Sunshine Lemon Cake

February 23, 2016 by

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Are you as ready for spring as I am?  It seems we’ve had one thing after another lately, some stressful, some wonderful.  I think that is the struggle of raising a family.  Staying calm through the rainstorms (like finding your bathroom floor is rotting when all you wanted to do was change the vanity!) and remembering to relax and relish in the rainbows and sunshine.  I like to remember how wonderful rain can feel though.  Maybe that’s just because I’m from Washington, but still, the rain can be a fantastic experience.  Every time we have a challenge I am reminded how much I love getting to face them with my husband and best friend.
This is a very happy cake for me.  I first made it when I worked at the Pomeroy Farm Tea Room in high school.  It always reminds me of spring and tea parties.  We always served it with lemon curd at the tea shop, but now I always use French Lemon Cream.
So if life is giving you a bunch of stormclouds and lemons right now, go make your own sunshine. 🙂

SUNSHINE LEMON CAKE

2 3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 T orange juice
2 tsp lemon extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of a lemon (finely grated)

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
Add  sour cream, orange juice,  extracts, and zest.  Mix well.
Add the flour mixture and beat until well combined.
Pour in greased 9 by 13 pan and bake at 325 degrees for 35 minutes or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Or bake in mini bundt pans, 2 (9 inch) rounds, cupcakes, whatever your fancy.  Just reduce baking time accordingly.
Dust with powdered sugar, and top with a lemon cream rosette and serve with fresh strawberries or raspberries.

Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops, Tea time

Dreamy Orange Cream Cake Pops

October 5, 2015 by

Dreamy Orange Cream Cake Pops

My youngest daughter’s absolute FAVORITE candy are “orange creams”.  And there is only one place to get them, at the amazing little candy shop Candy Babel.  (If you are in the Portland Oregon area and haven’t been you’re missing out!)  Lucy came up with these cake pops to enter in the county fair, trying to get as close to the flavor of orange creams as she could.  They are pretty delicious!  I guess the judges thought so too, since she got first place!  Those are my Lime Poppy Seed Scones next to hers, which got first in the adult division!
We had such a fun fair experience this year and can’t wait to see what next year is like.
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But back to cake pops, these have a smooth truffle center, a cake layer surrounding that (with tons of vanilla!) and dipped in white chocolate.  And sprinkles… because everything Lucy makes has to have sprinkles 😉

Dreamy Orange Cream Cake Pops

For the orange truffle centers:
1/3 cup heavy cream
zest of 1 orange
1 ½ cups white chocolate chips
½ tsp orange extract

For the cake balls:
4 cups finely crumbled vanilla cake
1 cup vanilla frosting
1 vanilla bean

For assembling:
white candy coating or chocolate
orange sprinkles
lollipop sticks

Make the truffle center:
Heat the cream and zest in a small pot over low heat until just simmering.  Add chocolate chips, cover and remove from heat.  Let sit for 3 minutes.  Stir until smooth then stir in the orange extract.
Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until cold.  Scoop into tablespoons and chill again.  Roll until smooth and insert a lollipop stick halfway through.  Chill.

Make the cake balls:
Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the beans out with the back of a knife.
Mix into the cake with the frosting.  Take a spoonful and flatten, then wrap around the truffle on a stick.
Dreamy Orange Cream Cake Pops
Chill until cold.
Dip in melted white candy melts and decorate with sprinkles.

Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops

Teapot Cake

July 29, 2015 by

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If you know me at all.. okay, maybe even a little.. you probably know that I have a thing for teacups and teapots and tea parties (of course!).   I recently threw a cousins “un birthday” party (Alice in Wonderland themed of course) and it seemed the perfect time to try making a teapot cake.  My youngest is becoming quite the kitchen helper and we made it together.  I promise it’s easy!
Here’s what I used:
Cake of choice, baked in a round bowl
Frosting
Marshmallow fondant
Tylose Powder
Martha Stewart Romantic themed silicone molds
Big Sugar Pearls (I couldn’t find these online, but I did buy them at JoAnns.  They were in a Christmas blend, red white and green, but they have other colors too).

