Tag Archives: Vanilla

a special request. [vanilla custard cake w. strawberry & vanilla ice cream, strawberry compote & whipped cream frosting]

August 4th, 2011 by | comments

Last week, the extremely sweet and talented singer/songwriter, Colbie Caillat, asked me to bake an ice cream cake for a birthday party. I gladly accepted the offer.

Since I’d never made an ice cream cake before, I relied on trial and error, baking a couple of different cakes. I combined components, techniques and recipes from various sites/chefs and came up with this delectable vanilla custard cake with strawberry and vanilla ice cream, strawberry compote and whipped cream frosting.

I created a few fondant pieces for the cake–the Chicago Bears logo and some decorative circles. This was my first time working with the gum paste, so the result was not as perfect as I’d hoped; however, now that I have a tub of fondant in my pantry, I’ve got plenty more to use for practice. :)

continue reading ››

celebration time. [almond-vanilla cupcakes w. whipped raspberry cream cheese frosting & raspberry cream filling]

June 16th, 2011 by | comments

Although I didn’t make these cupcakes for my birthday (which is today :)), I thought they’d be the perfect post for the occasion.

I brought these fluffy and moist almond-vanilla cupcakes into work the other day. We had a bunch of interviews scheduled at our office for one of our clients, so I wanted to have a sweet treat for the media (it was also our intern’s birthday). The cupcakes were an absolute hit.

One of the photographers told me that he had a brief relationship with the cupcake. Clearly he approved. :)

I still have a few in my fridge, so I’m sure I’ll indulge in one today to celebrate!

continue reading ››

’tis the season. [Halloween themed vanilla cupcakes w. buttercream frosting]

October 16th, 2010 by | comments

In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to bake themed cupcakes. I chose simple vanilla cakes with buttercream frosting, which allowed for ample decorating opportunities. Since I wasn’t confident in my ability to create black frosting, I settled on purple. I most likely would have ended up with a mud-colored frosting if I mixed all the food dyes, as I am not a chemist. The only solution I’ve seen was on the show, Cupcake Wars, when a contestant used squid ink to create a deep black color. Since the ink would add unnecessary (and unwanted) flavor, I vetoed this option.

Using a different recipe, but the same decoration ideas from another blog, I made “candy corn” cupcakes. Although the cakes do not actually have candy corn in the batter, with the help of food dye, the little cakes come to resemble the candy. I divided the cupcake batter in half, dying one yellow and one orange. I proceeded to fill the liners with yellow batter first, then topped them with orange batter. Once baked, I let the cupcakes cool and piped them with a dollop of buttercream frosting and a single candy corn.

For the spider web and witch cupcakes, I used the same batter and frosting recipe as the candy corn cakes. However, instead of dying the batter, I died the frosting. While thinking of something that would be sturdy enough for the witch hat, I realized that oddly, we still had Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies (unopened) in our pantry. I figured even if the cookies were stale, they would work for presentation. The cookies worked perfectly—and still tasted fresh and crunchy. Must have some amazing preservatives!

continue reading ››

phi-licious sugar rush. [sugar cookies]

September 11th, 2010 by | comments

This weekend, I am helping my sorority with recruitment at Chapman University. Sadly, I am helping as an alumnae and not an active member. It’s been so nice getting to see and catch up with all of my 50 plus beautiful sisters. It made me realize exactly why I joined this particular sorority in the first place (not to sound cheesy).

When I brought the cookies in the room, I was not surprised to see a herd of girls dart over to snatch one. We phis do love our food!

continue reading ››