Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cakes

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

Here is a little known fact:I love birthdays and especially birthday parties and more importantly, MY birthday party.

I turn 30 this year for the fourth time. To celebrate, the Hubster and I are planning a trip to Orlando in June. My birthday theme is Disney princess, so we plan to hit up the Magic Kingdom and try to find and take a picture with, as many princesses as we can. I may even wear my own tiara and become my own Disney princess for a day. We tried to make a reservation to eat at Cinderella’s Royal Table, but they are booked months in advance. So if anyone knows any secrets on how to get in, then please let me know! In addition to Magic Kingdom, we also plan to go to Epcot for a day and then head on over to Universal to visit Harry, Ron, and Hermione at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Yeah. Like I could go to Orlando and not go to the WWOHP. As if.

Anyway, I am super excited, so I made you guys cake to celebrate.

I actually had a lot of help this week when thinking up this recipe. I realized I wanted to make my cake with lemon because I love lemon desserts in the Spring. So after talking with my Mom, I decided to use her fabulous southern pound cake recipe as the base of mine. Then a student at school, I call him Harvard, actually thought mini bundt cakes would be perfect to use with my idea. I couldn’t have agreed more, so onto Amazon I went to order my mini bundt baking pan. Wilton makes the best Elite baking pans and my pan makes 6 mini bundt cakes at a time. Finally, Savory Spice Shop carries Organic Lavender flavoring, so I picked up a bottle to go into my icing. So there you go. The cutest Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cakes on the block. And oh. so. delicious.

Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cakes

Yield: 18 mini bundt cakes

Recipe by Carrie, adapted by Mom

Ingredients

1 cup butter
3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup poppy seeds
6 eggs
1 pint of sour cream
2 tablespoons of milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon lemon flavoring
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
zest of one lemon
For the lavender icing: 1 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 teaspoon lavender flavoring, and 4-6 teaspoons heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare pan with flour nonstick spray.
Cream butter in bowl of electric stand mixer until light and fluffy.
Add sugar and mix well.
Add eggs, one at a time.
Add milk, vanilla, lemon, zest and sour cream.
Combine flour, baking soda, poppyseed, and salt.
Slowly add flour to mixture until blended.
Spoon carefully into prepared mini bundt pan.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Carefully spoon icing onto cake and top with lemon zest.
For the Lavender icing:Start with 1 cup confectioner's sugar, 1 teaspoon lavender, and 4 teaspoons heavy cream.
Continue adding cream by the teaspoon until desired consistency.
To make a bigger batch, double the recipe. I choose to make my icing just before serving, so my icing doesn't harden.

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Mom’s Southern Pound Cake recipe. Thanks Mom.

Pink Champagne Meringue

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

~~I am not a fan of meringue.~~ I was not a fan of meringue. Even spelling meringue gave me a headache. I mean, other than the white fluffy on top of my banana pudding, I had quite the disdain for it. That was before. Everything has changed.

Pink. Champagne. Meringue.

It is girly. And sparkly. And oh so pink-a-delicious.

This meringue has changed my world.

I will never again use the words hate and meringue in the same sentence.

I decided to tackle the art of meringue during Spring Break, this week. I went with the whole stay-cation route, so that I could spend the entire week focusing on new recipes, like this one.

These meringue bowls are so simple to put together. I used Wilton tip #21 to make a circular base at the bottom. I then piped rings around the circle until I reached my desired height.

I made these sweet meringue roses using a technique I found over at the fabulous i am baker, and then sprinkled them with shimmering, edible pink glitter.

The whipped cream for my meringue cups is so easy. Combine 1 cup cream with 1 1/2 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar and whisk on high in your stand mixer bowl using the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. That’s it!

