Category: Cakes

Cakes, Desserts, Disney, Holidays

Elsa Doll Cake

by thebusyspatula8 Comments on Elsa Doll Cake

Elsa Doll Cake 1This is a little late in the whole Frozen craze, but I finally made an Elsa Doll Cake.  But it must’ve been in the stars because I was lucky enough to simultaneously have a doll cake request and was finally able to get my hands on an Elsa doll.  It blows my mind that even after 9 months of its release, it is still difficult to obtain an Elsa figure.  How?? Does every little girl in the world want an Elsa doll?  It’s either that or they are releasing them ever so slowly to keep the demand up.  By the way, I still can’t stop listening to the Frozen soundtrack which is a testament to how great it was.  Speaking of soundtracks, did you guys watch Guardians of the Galaxy?  If so, one phrase… Awesome Mix Vol 1.  That’s it.  If not, watch it.  It’s fantastic in every way.
Elsa Doll Cake 4Back to the cake. The thing about Elsa is, unlike Sofia the First, her dress is fairly simple from the waist down.  It’s a sparkly slinky number with a high slit and there is no place to fit a cake under there.  So this is my interpretation of what a poofy Elsa dress would look like.
how to make an elsa doll cakeIt’s fairly straight forward in terms of decorating it, but here are a few tips when creating your own doll cake: 1) Make sure your cake is well chilled- it will help reduce the number of crumbs when you carve it.  2) Try to make your frosting as smooth as possible to reduce the number of bumps and lumps when you put on the fondant.  3) When rolling out your fondant, make sure it isn’t too thick (it will be hard to mold) or too thin (it will tear when you drape it).  4) If your fondant shapes become too soft, toss it in the freezer for about 30 seconds to firm up.  Do not freeze fondant, it will melt when it comes to room temperature.  Above all, have fun making it.  The world is your oyster when it comes to designing a doll cake.
Elsa Doll Cake 2Elsa Doll Cake

You will need:

light teal fondant
teal fondant
white fondant
snowflake fondant cutters
edible glitter, silver star shape
white shimmer dust
silver pearl dust
an Elsa doll

Instructions:

  1. Prepare a lightly frosted, 4 layered 6 inch cake that has a hole cut in the middle for your doll. (pictures 1 and 2)
  2. Chill the cake and while the cake is chilling, prepare your Elsa doll by removing her skirt and wrapping the bottom portion of the doll completely and tightly with plastic wrap. Put her arms up and her cape up and over her head and wrap the top portion of her body with plastic wrap. (picture 3)
  3. Remove the cake, insert the plastic wrapped doll and cut along the top quarter of the cake at a 45˚ angle. Use your eye to gauge where you want the skirt to start and the desired slope of the skirt. (picture 3)
  4. Crumb coat the cake, giving it a rough shape and making sure to cover the gap between the hips and the cake. (picture 4)
  5. Give it a second coat of frosting, hiding the crumbs and making it as smooth as possible to make it easier for the fondant to stick. (picture 5)
  6. Roll out a piece of light teal fondant and cut a rounded door shape for the front of her dress. Adhere it onto the front of the dress. (picture 6)
  7. Roll out a larger piece of teal fondant and drape it over the waist down to the bottom of the cake, making sure to have all of the buttercream covered. (picture 7)
  8. Using your hands, roll a skinny teal fondant rope to blend the top and the bottom of the dress together. Adhere it where the waist meets the cake. (picture 8)
  9. Cut out a white snowflake fondant and adhere it to the center of the dress to cover the seam. (picture 9)
  10. Using vodka, paint white shimmer dust and pearl silver dust all around the teal portion of the dress to give it a shimmery effect. (picture 10)
  11. Take the silver stars and place it over the light teal fondant portion of the dress. (picture 11)
  12. Using your fondant cutter, cut out various shapes of white and light teal snowflakes and adhere it to the teal portion of the dress. Feel free to use any pattern that suits you, but remember that there will be a transparent snowflake cape that covers the back of the cake. (picture 12 and 13)
  13. Remove the plastic wrap from the top portion of the doll, be careful about positioning the arms and letting the snowflake cape flow over the back of the cake.  (picture 14)
blueberry, Cake Balls, Cake Pops, Cakes, Desserts, Fruit

