my signature cake.....

So this entry will be nice and short today. But last night while I was trying to go to sleep I came up with my most perfect cake. I hope to start working on it tomorrow, it will probably take a long time. I just really hope my vision is something I can actually create. It will involve my most favorite color, and my most favorite flower! I will need to have a party because it will be three tiers, so most of it will probably go to waste :(! Hopefully I will start working on it tomorrow and I will take lots of pictures of the steps I go through.

Have a great night!! Happy almost weekend!!

Baking tips I have come up with along the way...

Hello-

Today has been a crazy day I feel like. Stella has had a fever for almost 3 weeks, its just been low grade but we are trying to figure out what is causing it. So we went to the Dr for the 4th time in just 10 days ( I really think Stella is going to be a little dramatic in life!!) to test for a bladder infection. We have been to Dr. for all her tummy problems and then we thought it was an ear infection causing the fever, but it wasn't. So now the bladder infection! Of course with a 4 month old you can't just get them to pee in a cup so we had to have a plastic bag thing tapped on her and just wait. The tests came back negative, so that's not causing the fever either. So we will just ride it out....

Next to the Dr. was me (Stella and I spend allllllll of our time at the Dr these days), this is the 4th time for me in 10 days too!! It is a new Dr. so I thought I had the right address written on a piece of paper. All the correct info was in my phone, which we know is gone :( So we rush from Stella's to mine and when we pull up Corny says "Oh this is were we came last week for you". And I thought nothing of that statement, buildings usually have lots of different Dr's. in them. So I walk in and go to the suite number and its the same place I was in last week, still not thinking anything about it. I ask to see Dr. Jordan, they tell me there is no Dr. Jordan. I think oh I must have the wrong suite number, and then look at my piece of paper and dial the phone number I had written down. Then the lady in front of me answers the phone and then I feel like an idiot. This was the address for the Dr. I went to last week and it took me all those steps to figure it out! Sometimes I am not the brightest! So I run out to Corny find the address on his phone, call the Dr (no one answered) and drive across Berkeley (and I hate driving in Berkeley!!), finally get there, and the Dr. had left for lunch. Frustrating!! S

So that was my day!! Now to shift the focus about baking, I wanted to list some tips I have discovered along the way. I am learning everyday so the list will be small!

1. I love love love buttermilk in recipes. I will use it in place of milk whenever possible. If you do that though you just need to use baking soda instead of baking powder. I always find it makes cakes so moist.

2. Always use butter instead of margarine, I personally do not believe in margarine at all!!

3. Always use real vanilla, never never imitation!! I know sometimes it can get expensive, but buy it at Target or Wal-Mart!

4. I line all my cake pans and cookie sheets with wax paper. Its a lot cheaper than parchment paper, and does the same thing. Helps the cakes come out perfectly!

5. After your cakes have cooled, stick them in the freezer for an hour or so before frosting. It helps you not pick up the pieces of the cake when frosting it. I had read to use a crumb coating (which is basically watered down icing, like a glaze) on cakes before frosting as well, but I never had much luck with that. Freezing is a lot easier!

and lastly for today........

6. I usually buy store brand for most items, but my Grandmal taught me a very important rule. When it comes to baking always use name brand. It actually does make a big difference.

Now I know a lot of that was very basic tips, but I am discovering new things almost everyday! I will continue to share them as I learn them! Do you have any great tips??

Have a great night!!

Tip and Recipe of the day!

Hello!
Today I thought I would share a baking tip and my world famous pancake recipe. I hope Corny doesn't get to mad at me for sharing it! I wont be baking again today for a couple of reasons. One is because I still need to get this house clean!! I made some progress yesterday, but still a lot of work to do. And two because Corny is off work for the next few days and the last thing we need is a cake sitting around the house for us to munch on. I have to bake, taste, and then send away so I don't eat it all!

