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gigi cakes
Beautifully baked cupcakes, cakes, cookies, and tips.

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Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake
2009-03-20 17:02:00
Did you know that March 28th is National Lemon Day? This would be the perfect cake to celebrate the day with. The Cake Slice bakers voted to bake Triple Lemon Chiffon Cake from Sky High: Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman And Peter Wynne.I cannot believe how easy this cake came together. The curd? Easy peasy. The cake? One, Two, three ...done. The whipped cream icing? Piece of cake.The only modification I made to the recipe was to add a little agar-agar to the whipped cream. I don't know about you, but I am a slow at frosting cakes. The agar-agar would be the equivalent of adding a little gelatin the whipped cream. This is just my way of insuring that the whipped cream doesn't melt or slide off the cake before I can snap a photo.If you would like to see more lemonicious cakes then visit The Cake Slice Bakers here.Awe, ...I didn't know you guys loved ballerinas as much as I do. This is where I bought them ...here.Print Recipe: Triple Lemon Chiffon CakeOne Year Ago: ...

Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
2009-03-06 22:01:00
I just wanted to say "thank you" to everyone who left a comment for the Pineapple Jerky giveaway. And now for the moment everyone has been waiting for. The winner is ...Jenn from a "A Day in the Life..." !I used Random (dot) Org to generate the winning number. Jenn when you have time, shoot me an e-mail so you can collect your Pineapple Jerky.I can see you looking at the muffins. I know you're thinking "...banana muffins? Been there done that." Yes, that maybe true; but have you had banana muffins with espresso?At first, I was unsure at how well the banana and espresso would pair together. I finally gave in to my curiosity and made the muffins. The espresso adds a nice element to the muffins. Personally, I think the espresso made the brown sugar and chocolate more pronounced in the muffins. [Which made the muffins special for me.]I really enjoyed my squat little muffins. In case you're wondering go ahead and divide the batter evenly without fear of "overflow". These little ...
More About: Banana , Muffins , Chocolate , Espresso

Southern Coconut Cake
2009-02-20 09:00:00
As you know, The Cake Slice bakers have been baking our way through Sky High: Irresistible Triple-Layer Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne. This month the group voted for Southern Coconut Cake.I just adore coconut cakes but I find that not to many people like coconut. I believe this cake would convert any non-coconut believers. The cake had a tight tender crumb with a coconut essence. And the icing?Cream cheese icing is a favorite for many. I have to tell you that this version will be my "go to" icing from now on. I will use it on coconut, carrot, banana, and hummingbird bird cakes. The icing has the cream cheese flavor we all love but adding "meringue" lightens the icing to an indescribable level.Unfortunately, I am unable to show you the layers because I sold the cake! I don't think the buyer would have been happy if I cut out a slice. If you would like to see more triple layer coconut cakes then head on over to The Cake Slice. You won't be disappointed. Until next time ....

Chocolate Cake Layers...
2009-02-15 21:46:00
I just wanted to let you know that yes, you can survive on chocolate cake alone. [If it's good chocolate cake.]I had wanted to post this cake last week but time just got away from me. Most of it has been spent trying to write an introduction speech about myself.I think it's funny that I can't do this simple task. Maybe I should just take excerpts from my blog and call it a day. Right?I find this task so daunting. I mean, I write about myself here all the time. Yet, if you remove the "cake" part; I find myself at a loss for words.Last night I stayed up until 4:00am trying to write the speech. All I have to show for the all-nighter is a batch of cupcakes and a pile of crumpled up index cards.Okay, I still don't have a speech but I do have a slice of kick-*ss chocolate cake left. The cake is moist and intensely chocolate. The icing is silky, luxurious, and divine. For the cake I used Valrhona cocoa and for the icing I used Valrhona chocolate buttons for melting. Trust me, use good ...
More About: Cake , Chocolate

Tall Blueberry Muffins
2009-02-04 09:00:00
I have this "thing" with blueberry muffins. I am always on the look out for the perfect recipe that will yield me muffins with high domes.To be honest, I have baked a lot of blueberry muffin failures. I would say almost all of them tasted just fine. They just lacked the "dome" or the "height" I so desperately craved. This is one of the main reasons I hardly ever post muffins here.I don't know, I just think the dome (or muffin top) makes the muffin taste better. Sounds crazy huh? This quirk (okay, obsession) of mine sometimes takes over my baking.For example, I refuse to hand out a misshapen cookie, a lopsided cupcake, or a brownie that is not 2x2. Yes, I bust out the ruler for all bar cookies ...but I digress.I have finally figured out a way to have "tall" gorgeous muffins without having to pray and beg the baking gods for a "dome". What is my secret?Sky-high muffin wrappers from Europe! I love these wrappers! I am so glad that my friend K. keeps me knee-deep in these beautiful lin...
More About: Muffins , Tall