Blueberry Cake Balls

by thebusyspatula7 Comments on Blueberry Cake Balls

Blueberry Cake Balls 3So, I made blueberry cake balls that look like blueberries.  Where in the world did I get such an idea?  It all started with a text from my sister, who sent me a photo of a strawberry layer cake that looked like a strawberry.  I wasn’t surprised that it originated from my favorite macaron café of all time, Laudrée.  This image fueled my creative fire and with the help of a good friend, we came up with an idea for this cake ball.
Blueberry Cake Balls 1Blueberries are in season right now, and here in Jersey we grow some very tasty ones.   They’re really fat and juicy, but I feel that the most “blueberry flavored” blueberries are wild blueberries.  They are very small, but they pack a huge wallop of blueberry flavor.  This cake ball uses both kinds of blueberries for the biggest berry impact.
IBlueberry Cake Balls 2The cake ball consists of blueberry vanilla cake mixed with blueberry frosting then dipped in a thin coat of chocolate (your preference dark, milk, or white) and then finished off with a thin layer of fondant.  When I tried this recipe out, I dipped a handful of the cake balls in chocolate and left the others plain.  When I proceeded to wrap both kinds in fondant, I was surprised that they both held up well.  Unfortunately, I celebrated too early because the moisture from the blueberries in the cake and frosting started melting the fondant on the non-chocolate coated ones.  Lesson learned: you must cover this with chocolate before proceeding to the fondant portion
Blueberry Cake Balls 6Please tell me I’m not the only person who thought of Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when I saw these.  If you don’t know, Violet is the girl who turns rotund and blue like a blueberry in the book and movie.  To get this shade of blueberry, I mixed three kinds of gel food coloring: Wilton’s violet, Spectrum’s royal blue and Americolor’s super black.  As for the fondant, I tried to mimic the flared crown by doing a double layer of fondant but it wouldn’t stay.  So I settled on drawing it in with black food coloring and a small paint brush (which I reserve for food use only).
Blueberry Cake Balls 5I know there may be a few of you who are looking at this post (or maybe many of my other posts) thinking, “Yeah, I can never do that”.  Whenever I try a novel concept, I always have my doubts whether it will work or not.  Am I wasting precious time, ingredients and money?  Is it worth the pile of dishes?  But in the end, I always feel like the risk of taking the dive outweighs watching from the sidelines.  If I fail, I fail but not without learning something.  So, why don’t we just dive together? 🙂

Blueberry Cake Balls

You will need:
1 batch of blueberry cake
1 batch of blueberry frosting
chocolate or candy melts
blue tinted fondant
black gel food color

Instructions:

  1. Mix blueberry cake with a third of the blueberry frosting until fully incorporated. If the cake does not hold shape, add more frosting and mix until desired consistency is reached.
  2. Scoop tablespoon sized portion of cake and roll into slightly flattened circles.
  3. Chill in the freezer while you melt your chocolate.
  4. Once the chocolate has melted, dip your cake balls into the chocolate using a fork and make sure to tap off the excess.
  5. Chill the chocolate covered cake balls while you roll out the fondant.
  6. Roll out the fondant as thin as possible.
  7. At this point the chocolate should have set, if not then refrigerate until the chocolate has set.
  8. Cover the cake balls and make sure you smooth it out so that there are no lumps.
  9. Mix your black gel food color with a little bit of water to loosen up the pigment.
  10. Draw a five pointed crown on the top of your blueberry and a dot in the center.

Blueberry Cake

Ingredients:
1 ½ c. cake flour
1  c. sugar
½ tbsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. salt
¾ c. buttermilk, divided
4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 pint fresh blueberries, washed and drained

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a 9×9 in cake pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
  3. On low speed, add ½ c. buttermilk and butter and mix until combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, ¼ c. buttermilk, and vanilla extract until homogenous.
  5. On low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.
  6. Increase speed to medium, and mix until combined.
  7. Fold in fresh blueberries
  8. Bake about 25-30 minutes until cake is done or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  9. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then move onto a cooling rack until completely cool.

