Monday, December 26, 2011

Christmas Celebration

This year's celebrations were absolutely amazing! I celebrated in San Francisco with my coworkers for our company's holiday party, I got inspired to throw my own party, and of course, I spent Christmas eve with my family.

Here are some pics from my own party and I can finally introduce my new and improved product pics with my new logo (Chicky Treats) thanks to Jeff! 


Here is the holiday spread! I made 3 types of cookies (Coconut chocolate chip, Molasses, and Chocolate crinkle) and a Butter Pecan cake.  


Delicious and oh yeah, really buttery! 


Here is some store bought rustic bread with cream cheese and a raspberry chipotle sauce.  Together, it's pretty yummy.

Coconut chocolate chip and molasses cookies ready for their close up!


Pumpkin spiced cake with a coated and filled with toasted pecans and a cinnamon cream cheese butter cream. It is also decorated with Reindeer corn and a festive Santa chocolate pop (minus the stick).

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their loved ones and that Santa was extra generous! 

xo,

Daniella :)

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Strawberries and Cream

It feels like forever since I last blogged! Well, actually it has been since I've been sick and traveled to San Francisco for my company holiday party (which was AMAZING!).  Now that the holidays are literally right around the corner, here is a non holiday related post to ease your mind from all of the madness!

My hair stylist in Chinatown asked me to bake her two cakes 2 weekends ago.  May is Malaysian and I know first hand that Asians aren't into things that are too sweet (at least the older generations).  Asian pastries are a lot more delicate in flavor and tend to consist of a spongy cake, a bun filled with a creamy center, or a really bizarre combination of dried pork and cream (trust me it's pretty awesome).  Knowing this, I wanted to take a safer route and not get too adventurous or make something that was overpowering.

I made a vanilla sponge cake with a whipped cream, cream cheese frosting filled and decorated with fresh strawberries.  It's kind of like a mock strawberry shortcake but better.  It turned out great and I was really please with the results.  It was also nice to know that May and her coworkers really enjoyed it too! Check out the pic below!


Thank you May for putting me up for the challenge! 

xo,

Daniella :)

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Pretty and Pink

I made this cake for Amanda's cousin Christina who was in town for her birthday!  Christina's mom wanted a full on chocolate cake and I was more than happy to make her something special for her daughter. She loves pink so I decided to keep everything very feminine and pretty.  

The cake is a basic chocolate buttermilk cake (my favorite).  I then poked lots of holes in both cakes with a toothpick and poured a rich milk chocolate ganache to keep the cake moist and decadent.  With the leftover ganache, I made a delicious chocolate frosting. I then made a separate batch of buttercream which I dyed pink and decorated the cake.  

I love how simple and delicate the cake looked in the end.  This definitely has to be one of my favorites.  Check out the pic below!


xo,

Daniella :)

Saturday, December 10, 2011

For R and A

My childhood friend Rebekka surprised me when she told me that she was getting married to her French love, now husband, Anthony! Since they had a low key ceremony and are waiting to have their reception, I though I should make them a mini cake to celebrate.  It's a red velvet cake, Bekka's favorite, with a vanilla bean cream cheese buttercream. I decorated it very simply with their initials and some cute little flowers.  Voila! C'est magnifique! (and yes I had to google this to make sure lol).  Check out the pic below and congratulations again to the newlyweds!


xo,

Daniella :)

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Amanda's 25th Birthday Cake

My best friend Amanda turned 25 this year and I obviously wanted to make her something light but with tons of chocolate.  I made her a chocolate cake with a salted caramel whipped cream frosting and added some milk chocolate shards to coat the sides.  It was absolutely indulgent but we didn't feel too guilty considering we were going out clubbing afterwards.

Check out the pics below and cheers to Amanda! We are getting older but will always be fabulous! XOXO :D





xo,

Daniella :)

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Birthday Cake

Here's a quick picture of a cake I baked for my best friend's mom.  It's a red velvet cake with a vanilla bean cream cheese buttercream decorated with hot pink white chocolate.  Cute, girlie and totally delicious!


xo,

Daniella :)

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Did you say 6 layers?!

This year was my brother's 30th birthday and I thought I should make something really special.  For months, Danny has been talking about a Coconut Passion Fruit Cake.  He loved the idea of a sweet fluffy cake that had a tangy bite.  After much research, I found a recipe and modified it to his liking, minus the coconut sorbet  (sorry Danny).