Lemon Poppy Seed Sugar Cookies
2009-01-28 21:37:00
I have been a naughty baker. I wanted to bake. Really ...I did.The other night, a friend called and asked if I had anything chocolaty in my freezer or fridge. After I said "no" an extreme wave of guilt and neglect washed over me. That's the worst feeling for an avid baker/gift giver. Unfortunately, my oven was cold and bare.The truth is, I started speed walking/jogging with a friend. We do a minimum of 21 miles a week. This is double the miles I was accustomed to. We started this little endeavor about 5 weeks ago. I am truly enjoying the extra miles added to my week. The only downside is that it leaves little time for mindless snacking.Therefore, I have been baking less frequently. Trust me, I have tons of recipes bookmarked/highlighted/printed ...just waiting to get made. I finally, got around to one of the said recipes.Over the holidays, I checked out several baking books from the library. One of the books was Baking Illustrated from the editors of Cook's Illustrated. In the "co...
More About: Lemon , Sugar , Cookies

Banana Cake with Praline Filling and White Chocolate Ganache
2009-01-20 09:00:00
It's that time again where The Cake Slice bakers are baking up layers and layers of cake from Sky High:Irresistible Triple Layer Cakes by Alsia Huntsman and Peter Wynne.I wanted to rename this post ...the cake that should had never been baked!The cake itself was a breeze to put together. It baked up beautifully. The batter was splendid. The couple of crumbs of cake I snagged were heavenly. Next, I had to make candied pecans.I managed to make them without the need of burn lotions or a fire extinguisher. Super awesome!Then I had to make a white chocolate ganache. The first time it "curdled" and no matter how long I whipped it never came together. Attempt number two, yielded a whipped cream with shards of white chocolate mixed in. This is where I started to lose my mojo.For the third attempt, I decided to heat all the cream and then pour it over the chocolate. I whisked the ganache until it was smooth and glossy. When the ganache cooled I whipped it up. And it came together like a dre...
More About: Banana , White , Chocolate

Fresh Cranberry Orange Bread
2009-01-06 02:36:00
Right before Thanksgiving I managed to grab a couple extra bags of fresh cranberries. I knew that I was not going to be able to use them right away. Instead, I washed and dried them.Then, I placed them on a cookie sheet spreading them out to ensure that most of the berries were not touching. Next, I placed the cookie sheet with the cranberries in the freezer. Once they were frozen I packaged them into 1 cup portions.The other day I found a recipe tucked away in drawer that I had wanted to make over the holidays. It was a cranberry orange quick bread recipe from Sunset. I believe the original recipe called for dried cranberries.I just could not resist using the frozen cranberries I had in the freezer. I thought about defrosting them ...for about a second and decided it was not necessary (the frozen berries did not affect the outcome of the bread).I know cranberries are now out of season, but I see bags of them in the freezer aisle all the the time. So, if you're feeling a little no...
More About: Orange , Bread , Fresh

A Million People And A Valley of Winnebagos...
2009-01-01 03:08:00
Dressed to kill? ...Check.Music ready?...Check.Pink champagne on ice? ...Check.Dessert? ...Holla petit fours!The perfect dessert for a New Year's Eve party. One bite ...done. I thought about this for a long time. Seriously, many sleepless nights here. Okay, not many sleepless nights, but at least one.At first I thought about a cookie, but a cookie is just not going to cut it. I wanted "wow" factor as well as taste. I also wanted a dessert that everyone could pick up with their hands and not worry about forks or spoons. I want my guests to eat, drink, and move around freely.I want people to mingle ...mingle! After all, about a million people will be coming over. Oh ...did I forget to mention that I live on the parade route for the world famous Tournament of Roses Parade?Yes, every year hundreds of winnebagos and their owners surround my neighborhood along with the thousands of people that come to view the parade on New Years Day. On New Years Eve, Colorado Blvd. resembles Mardi Gr...
More About: People , Million , Valley

