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!