La Petite Baker - Baking Sweets with Love!

Chocolate Cake for a Rainy Day

2011-09-03T16:39:00.012-04:00

Rain was pouring down for a couple of hours this afternoon; and, I have been craving a piece of chocolate cake. So, no better time to bake a chocolate cake than on a rainy afternoon.

Ok, so first let's get the chocolate cake batter going, I love my Kitchen Aid :-)

Second, someone has to lick the cake batter .... LOL! Not me, not this time ;-)

Oh yeah, the dogs are in the kitchen too... probably thinking I am going to drop some chocolate cake batter and they will get same of it. Nope, not this time. But, they also took a nap while waiting.

So, I also made some chocolate ganache to smear over the cake along with some fresh raspberries and homemade whipped cream... Yummy!!! Voila! The cake is done ... it's a very rustic looking cake, nothing fancy but it's delicious ;-)

And finally, I had my piece of chocolate cake... with fresh made Nespresso coffee!

Kai Lan Cake

2011-07-10T19:27:00.010-04:00

Kai Lan theme cake for Mackenzie's 2nd birthday. It's a Kai Lan chocolate cake with purple buttercream icing. The Kai Lan cake was decorated with fondant; fondant flowers, sun, and birthday sign. The Kai Lan dragon boat is a plastic toy.

Birthday girl and me

Baking Party Rocks is Born!

2011-05-15T18:52:00.003-04:00

I am very excited to announce my new business Baking Party Rocks! Baking parties are deliciously fun for kids and adults of any age. Baking Party Rocks will come to your kids baking party and entertain the crowd with some yummy baking. Baking Party Rocks also offers newlywed baking party, mom and daughter baking parties and more. We'll show everyone how to bake delicious cakes and cupcakes; decorate and have fun! Party members will help with the baking and decorating of all the baked goods. Visit Baking Party Rocks for more information.

Birthday Cupcake Rose Vase

2011-05-07T10:14:00.006-04:00

I made this cupcake vase for a birthday celebration. These are low-fat Chocolate cupcakes with not so low-fat butter cream icing! For the chocolate cupcakes, I used low-fat milk and unsweetened apple sauce. When you use apple sauce to replace the butter the cake comes out very moist and dense. So, keep that in mind. If you don't like a more dense moist cake, you might want to stick to the more conventional ingredients.

I got the metal vase at a local craft store. It looks very cute! Great presentation for the most delicious roses you will ever get!

View a similar post about a cupcake planter I made.

Baking with Kids!

2011-04-30T12:26:00.007-04:00

Last weekend was super busy, with personal chores and some fun baking party, with kids of So, last Saturday I went to my girl-friend’s place, btw right on the beach! Can’t have a better view! So, I went there to help her bake some cupcakes and a cake with her grandchildren, for their Easter Sunday.

I was all equipped with my cake decoration tool box, a cupcake pan, and design cookie cutters for the fondant just in case; yes, I brought some colored fondant too, but we ended up not using. The kids had plenty of other decorations to finish up the cupcakes and cake. I even wore my fun and fancy cupcake baking apron that lights up – I was in style LOL!

We first made some vanilla cupcakes, from scratch but Val, my g/f only had salted butter- so, that’s what we used. It tasted good, but the icing was little different for my taste – but who cares? The kids loved all the way! When the cupcakes were in the oven, we made the green color vanilla icing, which was used to pipe the grass on top of the cupcakes and then topped with peeps, jelly beans, marshmallow eggs, and some M&Ms! Can you imagine the sugar rush!

Then, we made two other small cakes, a vanilla and a chocolate one. Baked the cakes, stacked them with the vanilla on the bottom. We made cream cheese icing with the salted butter LOL! And again they loved! We added blue color to the cream cheese icing.

It all turned out great and they were able to celebrate their Easter with some fun Easter decorated cakes and cupcakes. And, I even got a cute thank you card from the kids because they had so much fun. Their parents said I need to open a business for kids parties; baking with kids. They said parents are always looking for what to do for their kid’s parties, theme etc. So, I am considering as a side job.

"The children enjoyed this soooo much! Thank you." Val Palermo

Restaurante Yakisoba, enjoy fresh pasta and more

2011-04-15T11:52:00.007-04:00

Yokisoba Chinese Restaurant in Liberdade, Sao Paulo, Brasil. Here you can eat tasty Chinese food and enjoy fresh pasta made right in front of your eyes. I had lunch there two days ago with my uncle. It was great! The video shows the chef making some fresh pasta ...

Cup of cold rich delicious chocolate

2011-04-15T10:59:00.008-04:00

I just had to stop by the chocolate store during my vacation, Kopenhagen Besides getting a bunch of chocolate and easter chocolate eggs, I also had a cup of cold and rich delicious chocolate .... A shot of heven!

Happy Birthday Grandma - 90 years old!

2011-04-10T16:54:00.006-04:00

Grandma turned 90 years old on April 9th, it´s a milestone! I made her a little rum cake; it was a little challenge not being in my own kitchen, but it turned out moist and yummy! Grandma still cooks and looks great for her age, I hope I can look that good and and be as healthy as her if I reach 90. But, I am not really sure I want to get up there.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Delicious Rum Cake!

