Bunny for my Buddy!
Easter is coming up fast and unfortunately, the traditional festivities won't be happening. One of our beloved traditions is having our friends come over to decorate eggs, Pysanky style! If you are interested in learning more, make sure you check out the link at the bottom of this post.
Meanwhile, here are a couple of samples from last year's party:
Cool, right? I toyed with the idea of doing traditional colored eggs with Aiden, AKA Buddy, and Layla, AKA Bug, but then I had a sudden vision of overturned/thrown dye bowls in a house we don't own. In a house with white curtains...I decided I'd bake instead.
Since Aiden isn't coming everyday due to his parents' WFH schedule, I made his cake with the idea that he'd decorate it today after Layla leaves and then take it home. I'll make Layla's cake tonight so she can decorate it tomorrow. It's all in the planning. And the dividing and conquering so two youngsters are not messing with icing and cake decorations at the same time.
Aiden likes pumpkin spice cake so I chose a recipe from a website called Sally's Baking Addiction. She started off as an amateur cook and blogger and gained a loyal following. She has solid, dependable recipes and apparently, a couple of new cookbooks. She is definitely one of my go-to people for cake recipes.
Here's the cast photo. Minus the can of pumpkin puree. Even though it's kind of the main flavor component. Duh.
Such an easy recipe, too. Wet ingredients get whisked together in one bowl.
Dry ingredients hang in their own bowl until they get invited to the party.
I thought about making cupcakes but I had to use this pan. Had to. Look into those eyes...Even though it's a non-stick pan, I have had too many occasions where the cake stuck anyway. In the words of my friend, Denise, I sprayed the hell out of it.
Bake time was challenging because this is approximately the size of a 13 x 9 pan but with less surface area. I started it at 28 minutes and then checked every couple minutes thereafter till the toothpick came out clean. Even then, there was a slight under doneness in the center of the bunny's face.
I let the cake cool for about 10 minutes and gently slid a plastic knife around the edges to check for sticking. When I jiggled the pan, the cake was definitely loose enough to come out. Turning it out still made me nervous though. Yay for a clean result.
I never liked frosting growing up. The only ones I knew were the gaggingly sweet ones on birthday cakes. I think I was nearly an adult before I tasted an actual buttercream frosting. Though it was delicious, I'm still not a huge fan. But! This cake was going to be decorated and frosting was an essential element! Butter and cream cheese form the basis here.
I didn't need the KitchenAid for the cake but I definitely did for the frosting--you just can't whip enough air into it by hand. It'll take forever and the stamina of a mountain gorilla. The butter and cream cheese got creamed together for about 30 seconds. Notice today's attachment is a paddle.
I scraped down the sides with a rubber spatula then added the powdered sugar, a tiny bit of salt and some vanilla extract. Start the mixer up on low until the sugar is more incorporated or you will end up with a blizzard!
The mixture gets whipped on high for several minutes until this lovely, airy mixture forms.
I spread it onto the top and some of the sides with a palette knife.
I started to lose some of the definition so I used the knife to sharpen up the features a bit. I was going to leave the bunny blank and just let Aiden go at it with some decorator gels but I felt the bunny needed a face. At least.
Yeah, I can't draw. But he looks pleasant. Hope Buddy likes him! I will have to wait to hear their review. The frosting, which I tasted, gets a 5 turtle rating.
Since I didn't taste the actual finished cake, I will give it a four...for now!
Here are the promised links:
Sally's Baking Addiction
The frosting recipe is also here!
Pysanky
Photo credit to my husband, Eric
Eggs by Naomi and Caroline
Equipment recommendations:
Wilton products
Like the bunny cake tin! Tons of cool stuff. You can also find them at our local Ben Franklin Crafts stores--once this isolation period is over, that is.
Mrs. Anderson's Baking Tools
The palette knife makes the even and smooth spreading of frosting so easy! I believe I got mine from The Compleat Kitchen over at Kahala Mall.
Penzey's Spices
I'm not exaggerating--the difference in quality between their herbs and spices and the stuff you find in supermarkets is incredible! Supermarket spices are often on the shelf too long but Penzey's produces and packages their own and they are incredible. Yes, we have to pay for shipping but I found that most of their spices are so reasonably priced compared to our local stores that the additional shipping cost did not negatively affect the overall cost at all. They have stopped production because of COVID. I sure hope they are up and running again soon!
