Zebra Cake with a Cherry on Top

My oldest girl recently turned 5, and she specifically requested this cake for her big day, a zebra striped cake with a cherry on top.  I loved how it turned out!  She always has the best ideas for cakes.  I threw in a fun little surprise for the inside, too.

Zebra stripes inside!  It was so easy to do.  While I was filling the cake pans with batter, I just alternated between vanilla and chocolate batter, pouring into the center of the pan each time.  The original circle of batter was eventually pushed to the outside and the zebra stripes were done.

For the cherry on top, I just molded the cherry and stem out of leftover fondant.  I put a toothpick inside the lower half of the stem, then stuck it in the cherry after it had hardened enough to hold its shape.  We had a great time with the zebra theme.  It is also surprisingly easy to find zebra striped party supplies when you are looking for them!

My Little Pony Birthday Cake

My Little Pony was the requested theme for my daughter's 4th birthday party.  I made a three-layer 9" round cake in rainbow colors.  Sadly, I wasn't able to get a photo of the inside, but it was super bright and vibrant. 

I got my kid-at-heart husband a cotton candy machine for Christmas, so he whipped up the blue cotton candy for the clouds.  I thought it turned out as a really cool touch.  I'll admit that I had much grander plans for this cake, but after a party with a dozen friends, I just wasn't up for it.  The rainbow ended up laying on the cake instead of standing up, and the pony was just a toy. 

Even though I wasn't able to do all the things with this cake that I had planned, it was still a huge hit with the kids and really tasty!

Unicorn Pegasus Cake

I made this fun birthday cake for my niece a couple of weeks ago, and I have to say, it does get easier with each new cake.  I loved that the party theme was Unicorn Pegasus.  What could be better for a six-year-old little girl?  Here's a brief run-down of the process.

I love how two 6" rounds look stacked on two 9" rounds.  The proportions seem perfect to me.

Before I stacked the top tier, I put a few bamboo skewers in the bottom for support.

The top tier is on a cardboard cake board, which sat on the bamboo skewers and worked really well.

I stuck a skewer through the top in the center, then instead of cutting it off, I wrapped the pink fondant around it for the unicorn horn.  

I thought about doing more embellishments but ended up liking the simple look the best.  I usually do.  We have another birthday next week, but I don't have a plan for the cake yet.  It may or may not involve fondant.  I haven't even sent out invitations, so it's probably going to be a low-key occasion.  Either way, I'm sure it will be a good time!

Yellow and Green Bird Birthday Cake

My oldest gal turned three last week, and when I asked her what she wanted for her party, she said a green bird cake and yellow balloons.  I had been wanting to try a tiered cake, so I figured this was the perfect time.  It was a little bit of an ordeal, but only because my Kitchenaid stalled on me while I was making the fondant!  It's not something that should happen with a stand mixer, but mine has always been a little bit wonky.  Which is sad, since I really like it otherwise.

I had to finish kneading the fondant by hand, which wasn't my favorite.  Since my mixer was overheated and I had scheduled myself so tightly on party prep, I had my husband pick up a giant tub of decorating icing from the store.  I usually make my own frosting for my cakes, but given the situation this was a great alternative.  The frosting was surprisingly tasty and creamy, and lots of people asked about it.  I piped it on as the polka dots on the green fondant ribbons and as the nest for the green fondant bird on top.

For support, I used bamboo skewers in the bottom layer.  I didn't do cardboard under the top layer, since it was only 6" rounds, but it did sink about a half an inch.  Next time, I will do both bamboo and cardboard for extra support.  I used this recipe for a beefed-up chocolate cake from a mix, and it was a huge hit as well.  The only thing that I did differently was to leave out the chocolate chips, since this cake was for little kids.  This recipe is a real keeper, though, and next time I will add the choco chips.  With the leftover batter, I also made a bunch of cupcakes, since I just can't help myself.

I made the cupcake toppers with the print and cut feature on my Silhouette.  I love that I can create my own design, print it out, and then cut the printed page.  And no, I don't get anything for saying that I love it (although I wouldn't turn it down. . .).  I ordered the cupcake liners, thinking they were greaseproof.  They were definitely not, but I just popped another one over them and they still looked super cute.

Honey and Banana Beehive Cake

My little baby turned one year old this month, and to celebrate we had a little shindig.  I found this Brown-Butter Banana Cake and Honey Buttercream recipe from Zoe Bakes.  It was a little bit more gourmet than usual, but it turned out amazing.  I did use 9" pans instead of 8", so that is why my beehive is a different shape (which I ended up liking better).  I also used part of the batter for the smash cake!

For the smash cake, I used the heart-shaped pan I used for my oldest daughter's Valentine's Day 1st birthday party.  All I did was turn the heart upside-down and decorate it like a honey bee.  I thought it turned out pretty cute.  I do have two small things to consider if you plan to use this recipe for a baby's birthday.  First: Grey frosting is not a great choice.  Second:  Buttercream frosting is greasy.  Allow me to demonstrate:

For the other party treats, I used honey-themed and favorite snacks.  I had some of the marzipan bees leftover from the cake, so I frosted sugar cookies with the leftover buttercream and stuck them on top.  I also tried some candy bar and marshmallow sugar cookies from Family Fun.  They didn't turn out as well as their photos.  I still don't know how they got the wings to look like that.  I guess I cut the marshmallows in half instead of just cutting the ends off?  It was down to the wire and I didn't have a lot of time, so I just left them looking a little weird.

All in all, we had a great time; and the cake tasted great.  It was a sort-of cross between regular cake and banana bread, and it was perfect for a perfect day!

White Chocolate Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake for my white-chocolate-loving husband's birthday.  It may have been my best cheesecake yet!  I didn't have any cracks in the top, and the middle wasn't too soft like last time.  The recipe I used needed some tweaking, so I ended up with my own creation in the end.  I also tried a white chocolate ganache for the topping, which didn't act quite like I was expecting.  It was a lot runnier than a normal chocolate ganache, so I think it may need more white chocolate than cream.  It was still quite tasty, though, and it added a nice white chocolate flavor, as the cheesecake itself doesn't have a strong white chocolate taste.  Here is my version of the white chocolate cheesecake, complete with low-fat cream cheese!

White Chocolate Cheesecake
(adapted by me from Food.com)

Crust:
2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/4 c. melted butter

Filling:
10 oz. white chocolate
4 (8 oz.) packages of low-fat cream cheese, softened*
1/2 c. plus 2 T. sugar
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
6 T. flour
1 T. vanilla

Ganache Topping:
8 oz. white chocolate
8 oz. heavy cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Blend graham cracker crumbs and melted butter and press lightly onto the bottom and sides of a spring-form pan.  To make the filling, melt the white chocolate and stir until smooth.  Beat softened cream cheese until light and fluffy, then add in the sugar.  Add the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating well in between.  Add the flour and vanilla, stirring until combined well.  Add the melted chocolate in a slow stream while beating the mixture, until everything is smoothly combined.  Pour into prepared crust, sprinkling more white chocolate chips in if desired.  Bake for one hour for 10 inch pans (70 minutes for 9 inch pans) or until top is firm to the touch.  Turn the oven off and leave cheesecake in the closed oven for another 1/2 hour.  Allow cheesecake to cool completely before covering loosely and refrigerating overnight.

To add the ganache topping, microwave chocolate and cream in 30-second intervals, stirring between, until all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth.  Allow the topping to cool, then pour over cooled cheesecake.  Refrigerate until serving.

*Note: If you want to use regular cream cheese, reduce flour to 2 T.

Linked up: Tatertots & Jello

Dreamy Cream-Filled Cupcakes

I'd like to introduce you to a little piece of heaven.  Reader, meet cupcake.  Cupcake, reader.

Here are the basics behind these bad boys.  

1. Devil's Food cake mix
2. Cream Filling
3. Perfect Cupcake Frosting (via Our Best Bites)

Yes, I used a cake mix.  I have a hard time wanting to make my cakes from scratch when the mixes already taste so great and are so fast.  Plus, I haven't found a cake recipe that warrants me spending an extra hour in the kitchen.  If you have one, seriously, fill me in.  I am willing to try any recipe once.

The cream filling is the same one that I used for the owl birthday cake.  After the cupcakes were baked according to the box directions and cool, I used a filler tip to put the pastry filling in each cupcake.  I probably could have put a bit more in than I did, but it's nearly impossible to tell what's going on inside each cupcake.  After I made these, I heard a tip from a friend about how to know when there is enough filling:  Listen for a "burp".  I have not tried it, so don't take my word for it, but if you want to try it, there it is.

Like I said, I used the Perfect Cupcake Frosting recipe for these.  Can I just tell you that everyone raved about it?  It is a little bit of work, but so very worth it.  Take note, however, that the recipe makes enough frosting for 12 cupcakes, and a usual batch from the box makes 24 cupcakes.  I doubled the recipe and had no problems.  In fact, it was the perfect amount for all the cupcakes.  I colored the frosting teal with the Wilton gel coloring, using mostly sky blue with a little bit of leaf green, then I used the big star tip to frost these.  As a finishing touch, I sprinkled on some hot pink sugar sprinkles.  The best part about the frosting is that it didn't instantly form a crust, like the canned stuff.

I was really pleased with this cupcake experience.  Really, really pleased.  These are the best cupcakes I have made to date, and that counts the Rainbow Cupcakes I made last year.  The frosting was a huge part of that, plus the fact that I learned about using the big star tip to frost them.  Seriously, that tutorial changed my cupcake-decorating life.

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Owl Birthday Cake

We had my daughter's second birthday party yesterday, along with my baby daughter's blessing.  I made this owl cake in honor of the occasion.  It was my second fondant cake, and my first time making my own fondant!  It turned out so much better than the store-bought variety.  Here's the branch detail on the sides: 

For the branch detail, I rolled the fondant into long snakes.  For the leaves and the owl, I rolled the fondant flat, then cut out the shapes with a paring knife.  The inside of the cake was four layers of funfetti cake with a pastry cream filling.

I also used bamboo skewers to stabilize the cake.  I don't know if I needed them or not, but it made me feel better about it.  Here's the birthday girl getting ready to blow out the candles:

 I had so much fun making this cake!  For the party, I also made, in my opinion, my best cupcakes to date.  Those will be getting their own post later this week.

 Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Linked up: Someday Crafts 

Valentine's Day Birthday Party

Conversation Heart Smash Cake

In honor of Valentine's Day, I will be doing something a little different for today's Feature Friday. I had a Valentine's-themed party for my daughter's first birthday, and I wanted to share some photos of the food, decor, and fun!

Overall Party Vibe

Heart-shaped Bendy Straws and Cello Treat Bags

Candy in Take-out Boxes to Make Your Own Treat Bag

Conversation Heart Cupcakes

This girl know her way around a cake!

Here's the birthday girl playing with her profesh rhythm egg from Uncle T and sporting the personalized shirt I made for her.

Happy Birthday!