Hanging With My Peeps

Saw these on Sweet Sugar Belles site and just had to make some!

And  I of course had to make a quick cake to go along with the cookies, with marshmallow buttercream.

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Peter Rabbit Cake

Well here we are the day after Easter and things are still looking pretty bunny over here. You see the kids were out for Spring Break all this past week so there was no Easter Party before the weekend hit. Not gonna stop me from pulling out all the stops for a post Easter Celebration!!!

Granted I had started planning out the cake weeks before I realized that they were going to be on Spring Break but hey it worked out none the less! And better than I had actually accounted for. You see the class is starting something new in school with Spring being here - Plants and how they grow. Once I heard that I was very relieved.

Why? Simple, the cake design I had been working on for their Easter cake was Peter Rabbit & Mr. McGregor's Garden. So, we are still kind of Easter with the bunny and very "gardeny". YAY! It works!

So that was what I was up too all weekend on top of everything else for Easter Weekend. It worked out though, was up late last night, ran out of meringue powder so called it quits, got a few hours sleep and was up bright and early at the store picking up some more. Couple hours of later I was finally fully finished! Or so I thought.

I had everything together and snapping pictures before I stopped and realized I had forgotten something...Bunny Whiskers! OMG! How could I forget the Bunny Whiskers! Thankfully a black food coloring marker and some edible grass later and Peter was himself again.

Now getting close to time for me to run this cake over to the school but before I do, some details about the cake.

Cake: Combo Carrot and Pound Cake
Frosting: Almond Buttercream
Icing: Vanilla Royal
Dirt: Crush Thin Mints, Oreos, Chocolate Graham Crackers, Carrot Cake
Large Carrots: Cupcakes baked in Sugar Cones and dipped in Chocolate
Grass/Whiskers: Edible Grass

Okay, now time to run!

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Gotta Catch 'Em All

Well I know it is another post and I just made one but it is nearly midnight where I am and I am just finishing up a project long time coming. You see for weeks I have been racking my brain, as I said in the last post, over just what to do for Easter with cookies. I have been scanning blogs and websites and books galore. I have found hundreds of good ideas and that was the problem. Well that was part of the problem. There were actually several that were adding up to be just one big headache. This is just a few of them.

1. Too many good ideas, couldn't figure out which to do.
2. All were too beautiful to be given the proper attention. 
3. Just wasn't me.

So I figured I had to come up with something. Sitting and talking with the hubby it hit me - Pokemon! The poke-ball kinda looked like an egg and many of the Pokemon actually come from eggs. You gotta catch 'em all like fining all the eggs during Easter, so why not? I got to googling the net see if had been done. Nope! There were Pokemon Cookies and even Pokemon Easter Eggs but no Pokemon Easter Egg Cookies. 

Eureka! I gotta catch 'em all!!!! (Well make them in this case.)

Now, granted I did not make all 152 of the original, (Do not get in that debate with me. It will end like a bad Star Wars skit.) but I did make a decent amount and not to worry!!!! I have included some Poke-ball eggs so you can go out and catch the ones you want!

Yes, I am that big a Geek and yes I love Pokemon! There I said it PIKACHU!!!!!!!! (I was in my 20's with kids and I had a Pikachu Back Pack. There, one of my dark secrets. LOL) Now, these are all first generation Pokemon and if I am not mistaken they are all unevolved - I don't count Mewtwo since that was a remake and not an evolution. 

In all these baskets you will find the following Pokemon, some look better than others.

• Pikachu
• Psyduck
• Charmander
• Paras
• Bulbasaur
• Tenacool
• Squirtle
• Nidorina
• Meowth
• Mankey
• Clefairy
• Mew
• Jigglypuff
• Nidoran
• Mewtwo
• Ekans
• Ghastly
• Onix
• Geodude
• Diglett
• Vulpix
• Magnemite
• Seel
• Magicarp
• Ponyta
• Poke-balls

There you have it. An Easter fit for all us Pokegeeks out there!!! Go Catch 'Em All!!!!

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Contests, Cookies & China, Oh My!

Well it has been one heck of a week for Surreal Confections and the family in general. I honestly do not know where to begin. Guess I will start off with the first part of said posts title - Contests. Yup, I have recently started entering various images of Surreal Confections Treats to contests on the artists community site Deviant Art and man am I glad! Not only did the St. Patrick's Day Cupcake take runner up in the Ireland Art contest but the Boondock Saints Cookie took 1st place in the BSFC's Favorite Scene Contest. Needless to say that is making this all the more awesome. Don't get me wrong, I adore doing what I do but it is really nice to see others enjoying it as well. ^_^

Now, onto cookies! And a ton of them. You see for weeks I have been racking my brain on just what to do for Easter cookies and I have made batch after batch of cookies only to shake my head afterwards and toss the idea. Yet I could not bring myself to just toss my cookies as it were, nor the icing I made for them. So I decided to put them to good use! What better use than decorating them myself? Letting my kids do it!

So I gave them their first class in cookie decorating. Now, it wasn't a technique class as you can tell, lol. But it was a planning class. They got out my cookie cutters and matched them up with the cookies I had made. Picked the ones they wanted, traced the cutters and then went and spent an afternoon coloring and designing just what they wanted to do on their cookies. Granted I did not make up all the colors they wanted to use but thankfully I had some food coloring markers laying around I wasn't using anymore and they were able to use them.


