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Hey friends,

If you're a follower of my blog and haven't had a chance to check out my new Facebook page, please go to https://www.facebook.com/cathyleavittcustomcreations and "like" it. Thanks to all of you who enjoy keeping up with my blog. I appreciate it!

New KitchenAid gadget...

By now, most of you are familiar with the "Beater Blade." The beater blade is good, but I have found something even better if you own a KitchenAid. It's called the "flex edge beater" and it's actually made by KitchenAid, so is very high quality, made from heavy duty steel instead of plastic like the beater blade. It has the flexible scraper edge on only one side, but works well. It's quite pricey...I got mine at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for around $39, but I had a gift card plus a $5 off coupon, so it wasn't bad. It works really, really well, and I'm not worried about it cracking, like my beater blade did...twice. So, save up your pennies and buy one!

Making Chocolate Fondant...

My daughter Paula wanted me to video making fondant in my Kitchenaid as a reference for her, as she is making fondant for a cake that she is doing for my granddaughter's 3rd birthday ...something about a platypus. Those of you who have young children will know the character she is making, I'm sure. She is making regular fondant, not chocolate, so will need to add 6 cups of powdered sugar instead of 3 cups, and leave out the chocolate, of course. You will notice that I have added one more ingredient in this chocolate fondant than what I had previously. I have found that if you add 1/2 cup of melted chocolate chips to your melted marshmallow mixture, and then add the 1/2 cup cocoa to the sugar, that it will give your fondant a richer chocolate taste. I like the Ghirardelli bittersweet chips to give a nice dark finished fondant, but  you can also use a semisweet or milk chocolate chip if your prefer. Anyway...since I'm not experienced in taking videos with one hand while trying to make fondant with the other, there are 8 segments here...hope you get the idea...enjoy watching...

Pi Day

So, here's one reason why I don't make pies very often...I'm intimidated by my daughter. Look at this cute pie she made for "pi" day... 

Fresh strawberries and 100% real whipped cream...yum!

Here's the cake I did today...strawberry shortcake...yellow cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. Strawberries still aren't wonderful this time of year, but I added a little sugar and they were fine. The 100 % real whipped cream with the powdered stabilizer tastes so much better than when I used to combine whipped cream with the non-dairy stuff. No comparison...love it! I think I put too many strawberries in because the cake was too tall to put the lid down on the box, but it was for a friend, so I wanted it to be extra special!

Mardi Gras Taco Bar

Last Friday night we catered a taco bar for Forest City Residential at the Air Force Academy. We were supposed to serve 50, but only 30 showed, so we had a ton of food left over. It was also the first time doing a taco bar, so we over estimated on the rice and beans. We left food for the customer, sent some home with helper Wayne, and we brought some home. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food, and we're always learning new things with every job. 

Taco shells & tortillas, shredded chicken & beef, beans & rice, and toppings

We used one of the chafers  for an ice bath for the taco toppings

Finger desserts...8 dozen of each, in Mardi Gras colors

New silver punch bowl...5 gallon capacity

My wonderful helpers...Wayne & Bruce

Valentine's Day...another cheesecake for hubby

Here it is Valentine's Day again and once more I have the opportunity to make another cheesecake for my sweetie. The cheesecake or cream cheese pie is really nothing too special, but my guy loves them, so over the 35 years that we have been married, we estimated that I have probably made him around 150 cheesecakes. I used to always top them with cherry pie filling, but as of late, he has opted for raspberry. I whip up the entire cheesecake filling in the blender, so it's super simple. Here's the recipe:

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (or you can make your own)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 graham cracker crust

1 can pie filling of your choice

Blend together the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk. When smooth, add the vanilla and lemon juice, and blend for a few more seconds until combined. It will thicken up immediately. Spread the filling into the pie crust. Refrigerate until set and top with pie filling. 

See, nothing special and very simple, but when something isn't broken, you don't fix it, and he says that this recipe was what "caught" him before we were even married. So, if this lends in any way to our 35 years together, I'll keep doing it!

Here's the recipe for my homemade sweetened condensed milk. I mix this up in my blender first, then add the cream cheese.

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup non-instant milk powder

Combine the water and butter in blender. Mix together the sugar and powdered milk, and add it slowly through the top opening in the blender while it is going on a slow speed. After all is added, scrape down the sides, and blend on higher speed until thick and smooth. Saves money and I think it tastes better made fresh. 

Here's a cheesecake that I made for a friend's birthday with topping made with fresh strawberries, and garnished with chocolate covered strawberries...

Now, because I usually don't share any of "his" cheesecake, I decided today to try a new lo-cal version of something I've been wanting to try. So here is my Valentine treat... 

fresh strawberries piped with lo-cal cream cheese mousse and drizzled with dark chocolate...

Recipe for cream cheese mousse:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

1/3 - 1/2 cup of powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

6-8 oz. Cool Whip or whipped cream

Blend together cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar with mixer until smooth and fluffy. At a slower speed, fold in Cool Whip or whipped cream. To make a lo-cal version, I used fat-free cream cheese. I also use this recipe to make a variety of flavored mousses as a filling for my cakes. When making a chocolate mousse, I add a little cocoa powder along with the powdered sugar. When making peanut butter mousse, I add some peanut butter (to taste) along with the cream cheese and sugar. Any kind of fruit mousse, I usually just fold the fruit or fruit filling into the mousse after it is done.