This is my Peanut Butter Pie for Mikey. The recipe and the reason can be found here. While I am a day late on the deadline I believe we should all:

…share it with someone you love. Then hug them like there’s no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on.

Having just lost a loved one in my family as well, my heart goes out to Jennie, as I know time will only make it easier but never less sad.

Now, on a completely different and terribly trivial note, they were out of Chocolate Cookies at the market and so I used Chips Ahoy with Heath Bits in it. I haven’t eaten it yet but will update post as to how that turned out.

Now go make Pie, Reader.

Update: Chips Ahoy with Heath make a delicious crust but I’m always guilt ridden when I use feel store bought cookies.

Nine months, boys and girls, that how long I was in the Pastry program at ICE, and what do I have to show for it? Everything! For starters how about my final project! A celebration cake complete with gum paste flowers! I’m quite proud of my flowers, I can’t believe my stubby fingers made them!

Going back to school (I have a Bachelor’s in Digital Design) was hard work, I was working full time, going to school 3 nights a week, losing my Sunday nights, volunteering at Food events, trailing to find my externship, writing essays on the different components of laminate dough amongst a lot other little essays that covered topics I wasn’t even aware were topics at all until school started.  Hard work, however, that paid off! I am happy as a Clam (whatever that actually means!), and the externship I chose has been great.

Ready for more cake shots? Even the back is cool!

I could talk write forever, the radio version is that this was an amazing experience, and it’s only the start, I have so much to learn still. (Like piping large shells, seriously I couldn’t pipe decent Shells if my life depended on it!)

Edit: I’d like to add that this cake’s Color Palette was inspired by Alphonse Mucha’s Reverie (below),I have been obsessed with Art Nouveau since forever!

You know, dear reader, if you ever, per chance, bring home a bunch of yummy little fallen Soufflés you made in class and you mention to delighted eaters that you wish they could have seen them fresh out of the oven, chances are they will ask you to make it fresh.
Thus becoming my first pastry school project reproduced at home, successfully too! After husband (the main instigator) got the ramekins and I bought a huge chunk of Bittersweet chocolate (way more than I needed), I was good to go.

I had a lot of fun making these, after two consecutive days of souffle making, there wasn’t that much that could go wrong, and in fact even my oven followed through!

While I don’t think I should post the recipe from my text book, I will tell you that the recipe I used was just a little different from this one. Oh and instead of 1/2 cup of coffee I used an ounce of Bourbon (I’ve been adding Bourbon to desserts a lately).

Pastry School is going by too fast! Can’t wait for tonight we will taste our Panna Cottas and Gelées!

ps: I know the writing in this post is a little janky, I am having my first (and last) sugar hangover today… I’m a little out of sorts…

Are you going to CupcakeCamp NYC tonight? If you are, and I hope you are, maybe you can try my FlufferNutter Cupcakes! I had one yesterday, they’re good!

Last year I took the same Peanut Butter base cupcakes, but with Jelly inside.  This year I decided to go with Fluff instead. I added a little bit more salt to the cakes, so they have a little more bite against the fluff, which was piped as a filling.

Also a change from last year, I subbed the shortening from the original recipe with Butter, who would rather eat shortening?!? We’re not frying chicken here! Other than that I love this recipe, the cupcakes dome so nicely and they’re moist and tasty. Even the dough is great, it’s fluffy so pouring into the cups is a cinch with an ice cream scoop.

See you tonight!

Last year I made two Dora Cakes, this year the same very special “clients” requested a Pooh and a Piglet Cake. Improvements from last year included an X-Acto knife and Food Sharpies Food Writers! Look how cute they turned out!

I started by looking for my templates, I looked up coloring pages online that had both Piglet and Pooh in the same image, so I’d have the correct proportions in relation to each other.

After that, as you can see above, I cut them up like a puzzle, dyed the fondant accordingly (bought a little Pooh kit) and with my spiffy brand X-acto knife cut out the puzzle pieces and drew the missing elements with the Food writer.

I then placed them on the cakes. The Piglet cake was white cake with Chocolate Ganache, I wanted to have a “safe” option since it was a kids party and the Pooh Cake was white cake with Ginger Honey Cream filling and “No Cook” Seven Minute Frosting. In the end the more “adventurous” cake had more takers than the safe one, it was pretty good, I have to say!

I’m also in love with those Edible Glitter stars!
It’s Official, I start attending Pastry School on May 17th!