Today’s post is twice the treat!  Not only do we have a beautiful new cake design to showcase, but we’re going to learn something new as well!  Our contributor, Miso of Miso Bakes, created this incredible cake and is kindly sharing one of her techniques with us.  So once we finish swooning over Miso’s lovely design, we’ll learn how to make one of the elegant sugar flowers she used.  Frilly and flirty, carnations are not just a filler flower!  They’re a great place to start if you’re new to making gumpaste flowers.  The layers of ruffly petals are more forgiving for beginning hands.  Plus, carnations would be perfect for your upcoming Valentine’s Day cakes!  I can just envision the pink carnations now!  So first, let’s enjoy the beauty of Miso’s Modern Sugar Flower Cake and then we’re on to her Frilly Handmade Carnations.

Miso shared a few thoughts about her design:

“I have always wanted to create a cake using my favorite colors but never really got around to it until early last Spring. I spent a couple of weeks creating tons of roses, carnations, ranunculus, and gardenias out of gumpaste so I could pick and choose the finest ones to be displayed on the cake. I wanted the cake to be covered in flowers but at the same time be chic, bold, and crisp.”

Be still my heart!  From the striking color combination to the elegant flowers, this design is just stunning!  I love the varying shades of purple against the white contrast with just a few pops of green.  And now… the promised tutorial.  Frilly and flirty, handmade carnations!

To make carnations:

1. Create a core using a pea-sized ball of gumpaste. Dry until hard.
2. Cut out a flower or a circle using a flower or round cutter.
3. Using a knife, make slits all around the edge of the flower or round gumpaste.
4. Frill the edges.
5. Slide through the wire all the way to the base of the core.
6. Wet and fold in half.
7. Glue a corner to the center.
8. Repeat on the other side, but this time, folding it the opposite way.
9. What it looks like with the first layer.
10. Repeat with as much layers as desired. You should increase the size of the cutters every 2-3 layers. When you get to the last few layers, folding the petals is not needed. Just slide it to the base, wet the petals, and gently mold it to the shape of the flower.  This is what a completed carnation looks like!

A special thanks to Miso for sharing her exquisite Modern Sugar Flower Cake with us today!  And for teaching us all how to create our own Frilly Handmade Carnations!  If you give Miso’s carnation tutorial a try, be sure to come back and tell us about it!  Happy flower making!

Vendors & Credits:
Cake & Carnation Tutorial :  Miso Bakes
Photography (cake images) :  Sylvia G Photo

With the NFL playoffs in full swing, the big game is quickly approaching.  Whether you love football or hate football, you’re sure to watch the Super Bowl.  It’s a great excuse to have a party!  Good friends, drinks and of course, food!  So why not kick it up a notch and serve something just a little different for dessert.  Something a tad more ‘manly’ that can hang with chicken wings and chips.  Something like beer brownies or whiskey cookies!  You’ll score big with these super sweets, shared with us by Esther of Batch from Scratch.  From Whiskey Ginger Cookies to unique Black & Tan Pretzel Bars, these mouth-watering desserts are sure to please even the toughest crowd!

Crispy and chewy, these Whiskey Ginger Cookies are filled with whiskey-infused cherries and drizzled with a shot of whiskey icing!  We featured this recipe last year for Father’s Day, but I think it would be perfect for the football-watching crowd too.  You can find Esther’s recipe for the Whiskey Ginger Cookies HERE.

And now for the second gameday sweet!  A layer of fudgy beer brownie topped with butterscotch ale ganache and salty pretzels!  These Black & Tan Pretzel Bars would definitely have the crowd roaring!

