The Cake is a Lie (Revisited)

So I finally got around to playing Portal, which you may or may not know, I've been meaning to do for a few years. But I got an xbox a couple years ago and bought the orange box on ebay, and here we are today.

Well, not quite. Not only did I buy the game, but I also finished playing it in time for my boyfriend to get me Portal 2 for Christmas. We've been playing the the co-op version of the game, which we just got around to finishing (we are busy people, ok!) and now I'm working my through the single player version of it.

And yeah, I realize I'm light years behind everyone else when it comes to this stuff. I'll catch up eventually.

But now, for real this time, here we are today, because in order to celebrate Valentine's Day,* and because I wanted to give this cake another try now that I actually know the backstory (instead of looking it up on wikipedia), I made another Portal cake:

This one (inspired by this recipe) has ghirardelli chocolate shavings (don't shave chocolate with a potato peeler, for God's sake! A knife is a bajillion times faster!) and brandy-soaked cherries for the filling. There's more ghirardelli chocolate mixed into the whipped cream frosting as well.

And, no lie, it was delicious.



*I mean, what are you "supposed" to get your guy for Valentine's day? Flowers? A giant teddy bear? A box of chocolate? Or maybe a cake inspired by that video game that the two of you play together.

Valentine Cookies, 2011 Edition

So let's ignore the fact that it's no longer Valentine's Day, and no longer even February, and in fact, it's no longer even wintertime, and talk about how cute these cookies are instead.

I made these cookies to give away to my friends and family, so there are at least a hundred.

My goal was to make the cutest cookies possible, and I'm not gonna lie, guys, these definitely fit that definition.

These cookies were especially awesome. You just put a bunch of dots on the wet (royal) icing and then draw a line through them with a toothpick. And then they look like little hearts!

But I really think the swirly cookies are my favorites. Some of them have luster dust on them, but that was really time consuming, so some the cookies are just swirly, not sparkly.

I made the cookies the day before Valentine's day, so Michael's was already starting to put the Valentine's items on clearance. I got those really cute heart sprinkles for a really great price.

And the heart shaped cookie cutter was only 50 cents! I did have a couple of cookie cutters on hand, but I left all my heart shaped ones at home! At first, I was just going to go with the circle and star shaped cookies, but thankfully, Michael's was right down the street!

I'm running out of interesting anecdote to tell you about these cookies, and I took a lot of pictures, so I'll just let the pics speak for themselves!

Ta-da! Happy belated Valentine's Day! :)

Valentine's Day Preview

OK, guys, I know Valentine's Day was a week ago, but I haven't been able to get my cookie pictures (except this one; thank you Courtney!) on to my computer yet. Just know that I made some super cute cookies. :-) I've also got an awesome cake recipe that I need to share with you, so you've got something to look forward to.

Sorry I've been MIA lately, but I guess school's just been getting in the way, with midterms and all that. I'll try to get back on track with all my blog posts this week, but make sure to check my Facebook page for updates too!

XOXO

The World is Right Again

Everything hurts:

My back is sore from leaning over.

My legs and feet ache from standing up all day.

My arms tire from kneading.

My clothes and face and new apron are covered in sugar.

But I couldn't be happier.

I got to bake. And I believe, without a doubt, that baking is the surest way to cure stress. For me at least. There's just something so relaxing about going through the motions of rolling out dough, and thinking on your feet when you can't find an ingredient, solving problems like too-hot ovens, and finding the best creative way to decorate. I can just let go of all of my problems (and let me tell you, last week was problematic for me) and focus on that task in front of me.

So thankfully my very good friend Joy took me home to bake with her and Megan and her awesome parents bought cookie mix and let me have run of the kitchen :)

It may not have been the weekend I was hoping for, but I have a fresh outlook on life. Especially since there is a tupperware of a couple dozen sugar cookies (decorated with marshmallow fondant... I actually did a pretty stellar job this time! I don't think anybody ever tells you what a sticky, gross mess it makes at first and how long it takes to knead, but by God, I did it right!) and a popcorn cake in my dorm.
Life is good.

Happy Valentine's Day

I don't really have too much to say about these cookies. Pictures say a thousand words, after all.

I made these cookies for a school bakesale, and made enough extras to give some to my BFF for her birthday, and to put some out at the hospitality table for today's winterguard competition.

Once again, I owe a lot to the fantastic helpful hints in Cookie Craft. I used their sugar cookie recipe, and all their tips about flooding and decorating. The feathered cookies came from an idea in that book too. I wish I could share all I know about cookie decorating with you, but it would definitely be more helpful for you if you get your hands on that awesome book! :)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!