Thursday, December 1, 2011

Cleaning up is fun to do!

I have many post to catch you all up on, even my personal blog is lacking updates. Now that the busy Holiday season is over and my family is returning to their regular scheduled “programing” I can get back to the basic's of blogging.

 

For my first post of 2012, I bring you organized chaos!!!

A few year ago I converted a small linen closet into my cake closet. I have over the years, cleaned it and reorganized it but this time I went in, all or nothing.

Here is before. As you can see, it’s a mess <blushing>.

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After a trip to Meijer, a few hours of scrubbing and reassigning drawers, I have a fresh start for the new year.

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I even have room to add extra stuff and a perfect spot for my new circuit cake.

 

On the subject of organizing… I wanted to share with you all how I store my ever growing collection of cookie cutters.

I also have a master list I keep in the kitchen of all cutter and which box I can find them in, so when I head down stairs I know which box I need.

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Each box has a season, holiday or theme. and then the box is labeled with each cutter inside.

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Now the one problem that causes the most headache….

CAKE PANS. I have yet to have found a solution to this problem and I am open to all suggestions!

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The liquor bottles are there I.C.E. (in case of emergency) and once a week we have “emergencies” Winking smile

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Create a cookie cutter- Product review

This post is long over due. For my son’s 6th birthday we hosted a bowling party for him and his friends. I ran into a little dilemma…I waited until 3 days before his event to make the cookies. I knew I was in need of a bowling pin cookie cutter and figured, I’d have no issue finding one at the local cake shop. WOW, was I wrong. We have about 5 “local” shops and no one carried a silly little bowling pin. And because I had to make about 5 dozen cookies, a cardboard temple was out of the question.  So I was convinced to to purchase this, Make your own cookie cutter kit. I was a bit skeptical but the other choice was hand cutting  120 cookies.

So I gathered my supplies and read the directions over and over!

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*I printed a bowling pin from the computer.

 

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First step, seems simple enough. You use a piece of tread to trace image. This is your guide for cutting the metal. The metal can be cut with standard scissors.

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Next using the tools on the left side of picture you shape the image. This did take some time but I wanted it perfect.

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After you have the image shaped, I used clamps to make the sticky tape adhere with a tight grip.  At this point you can allow it to sit for a few days or place in oven, I let it sit for a few hours then removed the clamp and placed in oven.

Once the cutter has cooled can start to cut the cookies.10-3-2011 (1)

I was very pleased with the results, and the simplicity of the project. I am curious to try again, the kit comes with plenty of extra metal and adhesive tape.

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This product is HAPPY CAKE LADY APPROVED!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Bakin with the Boss

Photo courtesy of Jeniece Pittitt for TLC




If you follow The Happy Cake Lady on Facebook, then you know that I was a winner from Kalamazoo, MI section of TLC's Who takes the Cake contest.

For the contest I had to upload a picture of a cake. The cake was then voted up or down and little old me WON "Best in City"!





So I called the babysitter, dog sitter and packed up the car and went on a little adventure with Mr Frankie G. (my husband) to Kalamazoo, MI








We had a wonderful evening and wonderful seats with VIP treatment.


Buddy's tour Buss. Our first stop on the adventure!



Watching Buddy create a cake is a little like watching a Rock star write a song! ;-)



A HUGE thank you to TLC for the contest, my husband, my parents and friends for bugging their friends to vote, my cake fans on FB for supporting my business and making my dreams come to reality and of course Buddy for going on Tour!


Monday, November 7, 2011

making progress...

The new look of the blog is coming along, slow, but it's coming....

Leave some love and let me know what you think so far! <3

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Pumpkin Puree

Items you will need…

1 or more pie pumpkins (these are the small pumpkins)

spoon

large knife

baking pan

foil

water

optional- the help of your 3 1/2 yr old and his lovey named blueberry. Smile 

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  • rinse off the pumpkins removing all dirt
  • remove stem and cut pumpkins in half
  • using a spoon remove the seeds and pulp

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  • place on foil lined baking dish and fill the pumpkins with water, cover the pumpkins with foil
  • bake at 375 for 1 1/2 hours or until spoon slides into pumpkin with no force

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  • Let cool, poor the water from pumpkins into a cup
  • With spoon scoop pumpkin away from skin. If cooked long enough the pumpkin should come right off of the skin

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  • Place pumpkin into food processor and add a tablespoon of water at a time. Blend until the pumpkin is the same consistency as baby food.
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I usually bake pies, cake and bars using fresh pumpkin and I usually make the puree the day before and keep in air tight container in fridge overnight.

This was a 2 pound pumpkin and it yielded, just over a cup of puree.

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Happy Fall Baking!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Blog Update~!

Please be patient with me, the blog is going to get a make over and I'm sure you'll love the new user friendly look!

Happy Baking!

Friday, September 30, 2011

Reynolds Product Review

Hey there Happy Cake Lady Fans!!!!

I have a product review for you. I was shopping in my local Target and came across Reynolds® Baked for You™ baking cups.

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They claim, they stay bright, meaning the color of the cups don’t fade with baking. Like these did.

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They also claim that you can place the cups right on a cookie sheet with no need for a muffin pan. But will they bake even? Now if you have ever tried this with standard baking cups, you know this doesn’t work, the cups spread out and you get a triangle looking cupcake.

So I whipped up some batter of cherry chip cake and put these to the test. I made sure to over fill the cups just a little to see if that would make a difference. Notice they are placed on a cookie sheet, not in a muffin pan.

