Lady Bug Fondant Cake with White Vanilla Cake and Chocolate Cake and Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream Filling

This past week has been 'adventures in cakeland'.  One of my good friends was having a baby shower and I offered to make the cake.  At first, it started out for a group of 50, which quickly turned into 75.  No need to panic....its nothing that a few cupcakes couldn't fix.  In the end...it was one cute dessert display.

Now, most people wouldn't offer to make an extraordinary cake like this on their own free merit.  But if you knew my dear friend....you would definitely understand why.

Besides being one of the nicest people I have ever met, she is so genuine, so kind, and very fun to talk to.  We met while standing up for my cousins wedding and got to know each other on a 3-hour car ride to the bachelorette party, which ended up being a 4-hour car ride after we missed our exit, completely consumed in conversation.   We've been friends ever since.  It's so interesting how people come into your life.

When I asked her what kind of cake she would like for the party, she said, "Don't worry about being gender specific, I just want a happy spring-y cake."  As for flavor-she wanted my vanilla bean white cake (one of my personal favorites).  I decided since there were so many people, we would add a small chocolate layer and chocolate cupcakes, also.  Last minute, I added raspberry puree to the swiss meringue buttercream filling.  Just a nice added touch, and something I knew my friend would never ask for, herself.

When doing some 'google' image searching, looking for inspiration, the first image that popped up was this cake.  You know that feeling?  The feeling you get when the hair stands up on the back of your neck?  I got it.

My friends father passed away before I knew her.  I knew they were very close and she once told me how lady bugs reminded her of her dad.  She said that whenever she had a bad day, she would see a lady bug (even in the dead of winter when lady bugs shouldn't even be around) and she just knew it was her dad saying "It's going to be okay."  I had forgotten about it, until I saw this cake.  I knew....I had to make it.  It didn't matter if it took me 2 weeks.  I was making it.

I started the Wednesday before the party--just to be certain there weren't any mishaps.  I made all of my lady bugs, leaves, and flowers first.  Then I worked on the homemade fondant, cake layers, swiss meringue buttercream, and raspberry puree.  Then I frosted and assembled each layer the day before the party, and assembled the entire cake and decorated it the morning of the party.

Of course, I pulled up to the restaurant, at the same time 'the mom to be' did.  I had to tell her to take a hike, because I didn't want her looking at the cake just yet!

By the time I got the cake in, and set up, she was busy mingling.  I was sweating.

I was a bundle of nerves.  First, I was afraid that I was going to drop the cake while walking up the stairs.  Then, I started asking myself crazy questions like:  What if she doesn't like it?  What if she gets to upset over the lady bugs, Is this thing leaning??

Before I could even make myself crazy with anymore of my anal antics,  she turns around to look at the cake and just stands there for a minute.  Then I see tears well up.  She starts fanning her face and hugs me.  And all she can get out is, "The lady bugs, it has lady bugs.  It's just perfect."

Who knew cake would have such an impact....

It really is more than just cake.

Cherry Almond Scones with Vanilla and Lemon Zest

Up until this weekend, I was unsure if I liked scones.  The last time I made scones I was just beginning to do a lot of 'from scratch' baking.  I was very novice an unsure of how to kneed dough and what it should look like.  As a result, the scones didn't really turn out well.  They were dry and bland.  This could have entirely been based upon the recipe chosen (I would usually get recipes off All Recipes...because it was the only place I knew at the time).  

After watching too much Food Network on a Saturday afternoon, I printed up several recipes I wanted to try.  This one sat in my recipe folder for awhile and I finally decided Easter morning that I would whip these up to go with the quiche I made for Easter brunch.  I originally wanted to make Neiman Marcus' pop overs with strawberry butter but these babies only take 15 minutes in the oven--the popovers would have to take a back seat this time.

The result?  Completely tender, completely flavorful and utterly satisfying.  I loved these scones and would absolutely make them again.  It would be a great basis to add any fruit or nut.  The only thing is, I may check out a few other recipes--these were almost too good so there is a possibility they had a bit more sugar than needed.  Another thing I would change--the size of these things!  The recipe said to cut into 6 pieces but these were way too big.  You could definitely get 12 out of this recipe and serve them with tea.  My only alteration was adding vanilla extract.

