3...2...1...

I can now officially announce that I have been asked to be a full time baker and decorator at Sarah Jane's. I, of course, happily accepted. I wish I could express how incredibly lucky I feel to have gotten this job, but trust me, this is a very big deal to me.

Back by popular demand!

Even though I am not "baking" doesn't mean I should not be updating, right? Truth is, I am baking, just not in my own kitchen.
Here is a little recap of my summer:

Something new.

These posts have been way over do, I know. I actually started to post this a month or so ago, then realized that I wanted to do these back-to-back. A good friend of my sisters approached me a couple months ago and asked me if I would be interested in making her wedding cake. of course, I said yes.

Irish Car Bombs

I have never been one to shy away from adding booze to my baked goods. So when I was looking for a fun cupcake recipe, these stood out immediately. Have you ever had an Irish Car Bomb? I have not, but if it tastes anything like these cupcakes, I would be in trouble.

The big issue: Salty or sweet?

Salty VS sweet...I think they should start debating that issue during the elections, it's a pretty big deal. Luckily, I am happy being in the middle of this issue. I am more than content eating a bag of chips, OR a cake. Maybe I should start eating cake with chips on top...hmm...

This past Sunday was Mother's day, hopefully you all knew that. However, it also marked the 4 year anniversary of my dad passing away. Sticking to tradition, we went to a cop bar, Alarys, in St. Paul and spent the night celebrating my dad.

Tres Leches

Has anyone ever sampled this cake before? Up until last week I had never even really heard of it. However, I was set to do a stage at a restaurant where this was one of their main desserts, so I wanted to take a crack at it to see what I was up against. Oh PS It means, "3 milks". Clearly I need to learn Spanish.

A little thing called Swiss Meringue Buttercream...

Everyone, I have a confession to make; I am in love. Do you see that cake up there? The one with the shiny smooth frosting...it has won me over. Swiss Meringue Buttercream (SMB as most bloggers call it) is totally going to change the way I bake from now on.

Fruit Tart

There is a reason I look so happy in this picture. Fruit tart may just be one of my favorite desserts. I can never get sick of it or eat too much of it. Trust me, I have tried. You may recall that I am making it a goal to bake something at least once a week. My blog is sick of being abandoned and I am sick of not baking! So to kick start this week, I baked dessert for a dinner party last night. 

I missed a birthday!!

Someone turned one while I was away! Happy 1st birthday to this little blog of mine. Apparently people really do "celebrate" this, so don't judge me. I feel awful that I haven't visited in so long! I honestly can't believe it has been over a year since I nervously typed out my first post in here.

My first "order"

If you are a fan of my Facebook page, you have probably already seen this pictures. However, I still wanted to update on this cake.
Besides decorating cakes at Cashwise, I also work on-campus in the career services office. My boss asked me to make a cake for her 4 year old daughter's birthday party, of course I very excited to do so!
The only bad thing was, she needed a half sheet cake; I do not own a pan that big. I had planned on making the cake myself and buying the extra things I needed from work (edible image). Since she needed that size, I had to do it all at work.
It was a half sheet marble cake with whipped frosting. Her daughter loves princess' so I wanted to add as much to it as possible while still making it look good.

Work and class update

Well last night I finished up the 2nd Wilton course at a local craft store. I made about 40 RI roses and did a basket weave on the sides of the cake.

I was much happier with how my final cake for the first course turned out, but this one was ok too.

I honestly was a little burnt out yesterday, so I didn't really come up with a great idea for the final cake. I did get a lot of rose practice in and I am getting a lot more comfortable doing them.
So that is the class update...no more Wilton classes until September.

WORK!

Oh man, I am just in love with my decorating job it is not even funny. Since I started I had just been icing cakes and doing boarders on them, until today. Today I got to do my first flower cakes (which are a big deal because they are more expensive and popular)

This one with roses

These were just drop flowers, but I really liked the color combination!

I thought this one was just really fun. The flower in the middle, which I didn't make, was gum paste.

I think they are slowly going to have me start doing orders and continue to do flower cakes as well. I have so much creative freedom this job, I just need to be confident and go with it =]
I hope to have an actual baking update soon, but this past week has just been crazy with work and other things!

Have a great week everyone =]

Macaroons re-visited

We all remember my last macaroon attempt, right? Or should I say my pink cookie making... yikes. Ever since I attempted my last batch, I have been wanting to try these little buggers again. A twitter friend of mine, Michelle @kissedbysweets, suggested we try them together and hopefully get positive results. However, when she attempted hers, the humidity here in MN was ridiculously high so I had to wait to do mine. After seeing how great hers looked, I was even more nervous to try them again. Although, I did feel like I figured out what went wrong last time.

Crossing my fingers!

I I know I promised a new post, but I of course have misplaced my memory card reader! So it will have to wait a bit longer.

Something that is exciting though, I have a potential cake decorating job! Cashwise called me in for an interview on Tuesday. So I will go in and decorate a cake and if I do well enough, I will get the job. I am so excited for this, and I think it will be the perfect place for me to start. Also the experience I would gain from this position would be so so great! So this weekend I am going to continue practicing piping, especially my writing.

I have a really good feeling about the job, but I am still keeping my fingers crossed. The manager kept saying how much she loves my enthusiasm about the position, so that has to be a good sign!

The shell boarders were something I had struggled with, but I think I have figured them out after much practice Thursday night!

I will keep you all updated and will post again as soon as I find my card reader =]
Have a great weekend everyone!

Oh macaroons...

Macaroons come with a pretty negative baking rep. many bloggers that I have found have had nothing but failures when it comes to making these airy delights, but I stumbled upon this blog that did a great job of putting my fears at ease. Please take a mental image of the above picture. Now continue on to see what mine looked like.

Well...here it goes!

Alright, this marks the first entry for my blogging future! I am very new to this, so please bear with me as I learn! I want to use this first entry as a "get to know me" type thing.

Baking is something I have always been passionate about and a career I have always thought about. Out of high school, I enrolled in the baking and pastry program at Le Cordon Bleu in MN. I was there for four months and honestly did not learn a thing. After talking to people in the baking industry, I learned that the particular branch I was at was not highly regarded by professionals. So that was that, and I quit. Sad to say, that school really turned me off to the whole profession for awhile. So I went back to 'regular' school and tried out several majors...changing my mind often.

So here I find myself again...I am a year away from graduating with a geography degree and have rediscovered my passion for baking. The degree will be good to have, but i know for sure that baking is what I want to pursue. I went out one day a few months ago and bought a KitchenAid and knew that was a turning point. Over these last few months I have just been practicing things in my own kitchen. Next week though, I start a baking class at a local craft store and I CANNOT WAIT!

I am going to use this blog to chronicle my progress with things like recipes and just overall struggles/triumphs I guess.

Disclaimer: I am not good at photographing food, so I apologize in advance for the unspectacular pictures. I honestly follow a lot of baking blogs and their pictures are so beautiful...someday I will get there :) 

Also I want to send out a sappy 'thank you' to...
My family for always sticking by me throughout my indecisiveness.
My best friend and editor Tim for suggesting this whole blog idea to me! 

Enjoy and thank you for stopping by!

Me, my brother, sister and my mom (Maui '11)