little cake and bottom tier is a 2-layer, 10 inch cake. Blue is the recommended main color though I compliment different other colors as well. The frosting is buttercream and animals cut-outs made of fondant. I pondered awhile on what I should top the cake with and here it is. I hope Baby shower party will have lots of fun and the cake will add lots of favor to the party as well.

Here is the recipe on the carrot cake. I made 2 recipes. (2nd recipe makes 2 layers of 10 inch cake)

2 cup flour
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup walnut (chopped)
1/2 organic raisin
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp clove
1 tsp vanilla

Direction:
Prepare and line parchment paper on bottom of 3 6-inch cake pans, set aside.
Preheat oven at 350 degree.

In a mixer, combine sugar and oil and mix well. Add in vanilla.
Mix in one egg at a time to the mixture.
Add baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and clove to flour and stir to combine.
Mix in one cup of flour mixture at a time to the mixer mixture. Mix well.
Pour in carrots and coconut to the mixer mixture, at low speed, stir/mix well.
Evenly divided and pour into 3 6-inch pans.
Bake for 35-40 mins until toothpick tests and comes out clean.

Let cakes cool for 5 to 10 mins, use a paring/kitchen knife, go around the cake to loosen cake.
Turn cake over to remove cake.
Trim top of cake to make remove uneven risen top of cake.
Frost cake with buttercream between layers.
Crumb coats the stacked cake, set cake in refridgerator for at least 10 mins.
Decorate cake with fondant cut-outs and colored buttercream as desired.

Recipe on the buttercream is taken from my buttercream recipe on here

Here are the pictures:

Princess Elsa Frozen Cake

I want to put this in my blog so I have a record that I made this cake yesterday and serve it this morning. Thanks to Ella, we have Ella over this weekend and Ella wanted she and I to make an Elsa cake.. she said it would be exciting and fun. And sure enough ..exciting and fun !!!

She showed me this video by Nerdy Nummies on making the Princess Elsa Frozen cake and she asked if we could made this together this weekend, oh and she did bring her Elsa doll with her ;)... how smart of her ( I guess I can't say No). I told her we can try to make it and it may not turn out and look like the cake on the video ... we will make our own version ... and  tah dah, here it is.

Ella definitely did a great job putting on the finishing touches, making sure the dress looks a lovely and fit for Princess Elsa. And best of all, we get to share the cake at church this morning after service and it was lots of uhs and ahs all the way ;)  High fives to Ella.

German Chocolate Cake with ganache

This is a fun cake to make. I bake 3 6-inch chocolate cake and frosted and filled the layers with coconut and walnut icing. I crumb coated the cake with buttercream frosting. Drip coated with grey candy melt sauce. I finished the top with more buttercream frosting and dapped extra coconut & walnut icing on the middle top :)

I have to confess, chocolate cake is actually made from Hershey cocoa instead of German chocolate  ... oops!  should have called this cake, Hershey Chocolate cake, right? ... it is a chocolate cake and it is tasted like a chocolate cake. I will make sure I pick up German Baking chocolate from the store so I have them at hand for my next chocolate cake.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cup self raising flour  ( plus 1 Tbs )
1/4 cup hershey cocoa ( minus 1 Tbs )
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs separated
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup water

Candy Melts ingredients:
1 cup candy melts
1/3 cup heavy cream


Direction:
Mix together cocoa powder, flour, in a bowl.
In mixer, beat egg white for a min or 2 and gradually add in 1/2 cup of sugar, mix till mixture forms a stiff peak, set aside.
Cut butter into 1 cup of sugar in a bowl.
Mix into butter mixture egg yokes, mix in vanilla.
Fold in sour cream into butter mixture
Alternate flour mixture and water into butter mixture..
Fold in egg white.

Preheat oven at 350 degree.
Lined bottom of 3 6-inch cake pans.
Divide and pour cake batter to cake pans.
Bake for 30-35 mins until cake comes out clean tooth pick.
Cool cake completely.
Frost cake layers and crumb coat cake.
Set cake in fridge for at least 15 mins.
Prepare candy melt sauce* (see below direction)
Drip candy melt sauce on cake.
Finish decorating the cake.
Store cake in fridge until ready to serve.

