Golf Ball Cake, Pineapple Cake with a Pineapple Filling & Recipe!!

My nephew wanted a cake for his dad's 50th birthday.  They wanted a pineapple cake with a golf theme.  For the cake I altered another recipe I have used before and I found a yummy pineapple filling from 

Mari's Cakes.  It's so good!!  Thank you Mari!!

The cake is a half sheet cake with two layers and Mari's pineapple filling.  The Golf Ball itself is a Vanilla Pound Cake from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, topped with Billy's Vanillie buttercream frosting, and wrapped in fondant.

Pineapple Cake Recipe

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

10 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 cup apple sauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 oz can of crushed pineapple (drained)

Center a rack in the over and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Flour and grease a 9x13" pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.

Working with a stand mixer, and a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale.  Add eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition.  Mix until you have a light fluffy batter.  Reduce the mixer to low and beat in apple sauce.  This might curdle the batter, and that's ok.  Add the pineapple and mix on low to blend completely.  Add dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.  

Pour into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy this fun tropical summery flavor!  Sweet goodness!

Graduating Tooth Cake 2011

My little sister just graduated from UNM .  Yep, that's right!  She is a Rock Star in my book!!  :)  She is going to be a dental hygienist, did you guess?  We (my husband, my sister Nicole, and I) flew out to see her graduate, and of course she needed a cake!  She didn't want a square cake with a tooth picture on it, she wanted the real deal, 3D cake.  Just for her, I made one.  :)  

She was wearing this cute t-shirt from school, with a tooth on it.  I said "We should make that one!"  Turns out my stepmother Claudia designed the shirt!  Perfect!   Once I figured out the design, I needed a base to make the tooth on.  My awesome stepmom said she could make one.  Really? Wow!  She and my Dad went to the workshop and came back with a wooden base to build the cake around.  

I covered the bottom half of the base with rice crispy treats (actually they were fruity rice crispy treats, yumm!).  I baked four 10" round Italian Cream Cakes  to make the top portion of the tooth.  Once I had the bottom the way I wanted I covered that in fondant.  Then, I worked on the top.  I carved the top to make it look more tooth like.  Once that was completed, I covered the top half in fondant and made the face.  We were cracking jokes all night.  I was doing root canals, and fillings.  So silly!

The base was a premade cake board, but it turned out not to be strong enough to hold the cake, so we placed a pan under it. 

 I used fondant to do the lettering, 

and covered the edge of the cake board with pretty silver dotted black ribbon. 

The final details: We found a "cap" at the craft store, and they just so happened to have a giant red toothbrush in the house, go figure!  Claudia made the arms and the dental tool to match the t-shirt picture (did I mention she is a very talented artist?) and attached them to the cake.  You can kind of see her cute t-shirt on the right side of the cake with the tooth image on it.  

My Rock Star Sis and I.
Congratulations Melissa!!  I'm so proud of you!!

A Chocolatey Celebration!!

Happy Birthday to Roger!  My friend Leisa contacted me, she was planning a surprise birthday party for her husband and wanted a special cake to celebrate.  This was a party to celebrate Life!  The other thing she wanted was chocolate.  Lots of chocolatey goodness!  So, I got to work on it.  I have been wanting to do a cake with stars shooting out of it and this was the perfect opportunity!  I made layers of Tish Boyle's Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cake from The Cake Book, and filled them with a Chocolate Pudding filling from her Brooklyn Blackout Cake recipe, and topped them with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting.  Then I decorated it all with my homemade fondant.

Celebrating you Roger!

Gabriella's Baby Dedication Cake

I made this cake for a friend of mine from church.  She knew exactly what she wanted and even had a picture for me to work from (of course I added my own touch too!).  I love it when this works out!  

I love baking for my friends, and I rejoice in each celebration that I'm asked to bake for.  What an honor to contribute to life's most precious moments.  As I make each cake and add fresh ingredients I often lift up the receiver and family in prayer, and even ask God to bless the celebration.  My prayer for this child?  "Dear God, I pray Gabriella grows in wisdom and knowledge, that she knows You and loves You all the days of her life, that she has a long and healthy life, and that she is a light in the world for You.  In Jesus Name, Amen"

The cake is a Gluten Free Vanilla 8" round cake.  With Billy's Vanillie Buttercream and my homemade fondant on top. 

Unfortunately, I had a problem with the lighting when taking the pictures, so this is what I have:

Fortunately, my friend Rachelle sent me these (taken by FORE Photography):

Have a wonderful day!!

Lily's Gluten Free Birthday Cake

Lily's mom wanted a fun girly birthday cake for her daughter's 2nd birthday.  This is what I came up with!  It's a 9" Golden Vanilla Gluten Free Cake adapted from Tish Boyle's Golden Cake from the Cake Book, with my favorite Billy Vanillie Buttercream icing, and a fondant top.  The crown and wand are fun toppers.  She loved it!

Here is little Lilly enjoying her cake and toppers! 

Baby Shower Cake & Cookies ~ Bananafish Bubblegum Design!

 

A 9" three layer, Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cake from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book, with Billy's Vanillie  Buttercream, topped with a fondant icing.    I made matching onesie cookies to go with it.    

I made all to match her bedding- Bananafish Bubblegum, from Target.  So adorable!

Welcome little one!  

50th Anniversary Cake!

My very first formal cake!  I had so much fun designing this cake and making it.  Debra wanted the cake to be gold and cream, with black accents.   I made two sketches for her, and this is the one she chose.  I used a 6" round Golden Cake for the top, and a 9" round Devilishly Chocolate Cake for the bottom half (Thank you to Tish Boyle's The Cake Book), under the fondant icing the cake is covered in a cream cheese frosting.  

I was so honored to make this cake.  What a special day- 50 years of marriage!  

Hope you are all enjoying your Thanksgiving weekend!

Baby Shower Cake (Gluten Free) - Monkey Design!

I recently made this cake to match the bedding below for a friend's babyshower.  She is having a little boy!  Isn't the bedding adorable?  

Silly me, I forgot to take a picture of the cake, but I'm so glad she sent me this one!  I made the cake Gluten Free using white rice flour.  It was perfect!  I used Tish Boyle's The Cake Book's recipe for Golden Cake and just altered the flour to rice flour and added a little Guar Gum to help with the consistency.  

I used BillyVanillie Buttercream, and I made the monkey with fondant.  I even learned how to pipe my words with a new technique!  

Welcome Baby Avery!!  

Pirate and 70's Cakes!

What fun projects I had this week!  The Pirate cake is a delicious Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cake, and the 70's cake & the Green Cake are Vanilla Cakes (Golden) both recipes can be found in 

The Cake Book by Tish Boyle.

All cakes are 8" cakes.  On the 70's Cake,  

I used Cream Cheese frosting and fondant decorations.  I just love this look!!

The Pirate Cake has buttercream under a fondant icing.  

Isn't he sweet? "I matey!"

I'm trying out a new buttercream decorating style here.  FUN!!

Hope you are having a great week!!