Baking, Interrupted.

I have the Kitchen Renovation Blues.

Now hear this. All baking will be suspended until further notice....or until I can haul all of my pots and pans over to my sister Kathy's. As much as I am looking forward to having a new kitchen, it sure is a rough ride to get there. Sweet Moses, I have a birthday cake due for next weekend too. (sigh)

Thank you for your attention. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Are You A Happy Camper?

I hate camping.

Okay, I realize that "hate" is a strong word, so let's just say that I despise camping. I detest camping. I loathe camping. I abhor camping. I have an aversion to camping. Is that better?

I've been camping several times in my life. I have to admit that my earliest camping memories were extremely pleasant ones. I was twelve years old. But then who doesn't like camping at twelve? We had family friends who had a camp site on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and they invited us up at least twice every summer. My sister Kathy and I loved it. Now I tell you this....my mother would have rather thrown herself down on a bed of nails then spend a weekend communing with nature. But because they were good family friends, she went anyway.

Our friends had a swell campsite complete with a huge firepit, two huge dark green tents, a camper and a trailer. My parents (of course) stayed in the main trailer and all of the kids, five in total, slept in sleeping bags in the tents. With the bugs. Tents that smelled like mildew. But I didn't care.

I was twelve.

I loved the fact that when morning came, we jumped out of our sleeping bags and we were already dressed. How great was that? After bolting down a glass of milk and a Pop Tart, we headed down the gravelly road to the lake. Our friends had a couple of boats and all of the kids would head down to the docks and hang out around the boats all day. In fact, I can vividly recall when four of us, all ages 12 and under, took a small motorboat out on the lake by ourselves for most of the day. By ourselves. We were told by our parents to wear life jackets and to " be careful". We did and we were. What a blast! Do kids do stuff like that anymore? Why was it not such a big deal back then but in today's society, someone would probably call Social Services? Anyone?

My next camping experience was when I was 21. Myself and a group of friends decided to go camping at Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod. I borrowed a tent from a neighbor and we headed down for the weekend. I remember that there was a huge party going on at one of our neighboring campsites. It was late and they were loud. It was also really cold and had started to rain. Technically it is still "summer" at the end of August, but when you're in the woods.....at night....in the rain, you may as well be sitting on a glacier in Alaska. We ended up packing up our gear (in the pouring cold rain) and headed to friend's house in a nearby town. My friend's mother took pity on me and my shivering friends and let us stay in one of her rental cottages for the night. For free of course.

My last camping trip was about ten years ago. My good friends Donna and Bill have a place at Point Sebago in Maine. I have to say that out of all of my camping experiences, this one was by far..............the best. I stayed in a trailer...in a bed......with clean, crisp sheets. It was warm and cozy. In the morning, I woke to Donna frying up bacon in a skillet just outside my window. As I sleepily emerged from the trailer, she handed me a fresh cup of coffee and directed me to a comfortable camp chair. Now THAT'S my idea of camping.

My project this week was........you guessed it....... a camping theme. The cake was to be in celebration of a couple's 30th wedding anniversary and they were avid campers. So many options with this one. What to do? What to do? So I started with the basics...............

I shaped the tent using a firm piece of cardboard and set it down to dry for a couple of days.

I carefully carved out a section to use for the "river". In hindsight, I could have easily spread the "river" on top, but I wanted the "water" frosting to sit into the cake instead of riding on top of it.

Then I coated the cut-out "riverbed" with buttercream...

...and covered the entire cake in fondant. Please note the gaping hole in the wall behind the cake. No.........I do not have termites. It's just kitchen renovation "stuff".

I used a piece of clear plastic to shape and form the waterfall. I didn't want the "water" to just come down straight and stick to the cake. Water going over the edge of something sort of arcs outward, then down. Aren't you terribly impressed with the creative thought process used?? (insert rolling of the eyes here)

So I coated the plastic with buttercream and attached it to the edge of the top layer of cake.

I initially wanted the waterfall to end up in a little pond, but I ran out of space.

There's always a little "stinker" on every camping trip, right?

Stories anyone???

This was my first visualization of the legs inside the tent, but I thought it looked a little too "Tony Soprano-ish", so I opted for a more playful placement....you know.....like they're still BREATHING.

See? This is much better. More fun, but I really need a class in the fine art of toe sculpting. Or maybe I just need a stronger prescription for my glasses. It's hard to do a clean finish on something so small. Next time I'll need to use some teeny tiny fondant tools. And a giant magnifying glass. And a searchlight with 100,000 candlepower. Moses, I think I need brighter bulbs!

