The Luck of the Irish, Crème de Menthe Cupcakes
DF asked me to bake cupcakes for the women in human resources (to thank them). With St. Patrick’s Day around the corner I thought they should be decorated for the occasion. I was inspired by, of all things, a 21 century insurance commercial. I realize how odd that may sound, but in the little commercial they show this fantasy land with grass, a pound, and flowers; the person who has the 21 century insurance receives a visit from a leprechaun dancing around a pot of gold. I knew I wanted the cupcakes to resemble the scenery. When Sydney saw the leprechaun hats, prior to petal dusting...
Read MoreApple Cider Cupcakes with Acorns and Oak Leaves
This year for our Thanksgiving Sydney and I thought Apple Cider cupcakes with gumpaste acorns and oaks leaves would be fun and festive place tags that will adorn our table! Apple cider starts the holiday, once you begin to see gallons of it in the food stores you can’t help but start thinking of the festivities. Thanksgiving is the first of the holiday meals, family and friends gather together, while cooking, baking, and of course eating! Sydney and I wait all year to host Thanksgiving at our home, and we try to show our appreciation for our guests with special edible place...
Read MoreHoliday Baking: Fondant Kitchen Mixer Fun
With Thanksgiving and Christmas quickly approaching Sydney and I thought it would be adorable to create some treats of baking essentials. Over the summer I had found an awareness ribbon cookie cutter for pinktober at ecrandal, a family owned handmade cookie cutter store, while surfing around their site I came across a kitchen mixer with an inset and rolling pin cookie cutter (which I bought). Sydney’s palate is addicted to fondant so we decided the mixer cookies would be completely decorated with fondant. I used my kitchenaid professional 600 series and Sydney’s Artisan for...
Read MoreTiering a Cake
Cakes come in all sizes and designs, some are elegant for a christening, engagement, or wedding. Some are wacky for birthday parties or celebrations. Others are designed to look like flowers in a vase; I could go on and on, but that might bore you. Sydney and I thought it might be helpful if we showed the basic way to tier a cake, there is nothing more aggravating than to put a wonderful cake together only to see one of the upper tiers sink into the base. Regardless of the flavor option, all tiered cakes need structure. Think of the base and the dowels of a tiered cake as the main structure,...
Read MoreAlmond Sugar Cherry Blossom and Rose Cookies
Sydney and I were asked by a special friend if we would cater a wedding shower for his fiancé, Carrie. I’ve met Carrie a handful of times, but felt we needed a girls night, in order for Sydney and I to really have the chance to know her, by the way she is a lovely person. We felt honored to be apart of her special time. She wants a luncheon with two entree choices, sides, and a large dessert table. Carrie had mentioned that cherry blossoms were very intriguing to her. Since this was more of a girl’s night I scheduled a date to talk in more detail about the shower. Sydney was...
Read MoreCreme de Menthe Cupcakes, the Luck of the Irish
I’ve enjoyed St. Patrick’s Day parades since I was a little girl; I finally asked myself what is the symbolic meaning of the shamrock along with the color green? Oddly, I never put much thought into the symbols prior to today. From the research I’ve done: “St. Patrick was 16 when Irish marauders raided his village on the British mainland. He was sold into slavery and, later, became a Christian. He studied in a monastery in Gaul and was called to preach the gospel in Ireland, where he was appointed the second bishop of that nation.He converted thousands to the faith...
Read MoreBrownie Boats
Every once in a while I’ll have an idea, that mesomorphs into another design. Sydney and I thought brownie bites would be a perfect snack for a party or school lunch; we placed the batter in a flexipan half- sphere. Once the brownies were finished baking we realized the half-sphere shape was bigger than we originally thought. Coincidently we had been working with fondant and began turning the scrapes into character chickens; I thought they might be adorable in the brownies. Sydney called them brownie boats; she thought the baby chicks looked as if they were going for a brownie...
