Update and project planning

So, if you're one of the 2 people who probably read this blog, you might be asking yourself "What is the deal with Nikki? She NEVER blogs anymore!" I know I'm pretty bad lately. We've had a busy month around here. We found out our little cakelet wasn't hearing very well (only 30%!!) so we had tubes put in to drain fluid and it has been amazing. What a huge difference it has made. I'm so sorry we didn't do it sooner. In addition to the surgery, we also had her first day of Preschool. It has been a little rough on this momma but, like many moms before me, I will make it through!

The good news is I need to keep myself preoccupied during the time I'm home alone so I forsee a serious surge in my baking projects! I've even made some dinners. If you know me, you realize this means it is possible that hell has actually frozen over.

I am working on making an amazing apple cupcake that I will reveal in a later blog. I am also working on a fun craft for the CCM that I will also be showing off. Assuming it all goes as well as I hope of course!

So stay tuned and I promise to do something amazing soon! ;)

And, because you know you want it, here's a picture of the sassy diva herself posing for her first day of school.

The Cake Chemist does cookies??

It appears the Cake Chemist has been a pretty good girl this year because Santa brought her several great goodies, but two that are going to make cake projects much easier. The first one is a new KitchenAid mixer!! When I opened the box, I'm pretty sure I heard a choir of angels start singing. I now understand why people would look at me like I was insane when I said I was using a cheap hand mixer. This thing is so great. If you don't have one, go get one. Don't pay your mortage this month if you have to. (This is a joke - I do NOT endorse skipping payments on your house!)

Isn't it beautiful???

He also brought me a Cricut Cake tool kit. I wasn't sure how helpful this would be, but I love having extra tools and gadgets so I asked for it. I'm glad I did! If you don't have this for your CC, you should seriously consider it. Before this, I would use a small sharp knife to cut out the smaller pieces. If you know me at all, you know I do NOT need to be playing with knives! Ha ha!

So, to get some good play time in with my new toys, I decided to try something new with my CCM - making cookies! I mixed up a quick and easy recipe from my girl Martha for some sugar cookies and rolled them out before throwing into the freezer. This worked great as they were ready to go as soon as I was! Plus, you don't have to cook them all at once, which is definitely a "good thing" when you have no self control. (like me!)

Important disclaimer - I do not make cookies often. I kind of hate making cookies because of the whole short cooking time thing. I loose interest and burn them usually. Also, I hate rationing out portions. Anyone who has seen me cut a cake will tell you I know nothing about portions!

I was so surprised how easy this was. It's easier than cutting fondant because you don't have the problems with stickiness or being dried out like the fondant. The worst problem I had was with the thickness. I wanted it to be thick so it's not too crispy.  



Feeding into the Cricut



Cutting the dough





Like I said, I had a bit of a problem with the height of the dough versus the rollers in the CCM. Basically, the rollers would smooth out the dough. It wasn't too big of a deal because you can just peel it out regardless. I guess the sides might not have been perfectly smooth, but this is a cookie, so the sides are going to spread anyway and it will look good after baking anyway.

See where the rollers undid the cuts?

Here they are all cut out on the cookie sheet. I made one small one because I ran out of room on the mat to make them all the large size. The final verdict was they are fun (my 3 year old) but the 3 inch size is way too big for one cookie (my husband).

This brings me to another point - the sizing. It's a little confusing how to figure size on something like this. Notice it is not a square shape. The wing-to-wing size is definitely longer than the head-to-tail. So how do you figure how big each side will be? Well, this is a question I have yet to figure out. Unless I have a helpful reader to point me in the right direction, I'll probably have to ask my old friend Google for answers!

It all comes together - the Cricut Cake cake!

If you remember, I said in my previous post that I had 3 days after the CCM arrived to make an amazing wedding style cake. I was pretty excited about it because it was my first attempt at anything like this. So, before I go into the decorations, let me give you a little background on this cake. My cousin called me and basically said that she wanted a cake for her parents surprise 25th anniversary party. It took me a while to figure out what I was going to do exactly because her initial explanation was a cake with the wedding colors "like Cake Boss would make" which (if you've seen the show) could mean anything! The wedding colors were pink and red which was hard for me to imagine looking anything but tacky. Part of the challenge I guess. I told her I was looking for an excuse to try out fancy formal cakes and she agreed. Mostly because I also said I'd make it as a gift to the couple I'm sure!

