Triple Berry Cake

For those of you who live in LA, you know a sweet tooth can easily by fixed by one of the many sweet shops near by. Cupcake shops and froyo joints have been opening up everywhere in this city, but by far one of my favorite bakeries in LA is Sweet Lady Jane. With one shop on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica and another on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, their sinful desserts are sure to satisfy any craving you might have. I especially love their triple berry cake -- three layers of yellow cake, fresh whipped cream, and berries -- that is always guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. So, I reserved Saturday morning to make this popular dessert, and despite the fact that I started my weekend by accidentally waking up at 6 am, I actually got a helpful head start and had the most perfect day.

Everything was made from scratch, which of course freaked me out at first because it only left more room to mess up! I used this Martha Stewart yellow cake recipe but it actually tasted beyond amazing and proved to me just how much better homemade cake is than store bought mixes. The recipe says it yields two 9-inch layers, but it works perfectly fine for three 8-inch ones instead if you choose to do so.

Layering on the goodness

I used this whipped cream recipe that instructed me to originally buy just 2 cups of heavy cream, but mid-way into the morning I noticed I barely had enough for one layer of the cake and made a quick trip to Trader Joe's for more. In the end, 6 cups of heavy cream whipped to perfection should be plenty for a cake of this size. And while the calorie intake of this cake is incredibly overwhelming, I assure you it is definitely worth it by the end.

But the best part in this entire process was when I visited PATH homeless shelter Saturday afternoon to drop off the cake. Even though I have stopped by multiple times in the past year to drop off desserts, it was over a year since I last saw Shanee, the receptionist at PATH and also a fellow baker, who had quickly become a dear friend. I half expected her to forget me by now but as soon as I walked in on Saturday afternoon she immediately recognized me, embraced me with a huge hug, and exclaimed how happy she was to see me again. It truly warmed my heart to see her, and while I try to think of the perfect words to describe our meeting again, there really are none. We caught up and chatted about what we've both been up to since we last saw each other. She explained that she only worked on weekends (which was why I never bumped into her since I went on weekdays) so if I happen to come by on Saturday mornings from now on I can definitely run into her there. Seeing her again after such a long time really made my weekend and has given me so much incentive to come back and visit.

This post was a big longer than usual, but I simply had to include that last part in. I first started The Blissful Baker three years ago back in January 2010 and it was probably one of the best decisions of my life. I hope you enjoyed reading the post today and have a good weekend :)

Sinful Brownies

Sometimes blueberries, a piece of dried fruit, or a chunk of chocolate just doesn't do it. You're trying (and failing) to study for your midterm but instead you're home on Pinterest and throughout all the other pins "slutty brownies" just keep popping up!

What are slutty brownies?



Heaven. They are heaven.


This truly monstrous dessert starts off with a layer of chocolate chip cookie dough, followed by a layer of Oreo's spread out on top, until this is all hidden under a layer of brownie mix and baked in the oven for what feels like are the longest 45 minutes ever. A friend and I made this on a whim when we thought of nothing better to do but simply enjoy each others company and spend the day laughing and messing around in the kitchen.

Insanity!!

Warning though that these "filthy and easy " brownies (hence the name) are super sweet and about 10x better when followed by a glass of milk or tea. There's no real recipe for them since I made mine with store bought mixes but incase you need a bit of help here is a great recipe that should be some help. I followed another recipe (that I can't find now) which told me to bake them for 45 minutes but 30 (or I'd say 35 minutes?) sounds a bit better since mine turned out on the dry side :/

Hope you have great success with yours if you choose to make them!

Inspiration

 As I mentioned before here, Pinterest and the blog Cupcakes and Cashmere are some of my favorite websites to check out in my free time. While Emily (the writer of Cupcakes and Cashmere) is about 100x more fashionable, creative, and skilled than I am I look up to her as a source of inspiration and am constantly waiting to read her new posts. She usually features a post called "Five Things" in which she takes pictures of and shares five things around her that have recently inspired her or are simply just pretty. So in honor of the ever talented Emily, heres my list of five things that have inspired me recently and I hope they inspire you too.

PS. While I know this is a baking blog I've decided to give my poor body a break and write about food instead of baking/eating it...

1. While I must admit I had never heard of the band Last Lynx before this song, their song Killing Switch is a perfect mix of modern jazz/electronic/hipster music that always suits my mood. It's upbeat enough to keep me singing and happy, relaxed enough to play for a drive with the windows down, and it even got the seal of approval from my dad (who rarely likes my music but admitted that he enjoyed its mellow beat). Feel free to listen while you continue to read ;)

2. While girls today have the option of so many negative role models, this book How to be a Hepburn in a Hilton World teaches us how to maintain class, grace, and style in a world currently centered around Kardashians and mini-mini skirts. Christy gives spot on advice on style, language, manners, relationships, and other key factors that play a big part on being a lady -- making this book a must for all girls to read!




3. Since this is a baking blog (which I sincerely hope you already knew from the title), I'd like to share what I'm planning on baking next. Titled the ever-so-naughty "slutty brownies" this triple layer brownie of chocolate chip cookies, Oreos, and chocolate brownies seems to be the ultimate dessert/break-up-splurge/road-to-a-food-coma that I could imagine. While it's not exactly the prettiest dessert I've ever seen it's definitely a mouthful and a crowd pleaser. So before I bake anything else, I vow to give these brownies a go.

