My apologies for waiting so long to write a post. Life has been crazy. Between traveling to Mexico not just once, but twice this summer, going to the river and chaperoning a culinary camp, my life has been pretty busy! However, I have still found time to bake up some yummy goodness. Here are three different cakes that I prepared this summer:
Cake 1:One of my good friends from church is having a baby girl and her future sister-n-law wanted to throw her a baby shower. I offered to make the cake for the event, and, in the end, ended up making cupcakes and a diaper cake. (May I say that diaper cakes are one of the easiest things to make and it provides a wonderful centerpiece at the shower.) My friend had told me that she was tired of PINK so I went with purple and lime green for the diaper cake. I had made strawberry cupcakes, with the batter being very similar to an angel food cake. The icing was very light; it was more like a whipped icing with fresh strawberries. Surprisingly, even though they were strawberry cupcakes, they didn't have a pink tint. I tied a lime green, lace ribbon around half of the cupcakes, and the other half I sprinkled edible, purple specks on top. Hopefully, I will have pictures to share soon. (My husband had the camera so I couldn't take any pictures.)
Cake 2:I have three of the best brothers any sister could ask for. Andrew is 21 and going into his fourth year at Mississippi State. He has the most incredible voice I have ever heard from a man, and because of it he got a scholarship to sing in the Chamber Choir at MSU. He has already been accepted into the Veterinary Program at MSU and I expect nothing, but great things from him. Did I mention that he has the most beautiful red, wavy hair? :)
Jeratt is my middle brother who has just turned 16 and has a hot, red Mustang waiting on him. (He has to drive my dad's Toyota Avalon for six months before he can get his Mustang.) He is a great soccer player and wants to attend LSU to study Zoology. (I am starting to think that my parents waited to give all of the smart genes to my brothers. :)) Interestingly enough, he loves to bake as well. He and my step mom made a 3D Sponge Bob cake and it was amazing!
Last, but not least, there is Jamison who is 14, but stands almost six feet tall. He is my baby, and he is my god child. He has started his first year in high school, and I will be honest I cried like a baby on his first day at North Side High School. He also plays soccer and is really good. He is my husband's shadow; I like to call him Lil' Bubba since I call my husband Bubba. He has started hunting with Bradley so he stays at our house quite a bit during the hunting seasons. Sometimes I feel like he's my child instead of my brother. :)
With all of that being said, one weekend my husband and I were at the river with my dad, step mom, Jeratt and Jamison. After a long day out on the river and a delicious dinner, we were watching Bobby Flay's Cook Off on Food Network. The challenge was a coconut cake; my mouth was watering as I was watching it. My two youngest brothers and I decided to make Bobby Flay's coconut cake one weekend. (Andrew, who is also a really good cook, is working at the Vet Pharmacy at MSU so he couldn't join us. I know he would have wanted to though.)
We printed the recipe off of the website and it was THREE pages long. We used three vanilla beans, some coconut rum and a little bit of coconut. I have to be honest, I wasn't a big fan. I felt that it was more like a vanilla cake than a coconut cake. I was talking to my best friend about it and she said that she has printed and made some of his dishes, and she noticed that there were a couple of things missing in the online recipes she printed. So I am going to say that something was wrong with the online recipe. :) I love me some Bobby Flay and I know he doesn't make anything bad. I might give it another try when it's just me baking.
Cake 3:Earlier I mentioned that a good friend of mine was having a baby and I am throwing her a baby shower. I always like to make different kinds of cakes. So I was doing a test run as to what flavor I wanted to make, and had a thought to mix raspberry and chocolate. I made a basic white cake, but instead of putting vanilla extract I added raspberry liquor. I put a raspberry filling on one cake layer and then put a chocolate frosting on the second layer. For the icing, I made a cream cheese frosting with the raspberry liquor instead of vanilla extract. It was sooooo yummy! I think I might leave out the raspberry liquor in the frosting, and crush some fresh raspberries into the chocolate frosting or the actual batter to give it more raspberry flavor. I am going to make two large sheet cakes and cut them to where they are in the shape of a bassinet, and cover it with butterflies made from gum paste. Will post pictures once finished!!!
I hope everyone stays cool in this HEAT!!!! Hopefully, I will be a better blogger in the future.
