Good Things by David

As a cookie decorator I find that the best cookies are those I create to surprise someone.  That's exactly what I did the other day to a dear cousin of mine who is expecting her firstborn.  Our family was going to give her a baby shower this month with baby deer as the theme, so I planned my surprise a couple of weeks ago. Baby Deer for a Baby Shower Years ago I acquired a large collection of cookie cutters from my dear friend, Janet Bridge, and since then I have made sure to do justice to them.  The majority of the cookie cutters are American made copper cutters from the venerable coppersmiths of Copper Gifts.  A small fawn cutter that I fell in love with the moment I saw it was THE perfect cookie cutter for this project. How adorable is this fawn? Having rolled, cut and baked my cookie shapes, I took some delicious royal icing and tinted three batches to match the fawns I see on a yearly basis around the property.  A rich chocolate brown, a neutral-warm taupe ...

You can never go wrong with a chocolate layer cake.  Whether you make one for a birthday or to celebrate someone fantastic in your life, a tall, dark chocolate cake covered in a delicious buttercream is the way to go.  I have yet to find someone who refuses a slice of chocolate cake. Plan ahead: bake and cool the cake layers, and if not icing that day, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and chill until ready to use.  You can freeze the layers for up to one month (thaw overnight in the refrigerator).   For this cake, I used Martha Stewart's Ultimate Chocolate Cake.   Click here for the recipe.   I find that chilled cake layers are key for applying flawless Swiss meringue buttercream.  You can do it on room temperature cakes, but crumbs are more likely to come off if the layers aren't hardened a bit. Swiss meringue buttercream is perhaps one of the easiest buttercreams to make, because the preparation is straightforward and basic.  Egg whites and sugar...

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...

Every Thanksgiving table should have a centerpiece, whether it be fresh flowers, a cornucopia of fruits and nuts, or a crafted arrangement of seasonal items.  I have been wanting to make a simple centerpiece using sheaves of wheat, and this year was the perfect time to do so.  Nothing could be easier than tying up a bundle of wheat for an earthy table arrangement. Preserved wheat bundles can be purchased from many different sources.  The stalks lend themselves to so many uses for table settings, and if you want to get really crafty, you can even make a giant wreath. If you buy a small sheaf, the bundle can quickly be assembled into a festive centerpiece for Thanksgiving.  You can, however, break up the bunch and make many smaller sheaves for individual place settings, or to place down the length of your dining table. These beautifully preserved wheat stalks sitting next to my collection of Martha by Mail caramel glass are ready for assembling. ...

Anyone in need of a pick-me-up would probably appreciate a good chiffon cake made with lots of fresh citrus.  Chiffon cakes are classified under the sponge cake family, just as angel food and jelly roll cakes are.  What sets them apart from other cakes is that they don't contain any butter whatsoever, and the fact that they are baked in ungreased cake pans so that the batter can cling to the sides during baking. They are immensely delectable, delicate and very easy to make.  I find them to be the ideal choice for weekend get-togethers, a birthday luncheon or for those occasions when a little sweetness is in order. I recently turned to a Martha Stewart recipe that I hadn't tried before but had noticed in several of her publications.  Intrigued by the recipe's use of freshly-squeezed orange juice, orange and lemon zest, I decided to have a go at this scrumptious cake. A variation of the cake covered in a Swiss Meringue icing, much like a lemon meringue pi...

The idea of handing out beautifully iced ring cookies as favors for a special celebration, is brilliant.  Every admirer of precious stones can find numerous occasions on which to gift these to close friends and family, be it for a wedding, a wedding shower, an engagement, or even a special milestone birthday.   What I love about creating this type of cookie design is that you can tint the icing of the precious stone to match someone's birthstone, or perhaps the recipient's favorite gem color. If you want to make your cookies sparkle like these rubies, amethysts, emeralds and sapphires, I highly suggest using fine sanding sugars that match the color of the royal icing.  Not only do you want this for the stone itself, but for the ring band as well.  The platinum rings were dusted with a good amount of silver sanding sugar.  However, if you want to make gold bands for the rings, use  a sparkly gold sanding sugar.  Nothing is more i...

This year's Thanksgiving table has so much of what I love, and I'd like to take a moment to share it with you.  After recently finding some wonderful transferware that I knew I'd want to use for this year's holiday table, I then decided to add some items from my collections of glassware, flatware and vintage linens.  The results are very autumnal, festive and, to my mind, beautiful.  Here is where I'll be sitting this afternoon to feast on roast turkey, butternut squash soup and several tempting sides. I knew the moment I laid my eyes on this vintage Spode pattern that it would be perfect for Thanksgiving.  I love the creaminess of the shapely plates which have a brown and burnt-orange transferware motif.   The caramel glass pumpkin dish was made for Martha by Mail, by the L.E. Smith Glass Company back in the 1990s.  These vessels are just the thing to use for savory butternut squash soup. I can't honestly remember when I purchase...