Not Exactly the Same Cake

The day after my previous post I attended the Holly Days Fair in Fayetteville, NC. This is an annual tradition for me. The Holly Days fair is an event put together by the Junior Service league and is their major fundraiser to support nonprofit organizations in Cumberland County. It is a collection of crafts, speciality items, food, and so much more. When I walked in the door the first vendor caught my eye with the N.C. State cake pan hanging on the outside of their space. The same cake pan I had been looking for for my last cake. I immediately purchased it knowing that there would be another opportunity to use it.

Before the month ended the opportunity presented itself. Our Interim County Director was leaving us as our new one got ready to step into place at the beginning of the month. We had a team work retreat planned for the his last day and we decided to take an hour or so to turn this into a farewell and thank you. Thus there is a need for a cake.

Now not only does he work for NCSU but he also is an alum. He is quite the fan of the university so it seemed fitting to create a NCSU cake with my new pan. I baked a butter cake with traditional decorators icing. The colors are NCSU colors and it was just the right size for everyone to have a slice. He seemed thrilled with his goodbye cake, but not as thrilled as we were with his imprint that he left on us during his seven months as our Interim.

Santa Needs Cookies

I realize it is after Thanksgiving and baking Santa's cookies might be a tad early. However it is tradition in our home that the day after Thanksgiving the tree goes up (it's artificial so no problem with it drying up by Christmas). Along with that a mass of elves descend and decorate the whole house for Christmas. The issue is that most of my Mom's stuff is still packed away so there are just a few things she has to get out at Christmas. One of these things is a Santa Claus cookie jar that she got last year at an after Christmas sale. Of course a cookie jar is in need of cookies.

Thanks to all the baking I was doing as part of Thanksgiving I had chocolate chips, eggs, sugar, flour, etc. In other words I had all the makings for chocolate chip cookies. You know, the toll house kind. The kind of cookies that everyone should experience, and usually does at least once in their lifetime. I baked about two dozen cookies (and of course tested a few along the way) for the famed Santa cookie jar. I'm not sure what happened to the cookies after I left, but it did mark the first baking assignment for the holiday season. Who knows what is next? Stay tuned for more holiday fun.

How Loud does a Peppermint Snowflake Bark?

I realize the title is just a bit corny but it has you reading this now doesn't it? Wilton put out a new candy kit this holiday season, a peppermint bark kit. The kit contains snowflake shaped cookie cutters, chocolate and peppermint candy melts as well as disposable decorator bags.

The cookie cutters are placed on a cookie sheet with a sheet of wax paper between the two. You start with the chocolate, melt it, and put a layer in each of the cookie cutters. I place the cookie sheet in the freezer for a few minutes to let the chocolate harden. Then it is time for the peppermint melts. After melting them you pipe a slightly thicker layer in the cookie cutter. Being impatient I place the cookie sheet back in the freezer to let this layer harden also. When I pull it out I carefully separate the bark and cookie cutter. Thus a really cute piece of peppermint bark is left with a snowflake shape.

We wrapped these individually and gave them out to family who came to visit after Thanksgiving. The cool, sweet treat went over well and travelled easily. It is a quick and fun gift that I plan to repeat for Christmas.

Who Lives in a Pineapple Under the Sea?

If you yelled out Sponge Bob Square Pants you are so right. Each year there seems to be at least one Sponge Bob that turns up. He is becoming a character like Scooby Doo and Bug Bunny, taking his own place in cartoon fame. So when my most incredible and wonderful secretary came to me and asked if I could make Sponge Bob for a relative I of course said yes.

This is a butter cake and feeds up to 20 people. Apparently he was so cute it was tough carving up this cartoon character. All children however know that cake can be eaten and the character will live on as does Sponge Bob Square Pants.

ACC Party the Sequel

Usually the sequel to anything is not as good as the original. However I dare say this would be the one time that this is not the case. You may remember the, I even shudder to type this, this Tar Heel cake I made about a week ago. Well the same friend and loving Aunt came to me and asked me to create a North Carolina State University (NCSU) cake. This time I did not hesitate to say yes. Of course I am still a die hard UVA fan so why did I not hesitate? My day job is actually working for N.C.State University as part of the Cooperative Extension Service, specifically as a 4-H Extension Agent. Although I do not root for the team I do not have a negative connotation for the school so making the cake was not a problem.

Once again I set out to order a pan and could not get one. Believe it or not they were back ordered. I had to be on campus for training one day and stopped by the bookstore to see if they had one, but no such luck. So my next plan was to carve the cake. It was not perfect but Stevie was thrilled and his big brother who likes UNC is still trying to determine which cake was bigger.