Mario Kart Cake!

I was so excited when I recently was given the opportunity to made a Mario Kart-themed cake for some family friends of ours. Super Mario Bros. have been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid, and I've wanted to do a cake inspired by Mario and his pals for quite some time.

This cake was 2 tiers, each with a 3-layer vanilla funfetti cake inside. The fillings were custard and ganache, and the entire cake was frosted in a vanilla-flavored American buttercream.

This cake was covered in blue fondant and topped with a 3-D Mario figure in his kart just crossing the finish line.

This cake was loads of fun to do and I was thrilled to see the many little happy faces when they saw this cake at the party!

Accompanying the cake were vanilla funfetti and chocolate cupcakes frosted with vanilla-flavored American buttercream and topped with an "M" or "L" fondant medallion for Mario and Luigi.

Confirmation Cake & Cupcakes

It's been quite a busy month for me in my kitchen. Lots of birthdays and celebrations call for lots of cake! This cake and cupcakes were made for a confirmation.

The cake was vanilla with a strawberries-and-cream filling, frosted with a vanilla-flavored American buttercream and topped in a layer of fondant. The quilted design was simple and elegant for this special event.

Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla-flavored American buttercream were made for this party as well, coordinating in design with the quilted cake.

Quick Tip: Using Dried Vanilla Beans

Vanilla beans can get quite dry and hard when left in your pantry for an extended period of time. They get so hard that there isn't much you can do with them except throw them into your sugar to make vanilla sugar. But what after that? There are hundreds of vanilla seeds within these pods that are just begging to be used! Well, here's another tip for using up these very valuable beans:
Place dry vanilla beans in a coffee grinder and grind away until you have a fine powder. This is vanilla powder and can be used to flavor your cakes and other baked goods (it gives a nice vanilla-speckled look to the finished product). You can also use it in savory recipes that require vanilla, such as the one for my Absolutely Perfect Cranberry Sauce, part of my 2012 Thanksgiving Menu.

Homemade Vanilla Update

A few months ago, I posted about making homemade vanilla. I had used four different beans (Madagascar, Tahitian, Mexican, and Indian) to make four different vanilla extracts and one blend. My alcohol of choice was white rum.
Well, it's been a couple of months, just the right steeping time for those beans and I've begun to use them in my baking. The results are phenomenal. Storebought vanilla is much harsher in flavor and scent when used in baking than homemade vanilla is. My homemade vanilla is subtle, smooth, and floral and just beautifully enhances my baked goods. Of course, I haven't mentioned that homemade vanilla is much more inexpensive than storebought. This is a project that is certainly worth the time and effort, in my opinion.
At my cookie swap held this past weekend, I gave out small samples of both my Madagascar and Tahitian vanilla extracts. I hope my friends can enjoy them as much as I have been lately.