Marc Jacobs Bag Cake

My sister is truly an inspiration to me. Six years ago, she decided to forget going to law school and follow her dream. Without telling anyone, she applied to the Fashion Institute of Technology and got accepted. Soon after breaking the news to everyone, she packed up her bags and moved to New York City to study fashion design. It took a lot of guts for her to make such a risky decision, especially after investing so many years of schooling. But it was a bold move that paid off in ways she couldn't have imagined. Today, she's working as a handbag designer for Marc Jacobs , one of the top fashion designers in the world. She was the one who encouraged me to go to pastry school and I'll be forever grateful to her for that. So when she told me she was coming home to celebrate her 3oth birthday, I wanted to make her a cake that symbolized her dream fulfilled. I just had to make her a Marc Jacobs bag cake.

This wasn't an easy project for me. I love decorating cakes but making sculpted or 3D cakes is a bit intimidating. I still have so much more to learn and since I never had any formal training in art, making these cakes look true-to-life is an added challenge. I tried to make a bag cake a few years ago and it turned out okay, but I really wished I had a book to guide me.

So this time around, I read Elisa Strauss' The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes, and Cupcakes from New York City's Famed Bakery. It just came out last year and I'm so glad I got it. I'm sure you've seen her cakes featured in magazines and saw her compete in numerous Food Network cake challenges. Her background in art and fashion in addition to her incredible talent as a pastry chef is something to be admired. Her book is well-written and beautifully illustrated. The projects in her book range from simple polka-dot cupcakes to the more elaborate sushi cake. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn, not only about sculpted cakes, but also stylish cookies, cupcakes and mini cakes.

Now that I have a pretty good idea of how to construct a handbag cake, I went ahead and got started. I printed a photo of the pink Marc Jacobs Blake bag from the company's website. Finding the height, width and depth of the bag was easy, but now I needed to get the details of the bag accurate. So, I went back to the photo and measured the size of the pockets, the diameter of the o-rings on the handles, size of the zippers, height of the handles etc... and increased the measurements to match the real proportions of the bag. I drew each piece and cut them out so I can use them as templates.

I baked two half sheets of red velvet cake and cut them into three pieces. I assembled the cake and inserted three wooden dowels inside it to prevent the layers from shifting and to keep the cake from collapsing on itself. After crumb coating it with a thin layer of frosting, I placed it in the fridge for a couple of hours to let the frosting firm up. When it was ready, I covered it with pink rolled fondant.

I used the templates to make the pockets and used a tracing wheel for the stitch details around the edges. To make the bottom part of the push-lock hardware, I used a round cookie cutter and a petal cutter, stacked them together then cut the top part off. I used a veining tool to create the groove for the push-lock and a cel stick to write "Marc Jacobs" on the round piece. For the top part of the hardware, I cut a thin strip of fondant and placed a semi-circle fondant on top of it. I used a round piping tip to mark a circle in the middle.

I painted the push-lock with gold luster dust and attached it to the cake by brushing a little bit of vodka on it.

I made the o-rings out of gumpaste by using two different sizes of round cookie cutters. I let them dry overnight, painted them with gold luster dust and looped the fondant handle through it.

To make the zippers, I cut hexagonal pieces of fondant for the slider, rectangular pieces for the pull-tab and a tiny strip for the tab holder. For the teeth of the zipper, I cut a long strip of fondant and scored a line in the middle and made hash marks all the way from end to end. I painted the zipper and teeth with gold luster dust.

I had a lot of trouble putting on the handles. I guess I should've made them differently. The first pair of handles were made of gumpaste but I didn't make them long enough so I put fondant pieces at each end. Since the gumpaste handles were so thick , the fondant ends couldn't carry the weight so they slipped and wouldn't stay on. I wanted them to be upright like on the picture, but it just didn't work. After trying a couple more times, the handles eventually broke. I didn't have time to make another pair of gumpaste handles so I tried a different approach. I made them out of rolled fondant with stem wire inside for structural support. Made a second attempt to have them standing straight up, but they still fell down. I finally had to settle with laying them on the sides.

To make the piping around the bag, I just cut long strips of fondant and attached them around the cake.

The finished cake was not exactly the way I had envisioned it, but I was pretty happy with it nonetheless. More importantly, the birthday girl loved it and everyone enjoyed eating the cake.

Happy Birthday little sis!

The Accidental Frosting

At first glance, it looks like meringue buttercream or whipped white chocolate ganache, maybe even cream cheese frosting - but it's not. I was experimenting in the kitchen (as always) and made this by accident. It was one of those days when my multitasking got the best of me and for a moment, I forgot what I was doing (oh yeah, I'm not perfect, what's new?). I measured the wrong amount of milk or butter or something (I can't even remember anymore) and voila! I made a frosting that looked smooth like meringue buttercream, but it was made with butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk, just like classic buttercream. It was not as sweet as classic buttercream but the mouthfeel was almost as silky as meringue buttercream.

After making this "hybrid" several more times, I decided to add whipping cream to lighten it up a bit. I've used this to cover cakes, pipe borders and scrollwork and make swirls on top of cupcakes. I LOVE meringue buttercream (Swiss method because it's the easiest to make and doesn't involve hot sugar), but it's nice to have this as an alternative when I need something that doesn't involve cooking egg whites.