Don't you just love the smell of a campfire??? What does it remind you of? (Please note that all Firefighters are exempt from this line of questioning) I am mentally whisked away to the state of New Hampshire. Live Free or Die, baby. Or maybe it just gives me a New Hampshire state of mind. I don't know. It reminds me of warm blankets, rustling brightly colored Fall leaves and hot chocolate. (Ahh, yes, of course you knew that chocolate had to be included in there somewhere.) Yes, we have campfires and bonfires in Massachusetts too, but for some reason it doesn't conjure up the same snug feeling. I just love it.

This vaguely reminds me of one of the tents at Lake Winnipesaukee, only this one doesn't smell of mildew. The "trees" are fondant covered Oreo Ice Cream Cones......nibbled cut down to fit, of course.

Cool rushing water. Looks good enough to eat, doesn't it? Oh wait.

You can.

So tell me your stories......I'm dying to hear them.

She's Forty & Fabulous!

My friend Julie had a big birthday last week. That's right....she officially crossed over into the Land of Forty. Of course I could only wave to her as she arrived on the Land of Forty because I am too busy sliding down into the Valley of Fifty. Anyway, her parents Pete and Joan, had a small dinner at their home to celebrate and I made the cake. It was a small double tier, chocolate of course, with peanut butter and chocolate ganache filling. I made a little grape vine trailing up and across and attached a few fondant "poppies".

It was a really moist and chocolate-y cake.....in fact, the inside of my car still smells of it. Excuse me while I go for a drive.

(Before we go any further, the answer is no......the baby was not anywhere near the candles. It just looks that way because of the angle.)

Anyway, what Julie didn't know at this time was that her husband Andy had also planned a surprise party for her the following Friday night at a local restaurant. Of course I knew it would be a complete surprise because she had stated time and time again that she didn't want a party for her fortieth birthday. Perfect. I told Andy that I'd make her another cake. I had a couple of things in mind, but after several rough sketches, I finally settled on something demure and understated.

You know..............sort of like Julie.

My inspiration for this cake?? I don't know. I mean it's not like the colors and patterns are around me everyday.

Sometimes I really have to sit and think about what is most artistically and visually stimulating for me.

You just never know where your colors or ideas will come from.

It's frustrating sometimes.

When you just can't find any inspiration even in your very own home.

There are times when I'm totally stumped.

But just when I'm ready to give up....something sneaks up and kicks me.

So first, I had to decide on the flavor and filling of the cake. What else would it be??? Of course it had to be chocolate. Deep, dark chocolate, AND the filling had to be great too.

So I made six 9 x 13 chocolate cakes, leveled each one, then stacked them up.

Next, I chopped up a bag of Ghirardelli Chocolate Mints and mixed them into the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Candy carnage. The scene of the crime.

Then I started the layering process. Lots of thick, rich buttercream in between the layers. Make sure those layers are even!!!!

I used a cakeboard under every two layers of cake for stability.

Couldn't you just run and jump on this???

Once the cakes were all filled and stacked, I put the whole thing into the freezer for a couple of hours.

Then I carved it out.

Then added dowels throughout the form for added stability.

(Note the walls in the background of these photos. I am living in kitchen renovation hell.)

Then I crumb-coated the whole thing with vanilla buttercream and put it in the refrigerator to let the frosting firm and set up. It kind of looks like a saddle here, doesn't it?? Hmmmm......a saddle?? I'll have to remember this if I'm ever asked to make a cake for Seabiscuit.

Then I took this beautiful red fondant and went to work detailing the purse. Although you can use any shade of food coloring to tint white fondant, I always buy pre-made fondant in red and black because of the inconsistencies. It's almost impossible to "make" the perfect shade of red. As a colorist, I know the technique, but I'm just not willing to go through the trouble. It's easier to just plain order it. Trust me on this.

I messed up the white fondant at the bottom of the bag, but luckily I had plans to cover it with a couple of zebra stripes anyway. Whew. This mistake would have NEVER gotten by on Ace of Cakes or Cake Boss.....or would it?

Note to self: Remember to take off rings before working with fondant.

Now for the fun stuff. The handles.

