Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Spring Semester Classes

Well, I am officially a spring semester student. I will be taking a Cake and Pastry Decoration class, which starts on February 10th.

That is at least a couple weeks AFTER most other classes start. And I need that extra time off, after the semester I had.

My math class, for me, was hard. And I am so glad it is over. It was a culinary math class, that is required for my degree. My final was on the 15th, and I passed the class with a "C."

I am SO glad I passed, and that I don't have to take it over again. Math is my worst subject, and the less math I have to do, the better.

But, I am really looking forward to this decoration class. It sounds interesting. One of the things we will be doing is making and decorating wedding cakes, which is something I would love to do!!

Hopefully, I can pass this class as well, like I have with the other classes I took. I have gotten mostly A's towards my degree, with a couple Bs, and a C. I am so glad I found something that I am really good at, and that I can get a degree for, mostly without help (I have a learning disability, so any written tests and homework, will be difficult for me).

As much as I am loving break (I don't want it to be over yet, of course), I can't wait for class to start, and to enjoy making things again. I really enjoy hands-on classes, and am so glad my school offers these types of classes.

Here's hoping to another great semester!!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

I found a recipe on Allrecipes.com, for cream cheese chocolate chip cookies, and decided to try it out a while ago.

They turned out well, and were REALLY GOOD!!!

I have made them a few times since then, and everyone who tried them have said that they really liked them.

Every so often, my dad would buy some cream cheese, so I can make the cookies for him. I don't usually ask him to buy it. He just gets it because he has a taste for the cookies. Like he did this past Friday.

Here are some photos of the process, from my past cookie making experiences.





 
Definitely make these cookies for yourself, as they are seriously good!!
 
 
 
 
I fou

Saturday, June 28, 2014

Icing Smiles

While browsing around on Facebook yesterday, I found out about an organization called Icing Smiles, and I instantly knew that I was meant to find out about them!!!

This is PERFECT for me!!!

People can make cakes, cookies, etc. for children who are going through some kind of serious illness, and need/want something special in their life. It can be for their birthday, last day of treatments, whatever they want to celebrate.

I am a HUGE baker freak, so I will definitely do this sometime. Check it out and see what you think. I believe this is worth the time and effort involved.

Monday, April 21, 2014

Easter Bunny Cake

The day before Easter, I decided to try and make an Easter Bunny cake for the first time. It's not the greatest, but it came out better than expected.

I used a simple vanilla cake and frosting recipe I found on Pinterest, then cut and arranged the cakes on a sheet pan, frosted the cakes, and decorated it with chocolate chip cookies.

It is pretty good! Here are some pictures of the process:

The dry ingredients

The dry and the wet ingredients combined

All mixed together

Ready to be baked


Baked and cooling
 
 
The finished product
 
 
I do plan on making another bunny cake next Easter, as it was fun to make this one. Hope everyone who celebrated Easter, had a wonderful day!


Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Intro to Baking Midterm

Today was my Intro to Baking class midterm. We had to choose a simple dessert and bake it for the class.

When it was done, we had to put some samples on a baking sheet, and present it to the rest of the class, and tell them what it is, what method we used (creaming, muffin, modified sponge, etc.), and a little of the history of the dessert.

It went well, and I got an A on my midterm, which I am SO happy about!!

We were also allowed to try the other students' desserts, and they were all really good. Everyone commented on how good the brownies I made were, which made me feel really good.

Getting these kinds of comments/compliments make me feel like I am going into the perfect profession for me, as baking is one of my FAVORITE things to do.

So, all in all, it was a good day at school. I'm happy.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

DC Cupcakes

For ages now, I have been a big fan of DC Cupcakes. It is a TV show about Georgetown Cupcakes, a bakery run by two sisters in the Washington, D.C. area, and they have/had their own TLC show that I love watching.
 
I am passionate about baking, so I was really happy when I found out about DC/Georgetown Cupcakes.
 
They ship nationally throughout the U.S., so if you have a taste for something sweet, you can go here, and check out what they have.

Enjoy!!

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Desserts, Desserts, Desserts

In class yesterday, we made several desserts, including cherry pie, linzer torts, a cherry cheesecake, a flourless chocolate cake, mousse, and a few more desserts.

Each week, the teacher asks two students to serve the desserts in the school's restaurant (yes, my school has it's own restaurant, on-campus).

I hadn't done that yet, so I decided to go yesterday, along with another girl in my class. It was interesting, and neat.

The customers all said that they loved the desserts, which really felt good. Knowing that people love something that you made...that is awesome!!

I am really enjoying this class, and love that it is hands-on. The only down-side to it, is that we have to stand on our feet for five hours.

Although, I don't mind it that much, as I am doing something that I love. That more than makes up for being on my feet for that long.

To be honest, even though I love special education, and I still want to get into that profession someday, I am so glad I changed my major in school. I am doing much better in my classes, and the teachers actually enjoy what they are teaching, making the classes more enjoyable.

For the first time in many, many years, I actually like school. Baking is so much fun, at least to me, and I am actually learning something that truly interests me. Something that I actually want to learn. I can't wait to see what will happen with this in the future!!

Saturday, March 1, 2014

I'm Back!!

Wow, it's been quite a while since I last updated this blog. Sorry about that!!

I started an Intro to Baking and Pastry class at school the end of January. It's going pretty well so far. I had a minor incident the first time we started baking, where I cut my thumb. But other than that, the class is going smoothly.

We've made cookies, brownies, tarts, petite fours, and a few other things so far.

I love hands on classes like this. It makes class more interesting and fun, and time goes by faster like this, instead of just sitting at a desk, hearing a teacher lecture for an hour or more.

I can't wait to see what else we'll be doing in class!!