2011-04-02T13:43:00.004-04:00

I’ve make a chocolate rum cake a while ago which turned out so moist and delicious. Last weekend, due to a rum cake order, I made another rum cake for the family and, again, delish! I used a bottle of really good Haitian rum . My husband didn’t want me to use that rum b/c it was from a place that supposedly was shut down after a hurricane and will never produce that rum again; whatever I used anyways and I will make many more rum cakes with that rum; until it’s all gone!! It’s better than getting old inside my liquor cabinet, right?

So, here it’s how it’s done – no big top secrets like many bakes make it sound. Just use a good yellow cake recipe, and if you want to make it on the light side; replace the oil or butter with unsweetened apple sauce; double the amount. If you have ½ cup butter then use 1 cup of the apple sauce. Also, instead of using sour cream you can use low fat Greek yogurt (more protein and less fat). Now, I rather use milk instead of water like many recipes call for. But, I use low-fat milk. You can even use the fat-free organic milk from Organic Valley, it’s a little more expensive but delicious with a no fat.

For the glaze, I used Domino dark brown sugar, rum, and ½ stick of unsalted butter.

TIP: you can use this same glaze to make bananas foster; another delicious dessert!

You can even make a gluten free version of a Rum Cake with a gluten free cake mix or using the various gluten free flour options.

Rum cakes are great with coffee and just because, after all it has rum and it might even give you a little buzz!

Cupcake Planter

2011-03-12T12:36:00.004-05:00

Chocolate mint cupcakes for a little girl's birthday. Blue was one of her favorite colors; hence the blue icing - adorable!

Valentines Day Cupcake Jar

2011-01-30T14:46:00.002-05:00

Delicious chocolate cabernet sauvignon cupcake in a jar.
View eBay store and order http://myworld.ebay.com/cupcakejar

Coquito Cupcakes

2011-01-15T17:33:00.005-05:00

Apparently, the coquito drink is a hit around the holidays. So, here is my coquito cupcake; full of coconut milk, coconut flakes, ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, real vanilla extract and a hint of rum! Oh, and I didn't use butter for the batter; again, to reduce some calories, I used apple sauce.

Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

2011-01-15T17:25:00.004-05:00

I love chocolate mint ice-cream. So this is my interpretation in a cupcake; which is very good eaten cold too. Used fresh mint to mix with the batter. Also, replaced butter with unsweetened apple sauce to reduce calories. Moist and deliciously refreshing!

Christmas Red Velvet Cupcakes

2010-12-27T16:07:00.001-05:00

I made these delicious and cute holiday red velvet cupcakes for our office holiday party. Christmas tree make with fondant and dragees decoration.

Vanila Chocolate Chip Cake with Chocolate Cream Icing

2010-06-26T13:57:00.003-04:00

This cake was delicious. I made a sheet vanila cake with chocolate chips. Then, cut it into 4 rectangles and stacked into a 4 layer cake with 3 layers of chocolate cream and chocolate ganache over it. Then, added some strawberries an voila!

For this cake, you have to use the same steps I used in my last cake, the Tripple Chocolate Cake - where you can also find link to get the recipe for the chocolate cream and ganache.

Triple Chocolate Mouse Cake with Ganache

2010-06-02T20:01:00.008-04:00

This cake is just to die for! It's one of my best cakes ever! It's a chocolate cake, from a cake mix, but with extra stuff to make it scrumptious LOL. Anyway, I added:

full fat sour cream
strong coffee
butter
vanilla extract
extra cocoa powder
2% milk

Then, instead of making the usual cream cheese or butter cream icing, I decided to make the filling with chocolate cream; which is a recipe from a chocolate cream pie I've done it before. But, this time, I used as icing for the cake. It's a three layer cake topped with chocolate ganache and strawberries. The cake is just so delicious and moist; with a decadent chocolate taste.

This cake must be kept in the refrigerator b/c the chocolate cream will get very soft if kept out for too long. Also, the ganache starts to melt a bit.

This can also be made into cupcakes and topped with the chocolate cream then covered with chocolate ganache. It's probably my next thing.

This cake is not perfect looking but that's not what's about here. I added the chocolate ganache over the last layer of chocolate cream and it looks a little like a marble pattern.

Cinco de Mayo Cakes

2010-05-09T09:21:00.014-04:00

This was an order my boss placed for a birthday party. The birthday girls were twins and the cakes needed to coordinate. I never did a Cinco de Mayo cake theme before but, in my research, I saw a lot of sombreros on cakes or just general Cinco de Mayo party decorations. So, the main decoration is the orange hat or sombrero and some red peppers made out of fondant and painted with red candy paint.

The square cake was a vanilla cake with vanilla butter cream icing. The round cake was a chocolate cake, also with vanilla butter cream icing. I think it looks very festive, it was quite of work b/c I had to break it down into a few different days and finish it up the night before. But, I was pleased with the results and it was fun to make it. I just hope the birthday girls also liked!

Customer Testimonial

Just wanted to tell you the cakes were a HUGE hit!!! Everyone swooned over the decorations! I served myself one slice of chocolate and a 1/4 piece of vanilla, intending to only to 'taste' each flavor. I found myself devouring the whole thing and scraping the icing from the plate! They were DELICIOUS. - Sooooo moist! And the icing, perfection.

