Tractor Cake for the Birthday Boys

My sister-in-law called me last week and asked if I could make a cake for her little boy's birthday. Ummm heck yes I want to make a tractor cake!!

 

Now to decide if I want to make a 3D cake or a sheet cake with some toy tractors on it. What two year old wouldn't want to push his tractors through a field of frosting and Oreo! Then I remember my crafty aunt has oodles of the Wilton formed cake pans. I gave her a jingle jangle, yes she had a tractor pan, of course I could borrow it.

  Alas I have no decent picture of the cake itself but the smirk on this little boys face should tell you it was a hit. Naturally he was drawn to the black frosting on the wheels.

That's his Buppa in the picture, they happen to share a birthday. Lucky boys!!

Ruffle Cake

Growing up my Grandma always made the same cake every year for her birthday. An angel food cake with whipped cream frosting tinted mint green. It wasn't my favorite, not sweet enough. A fact I think I was more than vocal about on several occasions.

 

This weekend I made a cake with mint green frosting for my mother's birthday. I used a butter cream not whipped cream - I still partial to the sweeter frostings. As my family and I sat around the table enjoying our desert we reminisced about Grandma's mint green cake. I would love to be able to try it one more time. I know I would like it now and I would love to be able to tell her that.  

 

 

 

Quality Controll

Happy Monday to you! Did you have a good weekend? Over here at the Acres we had a busy one! There was some spring cleaning, furniture building, Sunday dinner with the fam, and we had a house guest all weekend.

He took one for the team and quality checked the frosting for the cake we were making for Sunday.

He heartily approved.

Tell me, what is it about kids covered in sugary sticky frosting that makes them so darn cute?

Almond Berry Cake

Last month Mr. B's parents celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary. Sunday some of there friends threw a surprise party for them. I was asked to bring the cake. 

I made a white cake with almond berry filling and almond frosting. I topped it with fresh berries and almond slivers. 

I never know how many people are going to be at these things and how much cake they eat. So I made cupcakes. Of course they were matchie-matchie. 

Turtle Cake

As promised....

I baked a cake.

Monday.

A turtle cake. 

Yellow cake with chocolate ganache, caramel, coconuts, and pecans.

Yesterday was my father-in-law's birthday.

He turned 29. He's been 29 since Mr. B and I started dating.

You need a cake to celebrate your 28th anniversary of your 29th Birthday!

Funfetti Cake

I built a bed this weekend. Yup a bed. Headboard, footboard, and a frame. OK Mr. B helped me. But still, we built a bed. We turned a pile of lumber to an awesome piece of furniture.

But more importantly I baked a cake this weekend.

A Funfetti Cake.

With Sprinkles on top.

My friend turned the big 3-0 today.

Sprinkles are needed to celebrate this occasion.

I promise more details on the bed tomorrow.

For now lets admire the yumminess.

Cupcake Gig

I had my fist paying gig for cupcakes!! 75 of them for a graduation party. My Friday evening was spent hanging in the kitchen, slaving over my kitchen aid. Man how I love that thing!! I don't care what any one says, it was much better than getting diamonds from you sweetie for Christmas and so much more practical. 

I know Friday evening spent bonding with a mixer and doing five loads of dishes. Is that what you call them, loads? It sounds more like I was doing laundry. Maybe we should call them sink-fulls. But what I did amounted to way more than five sink-fulls. Sink-fulls just doesn't express the sheer volume of dishes as vividly as I would like. Batches? No that doesn't sound quite right either. I'm going to need to think on this for a while. 

So anywho Friday night, cupcakes and dishes not the most glamorous thing to be doing on you Friday evening. I did get a nice sugar buzz going and I swear I had a cake hangover the following morning. I made 75 cupcakes 100 cupcakes. One batch didn't turn out as pretty as I would have likes, I think I over mixed the batter when I added the strawberries.

Edible, yes.

Delicious, yes.

Pretty, oh hell no!

I couldn't sell those babies. They looked like wrinkly old lady skin with pink blotches all over. I know pictures would be nice here, but in the heat of the moment taking pictures of my nasty looking cupcakes was not a priority. I had to turn the oven back on and give it another go. Don't worry they weren't a total loss, the boys at work thought they were great. Free cupcakes, who cares what they look like!

I went for my stnd by white cake this time. Thankfully my client, Mr. B's aunt, didn't have many specifications about them just red and white. Client sounds so important and official don't it? Gives me the warm fuzzies inside. Client. 

I even went all Martha Stewart and made these cupcake toppers. I had some Wisconsin Badger fabric hanging out upstairs, some wooden skewers, and a glue gun. I blame the sugar high for a sudden burst of energy at the end. You know you need to quality check the frosting. The grad is attending UW Madison this fall. I thought they were a nice touch.

I know pictures of the cutsy toppers but none of the cupcakes. Disastrous or nice!! I had every intention of taking pictures of the good ones once they were set up at the event. But the camera got left on the counter, I blame the cake hangover.

Loads, it's loads of dishes. I consulted google and that's what it came up with. Now we can all sleep better tonight.

Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Buttercream Frosting

It's been rainy out lately. No yard work being done here. And it has been too gloomy and dark to do any decent painting. The stairs are almost done, can't wait to show you! I got quite a pile of sewing done this weekend. Tonight I thought I would give the machine a break tonight and bake a cake. After all my coworker's birthday is tomorrow. 

I decided to go with a simple chocolate cake and fancy it up with hazelnut frosting. Really cake, in my opinion is mainly about the frosting, that's what makes it divine. Now Mr. B, he would scrap all that gooey sugary deliciousness every time. I know, I married a man who DISLIKES frosting!! The horror! 

I used the old stand by chocolate cake, the never fail me Better Homes and Gardens recipe. Now for the frosting I made the usual butter cream with a secret ingredient. 

Yup, that's right hazelnut creamer.

 I discovered this on accident one day when I was making frosting and there was NO milk, cream, or half and half to be had. It turned out delicious and it goes fabulous with chocolate cake. Sprinkle a few chocolate shavings on top and call her a day. Now off to do all those dishes.

Chocolate Chip Banana Cake

Because it's Wednesday and the first 80 degree day this year and I can finally open my kitchen window (the new ones were installed today!!), I decided to bake a cake. It was either that or get my bum kick by Jillian Michaels. I chose the obvious decision. Cake. Really, who would want to work out when they could make delicious cake and perform all the necessary quality checks. 


I had bananas sitting on the counter. It was only a matter of time before they attracted fruit flies. Banana cake it was, with chocolate chips. There were some hanging in the cupboard,I had meant to make Mr. B chocolate chip cookies weeks ago. Now for frosting. No cream cheese to be had in this house. My usual frosting for banana cake. What goes well with bananas...Peanut Butter!! Peanut butter honey frosting it was. 


The combination is amazing. Bananas, peanut butter, honey, and chocolate oh my! Even Mr. B who is NOT a desert person approved.

Banana Cake


1/2 cup butter softened
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3ish bananas
(half bag of chocolate chips optional)


Cream together butter and sugar. Add sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix flour, sugar, and baking soda. Alternately add mashed bananas and dry ingredients. If adding chocolate chips mix them in at this time. Pour batter into a 11x17 jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes. 
Let cool completely.


Peanut Butter Honey Frosting


1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. water
2 cups powdered sugar


Cream together butter, peanut butter, and honey. Add vanilla and water. Add sugar mix until well blended.