Baby Shower Cake

This was my first baby shower cake. I was asked to do one for a girl at work. I got so many oohh's and ahhhs that I just had to share. The cake itself is 1/2 white and 1/2 chocolate. I used buttercream icing to ice it and add the cornelli lace. I made the onesie, blanket, and baby that is under the blanket out of fondant.

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones

After a week of battling the flu my one year old nephew ended up in the hospital over the weekend. My sister also has been battling the flu herself so it was a full fledged family affair to make sure everyone was on the mend. My mom, dad, and I took turns walking my nephew up and down the hallways all the while dragging his iv gettup behind us... He was such a tropper!! On the second morning I knew that I wanted to bring in something special for everyone for breakfast. I had buttermilk and blueberries in the fridge so I decided to brave scones. This was my first attempt at making scones. We always visit a little English cafe in Siesta Key, FL with the best scones so I wanted to try to replicate those. I used a recipe from annies-eats but made a few adjustments. The scones in Siesta Key are very sweet so I tweaked it to make it my own version of my favorite Patisserre Scones.

Buttermilk Blueberry Scones

(recipe adapted from Annies-Eats)

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup (1/2 pint) blueberries
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, plus 1 large egg lightly beaten for egg wash
1/2 teaspoon vvanilla extract
sugar for sprinkling

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper
2. Whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a larg bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender, until the mixture has a course texture. (You can also use your food processor for this) Stir in blueberries
3. Whish together buttermilk, 1 egg, and the vanilla. Drizzle over flour mixture, and stir lightly with a fork until dough comes together but a small amount of flour remains in the bowl.
4. Turn dough out onto a work surface, and gently knead dough once or twice just to incorporate flour. Pat dough into a 1 inch thick round. Cut into 12 wedges. Transfer to prepared baking sheet
5. Brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown and cooked through, about 22 minutes. Transfer scones to wire rack to cool.

Serving and Storing: The scones are best served immediately, but can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw, and reheat in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.

Raspberry Topping

When I got married my husband had just purchased several acres of land to farm. Within this farm was beautiful raspberry patch. I had never cooked a single thing using raspberries. Since that first summer my raspberry expertise has grown ten fold and I am learning how to use raspberries for nearly everything. Here is my recipe for a sinful raspberry topping. Use it on my New York Cheesecake, as a filling in a cake, raspberry crepes (my father in laws favorite) or a tantelizing sauce over chicken.

Raspberry Topping
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon cornstarch and 4 tablespoons water mixed together
2 (or 3 if your me) tablespoons berry liquor (my mom's version of this calls for raspberry liquor, but I use a rick blackberry wine and love it)

Throw all of the ingredients into a sauce pan and stir on medium heat until sauce thickens.

The Start of It All

Anytime we have any type of gathering of friends and family I am always asked to bring one thing.... Cheescake. My cheesecake is what led me to believe that other people might actually enjoy other things I baked as well. So therefore this cheesecake is the start of what I hope to be a very exciting experience for me as I expand into the rhelm of custom ordered cakes of all kinds.

This cheesecake is just a basic New York Style Cheesecake but can be varied in so many ways. Some of my favorites include a raspberry liquor topping or adding pecans, chocolate, and caramel for an amazing turtle cheesecake. One key to this recipe: use the very best vanilla. When I travel to Mexico I make sure to pick up as many bottles of vanilla as customs will allow :)

New York Style Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons butter (room temperature)
5- 8 ounce packages cream cheese (room temperature)
1 Tablespoon vanilla
3 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup sour cream (room temperature)

Mix crumbs, 3 Tablespoons sugar and butter. Press in the bottom of a 9" spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.
Beat Cream Cheese, 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing between each egg. Blend in sour crea. Pour over crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 65 minutes or until center si almost set. Run knife around rim fo pan. Cool before removing rim. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours prior to serving. Add your desired toppings once cake has cooled (see below for my favorite topping)

Note: Use water bath to avoid cracking.