Upper Chic

Upper Chic by dddulcie featuring lace bras

wintertime glamour

wintertime glamour by dddulcie featuring brixton

Faux Sushi Cake!

So, I had been planning to make this cake for my boyfriend for months. Even before there was a chance that we would date...like when we were still in the friend-stage. I successfully kept it a secret for like three or so months, and lemme tell you damn it was hard!

You never realize how hard is it to find something til you are actually looking for it. Couldn't find green fruit roll-ups, so I thought I could use these and just cut off the green pieces...well obviously looking at the picture that didn't happen.

I made this for a birthday cake/present. It was a huge hit at his party and everyone thinks I'm some great baker now because of this and the cookies I brought to his family party last time. I am getting in good with the family via THEIR BELLY'S :D

So I knew that I wanted to make him a chocolate cake and a white one, well finding a recipe that you can make both out of was a little challenging to find. So I just searched for a marble cake....hey it doesn't come combined, you have to do that yourself so I thought it would work nicely.

I found THIS RECIPE via google, where else!

The recipe is for a Triple Layer Mocha Marble Cake, which includes mocha filling and chocolate frosting. At first I wasn't going to use the frosting or filling but then when I decided to cut my cakes in half (because I made them a bit too thick to just layer one on top of the other) I knew that I needed to have something in the middle...so I thought about it for a while, and then remembered that Dylan indeed does like mocha. So, I decided to use the mocha filling. It was a great choice, if I do say so.

Anyways now, to the recipe/process!!! AY YI YIIIIII

Triple Layer Mocha Marble Cake

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

45 mins

Triple layer scratch marble cake filled with mocha frosting and covered with chocolate frosting.

Author: Cookie Madness

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Yellow Cake Batter

• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) cake flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk or sour milk
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Chocolate Cake Batter

• 1 cup (4 ounces) cake flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup freshly brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature

Mocha Filling

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3/4 teaspoon instant coffee (Starbuck’s Via)
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ½ to 3 tablespoons of room temperature heavy cream (as needed)

Chocolate Frosting

• 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 3/4 cup natural style cocoa powder
• lpinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 5 or 6 tablespoons of room temperature heavy cream plus more as needed.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray 3 8 inch round baking pans with flour-added cooking spray or just grease and flour. Alternatively, you could use 2 slightly deeper 9 inch pans, but the cakes will be thicker and need a little more time in the oven.
2. Have ready two large mixing bowls. In the first bowl, mix together all dry ingredients for the yellow cake batter (flour through salt). In the second bowl, mix together all dry ingredients for the chocolate batter (flour through salt).
3. Make the yellow batter first. Whisk the eggs, yolk, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the milk together in a small bowl. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mash it around, then stir in the egg mixture until it’s as blended as you can get it. Add the remaining buttermilk and beat with a handheld mixer until smooth.
4. Repeat the same procedure with the chocolate batter. Whisk the egg, vanilla and all the buttermilk together in a small bowl. Add the butter to the dry mixture and mash it around. Add the egg mixture and blend it as much as you can, then add the coffee and beat with a handheld mixer until smooth. Now you should have a bowl of vanilla batter and a bowl of chocolate batter.
5. Starting with the vanilla (it’s thicker), layer the two flavors of batter into the pans, dividing evenly among the pans.
6. Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely, then fill with Mocha Filling , stack and frost with Chocolate Frosting.
7. Make the mocha filling first. In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, coffee, confectioners’ sugar and about 1 tablespoon of the cream. Beat until well mixed, then gradually add the cream, scraping sides of bowl often, until you get a smooth, spreadable consistency. Frost the tops of two cakes.
8. Make the chocolate frosting. In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, sugar, cocoa, salt and 3 tablespoons of the cream as well as you can, then beat with a hand-held mixer until pasty and thick. Continue adding remaining cream until you get a nice, smooth, spreading consistency

So I fallowed the directions for the cake, except for the chocolate cake I added semi-sweet chocolate chips and the yellow cake I added a few teaspoons more of vanilla and let it cool and cut the cakes in half. Then I started to make the mocha filling and because I didn't have any heavy cream, I had to look up a substitute or how to make it from scratch...It made a lot more than I needed, so now I have to find some use for all this heavy cream!!

