In the Kitchen

Tonight I'm working on a cake that I think is going to be adorable. I'll just say that it's very pink, through and through. I've been lacking lately in posting photos of my cake creations for you. I'll see if I can fix that this weekend. Saturday and Sunday will be spent rewriting parts of my thesis, so I'll surely need a break from deep thinking. 

Along the lines of cake...but far healthier...is a recipe I came across two or three months ago. It's a recipe for baked oatmeal I found on the Sugar Free Mom website. (I know, I know, it seems odd that I love anything with "sugar-free" in the title considering all the sugar I use in my cakes on a daily basis, but how else am I going to lose these baby pounds?) She has so many great recipes I want to try. I've made these countless times already. I usually make a double batch and freeze half for later. They are perfect for grabbing on the go (like when we wake up late and have to rush to get Ella to preschool on time). I like to make them with different mix-ins like blueberries or dried currents. The recipe can be found HERE. I recommend putting the mix-ins right in the batter rather than on top. Yum!

Now it's back to the pink cake! It's late (10:30pm) but this is one of my favorite times to work since I know I won't have little hands reaching across the table for pieces of fondant or jars of sprinkles. I can pop in a movie and work work work. Tonight I have The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which I've seen before. Pete & I saw it at our favorite theater downtown shortly after Sam was born. Very shortly, actually, since I remember still being on pain killers. I was very relaxed. It was lovely. But that's beside the point. Ha.

Most of my baking is done at the kitchen I rent downtown, but sometimes these really detailed fondant cakes need a lot of time, so they are brought home. 

I'll work on getting cake photos posted soon. In the meantime, enjoy the end of the week!

Photo Friday: Making of the Globe Cake

Two weeks ago I made a cake unlike any I've made before. It was a globe cake for a 90th birthday celebration and the first round cake I've created. I think it consisted of five layers of cake with raspberry buttercream between each. Then I covered the entire thing in buttercream.

Next, I rolled out the fondant, which I wanted to look a bit like water. Fondant comes in a block, which I then dye with special food dye gel and roll flat.

Once the blue fondant was on the cake, I needed to place the continents. This was the most time consuming part. I pinned the papers into place and drew outlines to get an idea of exactly how they would fit in the end.

After I had the continent outlines on paper, I cut them into green fondant, attaching them temporarily with pins and then permanently with water.

Finally, I added all the little details. I made an airplane for the top and a banner to fly behind it. I also painted and highlighted the continents.

This was one fun cake to make!

Yellow Kitchen Update

I'm taking a deep breath, relaxing in the sunshine streaming through the window, and finally posting again. It's been a very busy couple of weeks. So busy, in fact, that I didn't feel like I could justify taking the time to sit and write a post, though I thought about it often. I got a little off balance for a short while and fell behind with my school work. I wasn't quite sure where to put my focus - class work, baking, house cleaning, baby prep, etc. Fortunately, I'm now stepping beyond that. I think it all came down to a day at the end of last week when Pete got home early from work, which freed me to spend hours and hours at Barnes and Noble and the UMD library. (No appropriate study locations stay open later than 10 in Duluth - besides Perkins, which I often visit - so I gave in and went to the library. Even though I'm again a UMD student, I hadn't actually studied there since my undergrad days back in 2005.) It was enough to get me all caught up on things! Ah, such joy.

a Little Einstein rocket cake I made on Saturday

What I've really wanted to write about are the updates with my newly formed baking business The Little Yellow Kitchen. It's been almost a year (in May) since I started dreaming about what it might be like to sell a few cupcakes here and there. I had no idea who would actually pay for these things other than a few of the nurses who work with Pete. Surprisingly, though, I've become quite busy! I finally decided last fall to try my hand at turning this little endeavor into a real business. I applied as a business through the state and opened a business bank account. Then I started looking for a certified kitchen to work out of since it's not legal in Minnesota to sell products out of your own kitchen. That was the hard part. There are very few kitchens that are open for use by a long-term business, even if it's as small as mine. (Honestly, I didn't look all that hard for a few months while I fought the first trimester yuckiness and a new semester of classes.) I'm happy to now report, however, that things are moving very quickly!

red velvet cake with blue almond frosting

The latest updates are pretty exciting. I'm now fully insured (whew!) and am working with a kitchen downtown to write a lease for use of their kitchen for at least the next year. The fun part about the kitchen is that it is located in The Encounter building where Pete and I met for the very first time nearly seven years ago. The church we were attending meets in the building, which is owned by Youth for Christ. So not only do I have amazing memories there, but I love knowing that my rent will be going to a really great cause. As soon as the lease is signed, I can get licensed! According to the gentleman with the Department of Agriculture here in town, it will be a very fast process. Yay yay yay!

