I complained….

In the end… It was all worth it…

It was a very happy birthday to my sister and a very happy fathers’ day to my brother, father, and grandfather.

Here is what happened. As you all know, I’m a baker. I bake all of my muffins, cakes, cookies, and cheesecakes. This cake is a cheesecake, but it was a “no bake” cheesecake. When I first thought about this cake, I was really hesitant. The only reason why I was hesitant is because I don’t need to bake the cake. The cake sets itself. What made me feel better was that I still made everything from scratch instead of relying on something premade in a box.

I would like to thank my girlfriend for helping me decide what ingredients to put into this cake. The crust is made with chocolate graham crackers instead of the usual graham crackers I use. The cheese cake itself is made with creamcheese and confectioners’ sugar. I added my own little twist to the cheesecake by swirling in chocolate and strawberry syrup. To top off the cheesecake, I smeared a layer of extra creamy whip cream, added a layer of strawberries and bananas, and finished with another thick layer of creamcheese.

Of course it doesn’t stop there. We needed more toppings. At the very top layer of this cake are intersecting lines of chocolate syrup, sprinkles of pecans, and cherries.

I haven’t had a real banana split sundae for myself, but for the others that have tried this cake told me that it really does taste like a banana split.

The smell of cranberries, corn, stuffing, and turkey. Thanksgiving day is finally here. What Thanksgiving feast would be complete without dessert?

Every year I always try to make something that is very unique, yet somewhat traditional. At the same time, I also notice that there is someone that always buys a pumpkin pie from a supermarket. There is almost no love when meals are purchased on Thanksgiving day, plus it’s more fun to make everything.

This year, I decided to make a pumpkin cheesecake. To me, it’s different, but still resembles a traditional Thanksgiving dish. Lots of cinnamon and nutmeg was put into this cheesecake. Like any other cheesecake that I make, it is not meant for people that are on a strict diet.

My favorite part of this cheesecake is the crust. I had a chance to do some experimenting with the topping. It’s a mixture of cranberry sauce and orange juice. According to the family, it’s a winner.

Whipped cream makes everything better…

Honestly, this cake was one of the cakes that I spent the least amount of effort on. I regret not  taking more time.

It’s my standard recipe for a chocolate cake, which is good, but the decoration could have been so much better.

The idea behind the decorating was great. My father always wears a dress shirt. Whether it’s freezing cold, or a really hot summer day, he is still wearing a dress shirt. The only time he doesn’t wear a dress shirt is when he is sleeping. He even shows up to the beach in a dress shirt.

This cake was made to make fun of that fact.

If I had to redo this cake, I would take more time to smooth everything out and maybe add a tie.

I made this cake at someone’s request for their birthday and tried my best to really tailor it.

At first glance, it looks like a strawberry shortcake or a really extravagant white cake. Once you cut into it, it’s a whole different story. It’s actually a coffee cake. Correction. It’s two layers of chocolate, coffee, and cinnamon. The frosting was also custom made with coffee, cinnamon, and some vanilla. Because there were going to be kids at the event, I had to tone down the amount of coffee I usually add in. I usually use four tablespoons of instant coffee mix, but I ended up only adding 1.5 or 2 tablespoons. This blend of flavors is supposed to taste more on the mocha side, but because I reduced the amount of coffee, it’s more on the chocolate side. The middle was left empty so we would have a spot to put candles.

Why didn’t I write on this cake? Well, the main reason was because I was running out of time. Honestly, a cake like this shouldn’t be ruined with words.

If I post this recipe on my site, then no one would need me to make this cake for them.

How long did this cake take to make? This is typically a 3 hour job, but since I’m really lazy, I stretched the process over two days. One day was spent with the actual baking and the second day was decorating.

Hint: Buttermilk makes everything better.

As I say with anything that I bake, “If you are on a diet, stay away from anything that comes from my oven.”

POUND CAKE!!! Who can say no to pound cake? Pound cake is sold in almost all supermarkets in the frozen food section. Why enjoy it from the freezer when you can enjoy it straight from the oven? Because the batter for pound cake is thicker than most, I tend to use a budnt pan so everything cooks evenly.

Why is this cake good for your soul? Two words… Full Buttermilk.

Yay!!! I have made it to 22. The best part about being 18 years old
is making it to 21. I’ve past 21, so I think I’m doing ok. This is a
very normal looking cake for me, maybe a little too normal. Originally
I was going to make a red converse sneaker, but I didn’t have much
time to work with. The cake is made from two layers of chocolate cake
with strawberries in between, strawberry icing, and strawberries and
kiwis on the top (I think you get the hint that I like strawberries
and kiwis). What makes this cake a little far from the norm is what I
used for the sides of the cake. If you haven’t realized, there are
Milano cookies on the side. Can you say “Unhealthy?”

Total labor hours, less than 1.5 hours (minus cooling time).

I made this Spiderman and Venom cake for my first nephew. He loves Spiderman and he is turning three. So, I decided to make him a cake that looks like a Spiderman 3 movie poster.

Before you say anything, let me say this, I know the drawing is crooked. Give me a break! I free handed everything on this cake. I didn’t know how to trace pictures onto a cake. The most challenging part of this cake was making the face for Spiderman. Why did I decide to go the extra mile? Well, anyone can print an edible picture. Anyone can put an action figure on a cake. Any jabroni could use Spiderman colors and call it a Spiderman cake. I will not settle for anything less for my nephew.

I colored the cake black before drawing everything else. Venom was just black and white frosting drawn over each other. For Spiderman, I had to draw the outline of the face and fill in the outline with red frosting.
I think there was probably a better way to do everything, but it didn’t reach my head at the time. I needed to get this cake done (including baking) in about two hours.

I wrote “Logan is 3!” because it seemed more fitting if I tried to make a movie poster instead of “Happy Birthday”.

Merry Christmas!!! Here is the cake that I made for Christmas. Originally, I was
supposed to make a tree, but I felt like doing something easy. When I wrap real
gifts, I always use Ghirardelli chocolates as bows. It gives the receiver
something to look forward to if they flat out hate my gift to them. We got a
yogo for the ribbon, Ghirardellis for the bow, sweet tart candy canes for the
edges, and “red” frosting.

The Hello Kitty cake that I made was for my niece. She was only 2, so I had no idea what she was into, so I decided to make her a cake that looked like something all girls like. Me being a male, I had a really hard time with Hello Kitty.

I have made the envy of all birthday cakes for younger girls and some older women. This is a 99.99999999% edible Hello Kitty cake. The only thing not edible on Hello Kitty is the toothpick holding the bow together.

I used a 13×9 inch pan and I free handed an oval and two ears. The flavor was chocolate with diced cherries and coconut, a flavor that you would never expect just by looking at it. I used about three layers of frosting. After each layer, I put the cake in the fridge and added the next layer. This way, it would be easier to make the cake smoother. The reason I did not go for fondant is because I forgot to buy the ingredients and the supermarket was closed.

The bow is made out of a strawberry yogo. I made two loops, two tails, and a middle piece and used a toothpick to hold it in place.

What made this cake really stand out was the black icing to line the cake. Without the black lining, the cake looks incomplete.

I almost forgot to mention how I made the whiskers. If you haven’t already noticed, the whiskers are made out of Pockys. A total of three Pockys were used.