"21" cake pops and cookies

Today is my oldest daughter's birthday!  It has been a big year for us with my youngest turning 18, graduating high school and going to college and now Sydney is 21 and will graduate college before Christmas! 

Because she is clear across the country from us at school I had to mail everything to her and I couldn't make a big celebration cake - so pops had to do.  Of course some sparkles made it onto them.  They were snickerdoodle cake flavored with cinnamon buttercream - mmmmm.

I also made some sugar cookies so there could be some "decorated" items too :)

 

There were a few crumbs leaking from the packages but all in all it looks like everything made it in good shape judging from the video chat. 

Light summer time dessert

Sparkling Fruit Salad

This dessert came about because I was looking for a Julia Child recipe to make on her 100th birthday celebration (August 15th).  Since I had been so busy in the early weeks of the month I hadn't planned very well and was looking for something quick and easy.  I found this while browsing through the recipes on the PBS site.  I got all excited that I had the ingredients and set about making it right away.  Then I looked again - and it wasn't a recipe by Julia.  But it is a delicious one.  A very light and refreshing dessert that's perfect for summer. 

It is just cantalope, honey dew melon and watermelon balls, a couple tablespoons of warmed honey poured over the melons and tossed together.  Then put it into whatever serving dish you'd like - I LOVE using bar glasses for dessert - then pour a sparkling wine over the top of the fruit.  I used a sparkling apple cider instead and everyone loved it!

Baby Shower cake

Sometimes I look at the cakes I've made and I think - hmm, yeah, it's ok.  I am pretty critical of my own work most of the time.  This time though, I really liked it :)  I got the buttercream really smooth and the edges sharp!  I have always wanted to perfect that and it worked out this time. 

Everything is edible - not that you'd want to bite into a gumpaste shoe or bow, but you could.  And being that I'm somewhat of an expert on little girls (I've raised 2 and they are both awesome!) I knew there had to be sparkle involved too.  It's hard to see in this picture but the board was covered in fondant with a scalloped edge and polka dots impressioned into it.  Then it was dusted with pearl dust and disco dust.  The cake itself was snickerdoodle filled with a layer of salted caramel then cinnamon buttercream. 

Cinnamon spice and everything nice!

This Apple cake is definitely going on my Thanksgiving menu!  It can actually be any time and I would be quite happy.  I made it in the morning and the smell of the cinnamon and spices roused my 18 year old sleeping beauty out of bed - and that is a feat!  I have been long convinced that the best breakfasts are those made of pastry products and this fits perfectly into that.  It was moist and full of apples and spices.  It isn't too sweet either, I had added the glaze onto the top before I knew that just because I wanted to dress it up a bit and that turned out to give it that just "kissed" with sugar taste.  It was also the first time I ever used a bundt pan so I loved the shape too.

I was all ready to go with my ingredients for the proper creaming method

the batter is nice and thick, but surprisingly not very heavy

mmmm. . . . the smell is so good it is truly drool-worthy

 So good still warm - and even better the next morning with a cup of coffee!

Odds & Ends

I had extra cake trimmings (as always) and made these pops - I actually had thought about trying to find a way to mail them to my daughter across the country but they didn't last long enough.  My husband ate half of them before I even knew about it! 

I was making the flowers to put on a baby shower cake (teaser for upcoming post) and wasn't sure which one to go with.  I really like both styles and if were for myself I think I would have gone with the ribbon style.  But I decided to use the more traditional rose instead. 

Bridal Shower cake

I did this cake for a young couple getting married in my church.  It was part of a potluck so I knew there would be a lot of other desserts (and there were) but I wanted to dress it up a little with some hand made gumpaste flowers.  When I asked what flavor to make it while in the planning stages, it was mentioned that "cake is just cake" - ouch - but I am hoping that some minds were changed when they tasted the moist chocolate cake filled with a layer of dark chocolate ganache and milk chocolate buttercream. 

Olympic Themed Camp cakes

What a crazy couple of weeks it was to coordinate 24 cakes for a foster care summer camp!  It was an Olympic theme this year so it did make it fun being right during the Olympics.  Which I have a full on addiction to, I must admit!  It was a lot of fun to see the designs that the 11 other volunteer bakers did too.  I've attached a few of them here.  Free Cakes For Kids Spokane has over 65 volunteer bakers at all different skill levels that provide birthday cakes for underprivileged kids free of charge.  This camp in particular is such a wonderful experience to be a part of.  I never knew that many foster children don't get a celebration for their birthdays - they just slip by unnoticed.  Royal Family Kids Camp and Camp to Belong are

Raspberry Popsicle and colorful cake

It's summer time and it is fun to make some refreshing treats.  These are fresh raspberries with light colored fruit juice frozen into a popsicle.  It seems like no how old you are a popsicle on a hot day brings a smile to your face! 

It's also the Olympics so it was fun to add a little "extra" into the monthly birthday celebration cake that I make for the women's shelter this week.

I put a mixed berry filling in with this one too and I thought it turned out pretty festive.

Free Form Apple Pie

And, finally, back to my regularly scheduled program!  After all the adventures of summer I was able to get back to going through the recipes in Alton Brown's book "I'm just here for more food".  I'm still finishing up the "biscuit method" with the pie crust variation.  This was a very good pie, enjoyed by all in my family.  However, I think I make a really mean pie crust myself and for the effort, I think I'll stick to my own after this.  This one had cornmeal in it and was pretty gritty before it was cooked but turned out much flakier and smooth after being in the oven. 

The apples themselves were delicious and the cheddar mixed in added a great flavor as well.  It was interesting to add the pound cake I thought.  When I make a traditional apple pie I love the way