Baking- It's What I Do

I've been so inundated with orders for cakes and desserts lately, the rest of my life has kind of come to a pause. Not that I'm complaining, but it's probably a bad thing when you're so exhausted you fall asleep decorating sugar cookies and your face falls into your royal icing. Sleep has become a delicacy, but I'm loving every minute of it. 

Starting your own baking business is comparable to having a newborn baby in the house. You're getting no sleep, your hair gets combed enough to put it in a pony tail and get it out of your face, there are chronic bags under your eyes, you're up all hours of the night, and there isn't a spot on your clothing that's not covered in some sort of mystery substance. 

I'm happiest in my kitchen, looking the way I described above, with music blaring and my KitchenAid mixer going. Strangely, I just discovered today how eclectic my music taste is. How does one person go from listening to Broadway show tunes, to old country, to Metallica in a matter of 30 minutes? I don't know, but this chick does. 

Today, I want to share with you all my latest creations and what makes me happiest. These are just a few things I've worked on lately:

These are various decorated sugar cookies I did for Valentine's Day orders. Afterwards, I got a call from our local newspaper and they ordered 15 dozen from me!

My first western themed baby shower cake. I was so proud of my design! My parents-to-be unfortunately didn't get to enjoy it. They're very large boxer snuck into the dining room and devoured it while no one was looking!

I had a customer ask me for sugar-free Valentine treats. Of course sugar-free is blasphemy in my house, but I was happy to oblige! ;) These are sugar-free red velvet cupcakes with whipped milk chocolate icing. They were a hit! I'm now expanding my sugar-free line and adding some some vegan and gluten-free treats also.

One of my favorite cakes I've done! This was for a cupcake themed 1st birthday and it was so much fun. I mean, who doesn't love giant cupcakes?

Last, but not least, my husband took this photo of me before he left for work that morning. I had been up all night decorating the 15 dozen cookies for the newspaper. As you can see, I'm exhausted but still smiling!

Super Bowl Sunday

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! I'm more of a high school and college football girl myself, so I'm usually just in it for the food on Super Bowl Sunday. This is a sinfully delicious dip to make for your own Super Bowl party tonight. If you love Cheddar Peppers from Sonic or Cheddar Bombers from Church's Chicken, you'll love this dip!

Stuffed Jalapeńo Dip

6-8 slices of crispy bacon chopped
2 8oz blocks of cream cheese
1 cup mayo
4-6 jalapeńos diced (take the seeds out if you don't want it super spicy)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup diced green onion (optional)

Topping:
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450

Combine dip ingredients into a bowl, mix well. Transfer to an oven safe dish. The bigger the pan, the thinner the dip will be. I use a 12 inch Pyrex so the dip is about an inch thick. 

Combine topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the dip.

Bake for 20-30 min or until bubbly.

Serve with Ritz crackers or your favorite tortilla chips!

Sweets For Your Sweets

Forget flowers and boxes of chocolate, give your sweetheart handmade goodies for Valentine's Day this year! I'm taking orders for Valentine themed cupcakes, decorated sugar cookies, and chocolate covered strawberries. Need wrapping or delivery? We can do that too!

Cupcakes: $15.00 per dozen
Sugar Cookies: $12.00 per dozen
Chocolate Covered Strawberries: $18.00 per dozen

Gift wrapping: $3.00
Delivery: $5.00

Call 903-353-7076 or email thesouthernfriedmama@gmail.com to place your order!

No Bake Day

I recently had strep throat and let me tell you, I know I'm getting older now because my body cannot recover from it like it used to. I watch my daughter, who has it now, bounce around and still play with her brother and sister while having a 101 fever and it gives further evidence to my old body theory.

I have missed cooking and baking so much since I've been sick, I woke up this morning wanting to make something delicious for the family. Since I'm still recovering, but not running on all cylinders I knew I needed something easy, but decadent. I'm sharing two of my favorite no bake pies with ya'll today. Neither require baking, unless you bake your own pie crust. Today, I will refer to you as an overachiever if you do make your own crust. Yes, I'm jealous that you have energy and I don't. 

The first pie is called a Butterfinger Pie. My cousin shared this recipe with me and I could literally sit and eat the whole thing myself. The other pie is a Chocolate Cream Pie and it comes into my dreams sometimes and tells me I need to make it. It's just that good.

Butterfinger Pie

The Cast:

6 regular size Butterfinger candy bars, crushed

1 8 oz. package cream cheese

1 12 oz. carton Cool Whip

1 graham cracker crust

Directions:

Mix first three ingredients together.

Spread into pie crust.

Chill until set.

Top with crushed Butterfinger bits

Easy Peasy Chocolate Cream Pie

The Cast:

8oz. softened cream cheese

1/3  cup plus 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream

½ cup sugar

½ sifted cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Graham cracker crust or cookie crust

(In this pie, I made a graham cracker crust and added cocoa powder. I also baked it in a springform pan.)