Blueberry Frosting

Ingredients:
2 c. frozen wild blueberries
¼ c. sugar
2 tsp. lemon juice
4 tbsp. butter, room temperature
½  tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. heavy cream
⅔ c. powdered sugar

Instructions:

  1. In a small pot, cook blueberries, sugar and lemon juice until the mixture reduces to about half or until thickened.
  2. In another bowl, beat butter, cream and vanilla.
  3. Slowly add powdered sugar ⅓ c. at a time until completely used.
  4. Once the blueberry mixture has thickened and cooled, add to the sugar mixture until fully incorporated.
Cakes, Desserts, Tea, Vegetables

Mini Green Tea Cake

by thebusyspatula10 Comments on Mini Green Tea Cake

Mini Green Tea Cake 2It’s been forever since I posted something on the blog.  This is what happened…  The weekend before I left for my vacation to Korea, I made a wedding cake, mini wedding desserts and did desserts for a confirmation banquet.  It was jam packed with sugar, whipped cream, flour and butter.   At this point, I was so sick and tired of seeing ingredients I had to take a break.  If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw that I went on a two week vacation to South Korea and by the time I got back, I was so jet lagged I didn’t have it in me to do anything.  And so here I am, three weeks later posting a new recipe for you guys.  I think I’m sufficiently rested and I hope to continue on this culinary journey with you with no more stops in the road.
Mini Green Tea Cakes 4This green tea cake was inspired by my trip to O’Sulloc Tea Museum in Jeju, South Korea.   Unfortunately the weather was horrible the day we went and I wasn’t able to see the plantation but, I did enjoy some green tea desserts.Mini Green Tea Cakes 1I paired my cake with both red bean and sweet potato frosting.  The slight bitterness of the green tea balances well with the smooth creamy sweet potato and the red beans give it a pop of interesting texture.  While we are talking about sweet potatoes, I should let you know that I do not mean the orange fleshed American sweet potato.  This is the potato I am talking about.   The Korean/Japanese sweet potato has purple skin and yellow flesh.  When baked, it tastes slightly like a perfectly roasted chestnut and is less water logged than its American cousin. With that bit of information, I hope you give it a try! Enjoy 🙂Mini Green Tea Cake 3

Mini Green Tea Cakes

Green Tea Cake

Ingredients:
¾ c. cake flour
2 tbsp. matcha powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. kosher salt
4 large eggs, separated
pinch of cream of tartar
¾ c. granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons buttermilk

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl, sift together cake flour, matcha powder, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar on medium speed until foamy.  Once foamy, slowly add ¼ c. granulated sugar until incorporated and raise speed to high until stiff peaks form.
  4. In a separate bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whisk egg yolks until pale and thickened.  Then add ½ c. granulated sugar and mix until thick and the batter forms ribbons when whisk is lifted.
  5. Stir in buttermilk to the egg yolk mixture until combined.
  6. Fold in flour mix into the egg yolk mix until just combined.
  7. Fold in egg white mixture until fully incorporated.
  8. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
  9. Bake for 10-12 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean or the cake is springy to the touch.
  10. Let cool.

Sweet Potato Frosting

Ingredients:
1 lb. Korean/Japanese sweet potatoes, roasted and peeled
2 tbsp. heavy cream
pinch kosher salt
⅓ c. vanilla frosting

Instructions:

  1. In a food processor, add all the ingredients and puree until smooth.

Red Bean Frosting

Ingredients:
8 oz. canned sweet red beans
⅓ c. vanilla frosting

Instructions:

  1. In a separate bowl, mix red beans and vanilla frosting until completely blended.

Assemble the Mini Green Tea Cakes:

  1. Using a 2” cookie cutter, cut out 2” cake rounds.
  2. Use the same cookie cutter to assemble the cake.
  3. Place a cake round into the cookie cutter and proceed to layer the red bean frosting, a cake round, sweet potato frosting and finish off with a cake round.
  4. Slowly remove the cookie cutter to reveal your layered cake.
  5. If desired, you can garnish the tops of the cake with powdered sugar.

Green Tea Cake adapted from Oh Sweet Day!

