White Cream Cake with Raspberry Filling, Vanilla Buttercream, & Fondant

My first experience with fondant for Mitch’s surprise party bday cake. It was actually fun to make the cake and filling, but it was miserable dying the fondant, so I think next time I’ll opt for pre-dyed fondant. However, I’ve heard that making your own tastes a lot better than the store-bought Wilton kind.

Here’s how I made it:

- Baked 2 white cream cakes from this recipe (only used this recipe for the cakes, not the icing or filling)

- Used different size pans for each cake; and 8-inch round for the top cake and a 10-inch round for the bottom.

The cake alone was delicious. I could have eaten it plain.

While the cakes cooled I made the raspberry filling. I used this recipe. The filling really made the cake taste more fresh; usually buttercream is so heavy, but this made it feel almost light (almost).

Next I made a homemade buttercream, using butter, powdered sugar, cream, vanilla, a little bit of cream cheese, and a bit of lemon juice.

Then came assembly. Cut each cake in half and then fill.

Try to get the buttercream very smooth and even, then freeze. I think I could have made mine much more flat, which really would have helped the fondant look better.

As cakes are freezing, prepare the fondant. This is not fun. In fact, it took me about 45 minutes to get enough blue into this stuff to keep it from looking like baby blue.

As my hands and arms were covered in blue as I worked in the color, I have no other pictures. Sometimes it’s just not your top priority. Imagine multiplying the amount of color here by 20 and working it into the fondant.
Once the fondant is colored and rolled nice and thin, get your cakes out. By brushing water on the frozen cake, you can help the fondant to stick better.
You can also brush water on the fondant when it’s rolled onto the cake to get the powdered sugar off (which keeps the fondant from sticking to your counter).

Smooth and stick in dowels for the top cake. You’ll notice several cracks in my fondant. So it was my first time. I was just happy to have the fondant on by this point.

Placed top cake on, and then I adhered the LA logo (cut out of a printed logo into the fondant). Then I decided to pipe some buttercream on the edges to cover the fondant seam. Maybe I’ll be good enough one day to omit this part. It was also about this time I noticed that my buttercream was slightly off-white due to the brown vanilla extract. Next time I may opt for the clear vanilla, if I’m feeling over-zealous about the whites matching.
Yum. If it wasn’t so time intensive, I’d probably make this way too much.

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Homemade Raspberry Jam

Raspberries, sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch. Simmer, stir, strain, thicken, then cool and allow to set. I used the extra raspberries from a cake filling to experiment and it really tastes great; but how could you go wrong with raspberries and sugar??

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Vegan Coconut Ice Cream

When it’s hot out I find it hard to bake… without getting a bit too sweaty. I found a couple recipes for this online and combined them to make a nice summer treat.

Ingredients: 2 cans coconut milk, 2 tsp. vanilla extract, 1 1/2 c. sugar. Whisk together until sugar is fully incorporated. Pour into ice cream maker for 20 minutes, then freeze for 2 hours. I have yet to try this with light coconut milk, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t be as good.

Because I need chocolate in my desserts, I love to make my great-grandma’s hot fudge recipe to pour on top. (This is getting really unhealthy.)

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Scalloped Party Banner

Was recently in need of a tutorial for a party banner and came across this cute scalloped version from Sew Mama Sew. I’d had to say this was actually a really fun sewing project. (The original tutorial can be found here.)

Here’s what you need:

- garland template (free PDF download)
- 13 pieces of coordinating fabric measuring 6.5x 8 inches
- one package (3 yards) of extra wide double fold bias tape
- pins, needles, thread, fabric pen, iron

And here’s how it’s made:

Cut out squares of your fabricCut out garland template for tracing, and trace (pin underneath template before you trace)

Pin over your traced line

Cut around stitching, leaving 1/4 inch borderTurn fabric right-side out and place in order you’d like on banner Iron Pin to bias tape And sew together. That’s it. Super simple and cute.

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Yum.

The best part about summer food: fresh fruit. Probably the only time of year I don’t need chocolate to survive.

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Recent Obsession with Fabrics

Some fabrics I picked up today for a little project. More to come soon when finished.

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Cranberry Apple Salad

Ingredients: lettuce, spinach, dried cranberries, apples, roasted chicken (salt, pepper, olive oil), maple glazed almonds (maple syrup, butter, almonds), and poppyseed dressing.

With a good drink and book, it is a nice lunch when the husband is out for meetings.

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More Nursing Covers

Not only are these quick to make, but as a mother I’d say it was one of the best gifts I received——for a nursing mom on the go, you use these a lot.

Paired with some burp rags, it’s a nice set.

Here are some in-progress shots:

I think ironing is the key to good sewing

Double stitches help things from ripping, right? Pinning is always good also. I really don’t like the tedious parts of sewing, but I’ve found they really are necessary.

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Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins

I used Ina Garten’s Blueberry Muffin Recipe (here) and added the streusel topping from her Sour Cream Coffee Cake (below). The result? YUM. Cinnamon and blueberry turns out to be a great combination. Fresh blueberries make all the difference.

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Fish Tacos

My husband loves fish tacos and had been asking (for a while) for me to come up with something. I tried to incorporate many things I’ve liked on different fish tacos I’ve had. The result? Flour tortilla, breaded tilapia, homemade green chile baja sauce, corn/tomato relish, smashed black beans with yogurt and Mexican spices. I like recipes I can truly call my own; no cook books or recipes consulted (so maybe there is another one out there like this?). They are yummy. This has become a staple in our home. Recipe below. 

Ingredients:

• White or wheat flour tortillas
• Tilapia (I buy the panko-breaded kind at Costco; if you prefer no breading, go without)
• Black beans, one can
• Fresh corn, one cup
• 1-2 tomatoes, chopped
• Chopped lettuce
• Cilantro
• Chile powder
• Cumin
• Green chile sauce, to taste
• Yogurt (low fat—much better than sour cream), half cup divided
• Mayonnaise, quarter cup
• Taco seasoning
• Sugar

Directions:

1. Pan roast tilapia according to instructions; I roast mine for about 20 minutes at 415 degrees
2. Meanwhile, warm one can of black beans and mash with 1/4 cup of yogurt. Add pinch of sugar and chile powder to taste. Set aside.
3. Gently combine tomatoes and corn with cilantro, salt, chile powder and cumin. Set aside.
4. To make baja sauce, combine remaining yogurt (1/4 cup) with 1/4 cup mayonnaise. Whisk well to remove clumps. Add green chile sauce by small spoonfuls (depending on your taste, add 2-3). Add taco seasoning to taste and whisk. Set aside.
5. When fish is done, assemble tacos. We like to warm our tortillas before assembling.

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