Have You Heard The Word?

Have you heard the word? There is now a Cricut Cake!
In case you are unfamiliar with a Cricut, it is a fancy-shmancy die-cut machine. It is TO DIE FOR if you are of the scrapbooking  variety. I first became aware of the infamous Cricut through my former (wonderful) roommate, Miss Sarah Calvin. She is a supreme crafter, card-maker extraordinaire. And it is she, who has introduced me to the Cricut Cake! The die-cut machine now designed to deal with gum-paste and fondant! 

The cricut cake (seen at top) separately sells kits that come with elegant wedding stencils, birthday stencils, tool kits, replacement blades... the works! You just insert the desired stencil, and tell the machine what size to scale the cut to.


In addition to the specialized cake-related stencils, the hundreds of original cricut stencils work for the cake version also! With something like this, you could whip out elaborate, detailed shapes in no time to get very cute, original cakes, like the example below.

Interested in purchasing one of this handy-dandy doo-dads?? Check out the COTS store, where you can now buy them from my amazon shop.

Congratulations To The President!

I'm proud to say that I made a cake for the FIRST woman president to be elected in to the Shamrock Club of Columbus. :) Congratulations!

Every sculpted cake is a new experience, but this one was a doozy. I make cakes on the side.  So what does that mean? That I have a 'real job' which has to come first. Fortunately, I get to work from home often. Unfortunately... it seems that the larger the cake order, the more likely it is I will have to work away from home and at the office. Funny how that works. 

This cake was no exception. I got called in to work twice this week and got called out to WEST VIRGINIA the other day. (To help the bf. He owes me...) SO - this cake got all of my attention in the wee-hours of the night. Pulling one solid all-nighter out of me and a couple very late nights. 

I'm proud, but I'm glad it's over! Now it's time to REST! To view more photos, check out my photo gallery!

.:RECIPE o' THE MONTH:.

Sorry to be posting this a tad late. I was going to do it yesterday, but fell into a deep REM-state coma all afternoon, so you're getting it today! Truth be told, I haven't made this recipe yet, but I'm currently staring at the picture of it and I'm salivating. SO, it's gotta be good, right?? Check it out.


RUM BABY CAKES
(Courtesy of 2010 Ultimate Desserts mag.)
PREP TIME: 40 minutes      STAND: 15 Minutes
BAKE TIME: 25 minutes      OVEN: 350ºF
Makes 6 Servings


THE GOODS:
• 1 8-ounce can pineapple slices (juice pack), undrained
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, quartered
• 1/4 cup light rum
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 Tbs. butter
• non-stick spray for baking  Use butter - it's healthier.
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup flaked coconut
• 2 Tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• Maraschino cherries (optional)
• Whipped cream (optional)


PUT IT ALL TOGETHER NOW:
1. Drain pineapple well, reserving 1/3 cup of juice. Set pineapple aside. In a small saucepan combine the reserved 1/3 cup juice, dried apricots, and rum. Bring just to boiling; remove from heat. Let stand for 15 minutes. Strain mixture through a sieve into a bowl, reserving both the liquid and apricots. In the same saucepan, combine 1 Tbs. of the reserved liquid, the brown sugar and the 3 Tbs. butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.


2. Preheat oven to 350º. Lightly coat six 10-ounce ramekins or custard cups or 1-cup fluted tube pans with spray for baking butter. Spoon brown sugar mixture evenly into prepared dishes. Cut each pineapple slice into six pieces. Arrange pineapple and apricots on top of brown sugar mixture; set aside.


3. In a small bowl, stir together flour, coconut and baking powder; set aside. Measure remaining reserved liquid; add enough water to equal 2/3 cup total; set aside.


4. In a medium bowl, beat the 1/4 cup butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until combined. Alternately add flour mixture and the 2/3 cup liquid to butter mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined.


5. Carefully spoon batter over fruit in dishes. bake about 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Cool in dishes on wire racks for 5 minutes. Loosen cakes from sides of dishes; invert cakes onto six dessert plates. Spoon any brown sugar mixture remaining in dishes onto cakes. Serve warm. If desired, top with cherries or whipped cream.


PHOTO TO COME NEXT WEEK! That is when I'll have time to test this recipe and I'll share my photos when it's all finished! - I don't want to show you the magazine photo yet for fear of high expectations. ;)

.:TIP o' THE WEEK:.

THappy Monday!

For this week's tip, I've included a great video that demonstrates fondant application to a round cake. If you can move past the smooth jazz playing in the background, you'll find it's actually a great resource. Enjoy!