picture time

vanilla cake with nutella buttercream
This darling ladybug-on-a-leaf cake was for a first birthday party. I snapped pictures as the cake came together so I could do a play-by-play for you.

So let's get started.


We built the ladybug's body using 3 ten inch cake layers, 2 six inch cake layers and lots of Nutella buttercream. After the cake chilled, I carved it into a round mound that Anthony thinly crumb-coated.


Next, we covered the body in fondant and airbrushed it red. While the body dried, Anthony formed the head out of Krispies and we covered it in black fondant.

We've found that it's nearly impossible to get a true black by coloring or airbrushing white fondant. We just keep a small tub of black fondant on hand instead.


The rest was simple. We assembled the body and head on top of cake boards I had cut into a leaf shape and tricked our little lady out with antennae, spots and lots of sugar flower daisies.

Anthony liked the daisies.

And I liked the cake scraps.

the cake we cut in half

vanilla cupcake cake with nutella filling
This cake for a Sex and the City themed bridal shower was inspired by a fairly famous and ridiculously expensive purse. Anthony used the giant cupcake pan to bake the cake, which made getting the right shape quite simple. The real problem came in recreating the tiny, metallic crystals that cover the actual purse.

We tried using sanding sugar first. It was impossible, though, to get the definition we needed to make our "crystals" look authentic.

Next up, piping tiny royal icing circles all over the cake---translate"pain in the ass." We finished half of one side and made an executive decision that it just wasn't going to look realistic enough. ARG.

I should add that at this point we had cut the cake in half.

IN HALF.

Why? Because it made adding sanding sugar or piping royal icing on it so much easier if the two halves of the cake were lying flat on sheet pans. Our next idea was to cover the cake in fondant, so we had to reassemble the two pieces. Anthony added a small amount of buttercream to each side, pressed them together and covered the miraculously resurrected cake in fondant.

But back to the crystal problem. After the cake was covered in fondant, we used a piping tip to press small circles into the cake to mimic the crystals. We then used luster dust to shade the cake and add details.


My next post will be from the Eternal City---Rome! In preparation, I have been working on two phrases in Italian that I intend to use every day:

"Un cappoccino, per favore!"

"Una coppa con due gusti, per favore!"

krispies experiment

rice krispies treats
So I have a project on the horizon. At the end of November I will be making a cake and an assortment of treats for a wedding. The bride requested cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, brownies and Rice Krispies treats. My mom never made Rice Krispies treats for us growing up so I decided to start playing around with a recipe for them first. I made a batch from the original recipe on the box, just to see what it tasted like. YECH. Melted marshmallows and the tiniest bit of butter just didn't do it for me.
Who has been watching Top Chef Desserts? I have and I was ecstatic to see that the latest episode featured a sophisticated version of Rice Krispies treats. Eric the baker came up with a terrific recipe that used a sugar syrup mixed with melted butter to hold the krispies together. What a difference in taste that one step made. On top, Eric added a combination of peanut butter, nutella and milk chocolate followed by a layer of bittersweet chocolate. I went for all Nutella instead of adding peanut butter because I am obsessed with Nutella. You could also do just peanut butter if you wanted to and it would be delicious.
It takes a bit of planning because each layer has to set in the fridge for a few hours before adding the next layer, but I thought it was well worth it. The texture and taste are amazing and they looked so grown up when I cut into thin strips.

adapted from Eric Wolitzky's Peanut Butter Krispy Bars
http://www.bravotv.com/foodies/recipes/peanut-butter-krispy-bar

ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 sticks of butter melted
8 cups Rice Krispies
2 cups milk chocolate
4 cups Nutella
1 stick butter
2 cups bittersweet chocolate
1/2 stick of butter
1 tablespoon corn syrup

instructions
Place Rice Krispies in a large bowl.
Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and spray thoroughly with nonstick spray (or if you have a silpat, now is the time to use it).

Combine the water, sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir with a wisk or heat proof spatula until the sugar dissolves and mixture starts to boil (don't stir after that otherwise you will cause the the sugar to recrystallize!). Using a candy thermometer, cook until mixture reaches 240 degrees. Turn off heat and add melted butter, whisking to combine. Be very careful with the mixture---it is blazing hot and will cause quite a bad burn if you're not careful.

Pour mixture over Rice Krispies and toss vigorously to combine. Spread Krispies evenly onto sheet pan and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a medium saucepan.Combine milk chocolate, Nutella and butter in a bowl and place on top of a saucepan (this set-up is called a bain-marie). Let everything melt 3/4's of the way, then take off the heat and stir continuously until the mixture is completely melted and combined.

Spread evenly on top of Krispies and return to the refrigerator for several hours until set.

Melt the bittersweet chocolate, corn syrup and butter following the same procedure as above. Spread evenly over the Nutella layer and let set in the refrigerator for several hours.

Remove from pan, cut with a sharp knife and enjoy!