Baking in Missouri

When we moved to Colorado, I had to learn to bake all over again at high altitude. Well, now we are here in Missouri, and I have to learn to bake all over again in the humidity. I first tried using my normal recipe, and the cake was beautiful when it came out of the oven, but then shrunk in the pan as it cooled. I have experimented until I believe I have come up with the correct formula. For a 6 inch cake, use 1 recipe, for an 8 inch cake, double the recipe, and you will have some left over for cupcakes.
Scratch Cake Using Cake Mix
1 Duncan Hines cake mix1/3 cup oil1 cup milk4 oz. sour cream3 eggs
Beat wet ingredients together. Then blend in sifted cake mix, just until combined, being careful not to beat in too much air. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick in center comes out clean.  Baking time will depend on your specific oven. Start at 35 minutes and add more time as needed. Chocolate cakes normally take longer than other flavors. 
(Revised April 2022)

My Last Hurrah!

The Allens are dear friends of ours and I have done all of their kids' wedding cakes, with the exception of one because we were out of town. Their youngest daughter, Laura, just found her eternal companion, and I was privileged to design cakes for her reception as my "last hurrah" before retiring my cake business. Bittersweet? A little, but I am more than ready to go on to new adventures besides cake decorating. 

As customers have been picking up their last orders, some have asked for recipes, which I will gladly share. One of my most requested recipes is for my "doctored cake mix" batter, which if you consider cake mix as just one of the ingredients, can also be considered scratch. Only I believe this recipe tastes better in most cases. Please remember that this recipe is for HIGH ALTITUDE ONLY. When we get settled in our new home in Missouri, I will play around with this recipe to see what works best for our lower altitude. 

DOCTORED CAKE MIX BATTER

(FOR HIGH ALTITUDE ONLY)

1 Duncan Hines cake mix, any flavor except Butter Recipe

1/2 cup flour

1 small package instant pudding mix to compliment flavor

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

4-5 eggs (1 cup total)

7 oz. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine all ingredients in large mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until combined. Scrape sides of bowl. Mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased, floured, and parchment lined cake pans. (Or use “Miracle Goo” with parchment.) Bake 30 minutes or longer, until toothpick comes out clean. DO NOT OVER BAKE.  Bake cupcakes for about 18 minutes.

If you have requests for any other recipes, please go to the search button on the blog, or if you can't find it, leave me a message and I will gladly post whatever you're looking for. Thanks again to all of my former customers. It's been a great ride! 

I'm a lemon lover!

I love the juicy tartness of a fresh squeezed lemon. Lemonade, lemon bars, lemon cake, lemon curd, lemon meringue pies, lemon tarts - all yummy to me. One of the best things about living in Arizona was our lemon tree that would be loaded with huge lemons every winter. Our neighbors received a lemon meringue pie, along with a basket of lemons, for Christmas each year.

A few days ago, I braved going out to Safeway to buy fresh lemons, in anticipation of making one of my Luscious Lemon cakes for a customer. Since that didn't pan out, I had a whole bag of lemons in my refrigerator that I wanted to use. 

I sat down at my computer and looked for a new lemon recipe to try, and found "Lemon Butter Cookies." These little gems are really tasty and probably not a good thing to have around for just the two of us during this time together at home. These are worthy of being added to my collection of favorite cookie recipes. 

Lemon Butter Cookies

2 1/4 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

10 Tbsp. softened butter

1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla

Few drops yellow food coloring

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

In medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, and salt. In large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and food coloring. Mix in dry ingredients until just combined. Cover bowl and refrigerate until firm. 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into 2 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar. Let set for 2-3 minutes, and then roll again in powdered sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on baking sheet, and bake until cookies crackle and set, but are still soft in center, about 18 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Introducing APRON BUDDIES!!!

For those of you who have been following our mission adventures at Cove Fort, Utah, you know that we are now back home in Colorado trying to adjust to post-mission life. While on our mission, I had a lot of time to ponder about what I wanted to do with my cake business once we got home. One thing I definitely decided was that I had to spend less time doing huge extravagant party cakes, and more time doing what I enjoy-teaching. So I have decided to change up my business a bit, and add a new dimension at the same time. For my Custom Creations business, I will continue to design wedding cakes, dessert cakes, cupcakes, and cake pops. I will leave the  party cakes to the younger and more energetic bakers. 

The teaching side of my business will be known as  Apron Buddies. I will be passing on my skills as I teach decorating classes and offer cake decorating parties. I may even throw in a dinner roll/cinnamon roll or other baking class from time to time. I hope my past customers and friends can feel my excitement and enthusiasm that I have for this new venture, and help spread the word! 

