Rustic Wide Ridged Cake

I had a one layer 6 inch cake and a small amount of buttercream leftover from this past week, so I decided to do something fun with it. I would usually just plop some buttercream on it and dig in, but I was feeling creative. I decided to decorate the cake with a wide ridged design. Super creative, I know.




I split the cake layer in half, called torting, and filled it with buttercream. I didn't have a lot of buttercream left, so I decided to just frost the top. As you can see the buttercream I had leftover was from a crumb coat. I was definitely scraping the bowl with this one. 

To get the spiral look, I used a small offset spatula. I started in the center of the cake with the spatula held at a 45 degree angle and the tip against the buttercream.




I began slowly turning the cake turntable while bringing the spatula out toward the edge of the cake. This technique is similar to the chocolate ridged technique I did a while back. This is an easy and forgiving technique to decorate with. If you don’t like the way the spiral looks just smooth the buttercream and start over. 




I really like how this cake turned out. It has a rustic look. The next time I try this technique, I will add more filling and use a buttercream without crumbs.

Cake Inspiration: Chevron Design

I have a long cake decorating to do list and on top of that list is the chevron design. I love the simple look of chevrons especially on cakes. Today, I spent part of my afternoon looking at several cakes for inspiration and how to create the beautiful look.

Here is what I found (be prepared to be inspired):



The Cake Blog


Charm City Cakes


 The Art of the Wedding Cake


Leo & Bella


Couture Cupcakes


I foresee a chevron cake in my near future.

What’s tops the list of your cake decorating to do list?

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Pancakes

Happy Monday. 

I love pancakes. Love, love, love them. The only thing I don't like is the breakdown of the macronutrients, usually high carbohydrate and low protein. So I've been on the quest to find the perfect protein pancakes.

Today I found them! These pancakes are amazing. They have a sweet light banana flavor with a hint of caramelized banana.

 




Sorry I only photographed one pancake. As soon as each one was done, I ate it.

The only downside was the length of time it took to cook them. They took forever, but that is because for once I didn't rush through them. I also don't have a griddle, which has just been added to my Amazon cart, so I had to cook each one separately.

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Pancake - adapted from Protein Pow(d)er
Makes 5 thin pancakes

Ingredients:
1/4 cup of vanilla protein powder
1 large banana
1/2 cup of milk (I used almond milk)
1/4 cup of oats
2 Tablespoon of chocolate PB2 (powder only)

Directions:
Grind the oats in a food processor for a few pulses then add the additional ingredients and blend. Heat a pan or griddle hot and spray with PAM (or teaspoon of coconut oil). Pour 1/4 cup of batter and cook on medium to low heat for 3-5 minutes. Flip the pancake and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes or until done.

The batter was thin. I considered messing with the ingredients to make it thicker, but I was afraid the taste would be off. These pancakes are delicious. I ate the first four plain and the last one with a strawberry. They were tasty both ways.

If you love pancakes, I recommend giving this recipe a try.