Spider web cake
Halloween is nearly upon us and I feel like I haven’t yet gotten my yearly fill of creepy decorations and festivities. Granted, we’ve been to a haunted corn maze, had our 3rd annual Halloween movie marathon, I even baked a pumpkin. Not to mention, we’ve watched over 40 horror movies this month (so far).
It’s still not enough though. So tonight, just to satisfy my Halloween cravings, I made this spiderweb cake. I think it’s creepy but still has a bit of elegance. No one wants to eat a cake that looks gross, even if it’s supposed to evoke grossness.
I had a little extra fondant (and a leftover cupcake) and this little ghost came haunting around.
Before this weekend arrives, I still hope we’ll get to carve pumpkins. I’ve got my costume all together and can’t wait for all Halloween festivities.
Looking for more Halloween inspiration? Here are some more Halloween desserts from years past.
Halloween Treat roundup
Halloween is just around the corner and I thought we all could use a little dessert inspiration.
I’m thinking of making a fancy Halloween cake this year, just have to find the time. I really like the idea of painting on a cake or using some stencils.
Here are a few of my favorites I’ve made over the years.
Cutest, easiest ghost sugar cookies. If you can frost a cookie you can make these.
Chocolate zombie cake. Gotta show the zombie love.
And zombies need some brains to eat.
Dandies Marshmallow ghost cake. I love anything that’s creepy and cute at the same time.
Or you can get really crazy with pumpkins, spiderwebs, bats and more.
Personally I always want to make chic-o-stick cupcakes around Halloween, but can’t ever find them.
What are your favorite Halloween treats?
Thank you cakes
Sometimes you need to say thank you. For the times that people go way out of their way to help you. Or when someone works endlessly on a project. Sometimes you need more than a card or an email.
That’s where these little cakes come in. Because nearly everyone loves a cake just for them.
I wanted them to be a little more than just a cake though; to really communicate the message. Rather than just the typical butter cream writing on top, I thought I’d try something a little more fun.
I made some simple, colorful bunting for a coconut cake for Shawn. He’s been working endlessly putting the finishing touches on Brainwashed Love and I thought he needed a little reward. The bunting was perfect because it allowed me to completely cover the cake with coconut, which I’ve learned, makes the cake difficult to decorate on top.
For the second cake, I tried my hand at creating a fondant covered red velvet cake. I’ve used fondant for flowers and such but had not yet covered a complete cake. I sure did need a lot of muscle power to roll it out but I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out, considering the horror stories I’ve heard. It wasn’t perfect, but still adorable. I stenciled on the thank you, using just plain paper that I cut with an exacto and some yellow food coloring.
I did a test of my stencil on another piece of fondant, just to make sure. It turned out perfectly, but caused my actual cake to look a little blobby. Still a success though, I think.
Portland vegan desserts
In the four days Shawn and I spent in Portland, I ate more food than I ever thought possible. With so many vegan restaurants, it’s not even possible to try everything, but we were on a mission to test as much as we could. One of the highlights was being able to visit some completely vegan bakeries which Los Angeles is sorely missing. The most amazing treat that we tried, I believe was the raspberry coconut cream pie from Back to Eden. I don’t even like coconut, but oh my god, this pie was heavenly. Fluffy and sweet with the perfect crust.
Back to Eden was basically the last place we went before we headed for the airport. After getting numerous recommendations, we had to go there before we left. I tried a chocolate marionberry cupcake and also snagged some marionberry bread for the plane. I don’t even know what marionberry is but it is damn good. The fruity frosting on the cupcake was rich and amazing. The marionberry bread was moist with just the right amount of sweetness.
They had a case full of delicious treats including whoopie pies, tartlettes, chocolates and other savory items like quiches. The whole place is adorable. Oh yeah, and they have soft serve.
Of course we visited Sweetpea Baking Company. Actually we visited quite a few times. Everything we tried was super good. I loved the cute little zucchini cake. We also had cookies and donuts and…
Loved how cute these pride cupcakes were. They were completely sold out on our second visit. We really tried to make it for their Sunday brunch but couldn’t get there in time. Not to mention, the idea of eating a huge brunch was a little terrifying considering all the food we had the day before.
We stopped in Saint Cupcake Deluxe just to check out the selection and were happy to find a handful of vegan flavors. This shop was super sweet and not only had cupcakes, but also had a lot of sweet cupcakes supplies. It was also attached to Noun, a shop where I wanted to buy basically everything.
It’s not a trip to Portland without Voodoo donuts. Do I really have to say anything about these guys? So good. While I usually prefer risen donuts to cake donuts, the chick-o-stick donut is a must have. It may have been my favorite. I’ll probably have to try them again to see.
Wow, that’s a lot of dessert. That’s not even everything. I drank a lot of coffee to counteract the sweetness. That makes sense, right? This soy latte from Stumptown was one of the best I’ve ever had. I mean, Intelligentsia good. Damn I want one now.
Vegan Sushi Birthday Party!
Los Angeles is burning. I just thought I’d start with that. Ok, Los Angeles itself is not burning, but there happens to be a number of huge fires burning right next door, filling our city with a thick layer of smoke. Air quality has actually reached hazardous. Let’s not forget, the temperatures have repeatedly hit triple digits. Needless to say, this is not the part of summer that people relish in.
It also happens to be birthday season. You all know that everyone gets busy between Christmas and New Years so this happens to be a popular baby week. Guess what that means…birthday parties! My friend Jannatha’s birthday was this week and we had a sushi party (which is probably one of the best parties you could possibly have). I think it’s been about a year since I’ve made sushi myself, and though that was good, these veggie rolls were amazing.
Since there are tons of places to find instructions on how to make sushi yourself online, I’m going to just give a few hints to making your sushi even more awesome. First and foremost, I insist you try something new. Being that I’m an LA native, I’ve been eating sushi since I was two years old. Yet, somehow I’ve never had a sweet potato roll. How is it that I’ve missed out on such an awesome kind of sushi? It’s so freaking good. Sauteed and sprinkled with a bit of brown sugar and hot sauce, it rivals my sushi favorite (avocado, is still the best though I think). So on your next sushi excursion, throw in a vegetable you haven’t yet tried wrapped in rice and seaweed.
My next suggestion perhaps goes a bit against conventional sushi wisdom. Put loads of veggies in your rolls. This can potentially make your rolls fall apart a bit easier, especially when dipping in soy sauce, but do it anyway. More veggies mean more great flavors. Try different combinations of crunchy and soft. Try different colors mixed together. Just make sure you press your rolls extra tight.
Don’t forget the extras. One of the things that makes going out to a sushi dinner so special is not just the sushi itself, but all that comes along with it. Get some Japanese beer, perhaps some sake too. Whip up a little bit of miso soup. Many Japanese snacks are vegan too. I’m personally totally addicted to some seaweed crumble things that are sweet and salty and to die for. Definitely don’t forget the wasabi. If you’re afraid of wasabi, get some anyway. Mix a little in with your soy sauce and try it out. Even if you have too much, it stops being spicy after a second. Honestly, just try it.
Last but certainly not least, stuff your face with sushi! I guess you should save some room for dessert though. We had red velvet cake, as every birthday needs a good cake (or cupcakes). Despite the summer heat and fires and ash falling on us, the evening was cool enough that we could eat outdoors. The best part about sushi is that besides the rice, you don’t have to cook anything if you don’t want to. You end up with a cool summer meal that is much more filling than a salad, and generally speaking, way tastier. Now get to it, go make some sushi!
p.s. Thanks to Jannatha and Kyle for not only being awesome sushi party hosts, but also for letting me steal photos from them. 🙂
