On October 4th my Aunt Helen and Uncle Frank celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. I was asked to make the cake and did it with great honor and joy. I had a lot of fun making the flowers and then painting them with Jamie.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
"Don't Trip"
The instructor that I have had for all of me cake classes so far is such a wonderful person. It is a joy to go to Syd's classes. Her famos line is "Don't Trip". Check out her website, take a look she does amazing work and just won the blue ribbon at the county fair for her entry.
Happy 50th Birthday Polly!
Yesterday was my aunt Polly's 50th birthday. The family had a pirate themed party for her and I made the cake. This is my first time working with such a big sheet cake. I learned that I prefer to do the big tiered cakes.
Baby Shower!
A friend of Jamie & Angela's from work hired me to make a cake for her sisters baby shower. The theme was baby ble and white polka dots and white baby feet. I used fondant for most of the cake except the baby feet were made out of white chocolate!
Bunco!
So back in May my sister hosted a bunco party and I decided to make a dice cake. Here's what it looked like!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Happy First Birthday Ryan!
My neighbor across the street turned one on July 6th. He had a Blues Clue party. His parents were very generous to allow me to make his first birthday cake. I have to say I had a lot of fun with this.
Fun with Fondant
I have moved on to the wonders of fondant.
For both of these cakes, I used a homemade fondant and EVERYTHING is edible.
Here is my first fondant cake!
Here is my "Wedding Cake"!
For both of these cakes, I used a homemade fondant and EVERYTHING is edible.
Here is my first fondant cake!
Here is my "Wedding Cake"!
Happy 1st Birthday Megan!
My neighbor Megan turned one on June 30th. For her birthday, I made her a cake that when cut into a heart is formed. This is another one of my favorites. It is just SO cute.
Here is what the pan looks like.
Here is what the pan looks like.
Session Two
So, I really enjoyed myself in session one and decided to take session two. You will be happy to know that we only did one cake. This cake by far is my favorite. Not to sound conceded, but it looked really good and was super fun to make. And yes I made everything on the cake.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Final Project!
For the final cake in Course One, we put everything together that we learned for the Wilton Rose. The Vons Ladies make it look SOOOO easy. It is quite challenging.
O I forgot to mention that the wonderful people at NHRA are my Guinea pig. Thank you so much for all you support and I hear you requests for cake flavors.
I'm Googleable!
So as most of you know, we are Drag Racing fans. It also helps to have two family members work for NHRA. Well when we went to the races back in November of 2007, Jamie and I met Chef Nicky, the Chef for Team Jegs. We were just chit-chatting with him. If you are ever at a race, stop by and say hi.
Back to the story.
In February of this year I was chatting with Chef Nicky and introduced him to my Death By Chocolate Cake. He had never heard about soda cakes and was quite surprised.
Here is the story that he published on the NHRA & Team Jegs website.
3/24/2008
Hail to the Fans!
Let’s face it- NHRA fans are the greatest!
I am in my seventh season with Team JEGS. Before I started, I had no idea what drag racing was all about. I had heard of a Funny Car, but had no idea what they looked like. I didn’t know what a Top Fuel car was until Woody put me between two on the starting line at the Phoenix race in 2002. They rocked my world. And, Pro Stock??? I definitely had no idea what that meant. It took me forever to figure out the Christmas tree. I asked someone on the crew every week how it worked until Roy Simmons physically took me to the starting line before a race. He and I both got in a lane and we broke the light beams with our feet until I understood how it worked. He also explained a few strategies. Thanks Roy! I also had no idea how the fans could travel so far to see their favorite driver spend less than a minute of total race time for the whole weekend.
Well, let me tell you... You all hooked me!
I am now a huge fan. My parents have never been into racing, and you hooked them too. And, because I am my Mother’s son, and I work for JEGS, Jeg can do no wrong. She is a huge JEGS fan. Greg- Mom thinks that you are a nice guy, but you better watch out when the cars get in the water-box. She means business!
From day one I can say that I have not stopped meeting wonderful people involved in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing. We (as a team) always get a warm welcome at all the races. I meet many fans while I am traveling. I even meet some in the grocery stores who want to know what I am cooking for the weekend. Our pit gets crazy sometimes with people wanting to chat and get an autograph. It is great!
We have different fans that stop by every week and want to talk about food. I have had people send books, recipes and food to my house as well as the track. We can always count on Janine to stop by with some cookies when we are out west. Hobbie and Becky from Nebraska stopped by our pit last year with what had to be some of the best produce I have ever seen out of someone’s garden.
I try to sneak out and go pit hopping when I can. I like to see what other people are cooking. It is fun for me to experience the different tastes from race to race. I may go see Anthony Bertozzi for a little of his famous "Duct Tape Chicken," or lay back with "Jimmy the Shoe" for a grilled hot dog. And, if you are in Texas or Memphis and you have BBQ- I will find you! I love the mix of BBQ from Tennessee to Texas. Saint Louis has great ribs too. I always visit the Bayou Boys and the Garrison’s when we are at the JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals to get a taste of true Cajun cuisine.
This brings me to the next recipes that I would like to share with all of you.
I recently had Jenni Stephens stop by our pits in Pomona. She wanted to see what was going on in the culinary world. We chatted for a while before she stunned me with the question: Did I ever make a cake with Diet Coke? (Don’t ever think that you have seen or heard it all.) She told me how easy it was to make, and how good it was. There was no need for me to try and make it because she showed up the next day at our pit with a masterpiece. I was so surprised. I wanted to share it with the whole team, but Randy, Uncle Ronnie, and I had to eat the majority of the cake ourselves (you know- checking for consistency throughout). I asked Jenni if I could post her recipe on line. She was more than happy to accommodate.
