Decorating Cakes at LaChoclatier

This week's cakes:

This weekend was a busy weekend at the bakery to say the least. There are a few new coworkers that have let L start taking more orders. All the cakes featured below were created custom for each client by LaChoclatier Bakery. All pictures were taken from the facebook face, so take a look when you get a chance!

http://www.facebook.com/lachoc?ref=ts


This may be one of my new favorites, there is something about these toy story cakes that is just fun to work with:

and I may have gotten a bit carried away with this one, but had a lot of fun making all the little pool balls. (the cake and ques were done by others). It reminds me of some fun times in college spent learning to play late into the night.

The next few I didn't personally work on but were still fun cakes.

I am really learning a lot and loving working there. I don't sell cakes like these on my own so if you are interested in making an order feel free to call or visit the website.

http://www.lachoclatier.com/

Billiards, Beach, Burgers, and Bikes

So lately I’ve been a little Bummed to say the least (sorry I promise I’m done with the “B” puns). I have just been very discouraged for a number of reasons. It seems no matter how much I work I can’t seem to save any money, no matter how much I try to plan time to make it to the gym things get in the way, and to tell the truth I’ve just been plain lonely. I’ve always been a very independent person by nature but sometimes that can lead to a lonely life.

Luckily, I think this weekend was just what I needed to help pull me out of my little funk. It was a hard weekend at the bakery, but by the end of Saturday we sent out some amazing cakes that may be some of my new favorites. Friday night I had a lot of fun detailing a small pool table cake. And thanks to dating a guy in college with an awesome poolroom I was pretty proud of myself that I remembered most of the colors and numbers for each ball. I did have to cheat a little in the end and print out a picture to check, but it was still a lot of fun to make and reminded me of some good times. There was also a pretty fun toy story cake . (Here is a quick picture of the billiards cake, but I promise to post the rest in my usual weekly cake decorating post).

After the bakery I came home had a good dinner from 10-top and took a nap. Later M1 and I walked down to the boot for a drink and R stopped by. We ended the night at T-west and it was just a nice way to end a stressful week.

Today was the beach day I have been longing for. I have actually been dreaming about it and telling myself everyday it would be here soon. The weather was perfect, I read almost ¼ of a book I hadn’t had time to even start before and it was strangely warm enough to swim. We headed back just before the weather came in and I stopped by Trader Joes to stock up on some yummy food.

Then it was time for the burgers. I have been on a veggie burger kick lately and have been trying different recipes to make my own. Tonight was Fajita black bean burgers and I think they came out really well! (Will post recipe soon)

I finished part of my doodle chair and M1 and I took a crazy long bike ride all through Ghent and downtown. So other than a bit of a sunburn on the back of my legs and ignoring all chores and things I was going to get done this weekend, It was kind of amazing and just the weekend I needed to pull me out of my pity party.

Angry Birds and Red Velvet Experiments

So for R's birthday he wanted nothing more than a little red velvet Angry Bird cake. So I took it as a chance to try out a new recipe. I have been searching for over a year now for a decent Red Velvet cake recipe and have yet to find one. It seems that no family guards much more than their great grandmother's secret recipe...so if any of you have one of those oh so secret recipes I would love for you to send it my way!

I found this recipe from http://www.carrottopmom.com/?p=290 which was a slight variation of this recipe http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/red-velvet-cupcakes-3/Detail.aspx and thought I would give it a try with a few slight variations of my own. The cake/cupcakes turned out well but had a bit too much of a chocolate flavor for a true red velvet and although they were moist straight of the oven they became a bit dry and crumbly even by the next morning. I think that substituting at least half the butter with oil may remedy this. So below is something I haven't done before. A suggestion of what I think the recipe should be (but haven't actually tried the altered version out yet myself).

Red Velvet cupcakes/cake

• 2 1/2 cups flour
  


• 1/4+ a little cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  
  


• 1 teaspoon baking soda
  


• 1/2 teaspoon salt
  


• 1/2 cup butter softened and 1/2 cup veg oil
  


• 2 1/4 cups sugar
  


• 4 eggs
  


• 1 cup sour cream
  


• 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 2 teaspoons lemon juice)
  


• 1 ounce red food coloring
  


• 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract and 1 tsp ground vanilla beans (or 4 tsp extract)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all dry ingredients and set aside.
   


2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Beat batter until fluffy using a whisk attachment if possible. Spoon batter into Cupcake liners
   


3. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean . Gently remove from oven. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8oz pkg cream cheese

3 tbls butter

1 tsp vanilla beans ground (or extract)

Powdered sugar (about 3 cups)

Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth

Add in powdered sugar until desired texture and flavor. If you like it more sweet add more, if you like it less sweet add less :)

GAME OVER!!!

Decorating cakes at Lachoclatier

Last week's cakes :)...So I’m sure some of you have been wondering what I have been doing during my long weekends at the bakery….well here’s a little taste. LaChoclatier Bakery is a small bakery located in Chesapeke Va specializing in custom cakes. All the pictures below are from the Facebook page, so you should check it out to see all the other great cakes and treats we are doing!...and a special thanks to everyone who voted! We got Gold for best Custom/Wedding cakes in Chesapeake!

we make books

this is one of those "love it or hate it" cakes. I had so much fun making all the different bolts of fabric. It was a graduation cake for a fashion major

http://www.facebook.com/lachoc?ref=ts

I am really learning a lot and loving working there. I don't sell cakes like these on my own so if you are interesting making an order feel free to call or make an online order at the website. http://www.lachoclatier.com

Decorating cakes at LaChoclatier Bakery

Last week's cakes :)...

So I’m sure some of you have been wondering what I have been doing during my long weekends at the bakery….well here’s a little taste. LaChoclatier Bakery is a small bakery located in Chesapeke Va specializing in custom cakes. All the pictures below are from the Facebook page, so you should check it out to see all the other great cakes and treats we are doing!

...and a special thanks to everyone who voted! We got Gold for best Custom/Wedding cakes in Chesapeake!

At first I just laughed when the first thing L hands me when I walk in the bakery is a printed out picture of the incredible hulk to copy in fondant..... but for me not being able to sketch people I think it came out pretty well.

these next two I can only take credit for the chocolate curls.... but they do look yummy

http://www.facebook.com/lachoc?ref=ts

I am really learning a lot and loving working there. I don't sell cakes like these on my own so if you are interesting making an order feel free to call or make an online order at the website. http://www.lachoclatier.com