4. Whether you're into award shows (like me) or you couldn't care less (like all the men in my family), I'm pretty sure anyone who caught a glimpse of Kate Hudson at the Golden Globes last weekend was mesmerized. Covered from head to toe except for that peeking key-hole at the chest, she looks absolutely stunning in this black Alexander McQueen. While the dress is young, sexy and fitted to perfection, my favorite thing she's wearing that night is her attitude which was perfectly captured in this picture. Her relaxed and fussy free hair, clean make up, and great laugh make her rock this dress perfectly. She looks free and happy to be there, definitely making this whole look my favorite one of the night. 

5. Now, rarely will I ever write about my personal life in this blog. I figure my personal stories of ups and downs are better kept private and reserved for driving my friends insane instead of the poor, innocent public. But when I stumbled upon this post I Accidentally Saw A Picture of You by Joy the Baker I felt the need to share it with everybody. If you don't feel like reading the post (you've been reading this so I commend you already!) then I can tell you in short it is about that exact moment when you stumble upon a picture of someone you used to know but for whatever reasons is not part of your life today. Joy's writing is hilarious and superb yet in this case she clearly expressed the perfect amount of sentiment and longing to describe her feelings. Kudos to Joy for hitting this one right on the mark.

Next on my agenda are the "slutty brownies" so if you want to see some pictures (or even come pick up a few!) you'll know where to find me.

A Time to Celebrate

The past month has been...hectic, exciting, eventful, but mostly it has been full of amazing memories with friends and family that I can't believe time went by this fast. Since my last post (about some of my friends birthdays) there have been countless more events (like more birthdays...) that I cannot wait to share.


For Thanksgiving I decided to make a dozen pumpkin pies, one for each of my best friends and my close family. Along with each pie was a personal, handwritten card sharing why I am so thankful to have each and every one of them in my life. The entire process of making these "pie presents" was a gift enough since I got to bake such delicious treats and share them with the people I love most, but the gratitude and thank you I received from everyone back really made it worth while.

Mess in the kitchen...

Pies taking over my dinning room table!

For my mom and grandmother's birthdays that are only a day apart (I know, so adorable...) my sister and I hosted a dinner party for my family for the first time ever. After days of picking wine glasses, creating a menu, and buying decorations for such a happy occasion we surprised our intimate family of nine with a beautifully decorated dining table, an Italian feast, and a gingerbread cake frosted with my very own, homemade cream cheese frosting.

      

When Brittany's 20th birthday finally came around I made my second ice cream cake in my baking career but used this time I had more experience and knowledge so I could make a better, more proportional looking cake (compared to the tall mountain of ice cream and cake which I made before...). While I don't have pictures of the inside, heres a glimpse of the triple layer chocolate cake and cookies-and-cream ice cream cake I made for one of my dearest and oldest friends.

Baskin Robbins is sooo last year...

There's definitely more to share (like the intimate Hanukkah party I hosted for my friends, my perfect New Years with friends in Miami, and the cake I'm planning to make sometime soon -- but I'll save that for another post this week and let you guys enjoy this bite of my blog for now :)

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 :)

Chocolate Bundt Cake

This week for PATH I decided to make chocolate bundt cake. After chatting with Tammy (the receptionist at PATH) for a little last week, she told me that she LOVES chocolate cake and she's sure it would be a big hit at the shelter. I decided to make some, also considering that Joe at PATH told me he'd really love it also. I talked to Joe a little longer this week, chatting about the upcoming Superbowl and what I'd be doing that day. Although I'm not really into the whole "sports" thing, he told me he'd definitely be watching it at PATH. He was rooting for the Packers and so luckily for him, they won!

I've been craving a bigger challenge "baking wise" so I think I'm going to make a multi-layer cake this week and make it really fun and decorated. As far as this week goes, here are the pictures:







The cake turned out pretty good, except for a litttle crack in the cake (thats thankfully barely noticable). When I brought the cake out of the bundt pan it has a small crack but I somewhat "glued" it together with frosting.

Just this weekend at a cooking store I found "fondant" in a container. After wondering what it is and sneaking a little peak in the lid (oops...), I read the description and realized that fondant is the smooth frosting that baking professionals always use on their cakes to make it so smooth! I never knew this by the way so it really made me excited to know that I could make a professional cake (like the one's on Cake Boss) and that it would look so great. I'm definitely going to try that out soon for the next special occasion.

So that's my post for this week. I'll be back more consistently with posts soon, thanks so much for reading!

Sincerely,

The Blissful Baker

Yellow Cupcakes! (January)

So I haven't posted in a while, but I definitely have been baking. Two weeks ago I decided to make just some simple, yellow cupcakes. Although they didn't have frosting and were pretty easy to make, they tasted delicious and really hit the spot. They're so simple and easy to make, no one can mess up cupcakes like these. Here are some pictures...







More posts coming soon...hope you enjoy the pictures!

Sincerely,

The Blissful Baker