Saturday Fun

There are lots of things I could do for fun on a Saturday; run a race, go for a long bike ride or hike, read a book, watch a movie, babysit my granddaughter. But I had two special birthday cake orders for this past Sunday, so I spent most of last Saturday decorating cakes. I spent a good part of the morning on the cake for a 6-year-old girl who after hesitating chose a Minion cake over a princess cake. I took my time in the afternoon on the sewing machine cake for a seamstress friend whose husband was surprising her with the cake for her birthday. My sister had sent me a picture of a cute sewing machine cake that I copied with a few modifications.

Pan Cookies

In the summer, one way to keep the temperature inside the house from rising too much is to avoid baking. But if I absolutely can’t keep myself from baking, I try to open and close the oven as little as possible, so instead of baking individual cookies I make pan cookies. These are butterscotch pan cookies.

Pan Cookies

Add an extra egg to a regular cookie recipe. Spread the batter into a 9x13-inch (22x32 cm) pan like you would for brownies. Bake at 350° F (175° C) for 25 minutes. Cut into squares. Makes 2-dozen.

Minion Cake

Last year I thought it would be fun to make Justin a Minion cake for his birthday. I frosted and decorated the cake with white chocolate. I was pleased with the results, but having had more practice with fondant recently I decided to give it another try this year.

 

I baked a double recipe of applesauce cake (since it’s one of Justin’s favorites) in a 9x13-inch (22x32 cm) pan. Having frozen the cake to make it easier to trim to shape, I cut the sides and the corners to make a long oval

then I flattened the top and rounded the edges.

I made the arms and legs out of the trimmed sides, and the glasses out of gingerbread. Next, I spread a thin layer of frosting over the cake to seal the crumbs and make the fondant stick.

I rolled out part of the fondant that I had colored yellow to cover the top of the cake and the arms.

I rolled out and applied blue fondant for the Minion’s overalls.

I used black, grey and brown fondant for the final details.

This may become a yearly tradition!

Last year’s Minion