Today’s is my Mama’s birthday. So I want to bake a cake. A traditional forest cake is made with cherries, but here’s something a little different. Try this wonderful recipe for a Strawberry Forest Cake for a delicious alternative. Ingredients Needed: One 8” inch chocolate, completely cooled. 3 cups stabilized whipped cream Strawberry pie/cake filling Fresh strawberries for decorating Plain milk or dark chocolate, for making shavings   Directions:  Bake the cake, according to recipe directions and allow it to cool completely. Then, slice into 2 or 3 layers. You can use a knife or a cake leveler. You can also use a thread to make nice neat layers. All you do is cut a long thread, wrap it around the cake and pull the ends around the opposite way, slicing through the cake. You’ll need about 3 cups of stabilized whipped cream. You can use my recipe that uses meringue powder or you can also stabilize whipped cream with cornstarch, gelatin or piping gel. Cover the bottom  ...

If you are looking for an alternative to pumpkin pie for your holiday dessert, consider making a pumpkin cheesecake. “But it’s hard to make,” you might say. Don’t worry. After I show you this recipe, you’ll say this instead – “Who knew cheesecake could be so delicious and easy?” This cheesecake uses fresh pumpkin puree, but you can certainly use the canned variety if you’re short on time and fresh ingredients. Ingredients Needed: 1 ½ cups graham crumbs ½ melted unsalted butter 24 oz cream cheese at room temperature (3 packages) 2 cups fresh pumpkin puree 3 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 tsp vanilla ¼ cup flour ¼ cup sour cream ¼ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp nutmeg ¼ tsp cinnamon ¼ cup flour Also, keep on hand a mixing bowl, mixer, spatula, 9-inch spring form pan and aluminum foil. Directions: Step 1: Preheat the Oven Preheat the oven to 350 F. Step 2: Make the Crust Combine 1 ½ cups graham crumbs with ½ cup melted butter. Stir until well combined. Add combined mixture t ...

The first important step for making decorated cupcakes is the baking. While 100% perfection isn’t necessary, this guide will help you get as close as possible. I’ll help you ensure your cupcakes taste as they should, are just the right size and tempting to look at. Preheat Your Oven Always take the time to sufficiently preheat your oven and ensure that you set it at the precise temperature required. Give your oven about 15 minutes to ensure it’s properly preheated. Use the Right Cupcake Liners Not all cupcake liners are created equal. Cheap paper ones get stuck to the cupcakes; and if looks really matter, paper ones also tend to appear greasy after being baked. If you’re keeping the cupcakes in their liners when serving, consider investing a little extra. You can purchase cupcake liners that are a bit thicker and have non-stick coating in the middle. These work well and they are also decorative. Parchment paper liners also work well, won’t stick to the cupcakes and are recy ...

Since October is pumpkin month, here is a yummy recipe for how to make pumpkin pancakes. Directions: Use your regular pancake recipe and replace about 1/4 of the milk or water with pumpkin puree. Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. Serve with maple syrup and enjoy.  ...

...  popular Chinese cake recipe is for sponge cake. This is an amazingly light tasting cake with incredible texture that will leave you wanting more. The good news is, that while the recipe is quite involved, it’s not particularly difficult to put it together. Here’s what you need to make my Chinese cake with fruit.  Ingredients Needed: 1 package vanilla or chocolate mousse* 1 package of vanilla or chocolate custard* One fully-baked and cooled Sponge Cake Fruit, cut into small pieces. In our photos, we are ...