Black & Tan Pretzel Bars
{recipe and images shared by Batch from Scratch}

For the Beer Brownies:

4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate
8 oz Butter
1 Egg
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Cocoa
1 1/4 cup Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Vanilla
8 oz Beer (Malty)
8 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate

1. Melt bittersweet chocolate & butter (in microwave or double boiler)
2. beat egg, sugar and brown sugar for 3 minutes
3. while eggs & sugar are mixing, mix dry ingredients: cocoa, flour, salt
4. add melted chocolate to egg mixture
5. mix in dry ingredients
6. add vanilla and beer until incorporated
7. add semi-sweet chocolate
8. bake at 350 for 35 minutes until knife comes out clean

For the Butterscotch Ale Ganache:

7 oz Condensed Milk
5.5 oz Butterscotch
5.5 oz White Chocolate Chips
4 oz Ale
1 tbsp Butter

1. combine condensed milk, butterscotch, white chocolate and ale in a small pan, over medium heat
2. stir until melted and smooth
3. add in butter

For the topping:
1/3 cup Crushed Pretzels

Assembly

1. top baked stout brownies with ale ganache
2. top with 1/3 cup of crushed pretzels
3. refrigerate until firm, cut and serve

Whatever you plan for the big game, make sure you’ve got plenty of finger foods, cold drinks and a sweet treat for your guests!  Thanks to Esther of Batch from Scratch for sharing her crowd-pleasing recipes with us!  Now, who’s ready for some football!

Hold on to your hats because today’s adorable baby shower is sure to blow you away!  Up, Up and Away, that is!  When I first received a note from Jessica Harris about this event… I knew it would be good!  We’ve had the pleasure to ooh and awe over Jessica’s cakes in the past (see them here).  She is an incredible cake designer who also happens to be part of a family of artistic women!  So what happens when a talented graphic designer (Kim Harris), cake designer (Jessica Harris) and photographer (Jamie Zanotti) come together to welcome a new baby girl into the family?  An amazingly sweet and thoughtful event full of charming DIY touches.  Based on the baby’s hot air balloon nursery, prepare to be swept away by this Up, Up and Away Baby Shower!

Kim Harris, creator of the invitation and graphics, was kind enough to share some of her thoughts with us about this adorable shower.

“Jamie and I decided on the theme for the baby shower based on what Ashley (the mom-to-be) wanted to do in the nursery, hot air balloons.  Since this was her first girl we wanted everything to be soft and vintage and girly, thus the reason for all the pink!  With a little vintage blue added in here and there!”

More from Kim…

“I knew I wanted to have hanging hot air balloon decorations that had a strong impact but I couldn’t find anything online that wasn’t expensive.  I was looking through Ashley’s nursery inspiration board and she had saved these tissue paper lanterns from Martha Stewart.  I decided I would make the hot air balloon decorations based on a different version of these, using pages from a book instead of tissue paper, which I thought would look a little more vintage.  I used paper lanterns for the base of the balloons, scrap book paper for the hot air balloon basket and bakers twine to tie it all together.  Cheap, fun, cute and easy!”

Okay, can we pause for a second and talk about this cake?  I absolutely love the striped details around the bottom and the detail work on the hot air balloons is perfect!  Staggered in height and intermixed with clouds, these hot air balloons are oh-so-charming!

The pink and white striped ‘tablecloth’ is actually a twin-sized sheet, found on sale at Target.  Such a clever way to save money without skimping on the pretty!

A few last thoughts from Kim:

“This shower was truly DIY – we did everything ourselves, from the cloud cookie favors to the suckers and sucker stand to the invitations and signage and food.  The beautiful cake by Jess was truly the cherry on top that tied everything together.  What a talented family we have!!”

I could not agree more!  A huge thank you to all three of these talented ladies for sharing this delightful Up, Up and Away Baby Shower with us today!  It’s absolutely dreamy!  You can get the full scoop on Jessica’s hot air balloon cake on the Jessicakes Blog.     

Vendors & Credits:
Cake:  Jessica Harris of Jessicakes
Invitation & Graphics:  Kim Harris
Photography:  Jamie Zanotti

With Arctic air making its way across the country, wreaking havoc with cold temperatures, ice and snow… I thought we’d wrap up with week with a little bit of snow we can all enjoy!  With a soft glow and subtle shimmer, today’s cake captures the magical beauty of a white winter.  White-on-white textures like ruffles and pinwheels combine with frilly flowers and delicate buttons.  The result is one exquisite cake, create by Stevi Auble, owner of Hey There, Cupcake! So bundle up, grab a mug of hot cocoa and let it snow!  We’ll be enjoying this Snowy Winter White Wedding Cake….

Did I mention the incredible touches of silver, including edible silver leaf and a fabulous cake stand?  And for the love of chevron… what a perfect backdrop for this design!  The soft blue and silver tones really add to the chilly winter vibe.

