The Adventure Zone cross stitch
This cross stitch was just for me. It captures one of my favorite little moments from The Adventure Zone podcast and comic book.
This cross stitch was just for me. It captures one of my favorite little moments from The Adventure Zone podcast and comic book.
Valkyr Pusheen Cake
Another cake celebrating my wonderful niece! It’s Pusheen dressed as Valkryr, one of Alex’s favorite frames from Warframe.
Another cake celebrating my wonderful niece! It’s Pusheen dressed as Valkyr, one of Alex’s favorite frames from Warframe. For reference, this is what Alex’s Valkyr looks like.
Pusheen is a very simple shape, but Valkyr’s outfit is quite complicated. To figure out what gum paste pieces I needed to make, I began by making a full-scale model of the cake out of newspaper and masking tape.
Using that as a guide, I made paper patterns for all the pieces of her outfit and from those paper pieces I made templates and forms to cut and shape the gum paste. The amazing thing is that I actually managed to carve the cake enough like my model that all thirteen pieces of the crown fit together on the cake more or less the way that they were supposed to.
Inisde, Val-kitty-sheen is a beautiful lemon-flavored rainbow.
Raspberry Charlotte
Not as neat as I would have liked it to be, but it does look kind of like a brain, which is a plus in my book.
Not as neat as I would have liked it to be, but it does look kind of like a brain, which is a plus in my book.
Cocao Nib Panna Cotta
I have never made a panna cotta before, so I’m pretty happy with how this turned out.
I have never made a panna cotta before, so I’m pretty happy with how this turned out. The blackberries are sugared with sage sugar because my mom has an overproducing sage plant so I’ve been adding sage to everything.
Big Time Bake
I’m back on the Food Network! You can watch me in the “Fantasy” episode of Big Time Bake.
Grapefruit Sandwich Cake
This very delicious cake is from The Great British Baking Show: The Big Book of Amazing Cakes.
Professor Bobo cross stitch
Not quite seven years after I completed my Pearl Forrester cross stitch, I’ve finally done the next in my Mystery Science Theater 3000 cross stitch series – Professor Bobo!
Not quite seven years after I completed my Pearl Forrester cross stitch, I've finally done the next in my Mystery Science Theater 3000 cross stitch series - Professor Bobo!
Tribute Cake
The recipe for this cake is from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet. It’s chocolate cake with whipped chocolate ganache filling, chocolate glaze, and chocolate decor. My nephew and I made it together.
The recipe for this cake is from Alice Medrich’s Bittersweet. It’s chocolate cake with whipped chocolate ganache filling, chocolate glaze, and chocolate decor. My nephew and I made it together.
Rainbow Unicorn Brownies
Rainbow Unicorn Brownies for my rainbow unicorn angel!
Rainbow unicorn brownies for my rainbow unicorn angel!
Ana Northstar Cake
My niece has made up a marvelous imagined universe that centers around the mythical heroine Ana Northstar. For her birthday, she asked for a cake featuring Ana Northstar’s wings.
My niece has made up a marvelous imagined universe that centers around the mythical heroine Ana Northstar. For her birthday, she asked for a cake featuring Ana Northstar's wings. Here's the cake I came up with, along with the inspiration drawing of Ana Northstar.
The outside of the cake is chocolate jaconde. Inside is mango mousse with a jaconde rainbow heart inside, which represents Ana Northstar's soul.
The hearts are fresh lime gummies. The orange wings are white chocolate. The green and purple wings are modeling chocolate. The blue webbing on the green wings is homemade pineapple fruit leather.
Raspberry Mousse Cake
I was inspired to make a mousse cake for Valentine's Day, mostly because I've been watching too much of Zumbo's Just Desserts and I want to make fancy things like he makes.
I was inspired to make a mousse cake for Valentine's Day, mostly because I've been watching too much of Zumbo's Just Desserts and I want to make fancy things like he makes. I'm not quite there yet.
It's a raspberry mousse with sponge cake on the bottom, and fresh raspberries inside. The decor is fresh raspberries, sugared with white, black, and gold sugars.
Romanov
My French baking book calls this a Romanov. I made it for my Dad’s birthday.
My French baking book calls this a Romanov. I made it for my Dad's birthday. It's a sponge cake on the bottom and a white wine bavarian cream on top, with fresh strawberries on top and an orange juice glaze. I waited about 3 seconds too long to pour the glaze, so it turned out lumpy, but it was delicious!
Spike Roller Cake
This very pink monster is a mini-boss from Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening. It’s chocolate cake with milk chocolate ganache icing. The spike roller itself is a tube of dark chocolate with white chocolate chip spikes and milk chocolate mousse inside.
This very pink monster is a mini-boss from Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. It's chocolate cake with milk chocolate ganache icing. The spike roller itself is a tube of dark chocolate with white chocolate chip spikes and milk chocolate mousse inside.
Ghostie
Another giant stuffie for my nephew! This year, he wanted the ghost from the video game Forager. It's very soft and squishy and perhaps a little larger than I expected it to be.
Another giant stuffie for my nephew! This year, he wanted the ghost from the video game Forager. It's very soft and squishy and perhaps a little larger than I expected it to be.
Fabstaff
Yet another video game inspired wooden weapon! This is my interpretation IRL interpretation of the Fabstaff from the Calamity Mod of Terreria. The staff is poplar and the crystal at the top is lexan colored with Sharpie.
Yet another video game inspired wooden weapon! This is my IRL interpretation of the Fabstaff from the Calamity Mod of Terreria. The staff is poplar and the crystal at the top is lexan colored with Sharpie.
Holiday Candy 2019
Most years, I make candies to send to friends and family over the holidays. This year, I got a new great new book called Spice, so I tried a bunch of new spice combinations.
Most years, I make candies to send to friends and family over the holidays. This year, I got a new great new book called Spice, so I tried a bunch of new spice combinations. Starting with the pink marshmallows in the upper left and moving down and then to the right, the flavors are: mulled wine marshmallows, tamarind garam masala marshmallows, cardamom sesame brittle, rice pudding white chocolate ganache, spiced apple caramel, spiced milk chocolate ganache, and dark chocolate mole bark.
Yiga Blademaster Halloween costume
This Halloween, I made my nephew a Yiga Blademaster costume from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s made from two body suits sewn together, with accents of faux leather, craft foam, and feathers. The windcleaver sword is made of poplar.
This Halloween, I made my nephew a Yiga Blademaster costume from Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It’s made from two body suits sewn together, with accents of faux leather, craft foam, and feathers. The windcleaver sword is made of poplar.
Isaac Caboom Cake
Based on Duke Caboom from Toy Story 4, the figure on top of my Isaac Caboom cake was supposed to do a daredevil jump off the end of the cake. Like many of my cake mechanisms, it sort of worked eventually, but not as well as I had hoped.
Based on Duke Caboom from Toy Story 4, the figure on top of my Isaac Caboom cake was supposed to do a daredevil jump off the end of the cake. Like many of my cake mechanisms, it sort of worked eventually, but not as well as I had hoped. Which is pretty on brand, both for me and for Duke Caboom.
The cake is lemon cake with raspberry mint white chocolate ganache. The red, yellow, and orange piece on top is isomalt. The guy is made out of gum paste with royal icing detail piped on top.
Brain Chocolates
My friend was having brain surgery. My way of showing support was to send her brain-shaped chocolates.
My friend was having brain surgery. My way of showing support was to send her brain-shaped chocolates.