First session of class is over...(updated)

Well guys, tonight marked the end of my first session of cake decorating class. You might think I would be really sad and devastated about this, and I probably would be if the 2nd session didn't start on MONDAY! Wooo!! haha
First of all, I realize I have pretty much abandoned my poor blog for the last week, and I promise I had a reason. What is that reason? Well I simply didn't want to "over-bake" myself. My mom and I (well more like my mom) did a lot of baking for Easter, and I didn't want to burn myself out before my final cake.

Scribble cupcakes

The weather here in MN has been pretty depressing. One might think that since it is near the end of April, it would be Spring weather. Wrong. Snow, cold, clouds and rain. Due to this frown-friendly weather, I have once again been in a pretty lazy baking mood.

So excited I could burst!

Oh my gosh you guys. I said earlier I was going to decorate my first cake this weekend, and I did. Yesterday I finished decorating it and I have been all smiles since. It was SO much fun to do and it's just so so great.

I said I needed a purpose for a cake, and thanks to my boyfriend Josh, I had one. One of his buddies had a baby last week, so I made them a cake. I have never met these friends, so I am going to be the weird girl who gives them a cake, haha. Poor them, having to be the guinea pigs for my first cake.

Be prepared...this entry is going to be pretty photo heavy.

Update on Class

So I realized that I have not updated on my class at Crafts Direct! I am taking 1 of 4 classes right now. The first one I am in right now is "cake decorating basics."

On the first day we didn't get to actually do anything, but the teacher did go over a lot of techniques with us and I honestly learned a lot.

Yesterday was the 2nd day and our 'homework' was to bring in a batch of frosting so we could start decorating. We did a lot of different piping techniques and practiced with them. My hand KILLED after doing them so much! We also got to decorate a picture entirely out of frosting. During the first class we picked out a picture and for the second session she brought in a larger version of it for us to decorate. I did not pick the best one and definitely drew the short straw color-wise, but here is how it turned out:

It is a little hula girl and I got to do some leaf piping on the bottom and added some little flowers. Her face is SUPER creepy with that red frosting (we didn't get to pick out color) but overall it turned out pretty well. I am going to make a cake this weekend so I can do some more practicing. I can't wait.

This four part class costs $30 and I have learned more in these two sessions then I did in my three months at Le Cordon Bleu.

I will try and keep you guys updated about the classes! Have a good weekend all and stay tuned for my future post on the cake I make/decorate this weekend :)

Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Need I say more?

I think I am one of the rare people that is not a huge fan of the peanut butter and chocolate combination. Yes, I enjoy eating several Reese's cups in one sitting, but anything besides that has never really been at the top of my favorites list; I think this is because I feel the peanut butter over powers everything. So when I came across these cupcakes, I went into it knowing I would probably not love these (which meant I would eat 2 instead of 10).

Nerves!

I submitted my application to Crafts Direct today. I really hope I get the job. This is the place where I am taking my baking classes and the variety of supplies they have is... well, I was in awe when I walked down the baking isle.

I am beyond excited for my next baking class on Thursday, we will actually get to work with some icing and do some decorating. The first class was just intro and the teacher showed us some really great techniques. Even though we didn't get to do anything, I really learned a lot.

I want to bake a cake SO bad. I just wish I knew someone that wanted one otherwise I know I would eat that whole thing myself. :)

These classes are just great and I am so glad I found them. I will keep you guys updated on the job, but keep your fingers crossed for me.

Something delicious, easy, and pretty darn cute!

After making the cake pops (which I thought were pretty adorable) I really wanted to make something else.."mini" So I went back to the same blog (Bakerella) and found an idea for mini pies.

Apple pie is pretty much my favorite pie; the only thing I look forward to during the holidays is my mom's apple pie. She makes it from scratch and I honestly have not had a better slice of pie. It was a pretty easy decision to use apple as filling for these little delights, but even though they may be adorable, they in no way would live up to my mom's!

My first disaster

It had to happen eventually, right?

Making these cupcakes started off innocent enough, I found the recipe for pina colada cupcakes here. I made some changes though...instead of draining the pineapple slightly, I drained it all of the way and then added some Malibu rum to the pineapple and blended it together

Something different!

The weekend is usually when I do my baking, and this weekend I wanted to try something other than cupcakes. After reading all of my usual blogs, I came across my new favorite baking blog, Bakerella

I went through pages and pages of her entries and reading them made me really happy, especially when I saw this blog entry (go towards the end of the post, most of you should understand why this particular entry caught my eye more than others)

A chocolate-loaded cupcake that is not excessively sweet

A chocolate cupcake with chocolate chips in the batter AND chocolate cream cheese frosting?! Chocolate overload? Yes... but in a delicious way. To start off, I am a huge HUGE dessert fan. At a restaurant, whenever the server asks if we would like dessert, my family laughs and looks in my direction because they know I am powerless to the dessert menu. The point of that story is that I have had my fair share of overly sweet desserts. They are always very tasty, but something you can only eat a couple bites of (unless you are me and still demolish the entire thing).