Sally Hearts Sprinkles<3

Christmas Baking Part 2: Oreo Balls

2010-01-25T18:49:00.013-05:00

Another thing I made for Christmas is Oreo balls. THEY WERE AMAZING AND SO EASY! I found them on a blog called Homemaking Fun. I didn't want to make them ahead of time because they're mixed with cream cheese and I didn't have room in my fridge. Besides, I ALWAYS have an issue with refrigerating chocolate covered things because they get white dots every time I do and it makes them look old. I don't want people to think I'm feeding them bad food.. lol. I definitely think everyone who likes Oreos should try these.. Who doesn't like Oreos though? 0_o

To make these you'll need:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 package Oreos, crushed
23 ounce bag chocolate chips w/ 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening
(OR chocolate candy coating)

-Crush the Oreos (including the filling) into fine crumbs with a food processor

-Mix the Oreo crumbs and the softened cream cheese together with a mixer

-Once the mixture is combined roll it into balls

-Lay the balls on a lined cookie sheet (Do not let the balls touch each other)

-When all the mixture is all on a cookie sheet put it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes

-While they are hardening melt the milk chocolate and shortening (or chocolate candy coating, which is what i used in green and red) in the microwave on 50% power for 1 minute, Stir.. and then microwave on 50% power for 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until the chocolate is fully melted

-Dip one ball at a time into the chocolate and place on a piece of wax/parchment paper to dry (I used a lollipop stick and tapped the stick softly against the side of the bowl to get the excess chocolate off and then stuck the sticks into a piece of styrofoam to let them dry, Then I slowly pulled the sticks out and set them on a piece of tin foil so I could drizzle the opposite color of chocolate across them with a pastry bag, or you could use a small sandwich bag with a hole cut in the end)

Again I have some terrible pictures! I was so busy that I just took them on my camera phone =\

This is one batch that I put into a christmas tin in mini cupcake papers..

I wrapped these in treat bags with matching ribbon and wrapped a box with wrapping paper..

Christmas Baking Part 1: Rice Krispie Treats

2010-01-25T17:49:00.006-05:00

I know this is a little late but I have to post anyway [= because I made a TON of stuff.. I actually spread myself a little thin to do everything that I did.. I had 2 different houses to go to and I wanted to bring an equal amount of desserts to both places but I also had a few things that I wanted to try out.. One thing that I learned from my whole Christmas baking experience is that you should NEVER experiment when you have a lot to do.. EVER! lol.. I need to learn to stop trying to do it all. I always stress myself out because I always over do it. I always do get everything done though.
Anyway the first thing that I made was Rice Krispies treats. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Rice Krispies treats! They are super easy to make, delicious and you could make them ahead of time! Whats better than that? Every time I make them I always put drizzled chocolate and sprinkles. If you've never made them because you think they're too messy like I did.. You have to give them a try because they are 100 times better than the premade ones!

To make them you need:

6 cups of Rice Krispies cereal
1- 10 ounce bag of marshmallows (I use mini marshmallows because they melt faster)
1/2 stick of butter

In a large pot melt the butter and then add the marshmallows. Keep stirring until they're all melted and then add in the 6 cups of Rice Krispies. Just mix everything together until all the cereal is mixed into the marshmallow.
I usually spray a glass brownie pan with non-stick cooking spray and let them cool in it. It's easier to drizzle the chocolate onto them and make them into bars.

Here's a pic. Unfortunately it's not the best pic because it was taken with my camera phone because my camera battery has been dead for weeks lol

Check back for Christmas Baking Part 2: Oreo Balls.. Coming soon [=

Penis Cake

2010-01-15T12:25:00.001-05:00

This is an old post from a different page but i just wanted to combine them

This year for my friend Alicias birthday i thought it might be funny to bake her a penis cake. I think it came out really good but the pictures really don't do it justice, It was much smoother in person. Since it was my first penis cake I know that it's not as detailed as it could have been but i know the next one will be better =].. (I'm better with boob cakes =])

Just a slightly different angle..

