Green Fondant Elephant - color change?

So, my fondant elephant is still on the window sill watching the snow (yes, it is snowing again and, yes, I did forget about the elephant and left it where I was photographing it!) and it changed color!  It's green!

Fondant Elephant!

Last night was my third time playing with fondant!  I joined The Philadelphia Cake Decorators Club and we made fondant or gum paste elephants.  It's a nice group- they say that they are of all levels of experience, but everyone seemed a lot more comfortable and familiar with fondant than I am (haven't touched gum paste yet).  They were very welcoming and

Operation Baking GALS

Well it's the little things make it all worthwhile!  I received an email from the soldier in Afghanistan that I baked and shipped cookies to earlier this month.  She included pictures of herself and was very appreciative of our support and said the cookies arrived in perfect condition!  Yep, I just signed up for the next round!  Let me know if you want more info about this wonderful group of bakers.

Soccer Cupcakes

What's Baking?

I baked these for a boy who is turning 11 and loves soccer.  They are Martha Stewart's marble cupcakes (thank you cupcake queen at 52 Cupcakes) decorated with buttercream icing, hand-painted fondant, and hand made molded white and dark chocolate.  They were fun to make and a lot of first tries for me!  He's taking them to school tomorrow to share with his class.  Hope they like them!

First fondant covered cake!

What's baking?

Week 2 of Wilton Course 3, the package or present cake.  This is a 2 layer double chocolate cake filled with chocolate hazelnut buttercream, iced with a thin layer of buttercream under fondant.  Working with fondant is loads of fun, but I have plenty of practicing still to do!  Next week's class is royal icing flowers.  I haven't worked with royal icing as I skipped Wilton Course 2, any suggestions?

Mini Chocolate Chip Shortbread

What's Baking? 
This is the recipe for the heart-shaped cookies shown in my post from Feb. 8.  I made a double batch and was really testing the capacity of my Kitchen Aid stand mixer with 10 cups of flour!  I rolled the dough a bit thinner than usual and ended up with at least 150 cookies.

Fish with Orange Avocado Salsa

What's for dinner?
Dinner was based on Mahi-Mahi with Blood Orange, Avocado, and Red Onion Salsa recipe from Epicurious but without detailed measurements!  I used 3 delicious very juicy oranges that we had from Florida, 2 limes, 2 ripe avocados, 1 small red onion, no jalapenos and halibut.  I marinated the fish for a few minutes in some of the juice from the oranges and limes.  This was delicious and great as leftovers, too!  Enjoy!

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW

It's still coming down heavily and they just said more snow Monday!  It's been snowing since last night.  Getting dark now but you get the idea from the pictures!

15 pounds of homemade cookies shipped to Afghanistan

What's baking?
I sent a box of cookies to the troops this morning as part of Operation Baking GALS.  I baked heart-shaped Mini Chocolate Chip Shortbreads and Cocoa Krispie Treats. The package also included Toll House Bars that my friend baked and another friend donated money to cover the shipping costs.  It feels good to do this!  I'd be happy to help anyone interested in getting involved, just ask.

A few more pictures of my first wilton rose cake!

What's Baking?
Well, thanks again to my friend,  the cake I made for my daughter made it the 300 plus miles across the state! Daughter sent me some photos (thank you!) and it looks like it sustained  only minor damage and that she and her friends enjoyed!  Looking forward to my next Wilton class and fondant!

Operation Baking GALS, round 16

Today, February 1, is the first day of shipping for this round of Operation Baking GALS.  This is a wonderful organization that I have been involved with since last summer both as a team leader and a volunteer baker.  We bake homemade goodies for troops serving overseas.  It's great to be able to share by sending a little taste of home as a way of thanking those protecting our country.