Big Events, Big Baking

Winner Bakes All!

Big Events, Big Baking!

      Sorry I have not posted for a while, I have been super busy. I have been preparing for a long time for this event. Anyway, my cousin just got engaged! She had the engagement party today, and I was in charge of the baking. I have spent a ton of time planning everything out and getting all of the supplies I need. I was extremely proud of this cake as well as the cupcakes. I think this was the crowning jewel of everything I have done so far. Others may think differently, but that is the way I see it in my eyes. There were three cake flavors that I used for the whole thing. They were vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet. I made a three tiered cake and about five dozen cupcakes. For the cake, it was a lot of trial and error. I had many plans and back-up plans for the designs, and it is a good thing I did. I'm not going to focus too much on what I was going to do, but instead on what I did do. I used many piping tips to do different designs on each layer. I tried to do one thing on some layers and it turned out to be an entirely different design. I even used some fake flowers and colored frosting in the colors the bride wanted. The cupcakes just had a simple swirl on top and a few pearl sprinkles. To top them off, I stuck in some picks that said, "I Do". I am in love with the way everything turned out, and I hope it was enough to make up for the time I missed posting. 

Dessert Imposter Time!

Winner Bakes All!

Dessert ImPASTA!

      This week my area had snow and a freezing rain storm, which meant no school. Some people at my school don't agree that we should have wasted a snow day on this, but it means an extra day off to me! However, snow days leave me bored with nothing to do. So what do I do? I turned on Food Network and watched Kids Baking Championship. The episode I watched involved dessert imposters, desserts that look like savory foods. And that got my creative juices flowing. I wanted to make a dessert imposter, and I decided on making spaghetti and meatballs. I though about how I would make them, and once I figured it out, it was time to get to work. I was making cake earlier in the day and I decided to use the cake scraps in this imposter. I put some cake in the bottom of the bowl to begin. Then, I used colored frosting to make the noodles using a special piping tip. To make meatballs, I mixed chocolate cake and chocolate ganache to make a dough kind of texture. I then rolled them into balls. They didn't seem very realistic, so I melted raspberry jam and painted it on the balls. I made a strawberry coulis as the spaghetti sauce. Lastly, to top it off, I shaved white chocolate on it to make it look like parmesan cheese. And at last, it was done! I was super excited to make this and I love how realistic the finished product came out!

It's Game Time!

Winner Bakes All!

It's Game Time!

      This past Sunday was one of the biggest football games of the year- the Super bowl! Considering many people watched it, and it was a couple days ago, many of you know that it was between the Bronco's and the Panther's. My dad claims he likes football, but my whole family basically just watches this football game for the commercials, but we all know it's about the food. My family normally just sits on the couch and watches the big game together, we do not have a big blowout party or anything like that. However, we do still make treats and snacks. Normally, we would just do savory appetizers, like this year. We made bacon wrapped scallops, breaded green beans, and spanakopita. This year, I stepped into the game. I made little sweet and salty chocolate pretzel bites. I melted white chocolate in the colors of our team- the Denver Bronco's. Orange and blue. I used a piping bag to simply pipe chocolate into the pretzels, and just before they set, I added a special touch. A little bit earlier in the day, I used whole almonds and white chocolate to make mini edible footballs. I added the almond footballs to the chocolate before it set so that they would stick and stay in place. And that's it! How simple is that? They were the perfect combination of sweet salty, and to be honest, I could have eaten so many more than I actually did. They were so tasty!

More Adventures in the Kitchen!

Winner Bakes All!

What's New This Week???

     This week I made a special birthday cake, and this was a big first for me. Of course, it was not my first birthday cake, but it was my first homemade strawberry cake. It may seem a little late (One and a half years) for me to make this cake, but because I rarely need to make strawberry cake, I would normally just use a box cake mix. To begin, I just made three strawberry layers. I made two puddings- vanilla and strawberry. Before I layered the cakes, I folded whipped cream into the pudding to fluff it up a little bit. I used buttercream in a piping bag with a big star tip to make rosettes on the sides and top of the cake. I noticed there were spots in the frosting where you could see cake, and unfortunately, I also ran out of frosting. So I took some of the whipped cream and using the same piping tip, I made some stars to cover up the spots. I then threw some sprinkles on the cake to give it just that little bit of shimmer. I also sliced some strawberries and placed them around the whole base of the cake. Then, it was time to put on the crowning jewel, the bright, red, juicy strawberry rose. I just used a knife to make cuts in a strawberry and fanned it out to make it look like a rose. I put a single strawberry rose in the center of the cake and... Viola!!! The cake was complete!

Welcome to Winner Bakes All!

Winner Bakes All!

My Journey Into the Baking World

      This is my first blog that is meant to document my adventures of baking and to share it with others. I have been baking for about one and a half years, and in that short time period, I fell in love with it. I make many things, from cakes, to cookies, and all the way to French macaroons, and I find joy in all of it. My inspiration for all of it comes from one place. Not from my grandmother, mother, or any other relative like you would think. It comes from the internet, and a wide variety of people. However, one girl was my true inspiration, the one who actually got me into the kitchen and in action. This girl was Rosanna Pansino, who is the creator and host of Nerdy Nummies on YouTube. I watched her very first video the week she uploaded it back in 2011, and I have been hooked ever since. Anyway, coming back to the present, this blog will be about twice a week, giving pictures and updates on what treats I have made and what's coming. So, I hope to see you next time to see what is brewing in my kitchen!