These handles nearly gave me a heart attack ten times over. Initially, I had planned to make just a shoulder strap. I made it out of gumpaste a couple of days before and set it aside to dry. I really needed it to completely dry out nice and strong so it would stand up on top of the bag. I waited until the morning of the party to place the strap on the cake. The minute I set the shoulder strap on top of the bag, it broke into about 5 pieces. Dang it!

"NOBODY PANIC!! I HAVE THIS UNDER CONTROL!", I frantically yelled to Emily, who somehow managed to remain totally calm throughout the entire ordeal.

After a few minutes of complete hysteria I instantly reached for the Rice Krispie Treats and started molding. I covered them with red fondant, made a few fondant "D" rings and left them on the counter to dry.

Then I mixed gold food lusterdust with vodka and "painted" all of the "D" rings and the nameplate. The dried vodka makes it all nice and shiny!

Shiny......see?

...or without handles it might make a dandy Mongolian knapsack!

I painted the golddust on the fondant while it was drying on the purse.

I used toothpicks and a mixture of royal icing to attach the handles and "D" Rings to the purse. Then I lightly steamed several areas of the purse to give the fondant a nice patent leather look.

"No wait Julie! That's not the cake! That's really my purse!!"

After all of that work.......now it just looks like the side of a mailbox.

With a delicious chocolate filling, of course.

The party's over and Julie was left holding the bag. But I don't think she minded holding this bag. She may be forty, but she'll always be fabulous to me!

Happy Birthday Jules!

BOO!

What? It's Halloween?? Again??? The time is going.....going........gone. My Halloween baking was limited this year due to the fact that I am in the process of having my kitchen renovated. In sections. Very small annoying sections. I have been living out of large Rubbermaid bins for over a month now and I'm starting to get very tired of it all. Yes, I know. It will all be worth it. Sweet Maria, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that one I could upgrade to a Wolf stove.

Some women yearn for diamonds. Others want fine cars. All I want is a Wolf stove. I know you've seen them. They are the smaller home version of the commercial restaurant stainless steel stove and are easily recognizable by the large red knobs along the front. Ah......sweet bliss. Am I nuts or what??

I've been so busy making cakes lately that I had alot of cake "guts" leftover to make cakepops. So I made a couple of dozen for the kids.

And some people at work.

And the mailman.

They're not perfect. Like these three dopey punkin' heads. They have crooked smiles and they have drips on the sticks. Luckily, they're never around long enough for anyone to really examine them.

Do you have any good Trick or Treating stories from your childhood?? For my sister Kathy and I, it was just an all out sugar festival. My father was always the parent who accompanied us around the neighborhood. He was such a trooper. Never complained about it. He just followed us up and down the street carrying a large army-green flashlight, lighting the way up and down walkways.

One year, I think my sister was a clown. You remember the classic costumes from the 60's?? Cheap fabric, which was jammed on over a pair of pants and a jacket and usually tied in the back at the neck. The face mask was molded plastic with slits cut out for eyes, nose and mouth. The mask was held in place by a thin elastic that went around the back of your head just above your ears. I don't think there was a child on the planet that could stand to wear one of those masks for any longer than 5 minutes. After that time, condensation formed inside the mask and made you start to sweat. Most of the time you ended up ripping the mask off and perching it horizontally on top of your head while gasping for breath. Chapped lips almost always prevailed the morning after a vigorous evening behind a Halloween mask.

One particular Halloween, I remember my sister complaining that she couldn't breathe out of her mask. As usual, I ignored her. But when we crossed the street to trick or treat the neighbors, she tripped over a shrub in the yard, ripped off the mask and tearfully wailed, "Dad, I can't see or breathe with this mask!" My father sighed heavily, took the mask from her outstretched hand and after close examination said, "The nose openings need to be larger. I'll be right back". He crossed the street to our house and went straight to his workbench in the garage. After a few minutes he returned and handed the plastic mask back to my sister saying, "Here. Try this. Now you can breathe." My sister put the mask on only to discover that the entire nose section had been completely torn off! The clown's bulbous round nose had been replaced by nothing more than a gaping hole. My father used a needle-nosed pliers to try to widen the nose openings, however instead of making a slight cut, he simply grabbed onto the clown's nose and pulled. Hysterically funny although Kathy could have cared less. We were starting our Trick or Treating and now she could breathe.