 

Cakes, Chocolate, cupcakes, Desserts, Ice Cream

Hi Hat Cake Cones

by thebusyspatula6 Comments on Hi Hat Cake Cones

Hi Hat Cake Cones 3The weather is finally starting to warm up and these ice cream cones were screaming to be used.  I originally used them for my ice cream cone macarons, but I had half a box that was sitting on my counter looking useless and forlorn.  I wanted my next post to be hi hat cupcakes, so I stuffed it into a cone.
Hi Hat Cake Cones 1It’s ridiculously fun and easy to eat.  The crisp chocolate coating breaks into the soft marshmallow frosting and rich chocolate cake.  You can also sprinkle it with different combinations of toppings and change the color of the candy melts to suit the occasion.  I used Swedish pearl sugar and sanding sugar as toppings, but you can use anything you want to top it.  It also looks very cute with sprinkles.
Hi Hat Cake Cones 2On another note, why is the weather cloudy 80% of the time I’m trying to shoot photos?  Can’t a sista catch a break once in a while?  Every time I start conjuring up an idea for a project, the forecast is bound to be cloudy or rainy.  If you are into photography, you know the value of natural light and can understand my frustration.   If you’re not, then please excuse this rant of mine.
Hi Hat Cake Cones 4Hi Hat Cake Cones

You will need:
1 batch of chocolate cake batter (recipe below)
1 batch of marshmallow frosting (recipe bleow)
white candy melts
pink candy melts
blue candy melts
pink sanding sugar
Swedish pearl sugar
mini ice cream cones

Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ c. vegetable oil
1 extra-large egg, room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. strong, hot coffee

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and put one mini ice cream cone in each cup of a mini cupcake pan.
  2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, both cocoa powders, baking soda, baking powder and salt until fully combined.
  3. In a separate bowl, whisk vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
  4. With the mixer speed on low, add the egg mixture to the flour mixture until combined.
  5. Turn off the mixer.  With a spatula, scrape the sides of the bowl to fully incorporate the two mixtures.
  6. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the hot coffee to the batter.  Once added, raise the speed to medium until completely homogenous.
  7. Fill mini ice cream cones½ full with batter and bake about 10-13 minutes. Checking at 10 minutes for doneness with a toothpick test.*
  8. Let stand for 5-10 minutes when done, then put onto a cooling rack to fully cooled.

Marshmallow Frosting

Ingredients:
4 egg whites (120 g.)
1 c. sugar
a pinch of cream of tartar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. In a small pot fill about 1 in. of water and let it come to a simmer.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar and salt until homogenous.
  3. Once the water comes to a simmer, place the bowl on top of the pot and whisk the egg white mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy.
  4. Move the bowl to your standing mixer fitted with a whisk attachment and beat on high speed until glossy and stiff.
  5. Add the vanilla extract and mix completely.
  6. Fill a piping bag fitted with an open star tip.

Assembly:

  1. Pipe a swirl of frosting onto cooled cake cone.
  2. Put into the freezer for 15-30 minutes until completely cold.
  3. In two separate bowls, melt white and pink candy melts and blue and white candy melts.
  4. Remove the cake cones from the freezer and dip the frosting portion into the melted chocolate.  Do not be afraid, the frosting will not fall off if sufficiently cooled.
  5. Before the chocolate sets, sprinkle sanding sugar and Swedish pearl sugar.
  6. Let chocolate set and enjoy.

* The toothpick test: insert a toothpick into the cake and if the toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs clinging to it, it is done.

Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Flowers, Holidays, Parties

Rose Cake

by thebusyspatula5 Comments on Rose Cake

rose cake 2This weekend was crazy busy for the Park family.  We had a graduation, Mother’s Day and my dad’s birthday lined up 3 days in a row.  We ended up celebrating Mother’s day and my dad’s birthday in one go, and I tried to think of a birthday cake that would serve both occasions.  I suppose the mauve color of the cake was a little too feminine for a man’s birthday, but my mom didn’t get any flowers for Mother’s day so I hope this made up for it a bit.
Rose cake 1Like many celebration cakes, this cake takes a long time to decorate but isn’t necessarily challenging.  What takes the most time is rolling out the petals and chilling the petals in between steps.  I wanted to use 100% modeling chocolate for the cake, but something went wrong during the process and I had to add about 30% fondant to make it useable.  Do not fight the weather, as soon as your modeling chocolate/fondant starts to lose its shape, stop and chill it in the freezer.  This will save you a lot of frustration and heartache down the line.
rose cake 3It does have a certain eye opening charm and it’s very flexible in terms of the variation of celebrations and colors.  An all-around crowd pleaser.
rose cake 4Rose Cake
You Will Need:
14 oz of modeling chocolate or a mixture of fondant and modeling chocolate
1 batch of vanilla buttercream
1 8” cake, layered and filled
a set of round cookie cutters 
round ended fondant tool