Passion for Pastry Cupcakes are AWFUL

2010-03-18T21:33:00.002-04:00

Last Saturday I went to the mall to do some shopping and I was craving a nice cupcake. Well, I knew that Passion for Pastry, a bakery at the food court at the Town Center Mall, sold cupcakes and I couldn't wait to get me one. After I am done with my shopping I stopped by the bakery and picked up a chocolate cupcake with cappuccino icing to eat tat the mall and got a second one to bring home to my husband; a chocolate with sprinkles.

Anyway, I ate mine at the mall but wasn't really happy with it. As I ate, I was trying to not pay any attention to the box taste in the cupcake. So, I pretty much fulled myself and ate it all, I was really craving a cupcake and didn't want to disapoint myself. I also had really high expectations for that cupcake. But, once I got home I took a bite from the second cupcake and there it was, the moment of truth, again it was really awful! It tasted even worse than the first one. I was so upset and could not believe that at $3.25 a cupcake someone had the courage to sell that kind of stuff - the cupcake was just awful even my husband said it tasted like the box and the icing was soo sweet it made me want to spit it out- the whole experience with that cupcake was very disapointing. I wil lnever go back to Passion for Pastry. I can only imagine how their fancy cakes taste - PROBABLY AWFUL TOO IN A MUCH BIGGER SCALE.

I don't recommend getting any cupcakes from Passion for Pastry or any of their cake either- it's not worth half of the cost - you will be better off getting a box of cupcakes at Publix at just over a dollar each or less if they are on sale.

Supreme Coconut Raspberry Cookie Torte

2010-02-23T20:28:00.006-05:00

This recipe is my very own and original torte recipe. It may sound funny, but I put in a lot of work into this one; specially beacuse it was submitted to the Pillsburry Bake-off contest last year, but I didn't make it to the finalists ;-( Oh well, at least I came up with a yummy dessert!

It's a little gooey because of the coconut and condensed milk then you have the raspberry and the cookie dough... Divine! Oh, and don't forget the chocolate ganache to top if off!

Ingredients

• 1 Pillsbury Refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough 16.5-oz. roll
• 1 can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 2 tbsp of LAND O LAKES Unsalted Butter
• 1 cup of shredded coconut
• ½ cup of HERSHEY’S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
• 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
• ½ cup of Smucker Low Sugar Reduced Sugar Red Raspberry Preserves
• 1 tbsp of HERSHEY’S Cocoa (if making ¼ cup of chocolate milk)
• ¼ cup chocolate milk (suggested, but not necessary, it will make cookie more moist and easy to cut)

Instructions

Cut cookie dough in half and roll each half into about 5” diameter, place each circle on a separate 17”x12” cookie pan. Bake it as directed or until cookie is completely baked (convection oven about 22 minutes)
While cookie is baking, mix butter, Sweetened Condensed Milk and shredded coconut in a small non-stick pan at medium heat. Constantly stir, with a wooden spoon, until you get a tick dough like mixture; at this point it should not stick to pan. Turn heat off and remove pan from hot surface, cover and put aside.
Take cookies out of the oven; let it cool for about 10 minutes.
Place one cookie on a round plate and spread the condensed milk/coconut mixture over cookie, about ½” tick.
Spread Red Raspberry Preserves over condensed milk/coconut mixture.
Place second cookie over raspberry layer
If using chocolate milk to moisten top cookie, brush cookie with chocolate milk
Break edges of top cookie to seal the torte’ push small broken pieces all around the edges
Pour chocolate ganache over top cookie and spread it around the edges, like icing a cake Cover the entire cookie torte with the chocolate ganache
Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. But you can also eat it while warm
Decorate with a few strawberries or coconut flakes/chips, if desired

Tips – the taste gets even better after a day or two in the refrigerator!

How to Make the Chocolate Ganache

Bring heavy whipping cream to a boil in a small sauce pan
Remove from heat and add Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips chocolate
Stir the chocolate until melted. Cover and let stand 10 minutes

Chocolate Cream Pie

2010-02-15T19:24:00.007-05:00

I made another delicious dessert for Valentines Day; a chocolate cream pie!

The recipe is from the Sun Sentinel Thursday paper, from last week. There was a few good Valentines Day recipes in the Food section and this chocolate pie was one of them.

Here is the link to the Chocolate Pie recipe page page . The picture on their page look better than mine, but mine also tasted delicious!

You can also find the Chocolate Pie recipe below

Garnish the top with fresh berries, whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

4 ounces Baker's German Sweet chocolate. I used Valrhona chocolate bar

1/2 cup milk, divided

2 tablespoons sugar

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature

1 (8-ounce) container frozen nondairy whipped topping, thawed

1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker crust

In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate with 3 tablespoons milk, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat sugar and cream cheese until creamy and well mixed. Add remaining milk (5 tablespoons) and chocolate mixture; beat until smooth.
Fold in whipped topping until smooth. Spoon into prepared crust. Freeze at least 4 hours until very firm.

If left in freezer longer, cover with foil. Makes about 12 servings.

Per serving: 244 calories, 57 percent calories from fat, 16 grams total fat, 8 grams saturated fat, 9 milligrams cholesterol, 26 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram total fiber, 20 grams total sugars, 25 grams net carbs, 3 grams protein, 145 milligrams sodium.