So, we agreed on one tier vanilla cake with strawberry filling and one tier chocolate cake and chocolate ganache. The biggest challenge I presented myself inside this cake was to make the filling myself! Usually, I'd use preserves but I wanted to see if I could do it myself. So I found a simple syrup recipe and used fresh strawberries. This made for a very stressful baker as I never knew what was happening inside my cake and had severe anxiety as I waited for the couple to cut the cake. But it turned out great! I had read that you need to crumb coat both layers of cake before adding filling to prevent the cake absorbing the filling. This was very necessary as my filling wasn't as thick as I would have liked. It worked out though, as the thinner filling just absorbed into the cake AFTER cutting and had delicious favor.

As I said, I iced the outside with a basic buttercream. I did a crumb coat then refrigerated to harden followed by another thin layer of buttercream. For me, I think this is the easiest way to get a nice, even coat on my cake. I then rolled out white MM fondant to cover each layer. I also colored & rolled out layers in both red and dark pink. I put them in the freezer while I worked on smoothing the cakes. I haven't yet mastered smoothing the base of the cake to perfection, so for this cake, I opted to use a red ribbon to hide my imperfections. This is the best way to solve cake problems! Ha ha!

So the CCM designs were much easier using my freezing technique and it took no time to cut out the decorations. I made two-toned flowers which I let dry on an upside-down egg crate to create a 3D shape. The only problem I had was that I'm used to making the designs a day ahead and then using moist paper towels and Tupperware to store until use. This didn't really work for these because they are more intricate and just got too wet and gooey. Not a big deal, because I just cut more out the day I put the cake together. Another lesson learned, CCM makes things easier so you can just cut, set on cake and go!

This is a close up of the designs I used. I thought the heart design was pretty cute. Then I saw it in real life and didn't like it but had basically run out of time to change my mind. Luckily the flowers really stole the show anyway because they were so cute. I love the swirl designs and I really wish I had focused on those a little more.

Here's a close up of the flower again and a little more of the ribbon.

You can pretty much tell from this picture that the wording was by far the hardest part of the process. I had the best luck when I rolled the fondant out a little thick and then used a very sharp little knife to help with the detailed parts. I'm sure this is something that will get easier as I go. I was still pretty happy with the way it turned out.

The finished product. Side note here: I did not see the topper before I made the cake. If I had, I would definitely have tried to incorporate some silver into the cake itself to help it match better. Still turned out pretty good for my first formal cake. I'm pretty impressed with myself!

More adventures in Cricut

So my biggest problem with the Cricut is that I have a job and a kid and no time to play with it! HA HA! Seriously, though, you need time to see what works best for you. I have only tried cutting marshmallow fondant so far as this is the only fondant I use and make myself. I know Cricut sells their own frosting sheets (of course) but I'm way too cheap for that and, realistically, I'm not going to run out and buy a specific colored sheet of frosting every time I want to make something!

Back to my attempts at cutting. If you remember from my last post, I had trouble with warm, soft fondant. I also learned to ease up on the pressure. We're cutting fondant, not wood! So, after my not so great attempt, I rolled the fondant to varying thicknesses and stuck it in the freezer. I actually am not great at rolling fondant to equal thickness, so this part was pretty much an accident, but ended up being pretty helpful as I learned something else - there is such a thing as too thin! I found that the suggestions for 1/8-1/4 are correct. I actually like it a little thicker personally. This is because not only does it lessen the chances of my fondant squishing up while I cut, but since I use mm, it stays harder if it's a little thicker.

After a couple more disasters, I managed to cut out a couple of successful designs! I'm pretty proud of myself at that point. I had a bit of trouble with the snowflake coming off the mat, but that's another part of the process I think.

I also messed around with sizing a bit and found that a little change in size makes a big difference. It was so easy to layer this design to make a really cute flower!

The edges looked a little rough, but I can even them out easily. After working with the machine for a bit, I was able to cut out some more detailed  designs, even half of the "Happy Anniversary" I tried before! I guess that means I'm halfway there!

At this point, I have 2 days to finished an amazing Anniversary cake. The pressure is on, but I think I know how to use this thing now. Well, I guess we'll find out for sure soon enough! Stay tuned...

Why having a birthday on Black Friday is awesome

***NOTE: I realize this post is from over a month ago - I just didn't get around to it yet! I'm working my way through all the blogs I missed over holiday craziness!***

It's pretty much the opposite of those poor people who have a birthday right around Christmas. November is late enough in the year people start getting into buying gifts, but far enough away from Christmas, they don't try to combine them. Plus, since everything is on sale that day, my gifts are bigger than they probably should be. If you can't tell, I love presents. I spent the first 10 years of my life as a spoiled brat only child. Apparently, that's something I'm not going to outgrow. I've decided to accept that.