My mother always stayed home to hand out the candy. Ours was a tough house to visit while Trick or Treating. For the little ones dressed as ghouls, witches and goblins, the candy bowl was always lowered with a smile and the kids could freely "pick their poison". We always had a nice sugar medley of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Kit Kat Bars and mini Hershey Chocolate Bars with Almonds. However, if my mother thought anyone looked too old to Trick or Treat, she always felt obligated to question them. This never failed to mortify me. She always ended up giving them Halloween candy, but she would make sure to fill up the rest of their Trick or Treat bags with a little guilt too.

My mother would turn out our front light when all the candy had been passed out OR when it was 8pm. No exceptions. She was tough.

Kathy and I would do the 1/2 mile neighborhood loop in about 2 hours and arrive home overheated, breathless and elated. Our candy was immediately dumped on the living room floor and sorted out. Piles of candy bars were placed strategically (for counting purposes) and the less popular candy like Chuckles and Goobers were put aside. Usually, my mother had us put all of our candy in a large bowl for everyone in the family to "share".

Leaving our entire loot of Halloween candy in a bowl in the living room only meant one thing to us. Within a few days, the chocolate bars would magically disappear while we slept and by the middle of November we were always left with a shabby pile of Pixie Sticks, Sweet Tarts , Bazooka Bubble Gum and a few Chuckles.

What do you remember about Halloween??

Hi Punkin! (Part Two)

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you, but I was unavoidably detained. Doesn't that sound official? Actually my life is having lots of growth spurts (in a good way) and I'm just trying to jog along beside it.

So, did you watch Golden Pond? Isn't it a great film? My favorite part is when she says, "Norman, you're my knight in shining armor". Sniff. That and when she calls him "an old poop". Speaking of which, let's bake shall we?

Let's see, where was I? Ahhh yes. My sister Kathy asked me to stay with her two little ones while the rest of the family went out for a couple of hours last weekend. So I packed up my collapsible cooler, put the dog in the car and headed over for an afternoon of baking. Cody wanted nothing to do with baking but informed me that he would be happy to "taste test" when the brownies were done and promptly headed downstairs to watch T.V. On the other hand, Brenna couldn't wait to help me unpack my little cooler. She insisted on doing much of the brownie preparation herself....so I let her. For a six year old, I have to admit that she is extremely capable. Scary capable even.

I used Scharffen Berger Unsweetened Baking Chocolate and roughly chopped it up.

Then I we placed it in a double boiler over simmering water and added the butter. Once that was melted together, I we added the sugar, stirred it well, then removed it from the heat.

Then add the flour .

"We" added two eggs (broken in a separate bowl) and the vanilla. At this point, you would add the nuts as well unless you are baking with "someone" who doesn't really care for them and stomped her foot on the floor when you said that you'd like to add them. I'm not saying anything.

Ahem.

Then I added 1/2 cup canned pumpkin to this mixture and stirred it up well.

Now in the meantime, keep in mind that this is the month of October. We haven't even happened upon Halloween yet. Nor have the leaves started falling from the trees. Yet at one point when we looked up from our baking project, this is what we saw....

(Insert screaming here.)

Back to the kitchen! Just had to get this shot of Brenna, fishing around in the far back corner of the kitchen cabinet for the proper size pan for our Pumpkin Brownies. If there are any kitchen designers in the house, could you please answer me why.......for the love of all baked goods everywhere........what good are these corner cabinets???

Ahh...she found the right sized pan...sort of.

Moses.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30-35 minutes. The pumpkin makes the brownies incredibly moist!

So here is the original recipe for Katharine Hepburn's brownies and also the "pumpkin" version. Enjoy!

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to to 325 degrees and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour an 8 inch square baking pan (or whatever you can reach in the very back of your sister's kitchen cabinet). Melt the chocolate and butter in a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan (or double boiler) of simmering water. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Next, stir in the vanilla extract and eggs. Finally, stir in the flour, salt and chopped (if using). Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 - 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Serve at room temperature or chilled. These freeze very well. Makes about 16 brownies.

For the Pumpkin Version, I increased the chocolate to 3 ounces, increased the sugar amount to 1 1/2 cups then added 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin.

Hi Punkin! (Part One)

Something about seeing the word "pumpkin" in a recipe has always made me feel warm and cozy. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cake, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie. It never fails to bring a smile and a snug-as-a-bug feeling.

Dr. Phil, your thoughts?

I've wanted to make these for a while but tucked it away until it was seasonable appropriate. Like...........NOW. All in all, I don't think that the pumpkin neccesarily adds alot of pumpkin flavor to the brownies, but it does make them unbelievably moist and fudgy. Two things that we all hate........right??

