Happy Birthday, Karl!

A few months back, my cousin, Claudine, threw out the idea of having a suprise 40th birthday party for her husband, my cousin, Karl.  It was pretty quickly decided that it would be "beer" themed, since Karl does enjoy his brew!  I knew that I had to make my favorite Car Bomb Cupcakes, which I've posted on here a few times.  After that was decided, I searched the interwebs for a good idea for the cake.  I found something fun that I wanted to try, and here are the results.

The cake was made with four 8 inch round cake pans.  I used Martha's One-Bowl Chocolate Cake recipe.  I used her fluffy vanilla icing recipe for the yellow base and her swiss meringue buttercream for the "foam". I covered a foam twist tie in plastic wrap and then fondant and shoved it into the side of the cake. 

The "beer" was made by caramelizing sugar and pouring it over a dowl and twisting.  I will admit that this was the hardest part.  I've never made candy before, and we really burnt the first batch.  Matt helped me figure it out after a lot of googling!

Jack was my baking helper that morning!

I wanted to give the "beer" a golden color to match the Fat Tire Beer that Karl loves so much, and Matt found this gold shimmer sugar in our pantry, and we added a little to the caramel mixture.  I think it added a nice sheen to the the "beer."

There was a lot of talk about how to cut the cake, but my dad figured it out.  My sister in law makes this recipe all the time, and it is always fantastic, so I thought I'd try out that recipe.  It tasted different than hers, but still delicious. 

Holly helped her daddy blow out the candles. 

Happy Birthday, Karl.  We love you!!!

E-A-G-L-E-S...EAGLES!!!!

The Eagles first regular season game was today, and Matt invited his dad and brother over to watch the game.  After searching through some magazines, cookbooks, and blogs, we came up with a menu that sounded delicious but simple.  I'm really enjoying trying out new recipes lately, but Matt also made a request for something I only made a week ago....Cream of Mango Soup.  I didn't snap a pic, but I'm sure you remember it from last week...

Next, Matt found a recipe for Parmesan Potato Skin Chips on Eatingwell.com.  He had me at Parmesan...These were really delicious.  Much lighter than traditional potato skins.

What is a football game without wings?  We decided to try to switch it up a little, and found a recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken Wings in Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine.  Matt said that these were pretty good...I'll take his word for it.

We also wanted to make something as a "main" dish.  Flipping through my cookbooks, I found a recipe for Individual Chicken Potpies from my Newlyweds Cookbook (give to me by our friends, Maureen & Andy, for our engagement.  Funny enough, they had their second little girl today, Hadley Ann!)  The recipe suggests cutting out monograms for the potpies, but I found a cookie cutter in the shape of an Eagle...usually, I make the desserts themed, but today, even the main course was themed!  I was suprised at how easy this was to make.  The recipe actually yeilded six of these, but I froze two for a future dinner for Matt and I...

For dessert, I wanted to use up the Hazelnuts that I had bought the previous week for the Gooey Chocolate Hazelnut cupcakes.  Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook had a recipe for Hazelnut Chocolate Biscotti.  My father is the king of biscotti making, and I've been nervous to try making my own because I knew they wouldn't be as good as his.   I figured this recipe might be the way to go since they are a different flavor than he usually makes.  As good as these were, they weren't my dad's....

Overall, the meal was delicious, and the Eagles won. 

Finally, I want to say thank you to all of those who serve and have served our country and protect us on a daily basis, epecially...

My brother, Jimmy

My sister-in-law, Abby

My brother-in-law, Louis

My cousin-in-law, Jon

My friend, Mike

Also, to all of the firemen who run in burning buildings when everyone else is running out, especially my father, Chief John McGrath.

We will never forget...9.11.01

Gooey Chocolate Hazelnut Cupcakes and Orange Cupcakes

This weekend, we went from having no plans at all to being booked!  We were invited to a BBQ at a friend's house, and I was asked to bring cupcakes.  I wanted to make something different but delicious.  I recieved two new cupcake cookbooks from my godmother for my birthday, and I thought I'd flip through them looking for something interesting. 

I have been craving freshly squeezed and zested citrus lately (if you couldn't tell from my previous post), and when I saw a recipe for Orange Cupcakes with Orange Blossom Buttercream Frosting, I knew I hit the jackpot. 

Yum!

For some reason the batter seemed to have exploded in the oven.  Not sure why they came out looking so funky.

I used my new Cricut Cutter to cut out little flowers and leaves.  So easy, and I think they came out adorable.  Can you see the little specs of orange zest in the frosting? 

The next recipe jumped off the page when I read the word hazelnut.  I have been craving Nutella lately! 

I wasn't sure where to find hazelnuts, but the very nice guy in Whole Foods helped me find them.  Gotta love the service there, even if the parking lot is ALWAYS a nightmare!

After making the simple batter, you add a dollop of Nutella in the center of the cupcake.

The icing was basically a hazelnut ganache.  So.Freaking.Delicious. I decorated them simply with some chopped hazelnuts. 

The center was very fudgy.  Yum.

I wanted to make a cute presentation for my friends, so I grabbed two Janie & Jack boxes.  They have adorable gift boxes that I try to swipe every time I'm in that store.

I wrapped the boxes with a simple ribbon and added one of my personalized seals.



Mike and Dave's daughter, Abby, enjoyed hers...well at least one bite before she was off to play!

Look at those curls!!

Thanks, Mike and Dave, for a wonderful afternoon!

p.s.  We are also heading up to see Matt's aunt, and Luke's godmother, tomorrow in Long Island, and we are taking the other half a batch.  Two birds...one stone :)

Jedi Jack!

Happy 4th Birthday, Jack!

