So there are a couple birthdays in this next month that I'm excited for. I won't mention any names, because they may or may not be following this blog and I don't want to give away too many secrets, but I will say it's going to be awesome.
Also, after a suggestion, I have decided to try to make some new recipes that I can submit to contests and try to win some money. I will be doing this with some help from two awesome people and hopefully we will win something. I will post photos of everything and maybe the recipes so I can get some feedback on what everyone thinks of the ideas.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
The Cake that Started the Blog
I've been making birthday cakes and pies for my friends for a while, but the number of cakes has increased in the past year along with the additions of a cupcake book and cake decorating book from my grandma for my birthday. Most of the cakes have come out good or alright looking which caused my friends to recommend that I start a blog. I didn't feel like it was necessary until I made a cake for my good friend Beca for her 21st birthday. After some ideas from her boyfriend and some advice from my roommate who worked at Baskin Robins, I made her a chocolate cake with a strawberry ice cream center covered in chocolate ganache with chocolate covered strawberries on top. It was a success and probably the best birthday cake I've made to date.
Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix and the ingredients that are on the box
1 tub of strawberry ice cream
chocolate ganache (made using any recipe, mine used corn syrup, chocolate chips, and heavy whipping cream)
1 carton of strawberries
Directions:
Make the cake in two 9 inch round pans according to the directions on the box. Once those are cooked, let them cool and remove them from the pan. This is easiest if the pans were well greased before hand. Once it is turned out onto a plate, get another plate and flip it back, so that the bump is facing upwards. Use a knife to cut the cake so that it is even all the way across. This makes it easier to stack. Once this is done with both cakes, put them in the freezer so that they aren't touching anything or each other. Next, clean out the pans that you used to bake the cakes. Fill one pan with as thick of a layer of ice cream that you want for your cake. Put wax paper on top of the ice cream and use the other pan to squeeze it to help make it even on the top. Put this in the freezer. Once the cake and ice cream have chilled so that they are all hard, then take them out. Take the unused pan off the top and fill it with warm to hot water. Dip the ice cream pan in this until the edges start to melt, but don't keep it in too long. Remove the wax paper from on top of the ice cream. Flip the ice cream onto your bottom layer of cake. This can be tricky, so be patient. You may have to tap on the pan to get it to fully loosen. Once the ice cream layer is on, put the last cake layer on and put the whole thing in the freezer. While it chills, take this time to make the chocolate ganache. Let the ganache cool so that it is thick and closer to room temperature. Take the cake out of the freezer and pour the ganache over the cake. The ganache may not stick to the ice cream. Take your strawberries and dip them in the chocolate ganache and place them on top of the cake. You can dip extra strawberries, so that when you serve the cake, some will not be frozen. Put the cake back into the freezer. Take the cake out ten to fifteen minutes before serving, so it will be easier to cut.
Remember: if it doesn't come out perfect, it will still taste good and your friends and family will still think it came out perfectly. I did find a note from my roommate in the freezer stating:
This cake = the best cake ever made. *Fact.
*Megan's opinion is not actually fact.
Ingredients:
1 chocolate cake mix and the ingredients that are on the box
1 tub of strawberry ice cream
chocolate ganache (made using any recipe, mine used corn syrup, chocolate chips, and heavy whipping cream)
1 carton of strawberries
Directions:
Make the cake in two 9 inch round pans according to the directions on the box. Once those are cooked, let them cool and remove them from the pan. This is easiest if the pans were well greased before hand. Once it is turned out onto a plate, get another plate and flip it back, so that the bump is facing upwards. Use a knife to cut the cake so that it is even all the way across. This makes it easier to stack. Once this is done with both cakes, put them in the freezer so that they aren't touching anything or each other. Next, clean out the pans that you used to bake the cakes. Fill one pan with as thick of a layer of ice cream that you want for your cake. Put wax paper on top of the ice cream and use the other pan to squeeze it to help make it even on the top. Put this in the freezer. Once the cake and ice cream have chilled so that they are all hard, then take them out. Take the unused pan off the top and fill it with warm to hot water. Dip the ice cream pan in this until the edges start to melt, but don't keep it in too long. Remove the wax paper from on top of the ice cream. Flip the ice cream onto your bottom layer of cake. This can be tricky, so be patient. You may have to tap on the pan to get it to fully loosen. Once the ice cream layer is on, put the last cake layer on and put the whole thing in the freezer. While it chills, take this time to make the chocolate ganache. Let the ganache cool so that it is thick and closer to room temperature. Take the cake out of the freezer and pour the ganache over the cake. The ganache may not stick to the ice cream. Take your strawberries and dip them in the chocolate ganache and place them on top of the cake. You can dip extra strawberries, so that when you serve the cake, some will not be frozen. Put the cake back into the freezer. Take the cake out ten to fifteen minutes before serving, so it will be easier to cut.
Remember: if it doesn't come out perfect, it will still taste good and your friends and family will still think it came out perfectly. I did find a note from my roommate in the freezer stating:
This cake = the best cake ever made. *Fact.
*Megan's opinion is not actually fact.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)