Happy 27th Birthday David!!! Fondant piano cake

“Birthdays are nature's way of telling us to eat more cake.” Anonymous

Last year for my husbands birthday I was starting to get into cake decorating, so I made him a checker board "Black & White" themed cake. The very next day, feeling inspired I was lost in a web of cake designing websites and came across the idea for a fondant piano cake. Because my husband is known for being a piano player I thought this idea was genius! So for a year it has been in the back of my mind to make this cake for him this year! I wasn't too sure how it would turn out considering I have never touched fondant in my life, but it didn't stop me from going out and buying everything I could possibly need to do this cake. Lots of money was spent, enough said! Ha! (Thank God most was reusable tools!) 

So, basically my introduction to using fondant was a baptism by fire, seeing as I had never taken a course. My mom (the pastry chef) gave me a couple of tips over the phone, which were mostly useless, because I wasn't smart enough to follow them correctly, humpf! My cake was baked, cut to shape, and crumb coated at least 4 hrs in advance- too bad the fondant part took me over 6hrs. Fondant is really tricky, and if you attempt to use it for the first time, especially if you are coloring it yourself, I would do a mock cake a few days in advance. 

Here is how my cake turned out:

My husband was thrilled, and honestly a little shocked too I think. Ha Ha! It was a bit of a surprise that it wasn't a store bought cake, or even a home-frosted-wobbly-lettered-looking-job! 

If coloring fondant yourself (which is a tricky job, when you can buy pre-colored fondant for around the same price at any cake store) give it time and let it breathe! This probably sounds a little silly, but just like buttercream icing, or painting a wall- icing/fondant takes time to go darker. Don't constantly keep adding coloring to get it darker, you can always add more but you can never go back lighter. Also don't forget to keep it well covered to keep it from going hard. 

Wish I would have had a better camera, these shots just don't seem to do the cake justice! ;)

Rolling out the fondant is also extremely tricky, hence the 6 + hrs it took my to get the fondant right. Too thick and it will tear once rolled out over the cake, and too thin and will tear as you try to lift it. These are the kinda of stupid problems I encountered when trying to make this cake. Also measuring is KEY. Measure the circumference of your fondant once rolled out, measure your cake and then measure it again. You can never over measure! When decorating with fondant, strips, dots, or stars- try to keep consistency by... yes! Measuring! ;)

Can't wait 'til the next time I make a fondant cake. Now that I've already had my 6hr self taught lesson, I think I'm ready to handle anything!!!! 

Nutella Sandwich Cookies

I am addicted to Nutella, the chocolate hazelnut spread? I can't live without it. I need a daily dose of Nutella. ~ Michelle Trachtenberg

Finally, without further delay - here are my Nutella Sandwich Cookies!!!

I'm not gonna lie, these weren't  the easiest cookies to make. It took a lot of steps to achieve these, but they were worth it!! 

They took about 3 days (mainly because I have been extremely busy), first there was skinning the hazelnuts... because I couldn't find any already skinned, my Goodness was that a chore. Did you know that there are whole websites dedicated to showing you how to skin a hazelnut?! Then I didn't have a food processor, so I had to grind the flour, sugar, and salt with the hazelnuts in stages in my Magic Bullet. Then there's the fact that I hate cut out cookies! They are so time consuming! I think that the end look is fab though, they are really cute if I do say so myself! 

The recipe was supposed to yield 2 dozen 'sandwiches' but actually  only yielded about 19, which was fine for me because after rolling out and cutting 19 of these I was fed up! :P

They are SO yummy too, not just esthetically pleasing! Ha! 

The cookie is very 'Nutty' because of the ground up hazelnuts, and perfectly complimented by the smooth interior of the Nutella- the chocolate drizzle is just for looks and extra calories- Duh!

... And just in case you couldn't tell from previous blogs to this one... I got my brother-in-laws camera, finally! (My husband is the photographer, Thanks Dave!!)

Hopefully I will be able to borrow it in the future for other blog post since it is so amazing! Hint! Hint! Jon if your reading!!! 

Although they were originally intended for V Day, they were enjoyed by the two guys who were furiously gaming at my place today! :) At least being in the kitchen gave me something to do while my Tv was being hogged all day! 

I found this recipe for these cookies online, and I think when I make them again I will definitely look for skinned hazelnuts, and possibly borrow my mothers food processor!! 

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!!! (Thanks again Jon!)

Up Next: Cookie dough truffles!

(... but it may be awhile until that blog because my next three trips are back-to-back, so in about 10 days!)

Happy V DAY!!!

Oh, if it be to choose and call thee mine, love, thou art every day my Valentine!  ~Thomas Hood

❤ ♡ ❤

If you follow me on twitter, you'll know that Valentine's Day was a day late for my sweetie and I! He was busy on the 14th so we just slid it over by one day. Not the end of the world... actually- it was way more convenient! The restaurant was less packed the next day (when normally you Always have to make a reservation ahead of time, forget a holiday), all V Day goodies were on sale!! AND I had an extra day to bake!