I didn't capture the process of me putting it together, but I fallowed THIS BLOG POST, which is where I got the idea for the cake in the first place.

 what you will need to assemble the cake: 

- a plate with low sides that make it easy to work around the cake, or a cake stand

-white frosting, green food coloring

-orange colored jello (I used peach, because there are so much leftovers and I just prefer peach better than orange flavored). And a mold of some sort to make the salmon roe eggs

-fruit roll-ups

-coconut

Step 1:

Cut the cakes in half, depending on how you want to layer your cakes. I used two halves of the yellow and one half of the chocolate. Applying the mocha filling between each layer (except the top-most (outside) layer). At this time, or when the cake is in the oven, it would be the most opportune time to make the jello and put it in the molds of your choice. We had no molds, so I dug through the Easter stuff and found some egg halves that worked well as a half-circle-type mold. Just remember to use cooking spray or something so that they come out smoothly.

Step 2:

Frost the whole cake with the white frosting

Step 3:

Neatly apply the fruit roll-ups around the edges of the cake

Step 4:

For the top of the cake, cover it with coconut except for about a cups width in the center (that is where the jello will be placed).

Step 5:

CAREFULLY take out the jello from the molds and place in the open spot you left in the center. You only need about 4.

Step 6:

Now its time to decorate! I just colored some of the leftover white frosting and placed it in a glob on the plate to imitate wasabi, and for the ginger...we actually had some candied ginger that I just used. Get yourself a set of chopsticks (any kind will work) and well-ah! 

Now it's time to pose for some pictures! The boyfriend and I :)

Post pix if you give it a try!

Hope you enjoy

-D

OOTD: 11/5/12

Today was such a beautiful day, Its nice when you have these sorts of days when the weather around you is just so crappy. So I decided to spend it wisely, taking OOTD pix!

I did a video explaining my outfit, then took a few shots as well. I don't know whether I like the pictures or the videos talking about them better.

My eyes! Getting better at the winged eyeliner.

Top: Gap
Jacket: Tj Maxx
Scarf: Thrifted
Tank: Kohls
Jeans: Delias
Ring: Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe
Boots: BC Footwear/Tj Maxx



I also posted this on my CHICTOPIA, which is a website that you can post outfit pictures and is great for getting outfit ideas!!

I have since cut my bangs to straight across ones, I'm sure I will be able to do more OOTD pix today and will post them in another time so you can all see (you all? does anyone even look at this thing!!?)

Til next time,

-D

Outfit of the Day: 10/22/12

 I've been dying to wear this DRESS, its so dang cute...only problem..its a little short for this tall girl. So, I've got to improvise and figure out a way to wear it without that booty showing.

(sorry its so yellow, it was getting dark and I was standing near a streetlight)

 Hair: Ombre, with a Sock Bun

Dress: Thrifted
Jacket: From a friend but orginally from Target
Jeggings: Kohls

Bracelets: Target     Watch: Avon      Boots: Marshalls

Take some time for some best friend pictures

Met a kitty..I must have a way with them...this little guy was so cute and friendly...didn't like being a CAT DRUM though...too bad

Great googly moogly let's carve some pumpkins!

 Our pumpkins (left), and mine with a stencil drawn on (right) GONNA BE A CAT, what else kids.

The innards of my pumpkin

All the gook shoveled out

Macro-closeup of the seeds

the first couple carvings

the insides of Valerie's pumpkin

the finished product (sideview)

My pumpkin (left), Brian's pumpkin (right)

Mine, Brian's, and Valerie's

(some phone pix)

Dylan's pumpkin (left below) and everyone's pumpkin minus mine...I wanted to take mine home for some reason now I regret doing so.

Dylan's: some skramz logo

Brian's: wolf howling at the moon

Valerie's: dinosaur

Mine: catface :3

The end

-d!