Check out the recipe, here.

Banana Cream Pie

I was never one to order or make a pie.  After joining TWD (Tuesday's with Dorie) a few years ago, I began to break out of my cake/cookie mold and started to try new things, including pies.  While I need serious work on my pie crust skills, I must say I really enjoy homemade pie!

The last time I made this pie, I made a ton of alterations-adding a peanut butter layer and a chocolate ganache layer.  It was SOO good but I wanted to just try making a simple version as I was already tackling a few other desserts for Easter.

I made sure I read my notes from the last time I made this--I had a bit of trouble with the custard layer curdling on me.  This time, I was greatly prepared for this and as soon as this started to remotely bubble, I yanked it off the stove as quick as possible and ran it through a sieve over a clean cool bowl.  The custard was a complete success!  I was very pleased with the taste of the cinnamon!   One shortcut I had to make--the pie crust.  I bought a pie crust at Trader Joe; it is very close to homemade if you are in a pinch.  I will say, this pie was excellent...but would have been perfect had I made my own crust.

Click here for the recipe, I followed it to a T with exception of the pie crust.

For my alternative version with peanut butter and chocolate ganache, click here.

Rack of Lamb with Mint, Golden Raisins and Pine nuts and Greek Yogurt Dip

I have a confession.

I do not like ham, Sam I am.

I'm being serious.  I don't like it at all.  My husband and I would order a ham every year for Easter.   (Lamb is really the more traditional course choice). My father in law would get in line, every year, at the Honeybaked Ham store for all of us.  Bless his heart for doing this.  The last Easter I hosted, the ham just wasn't very good.  And I asked everyone, "Is there a reason we get ham every year?  Does anyone really even like ham?"  I think it was a mixed response of,  "No we don't really care for it," and "We just got ham because that's just what we always did."  End of story....I needed no other reason to make some changes.

My husband's family are wild about lamb over the Christmas holiday.   I make leg of lamb for Christmas with his mom and we make lamb chops for Christmas Eve.  So why not a rack of lamb for Easter?

I've never made an entire rack of lamb, we've always just made single chops.  I must say, this is a welcomed change.  We paired the rack up with a 'relish' topping made of fresh mint, golden raisins, pine nuts, lemon zest and olive oil.  I also had a Greek yogurt dip on the side with fresh mind and shredded cucumber.  All raved over the lamb and its accompaniments.  I think we may have started a grand tradition.  The best part?  It's super easy, quick to prepare, and can all be prepped ahead of time.  Total bonus:  I get to actually enjoy my guests.  There is nothing better than that!

We used this lamb recipe--we seared our lamb racks on the grill until they had grill marks, then put them in a roasting pan in the oven until the thermometer read 135. (About 25-30 minutes).  We also made the pine nut/raisin relish.

Greek Yogurt Dip
16 oz container non-fat Greek Yogurt (I used Trader Joe brand)
1/2 english cucumber, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped fine

Directions:
In a medium sized bowl, add yogurt and mint.  With a box grater, grate the cucumber.  Wrap the cucumber shreds in a paper towel and drain out the liquid.  Add cucumber shreds to yogurt mixture and mix until combined.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve. You can do this the morning of.  The mint tends to brown after being chopped, so I wouldn't really recommend doing this the day before.  This is great with potatoes also!

We served the lamb with roasted baby potatoes and roasted asparagus.  Both were roasted in a 400 degree oven and mixed with olive oil and salt and pepper.  

Easter Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Sugar Cookies

Last year, I took Easter off.  The thought of hosting a large group of people at my house while I prepped all week, then cleaned up after all the company, was just not in the cards since my little G was only about 6 weeks old.  This year, I was much more able to handle it all--including making 2 desserts.

From the first Easter I spent with my husbands family, I made carrot cake.  It just seemed like the right thing to do.  The last few years I've strayed from carrot cake and made a Key Lime Tart, which is equally as delicious, however my husband just isn't a huge fan of citrus desserts.  I decided to bring the carrot cake back into the Easter routine (as well as banana cream pie--you will see that on a future post this week).