Stevi shared a few thoughts about her lovely design:

“This cake was made with visions of a snowy magical winter in mind. The flowers, buttons, ruffles & pinwheels are all handmade and consists of many different edible materials including fondant, rice paper, gumpaste and poured sugar. I also used edible silver leaf to give some contrast to all of the whites on the cake.”

It’s like a snowy dream… only it won’t leave you frostbite!  The silver leaf accents really make the white detail work stand out and add a great wintry touch.  And those small clusters of vertical frills… LOVE them!  I’m not sure if there is a technical term for these.  All I know is that I love them!

A special thank you to Stevi Auble, of Hey There, Cupcake!, for sharing her fabulous Snowy Winter White Wedding Cake with us today.  It is just stunning!  Happy Friday everyone!

Vendors & Credits:
Cake:  Hey There, Cupcake!
Be a Fan:  Hey There, Cupcake on Facebook
Photography:  Bryan Miller

Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy, is back with her first post of the year…

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and is looking forward to a fresh start in 2012!  I am excited to kick off a new year and share one of my family’s favorite recipes for Italian Cream Cake.  This is a family recipe that has been around for as long as I can remember and one that we always enjoy around the holidays, especially the winter months.  With winter around for a little while longer and still a chance of snow for some of you that live in colder climates, I thought this recipe would be perfect baked as individual cakes to resemble snowballs.  I hope you enjoy these Italian Cream ‘Snowball’ Cupcakes.

The base of the cake is white and fluffy loaded with chopped walnuts and flaked coconut.  Apply a heaping mound of cream cheese icing and garnish with coconut flakes to create a mound of snow on top.  Aren’t these just the cutest little edible snowballs!  Although these cupcakes taste amazing at room temperature, my family loves to enjoy them after being chilled in the refrigerator!  You can’t go wrong either way!

For this particular batch of cupcakes I decided to bake them in Wilton White Nut & Party Cups.  I simply placed the paper cups on baking sheets instead of using a muffin pan.  You should be able to find these cups in the baking section of your local craft store if you want to use them.  Traditional paper cupcake liners will work perfectly fine as well, I just wanted to try something “new” for the new year with these cupcakes!

This cake recipe is pretty versatile and works well as an 8″ 3-layer cake as well.  If you aren’t a huge lover of coconut then feel free to garnish with chopped walnuts instead.  Or you can swap out the walnuts for pecans.  We love to switch up the garnish in my family!

Italian Cream Cake Cupcakes
(makes 24 cupcakes)

For the cake:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sugar
5 eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 bag (14 oz) flaked coconut (use 1/2 cup for cake, remaining for garnish)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place paper cups on a baking sheet.
2. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and vegetable shortening.
3. Add sugar and continue beating until mixture is smooth.
4. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Combine flour and baking soda.
6. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
7. Stir in vanilla, 1/2 cup coconut and walnuts.
8. Beat egg whites with electric mixer until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into cake batter.
9. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
10. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
11. Let cupcakes cool on pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
12. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with Cream Cheese icing.

For the icing:
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
5 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tsp vanilla

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until well combined.
2. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add vanilla and mix until combined.
4. Frost cupcakes with offset spatula and garnish with coconut flakes.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!  Here’s to a wonderful and exciting new year!

	Lauren Kapeluck Lauren is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.

Nothing cures the Monday blues like a big dose of pretty!  And that’s exactly what we have in store for you today.  We’re starting off the week with a romantic dessert table to make you swoon!  With buttercream frills, ruffled rosette swirls and ombre, this display will steal your heart.  The soft pastel color scheme is a perfect combination of peach and mint with a pop of gold.  Featuring three incredible cakes, a whimsical balloon backdrop and festive streamers…  feast your eyes on this Fresh & Feminine Cake Table, shared with us by Jenna Rae Cakes.

Are you swooning yet? This charming table included three cakes: a mini buttercream frill cake in shades of mint, an ombre layer cake with buttercream rosette swirls and an incredible fondant covered petal cake as the centerpiece. Meringues, white chocolate covered cake pops, boxed favors, streamers and balloons completed this lovely display. Not to mention the oh-so-cute cake menu!

