Tag: Cakes

Emergency Substitution: Sweetened Condensed Milk

By: Hallee

Sometimes when you find you didn’t have great planning and took advantage of a relatively well stocked pantry that didn’t end up being as well stocked as you thought, and when you’re baking a cake at 5:00 in the morning and you have two sleeping toddlers upstairs and a husband in Afghanistan, and it’s not really convenient to run to the store to grab that one pantry item you need right now, it’s nice to know that there is a possible emergency substitution. (heh) This happened to me. As I was making Tres Leches Cake for Cinco de Mayo, I went to put together my “three milks” and discovered I didn’t have any sweetened condensed milk. Normally, I would have just set the cake aside to do later, but the milk needs to be added to the cake while it’s still warm, and at 5AM, there was no way I could do it. So, I discovered a good sweetened condensed milk substitution. The cake tasted fantastic, so I’m calling this one a success.

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Shamrock Cupcakes

By: Hallee

These cupcakes are so much fun for the kids to make for St. Patrick’s Day. They’ll look festive decorating any holiday spread you put together for this festive and green day.

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Mascarpone Cheesecake with Vanilla Almond Crust

By: Hallee

I derived this cheesecake from one I saw on a food show one time. I’m always afraid when I make cheesecake that it’s going to be heavy and dry when it comes out. That’s never happened to me – and this recipe especially is so moist, and so melt-in-your-mouth that during a dinner party Gregg and hosted with four other couples, when dessert was served and everyone took a bite, there was a collective silence, then moan of appreciation. It was amazing and those friends still talk about that dinner party.

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Dark Chocolate Chip Cake with Dark Chocolate Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

By: Hallee

How to make Dark Chocolate Chip Cake with Dark Chocolate Filling and Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

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Dark Chocolate Filling

By: Hallee

This filling is a perfect accompaniment to any cake you’ll frost with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

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Natalee’s S’more’s Cub Cakes

By: Hallee

Last week and this week, the Boy Scouts of America are celebrating their 100th Anniversary. I wanted to do something to recognize that, but with the church’s Valentine’s Day banquet this week, I was unable to do something “big” (like my idea for a cake with all of the logos of the different levels of Scouting.) Instead, I’m “stealing” a recipe from my brilliant cupcake artist friend, Natalee. Scouting makes me think of camping, camping makes me think of s’mores, and in a desperate attempt to be clever, I’ve dubbed these “Cub Cakes” (for the Cub Scouts…you get it…heh.)

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Kim’s Cream Cheese Cupcakes

By: Hallee

I had to make cheesecake for 40+ people and mentioned on my Menu Monday that I was looking for a recipe that I could use to make the cheesecake because I only have 2 cheesecake pans. One of my awesome readers, Kim, commented and asked if I had considered making cream cheese cupcakes. She then emailed me the recipe. I made 6 dozen of them last night, and they were a HUGE hit. The cheesecake just melted in our mouths. Kim gave me permission to post the recipe. I’m just sad I didn’t take any pictures – but I was working pretty hard and it didn’t occur to me. Our menu rotates every 6 weeks, though, so I’ll be making them again soon!

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Essentials: Bakeware Part 2 — Cakes

By: Hallee

I thought I’d do the next Essentials series with bakeware, but as I went to collect it all to take pictures, I realized just how much I had. So, I’m breaking it down into types: Cookies, Cakes, Pies, and Desserts. I’m afraid that this post is going to be a little long. Making cakes, decorating cakes, playing with different cake recipes — that is a passion of mine. I have been collecting cake related paraphenalia for two decades, and have an extensive collection.

Guest Post: Natalee’s Ben Franklin Birthday Cupcakes

By: Hallee

I tried to think of ways to make a glass armonica, a furnace, reaching claw, and a flexible urinary catheter. I found that these tutorials although might prove amusing to me and to those who read this would not prove useful to most people performing cupcakery. Somehow a ‘congrats on passing the kidney stone’ cupcake just didn’t feel quite right. I did feel however the kite could easily be used for a spring party or a birthday party and the glasses could be a fun addition to an ‘over the hill’ party. Hope I haven’t embarrassed myself too much and I do hope that I get to show off more complicated cupcakery in the future, but these were fun, educational, and hey darn tasty too!

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Natalee’s Oatmeal Raisin Cupcakes

By: Hallee

My friend Natalee agreed to do a guest blog for me while my husband and I ran away for a romantic weekend alone. When looking at the dates for the weekend, we discovered that one of the days fell on Benjamin Franklin’s birthday. As a tribute to this American icon, Natalee created a recipe using only ingredients that were found in Mr. Franklin’s time. She then decorated them in brilliant ways to show off Mr. Franklin’s contributions to history and culture. The post showing how to decorate them can be found here. This is a wonderful recipe to do with your children as a homeschooling aid.

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