Adventures in Cake

My lovely, talented sister-in-law asked me to help her make a mini wedding cake for a church gathering of sorts. This was SO much fun. Now I have become slightly obsessed with finding the perfect tools, the perfect pans, the perfect buttercream recipe, etc. Here are a few pictures to illustrate our adventure:

 

We nick-named the above process the "Lord Crumbfrost" step (stemming from our lame Downton Abbey-ness. We tried to come up with other Downton sounding names for the other steps, but Lord Crumbfrost was the best).

I found the perfect frosting to work with! It uses a mixture of butter and shortening, so it tastes good, but is also creamy white and easy to spread.

  

 By the way, it is hard to smooth frost a cake, even with my new favorite tool - the Baker's Blade. I seriously love this tool with all of my heart ("Then why don't you marry it?" you ask. Oh, I will).

 

  I'm sad that I didn't catch Brittany doing any of her fancy piping work on the cake...

 

 

All in all it was just plain fun. It wasn't perfect by all means, (we didn't use the right sizes of pans for instance, so it was a bit top heavy), but hopefully we will have more chances to perfect our technique!

Just for kicks, here is the buttercream frosting recipe we used:

Buttercream Icing

½ c. shortening
½ c. butter
1 t. vanilla (we used almond extract)
4 c. powdered sugar (approx. 1 lb)
2 T. milk

Cream butter & shortening with mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar had been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep icing covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rew-hip before using. Yield: 3 cups

For chocolate icing:
Add 6 T. unsweetened cocoa & 1 T. additional milk to each 1 ½ c. white icing. Mix until well blended.

Favorite Oscar Fashion

It's the time of year that I get a delicious dose of awards show fashion! I love me some lovely dresses! It's the time of that I expect my stars to display classic, glamorous, clean and sometimes old Hollywood fashion. It is not the time of year to look like you're wearing a plastic bag swimsuit dress (Nicole Kidman), or a halter top (which is RARELY classy in my book), or something that looks like it came from the store "Just Girl Stuff." 

Here were my favorite from last night. Which look was your fav?

1. Jennifer Garner. How can you not love her? The color is to die for, I love the fun ruffle train, and let's not forget that gorgeous hair and jewelry!

2. Reese Witherspoon. Here is some of that Old Hollywood glamor that I'm talking about! Love the blue with black accents, and the cut is so feminine. Last but not least - that hair is absolute perfection.

 

3. Naomi Watts. This is more of a modern futuristic look, but for some reason it strikes my fancy! The neckline is just so interesting! I love the way she softens the look with her sweptback up-do.

 

 4.  Alicia Vikander. I honestly don't know who she is, so I looked her up and apparently she was in Anna Karenina...so anyway...I thought her dress was absolutely lovely. I think I would have liked it better without the little yellow ribbon - it looks a little too tight. Maybe make the ribbon a little thicker? Love the Lace. Love the color.

5. Jennifer Aniston. This look is VERY simple, which can sometimes work. Although I like this dress and such, I think Jennifer Lawrence pulled it off better at the Golden Globes in a similar look. Your thoughts?

 VOTE!