Black Forest Birthday Cake

2009-10-16T20:12:00.005-04:00

I was asked a couple of weeks ago to make a black forest cake for a friends birthday. I have to admit that I have never made or eaten black forest cake but I was up for the challenge =].. So i found this recipe on AllRecipes.com and tried it out. I really liked the cherries with the chocolate cake but I wasn't really crazy about the chocolate cake recipe itself.. it was too dry. Unfortunately I had no choice but to send this cake over because I didn't have enough time to start over and make my usual chocolate cake. She said that she really liked it and I'm glad she did but I think if I made the other chocolate cake she would have LOVED it lol.. Ill definitely be experimenting with this!

I decorated with some pearl sprinkles and cherries and the happy birthday was written in dark chocolate.. I didn't have enough time to take any pictures so thank god she took some (Thanks Kris! Your awesome! =P).. Check out the pics..

I

I figured it out!

2009-10-14T18:12:00.009-04:00

I finally taught myself how to pipe frosting onto cupcakes! lol.. I know it seems so simple but I was having such a difficult time with it! I have been trying to pipe my frosting on for months and when it didn't come out right I just grabbed a spatula or butter knife and spread it on but i think it looks so unprofessional. So after months and months of spreading frosting I realized that it didn't need to go all the way around to the ends and my frosting needs to be a little firmer than it usually is.. I just wish everything else in life was that easy to figure out lol =P

Here are a few pics of carrot cake cupcakes I made for my
grandma yesterday..

I'm was trying to get a totally different post up today but i'm so scatter brained today that ill just save it for the weekend.. Check back Friday or Saturday for it! =]

Dog Birthday Cake

2009-09-15T19:09:00.007-04:00

I made this cake for my friend Gians birthday, He LOVES dogs! This one kind of looks like a teddy bear but everyone knew what it was. My friend picked up this little stuffed dog and I copied him, Everything looks the same except for the color. I think if i gave him longer arms he would have looked more dog-like but it was my first time using Rice Krispies treats to decorate. Actually it was my first time making homemade Rice Krispies treats.. Which were AWESOME by the way! lol.. I ate the leftovers by the next day all by myself =\.. This one I made the same way as the sushi cupcakes, with boxed cake mix, diet soda and 2 egg whites. I used chocolate and vanilla cake mix and layered them, chocolate/vanilla/chocolate/vanilla, so it looked really cool when it was cut into. (I don't have any pictures of that part though)

I wasn't really happy with the way the writing came out
because after a while it all spread out.. Just something I
have to keep working on though! =]

More birthday cupcakes =]

2009-09-15T19:01:00.007-04:00

These are homemade chocolate cupcakes with homemade (pink) whipped cream.. I used some tiny pearl sprinkles and premade flowers i found at NYC Cake Supply. I had such a hard time trying to decorate these because I was running around trying to finish them and I wanted them to look really girly, I think they came out nice =]

Sushi Cupcakes

2009-09-15T13:53:00.006-04:00

These cupcakes were made for my friend Susies birthday. They were made with boxed red velvet cake, 12 ounces of diet Dr. Pepper and 2 egg whites. We were on weight watchers a few years ago together and found the recipe on the Weight Watchers website. They tasted really good even though the recipe sounds kind of weird, No one knew the difference. I used Fat Free Cool Whip for the frosting and they also have a Cheesecake pudding glaze, which was made with cheesecake flavored Sugar Free Fat Free Jello instant pudding mix and fat free milk. The 'Sushi" was made with Rice Krispies treats cut in half length wise and then dipped in white chocolate and coconut flakes. Then i put some Swedish fish on top and wrapped a sour power strip around them and secured those with a toothpick. She loved them! =]

I had to use toothpicks because I didn't have enough "seaweed" =\

But it was for a friend so she didn't mind =]

I made her a "spa" gift basket with a homemade brown sugar body scrub..

All ready to go =]

Cupcakes!

