Hi all!

I wanted to walk you through my latest cake because it was experimental, and I also have some tips to share from other great cake artists!



Goal #1. In need of a fluffy vanilla cake/cupcake recipe

I've been searching and experimenting to get the best fluffy cake recipe; like the "box" brand. Yes, I love the fluffiness of that cake and even though I make homemade cakes, I do still love that fluffy mix for myself from time to time. Then I found on Sweetapolita's blog that she mentioned the same thing about fluffy cake and her yearning for the box brand too! :p Anyway, she has a fantastic recipe that I tried out for this cake and I LOVE it. Here is the link to her recipe and here is a photo of what mine looked like.

http://sweetapolita.com/2011/07/fluffy-vanilla-cake-with-whipped-vanilla-bean-frosting/






Goal #2. Sequins on a cake. I've been wanting to try this as well and found out through The Cake Blog that Jenna Rae Cakes has a great step by step tutorial on this. It's way easier than I envisioned! I did run into a problem because instead of using pastel candy confetti, I used regular color and thus needed SO much silver luster dust to cover up that deeper color. I ran out of luster dust so if you can see in my photo below, the sequins aren't as silver as they should be and you can see some color peeping out. Otherwise, it was a success.

http://thecakeblog.com/2014/06/diy-gold-sequin-cake.html




3. Fantasy gumpaste flower and/or sugar peony

I don't have the materials needed to create one with wires and this seems like the best way to do so. I hardly ever make flowers with wires and usually only do roses. I didn't want to buy materials I probably wouldn't use much so I used the wilton peony cutters and I think it worked great. It was really easy to do; you just use a ball tool to roll out the edges much like with sugar roses and put in an egg carton to dry. You can see my Youtube tutorial on roses in other blog post if you want a reference point of what I mean here.





And for those who have asked me to do tutorials on icing a cake cleanly with buttercream as my bottom tier is here (although there are some imperfections)... Instead of me doing a tutorial, I would highly recommend you check out Tessa of SweetBakeShop's tutorial because she does a fantastic job explaining it and I use the same method as her. Below are some of the tools I use and the link to her page.

http://sweetbakeshop.com/video-tutorial-how-to-stack-and-frost-a-cake-with-perfectly-smooth-sides/

Chocolate Cheesecake/Brownie Base - Easy and delicious!




I love cheesecake but not so much a fan of the graham cracker or cookie base. Also, I've never tried a no bake cheesecake using gelatin so I thought I'd give it a go.


For this cheesecake, I just used a brownie mix to create the brownie base (I put it in an 8inch springform pan).


After baking, I put it in the freezer to cool while I made the cheesecake filling. I found the recipe for chocolate no-bake cheesecake here and just made the filling portion of it.

https://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/28806/easy-elegant-no-bake-cheesecake/detail.aspx



For the coffee buttercream topping, mix all these together in a mixer with the paddle attachment:

*1 stick of butter
*1 tsp of coffee flavoring (extract or coffee itself)
*2 cups of confectioners sugar
*1 tbs milk

Matcha/Green Tea Cake with Mint Chantilly Cream

*I used the 5 layer Wilton cake pans for this but you could use a 6 inch pan or it would make 12 cupcakes*



Matcha cake
*5 TBS of room temperature unsalted butter
*3/4 cups of sugar
*3 eggs
*1 1/4 cups of cake flour
*1 tsp baking powder
*pinch of salt
*1/2 cup of milk
*1 tsp of vanilla extract
*1-2 TBS matcha powder

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line the muffin pan with cupcake liners OR grease a 6inch cake pan
2. Beat the butter and sugar until combined, then add the eggs one at a time
3. In a different bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and matcha
4. In a cup, stir milk and vanilla together
5. Add the flour and milk alternately to the butter/sugar mixture until combined
6. Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center of the cake comes out clean


Mint Chantilly Cream
*1 cup of heavy whipping cream
*1 TBS of sugar
*1 tsp of mint extract

1. Place mixer bowl in the freezer for about ten minutes
2. Remove from the freezer and place all ingredients in the bowl, whisking with the whisk attachment on low first and then moving up to high
3. It is ready when fluffy and peaks form

Almond Joy Cheesecake

For the crust:
-2 cups of ground graham crackers (about 30 squares or to make it easier, buy the crumbs already crushed :)
-1 stick of melted butter

For the filling:
-2 blocks of full fat cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)
-3 eggs
-1 cup of sugar
-1 pint of greek yogurt
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
-1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips (if desired)

Crust:
1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Combine butter and crumbs until evenly distributed
3. Coat an 8 inch springform pan with baking spray and pour the crumb mixture into the pan.
4. Spread it evenly and pat it down with the bottom of a glass.
5. Bake it for about 10 minutes and remove to cool (you may want to just place it in the fridge at this time)

Meanwhile for the filling:
1. Beat cream cheese and sugar on low until smooth and free of clumps
2. Add eggs one at a time on low speed
3. Fold in the yogurt, extract, and if desired, chocolate chips and mix evenly with a spoon or spatula
4. Pour the cheesecake mixture onto the cooled crumb mixture
5. Place aluminum foil around the bottom and slightly up the sides of the springform pan to prevent spilling
6. I got this last tip from Passion For Baking Manuela's Blog! To avoid having to make the water bath used for cheesecake, she has an oreo cheesecake recipe recommending to bake at 212F for three hours. Yes, it takes long, but I preferred not to make the water bath so I went with the slow bake


Topping (for the Almond Joy flavor)!
- top with ganache, sliced almonds, and coconut flakes. Some of this could be included into the mixture, but I did not want to add almonds inside so I just went with the topping. It was delicious!