Valentines Day Sweets from the Heart

2010-02-12T17:41:00.009-05:00

This valentine I decided to make a little frozen treat with raspberry bar mix. It's was really simple and I was able to freeze it and have my heart shaped raspberry cheesecake bars ready for my Valentine!

I used the mix below and followed the cheesecake bar recipe. But I made my cheesecake raspberry bars ticker by topping it with the crust crumbs and, of course, melted chocolate!

Finally, just use the hear shaped cookie cutters and freeze the yummy little sweets for Valentines Day ;-)

How To Use Leftover Candy Canes

2009-12-27T14:21:00.002-05:00

If you are looking for ways to creatively use your leftover candy canes, here's a video to give you some helpful tips.

Santa Cake for Christmas

2009-12-25T15:42:00.009-05:00

Here it is, the Santa Cake I said I was going to make for Christmas. This is a Florida Santa Cake! Can you see his tan face? Well, it's not the same pale Santa from the Swiss Colony catalog, but it's pretty good. I think it came out really cute and festive. The tan is from the peanut butter icing, which is also in the cake. It's a chocolate cake with one thick layer of peanut butter icing, decorated with butter cream icing for Santa's face.

I used a chocolate cake box mix, followed the recipe instructions and embellished with Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, peanuts, butter, and milk. Santa's hat is rolled fondant, same for his little blue eyes.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-23T10:03:00.006-05:00

Happy Holidays and lots of delicious desserts on your table!

I will be making a delicious and cute Santa Claus face cake - come back later to see pictures of it. I got the idea from the Swiss Colony catalog.

Tip on how to use Anise Star

2009-12-17T18:54:00.008-05:00

I had a little bag of anise stars for over 6 months and I had no idea of what to use it with. Well, the other day, as I watched a show on the Food Network, they said you could boil cider something and get a great aroma going in your house. So, with that in mind, I decided to boil the anise stars I had for so long. I started on Sunday I am still boiling the water with the anise stars in it until today.

Just fill up the water half way in a medium size pan and boil it, then keep the heat in low for a while. It leaves a great anise aroma around the house. WHAT A GREAT IDEA and it's perfect for the holidays! It's almost a week and it still smell great.

Give it a try.

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-15T19:43:00.006-05:00

Last Sunday I baked a few cookies for our Holiday luncheon at work; it was today. My cookies were a hit! Almost all gone. OK, so I did two types of Christmas cookies, sugar cookies and brownie bites.

The sugar cookie was a cookie sandwich with cream cheese icing and crushed peppermint edge; delish!
The second type of cookies were more like brownie bites. I baked the double chocolate brownie, then cut them in different shapes; stars, mini Christmas trees, gingerbread man, and snowman. So, once the brownie bites were cut into shapes, I iced them with the same cream cheese icing I used for the sugar cookies, then topped some with colored sugar and some with crushed peppermint.

The cookie tray looked really festive and colorful. See the pictures above and below. I was lazy and only took pictures with my phone, so not the best resolution but you get the idea.

Gingerbread Man Cookies

2009-11-28T15:20:00.005-05:00

In addition to my Thanksgiving desserts, I also made some gingerbread cookies to send to my family for the holidays. It was hard to ice them so I decided to just use melted white chocolate and add a few dots here and there; also dipped them in crystallized sugar. They were delicious and who says it all needs to be perfect!
I hope the chocolate doesn't melt too much, I dropped them off at the post office this morning; hopefully they will make their journey overseas. Oh well, it's the thought that counts, right!

Red Velvet Cake & Pumpkin Pie - My Thanksgiving Desserts

2009-11-28T14:00:00.018-05:00

For Thanksgiving, I was in a mood to make a Red Velvet cake; that is because I have made two pumpkin pies in the last two weeks and I haven't baked a cake in almost a month. I actually planned on making only red velvet cupcakes but there is always batter left over, so I used my heart shaped pan for the cake. The picture above is a slice of the red velvet cake with cream cheese icing and raspberries on top - so pretty! and really good.

The picture at the top is a slice of the red velvet cake and my mascarpone pumpkin pie cheesecake. The slice doesn't really show the mascarpone layer on the bottom, but it's there.

So, I ended up with 24 cupcakes and a cake. It was my first time making the red velvet recipe and I must say I love the color. I guess the thing with this cake is mostly about the color; so red and rich looking. Even though the cake is good it doesn't really has a distinct flavor. I used a recipe that called for 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa and I thought I would get more of the chocolate taste, but not really. There were other two recipes I found in my books that called for only 2 tsps of cocoa. I am glad I went with the 1/2 cup, recipe I don't think I would like the other one.

The red velvet cake batter -beautiful rich red

Red Velvet Cupcakes just out of the oven

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing and Raspberries

Here is a good tip when you are making a homemade pie crust with gingerbread cookies, as I did.
Pie Crust Tip - use a measuring cup wrapped in plastic wrap to press the crust on the pie dish. You will get an even crust and no messy hands.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

2009-11-20T09:24:00.005-05:00

For this pumpkin cheesecake I combined a couple of recipes. Instead of using regular cream cheese I used mascarpone cheese with the pumpkin pie mix. It still turned out delicious, specially topped with a homemade cream cheese -- so yummy!

