Wedding Sweets

After four days of continuous baking and decorating...I completed 12 dozen cupcakes and a small cutting cake for my nephews wedding.

I have never baked for a wedding before...other than my own so this was more or less a learning experience for me.

I baked 5 different kinds of cupcakes 3 of them being recipes which were revisited and I had baked before in cake form while baking along with my Baked buddies at Baked Sunday Mornings

This one is Antique Caramel Cake with Salted Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting 

a Baked recipe.

I just used the Baked Chocolate cake recipe from the Chocolate Coffee Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache for this one and filled them with cannoli cream and topped with a little semi sweet chocolate lace heart

Another Baked recipe....This one is my fave Aunt Sassy Cake.  A lovely pistachio cake with honey vanilla bean frosting.

 This one was a new one for me.  I did a traditional wedding cake for the cupcake filled them with raspberry jam and topped it with Italian Meringue Buttercream.  Loved the buttercream! Was intimidated by it at first, but it was fairly easy to make and easy to work with!

Then last but not least, Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Everyone raved about all of them!  The favorites were the Pistachio, the Antique Caramel and the Chocolate filled with cannoli cream.  There were people that tried each kind!  Good thing I made extras!

And the best thing of all is the Bride and Groom loved them!

Glad it is over and so happy it was a success.

I would do it again!

Until next time

Enjoy!

Fancy Pants Bars

Chocolate Chip cookies, caramel, twix bars and chocolate...what could be a better combination?  The base of this bar is a simple chocolate chip cookie dough with twix bars added in.  Then a very easy microwave caramel layer is added over that.  Then is is topped with semi-sweet chocolate and a white chocolate drizzle.  They took a little over an hour to make 

including all the cooling time.  

 

Easy Peasy! 

These bars were made to brown nose the boss at work.  

And yes...it worked ;)  

Until next time!

Enjoy

Fancy Pants Bars source: creme de la crumb    Thick chocolate chip cookie bars loaded with Twix candy bars, topped with gooey caramel and two kinds of chocolate! Get your fancy pants on cause these decadent bars will make you feel like a million bucks!
Serves: 9 ( I got more than 9 servings out of mine...more like 12!)
Ingredients 1 cup butter, melted 1 cup brown sugar ½ cup sugar 2 eggs 1½ teaspoons vanilla 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 12 snack-size Twix candy bars caramel ½ cup corn syrup ½ cup butter, melted ½ cup sugar ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup sweetened condensed milk ⅛ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla chocolate layer 1 cup white chocolate chips ¼ cup milk chocolate chips Instructions 1. Preheat oven to 350. Line a 9x9 inch baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. 2. In a large bowl combine butter, brown sugar, white sugar, and mix until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla and mix again until smooth. 3. Add flour and salt to wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated and dough comes together. Gently stir in semi-sweet chocolate chips. 4. Spread half of the batter in the bottom of your prepared pan. Gently press Twixes into the batter every 2 inches or so. Pour the rest of the batter over the Twixes and spread into an even layer. Bake for 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean besides a few crumbs. 5. Allow cookie layer to cool while you prepare the caramel. In a microwave safe bowl combine melted butter, corn syrup, sugar, brown sugar, condensed milk, and salt. Stir until smooth. 6. Place bowl in the microwave and microwave on high for 6 minutes and 30 seconds. (I recommend placing bowl on top of a microwave safe plate because it may bubble over the sides of the bowl.) Using hot pads, remove bowl from microwave and stir in vanilla. Pour caramel over baked cookie layer in the pan. 7. Chill for 30 minutes or until set. 8. In a microwave safe bowl melt white chocolate chips at half power for 2 minutes. Stir and return to microwave at half power for 20 seconds at a time until chocolate is melted (stir between each 20 seconds) Stir until smooth. Pour white chocolate over caramel layer. 9. Melt milk chocolate chips the same way you melted the white chocolate chips (may require a little less microwave time since there are less chips). Drizzle milk chocolate over white chocolate. 10. Chill until ready to serve. Cut into bars immediately before serving.

Can you say the best carrot cake you will ever eat?  This is it my friends!  I always make a carrot cake for my husband's birthday and I usually try a different recipe each time and I gotta tell ya...this is the most delicious carrot cake you that will ever pass your lips!  

You must try this....
go ahead....
you probably got it all the ingredients in your kitchen...
what are you waiting for!

"Kitchen Sink" Carrot Cake King Arthur Flour

Cake 4 large eggs 1 cup granulated sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 3/4 cup melted butter 3/4 cup vegetable oil 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/8 teaspoon allspice 3 1/2 cups finely grated carrots 1 cup diced pecans or walnuts, toasted if desired 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (preferred) or sweetened coconut 1/2 cup diced dried pineapple* *Substitute one 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed dry, if preferred ( I used crushed pineapple) Frosting 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/8 teaspoon salt 3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted 2 tablespoons milk, or enough to make frosting spreadable Directions 1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan. 2) Beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl till smooth, about 2 minutes at medium-high speed. 3) Mix the melted butter with the oil. With the beater running, add the oil mixture in a stream, beating till smooth. 4) In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, leaveners, salt, and spices. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring to make a smooth batter. 5) Stir in the carrots, nuts, coconut, and pineapple. 6) Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges. 7) Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. 8) Remove the cake from the oven, and cool right in the pan. 9) When it's completely cool, make the frosting. 10) Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and beat together until light and fluffy. 11) Add the sugar gradually, beating well. 12) Add the milk a little at a time, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency. 13) Spread frosting over the cake. Garnish with minced crystallized ginger, if desired. Yield: 9" x 13" sheet cake, about 24 servings.