Hybrid Buttercream Frosting
Allergy Note: contains dairy

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup cold whipping cream

Beat the butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract at low speed until combined. Slowly add the warm milk. It will separate at first, but don't worry - give it a few minutes and it will start coming back together. Increase the speed a little to whip it up a bit. Slowly pour in the cold whipping cream. Whip for a few more minutes and it should start to look smooth. It may curdle or separate again when you pour in the whipping cream, but give it some time and it will smooth out again.

Here are some cakes I've made where I used this hybrid buttercream.

One Good Chocolate Cake

Hello, my name is Rianne and I'm a chocoholic. The last time I had chocolate was late last night. I had a slice of chocolate truffle cake...and I was happy as a clam.

Growing up, my mom would spoil us with her homemade desserts. Some were made from scratch and some came out of a box, but nevertheless they were all special because SHE made them, just for us. I used to love watching her make a chocolate cake. My brother, my sister and I would crowd the kitchen counter as soon as we heard her turn on the hand mixer. The cake usually came out of a box, Betty Crocker I think, but she made the chocolate buttercream frosting from scratch.

Ooooh, that intoxicating perfume of warm chocolate cake baking in the oven would waft through the air. How can you resist? It was torture to have to wait for the cake to cool, but my mom kept us distracted by making the chocolate buttercream frosting. The cloud of cocoa powder and powdered sugar was always fun to watch (and smell) as she poured the milk and vanilla extract into the bowl. When it was all done, we'd fight over who gets to have the beaters. Such a dilemma...three kids and two beaters. Well, someone had to wait till the cake was frosted to get the jackpot... the bowl. She'd finish off the chocolate cake with colorful confetti sprinkles. Sugar high, here we come!



Now that I'm all grown up and have a child of my own, I relish each messy moment that I spend baking in the kitchen with my son. I hope that when he grows up, he'll remembering all the homemade desserts I made especially for him.

I've listed my favorite chocolate cake recipe below as well as an allergy-friendly version.

Chocolate Truffle Cake
Allergy Note: contains eggs, dairy and wheat

1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk*
1/2 cup strong coffee, cooled
2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

* if you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute with 1 cup whole milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans or lined 2 muffin pans with paper muffin cups. Beat together butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Slowly add eggs one at a time. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine the buttermilk and coffee together. Alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture.
Pour into the prepared pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before adding filling and frosting.

Chocolate Ganache Filling
Allergy Note: contains dairy

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup (half a stick) butter, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp. corn syrup or honey

Place the chocolate chips in a bowl and set aside.
In a saucepan, heat the heavy cream, butter and corn syrup until it starts to simmer. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Stir constantly until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm enough to use. If it gets too firm, microwave for only a couple of seconds to soften.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting I
Allergy Note: contains dairy

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder
5 to 6 Tbsp. warm milk

Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp. butter, mix until smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add in the remaining butter, vanilla extract and salt. Sift together confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder. Alternate adding the cocoa confectioner's sugar with the warm milk. Beat until smooth.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting II
Allergy Note: contains dairy

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened to room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

3 cups confectioner's sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder
5 to 6 Tbsp. warm milk

Melt semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1 Tbsp. butter, mix until smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl and allow to cool. Add in the remaining butter, vanilla extract and salt. Sift together confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder. Alternate adding the cocoa confectioner's sugar with the warm milk. Beat until smooth.

Wacky Egg-Free Chocolate Cake

Allergy Note: contains dairy and wheat

I found this recipe online. I tried it and I thought it was pretty good for an eggless cake, but I felt it needed more chocolate flavor so I doubled the amount of cocoa powder. It's perfect for cupcakes. You can top this with an allergy-friendly chocolate frosting. I like to bring this along for my son whenever we go to birthday parties so that he has something to eat while everyone else is eating birthday cake. I just store them in an airtight container in the freezer and thaw one or two a day before.

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon vinegar
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup cold water

In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened. Pour into 8 x 8-inch pan or a muffin pan lined with paper muffin cups. Bake at 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes (15-20 minutes for cupcakes), or until it springs back when touched lightly.

My Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie

After years and years of trying so many different recipes...the search is finally over! I found my holy grail chocolate chip cookie. And where, you might ask, did I find such a cookie? It was written on the back of a package of Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips. It's callled Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookie, and once you sink your teeth into these chewy gooey cookies, you'll be swooning for more. Oh yeah...they're THAT good.

But once I had the perfect chocolate chip cookie, I had to find a way to make it for my son with food allergies. I don't know what possessed me to add cream cheese in place of eggs, but it worked! And come to think of it, I actually like this version better because it stays moist and chewy for days. I keep it in an airtight container in the fridge. Just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds and it's like having freshly baked cookies everyday. YUM!

My Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie
Yields about 4 dozen cookies
Allergy Note: contains dairy and wheat

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Sift together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixer bowl, cream together butter, sugar, brown sugar, cream cheese, and vanilla. Gradually blend dry mixture into butter/sugar mixture. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop heaping tablespoons (I use a 18/8 cookie scoop) onto ungreased cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375ºF for 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown.

