Baking up a Winter Wonderland!

Happy February!!  ... As I sit down after finishing up my husband's birthday cake ready for his birthday celebrations tomorrow and Monday, it is finally time to tell you all about last week's super exciting cake and cupcake project I was so happy to work on.

 

 

Contacted by a friend of a friend on my Facebook page, I was asked if I could make a 60th birthday cake, as well as 2 dozen cupcakes each with different messages on, as their family had a whole lot of celebrations going on at the same time!

 

The order was for an Earl Grey cake with lemon buttercream, just like I made for the bridal shower cupcakes, and nautical themed summer cake, this time with some cute Winter themed decorations, and no fondant icing, just buttercream to coat the cake. 

 

 

Although the request for the covering of the cake was not "too sweet", and no fondant icing - I did ask if I could create the decorations with fondant which was fine by them, so I got to work creating my stars of the show - the fondant penguins that would be sitting on top of the cake, showing off the idea of a winter wonderland!

 

 

Did you see these on my Facebook page, or the sneak peek of the picture below on Instagram?!  I love showing off a picture or two, but in this case couldn't show much more before the cake had been delivered!  To see early previews of my projects, follow me on Facebook/ Instagram now!!!!

  

 

 

The same time as I made the penguins (who I didn't want to give away!!!) I also created a tree made out of 2 colours of green fondant cut out with star cookie cutters, of a few different sizes so it could gradually get smaller towards to the top.

 

The lake was a pale blue cut out of fondant, with blue glitter writing icing piped around the outside of the lake to give a water/icy look to it.

 

A winter scene, with blue buttercream tear drop shaped piping around the bottom, and the Happy Birthday message as requested by the family piped around the cake board.

 

They also wanted 2 dozen chocolate cupcakes with mint buttercream icing, with the tags, similar to my bridal shower cupcakes, and winter mini cupcakes I made last year. 

 

 

I went for a pale green and pale blue colour card stock, with the same Love Letter Typewriter font as I used on my previous tags with a similar design.  

 

I also made some green/blue mini snowflakes out of fondant that I used on each cupcake, either one or two on each cake. 

There were SO many different celebrations happening in the family, I did 24 cupcakes, with 12 different messages... so each person/couple had 2 cupcakes with their personal message on.  I love how the tags make it so easy, but yet so effective to customise to anybody's celebration.  I really enjoy crafting before baking as well, so I'm pleased people keep requesting these on their orders - I love making them!! 

Here they all are, ready to be delivered! 

I took a quick snap of the cake and cupcakes all set out, just as I delivered them.. Here they are, ready to be enjoyed!  Hope the whole family loved them :)  Congratulations to everyone for everything you're celebrating!!

Commission me a . . . Carrot Cake!

Wahoo my blog is a year old!!  This is the first post in Sew Lah Tea Dough's second year... Here's to hoping I'm still here writing every week this time in 2015!

This year has seen some of my greatest bakes and makes... but it has also had it's fair share of frustration, late nights and mistakes too!  All in all, I am SUPER happy with how everything has gone, that I'm here still writing every week about something I have made or crafted, I'm learning to take better photos, I'm trying to always think of something I can make better, improve on next time or do a different way.  I love love LOVE to try new recipes, and love a challenge.

This past year, actually the past few months I have had some amazing opportunities to bake for other people.  Being a music teacher, I love the term 'commission'... I know usually it isn't a term used in baking, more so for art or musical compositions but I'm a muso so I'm thinking "Commission me a Cake"!?  What do you think?  A new line for Sew Lah Tea Dough?!

So this past week I was commissioned to make a cake and cupcakes for a 60th birthday party.. (you'll see that soon I promise!)... but then I got a message asking me if I could whip up a Carrot Cake for an office birthday celebration.  Was I just starting my new job?!  Was I working 13 hour days?!  Was I busy enough!?  Well.... yes... But am I crazy?!  YES!  Of course I said yes!  I had a few hours spare, and what better way to spend them than baking.  So, birthday carrot cake baking here I came!

