Whoops, I can’t believe I didn’t share this! Earlier this year I had the pleasure of making this simple two tiered wedding cake for Tawny and Irv. It was confetti cake with strawberry preserves and vanilla buttercream. Their wedding was featured on Green Wedding Shoes and marks my first credit on a wedding blog (woo hoo!). Even more exciting was watching the cake cutting ceremony in their wedding video. This is one of my favorite parts of making cakes but am rarely there for it (obviously), so it really put a smile on my face! Thank you again, Tawny and Irv, for letting me be a part of your big day. You can see more of their photos here.
Tawny & Irv from JP on Vimeo.
Tagged as:
cake,
wedding cake
I’ve been doing pretty well avoiding refined sugar…until this cake. Let’s just say I “tasted” a little more than usual. My friend Keiko requested a cake for her mother’s birthday and this is what we came up with! She grew up in Hawaii so Keiko wanted to incorporate something tropical. Normally I will only use fruit if I can purchase them fresh and locally grown. I used to use freeze dried berries but I’ve done away with that as well. Thankfully mangoes are currently in season and these were grown in Mexico.
Here is a breakdown of the cake: chiffon cake soaked with coconut milk, mango mousse, chiffon cake with coconut milk, mango mousse, topped off with whipped heavy cream and coconut cream, swirled with some mango puree.
This is a slight departure from my usual multi-layered butter cakes with buttercream. In fact, there’s no butter in this cake at all! While I won’t be giving up butter any time soon (meringue buttercreams are one of the greatest things on earth), it was a fun and exciting change to step out of my comfort zone.
Also, if you haven’t already checked it out, Keiko recently launched her new web shop that’s filled with her beautiful artwork!
Tagged as:
cake,
coconut,
mango,
tres leches
Whoa, so much health talk lately! Rest assured I still love baking cakes and believe they are well deserved for special occasions. Just make sure they’re worth the calories, alright?!
Here’s a custom cake I made recently for a baby shower. A buttery vanilla cake filled with layers of lemon cream (the flavor of lemon curd but much smoother with more body!), coated with my favorite cream cheese swiss meringue buttercream. If you love cream cheese but aren’t a fan of how thick, dense, and sugary it can get, this frosting is for you! Everything was then coated with fine shavings of white chocolate.
Because it was a baby shower for a girl, my client ordered cute glittery lace crowns off of etsy in two sizes we and tiered them on top of the cake. Such a princess-y cake! As you can see in the background, everything came together wonderfully. I just wish I got better photos than from my iphone!
Tagged as:
cake,
lemon cream,
white chocolate
I recently had the pleasure of making a 6″ version of my Hot Chocolate Cake for a customer’s birthday. Prior to this it was only available in the petite 4″ size, so I made a few changes to account for the larger size and could not be happier with the results. Instead of only chili caramel sauce between cake layers, I added another layer of chocolate chili buttercream. The smooth texture of the buttercream gave the cake an added mouth feel. I then added a thin layer of the same buttercream to the outside, and finished it off with chocolate ganache buttercream.
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As I put the cake together, from torting the cake layers, brushing each with chili simple syrup, carefully pouring and smoothing out the caramel sauce, and then adding the perfect amount of buttercream (not too much, not too little!) it gave me so much joy and satisfaction. It sounds silly because it’s just cake, but I cannot begin to describe how happy yet oddly calming it makes me feel putting together what I think/hope will be the perfect marriage of sweet, salty, spicy, chocolatey, creamy, smooth, with a bit of crunch. In terms of running a “successful” business, I spend a ridiculous amount perfecting each cake. Not because I’m slow but I truly enjoy every moment and want to make sure everything comes out right.
Some of my first cakes did not come out like this. Sometimes I felt rushed, felt like I should be moving a lot faster if I wanted to make a profit, felt like I should be doing something else (catering to what a customer wants instead of what I want), and results weren’t always 100%. In my head, if I wanted to be a “legitimate baking company” I had to move a LOT faster if I ever wanted to get things done. But instead cakes would come out maybe the tiniest bit lopsided or the flavor wasn’t where I’d want it to be. It was only until I realized two things: 1. I have to be confident in the flavor choices I make and trust my own instinct rather than conforming to what someone else wants, and 2. Stop comparing myself to other bakeries and instead enjoy each moment of what I’m doing.