Then came the decorating and I just have to say I think I had more fun watching them decorating their own cookies than I have ever have making my own. There is just something about watching them do something I enjoy and seeing that spark in their own eyes. It was wonderful and even though a lot came out like a big mess I don't think you could have seen more pride in my eyes than if they all took home the Noble Peace Prize. LOL

They had a blast together and one of them had so much fun in fact as I have continued to decorate cookies he has to get in on it now! About broke my heart today to tell him he couldn't decorate what I was currently working on. Little pouty lips going "pweese...." about broke me today. Thankfully once I got done this evening I have some extras and icing as well. I think that made up for it.

And now onto the China. Remember the new China pattern I posted about not too long ago? Well how could I not commemorate the occasion in cookie? Now, before I show you I need to say this...The cutters I used were mini's!!! Omg, I had no idea when I ordered them that the teapot was going to be about the size of a 50 cent piece! LOL So needless to say they were tiny and I couldn't do the detail I thought I was going to do but hey, I like them! LOL

I will say this, I think I am ready to basket weave the world after creating the lace center piece and napkin (which was the size of a nickle!). Cannot wait to see what I can do with that technique later on when I finish up another project I have going. Granted it will have to wait until after Easter. I have 2 cakes to do for Easter and at least 1 more set of cookies, hehe.

So there we are - Contests, Cookies and China! Oh My!!! (And you know you read that in Sulu's voice!) So now I will bombard you with just a ton of pictures since I don't feel like organizing them tonight. LOL

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New Design & Cake!

Well, as you can see we have a new look here on Surreal Confections. More than that, we have a new web address!!! Yay for domains! Yes, you can still find us on Blogger and yes, you can still follow us through that. We just added the domain as a quicker way for everyone to get here. ^_~

And what better way to celebrate a new look than with cake? Yes, you can have your cake and you can eat it to! What is the point of having cake you cannot eat? I mean seriously! And honestly, what better cake this time of year than Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing? Easter is quickly approaching! That bunny needs carrot...cake!

If you have seen this recipe before don't be surprised. I ripped it, and the picture, from my other blog. I made this for Fairchild Airforce Base, those stationed at Larson, last year for Baking For Our Soldiers and it was such a big hit I had to post the recipe for them. So here you are, the perfect cake for Spring!


Carrot Cake

• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 1/2 Cup White Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Packed Light Brown Sugar
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Teaspoon Almond Extract
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Regular Table Salt
• 2 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Cinnamon
• 2 Cups All Purpose Flour - For once I am saying AP instead of Cake Flour.
• 3 Cups Freshly Grated Carrots

To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and heavily grease 3 - 8inch cake pans. I swear by Pam Baking Spray! This stuff is the best for making sure nothing sticks to your pan and anyone that has ever made a carrot cakes know they like to stick more than most any other out there.

 Now, in your mixing bowl combine your eggs, oil, sugars, vanilla and almond. Mix well on medium while in a different bowl you are sifting together your flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.

 Once those are sifted together, add them to your sugar "slush" and beat until well mixed and smooth.

 Now, fold in your grated carrots. (Little tip, I prefer buying baby carrots and grating them myself with my cheese grater. It does take a bit of time and cramps the hand a bit but I find it gives a much better texture and flavor than using large carrots or pre-grated ones.)

 Now simply divide your batter into the 3 cakes pans and toss into the oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick into the center of the cake and it come out clean.

 Once cooked, take out of the oven, wait roughly 1 minute, give your pan a little shake and then turn out to cool fully on a wire rack. It is best to turn these cakes out onto their racks soon out of the oven. The longer you wait, the more likely they are to stick to the pan. Carrot cake likes to cling!

 Now, what is Carrot Cake without Cream Cheese Icing and Pecans?!?! Nothing! It is nothing! LOL Anyhow, a little bonus for you, my Carrot Cake Cream Cheese Icing. (This is different from the icing I use for Red Velvet.)

Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 Cup Margarine Softened
• 16 Ounces Cream Cheese Softened
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 Lbs Confectioners Sugar
• 1 Cup Crushed Pecan Pieces

A few quick notes.... Yes, margarine, not butter. This recipe is a tad more liquidy, if that is even a word, than my usual cream cheese icing. It works well for spreading a bit easier and is a tad runny. If you prefer a stiffer opt for Salted Butter instead. And yes, that is 2 pounds of Sugar.

 Now, just cream together your margarine, cream cheese and vanilla. Once that is well mixed, add in half of your sugar and mix until well blended and smooth.

Now comes the testing part. Here you go on your own taste and more than that... local humidity and temp. The more humid area you live in, the hotter it gets the more sugar you are going to want to add to make sure this icing doesn't "melt" off your cake. Right now I am in Washington State during Spring. I used 3/4's of a 2 pound bag for this. Now in Ga during summer I might use 2 1/2 pounds. You will have to judge this part for yourself.

Once it is done and your cake is cool, just frost it, top with pecans and serve!!!!

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