So, this year for my birthday I scored an awesome cake-related present - a Cricut Cake!! I actually opted for the mini even though the Martha Stewart edition was on super sale on Amazon. You know I love Martha. Seriously, I do. But, I read reviews and they were pretty mixed about this thing. Some people think it's "too perfect" (as if there is such a thing!!) and some people called it a waste of money. I thought with the mini I wasn't wasting too much (of someone elses's) money and it takes up about half the space which I really love since I get anxious around too much clutter.

So, after reading tons of reviews and suggestions and message boards, I felt pretty ready to try it out. Look how cute this thing is straight out of the box! (I put my hand in for size reference but keep in mind I kind of have man-hands!)

 It came with lots of information which I didn't really read. There was a DVD which I watched. After that 10 minutes or so, I felt very informed and prepared! The machine came with a "Cake Basics" cartridge and I bought "Holiday Cakes" at the same time so that I could make fun Christmas cakes.

Because I like to live in a constant state of stress, I had agreed to make a 25th anniversary cake 3 days after I received the machine in the mail. Nothing like a timeline to help you learn! Anyway, I dove right in using mm fondant to cut out a "Happy Anniversary". I immediately learned 2 important lessons: First, make sure you check the pressure because mine was set all the way on high and now I will forever have this design in my mat! Secondly, the message boards were right about warm, soft fondant. It will not work, it will just turn to mush like mine did.

So this was my first rushed attempt to make the Cricut work. I promise it will get better. After this attempt, I rolled my fondant out very thin and put it in the freezer. I found a good way of doing this was to roll it on the Cricut mat, then put it to a flat surface (I had a plastic cutting board) and separate the layers by saran wrap. I then kept them stored in my freezer so they are ready to pull out and play with when I have time. Next blog I will show you how it worked after freezing and more of the Cricut Cake learning curve.

Something a little different....

So in the spirit of the holiday season, I tried something a little different - meringues! Who knew they were so easy?! I found a recipe that was simple and got a little creative with it. I know some of the recipes use cream of tartar and other stabilizers but I didn't really find all that necessary. These turned out light and melt-in-your-mouth perfect!

For the record, I had a 3 year old helper decorating these so the candy cane coating is imperfect but that's what holiday cooking is about in our house!

Maybe I should have tried some of the stabilizer ideas for other flavors because here's what it looks like when I tried to make a dark chocolate version. I think the chocolate bits melted the egg whites a little. These were crispy and delicious if not as pretty to look at as the other guys.

I also made some with an eggnog extract that turned into complete ruin in the oven. There are no pictures because it looked too gross to share!

But the best flavor was by far candy cane! I made several batches of these. And, I think this would work with any hard candy so you could do several flavors. Imagine a Butter Rum! Mmmm......OH! Sorry, I might have drooled on the keyboard a little!

And don't let the thin chocolate turn you off. The taste was great. You could add cocoa powder to this recipe and it would turn out just as pretty. As you know I like to go overboard with the chocolate and that's what caused the meltdown.

Anyway, here is the recipe I used for candycane flavored meringues. This made enough to fill my oven and I usually threw away quite a bit too so you can decrease as necessary. The reason I always made 6 egg whites is that's what I had leftover from making cakes conviently enough. You may be able to make this with the Meringue Powder sold in stores, but I haven't tried. Since the eggs are cooked, I think using real eggs are okay, but that's just my opinion. I know some people are scared of eggs. I don't judge you if you don't judge me.

Meringues Recipe (adapted from AllRecipes)

Ingredients

• 6 egg whites
• 1/4 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 peppermint candy canes, crushed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F (110 degrees C). Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper. This is a necessary step as they are pretty hard to get off the sheets and you don't want to use any kind of grease.
2. In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites and vinegar to soft peaks. Gradually add salt and sugar while continuing to whip until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. Spoon into piping bag with large star shaped tip. Pipe into small mounds about 1 inch apart on cookie sheet. Sprinkle candycanes over top of the meringues.
3. Bake for 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow to remain in oven for several hours or overnight to dry out completely.

If you try some flavors I didn't think of, let me know. I'm always interested in new ideas!

Things to come and a link-a-long

So I know I've been the worst blogger ever. That's what happens at the holidays - I fall off the Earth as far as communicating. Too much going on in too little time. Add to that some kid illness and I'm officially overwhelmed.

Anyway, I wanted to check in and report that I officially LOVE my Cricut Cake! I'm working on getting some more practice in and some great pictures. Here is a cake I made for a carry-in for some coworkers (one was quitting, one had a birthday) which has a good example of what I can do. It is so easy but I just haven't had enough play time. Expect amazing things to come!

Also, I am participating in a fun idea - a link-a-long where you link to each other's pages. This is a super-fun cheap crafty website. I love cheap! I love crafts! Perfect combo!! Check out Me Making Do for great ideas!