After the cake is all finished, boxed up, picked up or delivered, I can’t help but feel happy with the slightest twinge of sadness. Each cake is crafted with so much care and I hope the recipients can taste the love that went into it. Cheesy, but I can’t help it.A heartfelt thank you to every cake order I’ve ever received, to anyone that’s ever taken the time to read my blog, and to the encouraging words you’ve shared.
In contrast to the White Velvet is the new Hot Chocolate cake. Inspired by Mexican hot chocolate, a rich chocolate cake is lightly seasoned with a touch of cinnamon and chili powder. Layered in between is chili caramel sauce, infused with three types of chilies for a spicy flavor and hint of smokiness. It is then finished off a slathering of silky whipped ganache buttercream and garnished with caramelized sugar shards sprinkled with red pepper flakes. Not for the faint of heart, as this a decadent semisweet chocolate flavor with a noticeable hint of spice.
As a Valentine’s treat, the Hot Chocolate cake is available in a petite 4 inches. To order, please visit our website.
Tagged as:
cake,
caramel,
chili,
chocolate,
spicy,
valentines day
Just in time for Valentine’s day is our new white velvet cake. Rich Madagascar vanilla bean is deeply infused into a tender and fine crumbed white cake. It is then filled and frosted with our signature Swiss meringue buttercream, hinted with aromatic rosewater. To top it off, the cake is then dusted with a fine coating of high quality white chocolate that melts instantly on contact with your tongue. The blend of vanilla bean, rosewater, and white chocolate make for a sumptuous yet light dessert perfect for celebrating with a loved one, best friend, or simply by yourself.
As a Valentine’s treat, the white velvet is available in a petite 4 inches, perfect for two or indulgent for one. To order, please visit our website.
Tagged as:
cake,
rose,
rosewater,
white chocolate
Today I want to share one of the cakes I offer for order, Matchbox Kitchen‘s Chocolate Hazelnut Cake. It quickly became a favorite this past holiday season! Four layers of moist chocolate cake is filled with layers of hazelnut swiss meringue buttercream and a combination of chocolate crumbs, vanilla crumbs, and hazelnut crunch. See those bits on the top? The cake is filled with ‘em! They are one of my favorite parts of my cakes because they add such a nice texture. The outside is frosted with the same smooth, creamy hazelnut buttercream.
As always, Matchbox Kitchen cakes (and cookies!) are only made with the highest quality and organic ingredients. For cake inquiries please email me at sara@matchboxkitchen.com.
Tagged as:
cake,
chocolate,
hazelnut
A few weeks ago I had the idea to make a cookie that contained soft chocolate nougat. I wanted it to be similar to a few grocery store candy bars I love, but without the preservatives, artificial ingredients, and terrible chocolate. The cookie hasn’t been perfected for the shop yet but I did make these as a special for Work/Shop this past Saturday. Speaking of which, thank you for those of you that came! I was completely sold out by the first half of the show.
I named these “musketeer” (for obvious reasons) but they are a bit different from the candy bar version. The bottom is a chocolate cookie which is topped with a round of milk chocolate nougat, then drizzled with a bit of dark chocolate. I’m so happy they were well received and can’t wait to figure out how to make a set for the shop.
If you’d like to make them yourself, I used this chocolate nougat recipe. You can use your favorite chocolate cookie recipe (perhaps this one!) but I went for something with a soft bite to it, like this one.
Tagged as:
chocolate,
cookie
I know it’s only Monday, but what are you doing this weekend? This Saturday I will be participating in a little pop up shop called Work/Shop at Elephant in Glassell Park. I’m so excited to be included in such a great group of women. Please stop by where I’ll have my new line of cookies and packaging out!
Next week I will be sharing a new cookie every day from my
