Happy Pi day!!

Happy pi day everyone! 3.14. It's a great number. I honestly can't think of anything better. A day where the world celebrates math by eating baked desserts. It's everything I love wrapped up in one special day. I, unfortunately, had to work today and never got around to making any pie. Sad, I know. But, I do have a bunch of pictures of delicious pie I've made in the past that I've been meaning to share with y'all. So, in celebration of a very important number, enjoy all the pie you want.

 This is a fresh cream berry tart that I made. The filling was so tasty. It was the perfect blend of creamy and sweet without being too heavy. This was also when I learned that if you glaze your berries with apricot jam they shine beautifully.

 

 This tart is something that I am very proud of. It is a plum tart with a lemon shortbread crust. That's right. Lemon. It was the tastiest thing I have ever tried in my life. The lemon contrasted with the plums so beautifully. Funny story about this particular tart though. I made one for dinner one night and as I was carrying it into the dining room, the pie slid right off the stand I had it on. I watched in horror as my beautiful and delicious creation flipped perfectly in the air and landed upside down on the floor. There was no saving the tart. (see full story here.) I can laugh about it now, but at the time, I was so angry and upset with myself. No one at that dinner got to taste the perfection that is this recipe. Of course, I had to make it again another time, so I suppose it all turned out well in the end.

 

And here we have apple butter hand pies. I made the apple butter from scratch using five different types of apples. It was thick and tasty and I didn't even have to add extra sugar for it to be just the right amount of sweet. And then you add a wonderful flakey crust and you get the perfect little portable treat. Hand pies are wonderful to eat for breakfast on the go when you're running late. ;)

Princess Castle Cake

I'm super excited about this cake. It's pretty and it was ridiculously fun to do. The conclusion of this experience? I need to take a photography class so I can actually take decent pictures. For whatever reason, I think my cakes always look so much better in person than they do it pictures. And this is a shame. So, without further ado, here is the cake. (Keep in mind the comment about photography.)

This was it built and iced but not decorated. The towers are rice crispy treats. :)

 
 

Almost there...

 

Getting closer...

And closer...

And BAM! It's finished! :)

Just a few close-ups of the piped details. I have learned to love piping lately.

I love flowers and vines. They have to be one of my favorite things to pipe. I put them all over the cakes I do at work, so this was easy.

I personally like the back the best. I think it looks prettier than the front with the doors and windows. But that's just me.

 

 

 

PS. Here's a picture of the Avengers cupcakes I did a few days ago. Nothing too fancy so I didn't want to write a whole other post for them. So, because I'm lazy, you get them as a bonus of this post. You're welcome. You know you want one. ;)

 



 

Hello world. It's been a while. Sorry about that. I just want you all to know that I have been busy, and that's why I haven't updated. I'm still baking. A lot. And definitely decorating much more. I recently got a job decorating cakes at a local grocery store. I have learned so much more than I thought I could. I thought I already knew the ins and outs of decorating. How wrong I was. Now I can confidently say that I am as good at piping as I am at decorating with fondant. I couldn't say that a year ago.

Anyways, back to this lovely post and the reason I'm finally updating. I made a chocolate chiffon cake. This, http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chocolate-Chiffon-Cake , is the recipe I based mine off of. I tweaked it to make it my own of course, but those are my secrets. ;)

It was fun to make and I love the taste of a chiffon cake. It is so light and fluffy. You could eat so much of it without realizing how much you've eaten. It's like the manna of the cake gods. Seriously. I topped mine with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream. It doesn't get ANY better than that.

Until next time all you wonderful people who have been so supportive. I will try to be better about updating, but no promises. I try not to make promises I might not keep. Happy baking! :)