Enchanting Layer Cakes | 4th Birthday Fairy Party

Well, I promised you cake didn't I? Instead of a dessert spread, I thought it would be fun to do four different layer cakes for this 4th birthday fairy party.  Naturally I wasn't going to be able to tackle it alone, so I begged the help of my friend and master baker Michele of Cakewalk Baking (aka owner of these pretty vintage cakestands). She and I split the work and created the following flavors: red velvet with classic cream cheese frosting // lemon bundt cake with sugar glaze // chocolate with vanilla buttercream // white cake with fresh strawberry buttercream.  Oh, my mouth is watering just remembering how good they all were.

I wanted the cake table to be the focal point of the party, so I hung mesh netting from the trees above and adorned it with a few ribbons leftover from the wands.  I added a few fresh berries + garden flowers and the effect really was charming.  The girls... and the grownups... were beyond excited to pick out their favorite flavor of cake.

In case you're quietly judging, you should know that I made an attempt at more nutritious kid snacks as well... fruit salad, veggies + hummus, yogurt stars, etc.  But honestly, who can get excited about hummus with four types of cake sitting around?

images © cake. | events + design

But wait, there's more... have you seen the rest of this party yet?  Invites + DiYs \\  Activities 

Images are for personal use only. If sharing them on your site, please link directly to this post.  // Invitations available via Etsy. //  Special thanks to Cakewalk Baking.

Confetti Birthday Party | Sprinkled Treats

Who doesn't love a sprinkled party treat?  Wait, let's make that 5 kinds of sprinkled party treats!  Today I'm sharing the eats & drinks from Caitlin's "3 Cheers" confetti birthday... and stay tuned for more details throughout the week.

Let's talk about this beautiful cake, shall we?  Michele of Cakewalk Baking created both the cake and cupcakes.  The inside was Funfetti vanilla and the cake was frosted with the most delicious fresh strawberry buttercream.  We topped it off with a variety of sprinkles and these awesome gold metallic birthday candles.

My favorite, though messy, creation was definitely the doughnut pops. I picked up 2 dozen glazed holes from our local donut shop and attached them to lollipop sticks wrapped in washi tape.  I just brushed on a little extra glaze and half dipped them in rainbow sprinkles for that happy confetti'ed look.

I took on the cookies from this lofthouse style recipe I'd been dying to try.  They were way more work than I would have guessed... probably because I waited to bake them until the night before and didn't realize the dough is supposed to be refrigerated overnight before rolling.  Friends, don't neglect that step and you'll thank me later.  In the end, the recipe made lots and they tasted far better than their processed grocery store counterparts, so it was worth the effort.

Rounding out the snacks we had a bit of gummy candy along with typical toddler food like circus animal cookies, fruit salad and goldfish crackers.

In addition to juice boxes for the kids and booze for the grownups, I also made my own fruit punch complete with 'fruit confetti'. I basically made up the recipe by pouring a few different juices (apple, white grape, cherry, pineapple) and some sparkling water into our large mason dispenser and filled it up with round slices of lemons, limes and oranges.  (ps: it would taste great mixed as a cocktail too... if you happened not to be entertaining a bunch of three-year-olds)

photos © sherry heck 

But wait, there's more... have you seen the rest of this party yet? Click here: Invitations + Decorations \\ Activities \\ Favors

Photography: Sherry Heck
Styling + Graphics:  CAKE. | events + design

Cake + Cupcakes: Cakewalk Baking

Honeycombs, Party Utensils, Paper Straws: Shop Sweet Lulu

These images are for personal use only. If sharing them on your site, please link directly to this post.

Cornbread Cake with Honey Butter Frosting

You know those recipes that never fail... the ones that you know by heart because they're quick, easy and always get rave reviews? That's my honey cornbread.  For our latest backyard gathering, I had the crazy idea to step it up and turn the recipe into a layer cake. It's already so moist and dense that I figured it would hold up great when stacked (which it did), but I wasn't sure how to frost it without overpowering the cornbread's subtle honey sweetness.

 My husband actually solved my dilemma when he said skeptically... "A cake??  But I like your usual cornbread with honey butter on the side". Wait, what?  How did I forget about honey butter and why not turn it into a honey butter frosting?  It took a little fussing to work out the flavor, but in the end it was an experiment gone right. And so, I bring you the three layer cornbread cake. You should totally make this for your next party... your friends and skeptical spouses will think you're pretty swell. And they'd be right.

photos + styling © cake. 2013

Honey Cornbread Cake
adapted from a family recipe

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup fine ground cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup honey

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  **Grease two 6 inch cake pans.
2. Melt butter and pour into mixing bowl. Quickly mix in sugar. Add eggs and beat until well blended.
3. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture.
4. Stir in cornmeal, honey and flour until well blended and batter is smooth.
5. Pour batter into prepared pans.
6. Bake for about 30-40 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean).
***Note: For a three layer cake you'll want to double this recipe.

