Weekend Wedding Cake ( 4 Jun 16 )

The wedding colors were red and white, but the cake is all white. I just shot it in black and white because it's classical and romantic. This was suppose to be a 3 tier but they couldn't narrow down just 3 flavors so they went with 5 they really loved and now they have a 5 tier cake.

Top tier:

The Retro - An update on an American classic: moist yellow cake filled with milk chocolate mousse frosted with Madagascar vanilla buttercream.

2nd tier:

Caramel Tiramisu - Espresso infused gold cake layered with caramel mascarpone with a hint of chocolate all frosted with a light rum buttercream

3rd tier:

Almond Joy -Sour cream fudge cake layered with a toasted almond coconut filling and chocolate truffle frosted with almond buttercream

4th tier:

Black and White - Dark chocolate cake filled with white chocolate mousse, accented with sliced strawberries and frosted with white chocolate buttercream.

Bottom tier:

Classic Wedding White - A classic white cake filled with fresh tart raspberries and a full bodied cream cheese buttercream and frosted with cream cheese buttercream.

Bey-Hive Cake

A little something for the Hive, the Bey-Hive that is.

Teir:

Chocolate cake filled with coconut flake filling and almond dacquoise (like an Almond Joy)

Middle Teir:

Yellow cake filled with rum-spiked vanilla pudding and fresh strawberries

Bottom Teir:

Chocolate cake filled with coconut flake filling and almond dacquoise (like an Almond Joy)

Granola Bars

These bars are sweet, tart, salty, crunchy, healthy, yummy, and easy to make… what else can you ask for in a snack.

INGREDIENTS 

1 cup chopped raw cashews

½ cup chopped raw almonds

½ cup dried tart cherries

½ cup puffed rice cereal

¼ cup pistachios

¼ cup raisins

⅛ teaspoon sea salt

1 tablespoon whole golden flaxseeds

¼ cup brown rice syrup

1 tablespoon almond butter

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 8X8 inch baking pan with plastic wrap.

2. Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl.

3. In small bowl, stir together syrup and almond butter until combined and gently fold into nut mixture until complete incorporated.

4. Transfer bar mixture to prepared baking dish.

5. Using an extra sheet of plastic wrap, press down on the mixture to form it to the pan and ensuring there are no spaces in the mix.

6. Bake for 15 minutes; allow bars to cool completely in pan on a wire drying rack. Place in fridge or freezer for faster cooling.

7. Remove parchment paper with cooled bars from the pan and using a serrated knife, slice into 10 even bars. Remove parchment paper from bottom of each bar.

8. Wrap each bar individually with plastic wrap to store for snack time. Place wrapped bars in air-tight container and store on counter for up to 5 days or in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Hazelnut Artisan Bread

This is bread goes well with coffee or tea. Just spread a bit of butter on it and enjoy. The original recipe for my artisan bread is here. Just add 1 teaspoon of allspice, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts.

Easter Shortbread Cookies

Easter cookies are so much fun, because there's so many way to decorate them. As you'll see I with with egg, baskets and traditional creatures.

 Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered (confectioners or icing) sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of any other flavored extract you may want (optional) 


Directions

1. In a separate bowl whisk the flour with the salt.  Set aside.

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Add the sugar and beat until smooth (about 2 minutes).  Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour or until firm.  

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch (.6 cm) thick circle.  Cut into rounds or other shapes using a lightly floured cookie cutter.  Place on the prepared baking sheets and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. (This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked.) Bake for 8 - 10 minutes, or until cookies are very lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

I decided to decorate with fondant instead of of royal icing because of the detailing I wanted on each cookie. It was just easier.

I hope you enjoyed.

Sugar Flowers

I'm a very detailed person and for me when creating I try to be as detailed as possible. These are just a few of my creations and my process. These flowers are a mixture of fondant and gumpaste.