Two October Cakes

For Michael and I, October is a month full of memories and birthdays.  We were married in a simple ceremony in late October.  My parents were married in October as well.  Our mothers were both born in October.  I love to make these wonderful ladies a special cake--a tradition I started last year and which I hope to continue for many many years to come.

First, my mother's birthday on the 10th.

(Sorry about the bad lighting.)  She requested a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting and I gladly obliged with a 3 layer carrot cake.  I used Paula Deen's grandmother's cake recipe--which turned out moist and just as carrot cake should taste. I however omitted the walnuts and raisins because that's what mom wanted.  I piped giant rosettes of cream cheese frosting onto the top for a little visual interest.  Cream cheese frosted cakes with those little carrots on top bore me, and I saw these rosettes somewhere (though I can't find the site anymore).

Next came Michael's mother's cake on the 16th.  She loves dense fruity cakes and requested a blackberry walnut Bundt cake.  And of course, I obliged.

This cake was absolutely loaded--blackberry jam, walnuts, raisins, butter, buttermilk, brown sugar, and way more cinnamon and nutmeg than I would have thought prudent.  I can't say that this type of cake is my cup of tea, but it was exactly what she wanted and I like to please my birthday girls.

Kicked-Up Healthy Banana Muffins

I've tinkered around with banana muffins for years.  This is my current favorite.

Banana muffins
dry team:
1 cup whole wheat white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp clove
1/4 tsp all-spice
1/4 tsp cardamom

wet team:
3-4 mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt (vegans can use soy yogurt)
1 egg, beaten (can be replaced by 1/4 cup applesauce)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup raisins, soaked in hot water, drained

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Once you've assembled the dry and the wet teams in two separate mixing bowls, combine them and pour into 12 greased (can use either ghee, butter, or veg shortening) muffin cups.  These will bake for about 15-18 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Spicy!

Dr. Cake

Let me just begin by saying, cake is not the most structurally sound material in the world.  Given that, I'm sure most will cut me some slack on my wobbly TARDIS.  For though it is wobbly, it is also edible.

TARDIS?  What's a TARDIS, you ask?  Why, a time machine, of course!  Don't feel bad if you're not a British Sci-fi nerd.  We understand.  Louis, however, is our family's huge Dr. Who fan, and the Doctor is the guy who tools around in the TARDIS, while trampling all over any preconceived notions about time and space.  Lately, Dr. Who has seen a resurgence in interest with several new seasons on BBC.  I have to admit, the show is pretty fun and the production budget is a bit better than the shows I watched with my mom in the 70's.  (The aliens frequently looked like they'd just raided the local hardware store for their outfits and the special effects were always so very not-special)

Louis' birthday called for a Dr. Who themed cake, and I figured the TARDIS would be the most recognizable structural object from the series.  Oddly enough, the TARDIS looks like an old Police Box--the early British version of 911.

Here are some photos of cake construction.

 Rainbow cake is really the most appropriate choice, and it can be appropriate for so many other fun applications as well!  Aleta Meadowlark of Omnomicon explains thoroughly at her blog.  We did a little rainbow cake dance when this came out of the oven.  You just can't help but smile when you see cake that looks like a rainbow!

Construction.

Aflame.

Deconstruction.

The rainbow is a bit in the shadow, but take my word for it, the color was so lovely and so fun to cut into!  I'm not sure why, but Louis wanted a street scene.  I suppose because so many Dr. Who episodes take place in London.  Though the cake is only part of what goes into one of our kids birthdays, I always go all out.  I want them to feel special.  I hope Louis felt special.  Turning 14 is not for the faint of heart.  I know I never want to go through any year that has a -teen appended to it ever again.  I have my own worries with 40 just around the corner!

What does a superhero do on vacation?

Maybe they would be hanging at the beach?  Lounging in the sun?  Trading stories about world calamity and comparing notes on their respective arch villains?  Do you need sunscreen when wearing one of those super-suits?  Questions one can only ponder when executing the latest in a series of superhero cake dioramas as ordered by a clever little stepson like Bryce.  The kid has very specific ideas about his birthday cake and I'm only too happy to oblige.

This dude is, according to Bryce, "Invisible Man."  He's lounging on a marshmallow fondant beach towel and wearing a flotation gummy ring.  I imagine he does not need any sunscreen.

I think it particularly ironic that The Flash is the only guy laying down in this scene.  He's clearly in need of some serious r&r.

Superman looks really mad about something.  Maybe Captain Yellow Tights splashed him.  You can tell Batman just really wants him to chill.

Notice there are no ladies.  I warned Bryce about this.  He wouldn't let me put Hawkgirl or Supergirl on, so now he has a beach scene that calls his superheroes appreciation of women into question.  He seemed completely unconcerned when I pointed this out and downright jubilant when I relented on the issue of female attendance.  Go figure.

This cake is two 9x13 sheetcake layers, deconstructed to form a rectangular pool off to one side.  (I actually used a ruler to get the proportions right.)  I lined the pool with white marshmallow fondant and then covered the rest of the cake with a huge sheet of fondant.  I used a combination of chocolate liqueur, powdered sugar, yellow food coloring, and water to make a "watercolor" paint which I painted over the whole sheet.  I sprinkled granulated sugar over the still wet paint for a sand effect.  The pool is filled with blueberry jello and the beach ball is actually a gumball that Michael and Louis got from a gumball machine.  The cake is one layer of chocolate and one layer of vanilla.  It was delish.  When the cake is all about appearance and fun, I always use a mix.  Duncan Hines is the best.  And yes, I did wash the action figures thoroughly before applying to the cake!

All in all, Mr. Bryce seemed happy with the results and I had a fun time making it. (Right after my nervous breakdown when both cakes fell apart upon being removed from the pans.)

Hunny

I was asked to do another baby shower cake for someone at work.  Well, the first time, I volunteered.  This time was a paid gig.  Below are the results of my labor.

The hunny pot is basically a four layer cake with chocolate on the bottom and vanilla on top.  Everything is coated in a butter cream frosting which I flavored with vanilla and butterscotch schnapps.  The hunny pot itself has the additional layer of brown marshmallow fondant, flavored with cocoa powder (reminds me of a hot chocolate!).  The bees are also marshmallow fondant and the simulated honey is a caramel sauce which I bulked up with frosting and colored with yellow food coloring.

Seems like the folks liked the cakes.  I'm glad, too, because I stressed over them for days.