I've always made the Better Homes and Gardens carrot cake, ever since I FIRST started baking.   In fact, it was one of the first cakes I made for my husband when we first started dating, 7 years ago.  I just wanted to try something new this time to see what was out there.  I've been pulling out my Joy of Cooking book a lot lately and decided I would give their version a try.  I had to change a few things, but overall--the cake got rave reviews.

It's funny.  When you pull out desserts, people get excited.  I think everyone gets excited for food in general, but there is just something about dessert.  When I set the cake on the table, it got a lot of 'oooh's and ahhh's' but when I said, "It's carrot cake", every man at that table said, "OH!  I want a piece of that!" What is it with men and carrot cake?

Overall, I would make this cake again.  It was extremely moist.  When I say, extremely, it was to the point the night before, when I pulled it out of the plastic wrap I stored it in,  that I pushed on the cake and  it seemed somewhat of a wet sponge.  I panicked.  I thought, did I bake it long enough?  I knew that I surely did.  While assembling the cake, I had to level it off a bit and while tasting the pieces of the crumbs I determined that it was just moist.  Really moist.  I omitted the walnuts (I am not a huge fan of nuts in my cake and I have several allergic family and friends with nut/walnut allergies which meant less sharing opportunity), I also omitted the raisins and pineapple.   I think, had I added them, the cake may not have been so overly moist and the layers may have been a lot higher.

This recipe makes 2, 8-inch round cake layers, each about 1-inch in height.  If I made this cake again, I would double the recipe to be able to slice each layer in half to make this a 4 layer cake.

I paired this with Georgetown cupcakes, "Vanilla Buttercream" recipe, which is really cream cheese frosting.

Carrot Cake
Adapted from "Joy of Cooking"


Sift and whisk together in a large bowl:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk together in another large bowl:
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir in:
2 cups carrots
(you could also add 1 cup walnuts, 1 cup raisins, and 1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple drained if you wish, just reduce carrots to 1.5 cups)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 8-inch round pans with parchment paper.  Spray with cooking spray, then coat each pan with flour and tap out the excess.  Set cake pans on a large baking sheet.

Whisk flour mixture, then add it to the oil/egg mixture slowly.  Fold in carrots (this is where you would add any nuts/raisins etc) and mix until just combined.  Divide equally into the pans.  Bake 25-30 minutes.  I pulled mine out at 25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting, (double this recipe), click here.

For my Cream Cheese Frosting Variation:


Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Georgetown Cupcake
Yield: Enough to generously frost 1, 8-inch layer cake


3/4 cup butter, room temp
12 oz cream cheese, must be room temp (or else you risk curdling your frosting)
2 lb (8 cups) confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Directions:
Mix all together until fully combined and fluffy.

For the sugar cookie recipe, click here!
TO ASSEMBLE:
Level cake layers.  Wrap cooled layers in plastic wrap.  Put in freezer for 30 minutes or up to a day (you could do it longer but you compromise the fresh flavor).  Flip 1-layer and place bottom side up.  Frost the top with desired amount of frosting.  Place other layer on top.  Bottom side up.  Frost remainder of cake.  You can pop this in the freezer for 10-minutes in between frosting the layers to firm up the middle.  To place the cookies against the cake, pipe a tablespoon of frosting on the back of the cookie to make it stick.

Easter Lemon-y Sugar Cookies

My baby cousin, Billy (I can call him my baby cousin because my mom watched him when he was just a baby --sorry Bill!  ;)  ), is serving in the Air Force and will be away from the family for Easter this year.  My aunt wanted to make sure he had a nice care package before the holiday so she called to see if I could help out by making 5 dozen cookies.  Of course, sugar cookies had to be on the list and I decided that I would try my hand at decorating with royal icing instead of my traditional vanilla buttercream to keep them from getting smashed in the mail.  I think I need a bit more practice (who better to practice on than family) but I think a few of these turned out really cute!  It took a lot of will power to not eat all of these.  I know he and his fellow airman/and ladies will enjoy these.