2009-09-06T03:03:00.008-04:00

I haven't posted anything new in a while.. To be honest I got kind of lazy here after going on vacation and having my laptop crash.. But I have been baking away! Here are some cupcake pics and i'll have something new up in the next few days! =D

Pool Table Cake

2009-06-17T13:47:00.005-04:00

I have to make a pool table for a surprise birthday party.. for 80 people! So I decided that I needed to practice since I've never made a pool table cake and especially because its for so many people and I wanted to be sure that I would be able to do it, I think I'll be able to. =] I'm happy with the way it turned out. I know that its a little bit less neat than I would have liked for it to be but for the first one.. I'm proud of it!

Here are some pics:

Top view..

Sideways..

The balls..

They're actually cupcakes =D..

I even made some chalk..

UPDATE:

This is the actual cake that I made for the party.. which came out MUCH better! (except for the water spot that my mother got on it!) The fondant was smoother, the balls came out better and most importantly the cake tasted better!

Zebra Cake

2009-06-02T20:57:00.006-04:00

I saw this zebra cake on Baking Bites and I thought it was the coolest thing ever! lol.. So I decided that I wanted to give it a try but I wasn't really in the mood to start baking at 10:00 at night. So I made a Duncan Hines boxed cake.. I know, I cheated lol. I figured that it was all about the technique and it really didn't matter what kind of cake I made or what color it was, and it didn't. I made it pink and purple and I liked it! =P

If you want to try it out, Here's what you do:

After you've made your cake of choice split your batter in half and add whatever color food coloring you'd like. Take 3 tablespoons of one color and put it directly in the center of the pan. Then take the other color and put it right in the middle of the last color you put down. Repeat that until you've finished putting all the batter into the pan. Just make sure that you don't shake the pan or move it around so it will spread. You have to let it spread on its own! It seems like it isn't spreading until you get to the last few tablespoons of batter and then you notice how much it actually spread. Good luck! =]

Kinda looks like Pac Man, No? lol.. I decorated with some neon

dinosaur sprinkles and plain pink and purple sprinkles..

It was so good, I love Duncan Hines!..

I made them opposite, I think i like the bottom layer better though =]

Backwards view..

Oreo Cheesecake

2009-05-31T17:02:00.004-04:00

I made a few Oreo cheesecakes this weekend from my mothers recipe. She got the recipe from my grandmother who found it in the newspaper, it's called 'Cheese Cake Father Sarducci'. When ever my mother makes this, which is usually holidays, everybody goes crazy for it! She usually makes it plain with a graham cracker crust but I wanted to try something different so i made an Oreo crust for all three cakes and one with crushed Oreos on top the other two with crushed Oreos inside. The first cake I made with the Oreos on top came out okay in the center but the Oreo topping tasted a little bit burnt. The other two came out good with the Oreos inside but all three were a little bit oily from the cream inside the cookies. When I make this again I'm probably just going to add the cookies to the top after it's cooked.

Here's the recipe and a few pictures.

Cheesecake

-1 pound ricotta cheese
-2 cups sour cream
-16 ounces cream cheese
-1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
-1/2 cup butter, softened
-3 extra large eggs
-3 tablespoons flour
-3 tablespoons cornstarch
-5 teaspoons vanilla
-5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

- Cream the 16 ounces of cream cheese in a bowl
- Add the pound of ricotta cheese to the cream cheese and mix until ricotta looks creamy
- Mix in the 2 cups of sour cream
- Then add the 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of butter
- Increase speed to medium and add 3 eggs, 3 tablespoons of flour, 3 tablespoons of cornstarch, 5 teaspoons of vanilla and 5 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
- Beat on the highest speed possible without splattering for 5 more minutes
- Pour mixture into a 10 inch spring form pan
- Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for one hour
- Turn the heat off after the hour of cooking and leave it in the oven for one more hour

Tips-

- Make sure ALL ingredients are at room temperature before making!
- Bake the cake directly in the middle of the oven.
- Do not open the oven door while cooking or cooling.
- If you have a large capacity food processor. You could use it to mix all the ingredients together and it will help to blend the ricotta for a creamier cake.
- Place a large cookie sheet in the oven filled with cold water one rack underneath the cake. This will prevent cracking on top of the cheesecake.