Pink Champagne Meringue

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

5 large egg whites, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 drops of champagne oil flavoring (or any other flavoring or 1 teaspoon vanilla)
Pink gel food coloring
pink edible glitter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or silapat.
In your stand mixer bowl with whisk attachment, whisk egg whites, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt until just combined.
Pour contents into a double boiler with a few inches of simmering water in the bottom pan.
Whisk contents in top pan for 7-10 minutes or until sugar has completely dissolved.
Return contents to stand mixer bowl and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form.
Mix in a very small amount of pink food coloring, along with 5 drops of champagne oil flavoring.
Transfer mixture to a pastry bag fitted with Wilton tip 1M for roses, Wilton #30 star tip (or similar) for kisses, or Wilton #21 tip for meringue bowls.
Kisses:Pipe 3/4 inch high kisses on your cookie sheet about 1/2 inch apart.
Bowls: Pipe a flat, circular bottom layer for your base and then carefully pipe in a circular motion until desired height.
Bake for about 1 hour or until they are completely dry on the outside.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Fill with fresh strawberries or raspberries and top with whip cream.

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Doctor Who Party {Part II}

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

New mouth. New rules.

The latest Doctor has been around for awhile, but I always like to revisit the episode where the Doctor meets Amelia Pond for the first time. He has just regenerated and that makes him very, very hungry! The problem is, he has no idea what he likes to eat. So he has Amelia search through her cupboards. She offers him yogurt, beans, bread and butter, bacon; none of which he is even remotely fond of. He finally settles himself on fish fingers and custard. Ew! Gross. I know. Luckily, when I thought about recreating this unusual dish, I decided to make a fish finger look-alike. Instead of actually fish fingers, I made tea-infused shortbread.

The tea infusion itself is actually very simple. Whenever you are baking with tea, steep approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea per tablespoon of butter. It is also a good idea to use unsalted butter, so as not to alter the flavor of the tea.

I used crumbled Biscoff cookies for the “breading” of my fish sticks. Just pulse 10-15 cookies in your food processor and then roll your “fish sticks” until coated.

Tea Infused Shortbread - "Fish Fingers" & Custard

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup, plus 3 teaspoons loose leaf tea
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup brown sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
Package of biscoff cookies

Instructions

In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, melt the butter until it just becomes a liquid.
Add the loose tea leaves.
Continue heating the mixture for about 5 minutes on low-medium heat.
Remove from the heat and allow to stand for another 5 minutes or until the color of the butter is slightly tinted by the tea leaves; it will have a hint of green.
Pour the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing hard on the tea leaves and then discard the leaves.
Let the butter come to room temperature.
For the "breading", pulse 10-15 biscoff cookies in your food processor, until they become a fine crumb mixture.
In your stand mixer bowl, cream tea infused butter, brown sugar, and honey until light and fluffy.
Add flour, 1 cup at a time and mix well.
Your dough should be pulling away from the bowl at this point.
Roll and shape tablespoon portions of dough into "fish finger" size; about 3-5 inches long.
Roll each "fish finger" in the biscoff cookie crumbs to give it the "breading" effect.
Place 1/2 inch apart on ungreased baking sheets lined with parchment or silapat.
Bake at 325° for 15-20 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.

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*Baked custard recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker

Tonight marks the Season premiere of Doctor Who 7.5. We have a tradition in our house that before every new episode, we make homemade popcorn. It kind of makes us feel like we are at the movie theatre. This season, I thought I would step it up a notch with my Geronimo Popcorn Mix. Geronimo is the Doctor’s favorite catch phrase. Every Doctor has one or two.

I love the sweet and salty in this snack. York Peppermint patties have always been one of my favorite candies, but these minis, along with the gold and silver stars make it cool.

Geronimo Popcorn Mix

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

Microwavable movie theater popcorn or you can make your own
York Peppermint blue and white minis
White chocolate melts
Crushed pretzel sticks
Edible gold and silver stars

Instructions

Microwave your white chocolate melts according to the package instructions; set aside.
Microwave your movie theater popcorn or make your own.
While the popcorn is warm, add the crushed pretzel sticks, and York Peppermint blue and white minis.
Drizzle the white chocolate over the popcorn mix and stir gently.
Top with edible stars.

