Let them eat cake....

I have a new love, cake decorating. Last summer I was in search of the perfect white cake recipe for my sister's wedding cake. I tried all the cake mixes on the shelf at the grocery store and none passed the test. I had to have the perfect white cake . I did find a couple of good recipes passed on to me from a reliable source and they were good, I tried those recipes for the bridal shower cakes. Since the wedding I have found my one and final recipe from America's Test Kitchen cookbook. I have the perfect buttercreme frosting recipe and I purchase the raspberry filling from Cash & Carry or from Hobby Center. Anyone need a cake? I LOVE to make them.

These are the two cakes I did for my sister's bridal shower. I had two different recipes I tried and experimented with a little color too(I didn't like the color at all)

Here is my sister's wedding cake. My good friends Naomi and Carol Ann moved the cake from the room where I decorated it into the cultural hall. I couldn't watch...I just had to have faith it would make it. It was a heavy cake, 4 double layers with a lemon flavored filling.

One of my family's favorite shows is Cake Boss on TLC. I had ordered the discs from Netflix since we don't have cable tv. I was perming the girls hair and the entire family came in and sat and watched all the episodes on that disc. We have since watch all the three seasons of that show. Now the kids want fondant cakes, Cake Boss style....

Yum....

Last Saturday I tried another great recipe, Philly Cheesesteaks, from Sara & Kate's cooking blog, Our Best Bites . They were awesome! Steve likes spicy so I stepped it up a notch into the spicy category by using cheddar jalapeno rolls from Walmart! Highly recommended! I bought enough meat and rolls for 4 sandwiches, two for now and two for later. The kids love corn dogs so that's what they got! Everyone was happy.

I also tried the Lime-Cilantro with Pineapple Rice recipe they have and it too was so good! The kids were all drooling from the smell as I was preparing the rice. They have not had much fresh cilantro and so they were a little picky about that, but loved the pineapple. We will make this again, the cilantro will grow on them with more exposure! (sounds like a disease)

Caramel Apples...mmmmm!

I can hardly wait for the fair to come! One of the treats I only get at the fair is the caramel apple, sliced, with the warm caramel sauce poured over it! This is one of my all-time favorites! In one of my feeds I get through my Google Reader I saw this tutorial for a miniature Carmel Apple. Now I know it is not rocket science to make caramel apples but this is a fun twist. I just didn't think about doing it on a small scale using a melon scooper to make apple balls to dip into the sauce. Check out this tutorial. My kids are going to love this! I think this might be our next Family Night refreshment!