Read MorePetite Champagne Cakes, Perfect for an Intimate Valentine’s Day Dessert
Sydney and I wanted to create a dessert with an extra special desert to represent Valentine’s day; the first thought we both had was champagne. We had already designed a bubbly fun Champagne Pudding. I wanted to create a romantic elegant dessert, but found my brain was full of too many ideas. Sydney, however, thought petit cakes covered with a fondant top would embody the spirit of Valentine’s Day. Instantly I began to writing down ideas for rose champagne cakes; it suddenly dawned upon me I didn’t need to start from scratch. We had already developed a classic delicate White...
Read MoreDulce de Leche, Welcome Fall
Today is the first day of Fall and my psedo mother’s birthday I thought this cake would be apropos. I was blessed ten years ago to meet a wonderful, good hearted women, Jean, she and I became close in a short span of time, I have an odd relationship with my own mother, and father for that matter (my parents were divorced when I was six). I have always thought of myself without parents, until Jean entered my life, Jean was a godsend to our entire family; she was the type of person who would jumps in with both hands, help where help is needed and never ask for anything in return. She had...
Read MorePinktober: The Sweet Month of Hope
Sunday, October 2nd, is Colorado’s Race for The Cure; it is also the beginning of Pinktober. October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness month. I have run or walked the race every year for more years than I can remember. What I do remember is the year it became personal for me, 1997, a very dear friend of mine, A, was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. We were the same age, both had a child the same age, five, and both thought the threat of breast cancer was years away. I will never forget a moment of that day, I volunteered to keep her children while her husband drove her...
Read MoreLast Days of Summer, Sydney is Still Holding on to Seashells
As I have more than mentioned I ADORE summer; it seems incidental as I write this blog the weather has already changed. The air is cool, damp, and starting to feel crisp. I know there will still be the 85 degree days, but all the romance of summer has all but ended. We wanted to create the ultimate artistic pastry to our admiration for the passing summer. This summer began with DF and I renewing our wedding vows on a Caribbean adventure, as Sydney took the responsibilities to be maid of honor. I can still smell the ocean, taste the Mia Tias, feel the warm sun, and bring myself back to a...
Read MorePetit Fours, The Elegant Way to Say I Love You
Well, it is birthday week again in the Noto home. Though each birthday is special, Sydney’s week always is a little more exceptional, and this is her nineteenth birthday. Time seems to leap, gallop, and sprint by, as each year passes. It was only a blink away when I brought my little burrito wrapped baby home; now she is a sophomore in college, a beautiful young woman starting her own life. I seem to always become a “tad” nostalgic during Sydney’s birthday week. She wanted to start off her week with petit fours, so we created two different cakes and sizes. We decided...
Read MoreA Chance to Reminisce Before the End of the Month
Jana of Cherry Tea Cakes was our July Daring Bakers’ host and she challenged us to make Fresh Frasiers inspired by recipes written by Elisabeth M. Prueitt and Chad Robertson in the beautiful cookbook Tartine. Imagine my surprise after returning home from our Caribbean, twenty year wedding renewal, on June 29th, to find the Daring Baker’s challenge was a Faisier Cake. I had the opportunity to use the Ritz Carlton Hotel’s kitchen; Sydney and I created a Faiser Cake for DF’s and mine twenty year anniversary. The original one we used fondant for the top, this one we used...
Read MoreTwenty Years of Marriage, Deserves a Fraisier Cake
My husband and I have be married for 20 years; I wanted to elope twenty years ago, but had the “BIG WEDDING.” That evening when we were finally alone my H-person( I couldn’t call him my husband for almost five years) promised we would elope on our tenth anniversary. I ended up at the mayo clinic diagnosing whether or not I had pancreatic cancer, (Luckily I do not). We spent five years moving from Colorado to New Jersey, and back from New Jersey to Colorado. I must admit the elopement was always in the back of my mind. My husband began planning the special elopement the day...
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