In the meantime, orders for summer weddings are really picking up. I've had a few fun evenings with brides and their fiances or mothers while we discuss what they envision for their wedding and try cake samples from my menu. The thing that I have to remember is that I'll have another wee one at that time. Oddly enough, I keep forgetting! No orders in June. The first will be my cousin's on our five year anniversary in July!

Your prayers are really appreciated as I try to get everything in line for my license in the next week. I know bumps can happen, but I'm praying that this will be smooth sailing.

Cookies with Mama

Right before Christmas, Ella helped me whip up some sugar cookies. She loves to help in the kitchen, which means that I sometimes have to wait until she's sleeping to get my bigger projects done. This morning she helped me make a cranberry coffee cake. It's baking at this very moment. I'm looking forward to a taste a little later!

before I could stop her, she tried grabbing the cookies...

so our first batch was a little crumbly, but the rest turned out just right

Mama's Kitchen Assistant

Introducing The Little Yellow Kitchen

Over the past couple years I've shared many baking ideas and some of my favorite recipes on this blog. I always find such joy in discovering something new and posting it here to share with those of you who might stumble across it and perhaps even try it out yourself. That is why I've chosen to officially announce the beginning of a new adventure right here on my first full day of being 30. 

I'd like to introduce you to...

The Little Yellow Kitchen first came as a fun thought when I was doing a lot of baking just after Ella was born two years ago. I wanted something fun to label my baking. Eventually, it came to me. The Little Yellow Kitchen. Why yellow? A few reasons, actually, but the main reason was that my Grandma Johnson's kitchen was yellow while I was growing up. It was a lovely place to watch Grandma prepare dinner, eat cookies and cake, listen to stories from my mom's childhood, and color in Grandma's old coloring books using crayons stored in the Whitman's Sampler chocolate box. I loved the thought of tying those memories in with my baking.

a rose cake for a tea party

Through the past two years, I've had lots of opportunities to try more recipes and experiment with designs. Just over a year ago, I designed my first cupcake and have since done multiple events of more than 200 cupcakes at a time. I've been asked to do retirement, birthday, and graduation parties, baby and wedding showers, big church events, and weddings. Six months ago I tried fondant for the first time and am now having a ball designing intricate, multi-tiered cakes.

a jungle cake for Miss Malena

As requests have become more numerous, I've been dreaming about what it might be like to start a real business. When I first had the idea, I was more than a little nervous. What about all the regulations and taxes and...expectations? If people would be paying me, that would mean I'd really have to do an outstanding job. I kept thinking about the fact that I still have three semesters of grad school and a full-time job taking care of Miss Ella and the house while trying to see my dear husband who is always incredibly busy with residency. So, after lots of nervous thinking and telling myself it just wouldn't work, I finally prayed about it. I know it should have come up earlier in the process, but my mind was too busy with the what-ifs and such.

cupcakes for my cousin's wedding

After a decent amount of prayer - and a healthy amount of questioning - I started to feel like God might be telling me it's okay to go after this. It's been confirmed in some fun ways (like people I admire telling me to go after it and "randomly" coming across scripture about artistic abilities and the like). So here I am. Announcing to you that I am officially moving ahead with The Little Yellow Kitchen. I even have a website! And my very own logo! And very soon, I'll also have business cards! I guess that makes it pretty real, doesn't it.

a hobbit cake for my brother's birthday

The one very important area that has still not come through is the kitchen. In Minnesota, it is required to be licensed by the state and to work out of a licensed kitchen in order to do any catering. At first I thought this would be easy with all the churches in the city. However, for various reasons, churches want to stay away from allowing a regular business to work out of their kitchens. Could you please pray with me on this? Everything will be absolutely official the moment I find a kitchen. I've already spoken with the gentleman who will do the licensing.

a small wedding cake for my cousin

 So for now, I am doing some small jobs for people that I know, but there will not be any major advertising until I am licensed. I can't wait until that time comes! I surely want it before Christmas. Just think of all the fun holiday cakes and pies that can be made for Christmas! I'll be searching and praying for the right kitchen.

a graduation/birthday party

 You can find more on The Little Yellow Kitchen at angelaslittleyellowkitchen.com. It's in its beginning stages, but I'll be making changes as things progress. I do hope you'll be seeing more of this lovely logo in the weeks to come!