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The Doctor would never go anywhere without his sonic screwdriver, so I thought I would make it into a drink for tonight.

I am in love with my Soda Stream and it came in handy for this drink perfect for any Doctor. The mango energy drink gives the ordinary screwdriver, a sonic kick.

Sonic Screwdriver

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces Vodka (optional)
4 ounces orange juice
4. ounces Soda Stream Mango energy drink or Red Bull
5 ice cubes
Edible gold stars for garnish

Instructions

Make Soda Stream Mango energy drink according to instructions.
Combine vodka, orange juice, mango energy drink, and ice cubes; stir gently.
Pour into desired glass and garnish with edible gold stars.

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Did you like our Timey Wimey font used on Part I & Part II of our Doctor Who Party? Want your own? Go LIKE our Facebook page and then download it here.

{FREE} Doctor Who Font Download

**Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey background art for “Fish Fingers” & Custard courtesy of weallscream4icecream & Brian Hoke

Spiced Vanilla Doughnuts

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

So yesterday I spent the whole day in my pajamas.

The WHOLE day.

I loved every minute of it.

I also spent the entire day watching Game of Thrones on HBO. I am late to the game when it comes to the whole seven kingdoms, protect the realm thing, but I am trying to catch up before Season 3 premieres next Sunday. Unfortunately, I will have to choose what I watch first –Game of Thrones, Season 3 premiere or The Walking Dead, Season 3 finale. They both air on Sunday at exactly 9:oopm EST. I hate it when that happens.

It looks like I watch a lot of T.V., but I actually don’t. I only have 7-8 shows in my T.V. viewing repertoire and they typically don’t overlap. But here I am, having to decide what to watch first next Sunday.

Anyway, I didn’t just watch T.V. I made you doughnuts.

These spicy vanilla doughnuts are not only baked, but I threw in whole wheat flour to the mix too! I used 2/3 all purpose and 1/3 whole wheat, but you could totally used 1/2 and 1/2 or even 2/3 wheat and 1/3 all purpose.

The spiced vanilla bean sugar I found is perfect for dipping my warm, butter drenched doughnuts in. I discovered it at my local spice shop, but you can order it online here.

Spiced Vanilla Doughnuts

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

2 sticks {1 cup} unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
4 `1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking spice
1/2 cup Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar or 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6-7 tablespoons cream
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease doughnut pan or muffin tin with flour spray.
In your stand mixer bowl, combine 1 stick{1/2 cup} and 2 tablespoons of butter with 1 cup of sugar. Mix until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.
In a large bowl, combine flours, baking powder, salt, and baking spice.
Add dry mixture to the butter and sugar, alternating with the buttermilk, and beginning and ending with the dry mixture.
Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until doughnuts are golden.
Melt remaining 6 tablespoons of butter.
While doughnuts are still warm, roll them in melted butter; then in Spiced Vanilla Bean Sugar.
Combine cream and confectioner's sugar until a thin icing forms. Use pink food coloring gel to tint your icing Spring pink.
Drizzle icing on top with a spoon.

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Doctor Who Party {Part I}

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

It is no secret that I am obsessed with Doctor Who. In fact, I have been waiting for the TARDIS (Time And Relative Dimension In Space) to show up in my backyard for some time now. The way I see it, the Hubster and I could just pull a “Rory and Amy” and fly off into space and time with the Doctor any day now…

Annnnny day now…

Mr. BNP and I are fairly new to the Who scene, considering it is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. We jumped on the Whovian train a few years back and I have since caught up by watching the reruns on Netflix. By far, my favorite Doctor is David Tennant. He was the Tenth Doctor and coincidentally, played Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (my favorite HP movie.)

There are currently Eleven Doctors total, with the marvelous Matt Smith playing the current Doctor. Why so many Doctors? Well…it’s a bit of a long story, but to avoid any confusion to all my non-Whovian readers, I will try and make it short. There really is only one Doctor. He is the last time lord from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor is around 900 years old and every time he “dies”, he actually regenerates into someone “new”. New face. New look. New likes. New dislikes. New tastes, even. But inside it is the same old wonderful Doctor. Get it?

