Brunch at Crump Cafe

So, I didn't really bake a cake... but I made my first attempt at quiche! My mom has been in for a few days and was leaving today. We are both big breakfast lovers. We scoured the web searching for the perfect Sunday brunch spot and after much debate decided we had everything on hand for a feast of our own.




Biscuits, bacon, eggs, quiche, fruit and homemade hasbrowns. (All fat free of course.... hehehe) Alot of work. But well worth it! Still, not quite ready to open up shop for Sunday Brunch at Crump Cafe.

Cupcake Kit

My mom is in town visiting and brought me this gift with the disclaimer that she knew that I liked baking from scratch but thought this kit looked cool. She was right. I think she brought it to keep me busy so she could play with my daughter. (I know why she's really here and I won't pretend it has to do with how cute I am. Haha)



I haven't made anything red velvet yet since I started CrumpyCakes so I thought it would be fun. I think they must have put an entire jug of food coloring in each kit. It was REDiculous!



I don't think I've ever seen a cupcake dome as perfectly rounded as these were. It looks like I shoved a red tennis ball in a foil cup. But I didn't. Don't worry. That really is some freakishly round red cake!



I stylized my cupcake as close to the picture on the box as I could.



Red Velvet and a cold glass of milk... mmmm! Thanks mom, for my cupcake kit!!!

Sweet Wise Certified, first ever fondant CrumpyCake!

Friend + Fondant = Fun.
My friend Amanda and I went to our first ever Fondant class at Sweet Wise this weekend. I knew it was going to be fun and we were both like kids in a candy store... well, we really were in a candy store... but you know what I mean! I tried to capture as much as I could so you could see what it was like. The techniques were awesome and it made me feel like I could definitely, possibly, maybe one day make my way into the world of cake decorating. I LOVED that it was so hands on. Literally my hands are still a little tinted from the colored fondant! Fortunately, there was even a technique for discolored hands... I mean... these people think of it all! Here's the condensed version of the two hour class:







First we made the cake topper bows from gumpaste. Colored up and rolled out on the cutting sheet and ready to be texturized!



















I rolled a polka dot texture mat over mine and then cut into strips with a pizza cutter to make the loops of the bow.










Kathy (aka Sweet Wise Owner) demonstrating her torting technique to fill and ice the cake with flavored buttercream.


And now for the star of the show... the fondant!








We learned a very cool Sweet Wise original technique... the Mat System! Rolling the fondant in between two mats keeps it from drying out.




















It also made for easy transfer onto the cake!














We learned how to smooth out the pleats on the cake. Kind of looks like a giant marshmallow with a skirt on!




















After cutting off the collar with a pizza cutter, now it's just a giant marshmallow.












Brush on a little pearl dust, add a border, and top with gumpaste bow and confetti!


VOILA! Sweet Wise Certified, first ever fondant CrumpyCake!




P.S. I would highly recommend taking a Sweet Wise class.
P.P.S. All the tools used are available for purchase at Sweet Wise.
P.P.P.S. If you're wondering what a good gift for me might be... I'd accept a gift certificate to Sweet Wise without much of a fight :)

It's Black, It's White... wooo hoooo hoo!

Chocolate cupcakes with a cheesecake filling. Umm....Yes, please! I attempted to make these "Black Bottom Cupcakes" for a little get together this weekend. They looked so good in the display picture, I was very excited. The main thing that caught my attention was that they didn't need icing. Let's face it... I'm not really what you would call a cake decorator... so this was a welcome change.

I made 12 in my metal muffin pan and 6 in my stoneware muffin pan. I actually liked the ones that came from the stone better. They seemed to retain the cheesecake part a lot better. I think I might have had bad technique because my cheesecake didn't fill the middle of the cupcake like the recipe picture showed. Mine spread out over the top of the cake. It wasn't bad, but I'm thinking the "twinkie" type filling would have been better. More concentrated flavor in the middle cylinder instead of a thin coating everywhere. Oh well, better luck next time.

Chocolate and Cheesecake... it's just a winning combination. In the words of the late Mr. Jackson, "It's black, it's white wooo hoooo hoo!"

Naticakes

Naticakes is another local cupcakery in historic downtown Franklin, TN. I've been following them a little bit and was happy to see they were featured on a local news channel. I was glad to learn more about the shop and it's mission. It's awesome... and just a warning... a tear jerker.

Learn more by clicking HERE

FiddleCakes

We have a new bakery just around the corner from my work. Somehow, I visited the other day and left with a YUMMY chicken salad sandwich and NO dessert? That's a sin. Hoping to try some of their goodies out soon.

On a good note, I overheard them describing several cakes that I'm putting on my list of "things to attempt eventually."

In the mean time, check out Nashville's newest(?) bakery... FIDDLECAKES

*Special thanks to ForTheLoveOfCupcakes for the fiddlecakes picture I snagged. :)

Treats for my sweet!

This is a strawberry marshmallow.



This is a strawberry marshmallow on crack.



This made my valentine happy!


Yes, I know this is not cake. And that's ok! Really, it is. And if you really need a disclaimer then I will say that on all those cake-offs people use rice krispy treats to mold things. So, maybe it will be in my future one day? So, yeah... take that!

Hope you all had a very happy valentine's day!

CrumpyCookies

So, my husband laid the smackdown and insisted on cookies tonight! We watched some of our favorite little friends so their parents could go on a Valentine's date. I thought it would be fun to make and decorate cookies with the kiddos. We had a great time and I was so impressed with how creative they were. It's amazing what you can do with a little icing, sprinkles, food coloring, and red hots! We did a little cookie toast when they all completed their first cookies!



I used the "Best Ever Butter Cookies" recipe. Watch out CrumpyCakes... make some room for CrumpyCookies!

Oh. My. Gosh. Cake!

I decided to try the chocolate cake on the back of the Swans Down Cake Flour box. OH. MY. GOSH.

It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. I made it in my petite loaf pan just for a little variety. At the last minute I decided to give the chocolate buttercream icing recipe that they suggested a try as well. Success! Finally. The consistency was spot on. It was a little heavy on the sweet side, but when I paired it with the cake it worked really good. I would post the recipes but, I can't find them online... and I guess I'm inept at copying it from the box? sorry.



I'll confess I usually don't eat much of what I make, but I couldn't stop. It was sooooo good I decided to rename it "Oh. My. Gosh. Cake!"

Sweet Wise

So, I have to confess I didn't bake anything this weekend. I was sick and then my sweet little baby got sick. Needless to say the last thing on my mind was baking. I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me. I was feeling a little guilty for not posting anything and then it hit me, I have something VERY blogworthy!

Thanks to my friends at groupon.com I will be taking my first cake class soon! I am so very excited. Today's deal was a cake class at Sweet Wise. What in the world is Sweet Wise? A magical place in Nashville I never even knew existed! It's like culinary school for weekend cake-ers like me. I can barely contain my excitement.

I can't wait to share all I learn!!! I know it will ROCK. And maybe my treats won't be so homely once I get sweet wise!

Cinderella Cake

True story. When I was about 9 years old I was at my friend Amber's house. She wanted to go out to the trampoline and play "Cinderella." You know the drill... when your friend suggests the game, they always get to be the main character. It's an unspoken kid code. So you can only imagine the surprise my little heart felt when she assigned me the role of Cinderella! I bounced with all my might, singing my heart out in true princess fashion... AND THEN- she started beating me with a broom and yelling at me to clean the floors. She had clearly assumed the role of the evil stepmother. I had no other logical option at that point but to run for my life! With Amber close on my heals, I rushed inside and began blurting out the ordeal to our mothers. Before I could finish she stood opposite of me and began screaming, "NO I DIDN'T!" simultaneously pulling out a fistful of her fiery red hair. If the broom didn't scare me, that did. She was fierce! Somehow, we muddled through that grade school incident as friends and into much middle school mischief.

Tonight as I tried to think of what to make I was afraid it might be the impossible task. I still haven't made it to the store to stock up on baking supplies. I'm even running low on margarine. So what could I possibly pull together that would be blogworthy? Google hasn't failed me yet. Cinderella Cake

I donned my new apron and got to work. I substituted applesauce for oil after reading this article about using it as a healthy baking option. Seemd to work just fine. The whole process was so simple and mess free. I have to admit I was a little disappointed to walk away without a smudge!

Although the toothpick came out clean, I wish I would have cooked it about 3 minutes longer. The inside was a little more spongy than I prefer. Could've been the applesauce! I tried the coachman's icing they suggested and it worked pretty well. I would give this a C+. Not bad for throwing together some straggling ingredients but not a must for my next party either!

I feel really proud that I was able to make something work. So, I give myself an A for effort. Here's to childhood memories, using what you got, and Cinderella!



I'm guessing the pumpkin reference inspired the title "Cinderella Cake."

Vertically Challenged Cake

I've said that really good cake makes people say, "That is the devil." Consider this oxymoron- you can't really say angel food cake is the devil. Not to stir up too much controversy, but I just don't like angel food cake. Quote me. Seriously, what is so great about it? It's a fluffy, tasteless waste of cake. I guess in all fairness I've only tasted the store bought kinds. Maybe a homemade one would be good. Or maybe other home bakers feel the way I do? Maybe I'm way off and really missing out. Maybe.

Well, now to the point. I cringe when I see strawberry shortcake served w/ angel food cake. Maybe it's because my mom always bought Sarah Lee pound cake. I'm not partial though, I love the kind served on sweet biscuits too. One of my favorites is at Steak and Shake! My friend Jereme would refer to that as "dirty"(meaning- not of a high quality). But it really is good if you haven't ever tried it!

I had plenty of poundcake left over from yesterday. Knowing I had friends at my house who don't mind being guinea pigs every now and then; I stopped on my way home for some strawberries. I sliced, sugared, mixed and served atop a layer of whipped cream. It doesn't get much easier than that.

Emily's piece looked scrumptious-



I COMPLETELY considered it a compliment when Chloe licked her plate! I have to say it is really gratifying when people like what I make. Hip hip hooray for strawberry shortcake. Although these days, to be more politically correct I'm guessing we should be calling it something like Strawberry "Vertically Challenged Cake."

Heart Pounding

The snow came in this weekend and the grocery shelves were bare. We were fortunate enough to get the basics before complete chaos erupted! However, I didn't think ahead to stock up on baking supplies. *GASP* When Sunday rolled around I was completely out of... BUTTER! How can you make cake without butter? I looked over my ingredients on hand. Use what you got, right? I had margarine, but isn't that "frowned" upon in baking? Googley-google... and what did I find but, A Margarine Cake Recipe! The only thing I was missing was lemon juice. I figured it would still work. I "thirded" the recipe and made it in a loaf pan. Success! Yummy pound cake.

Normally I wouldn't frost a pound cake, but I really wanted to give the confectioners sugar recipe another shot. This time I completely omitted the milk. Much better! It was still a bit more runny than I'd like after adding the vanilla, but quite tasty! I used margarine instead of butter so that might have been a contributing factor. I WILL CONQUER A BUTTER CREAM ICING RECIPE! Just you wait.

I must have had cabin fever because I got a last minute, crazy idea to make mini heart shaped cakes. I used a cookie cutter then iced and sprinkled each one. A little rough around the edges but kind of cute anyway. Here's a little peak:



*Big Cheesy Finish* These sweet little things are "heart pounding" good. Get it? Heart shaped pound cakes... Heart pounding!