How to Decorate a Cake | Homemade Celebrations

Yesterday on Instagram I announced that I was planning to start a new series on "Homemade Celebrations."  Anytime we have an occasion to celebrate, my mind starts running with ideas for cakes, flowers, colors, table settings and menus.  I love planning a party.  I also love doing it all myself.  There seems to be a growing trend in outsourcing all of the fun party things - cakes and cookies ordered from bakeries, flowers from a florist and food from a caterer.  While those parties can be lovely, I itch for the opportunity to do it myself - it can be so fun.  I completely understand if it is not your thing and I'm not suggesting you cater your own dinner for 50 or try to attempt something crazy : )  I just want to show you some of the ways we make homemade celebrations at our house - simple cakes, easy florals, and great party menus.

When I made the announcement yesterday, the biggest request was wanting help with cake decorating.  Making your family members' birthday cakes is such a great tradition.  I love that when we make birthday cakes for our family Emma is learning the value of making versus buying.  No matter where she finds herself in the future, she will be able to bake a yummy birthday cake for her loves.  It might be a small gesture, but a homemade* cake is hard to come by these days and that makes them even more special.  

*I use the term "homemade" loosely.  We usually use boxed cake mixes at our house + homemade buttercream.  On occasion, I do make cakes from scratch, but my family actually prefers boxed cakes.  Am I messing up my entire philosophy here? : )

Decorating "homemade" cakes at home is not that difficult.  There are a couple of tricks that make it easy to get good results, but most importantly, remember it doesn't have to be perfect or professional looking.  I like to see the swoops in the frosting and the blemishes - it is a cake.  It is made of butter, sugar and chocolate (in this case) and it shouldn't look perfect, it should only look delicious.  

Recipes

Here is our favorite Chocolate Buttercream Recipe.

If you don't want chocolate, you should try Swiss Buttercream.  It is so unbelievably delicious and a dream to decorate with.   So, so buttery and smooth.

If you want to make a homemade chocolate cake from scratch, try this recipe - it is a favorite when I have more time and there is not pressure to make sure it is perfect : )

Cake Essentials

2 x 8" Cake Pans
Parchment Paper
Large Baking Sheet
18" Disposable Piping Bags
Jumbo Star Tip
Offset Spatula

Shop all of the Cake & Cooking Essentials, here.  I've created their own collection so you can see everything on one page that you'll need - and use over and over in your kitchen.

One of the most important part of making a pretty cake is that it comes out of the pan easily.  Parchment Paper is your best friend in this case.  I trace a circle around the bottom of the pan, and I cut strips to line the sides.  Once cooled after baking, it comes out of the pan perfectly.

Start with 2 sheets of Parchment Paper, cut :

circle x 2

long strips x 2

short strips x 2

I use the long and the short strips to go around the sides - you'll need both to get all the way around.

I put the two 8" Round Cake Pans onto a Large Baking Sheet to go into the oven.  Putting them on the baking sheet makes them easier to handle without sloshing them around and protects your oven from spill overs.

Try to get the batter evenly between the two pans to help them bake for the same amount of time and so that they'll be the same thickness.

After they cool, I turn the cake out, upside down onto my hand.  Peel the paper off of the bottom and sides.  Ta-da.  No flouring or using spray necessary.  It also makes the pans very easy to clean.

Parchment Paper is one of those things that I use on a daily basis in our home.  I use it to line my baking sheets when roasting veggies, chicken or baking cookies, and I also use it for wrapping treats.  

You can put it flat side up or down.  If you cakes are very puffed and have a large dome, you may need to level off the top with a serrated knife.  Making the cake level is one of those things that really does add to its beauty.  If it is leaning or sloped too much, it will detract from the finished result, so try to make it as even and level as possible.  

This cake was fairly flat, so I just turned it over without trimming off the top.

Piping Bag : I use Large Disposable Piping Bags to pipe the buttercream onto the cake.  It keeps the crumbs from coming off of the cake while I'm spreading and it also helps me to distribute the frosting without making a mess.

After piping the swirl on the first layer, spread it evenly with an Offset Spatula. 