The Doctor travels in a big, blue police box called the TARDIS. It is bigger on the inside and is able to travel through space and time. He typically has a companion or two with him. That’s what I am not-so-patiently waiting for…

Once they step out of the TARDIS, the Doctor and his companions are always faced with a new dilemma that could change the course of history as we know it. He is often seen battling Daleks, Cybermen, Weeping Angels, or any other alien life force with his sonic screwdriver in order to save the world. In short…BEST. SHOW. EVER.

March 30th marks the mid-season premiere of Doctor Who 7.5!!!

There are not many Whovians in my little town (I know a total of 5), so I thought, why not have a virtual party to celebrate? There has got to be a TON of you out there in cyber world!

So to kick off our Who party, I made you guys a TARDIS cake!

I wonder if its bigger in the inside…

This cake started out as a 9 x13 vanilla cake. I used a cardboard TARDIS pattern to cut out the shape, crumb coated it, and then covered the cake with the first layer of blue fondant. For the second layer, I cut out the squares using a square fondant cutter and carefully laid it on top. Finally, I cut out the white squares, added the yellow light on top, and glued it all together.

I dyed the fondant myself and had blue hands for a week!

I found edible stars to make it feel more spacey wacey!

How about some Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey Push Pops?

I used my mini muffin pan to make these cute little cakes and then squished them together with yummy blue buttercream!

Bow ties are cool! Especially when they hold the key to the TARDIS! I am so in love with them! I found the keys at my local craft store and I cut mini bow ties out of blue sparkly foam paper.

Did you notice the gold and silver stars? And the blue asteroids? Ahhh. I die. I mean…I regenerate.

I used my basic vanilla cake recipe and added a bit of cinnamon spice, but you could choose whatever flavor you want.

Like my Bake No Prisoners font on today’s photos? It just so happens to be a special Doctor Who Edition! Want your own Doctor Who font? Stay tuned for Part II next week to find out how to get your FREE Doctor Who font download!! You know you have to have it!! Allons-y!

Triple Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

I love holidays…

I mean, seriously, who doesn’t?!

In order, my favorites are:

In first place, Halloween

Then, Thanksgiving

Christmas

St. Patrick’s Day

Flag Day (my birthday)

Easter

Valentine’s Day

And dead last, New Year’s Eve

Plus, any holiday where I get the day off from school makes the list too, President’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr.–even snow days are included.

I love holidays because they are normally full of family, tradition, and food…I am typically the one in the kitchen surrounded by the ones I love, cooking or baking a recipe that has been handed down for ages or at the very least, expected each holiday.

St. Patrick’s Day is no exception.

Every year, I ask the Hubster if we can go out to the local Irish pub for someone else’s homemade Irish fare and every year he says, but what about our traditional black and tan corn beef sandwiches…and my fried potatoes and turnips…and my Irish creme pound cake….

I can just see his lower lip quivering now. Just kidding.

So every year, while jamming out to Flogging Molly, I cave and make just the two of us, our Black and Tan corn beef sandwiches with fried potatoes and turnips, and my Irish creme pound cake for dessert.

This year, I am adding these adorable Triple Chocolate Stout Whoopie pies to the mix.

These whoopie pies are so rich and chocolatey and so easy to put together!

To start, I always make sure to cream my butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

I just happen to have a Whoopie Pie pan, but if you don’t, then just scoop a 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter onto your cookie sheet.

I even made a few pies in the shape of a shamrock using a cookie cutter.

They can be very fragile, so make sure you allow them to cool completely before assembling.

