Cookie and Cream Cupcakes

While browsing through the pages of  Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, I came across this cute recipe for cookie and cream cupcakes.

Martha Stewart.com

Each cupcake is made up of a whole oreo cookie and bits of chopped cookies in the cream cheese filling.
I added a coat of delicious chocolate on top and sugar paste decorations.

Cookie and cream cupcakes

Flower decorations

Heart shapes for all the fathers in  my family for Fathers' Day

Tiny Blue flowers

Cross sectional view of the cookie and cream cupcake:
The cookie was placed at the bottom and followed by cream cheese filled with chopped cookies.
Finally, it was coated with chocolate ganache and decorated.

Whole Cookie and cream cupcake

Cross section view of cupcake1

Cross section view of cupcake2

Ribbon Fondant Cake

I have always admired all the pretty fondant cakes seen in the cake decorating books.
I decided to make one for my mum on Mother's Day. 
I baked a simple yellow cake from one of Martha Stewart's cake recipes and focused on making my fondant cake - present with  a ribbon bow. I  used a deep pink rolled fondant for the wrapping and a pastel pink fondant  for the ribbon and bow.

 

                   Bonne fête des mères- Happy Mother's Day !

Sweet and Salty Cake

   Sweet and Salty cake

Sprinked with Fleur de sel

Salty caramel and whipped choc.ganache in between layers

This sweet and salty cake recipe is from Matt Lewis, co-owner of Baked Bakery who  joined  Martha Stewart to make this cake in her show.
There are three main components in this cake:
1. The sweet chocolate cake 
2. Salty caramel (Salt-fleur de sel is used) used in between the layers and
3. The whipped caramel chocolate ganache for the icing.

The finished cake is then garnished with more grains of Fleur de sel.
The saltiness and sweetness is well balanced and is simply heavenly.

Jamie Oliver's Carrot cake for my dad 

Carrot cake with carrot candies.

This carrot cake recipe from Jamie Oliver (Cook with Jamie) is fantastic.It is full of nuts: walnuts and almonds  and  flavourful with lots of spice like cloves, ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg.
The icing is a combination of mascarpone cheese and cream cheese. Delicious.
Happy 88th Birthday ! Dad.