Bill's 90th Birthday Cake

I was so pleased when my good friend Bill asked me to make his dad's 90th birthday cake. His dad, Bill Haug, is a World War II hero who received three medals, the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart, so we thought it would be nice to incorporate those into the design.

After some thought, I concluded that sugar cookie and royal icing would be the best mediums for making the medals. With royal icing, I could add lots of clean details and I also really liked the idea of being able to make the medals ahead of time.

Another detail we decided to add to the design was an edible photo. This is something I've been wanting to try for quite a while and it turned out to be surprisingly simple.  I just called the bakery department at my local Fred Meyer and the man who answered said all I needed to do was come in with the actual photo and they could print it on a frosting sheet for $9.

Once you get your frosting sheet photo, you need to keep it wrapped and away from sunlight until you are ready to place it on the cake. Exposure to air will cause it to dry out and become brittle and difficult to apply.

When you are ready to add it to the cake, the only real trick is it needs to be placed on fresh and smooth frosting. If the frosting is fresh, the photo sheet will melt into the cake and look cohesive. If you add it to cold frosting, it won't melt in and just look like a piece of paper sitting on top of a cake. Also, the helpful man at Fred Meyer said the frosting sheets look best on plain untinted buttercream.

After placing the edible photo on the cake, I gently smoothed it out with my hands and piped a border around it. It was a really nice addition and super easy.

Here are some more details:

I sketched the medals on paper and designed a template for cutting the cookies.

Cutting the cookies.

Ready to bake.

I flooded all three of the cookies with white icing and let that dry. Then, I added the medals in royal icing. The purple heart was the most complicated because of George Washington's profile. To make him, I piped a blob of medium consistency icing and used my scribe tool to maneuver it to create his shape. After that first layer dried, I added the hair and other details.

I gilded the medals using luster dust. After the royal icing was completely dry, I mixed the gold, silver and bronze luster dusts each with a bit of vodka and then painted it on.

I also customized the candles for Bill's cake. I bought these but they just didn't look sophisticated enough for a 90 year-old.

I made a paint by mixing a bit of meringue powder with water and blue gel coloring.

I painted the candles.

And then I immediately added colored sprinkles while the paint was still wet.

I shook off the excess sprinkles and set them aside to dry. Once dry, I used a soft brush to remove any stubborn remaining loose sprinkles.

I flipped over my sheetcake pan and with my friend Bill's help, we got a plan together for the layout.

The day before the celebration it was cake baking time. I made two Guinness Chocolate sheetcakes. For each sheetcake, I made my favorite recipe x 2.5.

I placed one of the cooled sheetcakes on my cake cardboard.

Then I filled it with seedless raspberry filling and added the second cooled sheetcake. I also placed strips of parchment under the cake to keep the cardboard clean while frosting.

I frosted the sides first.

And then I frosted the top. It took a lot of frosting!

After a single coat of frosting, I chilled the cake overnight.

On the day of the celebration, I added a second coat of fresh frosting and the edible photo. I also piped a border around the photo and around the edges of the cake. Now it's time to get my husband to help me transport it.

The cake at the venue, ready for the party!

Banana Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake

Two Banana Chocolate Chip Cakes just out of the oven.

A Banana Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake is different, delicious and quick to make. I made it recently for a double-birthday celebration at the Wednesday Community Meal and it was a hit. Happy Birthday Jan and Linda!

Here's the recipe:


Banana Chocolate Chip Birthday Cake
(makes 2 9-inch cakes)

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 large over-ripe bananas
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 cups mini-chocolate chips tossed with 2 tablespoons of flour

Prepare two 9-inch round cake pans with at least 2-inch sides by greasing them, lining the bottoms with greased parchment and then flouring them.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer add the peeled over-ripe bananas. Use the beater attachment to mash and break down the bananas. Add the lemon juice, vanilla and butter and mix until well-combined. It will look soupy and the butter will look grainy.

Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until a thick batter forms, scraping down the sides.

Add 1/2 of the buttermilk and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour and buttermilk and mix again until well-combined.

Finally, add the mini-chocolate chips tossed with the flour and stir them into the batter by hand.