I used a Martha Stewart recipe for my inspiration with this, and also went with a traditional cream cheese frosting.  I'm personally not a huge fan of cream cheese frosting, but I was surprised with how delicious this recipe was!  I'd definitely use it again.

My favourite part of the cake was definitely the marzipan carrots!  I love marzipan, and had a lot of fun creating these little guys!  I left them overnight to dry but then, before frosting the cake (just before delivery!) I also painted them with food colouring.  A mix of food colouring and a splash of vodka (which does evaporate when it dries!) and a paintbrush and there I had orange carrots with green leaves. 

Another recipe for the box, I loved the taste of the carrot cake - using pecans instead of walnuts, and also not too spicy.  It made a perfect amount for a 9-inch sandwich cake, just what I needed for this.  I also got a couple of cupcakes out of it as well - good to be able to taste-test when you can't actually cut a slice of the actual cake!

Ingredients (for the cake):

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
12oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup water
1 pound carrots, peeled and grated (about 2 3/4 cups of the grated carrots)
1 cup finely chopped pecans.

Method:

1.  Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 9-inch round sandwich cake pans.  Line the bottoms with parchment paper, and grease the parchment again. 

2.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.

 

3.  Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixer, until pale and fluffy. 

4.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5.  Add the vanilla, water and carrots, and beat well until combined. 

 



 6.  Reduce the speed of the mixer to low, and add flour mixture, then finely chopped pecans.

 

7.  Divide the batter evenly between the two pans, and bake until golden brown, and when a toothpick comes out clean ~ around 30 minutes.



 

8.  Remove the cakes from the oven, and leave to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. 

 



 

 

 

Once my cakes were cooled, I actually left them overnight, stacked with a piece of parchment paper in between them, and in an airtight cake container.  The following evening would be for frosting and decorating!

 

However, to save time the next day (which is when I would be frosting, decorating and also delivering the cake) I pre-made the frosting and left in the fridge overnight, as well as making the marzipan carrots!

 

Here I am mid-everything... Carrots sculpted, planning out the sizing...

 

And then the following evening... I got to painting them!  I had tried colouring the marzipan the previous evening, but didn't really like the colour I got with the colourings, so decided to paint them instead!  It gave a vibrant colour, and I love how it showed up the etching I did on the carrots.

 

 

 

Ingredients (for the cream cheese frosting - it made MORE than enough to fill and cover the 9 inch cake!):

16oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup unsalted butter
32oz icing sugar

Method:

1.  Beat together cream cheese, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

2.  Gradually add butter, beating well.

3.  With the mixer speed on low, gradually add the icing sugar, beating well until incorporated.

Like I mentioned, I left the cream cheese in the fridge overnight.  So when I got home from work the next evening, I took the frosting out of the fridge right away... it was still a little cold, but after some beating with a wooden spoon it softened up and was able to be spread - filling the cake first!

... and then covering the top and sides with more frosting!

 

The birthday girl's colleagues asked for a birthday message to be written on the cake, so after writing this, I changed my mind about the placement of the carrots - instead of all around the edge, I bunched three together in a little cluster. 

 

Yup, that was three very similar photos in a row!  ... I just couldn't decide which one to use! 

 

Hopefully they had a great lunchtime office birthday party, and once again - thanks for commissioning me a cake :)  It was a lot of fun to make, and I'm happy to have this recipe for another time!



1 Year Celebration!

I cannot believe it!  This week marks my blog's 1st birthday... 1st anniversary... Whatever the real term for my blog being public for 1 year now.  I have written a post every week for 52 weeks, occasionally a couple per week!  I have gotten better at taking photos specifically for tutorials on the blog, or for showcasing some of my favourite bakes and makes.  I have built up my Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram followers, and love to share what I've been up to with you all!  I have been lucky enough to be featured on some amazing blogs, and am so happy you have enjoyed the things I have created!

