Hello Kitty Cake (how to make frosting transfers for easy cake decoration)

A Frosting Transfer of a Hello Kitty image decorates the top of this chocolate peanut butter cake

Cake decorating is always a challenge for me – but I manage to do it even though I have no clue what I’m doing!  To turn out professional looking decorated cakes (with minimal effort and skill) I highly recommend investing in a few jumbo sized star tips (the small ones that come in decorating sets [...]

Banana Cake (Entenmann’s Old Banana Cake Copycat Recipe)

Banana Cake

When I was a kid, I had this recurring dream… a dream that there was a big cake in the refrigerator, and that when I opened the refrigerator door… I would take the biggest slice of yummy cake out and eat it for breakfast.  Sometimes that dream was so real… I would wake up craving [...]

Banh Khoai Mi Nuong (Vietnamese Baked Cassava or Yuca Cake)

Banh Khoai Mi Nuong (Cassava Cake)

A few days ago, a good friend of mine had a housewarming party.  She had a lot of really good food and all kinds of wonderful desserts and sweet treats.  One of her friends brought over a delicious homemade Vietnamese dessert called “Banh Khoai Mi Nuong” (or “Cassava Cake”).  The cake was cut into small squares, and [...]

Old Fashioned Southern Coca Cola Cake (Chocolate Coke Cake)

Coca Cola Cake

A few weeks ago, someone left an unopened 20 oz. bottle of Coca Cola at our house.  I left it in the refrigerator… but my husband doesn’t drink soda, and I prefer diet Coke over regular.  What was I going to do with this bottle of Coke taking up space in my refrigerator?  My problem [...]

Banh Da Lon (steamed Vietnamese layer cake with tapioca, mung bean, & pandan)

Bahn Da Lon (Vietnamese "Pig Skin" Cake)

One of my good friends has been bringing me Banh Da Lon (Vietnamese steamed layer cake) from her favorite bakery in Orange County for the past few months…  since I was able to figure out Banh Bo Nuong (Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake), I know she really wants me to figure this one out too!  I’ve tried… [...]

The Ultimate Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes 2.0 (the ULTIMATE recipe!!!!)

Two years ago, I posted a recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes to celebrate the Year of the Tiger.   Up until recently, that has been my go-to recipe for anything red velvet – whether making red velvet cupcakes, red velvet layer cakes, or even red velvet cake ball truffles.  However, I always felt there was room [...]

How to make Fondant Roses, Flowers, and Royal Icing (to decorate cakes, cupcakes, and cookies)

Fondant Roses

I’m always looking for ways to make my food look appealing and visually enticing.  What is the saying?  We eat with our eyes first?  That’s so true… when food is carefully plated, or intricately decorated… I think our brains trick us into thinking the food is better or more special than if it was just [...]

Petit Fours (Baking, Frosting, and Decorating Petit Fours)

Homemade Petit Fours

Petit Fours are small bite-sized confections, served as a dessert or as a sweet treat with tea or coffee.  The name “petit four” is French, which translates to “small oven”.  There are many types of Petit Fours, but the most common are little cakes (often with some sort of filling) which are glazed and decorated. [...]

Moist Lemon Butter Cake (the secret to making moist cakes)

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Butter cakes can have incredible flavor, but I’ve found that they can have a tendency to turn out a little bit on the dry side (in comparison to oil cakes).  I’ve made plenty of dry cakes in my lifetime… none which I care to repeat!  Over time, I figured out a few tricks in converting [...]

Mango Butter Cake (Adding fruit to a basic butter cake recipe)

mango butter cake

Are you looking for a simple cake recipe – something that you can add fruit to without worrying about a change in texture?  This is the one!  It’s similar to a pound cake – with a tight fine crumb – and a wonderful buttery flavor (enhanced by the addition of fruit).  You can use mangoes, [...]