You can thank Julia Jordan and her mother Sonja Holton for the next great surprise. They stopped by the kitchen with Apricot Pepper Jelly. Wow- is was great.
I asked for the recipe to share it with all of you. I am sure that you will love the flavor. Julia claims that it is great with cream cheese and crackers or bagels. She said it also makes a nice glaze for ham or chicken. I am going to add it to my BBQ sauce next time I cook pork ribs.
Thanks to all the great NHRA fans for making my job so much fun.
-Enjoy
Death by Chocolate Cake
(Makes 1 cake)
BY: Jenni Stephens
Ingredients:
1 Package Chocolate Cake Mix (your favorite)
12 Ounces Diet Coke
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1 Can Chocolate Frosting
Procedure:
-Mix the chocolate cake mix and diet coke together until well mixed
-Pour the cake mix into non-stick baking pan.
-Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the cake mix
-Bake according to the cake mix directions
-Remove cake from pan; cool to room temperature
-Microwave the frosting for 30 seconds; pour over cake evenly
Back to the story.
In February of this year I was chatting with Chef Nicky and introduced him to my Death By Chocolate Cake. He had never heard about soda cakes and was quite surprised.
Here is the story that he published on the NHRA & Team Jegs website.
3/24/2008
Hail to the Fans!
Let’s face it- NHRA fans are the greatest!
I am in my seventh season with Team JEGS. Before I started, I had no idea what drag racing was all about. I had heard of a Funny Car, but had no idea what they looked like. I didn’t know what a Top Fuel car was until Woody put me between two on the starting line at the Phoenix race in 2002. They rocked my world. And, Pro Stock??? I definitely had no idea what that meant. It took me forever to figure out the Christmas tree. I asked someone on the crew every week how it worked until Roy Simmons physically took me to the starting line before a race. He and I both got in a lane and we broke the light beams with our feet until I understood how it worked. He also explained a few strategies. Thanks Roy! I also had no idea how the fans could travel so far to see their favorite driver spend less than a minute of total race time for the whole weekend.
Well, let me tell you... You all hooked me!
I am now a huge fan. My parents have never been into racing, and you hooked them too. And, because I am my Mother’s son, and I work for JEGS, Jeg can do no wrong. She is a huge JEGS fan. Greg- Mom thinks that you are a nice guy, but you better watch out when the cars get in the water-box. She means business!
From day one I can say that I have not stopped meeting wonderful people involved in NHRA POWERade Drag Racing. We (as a team) always get a warm welcome at all the races. I meet many fans while I am traveling. I even meet some in the grocery stores who want to know what I am cooking for the weekend. Our pit gets crazy sometimes with people wanting to chat and get an autograph. It is great!
We have different fans that stop by every week and want to talk about food. I have had people send books, recipes and food to my house as well as the track. We can always count on Janine to stop by with some cookies when we are out west. Hobbie and Becky from Nebraska stopped by our pit last year with what had to be some of the best produce I have ever seen out of someone’s garden.
I try to sneak out and go pit hopping when I can. I like to see what other people are cooking. It is fun for me to experience the different tastes from race to race. I may go see Anthony Bertozzi for a little of his famous "Duct Tape Chicken," or lay back with "Jimmy the Shoe" for a grilled hot dog. And, if you are in Texas or Memphis and you have BBQ- I will find you! I love the mix of BBQ from Tennessee to Texas. Saint Louis has great ribs too. I always visit the Bayou Boys and the Garrison’s when we are at the JEGS Cajun SPORTSnationals to get a taste of true Cajun cuisine.
This brings me to the next recipes that I would like to share with all of you.
I recently had Jenni Stephens stop by our pits in Pomona. She wanted to see what was going on in the culinary world. We chatted for a while before she stunned me with the question: Did I ever make a cake with Diet Coke? (Don’t ever think that you have seen or heard it all.) She told me how easy it was to make, and how good it was. There was no need for me to try and make it because she showed up the next day at our pit with a masterpiece. I was so surprised. I wanted to share it with the whole team, but Randy, Uncle Ronnie, and I had to eat the majority of the cake ourselves (you know- checking for consistency throughout). I asked Jenni if I could post her recipe on line. She was more than happy to accommodate.
You can thank Julia Jordan and her mother Sonja Holton for the next great surprise. They stopped by the kitchen with Apricot Pepper Jelly. Wow- is was great.
I asked for the recipe to share it with all of you. I am sure that you will love the flavor. Julia claims that it is great with cream cheese and crackers or bagels. She said it also makes a nice glaze for ham or chicken. I am going to add it to my BBQ sauce next time I cook pork ribs.
Thanks to all the great NHRA fans for making my job so much fun.
-Enjoy
Death by Chocolate Cake
(Makes 1 cake)
BY: Jenni Stephens
Ingredients:
1 Package Chocolate Cake Mix (your favorite)
12 Ounces Diet Coke
1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1 Can Chocolate Frosting
Procedure:
-Mix the chocolate cake mix and diet coke together until well mixed
-Pour the cake mix into non-stick baking pan.
-Sprinkle the chocolate chips onto the cake mix
-Bake according to the cake mix directions
-Remove cake from pan; cool to room temperature
-Microwave the frosting for 30 seconds; pour over cake evenly
Second Cake
For the second class we were able to bring cupcakes instead of a cake. Here are the results.
Friday, August 29, 2008
I finally did it!
I have always wanted to learn the art of cake decorating but never had the time or money to do it. Now that I have graduated college, I have more time but the money is questionable. My mom was at Alins Party Supplies in Covina and noticed a flyer for cake decorating classes. She told me about it and encouraged me to sign up. And I did!
Here is my first cake! Don't Laugh!
Here is my first cake! Don't Laugh!
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