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Bake at 350 and…..

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Here they are fresh out of oven…. Most cups came out round and perfect, I did have a few that were not perfectly round.

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and for the true test…. Did they keep their color?

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They sure did! Just as bright as they were before they baked in oven!

I would MOST defiantly use these again, but I would stick with my muffin pans. I bake for a living and can’t risk any of my cupcakes being not perfectly round!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Jello Dirt Cups

Hi all, it has been a while since I posted a tip, trick or idea. September is my busiest month for cakes, so I have slacked in the sharing department and I’m sorry for that! Smile

Well today I’m sharing a FUN and creative alternative to cupcake or cookies and KIDS go crazy for them Dirt Cups. I followed the recipe from Kraft Foods.

My son’s kindergarten class LOVED them and I think your child would too!

What you need…

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

2 cups cold milk

1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

15 OREO Cookies, finely crushed (about 1-1/4 cups), divided

10 worm-shaped chewy fruit snacks

make it

BEAT pudding mix and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. Let stand 5 min. Stir in COOL WHIP and 1/2 cup cookie crumbs.

SPOON into 10 (6- to 7-oz.) paper or plastic cups; top with remaining cookie crumbs.

REFRIGERATE 1 hour. Top with fruit snacks just before serving.

****I made 30 cups, I used 3 packages of jello, 1 1/2 tub of cool whip and 3 packages of gummy worms and 1 pack of oreo cookies.

I would say 1 of above recipe makes about 10, 1/2 cup dirt cups.

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Monday, September 12, 2011

Scrapbooking software give away from Along Came Ellie

I used to love to digital scrapbook! But I found that photoshop was too much work. I have searched for others and found them but they always seem to lack a few key items. I’ve heard great reviews about this software from My Memories, but have yet to try it….

Well Along Came Ellie the blog is giving away copy of the software!!!! I’d love to win! So I’m sharing this with you!

Enter to win….. Along Came Ellie

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

and the winner is........









Congrats to Michelle , please send me a email, with your full name, and address and I'll mail you the Yearbook!


Check back soon. I'll have another Wilton giveaway!!!!



Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Wilton Give Away!

In honor of the new 2012 Wilton Yearbook being released, I am giving away a Wilton 2011 yearbook. (Click the picture to view details)

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Wilton is one of my favorite cake decorating companies, they offer idea’s recipes, products, classes and so much more for the cake decorator.

To learn more about the Wilton Brand, please visit www.wilton.com

BAKERS TIP: I keep all my yearbooks and once the year is over, I break the book up into categories and place in protective sheets, I have many Wilton yearbooks organized in large binders and at anytime I can pull the correct binder and view ALL of Wilton’s ideas in one book, verse looking through many magazines!

How do I win?

Please post a comment below, and answer this question.

When deciding on purchasing a cake, I consider this factor…

A: It’s most important how a cake looks to me.

B: It’s most important how a cake taste to me.

C: Both, it’s important how a cake looks and taste to me

D: It all comes down to the cost for me

RULES: Winner will be selected at random and posted on this blog and The Happy Cake Lady’s Face book page. The winner will have 24 hours to respond via email with name, address and phone and prize will be mailed to him/her. Face book Fan’s will get an extra entry, so be sure to leave a extra comment, letting me know your a Face book fan! GOOD LUCK!!!

Monday, June 6, 2011

Sneak Peak

Here is a little sneak peak of what’s to come this week. These are gum paste circles, with hand painted by me, batman villains using edible food color!

I’ll have another sneak peak tomorrow! It’s a FUN week of cakes!

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Friday, May 13, 2011

Round Cake Cutting Guide

I am often looking for different ways to create simple boring sheet cakes and when the the design allows it, I like to make round cakes. I think that it adds a different dimension to the simple sheet cake. However, the most common question is “How will I cut that cake to get the right number of servings?” Well, Wilton.com has a wonderful guide to cutting round cakes. So, next time you order a cake think outside of that rectangle and into the circle!

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Sunday, May 8, 2011

These little treats

I was searching my books and discovered this book I forgot I had. The Original Gourmet Doggie Treat Cook Book and with a new dog who is learning to behave with treats, I got to the kitchen and baked!

The Basic Bone Recipe is very simple….(this recipe was found online)

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4 cups Flour ( I used Whole Wheat)

1 cup Oatmeal (regular or quick cooking)

1/3 cup of oil (or meat drippings)

4 Bouillon cubes

1 1/2 cups of hot water

dissolve the bouillon in the water. Then mix all ingredients. Roll 1/2 thick and cut with a dog themed cookie cutter. Bake at 300 for 25 minutes.

Then I made Peanut Butter Biscuits and Cheese Sticks both recipes can be found in The Original Gourmet Doggie Treat Cook Book.

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Each Recipe made about 2 dozen dog treats, so I bagged them up and a few furry friends will get them!

Monday, May 2, 2011

WELCOME!

 

For months now I have been telling myself and you, that I would start a blog. TA-DA! I will include pictures, recipes, dessert idea’s, product reviews and so much more for your tummy to enjoy. This is also a GREAT place for my past and current students to ask questions and look for idea’s!

My website will still focus on the business of cakes, this blog will focus on creating the perfect desserts and FB will do a little of both!

I hope to soon have a few sponsors and have some discounts and maybe a few free gifts for my followers, I will also from time to time offer FREE CAKES from the The Happy Cake Lady! (If you have a product or service you think my fans would like contact me today!

Yours in decorating-

Jaclyn

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