A Little Press For My Scary Cake

Although I had never made anything similar, when asked to make a coffin-shaped cake for Going-Away party on Halloween, I said yes, and figured it out.  The invitation was Victorian in style, black and silver.


The 12x18 cake was devil's food (appropriately), with coffee flavor, soft caramel, vanilla buttercream covered with chocolate fondant.  Putting the fondant on the cake was terrifying, I have never covered a cake that large, so I had to MacGuyver it together and cover my mistakes with a large fondant ruffle around the edge.  I have a die-cutting machine (called a Cricut Cake) that I used to make the white flourishes, which I then covered in silver luster dust (like eyeshadow, but food safe).  Around the edges, I stamped silver cobwebs and spiders. 


The guests of honor seemed very happy with the cake, and the reviews were positive.  I have already been contacted by one of the party-goers for another cake.


Here is the link to the article:
Chouquette Coffin Cake

Treats for a rainy day.

Mmmmmmm. Oatmeal raisin cookies warm from the oven. Perfect day for things flavored with cinnamon and cardamom. Just a little job, but who's counting?

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FWD:Happy hour treats.

A dozen macarons for kathleen. vanilla w caramelized white choc. coffee w dark choc ganache. strawberry with vanilla cream. cocoa w cinnamon cayenne ganache. available for all friends who treat @ happy hour.

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Happy hour treats.

A dozen macarons for kathleen. vanilla w caramelized white choc. coffee w dark choc ganache. strawberry with vanilla cream. cocoa w cinnamon cayenne ganache. available for all friends who treat @ happy hour.

Lemon mac shells

Lemon macarons ready to be filled with very tart lemon cream. Sweet sour and delicious. wish i had some with me at the tax office in baltimore. Sales tax is confusing - tax on one cookie, no tax on a dozen cookies. I am not kidding. Eat more cookies.

Chocolate chunk cookies with cinnamon and cayenne pepper

I guess this is like a mexican hot chocolate cookie. it has a nice kick and needs a glass of milk to wash down bc it is so fudgy.

Libby

These two paintings reminded me of my grandmother:  in her 1920's gear, and how she thought she looked at the beach. 


From the Beaux Arts Musee in Lyon - January 2010

It's about time.

Ha! Now boys havta wear spanx too. Ingenious.

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Clean tupperware club.

New concoction - chewy coffee chip Brownies. perfect for breakfast dessert. amy licked the cupcake wrapper. and paid for my breakfast in return. still working on cappuccino frosting.

My new obsession.

Well maybe my new crush, Thomas Keller. Working through the dessert chapter. Yum........

My TV Appearance

WOW!  It was so much fun, here is the link to the cooking segment on Channel 9 WUSA. 


Me on YouTube


My segment starts 40 seconds into the video.

For Jack M. who didn't want a birthday cake.

Happy Birthday. Big smiles when these were glimpsed in the oven. Now i just have to find a way to get candles to stand up in them.

Phew. Just one minute. Bumped by Obama talk.

At least i didnt spill chocolate on my dress until after the broadcast. thanks Channel 9. Next Food Network Star, here I come.

Im no food stylist but i think the set looks good.

Now if i could get lypo and botox in the next 20 minutes. or maybe just a manicure? see you on tv!!!

Gross or yummy? kitchen sink brownies.

Super chocolate brownies with heath bars, peppermint patties, walnuts, marshmallows and topped with potato chips. crazy good. might cure a hangover if i add a little bacon.

Boston Cream Pie Cake

My sister's friend asked me to make a cake for her family's summer birthday party - 12 people have birthday's this season, so they celebrate everyone's together.  We brainstormed about flavors that all the birthday boys and girls would like and she decided on Boston Cream Pie, which is really a cake, that was originally baked in a pie pan.  I think that is the story.  I made a Golden Cake (yellow cake) and cut it into three layers, covered each layer with Pastry Cream (Custard), frosted the cake with chocolate buttercream, and poured dark chocolate ganache over the whole thing and stuck cookies along the outside edge.  

I am not sure if other bakers feel this way, but it was weird to send a cake off knowing that I wouldn't even be able to take a bite of it.  I tasted all the pieces, and made a tiny cake from the scraps to be sure that everything was good, but it just wasn't the same as having a piece of the cake.  I guess I will just have to get myself invited to all events that my desserts are going to attend, so I don't feel so left out.

Magic Macarons

Plain macaron shells with dark chocolate ganache. Tiny but powerful, like Mary Lou Retton. These are much less likely to be featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated or the Wheaties box.

U.S. Open Cupcakes.

Chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing and white chocolate 'golf ball' covered with nonpareils. Grass technique needs a little work, but they are really cute. $2.50 each.

Homemade strawberry jam

I made jam! One jar is strawberry/raspberry. The other is straw/rasp with black pepper and balsamic vinegar. i am dying to taste them, but also want to save them like a depression-era housewife. Next I will be washing aluminium foil and reusing coffee grounds, if this trend continues.

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Chouquette mania!

Chouquettes (sugar puffs) for everyone! I have two tastings, and a meeting tomorrow so I made a LARGE recipe. i do think they look like little cabbages.

Ready for shrek 4 in 3D!!

Chocolate mousse cakes with caramel surprise.

Dessert for tonight. nice and light for a hot summer night. soft sponge cake, thin layer of caramel, cookie crisps, topped with airy chocolate mousse and tiny sugar sprinkles.

Parisienne macarons with caramelized white chocolate filling.

Look at those 'Feet'! ( Rise between bottom and top of cookie - sign of good macaron) Take that Laduree.

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It's official.

Chouquette is incorporated.

Regina's Peonies

i love these flowers. they greet me every morning as i run out for more dessert supplies. they are so showy and remind me of my senior prom dress - which might not be a good thing, but i dont hold it against the peonies.