--
Honey Butter Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup honey
1.5 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup full-fat sour cream

Directions
1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy- at least 5 minutes.
Mix in powdered sugar a little bit at a time until fully combined.
Mix in honey and sour cream until combined (this could take another 5-10 minutes on high speed. if it looks lumpy at first... have faith.)
Tip: If frosting is too runny, add more powdered sugar to bulk it up, just a little at a time.
Spread with a spatula onto fully cooled cakes.

These images are for personal use only. If sharing them on your site, please credit CAKE. events blog and link directly to this post.

Hellos + End of Summer Cake

Well hello, and happy... mid August?  Summer is winding down already and I've been basically terrible about following up on my commitment to post my personal projects along the way.  It's interesting how quickly I fell out of the habit of blogging regularly... my extra time was almost instantly eaten up by other things and I can't exactly say how I was managing to keep up with it for so long.  Major credit must again be given to all of you who find a way to keep the balance. 

I have been stockpiling a few things for you though, including some of my recent baking projects.  Before summer and peach season are over, you must add this peach upside down cake to your to-do list.  I discovered it via pinterest and gave it my own twist by layering the fruit in a spiral round. It's  not the world's most attractive cake, but I assure you what it lacks in visual appeal it more than makes up for in taste. I mean, we're talking caramelized fresh peaches here... I made this on July 4th and it was polished off in about 10 minutes flat.

I hope you all enjoy the final days of your summer... I'm winding down with a family beach weekend this month, but I'll be back soon with more good things this fall.

photo © cake. 2012

 Peach Upside Down Cake

adapted from midwest living

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2-2 cups sliced, pitted and peeled peaches
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk

Directions

Place 1/4 cup butter in an 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Warm in a 350 degrees F oven about 5 minutes or until butter is melted. (Be sure to watch carefully to avoid overbrowning the butter). Remove pan from oven. Add brown sugar, stirring until sugar is completely moistened. Spread sugar mixture evenly in pan. Arrange peach slices evenly over brown sugar mixture. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Beat in granulated sugar until well combined. Add egg and vanilla, beating until combined. Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to beaten butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter evenly over the peaches in the pan.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes. Loosen cake from sides of pan; invert onto a large serving plate. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes more. Serve warm. Makes 8 servings.

Simply Styled. | Gilded Cakes

My birthday is on Sunday... and so I dream dreams of gilded cake. 

cakes by lael via utterly engaged

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

Hello from Caroline of Coeur De La!  There is nothing that says St. Patrick’s Day to me more than a homemade chocolate stout cupcake with a Bailey’s cream cheese frosting. I’ve been making these cupcakes for the past two years and they are always a hit. These cupcakes are my spin on the good ole irish car bomb. These cupcakes are super moist, full of chocolate, and the Bailey’s adds a great twist to a typical cream cheese frosting. If you are a stout lover like me, you will love these cupcakes. It just seemed quite fitting to share the recipe with you being that St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner. If you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with corned beef and cabbage like I do, a stout cupcake for dessert might sound a bit heavy. But, I have a mini solution for you … make bite sized chocolate stout cupcakes. I am a firm believer that less is more and you will be surprised with how satisfying one mini chocolate stout cupcake will be. Every time I eat a mini stout cupcake with Bailey’s cream cheese frosting it feels as though I am in a pub and enjoying one or two irish car bombs. Even if you don’t celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, I am sure you will love these cupcakes.

For the chocolate stout cupcakes I use this recipe because it is tried and true and yields a perfect cupcake. But, I top these cupcakes off with a Bailey’s cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).

Enjoy!

photos © coeur de la

Bailey's Irish Cream Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons heavy cream

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3-5 tablespoons of Bailey's Irish Cream (for a less expensive version I used Carolan's from Trader Joe's)

1 8oz package of cream cheese (make sure it is soft)

Directions

1. In a medium sized bowl combine the powdered sugar, cream cheese and vanilla extract ... next, with an electric hand mixer ... mix till smooth

2. Add your heavy cream and Bailey's and mix again

3. Make sure to taste and add more of whatever ingredient you would like until you are happy with the taste ... I say this as you really can't go wrong with these ingredients. Taste as you go.