So your tip is about folding in egg whites to cake batter:
Folding in whipped egg whites into cake batter will give it a light and fluffy texture. First you separate the eggs, and unless you recipe calls for only egg whites you can mix the yolks in with the batter. Then you will use a hand mixer to blend the whites until soft peaks form. Then your last step is to fold the egg whites into the batter. Use a spatula and literally fold the batter around the whites. This could take a little while to get it mixed but just have patience! Even with a boxed cake mix I would do this with your eggs to give it more of a homemade flavor!

Shannon's World Famous Pancake Recipe:
These are the best pancakes! They usually are not to fluffy, but a little more crepe like. Aiden and Corny love them and request them often, I usually just throw all the ingredients in the bowl, and then mix them up. You don't need to add the dry ingredients separate or anything like that.

2 cups Flour
4 tablespoons Sugar
4 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons oil ( my secret is to use olive oil, not sure why it makes a difference but it does!)

This usually makes about 15-20 small pancakes.

Let me know if you try the recipe and what you think! Have a great Tuesday!

Frosting

Good Morning!

So yesterday was my practice day. I was working on buttercream frosting. I have mixed feelings about my results. I took a basic recipe and changed it a bit. I added more butter, less sugar, and a little more vanilla. I am not personally a big fan of frosting (except for cream cheese frosting!) because its so sweet so I thought the extra butter and less sugar would make a difference. And I think it did. I enjoyed the taste much more than any of my past trys. Corny gave it the thumbs up, and he doesn't really like frosting that much either. My problem now is the consistency. I cannot get that fluffiness I am looking for. Corny took the cake to work though, so I will wait and hear what his co-workers think! I wanted to add pictures of the outcome, (which I usually will) but due to the fact that I threw my iPhone in the washing machine yesterday I was not able to take any.

There will be no baking today! Due to all of us being sick last week the house looks like a tornado or two has blown through it! I really need to do some cleaning. So my goal today it get the house somewhat put back together. Tomorrow I will post a baking tip, and what I will be baking.

Happy Monday to everyone, hope its a wonderful week!!

Can I do this??

Hello All-

I have decided to start a blog, obviously! I never have done this because I never had anything to write about. There are so many mommy blogs, and I am not the most conventional mother. So my mommy blog would be: Today Aiden said his prayers and thanked God for beer and wine. I don't think I really want the world judging my mothering skills!!

I have really taking up baking and cake decorating as a hobby and my goal is to make it something more. I want to use this blog to reach out to other bakers, other mommy's who have started a business out of their home, and of course friends and family.

My goal is to bake three days a week. I want to practice something new at least one of those days. The other days I bake and send it with my husband to work to leave in his breakroom. So I will blog about my experiences. The other days I will list some of my perfected recipes, and baking tips I have discovered along the way. There might be some mommy and wife moments thrown in along the way. I would really love to learn from other people along the way as well.

My long term goal is to start a baking business from my home, the main reason is because I love to bake and I want to be home with my kids. I decided to name my little business FireStar cakes. The reason is because Aiden name means "little fire" and Stella's name means "star". If a third kid happens to ever come along, I guess they are out of luck!! I am thinking of reaching out to local restaurants to see if they would like to sell my cakes, like I mentioned above I am sending cakes with Corny to work to entice his co-workers to buy cakes for me, and lastly I will make up flyer's and take them into local business. Any other ideas??

So today I baked an Italian Cream Cake (minus the coconut and pecans, because Corny doesn't like them) and I will make buttercream frosting. Today is my practice day. I need to perfect the buttercream frosting, I have not once made any that I am proud of. I will blog tomorrow about how it went! I am also seeing if the cakes turn out okay if I separate the cakes on the racks. So 2 on top and one on the bottom. They don't fit well on one rack, the sides burn a bit, so I am hoping they will still bake evenly this way. Aiden got to help today because it is practice. He gets so upset when he sees me making cakes for people and cannot be involved! The cake is in the oven now, and I love the way it makes the house smell!

Until tomorrow..........

PS I am going to try and load pictures of my previous cakes. Lets see if I can :)