I didn't get as much accomplished in the kitchen as I hoped to. It's alright though, because seeing as I still have about 5 days off work... I planned to just stagger out my baking. (I don't know if this annoys anyone else- but when you are just 2 at home, lots of baking goes to waste! And there is ONLY so much you can give to neighbors and family before they start thinking that you may be trying to poison them!)

My Valentine's baking Menu was the following: 

❤Valentines cake pop 'Kisses' Very loosely based on something I saw by Bakerella.

❤Valentines Nutella sandwich cookies

& 

❤Valentines Cookie dough truffles

The only thing I have made so far is the cake pop 'Kisses'!

Next up: Nutella sandwich cookies!

I think I'm most afraid of the cookie dough truffles because the recipe makes 5 DOZEN, and I don't like halving recipes! 

My husband absolutely LOVED my Valentines cake pop 'Kisses' !!

... and so did his brother, Lol. I had brought some while visiting my Mother-in-law in the hospital and he ended up taking the whole box home! HA! 

I do have some pictures, but they are RUBBBBBISH! I vow to borrow my brother-in-laws camera for my next blog entry (which SHOULD be tomorrow) so that I have decent pictures. Even though the pics are terrible  I hope you get the idea! ;)

Mashing up my cake for my cake pops!
(If it's not messy, your not doing it right!!)

Little Chocolate drops that will become chocolate dipped 'Kisses"

Ta-Dahhhhhhhhh!

:)

"Be Mine!" From another angle

 I'm really surprised at how simple cake pops are to make. I guess that's why they are now becoming the new trend in baking, and people are leaving behind the ever popular 'Cupcake' frenzy and heading to the exciting world of Cake Pops!

As, I write this I can hear my husband sitting on the couch eating one of these. Ha! I can hear him biting through the chocolate shell into the moist cake inside! I'll be honest though, I still don't know if I understand or GET cake pops?! Yes, I know... as my best friend has tried to tell me over and over- there's nothing to get- But if you want cake... why don't you just have a piece of cake?? I guess that's just me though... and others would prefer to eat their cake on a lollipop stick or in different shapes! I can live with that, especially if people want to buy it from me! 

;)

Next blog: Nutella Sandwich Cookies!

S'MORE PLEASE!!!

"I had a dream last night, I was eating a ten pound marshmallow. I woke up this morning and the pillow was gone." ~ Tommy Cooper

I AM IN LOVVVVVVVVVVVEEEE !!!!!! 

... With S'more cookies!

So this recipe was loosely based on the AMAZING blog by Patisserie Natalie. (Now, if only I could borrow my brother-in-laws camera to get the kind of shots she does...)

However, I found some of her recipe a little complicated to follow, so I adapted  it a little. I found all the recipes I used to make these online. They were AMAZING!!

Never had a S'more? What IS a S'More you ask! Mmmm- let me enlighten you!

A traditional S'More is usually two graham crackers a broken off piece of a (brand name here) plain milk chocolate bar, and a marshmallow or two- roasted over a blazing fire!

YUMMM! ...Or so i've heard... because I'm not outdoorsy enough to have ever been to a bonfire! lol

So, these cookies are essentially the same thing, the cookie is a little softer & sweeter, the marshmallow is soooooooooo tender and fluffy. On a side note: I don't think i'll ever eat a store bought marshmallow again!! Once you've had a homemade marshmallow you don't go back! ... Ok, I want to say so much about coloring and flavors but i'll save it for another blog.

And, the melted chocolate on the side is so smooth it just finishes off the cookie perfectly.

If your looking for a really good Marshmallow recipe Martha's got a great one!

Just a tip on these cookies though, if you ARE going to make them- DON'T roll out the cookies too thin. The thinner the cookie, obviously, the crunchier and less tender it is!

My progress is pictures:

Cutting out my homemade marshmallows- you need LOTS of icing sugar!

All DONE! This is 1 batch of Marshmallows

... assembling 

Getting dipped! Starting to look quite yummy!

Packaging and parceling!!!

DONE!

The cookies I brought for my crew

These cookies did NOT stick around long. They disappeared on  board once I took them out, and the couple I left at home while I was on my trip were gone by the time I got back! I would 100% make these again- and soon! They were a hit!
I wish I could have shared them with you all ... And maybe soon I will! Here's some good news- I'm currently in the middle of setting up a business!! It's very exciting, so far I have a business card & a logo. I'm just wonder if I should get involved and start selling on Etsy or get my own website! There is even a possibility of going into business with one of my best friends! Ahhhh, decisions decisions! :)

Keep You all posted!