Triple Chocolate Stout Whoopie Pies

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

1 cup flour
2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup Guiness Extra Stout

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour the wells of your Whoopie Pie Pan or get out your cookie sheet and line it with parchment or a silapat.
In a bowl, whisk together the four, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
Combine your semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 1 minute and then stir. Continue to microwave for 30 second increments until completely melted; let cool.
Once cooled, add cocoa and cream and whisk together. It may seem a bit lumpy.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the brown sugar and butter on medium speed until combined; about 1 minute.
Add the vanilla and the eggs and beat until fluffy.
Reduce the speed to low and add your chocolate mixture. Mix until combined.
Add your flour mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the Guiness Extra Stout; beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
Beat until each addition is incorporated, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl.
Fill each well or cookie sheet with 1 1/2 tablespoons of batter.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool cool completely before frosting.
Frost with your favorite marshmallow butter cream and roll in sugar crystals.

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Cotton Candy Cupcakes

Posted on March 10, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

Being the Science nerd that I am, I love Tom Lehrer. If you have never heard of him, and many people haven’t, he is a genius mathematician, scientist, and song writer. Every year, during our Chemistry unit, I challenge my students to memorize his now legendary song, “The Elements”, where he sings the names of most of the chemical elements to the tune of the”Major-General’s Song” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. If they can do it, then they win a cupcake. Last year, my students won these Pink Lemonade cupcakes. This year, they voted for these Cotton Candy cupcakes.

These cupcakes are super easy and will take you very little time to make. All you need is your favorite vanilla cupcake recipe or vanilla cake box mix, cotton candy flavoring oil (you can get it here), and fresh cotton candy. Use your flavoring oils very sparingly. A little goes a long way and you don’t want to over do it with your cupcakes. Honestly, they are very similar to the HP Honeydukes cupcakes I made awhile back, but I left out the cotton candy spinning sugar because I felt it didn’t need it. It give the cakes a more subtle taste and lighter feel.

Once I have everything mixed together for my cupcakes, then I add my cotton candy flavoring oil or I add it when I add my vanilla.

I also add a few drops to my favorite butter cream frosting too!

I break off little pieces of cotton candy right before I plan on serving the cupcakes. If you wait too long, then the cotton candy will melt into your frosting. It will make a very artsy swirl into your frosting, but it won’t look, or taste, as great.

**A big thanks to fan, Whitney, for sending me the adorable cupcake dome! It was the perfect way to showcase these cupcakes!

Flourless, Sugarless, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

Peanut Butter and I have always had a very intimate relationship. It is with me every morning for breakfast. It makes time for me in my afternoon protein shakes. And it often finds its way into some of my very favorite desserts. Sometimes it even sneaks onto a spoon late into the night. My friend, Peanut Butter, also comes in a variety of delicious flavors: white chocolate, cinnamon raisin swirl, dark chocolate, and even maple. (Thanks to the ever so creative Peanut Butter & Co).

So in honor of National Peanut Butter Day, I have come up with the perfect, guilt-free treat!It really kills three birds with one stone for me. First, I get to continue my relationship with Peanut Butter without feeling guilty the next day. Second, my dieting friends will love me because I brought in a treat that they can actually eat. And third, I finally have cookies to put into my new talking TARDIS cookie jar. It’s a win-win…win!

When you first combine the ingredients, the dough may seem a bit greasy.

Don’t worry. It is just the peanut butter and the lack of flour.

I used a small cookie scoop to form the cookie dough balls and then I used the Picture Perfect Cookie technique that my blogger friend, Jennifer over at Not Your Momma’s Cookie, brilliantly came up with. (By the way, it totally works!)

I also made a batch of my peanut butter cookies loaded with chocolate chips!

Let them cool completely before serving…Oh who am I kidding…I ate 3 or 4 right out of the oven.

Flourless, Sugarless, Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

1 egg
1 cup Splenda or other sugar substitute
1 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Fleur de Sel
Optional: 1/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped peanuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place parchment paper or silapat on a baking sheet and set sheet aside.
Using your stand mixer, blend all ingredients together until just combined.
Using a small cookie scoop, form your dough ball about 1 inch in diameter.
Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cookies cool completely.
Makes 1 1/2 dozen cookies.

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One Blogger’s Reflection

Posted on February 23, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

Over the past few weeks I have been revisiting a few of my older posts on BNP and it has got me thinking…

What have I learned since I started BNP 2 years ago?