Ingredients used for this Pumpkin Cheesecake:

1 cup of mascarpone cheese
1 cup of pumpkin pie mix
2 eggs
1 store bought 9" unbaked pie crust

Preheat oven at 425 F - Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, pour into pie shell Bake pie for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F and bake for another 50 minutes. Cool on rack for 2 hours- then you can serve or refrigerate. One of the recipes suggest not freezing the pie because the crust will separate from the filling.

You can find more yummy pumpkin recipes at http://www.verybestbaking.com

Shortbread Cookies

2009-11-07T15:10:00.007-05:00

I made delicious shortbread cookies from the Barefoot Contessa recipe. But, I didn't just dipped them in chocolate, I also dipped them in peanuts, cookie crumbs, sliced almonds, and chocolate sprinkles.

They look sop pretty and are delicious with coffee or just by itself.

Key Lime Pie with Meringue Top

2009-11-01T14:02:00.008-05:00

I haven't made key lime pie in a while and it's such an easy recipe. So, yesterday I doubled up on a key lime recipe and made two pies. One with a meringue top and another topped with melted chocolate and homemade whipped cream; just like my Key West Key Lime Pie.

For the key lime pie ingredients all you need is:

1 gram cracker crust (store bought works just fine)
1/2 lime juice
1 can of condensed milk
2 tsp water
3 egg yolks
green food coloring or icing optional

Mix the eggs and condensed milk then add the water and lime juice slowly; add food coloring. Pour it into the pie shell. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool for about 30 min. then place it into refrigerator for another hour.

Since I added meringue, I removed the key lime pie from the oven about 10 minutes before and added the meringue on top. Then, it goes back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

I love how the meringue gets a little burned, looks great and it's delicious!

Double Chocolate Rum Cake

2009-10-18T17:32:00.007-04:00

Today I baked my first rum cake; and it turned out delicious. I used a recipe from the Cake Mix Doctor, I got the book yesterday and decided to try it out. The cake was very easy and fast to make, the consistency was tender and moist. It calls for 1/2 cup of gold rum which I thought it was going to be too much, but it was just enough to get the rum taste; plus the raspberry rum sauce gives a little extra - delish!

I just tried this recipe for now but I will bake some others. I love the way this book shows the cake pictures right at the beginning of the book with the page for the recipe. It makes it very easy to pick and choose what you want to bake.

PB&J Cupcakes

2009-10-05T19:10:00.007-04:00

Last weekend I decided to turn one of my husband’s favorite sweet treats, PB&J sandwich, into a cupcake.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcake Ingredients:

1 box of white cake mix, you can also use butter cake mix
2-3 cups of Peanut butter spread; I used Jiffy’s reduced fat
3 eggs
3-1/2 sticks of unsalted butter (oil substitute)
¼ cup sour cream
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 cup of milk (water substitute)
Grape or strawberry jelly
1/2 cup chopped peanuts

Directions:

Cream about ¾ cups of peanut butter with ½ stick of butter
Just follow the instruction of the cake mix box, but make the substitutions listed above.
Add to creamed peanut butter - cake mix, eggs, vanilla extract, 1 stick of butter, sour cream, milk
Fold in chopped peanuts
Bake according to cake box instructions

After cooled, inject the jelly into each cupcake with a piping tip and voila! Now, it’s ready for icing.

Peanut Butter Icing

Mix about 1-2 cups of peanut butter with 2 cups of confectioning sugar; taste it to make sure it’s not too sweet and make sure it stays at a good consistence for decoration. Not too hard and not too soft.

Well, it turned out delicious and I even had extra for a little cake.

If you like PB&J sandwiches, this is a must. I am sure you will love it!

Strawberry Banana Cake

2009-09-15T07:51:00.006-04:00

Last Sunday I made a delicious and moist strawberry banana cake with Coconut Swiss buttercream; then, sprinkled some coconut flakes on top.

The recipe was a mixture of a semi homemade magazine strawberry cake recipe and my usual recipe. But, instead of using a strawberry cake mix I used a white cake mix and added strawberry gelatin to give it color and flavor and it made it really moist, this was the recipe from the magazine. Then, just added butter, milk, eggs, sour cream, vanila extract, and a pinch of salt. After it's all mixed up I added the fresh chopped strawberries and bananas. Baked at 350 for about 40 minutes. Then, voila! !

Let the cake cool for about an hour then frost with the Swiss coconut buttercream - DELISH!

BTW- I took the Swiss buttecream recipe from cupcake recipe book .

See more strawberry cake at http://lapetitebaker.blogspot.com/2009/07/starwberry-cake.html

Family recipe - Tiramisu Cold dessert

2009-08-31T11:13:00.006-04:00

This is a delicious cold dessert my mother and gramma used to make. I tried a few times but had no luck. Then, finally asked my gramma for the correct recipe; it turned out delicious. In Portuguese, this dessert is called "Pave Gelado" similar translation would be "Cold Dessert"

Ingredients

1 can of condensed milk
1 can of milk you can use 2% but full fat is always better
1 can of table cream
4 eggs - separate egg whites and yolks
2 packs of ladies fingers wafers
4 tbps of sugar
1 cup of chocolate milk

Directions

Freeze the table cream for one hour before using, to eliminate liquids. Place condensed milk, milk and 4 egg yolks in a sauce pan ; stir it until you get a thick consistence. Place the thick cream in a glass dish, 11'x8" approximately. Dip ladies fingers in chocolate milk and sugar and place two layers of the wet wafers over the thick cream.