Put a thin layer of frosting on the cake.
Roll the marshmallow fondant out.  I go for in between 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
Gently lay fondant over cake and smooth over sides.
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Use a knife to cut the excess off around the edge.
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Now… let’s pretend I took more pictures in the process of making it.  But I was having too much fun with a very excited 8 year old sous chef!
For the details, you’ll want to add some tylose to some marshmallow fondant.  This will harden it some so it will hold it’s shape better.  My rule is 1 tsp tylose per 1 lb of fondant.
I don’t mix up more than I’m using, so if I do 1/4 lb fondant I’ll only add 1/4 tsp tylose.
Form a handle, then using a toothpick in each end of it, insert into cake.
Now form a spout and insert with a toothpick as well.
Then for the top roll out the fondant and cut a circle out, then roll a ball for the top.  Put a toothpick through all into the cake.
Form 2 hearts out of red using a mold (or decorate some other way).  Use a dab of frosting to glue one on each side.
Add a small line of frosting around the base of the cake and also the lid.  Add the sugar pearls.
For the rose on top I used this method here (You basically overlap circles, roll it up, then cut in half to get 2 roses).
I used a dab of frosting to “glue” it to the top.
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That little rose makes my heart happy! 🙂
And done!
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Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops, Tea time

Sandcastle Cake

October 3, 2014 by

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We had a “Tea by the Sea” before school started for my daughters and a couple of their friends and of course we had to make a sandcastle cake! It was so easy and fun.

SANDCASTLE CAKE

Cake, 9 by 13 pan
Frosting
Cookies or graham crackers, I used danish butter cookies
Sanding sugar or granulated sugar, optional
4 sugar ice cream cones
Mini marshmallows
Bamboo skewer and chewy candy for flag

Process cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs.  Mix in some sanding sugar for some sparkle if desired.  Set aside.
I cut my cake like this: I ended up using the 2 larger squares and 2 smaller squares instead of 3 of each.  These are for the 2 main sections.
And the 4 circles are for under the cones.

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Stack the 2 larger squares, then center the 2 smaller squares on top, using frosting inbetween each layer.
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Frost the outside and coat with the crumbs.  Start adding your mini marshmallow border on top.
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Pinch a little corner of the mini marshmallow and coat in frosting then roll in crumbs.
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Put a circle of cake at each corner and frost and coat sides with crumbs.  Top with a sugar cone (I found it easier to frost and crumb coat them first).
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If you want a flag, roll out a chewy candy and cut one out, then poke a skewer thru one end.  Place in cake.

I also baked some cake in tiny condiment cups (You can find them at restaurant supply stores like United Grocers Cash and Carry).  They made the cutest teeny cupcakes.  I frosted them and topped with some gummy sealife, chocolate sunflower seeds and sprinkles.  If you’re local you can find them at the amazing candy store Candy Babel.
Sprinkle some crumbs around them on the plate for sand if desired.

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Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops

Nerf Cake

November 12, 2013 by

DSC01593I don’t usually get the chance to make “boy” birthday cakes.  So when I made my dear friend Katie’s son Collin a birthday cake I had to consult pinterest for nerf ideas. 🙂  This was super simple, and marshmallow fondant came to the rescue yet again!
I used some small alphabet cutters to cut out Collin’s name and randomly placed some small number 8’s on the cake since it’s his 8th birthday.
Collin is a pretty awesome kid, so it was super fun to make his cake for him! Love you Col!

Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops

Spooky Cupcakes

October 9, 2013 by

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To say we are a “girly” household is an understatement.  Luckily my hubby is secure in his masculinity or he might begin to have a facial twitch from all the pink around here.  My girls don’t like anything remotely scary so these are the closest to spooky cupcakes you’ll see me making 🙂  Make your favorite chocolate cupcakes and frosting to begin.

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The trees are made by simply piping or even spreading chocolate on wax paper.  I wish I had thought to take a picture at this point, but basically you are making a spiky T shape (the bottom line will be inserted into the cupcake for stability and the top of the T will be roots resting on top of the cupcake), with a tree on top of the T.  Separately Make 2 small triangles so that when you place the upside down T into the cupcake you can place a small triangle on the front and back to look like roots and also support the tree a little.  While the chocolate is wet sprinkle with orange sugar and some black pearls.  You could also use cake or cookie crumbs for dirt around the base.  I used some chocolate jimmies.

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For the towers cover a sugar cone with chocolate and place a whopper on the top.

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For ghosts, pipe white frosting, then insert chocolate coated sunflower seeds for the eyes.