The logo was designed by Jordan at Tin Cup Design.

Recipe: Lemon Cookies

I love lemon. It's so light and fresh. Even in cleaning products. Mmm. But maybe I shouldn't be mentioning cleaning products. I'm leaning more in the direction of lemony edible goodness.

I found this recipe last week as I searched for a simple cookie recipe to bake and take to the State Fair. It's not that I don't like fair food, but holy moly, it gets spendy. This was a nice, light treat to have in the stroller for the fam as we put the miles on walking through the fair grounds.

Here's what you need:

3 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1/4 cups lemon juice

1 lemon, zested*

1/2 tsp vanilla

*For zested lemon: Wash a lemon. Using a zester or fine grater, grate the peel of the lemon. For this recipe, use the peel of the entire lemon.

Whisk together flour, soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until creaming (about 5 mins). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla. For even more lemon flavor, cut the lemon and squeeze the juice into the cookie dough. Gently mix in flour mixture.

Chill dough for about 30 minutes. Scoop onto a cookie sheet using a spoon or small cookie scoop. Sprinkle white sugar over the top of each cookie. Bake at 350 until edges brown, about 9-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

perfect with a cup of coffee

Tomorrow I'll have pics from our trip to the Minnesota State Fair!

Photo Friday: Journey of a Cupcake

It's been a busy Friday! I catered my first wedding today in Minneapolis and have another tomorrow in Bainerd. Yikes! I'll post 'after' pics soon.

Miss Malena Turns Two!

Garden Rose Cake

Frank & Sally, the lovely owners of the house where we're staying, often host lunches and tea parties for people in the area. Yesterday, a large group came to celebrate a 75th birthday party and Sally asked if I would like to make the cake. After 1/2 a second of contemplation, I decided that I would love to make the cake. I started brainstorming about possibilities and flavors and colors and wasn't quite sure what we'd go with. Then, on Sunday morning, it came to me.

A rose cake. Chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream.


This was the first rose cake that I've made, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out! The table set for lunch and tea created a lovely backdrop for pictures.


Honestly, the hardest part was trying to keep Ella's fingers off of it! I started at the kitchen table and had to move to the counter. Then she wanted me to hold her, which wasn't going to happen. There are many things I can do while holding a wiggly two-year-old, but decorating this cake is not one of them. Sally helped keep her busy while I finished the cake and popped it in the fridge to keep until the party. I'll definitely be making this again in the future!

Cupcakes!

Last Tuesday I had the grand privilege of creating just over 200 cupcakes for a giant celebration here in Duluth. The event was to celebrate our pastors' three kids. Two graduations and a birthday. I'd say that's reason to celebrate!



These beauties were a first for me. I don't feel like the picture adequately captured the color, which could be described as mango. The flavor, however, was almond. So yummy.


These raspberry cakes were the first to go. White cake filled with real raspberries, covered in raspberry frosting and chocolate sprinkles. Topped with a raspberry...of course.



One of my personal faves is this dark chocolate cake with mocha frosting, topped with an espresso bean.


For someone who loves candy, you can't beat vanilla cake with creamy vanilla frosting, topped with gummy bears and Mike n Ikes. Sugar, anyone?


Mint and chocolate are a lovely combination. These babies were finished with a mini Oreo.


This was the first time I've ventured into the world of peanut butter and chocolate on a cupcake. Why did I wait so long? Absolutely delish. Chocolate cake, chocolate-peanut butter frosting, topped with Reese's cups and Reese's pieces. Heavenly for any peanut butter lover.


You can see Sierra's table with the mango-colored and raspberry cupcakes. Congrats on your college graduation, Sierra!


Jackson, excellent choice on the candy-covered and mocha cakes. Way to sacrifice and allow your table to hold the mocha cupcakes, since I know you're not a coffee fan. Your party guests loved them! PS...Happy 23rd birthday!


And Jericho, these are two of my favorite combinations: chocolate mint & chocolate peanut butter. Congratulations, high school grad!


I love baking! I know that's no surprise, but it's different when I get to bake for new people. It's thrilling to watch so many people enjoying something I made. And I must say, Ella was an angel as I worked to frost and decorate all the cakes at the venue before the party. She sat and watched me and enjoyed a movie. She's a wonderful little kitchen assistant!