4. Enjoy!

Simply Styled. | Cake Smash

photo © marissa bowers

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

You know how sometimes a beautiful photo of food catches you in the right mood and you feel like you might faint if you don't have some right.now? When I saw this cake at with butter...always, I melted.  I haven't gotten a chance to make it yet, but my mind is completely preoccupied with visions of lemon and poppyseed... as in 'Wait, what was that you were saying?  No, I'm sorry, my head is filled with cake right now'.

 photos © julie marie craig

Red Velvet Re-visited

Hello from Caroline of Coeur De La! When it comes to celebrating birthdays I am a firm believer in paying attention to the smallest of details. It's the little things that make the sweetest impact. My sister celebrated her 26th birthday recently and I wanted to give her a gift that could be enjoyed by everyone. When it comes to cupcakes, there is one cupcake that my sister absolutely loves ... a red velvet cupcake with a sweet cream cheese frosting. And, it just so happens that one of my sister's favorite wines is Cupcake's Red Velvet. Have you tried it? The wine is sweet, delicious, and the perfect wine for a girls night in...

Playing with the Red Velvet Theme I packaged the cupcakes in a red pastry box. When my sister saw her present she could not help but smile from ear to ear. And I could not help but smile as well, as I knew I would be enjoying a cupcake and a glass of wine with her.  So, when it comes to celebrating birthdays and giving gifts, I feel that gifts from the heart are always the most appreciated.

Tips for making Cupcakes that will wow anyone:

1. Frost your cupcakes like a pro and buy a pastry bag with tips included (you can find a great selection at Sur La Table)

2. Find cute cupcake liners, as the smallest touches are always noticed

3. Package your cupcakes in a cute pastry box (I found my red box at Cost Plus World Market)

4. Play with a theme ... for me I chose Red Velvet

5. Find a recipe that is tried and true (my red velvet cupcake recipe was adapted from Paula Deen)

 photos © coeur de la

Happy Cupcake Making!!  - Bisous. Caroline

Red Velvet Cupcakes

adapted from Paula Deen

These cupcakes are incredibly moist, delicious, and paired with a sweet cream cheese frosting they are irresistibly good. You can garnish your cupcakes with walnuts, raspberries, or shaved coconut for a sweet finish.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1/2 cup of buttermilk room temperature (I cut the original amount in half)

2 large eggs at room temperature

3-4 tablespoons red food coloring (when using the amount from the original recipe my cupcakes came out pink ... so make sure your batter pops with color. For an alternative to red food coloring you can use beet juice ... 2-3 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your cupcake tin with your designated liners.

In a medium sized bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a larger bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with an electric hand mixer. Slowly add the dry ingredients to your wet ingredients. I do this in small increments so the batter will not get too lumpy.

Divide the batter evenly into the 12 cupcake liners. I try to be as precise as possible so the finished cupcakes will all be an even height. Fill each 2/3 full. Wipe up any of the batter that you spill on your cupcake pan.  Place in oven and bake for 18 minutes. Again, all ovens differ and I originally baked mine for 22 minutes but they came out of the oven incredibly dry. 18 minutes turned out to be just right. Remove from the oven and let cool before frosting. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 package of cream cheese (softened)

1 teaspoon of lemon juice (I put lemon juice in everything)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-3 cups confectioners' sugar (I personally like my cream cheese frosting to teeter on not being too sweet)

In a medium sized bowl use an electric mixer to mix together the softened cream cheese, the vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Slowly, I like to add the confectioners sugar. I do this in small increments as I like to taste as I go. You can adjust sweetness this way adding less if you like your frosting less sweet or adding more if you like your frosting sweet. Mix until frosting is smooth. When finished fill your pastry bag with you favorite pastry tip and get to frosting.

Simply Styled.

via Sweet Tooth

sweet treats: vanilla cupcake perfection

“Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler”- Albert Einstein

 This is Michele of Cakewalk Baking, and I have been on the quest for the perfect vanilla cupcake and frosting for years. It seems like every recipe I tested was somehow lacking – too dry, bland, inconsistent. I couldn’t find a satisfying vanilla frosting either – too sweet, too buttery, too shorteningy...

When I made my “to do list” for the year, perfecting my vanilla cupcake & frosting recipes was high on my priority list. I’ve tried Magnolia and Billy’s and countless others, but I was never completely thrilled with the results.

When I came across Amy Sedaris’ (one of my favorite actresses) recipe, I thought it was worth a shot. To my surprise, they were pretty much perfect. My only complaint was that they were a little too dense for my liking. With a couple of tweaks, including substituting the all-purpose flour for cake flour, I got the results I was looking for – tender, moist, and flavorful!

For the frosting, my go-to has always been Swiss Meringue buttercream which I love because it’s light, has the perfect texture and tastes great – as long as you are adding some other flavor (like lemon, espresso, chocolate) to it. When just adding vanilla extract, it was a little blah and overly buttery tasting. After lots of experimentation, I found that by simply including either crème fraiche or sour cream and vanilla bean, it retained the characteristics that I love and added new depth and interest to the flavor.

