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Gray Barn Baking

~ Youngstown Cupcakes, Cakes, and All Things Yummy!

Gray Barn Baking

Monthly Archives: March 2016

Harry Potter Cake W/ Golden Snitch and Wand

28 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by Laurie in Cakes

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Cookies and cream filling, harry potter cake, homemade marshmallow fondant, Sour cream vanilla cake, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, vanilla buttercream

I loved, loved, LOVED making this cake for the daughter of a friend.  It was kind of a last-minute order and I wasn’t sure how much detail I’d be able to add as I had a few other orders already that week, but I ended up getting really into it as the Harry Potter books are definitely favorites around our house and I had lots of brains to pick about details.

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The cake is a 9″ 3-layer sour cream vanilla cake with cookies and cream filling, smooth iced with vanilla-bean Swiss meringue buttercream. The details are all made from homemade marshmallow fondant.

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The most challenging part by far was the Golden Snitch (if you’re not into Harry Potter, that’s the golden ball with wings they use to play a popular game called , a competitive sport in the wizarding world of Harry Potter…but of course you all knew that).

I did it by rolling a ball of yellow fondant about 1.5″ in diameter and letting it dry overnight.  I made the wings by covering wooden skewers with more yellow fondant cut to look like feathers. After carefully sticking the wings into the semi-dried ball and getting them positioned, I propped them up and let it all dry for a few days to harden (it took some creative thinking to keep them from drooping down!). When it was finally all dry, I painted the entire thing with edible gold luster paint.

For the wand, I molded chocolate fondant around a chopstick and added details to make it look like Dumbledore’s elder wand (my kids just happened to have a replica that we picked up at Univeral Orlando last year…not exactly the same, but you get the idea).

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The glasses were hand-cut and molded from black fondant which I let dry for a few days. This part was a little tricky, too, as the fondant pieces were so thin.

The Gryffindor scarf I made by laying alternating pieces of red and yellow fondant side-by-side and very gently rolling them together and then cutting to size.  I “fringed” the ends by cutting narrow strips up about 1/2-inch. Somehow I managed not to get a picture of the fridge…duh.

All in all, it was a blast to make.  The only detail I would add if I made it again given more time, is an “HP” written in classic Harry Potter script on the side. Happy birthday, Braiden, it really was a pleasure creating your birthday cake!

 

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1st Communion Cakes, Cookies, and Cupcakes

21 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by Laurie in Cakes, Cookies, Cupcakes

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cookies, cross-shaped cookies, double chocolate cake, First communion, homemade marshmallow fondant, rosette, Sour cream vanilla cake, Swiss Meringue Buttercream

I made this cake for a daughter of a dear friend for her 1st Communion gathering last Spring. As confirmation and 1st Communion celebrations are being planned with the coming of Easter and Spring, I thought I’d share a few ideas.

This cross-shaped rosette cake is one of my favorites…simple elegance comes to mind whenever I make it.   This cake was sour cream vanilla cake with vanilla-bean Swiss meringue buttercream used to pipe the delicate rosettes.  If you haven’t tried Swiss meringue buttercream, it is not as sweet at traditional buttercream but much more smooth and silky, just perfect for piping rosettes.  And best of all, it tastes heavenly.

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The pink banner was hand cut from homemade marshmallow fondant and left to dry draped over some rolled up paper towels to add the illusion of movement.  there were also a few dozen chocolate cupcakes piped with the same rosette for the dessert table.

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Here’s another 1st communion cake idea for a smaller gathering. This is an 8″ 3-layer double chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling.  The icing is vanilla-bean with white swirls piped on a smooth-iced buttercream cake. The crosses and lettering are cut from homemade marshmallow fondant.   Simple and elegant.

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I love these  delicate, blush pink cross cookies I made for a little girl’s 1st communion last Spring.  They’re iced with fresh lemon Royal icing and piped with white  dots and swirls.

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Here’s an idea for cupcakes with white chocolate crosses and pale blue buttercream swirls.  And another  1st communion celebration double-layer sheet cake I did a few years ago.  The Royal icing crosses and cornelli lace piping details really dress up an ordinary half-sheet cake.

