Dad's Birthday!

For the first time ever I decided to make a pie. Since today is my dad's birthday I figured it would be a nice to make him one of the only types if pie that he likes... Pumpkin!

Granted I was on a slight time crunch today and did not want to have a complete fail to my first pie attempt, I bought a frozen pie crust! I know... I cheated! Next time I will make my own pie crust as well as the pie.

I am pretty sure it turned out well! It looks good. I am not much of a pie eater nor do I like anything pumpkin so I will not be trying any of the pie but I had the baking bug and also made peanut butter blossom cookies!

Dad seemed happy when he just arrived home from camp! Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Candy Corn Kiss Brownies

It's been a year since I've made these! I used a boxed brownie mix for these. I've actually never made brownies from scratch... Yet!

This time of year you can find Candy Corn Kisses! I absolutely love them, maybe because I love candy corn. Last year I had an idea to press them into mini brownies as I did tonight.

In the pictures you will find the kisses, the brownies and the final product!

Birthday and Wedding Shower Cupcakes

This summer we threw a surprise party for my mom's 60th birthday. I obviously wanted to bake many different things for her party without her knowing! Luckily, I needed to bake for a bridal shower that was taking place the same day as her party and they wanted a variety of different cupcakes and icings so it made a nice selection.

First picture is a sampler plate if them all. Then in order:
-TyeDye Cupcakes which are Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream
-Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
-Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
-Red Velvet Cupcakes with Marshmallow Buttercream
-Lime Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream
-Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
-Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream
-Chai Tea Cupcakes with Chai Tea Cream Cheese Frosting

Crumb Cake

I haven't updated this in a while so I have a few posts that I am going to do in a row!

For a few years I searched to find a crumb cake recipe that resembled that of the Entenmann's cake that my family used to always buy when I was younger. I had not been able to find one that appeared to be the same crumbly texture on top like the one we used to always buy! Then, while searching online on someone else's blog... can't remember which one... I found this to die for recipe that was so much like the Entemann's crumb cake! After only sharing with some family members, I have been requested to make it again! Grandma even offered to pay for one!

R2D2 Cake

This week not only did I work on the Bride and Groom Cake Balls, but I needed to make a cake shaped like R2D2 from Star Wars for a young boy's birthday party.

They wanted to have chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. It is a staple for most kids parties! I used a new recipe for chocolate cake and was very pleased with how it turned out. I actually had found it in a magazine a few months ago. The vanilla buttercream frosting recipe is one I also found about a year ago in a magazine and I love the variations they give you for different flavors. This time, I stuck with the classic vanilla.

I used 6 inch round cake pans for the cake and I used rice krispie treats for the head and the arms. I carved the head to be rounded on the top and for the arms I simply cut out the shape with a knife. I used an everyday recipe for the rice krispie treats. This time I coated my marshmallows with the melted butter first before melting the marshmallows and it made such a difference I will always do that from now on!

I stacked my cakes and had a good amount of icing between the layers:

Then I put the rice krispie treats on top and carved it to be like a rounded head:

I then covered the entire cake with the buttercream frosting and also cut out the shape of the arms out of rice krispie treats. I also coated the arms with the frosting and then covered the entire thing with my fondant. I attached the arms with toothpicks:

Lastly, I added detail with colored buttercream frosting. I think for my first attempt at a themed cake, I did relatively well! Hope you all think so as well!

The front:

The left side:

The back:

The right side:

Not too bad for my first attempt! Hope you like it!





Bridal Shower Cake Balls

This week I have been pretty busy! I needed to work on the Bridal Shower Cake Balls as well as make a special birthday cake for a young boy (new post to follow).

A friend of mine and myself worked on the the Bride and Groom Cake Balls and I think they turned out great! She was such a wonderful help and for her first time making them... she did AMAZING! I am so proud of her and if I ever got to compete on Cupcake Wars... I'd bring her along!!

Being as some people are funny about chocolate, we decided to make one set chocolate and one set yellow batter. In my opinion, both are equally delicious. I have so many more combinations I would like to try in the near future and I always can find people to sample them! They are by far one of my most requested items.

Here is a picture of all of the Cake Balls with the sticks chocolate "glued" into them. We wanted to make the Brides the yellow batter and the Grooms chocolate batter:

The Brides...

The Grooms...

Two of the more "Perfect" Bride and Grooms!

And lastly, the final product!

I hope that they are a hit at the shower! We put a lot of time and effort into these and I think they turned out very pretty and perfect for a bridal shower! What do you think?

First Customer!

I haven't posted in while but things have been starting to progress for MayBakes! I have had my first customer and have many other projects lined up for the near and far future! It has been very exciting for me and I look forward to all the things I will be able to share in the next few weeks/months!

Cake Balls : Devil's Food with Cream Cheese Icing

My first official customer was a friend of mine! I am so happy she asked me to bake for her niece's birthday! I made a batch of cake balls. Devil's food cake with cream cheese icing. They were covered in both milk chocolate and vanilla candy coating! Cake balls are one of my staple items. If you are personal friends with me, you know I always make them and am usually requested to bring them everywhere I go! I really like to experiment with new flavors and styles when making them.

Next week I will be tackling both cake balls for a bridal shower. They will be decorated like a bride and groom and then I will also be making a birthday cake for a young boy shaped like R2D2 from Star Wars! I am not a follower of Star Wars but I have done my research and am excited to take on the challenge of this cake! I will post more later when I have these two projects done or in the works!

Thank you for checking in and I look forward to my many upcoming projects and personal challenges with baking!

Welcome!

Hello to anyone that may happen to read this! I am Aly and have loved to bake for quite some time now. It has been a goal of mine for a while to open my own bakery or baking business. I finally am taking the steps to put myself out there and use a blog to promote my baking as well as showcase what I have made and what I continue to challenge myself with.

My plan is to post pictures of what I have made and what I am working on and even share some of the recipes I use! I really hope to someday make this dream a full time reality. Help me create new ideas for baked goods as well as give me any tips or examples you may be able to share! I love old recipes and would be grateful for anyone that would be willing to share them with me! I also find cultural recipes exciting and would love to be introduced to them! I currently do not have any that I use and am eager to find some!

I plan to go into detail with various posts about different items I have made. Two of my most prized recipes are very old. One is my great grandmothers recipe for cinnamon rolls and the other is from one of my residents at work for lady locks. I will later go into detail about those! And add pictures of course!

Until next time...