Movin' and Groovin'

The little man is growing up fast! For my cousin's baby's first birthday, I was asked (ok, volunteered) to make a cake inspired by music, particularly guitars and drums that also matched the design for his invitations.

The trickiest part? Getting those darn guitars to stay upright without the cake behind it for support. Spoonfuls of melted white chocolate and light blue fondant later, I discovered a solution. Toothpicks! Who knew the little things could come in handy in more ways than eating appetizers and cubes of cheese. As for matching the invitations...

Now let's not forget the whole drum aspect here, every one year old deserves a cake of their own...

...and a sugar rush to last until next year!

Happy baking everyone!

One Fortunate Cookie

Sorry for such a long absence, with finals and the holidays all packed into the past two and a half months things have been a little hectic. However, there has been a lot of baking going on, particularly cookies.

Buttercream filled macarons are my family's favorite with their light, crisp shells and smooth, melt in your mouth centers. There particular ones are almond flour based with almond and strawberry flavored buttercream fillings.

For Christmas I decided to try something a little different with these Craisin almond cookies which are bite sized but packed with flavor.

My mom and I have a huge love for Italian anisette cookies and our mouths practically water at the sight of them at the supermarket. They were actually not as difficult to make as I originally assumed and add a beautiful pop of color to an otherwise golden brown cookie tray.

Last but most definitely not least, my signature white chocolate hazelnut cookies. These were actually created through a happy accident in one of my culinary classes where we were each asked to bring in and replicate a recipe. I had chosen a toffee white chocolate chip cookie recipe but my chef instructor was unable to order the toffee and left me standing in front of a pantry and walk in refrigerator stocked with a vast amount of ingredients just waiting to be chosen. The hazelnuts almost seemed to beckon to be toasted and added to my dough therefore creating this sweet and hearty cookie.

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you the best in the upcoming new year! 

A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet

Over the summer, I started my internship at Montilios Bakery where I was promptly stuck in cupcake land. Since the end of my very first day, I've had swirls of frosting running through my mind and sometimes catch myself automatically moving my arm in the tell-tale piping cupcakes motion. Finally in the midst of sprinkling, one of my coworkers asked if I could pipe roses. I said yes but asked for a mini refresher and nervously reached for the bag after she went from a clean and shiny rose nail to a hot pink buttercream rose in approximately .5 seconds. After a few tries, I found my stride and ended up with this:

THAT is the moment that I fell in love with piping roses along with everyone else loving that I loved piping roses. Apparently its everyone's least favorite job, but to me it's another step up from where I started. Happy baking everyone!