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It’s always such a treat for me to creat these special sweets for such milestone events. Congrats to all the 1st communion and confirmation candidates out there!

 

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Disney Nemo & Buzz Lightyear Baby Shower Cake

05 Saturday Mar 2016

Posted by Laurie in Cakes

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Baby shower cake, Buzz Lightyear, Disney Nemo, homemade marshmallow fondant, Sour cream vanilla cake, vanilla-bean frosting

A sweet woman who is one of my Mother-in-Law’s “Quilter Girls” came to me for a baby shower cake for her granddaughter. They were celebrating the impending birth of a baby boy and the theme of the shower was Disney.   The mother-to-be had a few favorite Disney movies, including “Finding Nemo” and “Toy Story,” so I picked Nemo and Buzz Lightyear for the cake.

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The characters are made to look like they have dimension by layering handcut fondant pieces one upon the other.  I found fairly detailed pictures of the images and made a few copies onto card stock.  I carefully cut out different elements of the images, starting with the parts that were “farthest” away and moving to the parts that were closest.  When laid atop one another, they look almost 3-dimensional.  The black details were painted on with food writer pens.

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This technique is fairly time consuming, but it adds a lot to a flat sheet cake and is easier than a full 3-D figure.  By far, the hardest part is getting the expressions on the faces, especially with beloved characters that everyone knows like Nemo and Buzz Lightyear. My ultimate goal was for the client to recognize the character at first glance–not always easy when working with fondant.

The cake was a half-sheet vanilla cake iced with vanilla-bean buttercream tinted pale blue.  The borders and dots were buttercream and the details were cut from homemade marshmallow fondant.

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Welcome to the world, baby Braxton…What a cutie, huh!?!  I enjoyed designing your cake!

 

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Baby Girl “Welcome” Cookies

02 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by Laurie in Cookies

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Tags

Baby shower cookies, Pink, royal icing

I loved making these darling cookies for a friend who’s niece had just had a baby girl, but lived all the way across the country  She wanted to send a gift that said “Welcome,” and these personalised cookies were just the ticket.

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The baby’s name is Ily (“I Love You,” get it? Love it!).  The cookies were iced with soft pink and white Royal icing, so dainty and feminine, just like a baby girl.

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Reports were that baby and family loved getting this sweet treat from their dear Auntie many miles away.  WELCOME to the world, Ily!  Hope to get to meet you someday!

 

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“100th Milestone” Celebration Cupcakes, Cookies, and Brownies

01 Tuesday Mar 2016

Posted by Laurie in Cookies, Cupcakes

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brownies, chocolate buttercream, Cupcake, homemade marshmallow fondant, royal icing, sugar cookies, vanilla buttercream

This time of year, it seems the kids are into celebrating 100th milestones in school: 100th day of school, 100th math lesson, 100th crayon used up, whatever…

This typically happens around mid-February, when the doldrums of school have really begun to set in, so I’ve tried to come up with some fun treats for the kids to take in to share with their friends to celebrate these fun milestones.

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These cookies are decorated with royal icing using the “wet on wet” method, where the dots are piped on while the base coat is still wet. The numbers are cut from homemade marshmallow fondant and placed on while the base coat is drying.

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The cupcakes and brownie squares are decorated with fondant circles, some marked with edible markers and some with numbers piped in royal icing.

Fun to make, better to share, and one way to get rid of the winter blues!

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About Me

Life is crazy and I love to bake. I'm a wife, mother of 3 nutty kids, and an admitted sugar-holic. Ten years ago I left my job as a senior consulting engineer in Salt Lake City, UT, to get out of the rat race and raise kids. We up and moved to a quiet, small town in NE Ohio to be near family and bought a 180-yr-old historic home, always a dream of mine. Along the way, I discovered my joy of baking, which allows both my engineering side and my oft-suppressed creative side to emerge. It began with the desire to bake birthday cakes for my kids (I hated to buy them) and has blossomed into a cupcake-baking business for a local bakery. Over the years, many people have asked if I take orders. So, here they are. Check out the site, we'll be adding new cupcake flavors weekly as well as the occasional cake. And in case you're wondering about the name, it's an homage to the big, old gray barn in my back yard. What a bonus, it came with the house! Put on a smile and BAKE!

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