on the lamb.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but my aunt was an amazing baker. She’s older now, and getting rid of many of her good ol’ baking tools, and being that I’m also into baking, she’s offering the majority of them to me, and I am giddily accepting each and every one, including a brand new mixer.

the good stuff.

While this is a wonderful thing, at the same time, it causes me to come to two somewhat sad realizations:

1. they just don’t make bakeware like they used to

2. people love stuff and we can’t take it with us, no matter how good it makes us feel to have it while we’re here.

So number #2 being the more esoteric of the two, let’s focus on #1, and even more specifically, the “lamb pan.”

nothing screams "cute" like a metal lamb.

The lamb pan weighs more than all the other pans combined. It’s stainless steel, I believe, and thus is prone to rust (however no one on the planet takes better care of their things than my aunt – she gave me white gloves that were like 30 years old, still in the original plastic sleeve and still spotlessly white). So needless to say, this lamb pan is rust-free. Out of all the pans in the lot, the lamb was the one that struck me the most. I HAD to bake the lamb. I had to prove to myself that I could do it, and make my aunt proud.

So, I bring you “Jeanine vs. The Lamb: An Easter Miracle.”

not baaaaad! get it?

I used a dense carrot cake for the innards, and some authentic buttercream for the coat. I’ll admit, I had a little trouble with the head, but it was nothing a little extra icing couldn’t glue together. I even somehow transported it, intact, to Easter dinner at my parent’s house (28 minutes away on some bumpy roads). Sadly, my aunt did not get to see it live. But I did show her a picture, and she grinned, rather sheepishly (that’s two!).

oven spring.

I’ve been doing a very suck-tastic job of blogging lately. I’ve been busy with classes, work, self-discovery…and baking, of course. In fact, the spring has been pretty busy as far as cake making goes. If there’s one thing in this life I’ve been able to rely on lately, it’s the public’s demand for all things baked. And I learned that even when my mind is elsewhere, the one thing that I can still do is bake, and bake well (I’m patting myself on the back at this very moment).

i've also decided to start taking yoga so i can pat myself on the back more easily.

 

Now that we got that out-of-the-way, it’s time to get to the good stuff – the cakes. So, here’s a sampling of what’s been “springing” out of my oven as of late (ha ha, springing – get it? look ma, I’m funny!).

1. Say Hello to Elmo:

i'm vegan!

 

2. The purrrr-fect cake:

no cats were harmed in the making of this cake.

 

3. vanilla cupcakes by day…

give me some sugar, cookie.

 

4. ….chocolate cupcakes by night.

o-o-oreo...o-o!

(on a side note, both of these cupcakes were for an event for WHYY (you know, the TV station…)

5. And last, but not least, the Grande Dame of the lot:

april showers really do bring may flowers (on so many levels).

So, I hope your mouth is now sufficiently watered, and your cake-envy has prompted you to want one of your very own (cakemuffingirl@gmail.com would be a good place to start…just saying).

cupcakes in bloom.

I was commissioned to do cupcakes for a Japanese-themed birthday party over the weekend. They requested “cherry blossom cupcakes” which I’d never done before, but was confident I could do without any problems. They were not sure what flavor they wanted though, so I suggested “green tea.” I had made green tea cupcakes a few years ago for a Japanese dinner party I was attending at a friend’s house. I remembered them being good, so I figured they were worth another shot. The customer liked the suggestion, and requested half of them green tea, the other half red velvet. So I got to work.

red velvet with red blossoms

I did the red velvet first since I knew how they would turn out, having made red velvet numerous times. I made the “blossoms” red to match (how ingenious of me).

green tea with pink blossoms

I then moved on to the green tea. I used pink blossoms for these, because, have you ever seen a green cherry blossom? I didn’t think so. (Side Note – have you ever seen a live owl? Randomly  last night, I was thinking that I have never seen a live owl and I’d like to. –End Side Note) Now, I mentioned that I remembered these being “good” when I made them two years ago. What I didn’t remember was them being absolutely freakin’ delicious. In fact, I left extra batter in the bowl, just so I could eat it – raw. I wished I had made extras.  But, alas, I guess I’ll just have to go back and make them again. 😉

even taste great raw.

PS – as far as icing goes, I used a regular old buttercream because I wanted something that worked with both flavors. But last time I made the green tea cakes, I made a matcha buttercream, which I also remember being “good.” I suppose I’ll have to make it again, just to be sure…