Beat the 4 egg whites until peak and add table cream, from freezer (make sure there is no liquids on the top layer), add 4 tbps of sugar. Mix is all and pour it over the wafers' layer. Cover with aluminum foil and place it in freezer for at least 2-3 hours.

Enjoy!

Tips -

you can add some instant coffee to bottom or top layer to give it a bit of tiramisu taste.
if you like coconut, sprinkle some coconut flakes on top of the last layer and/or shaved chocolate like I did

Baby Shower Purse Cake

2009-08-16T16:15:00.007-04:00

This was my third purse cake and it came out real cute. It was for my girl friend's baby shower yesterday. I got the idea from another baby shower purse cake picture someone sent me a while ago. I made the cake a day before to let it cool and decorated the next day. It was a chocolate cake with chocolate chips and coconut buttercream icing.

The little green shoes and bibb were made with fondant. I added a few baby spoons on the side pocket and a little baby bottle. Also, a real pacifier next to the baby shoes.

Everyone loved the cake and they kep telling me a should open a bake shop!

This is Melissa - she looked so cute! She is having a baby girl ;-)

Messy picture of the cake after we started slicing it. But, it was delicious.

Find some instructions on how to make a purse cake or Making a purse cake

Orange Peel Cake

2009-08-11T08:14:00.005-04:00

Saturday I made a delicious orange peel cake. And, I made it out of a moist yellow cake mix. I like to sometimes mix my recipes, it’s a bit dangerous because they say baking is a science and you need to follow the measurements to have it all come together. But, it’s fun to experiment and see the results, plus you can also learn along the process.

So, even though the orange cake tastes it shrunk about 1” or 2”, from when I took it out of the oven. My husband thinks it need to bake longer; I don’t agree because I did the tooth pick test and it came out dry so it was time to remove from the oven. I think that the one possible reason the cake shrunk is because I opened the oven once and actually moved the rack out of it to check o nthe cake; and I read in this other web site http://www.baking911.com/ that you are not supposed to do that. Oh well, live and learn. I won’t do it next time. My husband likes the taste but still think he can taste the dough; I think it’s because the cake is really moist. I added orange juice, a whole orange, orange rum, and milk; so a lot of liquids.

Here is the recipe:

1 box moist yellow cake

Eggs, follow cake mix instructions

½ stick of unsalted butter

1 cup of sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbp orange rum

½ cup of milk – 2% is ok
½ cup of orange juice
1 whole orange, ground in food processor

Follow cake mix package instructions for oven temperature. Grease 9” round pan; I use Bakers Joy. Also, follow instructions from cake mix for mixing ingredients, you will be replacing the oil for the butter and the water with milk and the orange juice, add the vanilla and rum orange extracts. Then, add the whole orange.

I made a creamcheese icing for this cake, but you can also do an orange glaze, or no icing at all.

Once it’s done, let it cool and enjoy!

Julie & Julia - My Movie review

2009-08-09T18:21:00.011-04:00

I watched Julie & Julia this afternoon, with my husband, and we both loved. It was funny and a even emotional at times. I think a lot of people can identify with Julie, the girl making Julia's recipes; her frustrations, ups and downs about what to do with her life and her work. Plus, you get a little glimpse of Paris, circa 1950 - I hope it was Paris - if not, it was still a pretty scenery.

Meryl Streep did a great job playing Julia Child; she is too funny and was able to walk in those really high heels to be as tall as Julia was. She had a real loving husband, Paul, and they both loved each other very much and seemed to always encourage each other a lot, no matter what; something to learn from them. So, I recommend to all of you food fanatics out there and even if you never watched food shows from Julia Child, like me, you will still like the movie and be encouraged to start cooking and, in my case, I will look for a Julia Child DVD to see some of her cooking shows. And, I am even thinking of getting the book Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Now, go watch it!

Here is a clip from one of Julia Child's TV show

Smart Penguin

2009-08-07T14:24:00.008-04:00

Smart Penguin and cute! This post has nothing to do with baking but a cool and funny video to watch. Penguin was able to dodge the whales and make some new friends ;-)

Ok, some baking stuff now - so I will be making a cool baby shower cake next week - came back to see it. It will be a baby purse with baby stuff in it. I will be making the tiny baby shoes with gum paste this weekend.

Cake Boss Video

2009-08-06T14:21:00.001-04:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Easy Blueberry Peach Pie

2009-08-06T12:57:00.002-04:00

The other night I made a very easy and delicious blueberry peach pie, with ingredients I had in my pantry. Since blueberries are in season and at low cost, I stocked up to get my antioxidants servings for the day, suggested 5 servings by Dr. Oz , Oprah’s doctor, and also used to make this delicious pie.

