Amy Atlas Wannabe

Last week my friend Jo got married. The wedding venue was a spectacular farm, complete with gorgeous barns, rolling hills, and a peaceful lake. Jo hired a super talented florist and one of the best local caterers in town. Heather (Sweet Heather Anne) and I were lucky enough to be asked to do an Amy Atlas-esque dessert table for the reception. Jo was such a laid back bride and gave everyone a lot of creative freedom to work within her vision. Her theme was a series of playful vignettes, packed with the charm and vintage worthy of a photo spread in Once Wed. Here's a peek at her penny candy table. See what I mean? Adorable!

And this is how the dessert table turned out. To pull the look together, Heather and I used various cake stands, jadeite platters, metal canisters, and a lovely floral tablecloth from Jo's collection of vintage treasures.

Heather made the cakes, three total and each a different flavor; I made the pastries; and together, we made 8 dozen painted sugar cookies!

The cake design was inspired by Jo's wedding attire, a striking teal mermaid gown with ruching from bodice to floor and a peacock feather hair piece.

The cake flavors were a ginger sour cream cake layered with apricot-ginger jam and topped with a vanilla buttercream, a caramel cake with praline crunch buttercream, and a rich chocolate cake with mexican-spiced chocolate ganache.

In addition to cake and cookies, beautifully rustic apple and raspberry pies made by Helen and Blake of EAT catering also had prominence on the table.

The pastries included chocolate dulce de leche bars, mexican wedding cookies, and brown butter spoon cookies sandwiched with either my homemade raspberry or apricot jams.

A small detail of which I'm most proud for the display is the signage. I was stumped by how to prop up the labels and disenchanted with the numerous cheesy place card holders available for purchase.

Then DIY inspiration hit. When looking through Jo's vintage tableware collection, I saw these: rusty mattress springs with alligator clips welded to the tips meant to be used to display the table numbers.

I made a miniature version by twisting 18-gauge copper wire into the necessary shape. Then, to eliminate the shiny, new-penny look, soaked the wires in a "tarnishing" solution borrowed from a jewelry-making friend to give the perfect brown/black patina.

Making this table (every step from concept to execution) was so much fun! A perfect use of my interests and talents. It would be a dream to quit my day job and instead do this full time. Watch out Amy Atlas, one day I may just get the courage to take the leap...

two birds...

I might have a thing for owls...

so naturally, I was super excited when my friend Amanda asked me to make owl-themed sugar cookies for a baby shower. Coincidentally, the daring bakers challenged us to make September-themed sugar cookies. Owls are autumnal...right?

The September 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Mandy of “What the Fruitcake?!” Mandy challenged everyone to make Decorated Sugar Cookies based on recipes from Peggy Porschen and The Joy of Baking.

Below is my tried and true recipe for sugar cookies. I prefer the flavor and the dough is easy to work. Peggy's recipe doesn't use a leavener, which may be important if you wish to preserve a flat decorating surface or have cookie cutters with intricate edges.

Iced Sugar Cookies
Makes about 6 dozen cookies

3 cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 sticks plus 3 TBS unsalted butter, softened
1 scant cup of sugar
1 egg
1 TBS milk
2½ tsp vanilla
¼ tsp lemon zest

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy and well blended. Add egg and mix until combined. Mix in milk, vanilla, and lemon zest. Gradually stir in flour mixture until well blended. Refrigerate dough until cold (at least one hour or up to several days).

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Roll out dough on floured surface to ⅛-in thickness . Cut out desired shapes and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Chill cut cookies for ~10 minutes in the refrigerator and then transfer baking sheet to the oven. Bake 8 minutes or until edges are golden. Allow cookies to cool completely before icing.

Royal Icing

4 - 6 cups powdered sugar
4 large egg whites
4 tsp lemon Juice
2 tsp flavored extract, optional

food coloring

Beat egg whites with lemon juice until combined. Sift the icing sugar to remove lumps and add it to the egg whites. Beat on low until combined and smooth. Add desired amount of food coloring and mix until homogenous. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container.

Two amounts of icing sugar are listed. The lesser amount is good for a flooding consistency, and the larger amount is for outlining, but you can add even more for a much thicker consistency good for writing. If you add too much icing sugar or would like to make a thinner consistency, add very small amounts of water, a few drops at a time, until you reach the consistency you need.

*Vegan* Citrusy, Raspberry Triple Chocolate Layer Cake

Finally, I am posting a layer cake. I adore making layer cakes, as my profile states, but I've yet to actually put one on this blog. Layer cakes are quite celebratory in nature, kinda necessitating a reason to make them. There's been plenty to celebrate of late, I've just been down other avenues with cupcakes and macarons and cutout cookies. I was starting to think about updating my profile, removing the mention of layer cake, when my friend Karin's mom contacted me about making a cake to surprise Karin on her first wedding anniversary. Oh boy was I delighted and honored!

Immediately my head starting spinning with flavor combinations. Because Karin was my faithful canning partner last summer, I knew I wanted to do something with jam. This idea has been in the works since before Christmas! Karin's mom was really cute about pinning down the details: "It has to be vegan, I'm afraid." No problems here, I'm no stranger to vegan baking; I've got a handful of vegan friends to lean on for taste testing! While personally I prefer whole cream and real butter in my desserts, vegan baked goods are usually a snap to whip together--often less finicky in the details (although not always the case).

