Fab Feb Desserts

Hello Dollies!

I am very sad to say that my life has been so hectic that I have not been able to stop and bake since my New Year's Cake *Gasp* I know! I never thought I'd be able to make it that long either! Good news though Dollies! I have tomorrow off and I am going to be making Cheesecake. Yes, cheesecake!

I have had a very crazy month (apartment shopping, setting a wedding date, changing wedding date, etc etc) but a really good thing that has come out of it is this: I am tired of being fat and I have taken matters into my own hands to see that it ends now! For a little over a week now, I have had no sugar and very little carbs. How can a baking goddess do such a thing to herself, you ask? No problem! I love baking and I still enjoy it with every ounce of my being, but now, in addition to discovering the best regular dessert recipes, I want to discover healthier desserts that taste just as amazing as the "fully loaded" versions.

Tomorrow I will be making a Sugar Free, low carb Cheesecake! Instead of using milk, I will use Heavy Whipping Cream (no carbs!), liquid sugar substitute, pecan meal instead of graham cracker, and a no-bake sugar free cheesecake mix. Wish me luck Dollies!

New Year's Cake

Hello Dollies!

I hope you are all having a great new year! To celebrate, I made a simple Champagne cake by adding Champagne instead of water to a white cake mix. I filled the layers with Strawberry glaze and made buttercream icing, again substituting champagne for the liquid. Then, I made a basic Chocolate ganache and poured it on the cake. I can see why most people use this type of cake in a cupcake form though, it was a little much for a full slice of cake. Still really yummy, but a little much.

Harry Potter Cake

Hello Dollies!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas Eve! Today I made another Birthday cake- this time the theme was Harry Potter. The boy's favorite house in the series is Gryffindor so I wanted to make the cake a burgundy and gold cake with Snitches and broomsticks. Then I wanted the writing to look like the title font used on the books. What do you think?

I made the Snitches out of rolled fondant that was dipped in white chocolate then rolled in gold sugar and edible gold glitter. The wings are also white chocolate painted with edible gold luster dust and lemon juice. The broomsticks were fondant.

Cupcake Cookies Round 2

Hello Dollies!

These are the final batch of cupcake cookies I made for an order. These were used as party favors for a first birthday party for a child named Finn (hence the "F"). For this batch I made the cookies twice as thick and added a little lemon to the dough and some vanilla to the icing. What do you think?

Bakery Logo and Info

Because I have been getting more and more orders from people, I have decided to get an official logo. I now also have a professional email address for those of you needing to get in contact with me:

hellodolliesbakery@gmail.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

Cupcake Cookies (In Progress)

Hello Dollies!

Here are some pictures of cookies I've been working on today. Cupcake Shaped Sugar cookies with Royal Icing

The icing on these is still wet so I have to let them dry before I add the lines on the cupcake paper or any smaller designs but I will add more pictures as I continue to make them.

It's Christmas Time in the Bakery!

Hello Dollies!

I don't know about you guys but I have been a busy little baker these last few days, and I still have a while to go before I'm done! Here are a few pictures of some of the things I've made this weekend:

Orange Marmalade, Caramel Corn, Chocolate Marshmallow Corn, Peppermint Hot Chocolate Mix, and Spiced Apple Tea mix.

I'll be adding photos of my Gingerbread, Apple Cinnamon Bread, Homemade Marshmallows, and famous Hello Dollies tonight and tomorrow.

Thanksgiving Aftermath

I hope everyone had a great day full of wonderful food!

Amish Friendship Bread

Okay first off Dollies, I need to thank my new boss at the bakery for giving me the starter, without which I would not have been able to make this WONDERFUL bread for Thanksgiving.

Here are the directions and ingredients as given to me:

DO NOT use any type of metal bowl or spoon for mixing


DO NOT refrigerate bag

Days 1-5 Mash the bag

Day 6 (TODAY) Add to the bag 1 cup Flour, 1 cup Sugar, and 1 Cup Milk... and mash the bag

Days 7-9 Mash the bag

Day 10:

Pour contents of bag into a non metal bowl. Add 1 1/2 cup Flour, 1 1/2 cup Sugar, and 1 1/2 cup Milk.

