Good Things by David

Are you thinking of surprising someone with a homemade birthday cake this year?  Try making a layer cake decorated with iced sugar cookies in whatever shapes the recipient may like, but go the extra mile and add their nickname in cookie form as well.  Whenever I hear the term, "cookie cake", I think of either a layer cake or sheet cake with cookies attached to it.  A flat chocolate chip cookie 'pizza' iced and decorated to look like a cake is not a cake in my opinion.   Having alphabet cookie cutters in one's pantry is a must if you are a cookie crafter, cookie baker and cake decorator.  They allow you to spell out a person's name, a greeting or even their nickname.  They come in various fonts and sizes, so pick and choose whatever you like, and then create personalized cookies or cakes. This past week I baked a delicious chocolate layer cake and iced it in delicate Swiss meringue buttercream.  To this I attached royal icing cookies in the sh...

If your kids like the Pixar movies of The Incredibles, then you may want to have a set of 'Incredibles' logo sugar cookies for their next birthday party.  A neighbor of mine asked that I make a set of these cookies for his son's birthday several weeks ago, so that all of the kids in attendance could get one as a party favor. This set of cookies came together very quickly because the design was straightforward and there were only four colors to work with.   After cutting out dozens of oval-shaped sugar cookies, I took a smaller oval cookie cutter and traced a slanted oval and a slanted 'i', using a food coloring pen.  With yellow royal icing, I then outlined and flooded the letters, and then added a single dot of white royal icing to the center of the dotted 'i'.   Working quickly and while the icing was still wet, I then outline and flooded the slanted oval in black royal icing, and then outline and flooded the rest of the oval in a bright...

I've mentioned in years past that I love to bake my own birthday cakes, because I really can't tolerate store bought.  I was craving a yellow cake with chocolate frosting this year, which took me on a search for cake layers made with buttermilk.  For the frosting, I wanted a mix of melted chocolate and cocoa powder in order to make it ultra rich.  After looking at images online, visit websites and thumbing through my baking books, I found what I was looking for. If you happen to own Martha's 'Cakes' book, you will find the recipe for buttermilk cake layers, along with a rich chocolate frosting recipe.  It's a great birthday cake for those of us who like to keep things simple. Once you bake and ice the cake, you can leave it as is, but you can also enhance it with colorful sprinkles, nonpareils or even some sparkly dragées.  Add whatever you wish. Swirled frosting is a simple way to frost a cake, because it looks so tempting and very homemade...

Emojis, those ubiquitous symbols that many of us use in our day to day messages to one another via phone, seem to be easily adaptable to cookie designs.  My niece and nephew recently asked me to make them some emoji sugar cookies for a special celebration of theirs, and being the uncle that I am, how could I refuse their request?  Through fits of the giggles and some laughs, they told me not to forget the brown "you know what" emojis.  Yes, you know exactly what I'm referring to! OK, now I'm laughing as I write this, because you have to understand that I wasn't 100% sure I was even going to post these on the blog.  Emojis on Good Things by David?  Well.....why not? Batch after batch of my sugar cookie dough and royal icing recipe were made a day before I began icing the cookies.   FYI:  I love the new grid pattern on Reynold's parchment paper!  It makes cutting so much easier. For the poop emojis, I used a Foose cupcake...

Baking and decorating a charming bunny cake is such a sweet way to highlight a birthday party, celebration or other special occasion.  If you happen to have one of those cast-aluminum bunny pans that were sold through the Martha by Mail catalog, then it's as easy as whipping up some cake batter and baking it in the oven.  Swiss meringue buttercream can then be piped with a star tip to define the shape of this adorable bunny. I think this cake is perfect for Easter! From Martha by Mail. The tradition of molded cakes derives from the ancient Middle-Eastern custom of stamping symbolic designs on holy bread.  By the seventeenth century, Western bakers used special molds to create shaped cakes for holidays.  Every year, Martha decorates a lamb, bunny or chicken cake for her Easter centerpiece.  This durable cast-aluminum mold will last for years.  Use it with our recipes and decorating instructions to create your own annual tradition.  Before...

Dense, fudgy and irresistibly chocolaty, is the best way to describe Martha's Flourless Chocolate Walnut Torte from her latest baking book, 'A New Way to Bake'.  This cake is the perfect dessert to serve for any kind of special occasion, especially if your guests love chocolate.  Because it is a flourless cake which relies on over half a pound of chocolate to make, it is important to choose a good-quality chocolate. The cake is almost like eating a luxurious truffle, except that it is lighter and exceptionally richer. I couldn't wait to start making this cake over the weekend when I saw the recipe, because I wanted something that wasn't going to be too demanding for my aunt's visit.  The batter came together on top of a double boiler, much like a brownie recipe, and was then poured into a prepared cake pan for baking.    No need for a mixer!  Martha says that the cake is best made ahead of time and chilled before serving, so that's exact...

It certainly felt like a frosty winter day this morning.  We woke up to wind, snow and frigid temperatures here in eastern Pennsylvania today, but somehow it felt like we were due for some significant snow accumulation. This weather system seems to have hit a large area in the northeastern part of the United States, so many of you are probably digging out as we speak.   Let me begin by saying that the first significant snowfall of the season is great because, not only is everything covered in pristine, white snow, but the wildlife seems to take a small break and settle down from the every day hustle and bustle. This morning while it was snowing, everything was white! As soon as it stopped snowing, the sky cleared and the wind picked up.  It was magnificent looking out the front door and seeing such a blue sky.   While I didn't venture out through the trails and up into the field this morning, I did get to walk along the driveway to pho...

The quickest and easiest way to serve a pretty cake for any occasion is to either glaze it or sprinkle it with confectioners sugar.  Up until now I hadn't used cake stencils to decorate my cakes, so  I finally took out the ones I do own for this purpose and tried them out.  I'm glad I did because the plain cakes look so wonderful just as they are, and only need a little something to accompany each slice. What's nice about this type of cake 'decorating' is that you can choose from a number of cake stencils easily found online or at craft stores, and make them at the last minute.  Here is my set up:  baked cake layers, some cake stands, reusable stencils, and some confectioners sugar. Years ago, Martha by Mail was one of the first catalogs to offer cake stencils, and to this day, these classic designs are just as effective.  Several sets were made for the now-defunct catalog.   Most cake stencils need to have the...