This is my 'go to' sugar cookie these days.  I really like it.  It's sugary, and lemon-y and the perfect combination of crunch and chew.  I've tried several over the years, but I always come back to this one.

Send some cookies to someone you love!

Love ya, Billy!  Thank you for serving our country!  xo

Lemon-y Sugar Cutout Cookies

Recipe derived from: "Fabulous Cookies" by Hilaire Walden

¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temp

1 ¼ cups sugar

1 egg

1 egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Zest of one lemon

Pinch of salt

2 ½ cups all purpose flour

Directions:

1.        In a mixing bowl, cream the butter. Then add the sugar and cream until pale and fluffy.

2.       Add the egg and yolk, one at a time. Then add the vanilla and zest.

3.       Sift the flour and salt mixture and add slowly with the mixer running. Be careful not to over mix. Only mix until the flour is just incorporated.
4.  Decorate as desired!  

Antique Book Cake with Yellow Vanilla Bean Cake and Vanilla Buttercream

Quick question:  Does this look like a book?

Hopefully it does!  But it's not!  It's all CAKE!

I look in amazement and smile at this thing every single time I pass it sitting on my counter.  I made this.  

I stared at it for over a day before I finished it (had to 'title' the darn thing) and let's face it, I stink at writing on cakes (if anything blew my cover it was the writing on the cake...).   After a 4 hour cake class with Michelle Bommarito this weekend, I came home with this.  It truly is a work of art.  (This took me WAAY more than 4 hours to complete folks...this does not include baking the cake, making the frosting, or completing the darn thing...)

I must say though, I struggled a bit through the class.  On top of the fact that I work extremely slow:  I, a home baker, and cake novice, practically a no-body at this point, was surrounded by other cake bakers or should I say, cake bussiness/cake decorators/cake artists extraordinaer (someone help me spell this?).  It was humbling at best.

There I was, knowing nearly nothing.  Wondering what mess I got myself into this time and how on earth was I going to pull this off without looking like a total fool.  You know what she said when she came to my work station and saw my Williams Sonoma rolling pin?  "Yea, that rolling pin?  It looks like Susie Homemaker, you have to get rid of that!"  THINK Courtney, THINK..."Ummm", I stammered..."It was a wedding gift".  "  "Baby (she called all of us Baby), get yourself one of these," she say's pointing to a long wooden rolling pin.  I nodded, "I will. I will".

Humor aside, the class was not short of fabulous.  An eye opener to many things other than JUST cake.  Michelle is a true bussiness woman, and I admire her work very much. She worked with everyone on their cakes and spoke quickly in between helping.  It was so much fun and I can't wait to sign up for another class.  I kept thinking, I wonder what it would be like to work in her bakery.  I'd be lucky if she helped me wash her dishes.

Anyway, all you care about is the cake right?

Here we go:  The cake is made of a 9x13 sheet cake.  I carved out the areas to make it look like a book binding, iced the cake, covered it in chocolate fondant, then use tylose mixed with fondant (tylose stiffens up the fondant to the point that makes it dry extremely hard--if you throw it, it will shatter) to make the binding squares.  I used a clay imprinter to make the design on the squares that I borrowed from another student (God bless America).  I then 'painted' the book with clear vanilla extract for sheen.  I used gold disco dust to 'paint' the binding squares then adhered them to the cake.  I wrote on the cake with white royal icing--I know...I need to find a new method- OR- just work on my writing method period.  My Wilton cake instructor always said, "Don't stall when writing on the cake....just keep moving".  It's great advice...now I just need to practice.


Even after this cake sat on my counter for a couple of days...when I cut it...it was still moist.  This is one of the best yellow cake recipes I have used thus far.  Super flavorful, great crumb texture and ultra moist.  I really love the vanilla bean flavor coming through.  It's a surprise, but I haven't made it since my "future sister in laws" birthday 2 years ago!  I think I need to bring this recipe back into my regular rotation because it's the best I have tried thus far.

For the cake recipe, click here.