Write this day's date on 4 separate gallon bags and measure out 1 cup into each bag.

Keep one for yourself if you wish (you will be making bread every 10 days). Give the other three away with a copy of these instructions (only the Amish know how to make this starter from scratch).

To Bake:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Mix your leftover batter (from above, it won't be much) with 3 eggs, 1 cup oil, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt, vanilla, and baking soda. Finally add 1 large box of vanilla instant pudding. (optional: 1 cup raisins and/or nuts)

Grease 2 regular bread pans OR 3 Disposable foil pans. Mix 3 Tablespoons sugar with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Dust the pans with half of the mixture. Pour batter evenly into pans, Sprinkle remainder of cinnamon mixture on loaves. Bake 1 hour and let cool before enjoying!

Cranberry Walnut Sour Cream Pound Cake

Hello Dollies! Still in the Thanksgiving spirit I hope! Tonight I am making Cranberry Walnut Sour Cream pound cake (and some mini cakes as well). I will be posting pictures later tonight but here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup Butter (softened to room temp)
3 Eggs (Leave at room temp for 30 min)
2/3 Cup dry cranberries
2 1/2 Cups all purpose flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 Cups granulated sugar
Finely shredded zest of 1 Lemon
1 1/2 Teaspoons vanilla
8 oz Dairy Sour Cream
3/4 Cup chopped Walnuts
Powdered Sugar (optional)

Grease and lightly flour a 9x5x3inch loaf pan; set aside. Pre-heat oven to 325F.  In a small bowl, pour boiling water over Cranberries; let stand for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Combine Flour, Salt, Baking Soda, and Baking Powder in another bowl.

In a medium bowl beat butter until smooth and creamy. Gradually add sugar 3 tablespoons at a time, beating on medium speed for 6 minutes; mixture will be grainy but very light and fluffy. Add lemon peel and vanilla. Mix until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on medium. Scrape sides often. Alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, mixing just until combined. Stir in cranberries and walnuts*. Pour batter into loaf pan.

Bake for 70min or until a toothpick comes out clean. (The cake will be high in the pan) Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack and then remove from pan. Cool completely on rack. If desired, lightly sift powdered sugar over cake before serving.

Thanksgiving Pies

Hello Dollies!

I hope you are all gearing up for a wonderful Thanksgiving next week. While it is typically a time spent giving thanks with family members, let's be honest: Thanksgiving is mainly a food holiday! You know me Dollies, I like to make desserts a little different, so instead of a normal Pecan pie I made a Maple Butter Pecan Pie (above picture, before baked). But of course, I had to go the traditional route and make a Pumpkin pie as well (Below, cooling on a rack).

I am also going to be making a Sour Cream Cranberry Walnut Pound Cake, and some Amish Friendship bread, so stay tuned Dollies!

Harry Potter Cupcakes

Here is a picture of some cupcakes made to look like Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. I did not make these, but a nice girl from "Chucktown Cupcakes" here in Mount Pleasant, SC was kind enough to let us sell these at the candy store I work at since we are located next to a movie theater.

Carrot Cake #2

Early on in October my mother-in-law wanted me to make her a carrot cake for her birthday but she had one simple request- She wanted the cream cheese icing to taste like cream cheese, not powered sugar and cream cheese. I searched every baking book I had and all over the Internet and everything I could find called for 8oz of cream cheese and 6 cups of powdered sugar! Then, just as I was getting frustrated beyond belief I found this gem:

1/2 Cup Butter (Softened)
16oz Cream Cheese (Softened)
2 cups sifted Confectioner's Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Basically all I did was cream the cheese and butter together then slowly add the powdered sugar and vanilla.

So simple and so tasty! After it thickened it tasted like cheesecake on a carrot cake. I am so proud of this cake and apparently word has gotten around because I have 2 more orders for this cake!

Long Time No Post

Good morning Dollies! With my new bakery job (and the graveyard shift) I haven't had a whole lot of time to do too much baking. I have been doing a little bit here and there and later I will be posting some recipes for the things I've been working on. I haven't taken too many pictures as my camera is acting a little funny, but I will have a  few handy.

