The Marie Antoinette birthday party

In two busy days of baking, I made chocolate, vanilla, and raspberry macarons, vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, lemon meringue tarts, chocolate mousse tarts with raspberries, strawberry and cream tarts, eclairs, cream puffs with ganache, and a two tier layer cake.

I might have gone a bit crazy with the balloons.

This was the best birthday I've ever had. Only 365 days until the next one...

lemon meringue tarts

This is a pretty busy time of year for me at work, so I haven't been doing much in my free time other than baking to unwind when I get home. Even though winter was pretty mild this year, I'm ready to transition into motorcycling, biking, and general outdoor playing season. There aren't even any holidays coming up, so I have no parties to plan! 

 These lemon meringue tarts were my Wednesday night post-work baking project. A slightly sweet and tangy lemon cream is probably my favorite filling of all time, and when its combined with a sugar cookie crust and a stiff meringue, I can't get enough. I brought these into work so I didn't have to personally eat them all, which I certainly would have.

cake on the move

Baking for work often presents several traveling and serving dilemmas. When I find myself transporting a dozen or more cupcakes, I buy empty Crave Case boxes from White Castle for $5. They are the perfect size to hold fifteen cupcakes, the top is high enough to protect the frosting, and the boxes are durable enough to last many trips. I did not have time to buy any boxes today, so I decided to make cake jars using some small canning jars I had lying around.

I had strawberries left over from a weekend breakfast, so I sliced and layered them between two layers of semi-sweet chocolate frosting.

To turn a cupcake recipe into a simple cake jar, bake two 9" layers using your favorite cake recipe and slice off the tops to even the layers. Cut rounds of cake, the exact size of the jars, using a round cookie cutter or the rim of the jar.

Ease the cake into the bottom of the jar, spread a thin layer of chocolate frosting, and add a layer of strawberries.

Pipe a layer of chocolate frosting over the strawberries, screw on the top of the jar, and transport with ease!

Valentine's Day Brunch

Valentine's day brunch was a blast this weekend, but in all the madness, I didn't get a chance to take many photos. 

I made cinnamon buttermilk donuts- half with glaze, and half with chocolate. I didn't realize I was out of heart sprinkles until the last second, so my donuts were unfortunately lacking in heart decor.

Everyone got into the spirit- there were pink, red, and heart-covered outfits galore! We enjoyed Adam's fantastic bloody marys, and champagne with strawberries.

We made french toast topped with a raspberry sauce and walnuts, corned beef hash over skillet-style hash browns, and of course, pancakes. 

After brunch, we cleared the table, changed into some tougher gear, and spent the rest of the day playing Nerf capture the flag. Since my friends occupy all three floors of our house, we have a lot of room to play! This started as a spontaneous plan to kick our cabin fever last winter, and we've been hosting huge battles ever since.

Is there a better way to show your friends you love them than chasing them around and shooting darts at them?