So it seemed only natural to use my favorite Katharine (yes, it's spelled with an "a") Hepburn Brownie recipe with a little pumpkin twist. "Norman, look at the loons"! Isn't Golden Pond one of the best movies EVER??

You haven't seen it?? You're kidding, right? Get up right now and go rent it. We'll start the brownies when you've finished.

It is a fabulous film starring Henry Fonda, my girl Katharine and Jane Fonda. I still laugh and cry all the way through it. The movie was filmed on Squam Lake in New Hampshire, about a two hour drive from me and yes, Squam Lake is really as beautiful as the film portrays. New Hampshire is truly a special place. I'm turning the oven off right now. Go and watch it.

We'll wait.

Babies and Birthdays!

I love to look at the Cake Wrecks website. Have you seen it? Some of the cakes, especially the Baby Shower cakes are really frightening. I mean really, would you be comfortable chewing on a life-sized fondant sleeping baby?? Or cutting into a life-sized pregnant mother made entirely out of cake. It's grotesque! I find it truly disturbing that people actually find these things cute and not require therapy after eating it.

When I was young, my mother dabbled in cake decoration. From what I can recall, she had all the fancy decorating tips and attended a night class in a local high school.

She learned how to make a baby bootie out of frosting with a star tip. Ta-Da! Actually, it was quite cute and when it was placed on top of a cake she received rave reviews for her efforts

As always.....................I try to aim higher than I can reach.

I have seen several baby shower cakes recently that I thought were just adorable, so I promptly set out to replicate one. Perched on the edge of the top cake tier, I love the fact that the expectant mother looks just a tad uncomfortable in her present physical condition. She is made entirely out of fondant and I made her days and days ahead of time to allow the fondant to dry properly. I ditched the original idea to carve her out of Rice Krispy treats.

The whole Rice Krispy figure thing kind of freaked me out anyway. It reminded me of that Chuckie-like doll in that Karen Black movie, "Trilogy of Terror". Do you remember that one?? Nothing says "night-night" like a ten inch troll wielding a carving knife. I didn't sleep at all in 1975.

For this one, I took my time. I molded her legs first, then her feet, then I attached a body, and her um......various.......frontal bumps.

I oh-so carefully rolled out some chocolate fondant, then hand cut the strands of hair and attached each piece with a little sugar water.

Then I sat her down on an upside down ramekin for about 5 days to dry.

It was good for her to get off her feet for a few days. I think she really enjoyed the rest.

The presents are Rice Krispy Treats covered in fondant. Actually they are the original Karen Black "Trilogy of Terror" doll re-molded. Hey.....nothing goes to waste here.

I originally planned for this cake to be covered in fondant....then I remembered at the eleventh hour that the mother-to-be didn't particularly like fondant. So I whipped up buttercream and covered both cakes in a flash. I oh-so-badly wanted to slather on another thick coat of buttercream, but I was dangerously crunched for time. (I finished this cake within only 10 minutes of delivering it and then getting myself to the airport )See....most people wouldn't admit that, would they? I mean most smart people wouldn't. I don't think I'm quite there yet.

Anyway, the bottom tier of this Baby Shower cake is a rich, moist coconut and the top is Confetti Cake (the expectant mommy's favorite) from a box.

Booooooooo!

Hey! You in the back of the room.....I heard that.

She's cute, isn't she??

My next "gig" was a Lego Cake....and how are those legos made? With fondant covered Rice Krispy Treats or course! They are versatile little suckers, aren't they.

The Lego Cake (also due the same day as the Baby Shower cake) was for my friend Michele's son, Zachary. Like most seven year old boys, his world revolves around Legos........and chocolate. Ahhhh....a man after my own heart.

Wouldn't the world be a much easier place to live if legos and chocolate were the only things that did it for you?

*Sigh*.

Since the party was for about 23 people, I made a rich devil's food batter and baked it in a 15 x 10 pan. After leveling it off, I frosted it with a dark chocolate buttercream and topped it with fondant covered "legos". It was an eye-catching cake and from what I'm told , it was a huge hit at the party. Thus, the definition of "sweet success".....especially when it's through the eyes of a seven year old boy.

My final cake of the week was for a gentleman's birthday......and this gentleman likes to read. The chocolate cake is deep, dark and rich and the frosting is deep, dark and richer! Yum.

The book, glasses and rose are all made of fondant

Hey! I suddenly have a craving .

Got Milk?