Divide the batter among the two prepared cake pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes before inverting them onto a cooling rack.

Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

Here's the final frosted cake. I used my favorite Swiss Meringue Buttercream recipe from Julie Richardson of Baker & Spice. I love this frosting because it's easy to make and spread and isn't too sweet. To finish the cake off, I added a dark chocolate wrap around it for a little extra oomph. The chocolate wrap will get a post of its own so stay tuned....

Peachy Coconut Cake

Linda's Peachy Coconut Birthday Cake

I created this Peachy Coconut Cake for my dear friend Linda who volunteers with me at the Wednesday Community Meal. We threw a little surprise birthday party for her last Wednesday and because the weather was unusually hot, I wanted to make her a cake that was tropical and unexpected.

Using a highly rated peach coconut cake recipe from the Epicurious website as my inspiration, I changed the recipe to suit my taste. I could tell that the white coconut cake recipe, calling for a full cup of sweetened cream of coconut, as well as buttermilk and sour cream was a winner so I followed that to a tee.

What I wasn't so fond of was the frosting recipe which was made with just whipping cream and more cream of coconut. It seemed to me that this was a frosting that would weep and not hold up or look so pretty on a hot day. My solution was to make a lightly sweet cream cheese icing since it would hold up better and you can't go wrong with the combination of peaches, cream cheese and coconut. These flavors are so good together.

For the peach filling, I used 2 pounds of frozen sliced peaches that I cooked with bit of sugar, vanilla and lemon juice. After cooking for about 10 minutes, I drained them and saved every drop of their sweet peach infused juices for soaking the cake layers.

In the end the cake looked pretty, tasted great and Linda loved it. Here's the recipe:

Peachy Coconut Cake

For the cake:
2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (I used Coco Lopez. Look for it in the mixed drink aisle of the grocery store.)
4 large eggs, room temperature and separated
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the filling:
2 pounds of ripe peaches, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices (I used frozen)
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the frosting:
2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted

Preheat the oven to 350-degrees and grease, flour and line with parchment two 9-inch cake pans that have at least 2-inch sides.

In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

In another medium-sized bowl whisk together the buttermilk and sour cream. Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar.

Measure out your cup of cream of coconut.

The cream of coconut looks kind of strange but don't worry.

Add the cream of coconut, vanilla and 4 egg yolks to the butter mixture.

Mix well to combine.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture and beat until combined. Repeat this step two more times until you have added it all.

The batter will look like this.

Whip the egg whites until stiff but not dry.

This looks just right.

Add the egg whites to the batter.

Fold the egg whites into the batter until they are thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter among the two prepared pans and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the baked cakes cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.

Don't attempt assembling the cakes until they are completely cool. Whenever I've tried to rush the cooling step, I've regretted it. Trust me, trying to slice a warm cake horizontally will make you want to cry.

Put the 2 lbs. of sliced peaches into a large sauce pan. I used frozen peaches.

Add the sugar, lemon juice and vanilla.

Cook the peaches over medium high heat until the juices are bubbling and beginning to reduce. This takes about 10 minutes. Also, do your best to stir the peaches gently and not break them apart.

Drain the peaches, reserving all of the liquid. Let the peaches and liquid cool before assembling the cake.

Spread the cup of sweetened flaked coconut on a lined sheetpan and toast in a 350 degree oven until golden brown, stirring every so often. Don't walk away because this takes only about 5 minutes.

Make the cream cheese frosting by whipping together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip again. Finally add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is light and fluffy.

To assemble the cake, slice the layers in half. Place one half on a platter, cut side up and brush on 1/4 of the reserved peach juices.

Add 1/4 of the frosting.

Spread it out to the sides, keeping it from going over the edge.

Add 1/3 of the peach slices.

Repeat for the second layer.

And, for the third layer. Try to save 3 or so pretty peach slices for the top of the cake.

Soak the top of the cake with the remaining peach juices and ice with the remaining frosting.

Sprinkle on the toasted coconut and top with the reserved peach slices. Keep the cake refrigerated until you are ready to serve. This cake is ready to take to Linda's surprise party at the Wednesday Community Meal.

Happy Birthday Linda! (Thank you Leslie for the great photo!)