Add the other layer on top. You can put the top with the rounded top up (for a more homemade look), or you can flip it and put it bottom side up for a flat top like I did here.  Again, you may need to trim the top off if it is too puffed and uneven.

Pipe on another layer of icing, then spread it smooth with the offset spatula. 

You could leave it just like this - I love this look.  It is especially delicious looking if topped berries or candied pecans.

To do the sides, pipe the buttercream zigzagged all the way around.  This is the messy part.  My buttercream was actually pretty soft, so I needed to put it back in the fridge to firm up a bit so it would hold in place better.

Offset Spatula (new!), $6

This is a small investment item that make smoothing and decorating so much easier.  The offset handle really does make it easier to get those smooth sides and doesn't have the serrated edge of a butter knife.

Smooth the sides with the offset spatula, going all the way around, covering the spots and smoothing.  Blend it in with the top slightly and making a clean edge.  This part can take a while and requires some patience.  This is the time to remember that it is supposed to look delicious and not perfect.

See, not completely 100% "perfect" but definitely delicious and chocolatey looking.

Now, time to make it pretty.   On this cake I used the Jumbo Star Tip for both the top and the bottom.  I use it in a Large Disposable Bag - Cut off the tip of the bag about 3/4", then put the tip in and fill with frosting.  I tie a tiny rubber band around the top to keep it from squishing out the top of the bag.

This is a "shell" piping border.  You sort of swoosh each one, then taper it off to the side and overlap the next one.  

I do a little star/kiss on the top all the way around because I think this is sort of old fashioned feeling.

I added some 6" Aqua Celebration Candles.  They also come in an impressive 18" version and colors like light pink, gold and ivory.

 I adjusted the coloring of these photos to show the true color of the aqua candles - they are a perfectly pale aqua.  Blue is such a hard color to photograph!

The Wrapping Paper Collection is my newest product collection.  There are so many uses for the papers - wrapping gifts is just the start.  Here I've used the Large 2" Grosgrain Ribbon in Navy paired with my Hydrangea Wrapping Paper.  I love the tone-on-tone color scheme.

I've just added two new designs to my collection - one is a Navy Gingham and the other is a Light Pink Small Fleur Berry.  I needed a pink to have on hand for any Emma occasion and I think the Navy gingham will be perfect for little (and big...) boys and husbands.  

Are you a "homemade" celebrations person or do you tend to outsource?  If you outsource, is because you are not confident in your skills or because of time shortage?  I get so much satisfaction out of making and being able to make that I want to continue share these tips and encourage others to try it.

Cake Essentials

2 x 8" Cake Pans
Parchment Paper
Large Baking Sheet
18" Disposable Piping Bags
Jumbo Star Tip
Offset Spatula

Shop all of the Cake & Cooking Essentials, here.

Autumn Open "School" House

Autumn Open "School" House

Saturday, October 6th, Lexington, Missouri

This is so exciting!  We are ready to host our first "Open School House" event at The School House in Lexington.  Join us out in the country for a Fall Open House with Fall goodies to sample (scones, donuts, cider, soup!) and little mini presentations throughout the day.  We're located just 5 minutes away from the Fahrmeier Pumpkin Patch, so you can make a festive fall day of it while you're out in the country.

The School House is not that large (after all it is a one room school house...), so we're offering advance time-slot tickets.  This will ensure that when you come you'll have space to shop and sample!

The $5 ticket price includes the samples and more than anything, it will help us gauge how much to be prepared for since this is our first event.  The time is based on arrival, you may stay and shop as long as you'd like!  We're happy to refund you up until one week prior to the event if your plans change.  

Kids are welcome and do not need tickets!  If you plan to bring a lot of kids - great!  Just let us know so we'll have enough treats.  There is plenty of room for them to run outside and they (and you) are welcome to explore the garden and the property.  

Directions to The School House and event updates will be sent via email.  No need to print tickets, we'll have your name listed at the door.

Reserve Tickets, here >

Family Dinner Goals | Easy Weeknight Recipes

Family Dinner Goals

Since it is Back to School season, I thought I would go back through my recipes and pull out our favorite for easy weeknight dinners.  Everyone I talk to wants more ideas for easy weeknight dinners at home.  We want to spend more quality time around the dinner table with our family and less stress actually making the dinner.  Here are some recipes and tips that help us to make it happen more often.