Meanwhile, here are a couple of samples from last year's party:
Cool, right? I toyed with the idea of doing traditional colored eggs with Aiden, AKA Buddy, and Layla, AKA Bug, but then I had a sudden vision of overturned/thrown dye bowls in a house we don't own. In a house with white curtains...I decided I'd bake instead.
Since Aiden isn't coming everyday due to his parents' WFH schedule, I made his cake with the idea that he'd decorate it today after Layla leaves and then take it home. I'll make Layla's cake tonight so she can decorate it tomorrow. It's all in the planning. And the dividing and conquering so two youngsters are not messing with icing and cake decorations at the same time.
Aiden likes pumpkin spice cake so I chose a recipe from a website called Sally's Baking Addiction. She started off as an amateur cook and blogger and gained a loyal following. She has solid, dependable recipes and apparently, a couple of new cookbooks. She is definitely one of my go-to people for cake recipes.
Here's the cast photo. Minus the can of pumpkin puree. Even though it's kind of the main flavor component. Duh.
Such an easy recipe, too. Wet ingredients get whisked together in one bowl.
Dry ingredients hang in their own bowl until they get invited to the party.
I thought about making cupcakes but I had to use this pan. Had to. Look into those eyes...Even though it's a non-stick pan, I have had too many occasions where the cake stuck anyway. In the words of my friend, Denise, I sprayed the hell out of it.
Bake time was challenging because this is approximately the size of a 13 x 9 pan but with less surface area. I started it at 28 minutes and then checked every couple minutes thereafter till the toothpick came out clean. Even then, there was a slight under doneness in the center of the bunny's face.
I let the cake cool for about 10 minutes and gently slid a plastic knife around the edges to check for sticking. When I jiggled the pan, the cake was definitely loose enough to come out. Turning it out still made me nervous though. Yay for a clean result.
I never liked frosting growing up. The only ones I knew were the gaggingly sweet ones on birthday cakes. I think I was nearly an adult before I tasted an actual buttercream frosting. Though it was delicious, I'm still not a huge fan. But! This cake was going to be decorated and frosting was an essential element! Butter and cream cheese form the basis here.
I didn't need the KitchenAid for the cake but I definitely did for the frosting--you just can't whip enough air into it by hand. It'll take forever and the stamina of a mountain gorilla. The butter and cream cheese got creamed together for about 30 seconds. Notice today's attachment is a paddle.
I scraped down the sides with a rubber spatula then added the powdered sugar, a tiny bit of salt and some vanilla extract. Start the mixer up on low until the sugar is more incorporated or you will end up with a blizzard!
The mixture gets whipped on high for several minutes until this lovely, airy mixture forms.
I spread it onto the top and some of the sides with a palette knife.
I started to lose some of the definition so I used the knife to sharpen up the features a bit. I was going to leave the bunny blank and just let Aiden go at it with some decorator gels but I felt the bunny needed a face. At least.
Yeah, I can't draw. But he looks pleasant. Hope Buddy likes him! I will have to wait to hear their review. The frosting, which I tasted, gets a 5 turtle rating.
Sally's Baking Addiction
The frosting recipe is also here!
Pysanky
Photo credit to my husband, Eric
Eggs by Naomi and Caroline
Equipment recommendations:
Wilton products
Like the bunny cake tin! Tons of cool stuff. You can also find them at our local Ben Franklin Crafts stores--once this isolation period is over, that is.
Mrs. Anderson's Baking Tools
The palette knife makes the even and smooth spreading of frosting so easy! I believe I got mine from The Compleat Kitchen over at Kahala Mall.
Penzey's Spices
I'm not exaggerating--the difference in quality between their herbs and spices and the stuff you find in supermarkets is incredible! Supermarket spices are often on the shelf too long but Penzey's produces and packages their own and they are incredible. Yes, we have to pay for shipping but I found that most of their spices are so reasonably priced compared to our local stores that the additional shipping cost did not negatively affect the overall cost at all. They have stopped production because of COVID. I sure hope they are up and running again soon!
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