Candy Melt sauce:
In a saucepan, heat up to heavy cream a boil and turn off heat.
Put candy melt a bowl and pour in heated heavy cream.
Stir candy melt until it softens and smoothens.
Let candy melt cool to an easy touch and it will be ready for use as drip sauce on cake.

Here are the pictures:

Drip-sauce Naked Birthday Cake

I am asked to bring in a Birthday cake in celebration of the April Birthdays. I decided to bake a big cake of 2 flavors. This is a 2 layer-cake, the bottom layer is vanilla and the top layer is chocolate cake. I am frosting with buttercream and dripped with candy melts. This cake sinks in great for those sweet tooth.

Vanilla Cake:
1 box of white cake mix
1 cup flour
1 cup sourcream
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs oil
2 tsp vanilla extracts
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup water

Chocolate Cake:
1 box of chocolate cake mix
2 Tbs cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1 cup sourcream
1 cup sugar
2 Tbs oil
2 tsp vanilla extracts
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup water


Buttercream ingredients:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup butter
6 cup icing sugar
5-6 Tbs milk
3 tsp vanilla extracts

Candy Melts ingredients:
1 cup candy melts
1/3 cup heavy cream

Here are the pictures:

Cinnamon Roll Quick Coffee Bread

I need to bake something real quick and I got sourcream in my fridge I need to start using them. So I started reaching for recipe that I can use. And I stumbled on this recipe and decided to try making this quick bread.

I make it my own recipe after several tweaking of recipe by using more sour cream and less milk. I was very curious to find out from my testers (folks at church) when I served these at this morning's Coffee Fellowship and I was told that to save the recipe and continue making them ..... guess it is a winner/keeper :)

Ingredient:
3 cup self raising flour
1 1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 tsp vanilla
3 eggs

Cinnamon Swirl Ingredient:
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tbs water
3 tsp cinnamon

Glaze Ingredient: Optional
1/2 icing sugar
1 Tbs milk

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degree.

In a mixer, combine sugar and eggs, mix well for 2 mins.
Add in sour cream, vanilla and gradually mix milk.
Mix in flour till all is well incorporated.

Prepare and lined bottom of 4 mini loaf pan with parchment paper.
Scoop batter into prepared loaf pans.

Mix all cinnamon swirl ingredient together in a cup.
Divide and top over each of the loaf.
Use a knife to cut and do a couple of zit-zat to incorporate swirl into batter.

Baked for 35 mins or till toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 20 mins and use a knife around the loaf pan to separate bread.
Slice into 8 slices on each loaf of bread.
Drizzle glaze over bread if using glaze. I only glazed 2 of 4 mini loaves.
Serve immediately or store in air container at room temperature or fridge.
(warm in microwave for 20 seconds per one or 2 slices to serve)
Good over cup of hot coffee or tea.

Boy Birthday Cake - Carrot Layer Cake

My colleague, Annie at work wanted me to bake a batch of mini carrot cupcakes for her son's 2nd Birthday this Sunday. And I told her I love to do that for her and I will also make him a little Birthday Cake as an added bonus. She said her son likes cars so I decided to decorate the cake with a few cars.

This is a 3-layer, 6 inch little carrot cake. I frosted the cake with buttercream and car cut-outs made of fondant. I hope Annie's son birthday party went well and the guess enjoyed the cake as well.

Here is the recipe on the carrot cake.

2 cup self raising flour
2 cup sugar
3 1/2 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp clove

Direction:
Prepare and line parchment paper on bottom of 3 6-inch cake pans, set aside.
Preheat oven at 350 degree.

In a mixer, combine sugar and oil and mix well.
Mix in one egg at a time to the mixture.
Add cinnamon and clove to flour and stir to combine.
Mix in one cup of flour mixture at a time to the mixer mixture. Mix well.
Pour in carrots and coconut to the mixer mixture, at low speed, stir/mix well.
Evenly divided and pour into 3 6-inch pans.
Bake for 35-40 mins until toothpick tests and comes out clean.

Let cakes cool for 5 to 10 mins, use a paring/kitchen knife, go around the cake to loosen cake.
Turn cake over to remove cake.
Trim top of cake to make remove uneven risen top of cake.
Frost cake with buttercream between layers.
Crumb coats the stacked cake, set cake in refridgerator for at least 10 mins.
Decorate cake with fondant cut-outs and colored buttercream as desired.

Recipe on the buttercream is taken from my buttercream recipe on here

Here are the pictures: