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!