Oreo crust

-1 1/2 cups Oreo crumbs
-2 1/2 tablespoons salted butter, melted

- Mix together Oreos and melted butter
- Flatten the mixture into the spring form pan just a little bit higher than the seam of the pan

These cakes were made in a smaller pan and needed to cook for a little less than an hour. That's why they're a little bit more browned than i was hoping. Still edible though =P

I couldn't even get in a picture of this one whole.. lol

Pink Cupcakes

2009-05-17T22:53:00.011-04:00

I made these for my cousins communion.. I am so happy with how they came out! Everything was made from scratch except the sprinkles. The cake is chocolate, the frosting is vanilla butter cream and the fondant is homemade with marshmallows. I decided to try making the fondant because the store bought pre-made one tastes really terrible, this one tasted like Lucky Charms marshmallows. It was a little bit sticky to work with but fondant usually is. Here are a few pics.. Tell me what you think! (=

My First Order! =D

2009-05-14T15:17:00.006-04:00

This last 2 weeks has been pretty busy.. I got my first job! I couldn't believe it because it just fell into my lap. I had to make 65 cupcake pops. I didn't realize at the time how much of a job it was going to be.. But it wasn't too terrible =P. I had my mom and my boyfriend helping me because I just didn't think I would finish in time if I did it by myself. So they helped me package them because i'm too much of a perfectionist for them to help me with anything else. I know I shouln't refuse the help but I cant help it, Especially on my first order, They had to be absolutely perfect. They came out pretty good, I wasn't very happy about having to use ice cream sprinkles though. I just don't think that they look as nice as the little round sprinkles do but thats what I was asked for and the customer is always right.. lol =]. The other problem was that I wasn't really prepared. I didn't have enough cake so I had to make more after I shaped 2/3 of the cupcakes and I had to take 2 days molding them. I also ran out of sprinkles at 2:00AM and found at that there is only 1 supermarket open at that time so I had to drive all over the universe to figure that out. I'd say it was a good learning experience though and i'm glad I got the job. =]
If anybody needs anything.. Let me know =P

Waiting to be dipped..

Drying so i could do the tops..

My assembly line..

Finished and waiting to be bagged..

All ready to go..

I got some feedback a few days later.. She said that they were great but she thinks I should make them gigantic. I think it's because I didn't put them on sticks. I'll definitely ask how big they want them to be next time.

Spongebob Squarepants Cake

2009-05-01T21:00:00.005-04:00

My sister and her friends had to bake a cake for school for a project and didn't feel like doing it, So I decided that I would help them by taking over.. lol. The cake had to be a little off because they were supposed to be doing it and at 12 years old I doubt they are going to perfectly decorate a cake. I think I should have done a worse job because the teacher knew someone "helped" them. They ate it anyway =P

Here are some pics..

All from canned frosting and food coloring..

I think it came out pretty good =]

Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich Cake

2009-04-28T01:32:00.007-04:00

My boyfriend ate this Oreo ice cream sandwich cake at a friends house and our friends grandmother gave my boyfriend the recipe because he wanted me to make it for him. I'm not sure what magazine she found the recipe in but I know that it is on the Kraft foods website also. I make this ALL the time and we never have leftovers! The only thing that i don't like about it is that it melts extremely fast. So there is no way that you would be able to bring this as a dessert to anyone elses house, unless they live really close.

Recipe-

I still have the original lol

Ingredients-

-1/2 cup fudge ice cream topping, warmed
-1 eight ounce tub Cool Whip whipped topping, Thawed, divided
-1 package chocolate Jell-O instant pudding powdered mix
-8 Oreo cookies, Chopped, Divided
-12 vanilla ice cream sandwiches

Directions-

-Mix 1/2 container of Cool Whip, hot fudge, Jell-O powder mix and most of the Oreos in a bowl

-Arrange 4 ice cream sandwiches, side-by-side, on a piece of aluminum foil

-Top with half the Cool Whip mixture

-Repeat with one more layer and top with remaining 4 ice cream sandwiches

-Frost top and sides with remaining Cool Whip

-Top with a handful of the chopped Oreos

-Bring up the sides of the foil and wrap the sides of the cake

-Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving

This is what it looks like after its been cut into! =]