Instructions:

  1. Frost your cake with vanilla frosting into a dome shape.*  (Pic 1)
  2. Mold a 1½ in. cone with modeling chocolate and place in center of the cake. (Pic 2)
  3. From this point on, the modeling chocolate will be rolled out to 1/8-1/16 in. thickness.
  4. With your 1.75 in. round cutter, cut out 2 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  5. Wrap the cone with the 2 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other to form a bud. (Pic 3 and 4)
  6. With your 1.75 in. round cutter, cut out 3 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  7. Wrap the bud with the 3 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 5 and 6)
  8. With your 2.25 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  9. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 7 and 8)
  10. With your 2.5 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  11. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 9 and 10)
  12. With your 2.75 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  13. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 11 and 12)
  14. With your 3 in. round cutter, cut out 5 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  15. Wrap the bud with the 5 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 13)
  16. With your 3.25 in. round cutter, cut out 7 pieces of modeling chocolate and mold it to a petal shape using a round ended fondant tool.
  17. Wrap the bud with the 7 petals with some buttercream, overlapping each other at the edges. (Pic 15)
  18. Cut 2-3 in. wide strips of molding chocolate and curl the edges with a straw, about 8-13 pieces.
  19. Chill in the freezer to set, about 1-3 minutes.
  20. Use some frosting to wrap the cake with the strips, overlapping at the edges and curled edge pointing up.  (Pic 16)

* This is what I did.  In hindsight, you could do the regular sharp corners, it shouldn’t make a difference.

Cakes, Desserts, Disney, Holidays, Parties

Sofia the First Doll Cake

by thebusyspatula13 Comments on Sofia the First Doll Cake

sofia the first doll cake 1There are many things that make birthdays special: friends, family, presents, food… the list goes on.  My favorite part of a birthday is the cake.  I’m not sure what the exact reason is.  It may be because it’s the centerpiece of a celebration or because it foreshadows the inevitable sweet ending of a party or simply because I love cake.
sofia the first doll cake 3I did not have many birthday parties when I was little, but I do remember seeing many beautiful cakes at American bakeries wishing I would have one for my birthday.  I always ended up getting a Korean cake.  By Korean cake, I mean a simple sponge cake filled with whipped cream and fruit and a simple decoration on top.  (I have to say, Korean bakeries have stepped up their decorating game since I was a little kid.) Many a day did I wish for the sugary sweet American buttercream counterpart but it just didn’t happen.  So that’s why when it’s someone’s birthday I try to make it special the only way I know how, with cake.
sofia the first doll cake 4Andy’s niece LOVES Sofia the First, along with Minnie Mouse and Max & Ruby.  I’ve always wanted to try my hand at doll cakes so the present was twofold: the cake and the doll in one.

steps 2If you’ve never made doll cakes before, I’ll tell you that it’s definitely more time consuming than a layer cake but the reaction you get makes it worth the trouble.  When we walked in the door, the first thing she screamed was “Sofia!!” and asked to hold it thinking it was a real doll.  We were successful keeping her hands off until the end when the urge was too great and she made a grab for it. 🙂
sofia the first doll cake 5

Sophia the First Doll Cake

You will need:
Purple Fondant
White Fondant
White Buttercream
White Sugar Pearls
4 layers of 6” round cake
Purple Food Marker
Isomalt (optional)
Small Gem Mold (optional)

Instructions:

  1. Cut out holes in the cake layers so that it would fit your doll.  I used this doll.
  2. Prep your doll by tying its hair up, taking off the dress, and wrapping the doll with plastic wrap.
  3. Roll out a piece of purple fondant and drape around the doll adhering it with either a very thin layer of buttercream or water. (As shown above.)
  4. Frost and layer the cake layers and place your doll inside.
  5. Mold the cake into a dress shape by cutting it along the top in a rounded shape.
  6. Frost the cake smoothly up to below the waist of the doll.  (As shown above.)
  7. Roll out a piece of white fondant and cut out a 2-3 in. strip.  Drape it around the bottom of the dress to form the underskirt of the dress. (As shown above.)
  8. Roll out a piece of purple fondant and cut out a ¼ in. strip.  Adhere the purple strip over the white fondant with either buttercream or water to form the stripe around the underskirt. (As shown above.)
  9. Roll out a large piece of purple fondant (about 10 in. in height) and cut out scalloped shapes along the bottom.  Drape right below the waist of the doll connecting the two ends together in the back. (As shown above.)
  10. Roll out two more pieces of fondant in a semi-circle shape and drape around each side of the doll to create the top layer of her dress. (As shown above.)
  11.  Roll and cut a thin ribbon of fondant and wrap around the waist to meld the top and bottom together.
  12. With the purple marker, draw two lines and a loop design on the front of her dress. (As shown above.)
  13. Adhere pearls along the neckline and the purple stripes. (As shown above.)
  14. Adhere pearls along the top layer of the dress. (As shown above.)
  15. Optional: If you have time, you can continue the pearl all across the back of the dress.  I did not so I opted to continue it with a white ribbon made of white fondant.
  16. Adhere pearls all along the top and bottom skirt of the dress
  17. For the circular pattern along the bottom of the dress you can either:
    1. Cut out the pattern with the fondant and adhere it.
    2. Make white teardrop jewels with a small gem mold with either sugar or isomalt. This gives it an interesting 3D effect to the dress.  You can cut out the triangular shapes with fondant and adhere it.
  18. If you have time, you can fancy the dress up in the back with more pearls and sugar jewels. (As shown above.)
  19. Optional: You can also paint the crown with silver paint and bling it out with little purple gems like I did above.  It makes the cake look a little more expensive and detailed. (As shown above.)
Appetizers, Cakes, Chicken, Chocolate, Desserts, Dinner, Drinks, Fruit, Holidays, Parties, Pie, Pies, Soup, Star Wars

Star Wars Day 2014

by thebusyspatula12 Comments on Star Wars Day 2014

Star Wars Day 2014 1This is the third year I’ve hosted a Star Wars Day party.  It involves good food with punny names, watching SW movies and SW themed board games.  The first SW party I threw was just a small surprise for a special someone but through the years it’s evolved into a bigger celebration.  I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of Star Wars, but I can say that I love throwing themed parties.  So in a way, I do love Star Wars Day.
Star Wars Day 2014 2Star Wars Day 2014 4This year‘s party theme was Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, so all of the food and activities were centered on Episode 1 characters and settings.  Here are the things we made for SW Day*:
chicken pod piechicken pod pie 2Star Wars Day 2014 7 Star Wars Day 2014 8obi wontons obi wontons 2padme parfaitpadme parfait 2quail gon jinn 1 quail gon jinn 2watto's wings 1 watto's wings 2The centerpiece of the table was my Darth Maul-ble Cake, a marble cake with chocolate frosting and a chocolate transfer of Darth Maul.   There was a small chorus of “wows” when I revealed it.  Chocolate transfers can take a bit of time, but it is straight forward and simple to do.  I used the same technique for this piece and it turned out fabulous.
steps darth maulI think Darth Maul is quite scary.  To be completely honest, I got a wee bit frightened trying to find the right photo for the transfer.  Filling in the chocolate parts was no walk in the park either, he was just as scary.  I know it sounds silly, but if your imagination runs as wild as mine does I’m sure you understand. Revenge of the Six-th indeed. 🙂
Star Wars Day 2014 19Darth Maul-ble Cake

You will need:

1 Chocolate Marble Cake – Recipe Below
1 Batch of Chocolate Frosting – Can be found here
Black Candy Melts
Red Candy Melts
Yellow Candy Melts
White Candy Melts
A mirrored image of this printout in a black circle

Instructions:

  1. Tape the printout onto a baking sheet or any desired flat surface.
  2. Tape a piece of parchment paper over the printout making sure it covers the entire image.
  3. Melt a small amount of black, red, yellow and white candy melts (do not meld the colors together).
  4. Remember, chocolate transfers are all about layering.  Each time you fill out the next step, you will be going over the previously filled portion.
  5. Using either a toothpick or a piping bag fitted with either a #1 or #2 round tip, fill in the pupil of the eye with the black candy melt. (As shown in the above photo.)
  6. Mix the yellow and white candy melt to get a light ivory hue for the horns. Fill in. (As shown in the above photo.)
  7. Once the pupil is set, fill in the iris with the yellow candy melt.  Let set. (As shown in the above photo.)
  8. The outer edge of the iris has a red outline.  Carefully, trace a red border around the yellow candy melt. Let set. (As shown in the above photo.)
  9. Fill in the sclera with the white candy melt.  (As shown in the above photo.)
  10. Fill in the white edge of the hood while the sclera sets. (As shown in the above photo.)
  11. Using the red candy melt, start filling in the mask like patterns on the face.  Try not to lose the detailed edges because that’s what makes the image pop. (As shown in the above photo.)
  12. Once the red candy melt is set, melt some black candy melts.  Make sure it is not piping hot because you will lose some detail if it is.
  13. Smooth over the entire circumference with the black candy melts.  Let completely set.
  14. Place on top of frosted cake and you’re done!

