*Cake Walk...version 2.0*

*Build-A-Bear School Cheerleader Cake* -bear shaped vanilla bean, butter cake with vanilla frosting, cocoa glaze with turbinado sugar coating, decorated with red, white and blue fondant and festive foil party picks for pom-poms

*Notre Dame Stadium/Touchdown Jesus Cake* -chocolate stadium cake decorated with blue and gold sparkle piping gel and blue and gold sugar sprinkles, fondant field, ND emblem, walkways and trees decorated with luster dust and a hand-painted "Touchdown Jesus" on gum paste in the end zone.

First, the Cheer Bear cake. Yes, the Build-A-Bear cake makes a return visit to my modest kitchen (see Ho-Ho-OH! November '09). I know, I know, I was a little...well, thrown last time this pan was used, but it's all a learning experience, so this time I was prepared. Right? Sort of. As this pan has been discontinued and impossible to find info on via the interweb, the cheerleader costume was completely custom made. And a real 'bear' to construct without the aide of helpful templates like the ones provided in the kits sold at Williams-Sonoma. But I thought this time would be different because I was using their cake recipe from the box and was confident there would be no cracked tails or missing ears once unmolded. I followed every direction to the letter, but it's cake, and I'm going to have to learn sometime cake will always win.

Luckily, no broken ears and the tail was intact-yippee! But to my shock and horror, the neck was not very sturdy on one side and there was a crack...a CRACK?! So I froze the cake in the hopes it would magically glue itself together. Little did I know that trying to frost a frozen cake would spell T-R-O-U-B-L-E, especially one that needs to stick together seamlessly. Trimming that cake while still in the pan when there wasn't enough batter, it just doesn't work. Frosting Try #2 came only after the fast frozen stuff was scraped off and the bear went under the knife. Then suddenly, it all came together, even the neck, crisis averted!

Dressing the bear was another challenge, but after learning to pleat fondant with the best of them, I thought I'd have a little fun and try a technique I saw in a very fancy cookbook I have called The Flour Pot Cookie Book by Margie and Abbey Greenberg. In the book, they show how you can embed rolled fondant with fondant cut-outs into a kind of wallpaper pattern. Once the pattern is complete, you can cut out whatever shapes you need with a cookie cutter or knife and use to decorate cookies or cakes with an extra fun flair! I know it's hard to tell from this picture, but this cheer bear's bow has paw prints on it...adorable! And who doesn't love a little shine and sparkle-RAH, RAH!

The second cake, a replica of Notre Dame's football stadium, came with a challenge of it's own-a request for a "Touchdown Jesus" to go with it. Now, I've gone to Catholic school my whole life, even stood in with my high school band for the Fighting Irish when their band couldn't make the trip for a ND v. Stanford football game (Go Cardinal!), but I had never heard of a "Touchdown Jesus". So research was in order.  Imagine my surprise when it turns out that it was actually a mural on the campus library that can be seen from above the stadium near the end zone. It's really quite impressive, see for yourself! Since the cake itself didn't require frosting or fondant, it was nice to have the painting of the mural to spread my artistic wings. Just in case you are wondering, the nickname for the mural has to do more with the position of His arms than the location of the mural to the stadium. Either way, I think it's just hilarious!

Thank you Google Images!!!

*Play Ball!*

                                                               *Click To Enlarge Images*

*TNT Softball Cake*-2 layer chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, decorated with green and brown fondant, a mini cake softball in fondant with luster dust and fondant design, and assorted baseball decorations (sugar, fondant and plastic), complete with gum paste softball player 

*NY Mets Baseball Cake*-2 layer chocolate cake with vanilla frosting, decorated with green and brown fondant, a mini cake baseball in fondant with luster dust and fondant design, and assorted baseball decorations (sugar, fondant and plastic), complete with gum paste baseball player 

The Great American Past-time....Baseball! I have adored baseball since the first time my grandparents took my sister and I to freezing Candlestick Park in San Francisco when I was 8 years old. And, let me just tell you how lonely it can be to be a Giants fan near Dodgertown, not to mention the year I moved south was the year the Anaheim Angels (yeah, I said it, ANAHEIM!) beat my beloved Giants in the 2002 World Series. Oh, but one day I will have my revenge!

Anyway... if I can be involved in anything baseball related, I'm more than thrilled to try and knock one out of the park. A former student and her brother needed cakes for their end of the season parties and I have to say, the ideas for these cakes came rather quickly. For as similar as these cakes were, there were enough individual touches to make them each unique. It's easy to be motivated when you love what you are doing!

There were so many things to like about these cakes, but I have to say, my favorite has to be the little gum paste players. Having never worked with gum paste, I was excited to see what this medium brings to a cake. It was interesting, but I think the jury is still out until I've practiced with it more.  But, gosh, aren't they cute?

*Celebrate It All!*

Chocolate Lollipops-shaped like a certain famous mouse in cute red shorts!

It's no secret I'm a HUGE Disney fan, and although I own not only the pancake/egg mold and a cookie cutter with Mickey's silhouette, I decided I could "wing-it" when creating a little treat for a friend who was performing in a Disney fundraiser show. 

I've been taking more baby steps into the world of homemade chocolates, and this was by far the biggest plunge. I'm pretty proud of the fact that they turned out well enough to give as a gift, however, I think from now on, I will stick to dipping treats in chocolate. I'll leave the real chocolate making to the true professionals, like Willy Wonka.

"What will YOU celebrate?"

*That's A Spicy Meatball!*

Spaghetti & Meatballs Cupcakes- chocolate cupcakes with ivory tinted frosting, with grass piping tip, topped with sparkle red decorating gel and small chocolate decorations

Mama Mia! These might be the cutest cupcakes I've made to date! It was in honor of the first of the last Williams-Sonoma cooking classes I would be attending this past spring. Can you guess what that night's theme was? Why Italian cooking, of course! And, I was in need of a baking project, so I whipped together these little treats just for fun.  It's the portable version of the spaghetti cupcakes from one of my favorite cookbooks Hey There, Cupcake! by Clare Crespo. 

Slightly off topic, but if you find yourself anywhere near Brea, CA and the desire to join a cooking class strikes, do yourself a favor and sign up for a class, hosted by Jonathan, of course! It's the best time you'll ever have, and you get 10% off your purchase that night! Can't beat that with a stick of butter...

*Super Duper Bowl*

Stadium & football shaped chocolate Brownie cake, dark chocolate ganache, sprinkles, decorating icing

I got invited to a Super Bowl party, and since I haven't cared for NFL football since the dynasty that was the Bill Walsh-era San Francisco 49ers, I busied myself with dessert! It was all sort of last minute, but as you will see in a future post (see ND/Touchdown Jesus cake), it was great practice. 

More than that, I learned a valuable lesson that day, the Wilton sports silicone baking pan gave off an awful smell and has since been relegated to the back of the baking closet until I can figure out why. And, yes, it really is a closet o' baking stuff...it's been ages since all my baking stuff would fit in the kitchen!

Baking pans, cookie cutters and cookbooks....oh MY!