Our son, Tom, has designed the new Apron Buddies logo, and I will continue to use our Custom Creations logo for our cake designs. 

Thank you all for your past support, and I look forward to fulfilling your cake cravings again.  We are open for business!

Coconut Pecan Icing

While serving our mission here at Cove Fort, I have tried to make a cake each month for those having birthdays during the month. I like to make a different dessert cake each month, but it seems that by far, my German Chocolate cake seems to be the favorite. Here is the recipe for the Coconut Pecan Icing that I use. Sure, you can go to store and pick up a can of Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker Coconut Pecan Icing, but it won't taste like this stuff. For added flavor, try toasting the pecans first, and toast a few extra pecan halves for decorating the top. You can also toast a little coconut for side decoration if desired. Try not to eat all the icing before it gets on the cake!

Coconut Pecan Icing (For German Chocolate Cake)

Use this, along with my Chocolate Buttercream recipe and “Doctored German Chocolate Cake Mix Batter”

4 egg yolks

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

1  7 oz. package coconut (about 2 2/3 cups)

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans (toast if desired)

Beat egg yolks, milk, and vanilla in large saucepan with whisk until blended.

Add sugar and butter; cook on medium heat 12 min. Or until thickened and golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Add coconut and nuts; mix well. Cool to desired spreading consistency, and spread between layers and on top of cakes. Ice sides and trim with chocolate buttercream.

DOCTORED CAKE MIX BATTER

(This recipe works well for high altitudes. You may have to tweak it for lower elevations.)

1 Duncan Hines cake mix, any flavor except Butter Recipe

1/2 cup flour (FOR HIGH ALTITUDE ONLY)

1 small package instant pudding mix to compliment flavor

1/3 cup vegetable oil

2/3 cup water

4 eggs (1 cup total)

7 oz. sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°.  Combine all ingredients in large mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until combined. Scrape sides of bowl. Mix at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased, floured, and parchment lined cake pans. (Or use “Miracle Goo” with parchment.) Bake 30 minutes or longer, until toothpick comes out clean. DO NOT OVER BAKE.  Bake cupcakes for about 18 minutes.

Perfect Buttercream!!

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything on my cake blog, but a friend asked me for my recipe for buttercream and I couldn’t seem to find the exact recipe that I always use, so I’m posting that now. I’ve tweaked it several times over the years, and this is by far the best recipe I’ve ever used for taste, texture, and spreadability. You can replace the hi-ratio shortening with all butter; however, your icing will not be as stable, and will definitely not hold up in warmer weather. This makes a large recipe, so you need a large capacity heavy stand mixer. I prefer a KitchenAid 6 qt. model. 

Cathy’s Buttercream (American style)

3/4 lb. butter (3 cubes), softened

12 oz. hi-ratio shortening (NO Crisco)

Butter Vanilla flavoring (to taste)

3/4 tsp. salt

3 lb. sifted powdered sugar

3/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Beat butter, shortening, butter vanilla, and salt in KitchenAid mixer with flat beater attachment for several minutes until very light and fluffy. Add sugar and cream and beat until smooth and fluffy on low to medium speed. You do not want to incorporate too much air. This makes a full bowl (6 qt.), so I usually cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel while mixing to avoid a “sugar storm” in my kitchen. 

These cakes and cupcakes are all iced with buttercream

Wedding cake ... really?

Every now and then, I will get a request for a very unconventional wedding cake. This cake request was from Kayli and Nathan from Denver. Their wedding was on a Sunday, so since I don't work or deliver on Sundays, Kayli came with 3 of her bridesmaids to pick up the cake. Kayli and Nathan met with me several months ago, and described what they had in mind, and I had cake samples for them to taste. I then had my son, Tom (Disney animator), draw a sketch for me to get a rough idea of what I could design for the cake. The request was a bolder or mountainside with grassy patches and a hammock on top, with the bride and groom. Also, they wanted some succulents on the cake because they really like them. So, here are a few pictures to show the progress of the cake.

 Rough sketch for cake idea.

 Stacked and filled 12, 10, and 8 inch layer cakes with support dowels. In the freezer to chill.

 Carved and shaped cake with crumb coat. Back in freezer to chill.

Final coat of buttercream, and back in freezer to chill before adding modeling chocolate.

 Finished cake. I used crushed edible rocks for the gravel on the trail, and touched up color with petal dust mixed with Everclear.

 Trees and figurines were molded from modeling chocolate, with the bride's dress  and hammock from Flexfrost, edible icing sheets.

Succulents were made from gumpaste. 

It's always a challenge and takes longer than anticipated to do a new design. But the bride and groom were happy with the results, so I'm good with that.