Setting the Table - a week at a time...

At the beginning of the week (usually on Sundays), I set our table for the week.  I put on a Table Runner (I love my extra wide and extra long runners) and fill a pitcher with something pretty that will last the entire week.  It could be from our backyard or from the grocery store - whatever it is it is something fresh and seasonal.  I'll put out a stack of napkins and maybe a little vessel of sorts filled with a smaller accent - it could be a bowl of apples or a little bunch of berries or a flowers in a creamer (favorites here). 

Taking some effort to make the table pretty at the beginning of the week helps us remember to actually use it and makes it more inviting.  It also helps the table from becoming a home for stacks of magazines, mail and clutter.  

Dinner Planning Tablet

The "What's For Dinner" question is always a struggle at our house.  I ask Mike what he wants, and he says give me some choices.  Usually I come up with 3-4 of the standards (pasta, steaks, grilled chicken...), but forget about some of our favorites.  Now, at the beginning of the week, can sit down with this tablet.  

Not only does it help us to decide what to have, but it helps me balance the week's meals - beef, fish, chicken, pasta.  All of these recipes can be found on my site, you can search here in the Dinner Recipe Index.

Natural Cardstock, 50 page tablet

8 1/2" x 11"

These are all our go-to's any week, any season.  Most are from simple, fresh ingredients and can be made in 30-45 minutes.

The best weeknight meals are sheet pan recipes like this Lemon Roasted Salmon & Vegetables.  If you don't care for fish, you can also do this with Chicken.  

Lemon Roasted Salmon & Vegetables

You pile everything on a sheet pan, drizzle with lemon and olive oil, salt & pepper, then put it in the oven.  Add some garlic bread spread with goat cheese or mozzarella and you've got a yummy meal.

Lemon Roasted Salmon & Vegetables (or Chicken or Shrimp!)

 

Apricot Chicken with Couscous    |    Chicken Fricassee

The Best Meatloaf

 

Classic Chicken Noodle   |   Rainbow Soup

 

Leftover Bolognese + Cream & Peas    |    Fettuccini with Chicken, Prosciutto & Peas

 

Grilled Chicken with Penne (can be made with roasted chicken)   |   Poached Salmon & Vegetables

Shrimp Fra Diavolo   |   Chicken Pot Pie

Shrimp, Mushrooms & Angel Hair    |     Easy Orange Chicken

Skillet Lemon Chicken

Spaghetti & Meatballs

This becomes a weeknight dinner when you make a big batch of meatball and keep them in the freezer. Our all time favorite sauce has 3 ingredients (canned tomatoes, butter and 1 onion cut in half) and only takes 30 minutes to simmer.

Mini S'mores... in the Oven!  (in 30 seconds)

What is dinner without dessert?  After dinner, we usually indulge in warm baked cookies (from the freezer), a scoop of ice cream, or these Mini S'mores baked in the oven.  I love these little traditions that feel like a reward at the end of the day - for everyone.  

Family Dinner Essentials :

I am obsessed with my Plastic Kitchen Containers.  I use them for fresh ingredients (grated cheese, fruit, chopped veggies) and for soups and sauces going in the freezer.  I even empty all of my frozen vegetables and fruit into them (instead of the bags they come in) to keep them organized.   In the freezer (and the fridge), they stack perfectly on each other, making it easy to find what I'm looking for.

 

I use the glass containers for leftovers and to send to work with Mike.

Plastic Kitchen Containers

Large (or small) Baking Sheet & Parchment Paper

Sheet Pans + Parchment are the easiest tools to use for dinner.  We are constantly roasting chicken breasts, vegetables (carrots, green beans, broccoli, asparagus) and toasting bread on sheet pans.  The clean up is so easy.

I hope to be adding more new recipes soon.  I feel like we've get into our happy routine of favorites, but I'm ready to start exploring new ideas.  I'll keep you posted!

Next, I'll share some everyday centerpieces from the grocery store and your yard... my favorite thing to do.

You can follow along with this Family Dinner Goals series, here >