Crazy November

November is one of my favorite months - between all of my friends birthdays and the holidays in this month I can barely keep up. Four of my closest friends have birthdays in November, each of which as the "Blissful Baker" I took it upon myself to bake them some type of dessert. Each of them different (and daring) that I hope inspire you to try in the future.



For Leora's 20th Birthday:

For the longest time I wondered how bakers made their cakes so smooth and soft. I would pile on all the frosting in the world and glide my spatula back and forth until my arms killed but it never looked quite as smooth until I realized their little trick...fondant.

At around $8 a tub this crafty frosting can be quite pricey but definitely worth it. It gave the cake that smooth, clean, and polished finish I've been trying for SO long to acheive! I'll probably only save it to use for special events and such, but I'm really happy I  challenged myself with such an intense project and I'm thrilled it turned out so well.

Oh, and thats my friend casually trying to bite into that cake.







For Michelle's 20th Birthday:

Because of Michelle's never ending love for Sprinkles cupcakes, I decided to make a cake of the Sprinkle's classic red velvet with cream cheese frosting.

The double layered cake I made was accompanied by a meal my friends and I prepared for her consisting of a huge and hearty salad, the traditional pasta with tomato sauce, bruschetta, and sauteed yams with cranberries (which by the way has quickly become my new favorite food...)

The cake turned out as pretty and pink as I had hoped, but I must admit I was slightly dissapointed with the flavor of the cake and frosting. Then again, its kind of nuts of me to expect such great results from a cake mix that wasn't even $2, so I think from now on I'm going to make red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting from scratch....god help my kitchen!

This recipe is one that I'll be trying out...

For Liana's 20th Birthday:

Once again, we made a mess in the kitchen but a feast on the table for our Saturday night meal. This time instead of food for four,  my friends and I prepared a meal for seven.

My friend in the kitchen: Working hard or hardly working?

Feast...

We made the baked yam and cranberry dish (since we had all loved it before), a caprese salad, pesto pasta, pasta with tomato sauce, bruschetta, and a salad tossed with tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn.

For dessert I was originally going to make Liana banana cream pie (she adores the one from Urth Caffe) but when the idea of making an ice cream cake came in my head I just couldn't say no.

On it's way

The combination of coffee ice cream, chocolate cake, and creamy chocolate frosting was beyond perfect and the best way to close off our meal and stuff our stomachs.

                  

        

Sweet Success

Hope you all like the goods and can't wait to show you guys what else I've got cookin' up :)

XX

The Blissful Baker

Back in the Kitchen

So it's been a while (I'd say a year and a half but a century truly seems more accurate..) since I last visited  my blog. Reading my previous post was quite the trip cause it had been foreveerrr and holy crap I was joyous but what really brought my back was everything I've been inspired by in the past few months.

Some of my recent obsessions include websites like:

Cupcakes and Cashmere where the amazing Emily writes about fashion, decorating, and baking. I really don't know how she does it all but I check her website more than Facebook (and thats saying a lot)

Joy the Baker is actually to die for. Not only is she witty and beyonddd entertaining but her few posts here and there about her family and personal life make the blog that much more captivating. My personal favorite even though it has nothing to do with food (I know, shocking...) is I Accidentally Saw A Picture of You that is so perfectly spot on it almost made me cry. Anyways, I kinda totally love her and find myself refreshing the page to her blog like 4 times a day...

and lastly... Pinterest, where have you been all my life!! I don't know who create/discovered/invented this masterpiece but oh myyyy it is simply genius. I'm on this website for hours at a time whether its 2 pm in the afternoon and I should be out having a life or its 2 am and I really should be sleeping. Not only does the Humor tab put me in a significantly better mood but the Holidays & Events tab truly makes me want to have festive brunches and seasonal gatherings all the time. Special thanks to my lovely friends for attending those parties and being my food tasting guinea pigs :)

Anyways, all of my friends are becoming obsessed with it now too so its kinda the new thing...maybe the new Facebook??!

Probably not.

Anyways, this is me so far sharing what I love. By blog isn't only about baking, but I'll also share all sorts of random tid-bits about fashion, books, movies, and my life. So I guess after a long introduction all there is left to say is...welcome :)