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In the book they stacked smaller cupcakes on top of larger cupcakes so it ended up looking like a haunted house. I thought they would look good placed on and around a small tiered cake, but this is what happened in the end.  None of the kids seemed to care. 🙂

Adapted slightly from  “What’s New, Cupcake?” by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson

Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops, Halloween / Fall

Pink Cake

September 3, 2013 by


I was cleaning out my “draft” folder and came across this picture from my daughter’s birthday a couple years ago that never seemed to get posted.
It makes me happy though, her favorite color, pink.  If you have a pink lover, you should make this cake!  It certainly made her smile.
I cheated and made 2 white cake mixes up, coloring one a light pink and the other a darker pink.  Then I baked 2 (8 inch) round cakes from each mix.
Whipped cream for the filling and pink buttercream with tiny heart sprinkles to finish it off.  Easy peasy… and pink. 🙂

Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops

Peter Rabbit Cake

March 19, 2013 by

peter rabbit cake
The Spring Garden Cake needed just one addition in my opinion. 🙂
A torn blue jacket.  And I don’t have to tell you why, do I?
To make, just use the tips on the spring garden cake post to add the jacket using marshmallow fondant.
I made a rectangle from blue, then folded the ends to the center:
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Then added some sleeves (formed from 2 skinny rectangles, ends formed together to make tubes)
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Then of course a little rip, and a few brown buttons.  Place in the radish patch, of course!
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Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops, Easter

Spring Garden Cake

March 18, 2013 by

spring garden cake

I got a little carried away with this one 🙂
But my girls have SOOOOO much fun doing it with me, it really isn’t work, it’s a fun kitchen art project.  Marshmallow fondant is super easy to work with, and is like edible playdough, so mistakes are taken care of rather quickly!
To make coloring the fondant easier, put a small amount into sandwich ziplock bags (one for each color you’ll need), then add a little gel coloring.
Massage color into fondant through the bag, this way you don’t get the coloring all over your hands, and you can close the ziplock when not in use.
You could make this a day in advance as well.
Check back tomorrow, I’ll show you a little something you can add to change this up too. 🙂

SPRING GARDEN CAKE

Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting
Marshmallow Fondant
Gel icing colors: orange, green, red, brown
Green jimmies
Crushed chocolate graham crackers

I baked my carrot cake in an 8 inch round pan, and a 9 inch square pan.
Make path dividers using folded strips of foil, then fill your “garden plots” with the “dirt” (crushed chocolate graham crackers).
Fill the path with green jimmies.  Carefully remove dividers.100_7546

Make the path stones:
Work some brown color into some fondant,  but not mixing all the way through, so as to leave some marbling.  Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick in between 2 layers of wax paper, then cut out using a small square cutter or freehand with a knife.  place along the green pathways.100_7531

make the basket:
Color some fondant light brown, and make very skinny ropes. Twist lightly together:

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Then shape into a basket:

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Make the carrots:
color fondant orange, then shape into carrots. Use a knife to make little marks.  Can make some as short ones since they will be “underground”:

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make some stems with green fondant:

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use a toothpick to push the end of the stems in:

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Make radishes:
Form teardrops from red fondant, and make leaves by curling a little circle into a point on one end and inserting into rounded end of teardrop.

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Make watermelons:
marble a couple shades of green and shape into ovals.  Make some coiled stems.
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Make the cauliflower:
Form balls from white fondant, then add some texture to the tops.

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For the cabbage leaves, indent leaf lines on small circles

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Then form 3 or 4 around each cauliflower.

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Fill the basket with some veg, and add a handle over the top, if desired.  Place foods in ea garden bed, then make signs with food markers on a small rectangle of white fondant, and place on a toothpick stake.  Use the full carrots and radishes for the basket, and the shorter ones to go in the dirt.

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Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops, Easter

Mini Ruffle Cakes

January 30, 2013 by

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I made these for a “Pink tea” for my daughters and a couple friends, but they would be great for Valentine’s Day or you could change the flavor/color for lots of purposes.  I piped and served them on small red saucers, but little teacup saucers would be cute too.
You could do this with any kind of cake, (I used strawberry here), and your favorite buttercream recipe (I tinted pink here).

Just bake your cake in a jelly roll or 9 by 13 pan, depending on size you need.

Cut cake out using a circle cutter (I used a 3 inch circle).  I did 2 circles for each serving, but you could do one as well.
Use a petal tip to frost (I used the Wilton 103 tip, but any petal tip will work.  Just keep in mind the size of the petal tip will determine the depth of the ruffles.)

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Pipe or spread some frosting on a round of cake.
Place another round on top, making a mini 2-layer cake.
You could do a thin coating of icing now before piping the petals, but I didn’t because the frosting was going to be thick enough on them.
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With the largest end of the tip at the cake, and the smallest end of the tip away from the cake, pipe in a zigzag motion up the cake and onto the top, ending in the middle. (Decrease into the center of the top.)
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Continue going around the cake.  Top with a small swirl.
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Filed Under: Cake / Cake Pops