Chocolate Marble Cake

Ingredients:
1⅔ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. kosher salt
4 oz. unsalted butter, melted
1 c. sugar
1 egg, room temp
¼ c. Greek yogurt
¾ c. + 1 tbsp. milk, divided
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¼ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and prep a 9” cake pan by coating it with nonstick spray and lining the bottom with parchment paper.
  2. Mix melted butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.  Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined.
  4. Add the egg, Greek yogurt, ¾ c. milk and 1 tsp. vanilla extract to the butter mixture and mix until homogenous.
  5. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold until smooth.
  6. Transfer ½ of the mixture to another bowl, mix in 1 tbsp. milk and cocoa powder until a thick chocolate batter forms.
  7. Put half of the vanilla batter into the prepared cake pan and spread out.
  8. Pour all of the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla mixture.
  9. Pour the rest of the vanilla batter over the chocolate batter.
  10. Using a toothpick or a butter knife, make swirls all over the cake. Be careful not to over swirl, or you will lose the marbling.
  11. Bake 18-25 minutes until golden brown or a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cake recipe adapted from sally’s baking addiction.

* If you would like detailed info on any of the food I’ve prepared, don’t be afraid to leave a comment or shoot me an email!

Cakes, Chocolate, Cookies, Desserts

Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie Cake

by thebusyspatula7 Comments on Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie Cake

cookie cake 5First thing I need to say is… this Sunday is Star Wars Day!!  You can be sure that I’ll have a post on all the goodies I’ll be making for this year next week.  Now back to the cookie cake, this cookie cake is everything I would want in a cookie: sweet, salty, crispy, chewy, marshmallow-y… I could go on about it.  The last time I served this was during this year’s Super Bowl and while people ate this, it was very quiet.  It was that good.
cookie cake 2To be honest, this recipe is like my baby.  This cookie recipe has been over 5 years in the making!  I almost didn’t want to write it down because well, it’s mine and I didn’t want to share.  But I figured someone must be having a day somewhere and this cookie would be sure to cheer them up.  So whip up a batch, and make yourself or someone smile because a smile is free therapy.
cookie cake 6Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookie Cake

Makes one 9” cookie cake

Ingredients:
6 oz. butter, divided
½ c. sugar
¾ c. brown sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cornstarch
¾ c. chocolate chips
¾ c. mini marshmallows

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and line a 9” cake pan with parchment paper along the bottom and the sides.
  2. In a small pot, brown 5 oz. of butter.
  3. While the butter is browning, mix sugar, brown sugar and kosher salt in a medium mixing bowl.
  4. Once the butter is brown, add the remaining 1 oz. of butter and stir to get the brown bits off the bottom of the pot.
  5. Add the hot browned butter to the sugar mixture and stir.  Let cool for 5-10 minutes.
  6. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla extract until glossy and homogenous.
  7. Fold in flour, baking soda, and cornstarch until just combined.
  8. Fold in chocolate chips and marshmallows until just combined.
  9. Bake 15-20 minutes until center is set and slightly underdone.
  10. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
Cakes, Chocolate, Desserts, Holidays, Vanilla