So many great uses of color gradation in this table… both inside and outside the cake! A peach ombre layer cake is covered in buttercream rosette swirls and the results are beautiful!

Jenna Rae tells us about her inspiration:

“The inspiration for the table came from a style board my sister, Graphic Designer Ashley Illchuk, and Jessie Thiessen from One Plus One Design came up with.  I loved the colour palette.  Mint green and peach are my favorite colors to work with right now….  This is a great alternative to a big wedding cake, and gives the guests more variety.  It also adds a modern touch to your big day.”

Isn’t it lovely!  It would be perfect for a wedding, bridal shower or even a baby shower.  AND I think it would be a lovely change to the typical reds and pinks for Valentine’s day.  The soft colors and delectable sweets definitely create a sense of romance.

A big thanks to Jenna Rae for sharing this charming Fresh & Feminine Cake Table with us!  We love, love, love it!  Happy Monday everyone!

Vendors & Credits:
Cake :  Jenna Rae Cakes
Photography:  Tracey Kiansky Photography
Styling : One Plus One Design and Ashley Illchuk

I know everyone is still recovering from the holidays.  And I promise that I’m not about to start with the Valentine’s posts already.  But if you can just wrap your head around the next holiday for one quick moment…  Now’s the time to hit the Christmas Clearance section at Target and grab some of these cute felt ornaments, before they’re gone!  At 70% off, they come out to be 10 cents a piece!  Easily re-purposed for Valentine’s Day…. these felt hearts are a cheap, easy and quick Valentine’s decoration.  Yay for Felt Heart Ornaments!

At 10 cents a heart, the uses for these felt cuties are limitless!  Of course you could use them as sold, but I snipped off the gold ornament tie and added my own white string.  A plaid, striped or polka dot ribbon would be adorable as well!

I’m sure you’ll come up with additional uses, but here’s a few of my ideas for these adorable felt hearts:

• Tie on to your baked goods for Valentine’s treats
• Tape onto envelopes for hand-delivered Valentine’s cards
• Decorate Valentine’s boxes for school
• Center on a plate for an easy Valentine’s place setting
• Create a row down the center of your table for a heart table runner
• String many hearts together to create a heart garland
• Hang several strings of several hearts together to create a mobile

There were oodles of them still at my Target yesterday, but the Christmas Clearance is going fast!  I spotted them in red, white, lime green, bright turquoise and purple.  If you snag some, be sure to come back and show us what you create with them. 

Happy Shopping!

	Carrie Sellman is the Founder & Editor of The Cake Blog. Her work has been published in BRIDES Magazine, The Bride and Bloom, on DIYnetwork.com, TLC’s Parentables and more. Read more about Carrie on her bio page.

I am officially signing off for a few days to spend the holidays with my family.  But before I go, I thought I’d leave you with a quick recap of our holiday cake series….  it’s been 12 days of festive cake inspiration here on Half Baked.  Hopefully it has inspired you to holiday cake greatness and made you very merry!  It’s 12 bakers baking…. it’s The 12 Cakes of Christmas! Ho, Ho, Ho!

The 1st Cake of Christmas…  A Gingerbread, Candy Cane Fantasy created by Pink Cake Box.
The 2nd Cake of Christmas… A Wintry Enchanted Forest created by Cake Opera Co.
The 3rd Cake of Christmas… A Scottish Tartan Ruffle Cake created by Maggie Austin Cake.
The 4th Cake of Christmas… A 3D Santa Penguin Cake created by Amanda Oakleaf Cakes.
The 5th Cake of Christmas… A Gold & Navy Winter Wedding created by Sharon Wee Creations.
The 6th Cake of Christmas… A Snowy Winter White Cake created by AK Cake Design.
The 7th Cake of Christmas… A Mini Merry Snowman DIY created by Miso Bakes.
The 8th Cake of Christmas… A Santa, Penguin, Snowman created by BunsInTheOven Cupcakery.
The 9th Cake of Christmas… A Snowy, Sugar Flower Scene created by Lael Cakes.
The 10th Cake of Christmas… A Winter White Houndstooth Cake created by Erica O’Brien.
The 11th Cake of Christmas… A Ruffle Christmas Tree created by Bubble and Sweet.
The 12th Cake of Christmas… A Nutcracker Cake created by The Pastry Studio.