This post has me evaluating my blogging adventures…

I laugh when I think back about how I thought it was just was easy as bake, blog, and repeat. While yes, that is the very basic outline to a blog, there is so much more to take into consideration:

1. Photography

2. Photoshop

3. Creative writing

4. Social media outlets

5. Getting your voice heard

6. Recipe pride

7. Consideration of others

8. Baking ability

9. Decoration

10. Background

None of which are in any order of importance. In fact, they must all work cohesively in order to be successful.

I may be strong in a few, but I am definitely still learning and publicly stumbling in many others. So that is essentially what the last two years have been:

A learning experience.

Things I have learned:

1. First and probably the most important lesson I have learned thus far is to be considerate of other bloggers.

When I first started, I faced blogging like I might teaching. In the teaching world, all ideas are up for grabs. Whatever activity, lesson, or center reaches the most student success, you go for it. You copy them because you like them. You see their potential. You are not claiming them as your own, but you are not always putting your own stamp on it so to speak. I used to just copy the entire recipe from a blog I admired, tag them, and recreate the recipe. I might have changed one or two things to give it a slightly different spin, but it was, for all intents and purposes, someone else’s recipe. Someone else’s hard work and dedication. As I now create my own recipes and write down my own experiences, I realize just how much pride I have in each post and how demoralizing it would be if someone claimed it as their own. So now in the blogging world, if I love something enough to put it on my blog, I send my viewers straight to the source.

2. Photography (and Photoshop for that matter) are learned skills.

Practice makes perfect and I must have several hundred of horrid, fuzzy pictures to prove it. When Mr. BNP first got me my Sony NEX-5N, my initial thought was, Ooooh Kaaaay, I have a smart camera that will do everything I need it to with just a click of a button. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The most important rule I have learned about photography is to shoot EVERYTHING in manual mode. When you do that, then you can adjust the aperture and shutter speed. Do not, I repeat, do not think that choosing the Intelligent mode will get you what you want out of your photos. Study your manual. Watch how to videos. Talk with others who have been there. And invest in a good photography light box. This one is mine. Adorama Photo Studio In-A-Box. Photos are important. Add as many great photos as you can to your post. Most people enjoy photos more than the actual post.

3. Writing is the hardest part.

I am a complete introvert. I am shy to new people and new experiences and will most likely stutter or stumble upon my words when first meeting you. Corner me and I am like a turtle crawling back into her shell. Now times that anxiety by ten when I have to write my personal experiences and share my own recipes to the world. Ok, so I know not the whole world. But it is out there for anyone to see. People who like me. People who don’t. People who have just found me. making their first impressions of me. It is intimidating and I am deathly afraid of failure. That being said, I am conquering my fear each week with a new post and that is saying something.

4. Social media outlets and getting your voice heard go hand in hand.

There are so many social media outlets to get your blog noticed that it is hard to choose which one. I am a huge fan of 3 and am constantly updating them; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. I do have a Google+ account, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and many more, but I just can’t keep up. Even my Pottermore account is being left in the dust these days. Point is, I have learned that you have to put yourself out there. Introduce yourself. Share. Share. Oh yeah, and share some more.

5. Baking ability, decoration, and background

I have grown so much as a baker since beginning Bake No Prisoners. I attribute my growth to fellow bloggers, decorating classes, and trial and error. There is nothing I hate more than spending time and money on a recipe that turns out to be a total disaster, but those failures aid in future successes. They are necessary. I promise. You will succeed as long as you keep trying.

The background to your photos is almost as important as the baked goods itself. Invest in a few adorable cake stands, bottles, and background paper. Michael’s is perfect for this. T.J. Maxx and Homegoods are great sources too. If you like to order online, check my links page, under supplies.

Now this post isn’t just a long and drawn out blogger’s reflection, I also have an adorable, Girl Scout themed cake for you!

Another perk of being a teacher is that you have an excuse to buy an exuberant amount of Girl Scout cookies. Whether your favorite be Thin Mints, Samoa, or Tagalongs, you have to admit, those Girls Scouts really know how to make a good cookie.

