Cake. Inspired.

Meringue Bites 4 egg whites at room temp 1/2 cup granulated sugar (give or take according to your taste) 1/2 tsp lemon juice or cream of tartar 1/4 tsp vanilla or flavoring of choice Set oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit Add egg whites to bowl (I use my KitchenAid) and whip with wire whisk attachment, beat on high until fluffy bubbles form.  Slow speed and add lemon juice, beat for around 20 seconds more.  Slow speed and slowly add sugar, once incorporated turn mixer back to high and let whip until stiff peaks form (peaks stand on their own and mixture is bright white and shiny) Line cooking sheets with parchment. Place meringue into a piping bag (with the tip of your choice) and pipe meringue bites onto parchment. Place tray into oven, cook for 20 minutes.  Lower heat to 150, after 2 hours turn heat off but DO NOT remove trays from oven, allow them to remain in oven until completely cooled.  (This is a great recipe to use in the evening and allow...

I was mixing up a cake when I realized I didn't have sour cream so I quickly jumped online to see if I could possibly mix some up (really not having a clue what 'sour cream' really is).  So, yes, it can be made but it has to sit for 24 hours.  While I still had to make a run to the store but thought I'd post this recipe for later use. TOTALLY Homemade Sour Cream 1/4  C (59ml) milk 3/4 tsp white vinegar 1 C whipping cream Combine milk and vinegar in small bowl, cover and let rest in fridge for 10 minutes. Add heavy whipping cream to small mason jar, add milk & vinegar mixture.  Cover jar and allow to sit at room temperature for 24 hours.  After 24 hours store sour cream in the fridge for up to 1week. It wont be quite as thick as store bought sour cream but other than that, its spot on and totally homemade.  Woot!

4 lg egg yolks 1 1/2 C milk (355gr  375ml) 4 T. butter sliced into tablespoon portions (30gr.  30ml) 1/2 C sugar (120gr  63 ml) 1/4 C corn starch (41gr  63ml) 2 tea vanilla  (8gr  10 ml) Place butter pieces in the bottom of a medium sized bowl and set aside. In a small bowl add  and whisk yolks a few times, add sugar, continue whisking until fully incorporated and until light yellow in color.   Add a few tablespoons of milk into eggs and whisk.  Put the rest of the milk in the microwave for 30 seconds (you will need approx. 3 rounds of 30 seconds each to get the milk HOT)  While milk is heating, add cornstarch to egg mixture and mix some more.  No, actually whisk the heck out of them.  Smooth and creamy.... we want smooth and creamy everywhere.  Once the milk is hot and the eggs/sugar/milk are creamy slowly temper the eggs by gently adding the HOT milk in a small stream while whisking...

Everything's better in heels! Bridal shower?  Tea party?  Bachelorette? Uh-hu, heres your sign...

How fun is this??? A little black fondant and a chip of white chocolate... Viola, chalkboard cake! The possibilities are endless.

This was a lot of work but it came out so much better than I ever expected. It fit perfectly with a beautiful fall wedding day.

This one was FUN!  Ruggedly elegant and the pheasant feathers were a perfect touch. Shout out to my big brother who cut me a whole bunch of wood platforms to display my cakes!  Randy, he's the best!

I LOVED building this cake, it was for my niece and she was so pleased with the way it turned out. Square 4-tier buttercream with black and white poppies cascading down the front and back with touches of apple green and of course a little bling here and there.

One of my faves! Tiffany blue with a single cascading flower.

This is actually a display cake that I created for a local craft store.  I've taught sugar art for a few years and I love it.

Simple little cupcake topped with cream rich buttercream... What more could one want?

Another white on white.... a little larger this time.

Simple White on White Simple white and white fondant with wafer paper flower

Easy Bavarian Cream 500 ml milk 125 grams sugar 1 vanilla bean 20 grams flour 20 grams cornstarch 4 egg yolks Add milk and vanilla bean into a deep sauté pan and place over a medium heat stirring often. In a small bowl mix together flour and corn starch and set aside. In another bowl add egg yolks and sugar.  Whip with a hand whisk until light yellow in color.   Once you've reached the light yellow color add the flour mixture and whisk by hand until fully incorporated.  Seems like that might be a big sticky ball right?  It works.  I promise. Add a couple tablespoons of hot milk into the egg/flour mixture and whisk.  Repeat this several times.  This process will temper your eggs so that you don't have scrambled eggs rather than Bavarian cream.  Uh-hu, important little detail.  After whisking in several tablespoons add the egg mixture to the remaining milk in the pan.  STIRRING CONSTANTLY, the mix will begin to thi...

Italian Meringue Buttercream 1 1/4 C sugar 1/3 C water 6 lg egg whites 3/4 tsp cream of tartar (lemon juice can be used as well) 2 1/4 C soft butter