Cupcake Madness!

Hello Dollies!

I'm sorry that is has been so long since I posted anything new. The only things I have made recently are things I had made before (aka Key Lime Pie). However, since I am leaving my current job to go work in a bakery (I AM SOOOOOO EXCITED DOLLIES!), I felt I needed to go out with a bang. What better way than with an assortment of cupcakes? And not just any cupcakes, oh no, because that wouldn't be my style. I needed something fresh, something different after all. So I made:

"The Afternoon Tea Cupcake"

Perfect for a lazy afternoon spent reading with a nice cup of black tea. Lemon cake with Lavender Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

"The Presto Pesto Cupcake"

An "Un-Cupcake" if you will. A Cornmeal cake with Pesto Cream Cheese spread topped with a cherry tomato. Savory, not sweet.

"The Sweet Southern Nut Cupcake"

Butter Pecan cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting and Praline Pecans. This one is yummy y'all!

AND FINALLY

"The Campfire Cupcake"

What is better than s'mores? S'mores cupcakes! I took a basic Graham Cracker Crust, filled it with Chocolate Fudge cake, then topped that with Toasted Marshmallow icing and a Chocolate Covered Graham Cracker. Its almost better than the real thing!

First there was one...

Well Dollies, it looks like I am officially open for business! I had three more people ask me to make cakes for them today.

Home Kitchen today..... Store Front tomorrow!

Wood Grained Carrot Cake for Billy

Okay so good news is this:

MY FIRST COMMISSIONED CAKE!!!

Carrot Cake with raisins and walnuts and cream cheese icing. The cake and icing are PHENOMENAL!

Bad news is this:

It is nowhere near as perfect as I wanted it to be.

I have only worked with fondant one other time and this was not a good experience. As you can see, I mixed several different colors of fondant in what is called a "marble" color to give it a wood-grained look. Then, I used a wood-like fondant press to give it the look of boards of wood. I like the way it looks, but after I put the fondant on, it cracked. There are a few small cracks and this big one in the back:

I feel so horrible about this. I spent a lot of time on this cake and now I don't even want to charge the lady for anything but the ingredients. This stinks Dollies! There is just no way around that.

Almond Flower Thank You

Today I made an easy cake! I just took a basic White Cake mix, added a 1/4 cup Dark Brown Sugar and 1 Teaspoon Almond Extract and Decorated it with Basic Chocolate Butter cream and Almond slivers and VOILA!

A beautiful and easy "Thank You" Cake to be enjoyed by my family and friends....

(Yes I agree, the "T" looks awfully like a "J" Oh well)

Spiced Honey Cream Puffs

Ingredients:

1 Cup Water

1/2 Cup Butter

1/8 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour

1 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg (For dough)

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/8 Teaspoon Ground Allspice

4 Large Eggs

1 Package Cream Cheese (8oz.) Softened

1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

1/4 Cup Sour Cream

2 Teaspoons Honey

1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg (for filling)

Preheat oven to 375F and line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper. (I had to use a cut up paper bag and it didn't work too well).

In a medium saucepan combine butter, water, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

In another bowl mix flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg. Comine with butter mixture and stir vigorously with a WOODEN spoon (if you use metal or plastic the dough will stick) until a ball forms. Remove from heat for at least 10 min.

After the dough is completely cooled to room temperature, place in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time beating on medium. Continue until the mixture is smooth. Spoon 12 equal sized mounds onto the parchment paper. Cook for 30 to 35 minutes. After cooking let cool for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:

In a large bowl combine sour cream, honey, cream cheese, whipping cream, and remaining nutmeg. Beat on high until smooth. (At first it may look something like cottage cheese but keep beating until smooth) Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Cut puffs open throug the center and fill with your desired amount of filling. Drizzle with honey and serve immediately.

Buzz Lightyear Birthday Cake

Well my nephew Noah had his first Birthday party today (You know, the one I made the frog cake for the night he was born?!?) and the theme was Toy Story. This was my first attempt at an actual character cake and all things considered, I think it turned out pretty well. What do you think Dollies?