Things to Get for Baking

I love baking because of two reasons: First, the appreciation and praises from my family and friends is a great reward! Second, I have a sweet tooth myself and hardly ever decline a piece of cake or a cookie!

I’ve been baking bread, cookies, and coffee cakes for quite a while. But I also would like to master the skill of baking pies, pastries, and special occasion cakes.

Especially special occasion cakes as I want my children to grow up with the memories of their mom making their birthday cakes. 

I made myself a list of some baking utensils that I need to get because even a skillful baker wouldn’t be able to do much without tools.

I bought a plastic icing syringe for ten dollars about two years ago. Since I didn’t know back then whether I’ll be able to learn how to use it or if I’m going to use it often, I thought an inexpensive one would do. I found out it’s simple to use and I do use it often (not only for decorating cakes), but two plastic nozzles already broke. It’s time to invest into a good quality icing syringe with steel nozzles.

This patterned rolling pin would be valuable for special occasion cake decorating.

I also need a cake stand. 

A cake tin would be useful when I need to take my cake somewhere else. I have a plastic cake carrier, but it’s not very attractive. Since I’m investing time and money into making beautiful cakes, I should care to have a beautiful packaging too.

I also need to add some cute cookie cutters to my collection. It’s quite boring to make cookies the same few shapes over and over.

There is one more thing that I really need, but I don’t even know what it’s called. I tried to find it on the Internet, but I didn’t see anything even close. And yet I know it exists!

It’s a special tool for splitting a baked cake into two layers. Right now I’m using a serrated knife, but I’m never able to split the cake in halves; the thickness comes out as 1/3 and 2/3 of the original cake. And using a dental floss for that purpose gave me even worse results. Does anyone know what it’s called?

There are still other tools and utensils that would be nice to obtain for my baking needs, but a few things at a time.

All the items featured in this post are from Collectables website. 

Calla Lilies

This year my calla lilies are blooming later than usual. In the previous years they bloomed in January-February. We are now more than half the way into March, and only now the flowers appear.

I enjoy having fresh cut flowers on my dining table or dresser. So I picked two calla lilies and put them in a vase in my bedroom.

Nowadays I rarely buy cut flowers from the stores. Most of the cut flowers sold here are grown in Latin America, which does not really make sense to me.

I understand that lower production costs lead to higher profits, which are good for the economy, and yet…

Besides, being snipped off days or perhaps weeks prior, they don’t last long outside of the refrigerators. 

But as I said, I like having flowers in my home. And my own tiny yard is where they come from.

Now I have calla lilies, and my roses will start blooming soon too. I only have a few rose bushes, but even a single rose on my dresser looks luxurious to me. Later in the summer I will have gladioluses, which make lavish bouquets. I’d love to have some tulips too, but so far I haven't had much luck growing them.

Birthday Cake

Earlier this week we celebrated my husband’s birthday. I’m making it a tradition of baking his birthday cake myself. Last year I made him Black Forest cake, and this year he asked for a chocolate one.

I used the recipe called ExtremeChocolate Cake that I found on All Recipes website.

The cake turned out pretty well and I’m definitely saving the recipe for future use, but there are a couple of things that can be improved.

First, I need to learn better ways to decorate it. In the recipe instructions the cake was simply frosted on the top and sides. But since my cake was for a special occasion, I wanted it to look fancier.

Well, it didn’t work out that way. I couldn’t come up with any decorating ideas other than putting some chocolate dipped strawberries on the top. Even though they were a delicious addition to the cake, they didn’t look right there.

Some time ago I pinned an image of a cake that was decorated with swirl roses using a piping bag (you can see it here). I think that could’ve worked on my cake, but unfortunately I didn’t remember about it at the time. The good thing there is always a next time!

Despite the less than perfect appearance, the cake was very delicious. It reminded me the cake my aunt once made back in Ukraine many years ago. The only difference was she used some kind of sweet liquor to soak the layers a bit.

I would like to try that next time too, but I have no idea what to use. Could anyone suggest what kind of spirits can be used for soaking cakes?

In addition to the cake, I made Linzer Torte Cookies for my husband to take to work for his co-workers. I had used the recipe a few times before, so I didn’t have any trouble. These cookies look very pretty, so they are perfect for special occasions.

First Spring Blooms

It’s always fun when the first blooms appear in my yard. Of course, California winters are warm, and it’s possible to have flowers year round. But then the spring time in the garden wouldn’t be so exciting!

My grape hyacinths are now blooming. This is the second year I have them in this terracotta pot. They originated from a single plant that sneaked in my yard from the neighbor’s side of the fence. They spread like crazy and don’t require any care at all. I think when they are done blooming I will thin them out a bit and perhaps plant in another pot. 

Here are my cyclamens! The pink ones are in full bloom, but the white and red ones are only appearing. Again, they take care of themselves and come out every spring.

A few Bermuda Buttercups showed up here and there. Many gardeners wouldn’t want them in their yards because they are so invasive. But I don’t mind. They don’t have much chance to spread over in my yard, and having small splashes of yellow in spring time is nice.

It's been a long time since I joined Tootsie for her Fertilizer Friday / Flaunt Your Flowers link party. I'm gladly joining her today. 

Cube Ottomans

Do you have any cube stools/ottomans in your home? I have four! They came with the coffee table my husband and I bought several years ago for our family room. 

They are wooden with soft leather tops in dark brown color. I like how they provide extra sitting when we have visitors. When not in use, they are tugged under the coffee table. And as a bonus, they have some storage room inside them!

I have a small space in my bedroom that needs something. But I couldn’t think what piece of furniture or decoration to get for it. The space is too small for a chair. And I don’t like faux plants. And then I thought a small cube ottoman in white (my bedroom furniture is white) would be perfect. And I even found one a few days ago at reasonable price. Unfortunately, it had black legs, so I didn’t buy it.

I am now on a lookout for a white cube ottoman for my bedroom.

Here are a few cube stools/ottomans that I like in bright colors. Too bad there isn’t one in white.

                  

The blue one would be perfect for my oldest son’s room as it’s painted and decorated in blue colors. I like the green one because it’s my favorite color. The lilac one is lovely and would be nice for a girl’s room.

The pictures of these cube stools are from Viking-direct web-site.