Going to the Chapel

I am told repeatedly by friends and family I should open a restaurant or bakery.  My reply: " Too much work.  I only bake for family and friends."

Seriously,  just about the time you think you have a recipe down pat, you make it and it is flop.  For instants, this past weekend I made an Oreo cake with Pudding Frosting and wouldn't you know it, the frosting was a flop.   I have made the recipe hundreds of times, but for all intense purposes this weekend it did not turn out.   I had to doctor it up or throw it out.  Thankfully, doctoring it up worked.  

Now back to baking for family and friends: My nephew asked if I would make his wedding cake with not much information other than he was all about chocolate and his fiancé requested strawberry or marble.   They weren't fussy and said I could have free range, but they were expecting around 150 people at an outdoor reception.

I am not crazy.   I have only made a large tiered wedding cake one time in my life and that was for my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  It's a lot of work and you need a special cake stand.

Not a great photo of the cake but the only photo I have.   My mother cutting her 50th Wedding Anniversary Cake.  Not sure where my dad was, but most likely wanted no part in cutting of the cake.   

I decided for my nephews wedding to make three smaller cakes and lots of cup cakes. This would make it easier to travel and suit a variety of  tastes.   Plus, cupcakes are all the rage these day.

As you can see from the photo below the Grooms cake was all about chocolate.  A chocolate cake with pudding cream cheese frosting topped with ganache and chocolate covered strawberries.

The Grooms cake.

The Brides cake was Strawberry cake layered with strawberry jam,  frosted with vanilla pudding cream cheese frosting and topped with white chocolate covered Strawberries

The Brides cake.

The Mr. and Mrs. Cake was a Marbled cake, frosted with vanilla pudding cream cheese frosting and drizzled with chocolate ganache and topped with both white chocolate and chocolate covered strawberries.

My display for the cakes was a three tier  Victorian style stand.

Besides the three smaller cakes I baked several different flavored cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcake with peanut butter mousse frosting topped with ganache and peanut brittle.

Chocolate High Hat Cupcake with dark chocolate mousse frosting dipped in chocolate and topped with sprinkles.

Banana Cupcake with Banana pudding frosting topped with marshmallow banana and dried banana chips

Pistachio Cupcake with Pistachio frosting and nuts



Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting topped with mini chocolate chips and maraschino cherry.

Strawberry cake topped with jam, cheesecake frosting and white chocolate dipped strawberry.

Lemon cake with lemon pudding frosting and candy lemon wedge.

There is no recipe today, just photos, but some of the recipes have been posted in the past.  Follow the links for those recipes.  

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One Banana, Two Banana, Three Banana, Four

We like Bananas and Banana flavored things at our house.  So when I came across this frosting recipe I couldn’t wait to use it on our favorite Banana flavored cupcake.   It was a huge success.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.
 

Banana Cake

1 package butter-recipe yellow cake mix
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (from 3 very ripe large bananas)
½ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 
Frosting
1 cup milk
1 small pkg. banana flavored sugar free instant pudding
1 small container of cool whip
Dried Banana Chips (1 whole chip per cupcake plus crumbled chips for sprinkling)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325°.  Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans. 

Place the cake mix, bananas, water, oil, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until incorporated, 30 seconds. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the mixture lightens and is smooth, 1½ minutes longer, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.

Bake the cupcakes until they are golden brown and the top springs back when lightly pressed with a finger, 15-20 minutes. Remove them from the oven; let them cool in the pan 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool 30 minutes before frosting.

For the frosting, place the cold milk in a bowl.  Add the pudding mix and mix until combined.  Stir in thawed container of cool whip.

Frost each cupcake and then sprinkle with crumbled chips.  Top with 1 whole dried chip per cupcake.

Notes and Swaps

·         Don’t want to take the time to make cupcakes, try the frosting with some fresh sliced bananas and two slices of pound cake or lady fingers.  

·         Try using the frosting as a filling for cream puffs.  

·         Don’t have dried banana chips swap it out for sprinkles of a smashed up butter finger bar on top of frosted cupcakes.

·         Use the frosting to top a slice of your favorite banana bread. 



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From the bottom of my heart..............