I’m not sure that Albert Einstein would appreciate his words being used to describe something as trivial as cupcakes, but I found them to resonate in my search for vanilla perfection!

The Perfect Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 1/4 cups whole milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Bring the eggs, milk & butter to room temperature (don’t skip this step, it’s very important!)

3. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and pale.

4. Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until combined

5. Sift (yes, sift!) together flour, salt and baking powder together

6. Stir together vanilla and milk

7. Alternately add dry ingredients and milk to mixing bowl, scraping down after each addition. Start and end with dry ingredients

8. Fill paper-lined muffin tins with batter 2/3 full.

9. Bake at 350° for 18- 20 minute

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

1 lb unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

8 egg whites

1 cup crème friache or sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Seeds from 2 vanilla beans

Directions

1. Combine sugar & egg whites in mixer bowl and whisk together over simmering water until hot to the touch and all of the sugar has melted and no longer grainy

2. Transfer bowl to mixer stand and whip on high until fluffy & cool – about 10 minutes

3. With the mixer on low, add the softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time until incorporated. Add in vanilla, crème fraiche or sour cream, and vanilla beans. Beat until smooth (it may look curdled, but just continue to mix & it will be fine!).

triple chocolate bundt cake & a birthday banner

Last week I baked a birthday cake for a co-worker who is a lover of all things chocolate.  I couldn't resist making a triple chocolate bundt cake, and I have to say it turned out rather delicious.  The chocolate chips inside and the ganache poured over the top were an inspired idea that gave the moist cake surprise hit of extra flavor.  To decorate, I designed and cut a 'Happy Birthday' cake banner out of velum paper and tied on a little baking twine for fun.  I even added a few roses from our garden for the photos.  See below for my adapted recipe, and if you're going to try it out for yourself, make sure to use high quality chocolate- it really made all the difference.

 {images © birthday girl 2011}

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake

adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients

cooking spray

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips {I used Ghiardelli}

3/4 cup canola oil

1 cup sugar

1 large egg

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tablespoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup strong-brewed coffee

1 cup buttermilk

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. In a small saucepan, melt 2 ounces of the chocolate chips over low heat, stirring constantly. Scrape the chocolate into a medium bowl and let cool slightly. Whisk in the oil and sugar until smooth, then whisk in the egg.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture along with 1/2 cup of the coffee and 1/2 cup of the buttermilk; whisk until smooth. Add the remaining dry ingredients, coffee and buttermilk and whisk until smooth.  If desired, add about 1/2 remaining bag of chocolate chips to batter just before pouring into pan.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the cake cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn it out and let cool completely.

4. While cake cools, bring remaining chocolate chips to a boil.  Once chocolate begins to melt, whisk in 1 tbsp of vegetable oil if needed for pourable consistency. Whisk until smooth. Let the ganache glaze cool until thick but still pourable, about 5 minutes.

5. Pour the ganache over the cooled cake. Let the cake stand until the glaze is set, at least 30 minutes, before serving.

spotted: celebration hummingbird cake

I love everything about this cake from Desserts for Breakfast.  Delicately hand painted frosting paired with sweet and surprising tropical flavors.  What could be better for your spring celebration?

{images & recipe via desserts for breakfast}

Celebration Hummingbird Cake
makes one three-layer 6" cake

for cake:
1 1/2 cups AP flour (~216 gr)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (~2.5 oz) pecans, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened dried coconut, shredded
1/2 cup (100 gr) sugar
1/2 cup (100 gr) loosely packed dark brown sugar
1 egg + 1 egg yolk, beaten
4 oz. fresh pineapple, finely chopped
3 very riped bananas, mashed
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare three 6" round cake pans, greasing and flouring the sides and lining the bottoms with parchment paper rounds. If desired, wrap each pan with a bake-even strip. Set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, chopped pecans, and shredded coconut. Mix thoroughly. Set aside.
3. In a mixer bowl, combine the egg, egg yolk, and sugars and beat on high until smooth, about one minute.
4. Add the chopped pineapple, mashed bananas, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract to the egg mixture and beat until combined.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in two stages, beating well after each addition.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out nearly clean.
7. Remove from oven and let cool on wire rack for about 15 minutes before turning the cakes out of the pans. For ease of frosting, freeze the cake layers.

for frosting and assembly:
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut extract
5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
16 oz. cream cheese, cold
toasted pecans, finely chopped
fresh pineapple, chopped

1. Beat the butter on medium high for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in the vanilla and coconut extracts.
3. Gradually beat in the sifted powdered sugar.
4. Gradually add the cold cream cheese, beating well after each addition. Use immediately to frost the cake.
5. In between each layer of the cake, sprinkle a layer of chopped and toasted pecans and fresh pineapple chunks.