So this week, to say thank you to you my readers and supporters, just for now this is a little post to let you all know I'M HAVING MY FIRST CUPCAKE COMPETITION!  ... I'm excited y'know!

In celebration of my year of blogging, I am doing a 'Cupcakes By The Dozen' giveaway through my Facebook page.  Click here and take a look at how to win.  Like the page, share the photo and tell me your favourite cupcake flavour is all you need to do.  ... Because really, who doesn't like cupcakes?! 

I truly love to bake cake.. did you know?!  The collage shows 12 of my favourite cupcakes I have created over the past year.  You could win a dozen cupcakes in your favourite flavour, if you're a local... Or if not - I'll mail out some fondant cupcake toppers! 

Help me celebrate with this small, but fun giveaway!

And for a true Sew Lah Tea Dough blog post, check back later this week for something delicious I can't disclose just yet! 

Snow + Ice = Cookies?!

 

If only all this snow and ice actually was only pretty and not cold or dangerous!  I can't really complain however... This is perhaps the first truly Canadian winter I have ever experienced.  It certainly will be the longest winter if it continues with these cold temperatures right through to March based on how early it started!  And so far I think it is the most snow, and most definitely the most ice I have seen in the 4 1/2 years I have lived here now!

 

The thing is, I love the winter... I love the snow and actually when the ice storm hit - we got some of the best icy/winter weather photos of all!  So apart from the big bruise I'm sporting on my knee from not one but two slips in the same spot of ice this morning I am enjoying the weather, no matter how cold!

 

So a few weeks ago, after creating the Cookie Wreaths for Rethink Breast Cancer I made these church shaped cookies, originally planned to have at our church Christmas concert.  I used the same sugar cookie recipe... because really, what was 36 more cookies when I had already made 145!!!!

 

 

I bought this church cookie cutter in the summer from Degrees, one of my favourite shops to go in Toronto - especially for their cookie cutter selection that changes with the season :)  I had never had the chance to use it, but wanting to take these treats to our concert at church before the holidays I thought it was the perfect opportunity!

 

I used my go-to sugar cookie recipe - click here to see it used in the wreath and to find all the details!

 

With the weather already turned into a full blown winter before we even saw the Christmas holidays I was inspired by snow and ice to decorate these cookies.

 

 

Using royal icing (recipe also here) I simply piped the top part of the church roof with 'snow'...or actually with the pure white royal icing!  I piped at random the 'icicles' without really worrying too much about how long or short they were hanging!

 



 



Then, using the coarse sugar I have been LOVING this winter season I sprinkled it across the top edge, and filling in the church spire for some bonus sparkle and frosted icy look!

 



I really liked how simple the cookies looked, the contrast of the white against just the plain colour of the cookie - it not only meant for not a huge decorating task but also a simple design giving the snowy icing the full glory on the slightly 'different' cookie in the shape of a church.

 

Originally these were going to be church concert cookies, but with the power outage meaning we had to wait until Christmas Eve to sing and play these cookies ended up being 'Church at Christmas' cookies instead, taking them along to eat for our 2nd dessert on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as well as a sneaky few shared a little earlier in the week!

It was definitely the most cookie crazy pre-Christmas I've ever had... But I love it!  There were many many stacks of cookies like this all around our condo - either waiting to cool, to be iced, waiting to dry or just ready to eat for a good couple of weeks!

 

But it's back to normal now, and it's been a little crazy getting back to school/work and also getting ready for my new job that starts on Monday!  I've been doing a LOT of prep for it so I haven't had much time for crafting/baking but don't worry - I'll be back on it soon enough - there are exciting birthdays and Valentine's Day coming up so no excuse not to be creative!

 

Happy Sunday everybody! 

Whether or not you were at a church that looked like this today, I hope you're enjoying the winter season and it's not TOO cold for you where you are!!