Easter Bunny Surprise Cake

by thebusyspatula1 Comment on Easter Bunny Surprise Cake

Easter bunny cake 1Here comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin’ down the bunny trail… was the song that was running through my head when I thought of this cake.  Can you imagine the look of surprise people will give you when you cut into this?  Unfortunately for me, my family saw every step of the assembly and expected it when I cut into this cake.  Learn from my mistake, and keep it secret when you give it a try.
Easter bunny cake 2The great thing about this technique is that it is adaptable to many holidays and special occasions.  Off the top of my head, you could do tulips for Mother’s Day, a bat for Halloween, and even alternating red, white, and blue stars for Independence Day.  I think I may be giving away future blog posts so I’ll just stop here.
Easter bunny cake 3My only caveat to you is: 1) measure to make sure your cutouts will fit into the loaf pan (both horizontally and vertically) and 2) to keep your cutout design simple because you will lose the finer details when the cake bakes.  Other than that, I hope you have fun trying this cake!  Don’t worry, at this point I’m so tired of bunnies and Easter eggs, you will probably not see any more posts of them until next spring. 😀

Easter bunny cake 4

Easter Bunny Surprise Cake

You will need:
1 Batch of Pink Sheet Cake
1 Batch of Yellow Cake
1 Batch of Green Frosting
1 Batch of Chocolate Frosting
Bunny Cookie Cutter
Mini Chocolate Eggs
Grass Frosting Tip (Optional)

Pink Sheet Cake

Ingredients:
1 ½ c. all purpose flour
1 c. sugar
½ tbsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. salt
¾ buttermilk, divided
4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs,  room temperature
1 egg yolk
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
Pink gel food coloring

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
  2. In a bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
  3. On low speed, add ½ c. buttermilk and butter and mix until combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, ¼ c. buttermilk, and vanilla extract until homogenous.
  5. On low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.
  6. Increase speed to medium, and mix until combined.
  7. On low speed, add pink food coloring until desired color is reached.
  8. Spread batter onto the sheet pan until fully covered.
  9. Bake 10-12 minutes until cake is set.
  10. Let cool.
  11. Cut out bunny shapes. (as shown above)
  12. Chill in freezer.

Yellow Cake

Ingredients:
1 c. cake flour
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 ⅓  c. sugar
¾ tbsp. baking powder
⅛ tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk, divided
6 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
3 eggs, room temperature
1 egg yolk
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350˚F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, add flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix until combined.
  3. On low speed, add ¾ c. buttermilk and butter and mix until combined.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolk, ¼ c. buttermilk, and vanilla extract until homogenous.
  5. On low speed, slowly add the egg mixture to the flour mixture.
  6. Increase speed to medium, and mix until combined.
  7. Spread batter until ¼-½ in. up the loaf pan.
  8. Stack the chilled cake cutouts side by side, horizontally, without any spaces in between.
  9. Place the stacked cake cutouts into the center of the cake pan, carefully making sure no gaps form in between.
  10. Spread rest of the batter into cake pan.
  11. Bake 30-45 minutes until cake is done or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  12. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then flip onto a cooling rack until completely cool.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
⅔ c. all-purpose flour
⅓ c. cocoa powder
1 c. milk
⅛ tsp. salt
8 oz. butter
⅔ c. sugar
8 oz. chocolate, melted and cooled
½ tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

  1. In a saucier pan, put milk, salt, cocoa powder and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
  2. Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
  3. Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
  4. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the refrigerator until fully cool.
  5. In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
  6. Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
  7. Add the vanilla extract and melted chocolate and mix until combined.
  8. Smooth chocolate frosting over the loaf cake, and place in the freezer

Green Frosting:

Ingredients:
½ c. whole milk
¼ c. flour
⅛ tsp. salt
2 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. sugar
¼ tsp. vanilla extract
green gel food coloring

Instructions:

  1. In a saucier pan, put milk, salt and flour and whisk until combined on medium heat.
  2. Continuously whisk mixture until thickened to a pudding like consistency.
  3. Once thickened, strain through a mesh strainer into a bowl with a spatula to remove lumps.
  4. Place a piece of plastic wrap on top of the flour mixture and put into the fridge until fully cool.
  5. In a mixer bowl fitted with the whisk attachment, mix the sugar and butter on high speed until fluffy and pale about, 5-10 minutes.
  6. Add the chilled flour mixture and continue to whip on high speed until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is no longer gritty, about 5-10 minutes.
  7. Add the vanilla extract and mix until combined.
  8. Add green frosting until desire colored is reached.
  9. Add a thin layer of green frosting to top of cake.
  10. Chill cake in freezer for 3-5 minutes.
  11. Optional: Put the green frosting into a piping bag fitted with the grass frosting tip and pipe grass all over top of chilled cake.
  12.  Garnish top of cake with mini chocolate eggs.