Ok, so here is what you need – Blueberry Peach Pie Ingredients:

1 package of room temperature Pillsbury pie crust – keep package to follow instructions
1 can of sliced peaches
½ cup of fresh blueberries
Get ingredients listed on pie crust package – it might be a recipe to make apple pie, but you can sue the same things this pie, just replacing apples with blueberries and sliced peaches

Directions

Roll out pie crust on round baking dish
Make pie filling by following instructions from pie crust using package; sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, flour etc – use sliced peaches and fresh blueberries instead
Pour pie filling into pie crust
Roll out second pie crust to cover pie, sprinkle some sugar
Bake in oven at 425 degrees for about 40-45 min. Set rack in middle

I wonder if blueberry pie slice would count as a serving of our needed antioxidants for the day! Probably so, but also count for the calorie intake and sugar, carbs etc – all that bad and good stuff we love ;-)

Enjoy!

Banana Butterscotch Cream Pie

2009-08-03T22:20:00.004-04:00

This weekend I made a quick dessert with some bananas and sugar-free butterscotch instant pudding – easy and delicious. So, here is what you need:

2 bananas

1 pack of instant pudding – butterscotch for this recipe but you can also use vanilla; it doesn’t have to be sugar-free but it makes me fell a little better and it tastes just as good as the regular pudding

1 chocolate gram cracker crust; you can also make your gram cracker crust if you prefer – but since this was a quick fix I used the store bough gram cracker crust

Directions

Slice the bananas, and place them all over the crust

Prepare the pudding according to box directions and pour it over the bananas

Place it in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to

I also topped with chocolate cookie crumbs - just delicious!

You know, before I started baking I never knew that almost every ingredient you by comes with a little recipe on the box; I never paid any attention to the box; I used to open and discard it right away – not anymore! How can you go wrong? This is how I started many of my baking and some cooking too – just look at the box and try the suggested recipe.

My Test Kitchen

2009-08-01T16:29:00.005-04:00

That weekend I was trying a few differeent things to enter the Pillsbury Bake-Off contest, which I did and now I am waiting to be called ;-) so I hope!

Ok, so I made a delicious chocolate tart, which got perfected later and fa ew other sweet things - check out my test kitcehn post at http://webbyzard.wordpress.com/2009/03/17/having-fun-baking/

Peanut butter cookie stack

Baking on Sunday – Cupcakes, wheat bread & more

2009-08-01T16:20:00.006-04:00

You have to check this post I did a few months ago, it's in my other blog; and I guess I am just to lazy to move it all to the new La Petite Baker blog, so I will be adding links to my older baking posts here and there.

Anyway, that Sunday I wanted to finish a lot of the stuff in refrigerator, like ½ can of cranberries and ½ can of crushed pineapple. So, in an effort to not let the food spoil ..... read more go to http://webbyzard.wordpress.com/2009/03/24/baking-cupcakes-wheat-bread/

Key West Key Lime Pie

2009-08-01T16:10:00.004-04:00

If you have ever been to Key West, FL you might have seen that some stores sell their own key lime ice cream; which tastes just like a key lime pie on a stick but covered with rich dark chocolate - very delicious.

So, with that in mind, I decided to create my own version of the Key West Key Lime Pie. And, as you can see in the picture, it came out great. I used the blottled key lime juice and just followed the directions, then added some coconut flakes, coconut is one of my favorite ingredients to add to my baking. Ok, so ater the pie was baked and cooled I poured a tick layer of good dark chocolate ganache, and to the refrigerator it went. At the end, just made some homemade whipped cream and decorated. Voila!

Below is a picture of my ordinary Key Lime Pie - but also very yummy!

Wedding Cake

2009-08-01T16:01:00.003-04:00

Wedding cake customer testimonial below (about 75 guests):

Hello,
That cake was huge. Do you know that every one had a piece and we still had leftovers of the cake. That by far was the best cake I had ever had and prettiest! I think the shells just made the cake. Dave loved the fondant and the chocolate in the cake. I will be sending you pictures of the wedding. Thank you again.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth L. – Dec, 2008

Now, on my end, I had fun making this 3-tier cake but it was soo much work! Since I was doing in my own kitchen sometimes the space was somewhat limited. Also, I can't just keep going and not cleaning after each step - I am a Virgo and with a little OCD - but, in the end it was great!

But, next time I would go for fresh flowers vs fondant.

Julie & Julia movie

2009-07-29T10:45:00.002-04:00

Something I am excited about next week is the new movie Julie and Julia. I can't wait to go see it. Meryl Streep looks so funny as Julia Childs and she is awesome anyway. I will give my review of the movie as well. In the mean time, you can check out some movie clips at the web site http://www.julieandjulia.com/

Chiffon Cake Recipe Video

2009-07-28T10:12:00.002-04:00

Video recipe from The Culinary Institute of America. Get the full Chiffon cake recipe on the CanolaInfo website

Sunday Baking - Chocolate Cake

2009-07-27T11:34:00.003-04:00

This Sunday I wanted to try a chocolate cake from a box with coffee; to give a deeper taste. I have been using box cake mix lately but adding a few different ingredients to make the taste better and almost like all homemade; it just saves a lot of time and you get almost the same. I wouldn’t do it if it was a special order, but just for us at home it’s really perfect. I still bake homemade cakes once in while but why not take advantage of the box mix and save time.

Anyway, the replacement and extra ingredients are:

1 cup of sour cream
1/3 cup of real butter
1 cup of 2 % milk
In this cake, I also used strong coffee (½ of the liquid ingredients)
Chocolate chips (optional)
Cocoa powder (1 tbsp)
1 tsp vanilla extract

The cake came out delicious and I just used some butter cream icing I had from my last cake, plus added some Nutella to cover the sides and embellished with berries and whipped cream – DELICIOUS! I even added a chocolate design on top.