Poppy Seed Bread

2009-04-21T23:36:00.004-04:00

I made this bread for my mom. When I was younger we went to The Dansbury Depot, In Pennsylvania, and she loved their poppy seed bread. She liked it so much that she got a few loaves and froze them. The other day she was talking about how she wanted to order a few more, So I said that I wanted to try and make it for her. I didn't think that it would come out exactly the same but I figured I could give it a try and maybe she would have something else that she liked. She said she liked it.. That means a lot coming from my mom because shes kind of picky with things that I make. Personally I'm not a fan of things like this so I didn't taste it but a friend of mine did and he liked it also. Maybe you'd like to give it a try..

Ingredients-

-3 cups flour

-2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

-1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

-1 1/2 teaspoons salt

-3 tablespoons poppy seeds

-1 1/2 cups milk

-1 cup & 2 tablespoons oil

-3 eggs

-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

-1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Directions-

-Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds

-Then mix milk, oil, eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract to the dry ingredient mixture

-Pour into 2 greased loaf pans

-Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes

This is before it went into the oven

After the oven

The edges browned a little more than I would have like them to so I would start checking on it around the 1 hour mark.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2009-04-19T19:48:00.005-04:00

This cake is unbelievable! I really wasn't sure about whether or not i liked it right after it came out of the oven.. It was SO much better the next day. I think it just had to sit for a while so the frosting could seep into the cake.. and the wait was worth it! lol

Here's the recipe for the cake:

Ingredients-

-2 cups flour

-2 cups granulated sugar

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1 teaspoon baking powder

-1 teaspoon salt

-1 teaspoon cinnamon

-3 cups FINELY shredded carrots

-1 cup oil

-4 eggs

Directions-

- Mix flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon

- Then mix in carrots, oil and eggs to the dry ingredient mixture

- Put into greased and floured 9" x 13" pan

- Bake at 325 degrees for 50-55 minutes

Icing-

Ingredients- This makes a lot of frosting. You could probably half this recipe and still have enough.

-1 eight ounce package of cream cheese

-3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
-2 teaspoons vanilla

-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions-

- Cream together all ingredients

You could add the icing onto the cake when the cake is hot or cold, I did it as soon as the cake came out of the oven. I think the fact that the cake was hot helped the cake absorb the icing.

Here are some pictures..

Before it went into the oven

When it came out of the oven

The icing

The frosted cake

The end result (=

2009-04-16T02:09:00.009-04:00

I've always loved baking and cooking for people, but I used to think that I wanted to do hair and makeup but that got old to me pretty quick. I feel like baking and decorating will never become boring because there are so many different things that I could make or try and the biggest plus is that I could torture my family and friends by making them try all of my different creations whether good or bad.. lol. I plan on going to culinary school in the near future but first I'd like to see what I could do on my own and how far it will take me. I also just want to keep track of the things that I'm making so a blog will help with that. All comments and opinions are appreciated, I like constructive criticism, I feel like it will help me to improve.. Sooo...

I came across Bakerellas blog a few weeks ago and I absolutely love the idea of cake pops! They taste great, you could make them into basically whatever shape you like and they just look cute! So I decided that I would make my own for Easter and I think they came out pretty good. I sent them to a friend or two and they loved them. I definitely plan on making them again in the near future, I've actually made them twice already. The first time I wasn't really prepared because I didn't have the Styrofoam to hold them up to dry after i made them so i put them in a cup and they all wound up cracking.. They still tasted good though! The second time I was prepared, I took a trip to the craft store.. picked up the Styrofoam, extra candy coating and some extra lollipop sticks. For some reason I go through lollipop sticks like water.. Well i know why, I like to stir the candy melts while they're melting with them and I had a few trial and error chicks.

Here are some pics (=

I get a little messy when I don't read directions lol

Chicks.. Everyone liked the guy with the glasses.. I liked the girls =P

Cupcake pops without the stick..

Tulips, Flowers and butterflies

Up close chicks..

Flowers

Tulips

Butterflies.. These didn't come out so great. They weren't thick enough to dip..

Up close stick less cupcake pops