Lovely Cakes: Strawberry Strawberry Cake

I must be on a baking kick. I blame it on the Rice Krispy Treats I made last week when I was looking for something sweet and found the ingredients in my pantry to fix them up. Which was followed by the cupcakes for last weekend's tailgate. Yesterday, I had a hankering for Strawberry Cake.

When J and I were in Dallas, J took me to get the most awesome strawberry cake from Celebrity Cafe and Bakery in Highland Park Village. So in an effort to recreate this delicious cake, I found a strawberry cake recipe and a strawberry frosting recipe and combined them. (I had to triple the frosting recipe to adequately cover the cake)

The result? Very close to the cake from Celebrity Cafe & Bakery. I think next time I'll add more pureed strawberries to both the cake and the frosting. You can never have enough strawberries!

Lovely Cakes: Chocolate Cupcakes

Today is the second to the last tailgate for the UH football season. This week, my J and I are responsible for bringing a dessert. I haven't baked in a very long time, partially because I've been lazy and partially because everytime I bake for no reason, we end up eating the goods which is not a good thing!

I've been searching for a good chocolate cupcake recipe for a while now and I think I've come across the perfect recipe! I came across Cake on the Brain, a blog by a Canadian who loves food and baking. She posted a recipe from Cooks Illustrated for Dark Chocolate Cupcakes and topped them off with Vanilla Swiss Buttercream Meringue Frosting by Martha Stewart. The cupcake recipe is a keeper...they are not super moist, but not dry and very tasty. I'm on the fence about the frosting though, because the buttercream is not very sweet and very buttery. I may try a different frosting the next time I make these cupcakes.

J said it reminds him of a Hostess Cupcake.

Lovely Cakes: Wedding Cake

Happy Anniversary Grandma and Grandpa!

My first attempt at making a wedding cake. French vanilla cake with cream cheese frosting. Boy was it much harder than I thought, but they enjoyed it. We had a cake cutting ceremony and all...hehe!

Lovely Cakes: Rose Bouquet

Happy Birthday Aunty!

Lovely Cakes: Spam Musubi

Even though my grandma is no longer physically with us, I know she was happy that we celebrated my uncle's birthday (3 days after she passed). My uncle loves my mom's spam musubis, so he was thrilled to get this cake. I was exhausted after my first day back to work, so I didn't frost it very well. =/ Stay tuned cause my aunty's birthday is coming up and I plan to make a full on rose bouquet cake (my aunty and grandma love flowers). =)

Lovely Cakes: Cheeseburger

Happy Birthday to my brother! This is a yellow and chocolate cake cheeseburger with cream cheese frosting. I'm going to stick a bbq skewer in the middle with a sign that says "Happy Birthday _____ !" when we sing to him tomorrow. The internet is wonderful because you can find so many fun and creative ideas. I forgot how much I enjoy making cakes for people. =)

Lovely Cakes: Lion & Love Bugs Cupcakes

This is my latest creation. As you can see, I love the grass tip cause you can't mess up. =) If you can't tell, it's a lion and love bugs in grass.

Lovely Cakes: Happy Birthday Grandma

Months after taking a cake decorating class, I finally decided to make a cake. Our family planned a surprise birthday party for my grandma because we're not sure how many more she will have due to her health issue. So, I thought it would be nice to make a cake especially for her. So here it is. A yellow cake with buttercream frosting. I use the cake mix from the box, but alter it a little so it's lite. The cake becomes fluffy and yummy. =)

Cake Recipe

1 box mix (not the butter recipe)

2 eggs

1 1/3 cup water

Bake as directed

Buttercream Frosting Recipe

1/2 cup unflavored solid Crisco

1/2 cup (1 stick) solid margarine

1 t clear vanilla

1 t clear butter flavoring

1 lb box powdered sugar

1 T Meringue powder

Cream ingredients together on low until they stick together. Then grandually increase to high for about 5 minutes. This makes STIFF icing. For medium or thin frosting add 1-2 T water.

The stiff frosting is good for making roses and decorations. It's best to make a thin frosting to frost the cake. Ya I know, the frosting is soo unhealthy....

This was the best cake I ever made because my grandma looked at the cake, looked at me, and then said "I love you!" I had to hold back my tears because she never says that out loud. I know she always worries about me and loves me a lot, but this cake made her express her feelings out loud. I love you too Grandma!!!

Lovely Cakes: The Great Cupcake Pan

One of the gifts my wonderful fiancee gave me for Christmas 2009 was The Great Cupcake Pan from Williams Sonoma. I decided to try it out for a party and it came out better than I expected!

The cake pan was so easy to use and even came with it's own recipe for a white cake and butter-cream frosting. The only downside to the super cute pan? It takes about 75 minutes to bake all the way through, so it's not a cake to make if you're in a hurry. This is definitely a must have cake pan if you want something cute and fun!