This is a rich, moist chocolate cake layered with homemade citrus-raspberry jam and decadent tofu-based chocolate amaretto mousse and finished with a poured chocolate ganache. All accomplished without the use of dairy (or much refined sugar for that matter). The chemistry of vegan baking really is fascinating. An early version of this cake was going to incorporate DIY vegan white chocolate as an elegant decoration, but that's a trick I've yet to master; test trials did not turn out favorably. So I assessed my strengths and looked to my friend Heather for help with fondant. The love bird decorations were inspired by a spool of ribbon used to decorate the cake board. I'm hoping it's the perfect touch of whimsy befitting a first wedding anniversary celebration.

Congratulations, Karin and Jes! And thank you, Marcia for trusting me with such an important task!

Triple Chocolate Cake
adapted from New Vegetarian
makes two 8-inch cakes
2½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 oz. dark chocolate chips, melted
½ cup canola oil, plus more for greasing cake pans
½ cup raw organic agave nectar
½ cup maple syrup
2 cups chocolate soy milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp rice vinegar
2 TBS Amaretto

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease two 8-inch cake pans with oil and line each bottom with a round of greased parchment.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl combine melted chocolate and ½ cup canola oil. Add the agave and maple syrups to the chocolate mixture, stirring to combine. In a third bowl, preferably one fitted to a stand mixer, mix together chocolate soy milk, vanilla, vinegar and Amaretto. Add the chocolate syrup mixture to the mixing bowl and stir to combine. Next add the dry ingredients to this and mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes, until a thicker batter forms.

Divide batter between prepared cake pans and bake for about 30-35 minutes until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and springs back when gently prodded. Allow cakes to cool in their pans for about 20 minutes and then turn out onto a cooling rack. Remove parchment rounds. Let cakes cool completely before frosting.

Citrusy Raspberry Jam
makes 1 pint

10 oz. raspberries, fresh or frozen
¼ cup candied kumquats in syrup with candied citrus zest, puréed

Combine raspberries and citrus purée in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Allow fruit to boil until thickened and liquid has cooked down. Consistency looser than typical jam is helpful for spreading.

Amaretto-Spiked Chocolate Mousse
straight from 101 Cookbooks
makes enough to completely frost a 4-layer, 8-inch round cake

½ cup chocolate soy milk, room temperature
10 oz. dark chocolate chips
12 oz. soft, silken tofu, drained and at room temperature
¼ cup Amaretto
¼ tsp almond extract

Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Stir occasionally until completely melted. Remove from heat. Process tofu and chocolate soy milk in a food processor until smooth. Add the melted chocolate chips and process again to fully incorporate. Stir in the Amaretto and almond extract. Taste and adjust for flavor, adding a bit more extract if needed. Keep at room temperature to frost cake or refrigerate in individual cups for several hours until firm to serve as a separate dessert.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
adapted from Post Punk Kitchen
makes enough to glaze a 4-layer, 8-inch round cake

¾ cups soy creamer
6 TBS nonhydrogenated margarine (such as Earth Balance buttery sticks)
10 oz dark chocolate chips

Place chocolate chips in a large bowl. Heat soy creamer on medium high until it comes to an active simmer. Add the margarine to melt. Remove from heat and immediately pour cream over chocolate and stir until completely mixed and glossy. Allow ganache to cool before pouring over cake as a glaze. The longer you allow the ganache to cool, the thicker it will set. For piping consistency, allow the ganache to completely cool and set up. Once cooled completely, the ganache can also be whipped with a mixer for several minutes at high speed to give it a more airy, spreadable texture.

“Butter”cream Frosting
adapted from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World
makes about 4 cups

½ cup nonhydrogenated shortening
½ cup nonhydrogenated margarine (such as Earth Balance buttery sticks)
3½ cups confectioners sugar
1½ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp rum extract
½ tsp almond extract
½ tsp maple extract
¼ cup plain soy creamer

Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until fully incorporated. Add extracts and soy creamer, and beat until smooth (5-7 minutes). Tint with food colorings and use to decorate.

Making Happy Hearts

This weekend I spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen with Sweet Heather Anne, my talented, cake-decorating friend. Armed with our fancy royal icing flooding technique, we had a mission to bake, decorate, and package 13 dozen Valentine's cookies to mail as gifts across the country. Hopefully, these will bring warm smiles to the faces of each recipient. Already there's been some talk of selling another batch to celebrate the arrival of spring. So let us know if you are interested... Meanwhile, I thought you might enjoy pictures of a few of our recent favorites. Happy V-day y'all!

Spencer's Banana Jungle Cupcakes

Recently, I've begun taking custom baking orders from my friends. Small, small steps towards my ultimate dream--a bakery of my very own, but it's a start and a good way to network. Here are some pictures from my first order: cupcakes for Spencer's 1st birthday.

Spencer's mom Anne-Lise approached me a few months ago about the idea of baking the cupcakes. Spencer loves bananas, and I've been hanging on to these adorable lion, tiger, elephant, and zebra picks for more than a few years now, so I decided to do a Banana Jungle theme. (Though sadly not an option, monkey picks would have put it over the top.)

The actual flavor of the cupcakes is banana chocolate chip with vanilla bean cream cheese frosting. The recipe came from a beautiful blog that I follow, Not without Salt. People always ask me about my resources for cupcake wrappers and related flair. I mostly purchase from Bake it Pretty and Fancy Flours. I also frequent a more local store, the Baker's Nook.

The happy birthday boy, a very satisfied customer!

Thanks to my ever supportive friends, more custom projects are in the works (a dessert tray for a dissertation defense, holiday care packages, and *gasp* a wedding!!!) Things are getting quite busy in my kitchen lately, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Making people smile is one of the best reasons I can think of to get flour all over the kitchen.