Vintage Hand Mixer

2009-07-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

My co-worker recently moved to a new place and, in the process, she found some kitchen small appliances that she didn’t use and decided to give them away. When she brought this cute GE vintage hand mixer, circa 1980’s we think, I was so excited and temped to take it for me; just in case I am ever using my own hand mixer and needed someone else to help with another mixing in the process, I would have a second one. But, I figure it’s just one more thing to clutter my house and I don’t really need it.

Even though I decide to not take it for me I still wanted to give to someone that needed and would appreciate; VOILA! I had a moment and remembered my friend Melissa; she needs one! Melissa need to start baking once in a while for her 10 year old son and husband – actually she is about to give birth to her second child and I am not sure she will have time to bake for a while or learn to bake; because she never did. By the way – I will be making a baby shower cake for her in a few weeks – came back for it.

So, back to the vintage hand mixer, Melissa was very glad I offered her the mixer and said “YES, I NEED IT! Thanks.” So, the cute hand mixer is going to a good home and will be put to work soon, I hope.

What most impressed me about this hand mixer is the fact that it has instructions about speed on both sides of the handle and the beaters are a bit different too; it also has little attachments o n the sides to hold the beaters, too cool! Maybe I over reacted, but I was happy to be able to give to a friend that needs it.

Check out the GE hand mixer pictures …

Here comes the bride, wedding cake, and carved watermelon

2009-07-20T14:41:00.001-04:00

This weekend I went to friend’s wedding. I was one of the bridesmaids and could not be involved in making that cake. Also, the bride’s cousin was already in charge of the cake. Surprisingly enough I did not take a picture of the cake, but I did take a picture of the carved watermelon. It looked so cool with their names carved on the outside and roses carved inside. The top was carved out of yellow squash.

The wedding cake was a 3-tier square chocolate cake with butter cream icing only and fresh flowers, plus a coral ribbon around each tier. If I was making the cake I would use fondant to give it a more sophisticated look and I would also make a richer chocolate cake; perhaps adding espresso coffee or even chocolate chips. I have a book called Confetti Cakes that has a great chocolate cake recipe. Overall it was an OK cake, but nothing too special. I guess most people have very high expectations for wedding cakes and it’s easy to be let down.

Well, cake aside, the important thing here is that I had a great time and I am very happy for my friend and her now husband. Congrats!

Chocolate Cake with Swiss Run Buttercream Icing

2009-07-14T16:10:00.004-04:00

This was a cake I made for muy husband's birthday. I took a delicious cupcake recipe from this book and turned into a small cake. The swiss run buttercream icing was soo delicious. See more at http://webbyzard.wordpress.com/2009/05/24/delicious-chocolate-cake/

Strawberry Cake with Kiwi and Coconut

2009-07-13T17:47:00.001-04:00

This cake turned out delicious, I made an strawberry Swiss buttercream icing. I do have to say that I used a different brand butter and the icing has a little bit of butter taste to it. But, not as much after the first day. The fresh strawberries and kiwi makes it even more scrumptious! Ah- and the chocolate shavings just give it a fancy look too ;-)

My Baking Blog

2009-07-08T08:04:00.000-04:00

I have another blog but decided to create this one just for baking - all of my cakes and dessersts are at http://webbyzard.wordpress.com/la-petite-baker/ - I will be moving all of it to La Petite Baker blog and adding more as time permits.

Coconut Cupcakes

2009-07-06T12:16:00.000-04:00

Key Club Chocolate Cake

2009-07-06T12:13:00.000-04:00

Peach Pie for July 4th!

2009-07-06T12:12:00.000-04:00

Chococlate Raspberry Cupcakes

2009-07-06T12:11:00.000-04:00

Soccer T-Shirt Cake

2009-07-06T11:53:00.002-04:00

Heart Cakes

2009-07-06T11:52:00.001-04:00

D&G Purse Cake

2009-07-06T11:51:00.001-04:00

Purse Cake

2009-07-06T11:47:00.001-04:00

18 year old birthday cake for my girl-friend's daughter.

Cupcakes for the Cure

2009-07-06T11:46:00.000-04:00

Gift Box Cake

2009-07-06T11:45:00.002-04:00

I made this this cake for my boss's birthday; she loved and so did I. It's great to make someone smile when looking at something you made; plus I had so much fun doing it! It was a chocolate cake with coconut butter cream icing. Ans, for this icing I used coconut milk instead of water or just coconut extract; it made the icing very light and fluffy - delicious!

Then, decorated the outside of the cake with colored fondant; I only use Satin Fine fondant. See steps on how to use decorate a cake with fondant

The Pink Bow Cake

2009-07-06T11:44:00.002-04:00

Flower Basket Cake

2009-07-06T11:44:00.001-04:00

Carrot Cake

2009-07-06T11:42:00.000-04:00

Baby Shower Cake

2009-07-03T17:52:00.000-04:00

View my girl friend's reaction to the cake and more pictures - click here for more baby shower cake

Lolas Cupackery

2009-07-03T17:51:00.000-04:00

I just went to Lola's Cupcakery and loved her bakery! And, she was really nice too.