Pear Wafers
2008-12-26 09:00:00
Oh yes, it's that time of year again. You know, the last meal before we impose starvation on ourselves. That's right, I am ranting about New Year's Eve and the "resolutions" the new year brings.This year, I vow to "lose".....all the toxic people from my life. My good friend "K" and "C" know exactly of whom I speak of. And I plan on "losing" this toxic person in style.I am thinking of having a glamorous New Year's Eve party with endless glasses champagne and fabulous eats. I will toast the New Year to being "toxic free."I am pondering ...traditional champagne for our aperitifs and rose champagne for desserts. Which means a cheese platter with homemade crackers is order. These lovely pear wafers aren't exactly "crackers" but they add the "glamor" I am looking for.The crisp pear wafers are stunning on there own and with a little blue cheese on top they are divine. The best part about the wafers is that they require hardly any effort.As I look forward to the New Year, I hope it...
More About: Pear

Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake and a winner...
2008-12-20 09:00:00
First, I want to announce the winner of the Megan Hearts Baking book. I used "random integer" and ta-dah...Jodie ( Beansy Loves Cake ) said... Fun! My daughter is only 2, but loves helping in the kitchen. What a fun book! December 15, 2008 7:30 AMJodie when you a get a moment please send your address to gigicakes at gmail dot com (gigicakes@gmail.com) and will mail your book ASAP!Now, onto the cake. This is the third cake that The Cake Slice Bakers have baked as a group. This month we chose Chocolate Hazelnut Nutcracker Cake with a rum syrup.The cake had very little flour in it. We had to grind hazelnuts to a "meal" consistency. Then we "shaved" unsweetened chocolate into the "flour" part of the cake. The cake turned out light and fluffy. After the cake cooled we brushed the tops of the cake with a rum simple syrup. (YUM) The cake was iced in a Chantilly Cream ( OMG this is the best stuff on Earth).Since most of The Cake Slicers said the cake tasted the best the second and third ...
More About: Winner

Megan Hearts : Baking
2008-12-13 06:53:00
Not too long ago, the authors (Kathryn Fore & Kimberly Fate) of the "Megan Hearts" books sent me a copy of their new book Megan Hearts Baking . It is a lovely book that inspires young girls to learn confidence and new hobbies. Megan's newest adventure in the book is baking."Megan Hearts" is the main character in the book and she is just adorable. She has been invited to a birthday party and has been asked to bring her favorite homemade dessert to share.In the book Megan learns from her mom important baking skills. For example, starting with a clean kitchen, having all the necessary ingredients, measuring properly (even a little math is included) and patience.This book would be a fantastic gift for any little girl. In honor of such a wonderful book that promotes hobbies, creativity, and a little math. I have baked the red velvet cupcakes that were featured in the book.The cupcakes were a smash! If you are interested in the book or the recipe you can leave me a comment. That's r...

Megan Hearts : Baking
2008-12-13 06:53:00
Not too long ago, the authors (Kathryn Fore & Kimberly Fate) of the "Megan Hearts " books sent me a copy of their new book Megan Hearts Baking . It is a lovely book that inspires young girls to learn confidence and new hobbies. Megan's newest adventure in the book is baking."Megan Hearts" is the main character in the book and she is just adorable. She has been invited to a birthday party and has been asked to bring her favorite homemade dessert to share.In the book Megan learns from her mom important baking skills. For example, starting with a clean kitchen, having all the necessary ingredients, measuring properly (even a little math is included) and patience.This book would be a fantastic gift for any little girl. In honor of such a wonderful book that promotes hobbies, creativity, and a little math. I have baked the red velvet cupcakes that were featured in the book.The cupcakes were a smash! If you are interested in the book or the recipe you can leave me a comment. That's r...

Sweet Potato Cake with Chocolate Cream Icing
2008-11-20 23:47:00
This time around the The Cake Slice (rs) voted for a sweet potato based cake. It was the perfect cake to bake right before Thanksgiving.The cake called for sweet potatoes, cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla. At first, I was a little worried that the sweet potatoes would over power the cake, but not so. The cake had a very light "carrot cake" taste to it.The orange cream cheese filling was not as "orange" tasting as I had hoped. I think next time I am going to add a teaspoon of orange oil to enhance the flavor.The chocolate cream cheese icing was a nice surprise. It tasted rather delicious. The only complaint I have is that in the book the icing is orange. It's clearly orange. I wonder if the icing in the book is dyed orange and/or was the chocolate supposed to be white chocolate? If you would like to over 60 versions of this wonderful cake then go to The Cake Slice Bakers and enjoy!Sweet Potato Cake: 2 medium or 1 large sweet potato (12 ounces)3 cups of cake flour*3 teaspoons of bakin...
More About: Chocolate , Cream