Making Simple and Easy Monograms

Monogram made from rolled fondant

I recently started using monogram plaques on my cupcakes. I've been using plaques on cakes for a while, but I never thought of using them on cupcakes until now. I was inspired by the individual pastries found in tres chic patisseries like Laduree and Pierre Herme. If you've ever browsed through their display, you'll notice that they top their pastries with logo inscribed plaques. The plaques they use are actually made of chocolate and the logo is made of melted cocoa butter and powdered food color. To make them, a thin layer of chocolate is spread over a pre-printed acetate transfer sheet. The chocolate is allowed to cool for a little bit before cutting into desired shapes. Once the chocolate has set, the plastic is peeled off, leaving the logo imprinted onto the plaque.

I decided to recreate that look using fondant and gumpaste because, a) it's quicker and easier to make, b) the materials are readily available in any arts and craft store, and c) I can be a bit more creative with the designs. The possibilities are endless when it comes to designs and shapes; you can stay simple and elegant or get fun and creative. You can try using Alphabet Stamps(like for scrapbooking) to imprint letters or designs onto the fondant or gumpaste. You can also try using Wilton White Candy Melts as plaques (just paint the letters on the flat side).

Monograms made from Wilton Candy Melts

Here are just a few of the ideas I came up with. You can search online for font types that are easy to copy onto a plaque.

To make monogram plaques, you'll need:

- rolled fondant or gumpaste

-fondant rolling pin

- fine tip paintbrushes

- food color (powder, gel or paste) or gold luster dust

- food color pens

- small round cutters

- letter and number fondant/gumpaste cutters

- clear alcohol (vodka or lemon extract)

To start, roll the fondant or gumpaste into the desired thickness and cut out shapes. Let them dry a bit so they'll be easier to write on.

For this design, I wrote the "R" with a black food color pen then I mixed silver luster dust with vodka and painted dots around the plaque and inside the "R."

I used the same black food color pen to write the "N" and drew a border around.

The letters on this diamond plaque were painted on with a silver luster dust and vodka mix.

The "H" was stamped on with a fondant letter cutter. I painted it with gold luster dust then painted an S pattern with silver luster dust.



I used red gel food color to paint this monogram plaque.



This is the same technique as above; I just used green gel food color.



Have fun making these monogram plaques. Use them to personalize cakes, cupcakes or any other dessert. So far, I've used them for a birthday, a baby shower, an engagement party and a baptism. What's next? A wedding? Hmmm.... stay tuned.

The Carrot Cake

It's Fall...my favorite time of the year, and although it's still scorching hot here in San Diego, I just want to jump right into October with some seasonal desserts. My first offering this month is the lovely carrot cake. The amber hue of this cake with its orangey flecks of shredded carrots kind of reminds me of autumn leaves.

I made this carrot cake without eggs, nuts or soy, especially for my son. It's a nice moist cake and the tangy cream cheese frosting is sweet but not too sweet.

This recipe does contain dairy and wheat. For wheat-free alternatives: try a mixture of oat flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, rice flour, or sorghum flour. It's really tough to mimic the texture of wheat flour, so I find myself combining at least two of these alternative flours to get the best results.

For dairy-free alternatives: for the cake - substitute the butter with canola oil or margarine, spectrum vegetable shortening or another butter substitute that's suitable for you dietary needs. for the cream cheese frosting - you can subsitute the butter for the any of the choices above. you can subsitute the cream cheese with Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese if you're not allergic to soy. If you are allergic to soy, it's probably best to make my vanilla frosting instead.

For sugar-free: substitute the brown sugar with honey, molasses, maple syrup, stevia or brown rice syrup to taste. for the cream cheese frosting-subsitute the powdered sugar with honey, molasses, maple syrup, stevia, or brown rice syrup to taste.



Carrot Cake
Allergy Note: contains dairy and wheat

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
2 tsp baking soda
1 cup applesauce
1/2 cups crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
2 cups shredded carrots, firmly packed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round pans or line two muffin pans with paper muffin cups. Beat together butter and brown sugar till light and fluffy. Mix together applesauce, crushed pineapple and baking soda; add to the brown sugar mixture.
Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon and ginger then slowly add to the batter. Stir in shredded carrots. Pour into prepared cake pans or muffin pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes in cake pans or 15 minutes in muffin pans, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let cool completely before frosting.

Cream cheese frosting
Allergy Note: contains dairy

8 oz. bar cream cheese, cold
1/2 cup butter , softened to room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, measure then sift

Beat the cream cheese and butter till blended.
Mix in vanilla extract. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time.
Once all the powdered sugar is added, increase to a higher speed to whip up the frosting till light and fluffy.

Update:Libby, from The Allergic Kid, is hosting "Thanks for 'Nothing' Thanksgiving Round Up" this year. It's a great opportunity to share recipes and ideas with others who have dietary restrictions like food allergies. I know how challenging it is to find delicious and 'safe' recipes, especially during the holidays, so I hope one of my recipes will find their way in your holiday table.