New Work



It's probably pretty obvious that I've been going through a long creative dry spell this year. Since I left pastry school, I've been struggling to figure out what to do next. While I'd love to make a living making cakes, there is a small matter of needing to have health insurance and being able to pay my bills :(  So, I've been trying to figure out what's next and have been working a pretty terrible temp job in the meantime. Truth be told, the schedule is terrible and leaves me with little energy at the end of the day for anything creative. So, I'm looking for something better and trying to keep on truckin'.

My sister and I decided to participate in the Red Hot Art festival again this year. It's the only festival we'll probably do this year but I thought I better have some new work to show for all my MANY fans. 



Coconut Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I have been thinking about making a pineapple upside-down cake for a while now. It started when my thoughtful friend brought me back some specialty salt from Hawaii. See the picture at the bottom? I'm still thinking of ways to use it!

I adapted this recipe (found on Pinterest, of course):
http://www.monsoonspice.com/2011/12/caramel-pear-upside-down-cake-guest.html

RECIPE

Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

pinch salt

pineapple (I used canned but fresh would be super delicious!)

Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
6 oz. (3/4 cup) yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons coconut extract
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sweetened grated coconut

Butter (or spray) and line a 9 inch cake pan and arrange the pineapple slices in a circle at the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Place a saucepan over medium low heat and melt the sugar and butter.
Once the mix begins to bubble and caramelize a bit, swirl the pan or stir using a spatula and take it off the heat.
Pour over the pineapple slices, making sure you don’t disturb the pattern. Set aside.

Cake Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine  flour, coconut, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
Into a separate bowl, combine in the sugar, eggs, yogurt and extracts and whisk together till well combined.
Still whisking, add the dry ingredients bit by bit, until fully mixed (no dry spots) but do not overmix. Fold or gently stir oil into batter. Again, don't overmix!

Pour or spread the cake batter gently on top of the pineapple slices. Bake for about 45  minutes or until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Cool  on a wire rack for about 5 minutes then turn it upside down onto a serving plate. If you wait longer, it may not come out cleanly! I sprinkled a little bit of my fancy salt on the top but that's optional, of course.

Ocean-Themed Cake

I had a request for an ocean/beach birthday cake for an adult. I knew I wanted something a little more sophisticated than most of the beach cakes that you see so decided to keep the color scheme simple and natural. I also wanted a nice balance of decorative elements. So many cakes look like the decorator just piled on fondant or chocolate decorations until they couldn't fit any more. What's that rule in fashion - get all dressed up and then take off two accessories? Something like that applies to cakes, too, I think.

I promise I will post the recipe for the actual cake soon! However, I was most excited about making the candy "sea glass", shells (white candy melts poured into molds and decorated with dark chocolate accents) and "sand" (Nilla wafers pulsed in the food processor).

I got the sea glass idea from here (another awesome Pinterest find!):
http://thekidcancook.blogspot.com/2011/05/cooking-up-party-sea-glass-candy.html

The technique is pretty easy but it takes a long time and you ABSOLUTELY need a candy (or digital cooking) thermometer.

Overall, the cake turned out pretty much exactly the way I envisioned with minimal drama! Yay!

Spring? Not really, but.....

a girl can dream, right? Now that it's March, I'm starting to get serious spring fever. This winter has been very mild but we actually do have some snow on the ground this week. It's supposed to be in the 50's next week, though- yahoo!

I took these pics at the Como conservatory a couple weeks ago. They have their spring flower display out in the sunken garden and it's beautiful! It gave me a small dose of spring...maybe, hopefully, enough to last me until real spring arives :)

Rosie Cake

I made this cake just for fun and to get some practice making buttercream roses. I like the sprinkles and roses but think I probably should have stuck to one color rose rather than this ombre effect. It might be a little too much. Some of the roses got a little smooshed while I was trying to take the cake in and out of the fridge.

This Weekend

The view from the (frigid, windy) bridge across the Mississippi, heading from our neighborhood down to the Winter Carnival parade....

...and the white squirrel who lives in the tree next to our house. We call him "Al" - actually, we call all white squirrels Al (short for Albino). I think he's happy that there is finally a little snow around to camouflage himself.

The parade was fun! There were Vulcans and Klondike Kates (crazy traditions that I barely understand), bands, and unicyclers.

A trip to Mojo Monkey Donuts! Yay! This place is right on my way to work and has been open for months. Lucky for my waistline that I hate getting up early more than I love donuts :) Still, it's gotten rave reviews so I was excited that I had time to stop by this morning.

Mmmm....Mango Coconut, Maple Bacon, and Carrot Cake! I tried all three. My favorite was the mango coconut and I'm not usually a huge fan of raised donuts. Delicious!

This orange guy on the dashboard always looks like he's looking disapprovingly at the speedometer. The purple dude is dejected because the weekend is over.

More Drawings

More drawings this week! They're an outlet for my spring/growing things yearnings :)

I've also been reading The Happiness Project (book) by Gretchen Rubin. She also has a blog:

http://www.happiness-project.com/

It's a quick read and has enough substance to be thought-provoking while not being a drag to get through.