They have a new flavor this year called the Mango Cremes cookie. According to the box, these cookies are “Vanilla and coconut cookies filled with a tangy mango flavored creme.” This sounded like the perfect opportunity to turn this cookie into a cake!

Now the Hubster is allergic to coconut flakes, so I used flavoring in the cake recipe, along with vanilla, but you could totally find a way to add coconut flakes to your cake or frosting.

I used this basic vanilla cake recipe for the base, but cut the vanilla in half and used coconut flavoring in its place. I really like this vanilla cake recipe because it produces a firm cake that is perfect to frost.

This Mango Coconut Buttercream makes this cake! It is thick and creamy and oh so tropical! When I slice a piece of this cake, I pretend I am in the Caribbean somewhere and away from all this cold, dreary weather! Enjoy!

Mango Coconut Buttercream Frosting

Recipe by Carrie

Ingredients

2 sticks softened butter
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1 Tablespoon meringue powder
1 teaspoon coconut flavoring
4 teaspoons milk or heavy cream
5 teaspoons mango juice

Instructions

Cream butter, coconut flavoring, and milk. Add dry ingredients a little at a time. Mix on medium speed until creamy, about 5 minutes.

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Ribbon Cake Tutorial

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Carrie Hoke

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day last week! What did you guys do?

Did anyone have something special planned?

A trip, maybe?

Every year, the Hubster makes cheese fondue at home for me because I don’t like to go out to dinner too often, especially on holidays. He makes the best fondue you guys!! We dip apples, bread, and veg until our tummies are about to bust and then we find room for dessert.

This year, I thought I would try and spice things up with this neon pink and green, cotton candy ribbon cake. It is seven layers of cotton candy goodness, with neon pink ribbon frosting from top to bottom. First rule of thumb when decorating a ribbon cake is that this is totally easier than you think it is going to be. I want to take you guys through it, step-by-step, just to prove to you how simple this cake was to decorate.

First, take your favorite cake recipe and make 2 8 in. rounds. In this case, I made one electric pink and the other neon green. You can use the basic vanilla cake recipe I have posted before and just half the vanilla with your favorite flavoring. Or in my case, I used the cotton candy flavoring oil at Layer Cake Shop. Use any flavoring oil very sparingly, a few drops is perfect.

Once completely cool (I store mine in the refrigerator for an hour or so) level each cake and then slice each cake in thirds. You can use a cake leveler if you want, but for this cake, I just eyeballed it. You can tell my layers aren’t exactly perfect, but that’s ok with me. Frost in between each layer with your favorite buttercream, starting and ending with a pink layer.

Once you have layered and assembled your cake, crumb coat your cake and place back into the fridge for an hour or even overnight. Crumb coating makes it a lot easier to frost a cake because once refrigerated, you don’t have to worry about getting crumbs in your frosting. It also aids in keeping your frosting straight and level. I normally put mine in the fridge overnight because I just don’t have the time to bake, crumb coat, and frost a cake in an average day.

I took the last green layer and frosted it for the Hubster to snack on or bring to the office.

Sometimes our furry house elves get a little bite too!

Take your pastry bag and attach your coupler and tip 103 or any rose tip you have and place the bag into a tall glass. To give it more of a ribbon candy look, I dripped my electric pink food coloring down the sides of the bag before placing the frosting inside. That way, when I started to pipe the frosting, my ribbons would come out looking like this.

You want to make sure you are holding your pastry bag vertically against the side of the cake, starting at the bottom, and move in a horizontal 1 inch direction, back and forth. You want to try to keep your lines straight, but it is totally ok if you start to slant like me. You can make it up on the next line of ribbons. Remember, practice makes perfect.

See! They are much straighter now from this view. Go around the entire cake making 1 inch ribbons from bottom to top.

Finally, I used a star tip to pipe a small ring of stars around the top to hide any mistakes and to bring together the ribbons with the top of the cake.