Our godson, Jack, loves himself some Star Wars, which is why he was thrilled when we named our son, Luke.  When Jack walked into the room just a few hours after was Luke was born, the first thing he asked was, "Is he going to be a Jedi?"  Needless to say, his fourth birthday was Star Wars themed.  Again, Matt came up with a pretty neat idea for his cake...a Death Star!  This time, even my dad got involved.  He helped me roll out fondant and even designed the rivets in the bottom of the cake. 

Matt was super excited to buy Jack a Darth Vader helmet.  It actually is a voice changer as well.  Matt had fun saying, "Luke...I am your father!" over and over again.  Unfortunately, with Jack's skinny legs, he ends up looking a little more like
Dark Helmet from Spaceballs. 

Even Luke got in on the action with a teeny tiny Star Wars onesie. 

Happy 4th Birthday, Jedi Jack!  May the Force be with you!!!



Holly turns 3!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Holly!

I'm sure you all remember Holly from birthdays and showers past...

Well, Holly turned three this year and decided that she wanted a "Pink Piggy" party.  With some help from my mom, Matt and a baby who sleeps well, we were able to accomplish some cute cakes and cupcakes. 

I will admit that in my new mom stupor, I messed up one of the batches of cupcakes, but we recovered and produced a small chocolate cake and two batches of cupcakes...one chocolate and one vanilla.

After mulling around some design ideas for a few weeks, my godmother stopped by and gave me a new cupcake book.  Wouldn't you know, they had a cute idea for piggy cupcakes!?  So, after a few modifications, this is what we came up with...

I was a little preoccupied in that Luke was less than two weeks old so I didn't get any pictures.  Luckily, Matt was a little more on the ball and snapped these gems. 

Happy Birthday, Holly... We love you!!!

Superbowl Sunday

What I learned today...

is that I shouldn't try to decorate things when I'm not in the mood/haven't had much sleep.  We were heading to our friend, Jeff's yesterday for the Superbowl, and I had wanted to make cute football themed desserts.  I found a recipe for peanut butter balls and thought I could turn them into footballs.  Good idea, in theory, at least.  They were not turning out quite football shaped and I couldn't get the white chocolate to pipe on correctly.  I gave up. 

The good news was that the boys at the party loved them, no matter what they looked like.  I think Andy and Jerry were personally responsible for housing most of them!

I also wanted to make another bite size snack that wasn't too fussy but would be delicious none the less.  I found a recipe over at The Pioneer Woman for Graham Cracker Cookie Bars.  I happen to have all of the ingredients necessary and although they were a little sloppy to make, they were my favorite of the night. 

Despite my lack of decorating skills yesterday, and my  lack of sleep the night before, I had a great time at Jeff's and am glad for such good friends!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Arlene!

A birthday cake for my "Summer Mom."

I spent many summers during my high school and college years living with my Aunt Arlene at the beach in Long Beach Island.  She has been affectionately known as my "Summer Mom" ever since.  We had dinner at her house to celebrate, and my uncle asked me to bring a chocolate cake.  I decided to to pull out the Magnolia cookbook again, and I used the Devil's Food Cake recipe and the Chocolate Buttercream recipe.  I think it turned out pretty decent.  There wasn't much left of it at the end of the night, so I'll take that as a good sign.  I wanted to keep the cake simple but pretty...

I want to use this picture as proof that the cake was straight at one point.  I slipped on some ice in my driveway and the cake slid a little bit.  By the time I got to my aunt and uncle's house, the cake was a little bit like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. 

I am going to be helping my friend with desserts for her daughter's birthday in March, and i wanted to try out some flowers with fondant.  I like the way this one turned out.  I think I might try my hand at gumpaste over the next month...

Happy Birthday, Aunt Arlene, and thanks for a great dinner, Uncle Walt!  Love you both.



A slightly inappropriate post...enter at your own risk :P

A swim team baby shower...

One of my bestest friends, Denise, asked me to make her a small cake and cupcakes for a baby shower her swim team is throwing for a teammate.   She asked that it be swim themed but baby girl-ish, too.  After about a month of googling, thinking and brainstorming, I came up with an idea for the cupcakes. 

They asked for purple, hence the purple frosting.  

The ducks are made of homemade fondant that took a little while to get to the right colors.  I definitely recommend gel food coloring when using fondant.  Much more vibrant colors.  I used a food coloring pen for the eyes and to fill in the goggles.

When it came to the cake, I was going to make a bigger ducky to go on it, but after talking to Denise last night, she made a special request.  This is what she came up with.  Slightly irreverent but very hilarious.  She swears the girl will find it funny, and I hope she does!  I was hesitant to post this but I think the warning in the post title should be enough! 

This cake speaks for itself....there are no words....

Here is everything all together.  I hope the team has a great time celebrating the newest member of their swim team!

A review, and Happy Birthday, Jess!

The Barefoot Contessa Rocks...

My friend, co-worker, and fellow gestatation buddy turned 27 this week, and I thought I'd make her a yummy treat to get through the long work day.  I've had a box of cupcake mix from the Barefoot Contessa that my cousin gave me a little while ago.  I've been wanting to try it out, but the box only makes 12 cupcakes, so I was waiting for a time when I only needed a half dozen.  This was the perfect chance! 

As I've mentioned previously, I'm not usually a fan of the boxed mixes, but this one was great.  It called for real butter instead of oil that most boxes require.  I also liked that it came with a mix for the buttercream frosting.  Everything came out moist and fresh, which tasted delicious, but made it a little difficult to decorate.  The cake was so light that when I went to decorate, some of the cake was coming apart.  So, I had to stick with a simple design.

Can you see how creamy the frosting was?  Soooo yummy.  These were a mess to eat, but worth it!  They were perfect to snack on after lunch!

Happy Birthday, Jess!  I hope it was a great day!  Next year, you'll get to celebrate with your adorable little girl!