A very merry thank you to all of the talented designers who shared their incredible cakes with us!    Be sure to check out additional designs from these and other talented cake artists in our Holiday Cake Gallery.

May your holiday season be full of love, joy and laughter… and many, many sweet treats!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Our holiday cake inspiration, The 12 Cakes of Christmas, is quickly coming to a conclusion.  We’ve showcased a wide variety of holiday cakes, varying in style and created by talented cake artists across the globe.  Some cakes were from well-established bakeries, some from today’s hottest cake designers and some from fresh talent breaking onto the cake scene.  And to make it even more interesting, today’s cake is from a talented lady best known for her cookies and sweets on a stick.  But she can also make one impressive Ruffle Tree Cake!

You may have seen the green version of this cake floating around Pinterest earlier in the month…. I know I did!  It’s was absolutely lovely and caught the eye of many avid pinners!  Today, I’m thrilled to share the grown up, elegant version created in shades of cream and gold.  Filled with latte cake and white chocolate ganache, today’s cake from Linda Vandermeer of Bubble and Sweet is incredible!  Layers of frills topped with a single gold star, this Ruffle Christmas Tree Cake is the 11th Cake of Christmas!

Linda shared a few thoughts about the inspiration for her design:

“I love the look of ruffle cakes and for my daughter’s birthday party I had made a 3 tier ruffle cake and had so many requests on how to make it I felt I needed to do some type of tutorial for my blog.  By the time I got around to doing up the tutorial I was already in Christmas mode and I thought my kids would enjoy the fun shape of a 3D Christmas tree.  I had seen quite a few contemporary crafty (non edible) trees around made of ribbon and material and decided to make the cake along that theme.”

Isn’t it just dreamy?  I love the soft romantic ruffles with the small pop of gold.  It may only have one gold star at the top, but I think it deserves 5 stars!  Don’t you?

A huge thank you to Linda at Bubble and Sweet for sharing her elegant Ruffle Christmas Tree Cake with us!  You’ll be very happy to know that Linda has written up a tutorial on how to create a ruffle tree of your very own!  You can find it on her blog, HERE.  See you back here tomorrow for The 12th Cake of Christmas!  Ho, Ho, Ho!

Bubble and Sweet:
Website:  bubbleandsweet.blogspot.com
Be a Fan:  Bubble and Sweet on Facebook
Tutorial:  How to make a Ruffle Tree Cake

Today is going to be a two-post kind of day.  Because well… it’s crunch time!  Christmas is a mere 5 days away and there’s lots of baking and wrapping to be done!  But while you bustle around with last minute holiday prep, take a moment to pause and enjoy something beautiful.  Like the next cake in our series, The 12 Cakes of Christmas!

Imagine yourself in a smart wool coat wrapped with a fabulous scarf.  Now imagine that same look… but on a cake!  We’re bundling up with another winter beauty that is both sophisticated and sharp.  Houndstooth checks with a warm white-on-white pattern adorn the top and bottom tiers, allowing this geometric pattern to shine without being overbearing.  Complete with scarf-inspired pom poms, this Winter White Houndstooth Cake by Erica O’Brien is cozy chic.   It’s The 10th Cake of Christmas!

Erica shared a few thoughts about the inspiration for her design:

“For this cake, I used a winter white color palette. I wanted to give the cake some texture, and the houndstooth reminded me of warm woolen coats. The pompoms were inspired by those found on winter scarves, and the star design was based on a Christmas ornament that I love.”

A classic winter pattern reinterpreted on a cake!  I’m a sucker for geometric patterns on cakes and I especially love how the Houndstooth gives this design a great sense of texture.  With the detailing on the pom poms and the star, this cake is all about texture.  Such a delightful way to do white-on-white!

A very merry thank you to Erica O’Brien for sharing her charming Winter White Houndstooth Cake with us today.  It is cozy chic and perfectly suited for a winter wedding or an elegant holiday soiree.  Stay tuned for Cake #11 coming later today!  Now, get back to your hustle and bustle…

Vendors & Credits:
Cake: Erica O’Brien Cake Design
Photography: Ashleigh Taylor Photography