I made this gigantic over the top cake that had 6, yes I said 6, layers of coconut cake with a delicious, creamy passion fruit filling.  I frosted the entire cake with vanilla meringue and coated it with toasted unsweetened coconut flakes.  I then made another batch of meringue and tried to make it look extra fancy by torching it (the best part).  Did I mention this was supposed to feed 7 people? Let's just say it was a mutual agreement that we should share with the rest of the building after barely eating half. Check out the pics below!



Here's to Danny and the start of a new decade! <3

xo,

Daniella :)

Monday, November 28, 2011

Thanksgiving madness

I am still recovering from our Thanksgiving gathering.  There was so much of everything that we easily had leftovers for days.  I, of course, was in charge of desserts and let me just say, it was a week long affair of prepping.  I made 4 pies, a mini wedding cake, 2 types of cookies (around 75), cupcakes, biscuits and sweet potato mash.  I unfortunately don't have any pictures of the biscuits and mash since we devoured it before I could snap a shot.

I enjoyed every second of it and I especially had such an awesome time with all of my loved ones! :)

Check out the pics below with their descriptions!


Salted Caramel Apple Crumble Pie (I made two of these from scratch, crust included).


Orange Bourbon Pecan Pie ( two of these too!)


White Chocolate, Cranberry, Pecan Cookies and Chocolate, Chocolate Chip, Walnut Cookies


Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting topped with Walnuts


Vanilla Bean Meringue Wedding Cake



I hope everyone had a fabulous holiday! 

xo,

Daniella :)

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

White and Dark Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Last weekend, I decided to make some cookies at my grandmas house for the family. I followed a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and added some white and dark chocolate chips and tart dried cranberries to the mix.  They were perfectly crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.  Talk about delicious! Check out the pics below courtesy of my cellphone!



xo,

Daniella :)

Monday, November 14, 2011

Blue Velvet

My friend Toyin (who is an amazing model...duh) asked me to bake blue velvet cupcakes a while ago.  I had no idea what she was talking about.  I've obviously baked red velvet cupcakes but blue velvet?! I guess it was worth a shot!

After a little research, I found a recipe I then modified with a little more chocolate.  I decorated them with a vanilla bean cream cheese buttercream frosting by making tiny swirls.  The patter kind of reminds me of Thai architecture. 

The end result was a fun cupcake that was tender, delicious and left your whole mouth blue! Check out the pics below!






xo,

Daniella :)

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Forgotten

Since Jeff takes pictures of virtually everything I bake, I tend to forget a few images since I want to blog about something in the moment.  Lucky for me, I found them! The first image is blueberry streusel muffin.  If you aren't familiar with streusel, it's a mixture of brown or white sugar, flour and butter.  I made mine with brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter and a pinch of salt. Let's just say there is only one on the plate because everyone inhaled them!


Lastly, I made these adorable little star shaped sugar cookies for work.  They are filled with a white chocolate fresh strawberry ganache and dusted with a little powdered sugar!


Hopefully I wont forget anymore pics! :)

xo,

Daniella

Monday, October 31, 2011

Happy Halloween!

I absolutely love Halloween! I mean, how could you not? The parties and treats are enough for me. 

This year, Jeff and I spent it with my best friend Amanda and her awesome family.  Halloween is not a joke in this household.  They had a haunted woods theme with a fog machine and all.  Absolutely incredible. 

I decided to bake a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting which served a dual purpose since it was also Sofie's (Amanda's cousin) birthday! I also made pumpkin cookies with various white chocolate decorations.  Check out the pics below!








Have a happy and safe Halloween! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

xo,

Daniella :)

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Breast Cancer Awareness Trunk Show Treats

My coworker's wife Jen asked me to bake 240 minis for her Breast Cancer Awareness Charity trunk show! (Check out Great Shapes awesome swimsuits, cover ups and lingerie here) It was not only a challenge but an amazing opportunity.

Jen and I decided that we should do an assortment of muffins for breakfast (blueberry lemon, banana nut, and chocolate chip), rice krispie pops (Jen's amazing idea), sugar cookies, and raspberry vanilla cupcakes.  The pops and cookies were decorated with a pink white chocolate ribbon.  Check out the pics below!