Whipped topping:

1 cup ice cold heavy whipping cream

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

3 tbsp granulated sugar

Chocolate Shavings or semi-sweet morsels (optional)

For filling:

Whip cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add in sifted cocoa powder and vanilla and whip until creamy. Spread into pie crust and refrigerate while making the whipped topping.

For Topping:

Combine all ingredients and whip on 4 in your KitchenAid mixer until fluffy peaks appear. Spread over chocolate mixture and sprinkle with chocolate shavings or chocolate chips if desired.

Cake Happens.

Well it finally happened! I had my first cake disaster this weekend. Now that I'm finally composed enough to talk about it, I will confess my sin against cake. I went to pull the Gender Reveal cake I did Friday out of the fridge so I could put it in the cake box and I slipped in some sugar I had spilled on the floor and I dropped the entire two tiered cake. Some landed in the floor, but the majority landed in a big crumbled pile on my prep table. After crying hysterically and washing the cake and icing off of my hands and arms, I had to do the most difficult thing I've done since I began doing cakes. I had to call my customer and tell her that her creation that she needed tonight, was all over my kitchen floor. 

She could tell I was completely distraught and she asked if there was any way of saving at least enough where they could still have something for the party. I quickly thought of cake pops. I took the cake that was still edible and mixed it with some of the remaining cream cheese icing I had made and formed the cake into cupcakes. I froze them for a few minutes and then iced them with the remaining cream cheese icing and pearl dust. Disaster averted! 

My customer's mother picked them up and they enjoyed a dinner before they learned the news that they were having a baby girl by unwrapping the cupcakes. 

It still pains me to talk about this, but I also want everyone to know at the same time that kitchen disasters happen to everyone. The best chefs in the world have had their own kitchen mess-ups. You have to just pick yourself up, take a deep breath, and begin again. 

To redeem myself, and because I'm so excited about their new baby girl, I'll be making something special for their new addition. I'll post pictures as soon as I'm done!

Mexican Hot Chocolate

I recently stumbled upon a fabulous concoction called Mexican Hot Chocolate. My first thought when I heard the name was, "Do you put jalapeños in the hot chocolate?" Yuck. 

I found a recipe on Pinterest that explained how to make Mexican hot chocolate and how it got it's name. Being the hot chocolate enthusiast I am, I had to try to make it myself. I have a homemade hot chocolate that I make often every winter, so I just changed it up a bit to give it a bit of South of the Border flavor. Cinnamon (I grind cinnamon sticks for this recipe) Nutmeg and a pinch of Cayenne takes this hot chocolate to the next level.  Fresh ground cinnamon will give you a stronger flavor and more spice, but you don't have to be an overachiever like me. 

The Cast and Crew:

1 cup water
4 tablespoons cocoa powder 
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups of whole milk
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon of Mexican vanilla
pinch of cayenne pepper
Mini Marshmallows or Coconut Whipped Cream to garnish

Begin by heating 1 cup of water to a boil. Add in the 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder (I sift mine so there are no lumpies). Yes, I said lumpies. Continue to stir until the cocoa is fully melted into the water. Add in the 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to stir. Add in the cinnamon, nutmeg, Mexican vanilla, and cayenne pepper. Continue to stir. You will stir A LOT with this recipe. 

Once all of the spices are combined into the mixture, remove from heat and add in you sweetened condensed milk. It will become thick at this point, but it will thin back out once you add the whole milk. Add in the 2 cups of whole milk and stir. Once the milk has warmed up slowly by mixing with everything, you can return the hot chocolate to the burner on a low heat setting. Do not heat the milk up quickly or you will cause it to curdle. You can allow it to heat for as long as you need on low and stir occasionally. 

Ladle the chocolate into your favorite mug and top it with marshmallows or something I like to call a little spoonful of heaven- Coconut Whipped Cream (recipe below).

Coconut Whipped Cream

The Cast and Crew:

1 can of Coconut Milk (not light)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Refrigerate your can of coconut milk overnight or freeze it for about an hour. This will cause it to separate and the cream will rise to the top, so make sure to not shake the can up when you remove it from the fridge. Open the can and scoop out the delicious cream off of the top of the liquid. 

Mix on medium speed in a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer until soft peaks form. 

Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla to taste and continue to whip the mixture. You can adjust the sweetness to taste. You can store this whipped cream in a covered dish and it will keep for several days in the fridge. 
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Whatta Year!

To begin, I know it has been forever and a day since I've posted a blog! The holiday season is closing in on us once again and I have been reminiscing today about the whirlwind year I've had so far. 

I decided to start up a small baking business out of my home around the first of the year. I knew that turning something I love to do anyway into some extra money for my family would give me a sense of calm in this chaotic world I call life, but I had no idea how busy it would keep me or how many wonderful people I would meet! 

My first 'big deal' birthday cake I did for a customer was a 3D Dumbo cake. I used fondant, sugar gum paste, and molding chocolate to create it. It is probably one of my favorite creations I've ever done. I mean, who doesn't love Dumbo?

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