rose cake and salted caramel cupcakes...kinda. and stuff

First attempt at a rose cake. Next time I'll make a heavier frosting so the  roses will hold better. 

Hello! Anybody still here?

So I got into a blog reading mood this morning and signed onto my blog for the first time in a while--I hadn't updated in A YEAR according to the last post date I saw.

That's crazy.

This time last year I had a lot going on (traveling, moving, holidays) so I stopped posting with all intentions to resume blogging in the new year.

Well, the new year came and it didn't happen. Up until February 2012 I kept telling  myself that I would do it the next week...and then the next week. But, it didn't happen. I essentially just stopped baking for the year.

Yea.

Wish I could tell you that I was off doing fabulous things with my time, but I wasn't. Things have been normal and uneventful for me. Working, hanging out, taking little trips here and there and just trying to enjoy my life is all I've been up to. Like this trip with some of my girlfriends to Cape May, NJ in April 2012.
                     

Cape May Getaway <3 br="">

The only big thing this year is that I, of course, got a year older. I turned 26 on September 26, 2012 so it was my Golden Birthday!

My BFFs came to visit me in DC for the weekend and it was a blast. I was celebrated pretty well. :)

 

What else?

Umm, I was Miss Cleo for Halloween! LOL. My Sammie was a Smurf. :O)

                                           

That's pretty much all the updates. I have nothing else to add. :/

That rose cake pictured above is the only major thing I baked this year besides these salted caramel cupcakes that I baked for my birthday.

                         

Yummmm! Salted Caramel Cupcakes

The rose cake was for Sammie's birthday party last night. I baked her a chocolate peanut butter cake and it was pretty tasty.
                               

     

Well, this is the end of my quick update and hello. I'm going to commit to updating my beloved Sinful Sundays on a more frequent basis. I've missed chatting and talking to you all as well, so I'm excited to start "hanging out" again!

 'Til next time. Ciao! :))

red velvet waffles...and stuff

So, I'm like tired.

Actually, more like EXHAUSTED.

The past two weeks have kicked my butt and I feel like I could seriously sleep for months.

Months!

I'm too tired to spell out why I'm so tired, but I should let you know some, so here is my best stab at it:

I turned 25 (woot!) on September 26 and that whole week was a pure celebration of my life from my friends and family. It was fantastic!  A lot of cake, a lot of dancing, a lot of dinners, a lot of stuff. I loved every second of it--sleepless nights and all. Yet, by the end of the week I was done.

Also, I made my own birthday cake again this year. It was a dark chocolate cake with raspberry mousse filling and white chocolate cream cheese icing. Very different from last year's and just as delicious

Totally sliced into it before letting people add candles and sing to me...

After my birthday week, I then had a huge conference at work that basically had me working 12 hour days for about a week while always having to be "on".

You know--smiling, schmoozing, acting like you're not about to fall dead of exhaustion. That kind of thing.

I haven't been home for a full 24 hours yet and the thought of having to go to work tomorrow because I chose to take Veteran's Day as a holiday instead of Columbus Day, which is tomorrow, makes me want to cry.

Tear.

Anyways, these red velvet waffles were a request from my friend Joei of Urban Geek and I  figured I should give it a shot. I tried making them last week, but the recipe I used involved yeast and I simply did not like them. I tried a different recipe today and they are delicious! Tastes like cake.

I'm glad I had these today, they seriously made me so happy.   :)

SN: I need to stop eating my feelings.

I never had red velvet waffles or pancakes before, but I figured adding in cocoa powder, buttermilk, and some sort of cream cheese glaze makes them red velvet, right? Right.

That's what I did.

Anyways, so that's my story for the past two weeks. I  haven't even been able to blog surf properly or catch up on my celebrity gossip. I'll do that tomorrow. If I can keep my eyes open.

For now, I hop back into bed and sleep the rest of my one-day weekend away. Feel sorry for me today, will you?

  

Red Velvet Waffles

• 2 cups flour ( I used AP, but I'm thinking that Cake Flour would be even better)
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2cups buttermilk or regular milk
• 2 large eggs, separated
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• 3 tbsp red  food coloring (I used gel coloring)

1. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt and whisk thoroughly

2. In another bowl beat egg yolks slightly. Stir in buttermilk and oil. Stir in red food coloring.

3. Add egg yolk mixture all at once to the dry mixture and stir thoroughly.

4. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.

5. Fold egg whites into flour and egg yolk mixture.

6. Spoon waffle batter into your waffle iron and let cook.

7. Serve with cream cheese glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze

• 4 oz. softened cream cheese
• About a 1/2 cup or more powdered sugar
• About a tsp. vanilla
• Enough  milk to make the consistency of the glaze thick but pourable

1. Beat cream cheese until soft and then add in powdered sugar to desired sweetness. Add in milk a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. Add vanilla, mix, then serve with hot waffles.

Old-School Birthday Cake

My birthday was last week, September 26, and I wanted a birthday cake.
 
No, you don’t get it.

A BIRTHDAY CAKE.
 
I didn’t want a gourmet cake with almond or raspberry puree fillings, and I didn’t want a series of adorable cupcakes with toppings like mascarpone frosting and fleur de sels.
 
I wanted a regular yellow cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles.

Like an 8 year old.
 
I knew that I didn’t want to buy a cake because mine would probably taste better  there was a recipe I’ve been wanting to try out.

 
 
Yellow cake is one of those cakes that I typically don’t ever choose willingly. I much prefer chocolate and other flavored cakes because I find classic yellow cakes to be springy and dry. While looking through recipes, I came across The Fresh Loaf    where she makes yellow cake using a pound cake base. Her frosting wasn't something that I was interested in, but her cake sounded perfect.

 
 
This would be my birthday cake!
 
All week long I’ve been itching to make it, but I was stuck at a conference and had to put it off.
 
After three days of relentless presentations and chatting up academic snobs, I got to work on my cake on Sunday afternoon. 

I used a foil pan because I couldn't find my real ones. I think they're somewhere in a box...

It could be beginner's luck, but the cake came out perfectly. It was super buttery and dense and moist. I think this is my new go to yellow cake recipe. 
 
 
Now, unlike a lot of other chocolate lovers out there, I tend to not enjoy chocolate frosting. I find them to be too sweet, too bitter, and too stiff…all at the same time.

 
And please, don’t ever throw money away buying store bought chocolate frosting. It’s even worse. Yuck.
 
Unless of course you like it. Then it’s cool.
 
Nevertheless, I REALLY wanted chocolate frosting on this cake and thought that perhaps a  chocolate ganache frosting, which only includes chocolate and heavy cream, could be the winner.
 
It was! 

 
 
I will NEVER make any other kind of chocolate frosting again. The ganache tasted great, had the perfect consistency, and was super easy to make. I used semi-sweet chocolate and threw in a couple handfuls of milk chocolate chips in there too. You know, just 'cause.  ;)
 
After I finished the cake and it was all ready, I pretended that there was a candle on it and proceeded to sing “Happy Birthday” to myself. 

 
 
I had a GREAT birthday this year, so please don’t feel sorry for me if the aforementioned cake singing sounds pathetic. I just felt it was the appropriate thing to do.

I swear I used a cake leveler. I don't know why the layers came out all jacked up.

 
 
That is all. :)