Thank you so much Zach and Jen for giving me such an awesome opportunity! And of course, thank you mom for all of your help!

xo,

Daniella :)

Friday, October 28, 2011

Cell Phone cakes

Lately I've been on a baking spree.  I guess that tends to happen since it seems to be everyone's birthday and then before you know it, the holidays are here! These two cakes were taken with my cellphone camera so I'll apologize if they aren't the greatest :)

The first is a chocolate chip cookie cake I made for my coworkers Zach and Cristina.  I remember Cristina mentioned that she loves a good chocolate chip cookie.  I decided, why not make a cookie cake! I knew they would both love it.

To make it more decadent, I whipped up a bittersweet chocolate ganache that I used to fill and decorate the cake.  After two minutes, let's just say look at the picture below!

 Before
After

I made this last cake at my mom's house since we were all craving chocolate.  It was definitely different for me to bake outside of my own kitchen but I had awesome help (thanks mom and Sarah)! This is a chocolate buttermilk cake with a caramel pecan cream cheese buttercream frosting.  It was surprisingly light and not too sweet. 

It was a total hit and a new learning experience for me.  Check out the pic below!


xo,

Daniella :)


Saturday, October 22, 2011

Breakfast

Two weeks ago, my family got together for Sunday morning breakfast.  I knew I had to bake something so I decided to go with chocolate chip muffins and biscuits! I always love having something a little sweet in the morning, so these muffins were a fantastic idea.  The biscuits were fluffy, toasty, and amazing with some eggs and sausage gravy (by yours truly). 

Breakfast was delicious and it's always a nice way to get the family together to eat, laugh, and gain a pound or two.  Check out the pics below! :)



xo,

Daniella :)

Monday, October 17, 2011

Little Peanut treats

I've always wanted to make dog treats for my family dog Othello.  He tends to be the picky type so I knew he would probably just smell them and walk away.  Peanut, on the other hand, loves everything!  I knew I had to at least try to whip up some treats since he has been learning so many tricks. What a good boy!!

These are peanut butter, banana, honey dog biscuits made with organic whole milk and whole wheat flour.  I cut little bones and stars for my baby Peanut because he only eats smaller treats.  Yep, I know, he's spoiled.

The were a hit and lasted for almost tree weeks (they store well in the fridge).  If you're wondering if I tried them, well yes.  I did.  They weren't half as bad. Check out the pics below!


xo,

Daniella :)

Friday, October 14, 2011

Oatmeal Cream Pie

Childhood treats are totally unforgettable.  I remember getting out after school and getting a dollar worth of Little Debbie snacks.  That's when my fascination when baked goods really began.  I used to love those cakey chocolate cookies that had a chocolate filling.  I could eat 4 of those easily and now, not so much since there's something called calories.  I have to watch my figure :)

I made these oatmeal cream pie cookies for my coworker Adam since these were his favorite.  They turned out a little crispier but still had a chewy center.  I also added some cinnamon and made a vanilla bean marshmallow buttercream which made everything come together.  They were really a hit so I can officially say, "Little Debbie, eat your heart out!" Check out the pic below!

xo,

Daniella :)

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Whoopie Pies

I've been curious about baking whoopie pies for some time now. There is something about the cake like cookie filled with a creamy center that just sounds like the perfect dessert (which it is).  These are chocolate whoopie pies filled with a vanilla bean marshmallow buttercream.  Talk about deliciousness! Check out the pic below!

xo,

Daniella :)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Black and White

My brother's girlfriend Janice wanted me to make her a vanilla bean cake with a dulce de leche filling.  She absolutely loved the flavor combination when she tried it the first time I made it. 

I whipped up a vanilla bean Swiss meringue buttercream and piped some black flowers with a 18 Wilton star tip.  To add a little contrast, I added my favorite little white pearls.  The colors are very Chanel, duh.  Check out the pics below!


xo,

Daniella :)

Friday, September 23, 2011

Spiced Fig Cake

I've recently become a huge fan of figs.  They are earthy and have such a unique sweetness.  I bought a box of fresh black mission figs at wholefoods and decided it was cake time. 

After searching for inspiration, I found this amazing spiced fig cake with pecans.  I didn't have any pecans on hand so I substituted almonds.  I also used whole wheat pastry flour and spices (cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon) which made the cake super flavorful and tender. For the frosting, I made a maple cream cheese buttercream.  I wanted the frosting to melt over the cake and seep into every nook.  SO GOOD! Check out the pics below!




xo,

Daniella :)