The Bees Knees

I am kicking myself today because I realize I have not been faithful to blog about my fasting experience to date, so I will have to address that in a followup post because truly God is doing something amazing (doesn't He always?) this year.

But this is just a quick little post to share my latest confection - two layers of moist and nutty carrot cake separated by cream cheese buttercream frosting and walnuts. This beautiful cake was a labor of love for my "step" grandmother, Virginia, an adorable, kind woman with the most beautiful soul who has become as dear to me as my own grandmother was. She turned 93 last week, and as the matriarch of my stepmother's family, she truly is the "queen bee." To honor her, I made her this cake of busy bees. I wish I could report first-hand that this cake was delicious, but my zealous commitment to tough it out with the Holy Spirit forced me to cut the cake for a hungry crowd (including 3 adorable little boys who all wanted a "bee" of their own to eat) and enjoy their pleasure from the sidelines. But they all said it was really good, so having others enjoy it is, as I am learning, an even sweeter reward than enjoying it myself.

If you have any special events coming up in the next few months and want a cake, let me know!

Two Tiers - No Tears

Those who know me well know that I am a woman of many interests. My mother has always joked about the fact that I always have a new hobby. I don't know whether to attribute this to an undiagnosed attention-deficit disorder or the fact that I have an insatiable desire to learn new things. But there are a few interests that never seem to change in my life, and certainly one of those is good food. More often than not if you were to visit my home you will find my television tuned in to TLC, We, Food Network, or whatever channel Martha Stewart reruns are on (this is during whatever hours of the day that Sesame Street, Barney, and Thomas the Train are not on the TV).



After months of awed fascination with shows like Ace of Cakes, Cake Boss, and Wedding Cake Wars, I finally decided to jump into the trendy world of baking and creative cake decorating. The early results received mixed reviews, like this pumpkin cake I made on Halloween, constructed with two Bundt cakes (one chocolate, one vanilla), where one cake is inverted on top of the other, frosted with buttercream frosting, and covered in rolled fondant icing, which I made from scratch with marshmallows and boatload of 10X sugar. The chocolate layer was moist and delicious, but the vanilla layer was dense and dry. So I determined to find a better recipe. Afterall, no matter how cute the pumpkin looks, it still has to taste good, right?


I found a great book called The Well Decorated Cake by renowned master baker Toba Garrett. I found a heavenly recipe for vanilla cake in this amazing book of craft, technique, and expert recipes. So I ventured out with these new skills in hand, to make a two-tiered creation, again of chocolate and vanilla cake, for Mildred Carter's 87th birthday. Ms. Mildred is my husband's grandmother who celebrated this milestone on Thanksgiving day this year. It is becoming somewhat of a tradition that I bake her birthday cake on Thanksgiving. So I gave her this two-tiered confection, each tier composed of a layer of chocolate cake and a layer of vanilla cake, separated by thick buttercream and fresh strawberries. This cake was moist, delicious, and beautiful. It was received with rave reviews. :)


I have plans for three holiday cakes and a birthday cake before this month is over and will post those pics as I go.

I'm Back in the Saddle Again...

After dumping my rather costly personal website a year or so ago, I've decided to jump back into blogging here at Blogger both because it so beautifully imports via Networked Blogs to my FB profile page but more importantly because I missed it! If God has deposited the fiery gift to write and communicate into your soul, even a short season of not using it can be detrimental to one's mental and emotional health. It's rather like a faucet that has been turned off.

So I've decided to settle for a simple blog site where I can journal and share on a variety of life issues, not the least of which is my new passion for baking! I recognize that this is antithetical to my need for healthier living and weight loss, but I've come to understand that at least for me, happy living is going to mean striking a balance between health and joy. And cooking and baking brings me joy; therefore, I must follow my bliss. It just might mean that I may have to decline my own creations and serve them up to others instead. :)

And I wish to use this space to continue to explore God's call on my life to teach and minister to women, wherever and however He may create an opportunity to do that.