Holiday Cranberry Panettones
2008-11-13 04:36:00
Most of you are probably screaming that it's too early to be thinking about Christmas, but I really do love the holiday season. How could you not love Christmas and all it's charm? It is enchanting despite what people say or think.It's not about the perfect gift. It's about the first snowfall that blankets everything in an immaculate shade of soft white. The quietness of the morning when you first notice that this has occurred.Walks when it's snowing and that certain someone places his arm around your shoulder to keep you warm. Cold lips warmed by kisses at the front door never tasted so sweet. Realizing that you miss someone more than you ever thought you would.Christmas is a time for love, compassion, generosity, and for some the chance to start over. These are the reasons I love the holidays so much. The possibilities for magic are endless.The panettones themselves are a little magical as well. In that, they can be any flavor you want them to be. You can add raisins, ...
More About: Holiday

Candy Bar Brownies
2008-11-06 19:10:00
Last night while I was in the kitchen I noticed how much Halloween candy I had left over. I was just going to throw it out. When I remembered, last year a lot of you guys baked cakes, breads, and brownies using left over Halloween candy. (You guys are geniuses.)Now, I searched for a very basic brownie recipe. The type of recipe that does not require melting really nice chocolate. Into the Google search button went "...brownie, cocoa powder, recipe" and ta-dah "...Hershey's Brownies ".I know you dying to ask "...Gigi how does it taste?" Well, it's chocolate. How bad could it be? I used Hershey's Miniature Candy Bars and Three Musketeer's Dark Chocolate Mint Bars. Some of the bites were awesome. And some bites were ...umm ... different.Hey, if you have a ton of candy left over and are feeling a little Dr. Frankenstein then go right ahead and give these a go. And let me know what candy bar combination you used. All I can tell you is peanuts and wintergreen mint not so good togeth...

Buttermilk Pear Tart
2008-10-25 21:14:00
This is one of those random recipes in which I put in no effort and expected nothing in return.I am sure you?re familiar with this type of baking. For example, you have a cup of buttermilk about to expire, 2 pears that need to be eaten ASAP, one stick of butter, and you?re dying to bake something. So, you start ?googling? your ingredients hoping to strike gold with a recipe.I found a buttermilk cake/tart over at 101 Cookbooks. (I really love this site. I love the sides and main dishes from Heidi. She?s amazing!) And I actually had all the necessary ingredients (except raspberries which were replaced by the pears) to bake the tart.I mixed the ingredients, poured batter into the pan, and threw the pears on top. It was only until the tart/cake came out of the oven and I had a taste; did I start to feel guilty. The cake was unbelievably delicious. Which made me feel embarrassed for just throwing the pears on top. I should have fanned them out and added the extra touches that a grea...
More About: Pear , Tart

Cappuccino Chiffon Cake
2008-10-20 18:50:00
I am late to my own party!! I forgot to put AM on my blogger publish button! So it was actually set to publish at noon! So when I logged on this morning and saw that it was not up I went into panic mode. But I am here and excited to share our very first post from the The Cake Slice.Our first cake as a group was Cappuccino Chiffon Cake. This cake was like a tall tiramisu cake. It was filled with espresso, dark rum, and loads of whipped cream! The instructions said to slather the sides of the cake with whipped cream but I just could not bring myself to do so.Partly because the layers baked up so tall and even. I didn't even have to cut domes off the cakes. They just came out perfectly straight and flat. I also loved the color the espresso gave the cake.If you are looking for beautiful presentation of a tiramisu cake then look no further. This is definitely a keeper for any special occasion. If I have peaked your interest in triple layer cakes then you can see more wonderful cakes at ...

Pumpkin Raisin Bread
2008-10-17 07:00:00
This recipe is from a baking book Sur La Table recently released. And the recipe appeared in Gourmet or Bon Appetit, don't worry I'll figure it out by the end of the post.Back to the bread. Whenever a recipe states that it yields one loaf and there is a lot of batter, my inner baker says "...no, no that's too much batter for one pan!" But like the rule follower that I am, I always add the batter to the pan which proceeds to spill over sometime during the baking.So when this particular recipe said the same thing and the batter amount was startling, I still followed the rules. But made a promise to myself that if the batter spilled over I would never over rule my inner baker voice again.Even as I placed the pan in the oven I said to myself "...this is going to spill over and make a mess in the oven." Well, this recipe is either fool proof or the baking gods were feeling sorry for me, because it came out of the oven perfect. With a shameless high dome, a slightly cracked top showi...
More About: Raisin , Pumpkin , Bread

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