Its Pie Week!

 Hope everyone is looking forward to summer, and those with kids aren't too nervous about them being home all...the....time...  I'm SO glad to get a break from packing lunches and rushing out the door but it will be interesting without the structure that school provides.

Here are some pictures of my family's favorite french berry pie.  I have no idea why its called that, it contains only strawberries... 

I also made some black forest cupcakes. This recipe came from annies-eats.com. I'll try a different cake next time but thought the cherry filling and frosting were flavorful.

Last but definitely not least was a storm trooper cake for Alex!  I'll be honest, I don't watch Star Wars (I think that's right.  I always get it confused with Star Trek and Jason doesn't understand how that can happen) and wasn't sure what a storm trooper was but with a little internet research and after talking with Jackson I was educated! 

Here's what I have this week:

Its all about pie!

-Individual Smores Pie-$3 each

We are going camping this weekend so I thought I would provide you with the experience of enjoying smores without spending the night in a tent. Graham cracker crust, home made chocolate pudding filling and mini marshmallows on top!

-Individual Blueberry Pies-$3 each

Just like it sounds-A homemade blueberry filling sandwiched between two layers of crust-delicious!

Let me know by Thursday afternoon if you would like to order anything. Orders will be ready by Friday at 2.

Thanks and enjoy your week,

Leigh Ann





Week of May 22

Last week I totally forgot to take any pictures-whoops!  Friday night I left for a girls weekend so I guess I was a little distracted.  However, I made a cookie cake, peanut bars, a carmel-pecan black bottom pie and so much babka that Jason made me turn my mixer off for a while before it exploded! 
Below is what I have available this week, have a nice Memorial Day weekend.

•        French Berry Pie-$15

This is the most requested pie in my family!  It starts with a homemade pie shell, a light cream cheese layer and topped with strawberries.  A refreshing summer dessert!
•        Black Forest Cupcakes-$10 for 6; $18 for 12
Black Forest in cupcake form-Chocolate cake, cherry filling and whipped cream frosting!

With graduation and Fathers Day approaching let me know if you would like anything special!

Items will be ready for pick up anytime after 2 on Friday, let me know by noon on Thursday if you would like to place an order.

Week of May 14th

Its back....Chocolate Babka!  I made this before Easter and got lots of positive comments and requests for it again.  The great thing is I make the dough and freeze it.  You just put it in the fridge the night before you want it and then bake for an hour in the morning.  Nothing like the smell of baking bread to get people up and moving on a Saturday morning.  The recipe says you can freeze it for up to four weeks but I froze ours for six weeks and it was fine.  This would be great for a graduation brunch, when you have visitors spending the night and want something special in the morning, or just becauseJ.

·        Chocolate Babka-$10 for a large loaf, feeds 12

This is a delicious chocolate yeast bread.  I’ll freeze them and all you have to do is put it in the oven. 

·        Peanut Energy Bars-$1/bar

I got this recipe from Eating Well, some of the ingredients are peanuts, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, wheat germ, and peanut butter.

With graduation approaching let me know if you would like anything special!

Don't forget to order by thurday at noon.  Babka and Energy Bars will be ready by 2 on Friday afternoon.
Thanks everyone!

Hello Kitty and more Cake pops

Well, after making the bee cake pops last week I wanted to attempt cake pops again and see if I could do them any better.  I was all ready Friday morning-Lauren was going to school and Amanda would take a long nap, giving me lots of time to experiment.  However, Laurens school was cancelled due to a water issue and Amanda's nap was very short.  The girls became my helpers and we got to work.  I didn't get to try as many things as I had hoped but I had fun baking with Lauren and sometimes that's all that matters.  I was able to figure out some tricks and these were much easier to make.

The pink and purple ones are red velvet cake with
cream cheese frosting, nicely decorated by Lauren:).  The
white ones with pink drizzle are vanilla cake with butter cream
frosting and a chocolate-same as the soccer balls below.

Soccer!

A friend asked me to make cute soccer balls for her daughters team.  I started with melted chocolate poured into a cup shaped mold and a ball of vanilla cake and butter cream frosting placed on the chocolate.  These were briefly frozen, then the tops coated with white candy coating and then I did the black "soccer" decorations on top.

Maya wanted a red velvet Hello kitty cake for her birthday!  This was a fun cake to decorate!  You can only see one flower but there are several around the sides of the cake.

Bees, a Monster and some cupcakes in between!

Before I forget, here is what I have available this week.  Please order by noon on Thursday, May 10th with pickup Friday after 1:30.

•        Raspberry-Whipped Cream Truffle Cake-$15 for a six inch cake, feeds 6; $25 for 9” cake, feeds 12

My family rates this cake a 9 out of 10.  They are really harsh critics and have never rated anything a 10, this cake is as close as I’ve gotten!  It’s three layers of chocolate cake with chocolate glaze and raspberry whipped cream. 

•        Coconut Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake-$15

I’m always asked for the recipe when I make this coffee cake.  Its made in a 10” springform pan.  The recipe says it serves 10 but I always get more servings out of it.

•        Carmel Brownies-$1.50 each

This recipe comes from a friend, Courtney.  I’ve been hearing about how fabulous these brownies are but they always disappear before I can try one.  Last year, she left some by my neighbors front door and when the neighbor got home the brownies were gone-we joke about how some neighborhood kids enjoyed delicious brownies that day… 



Now, onto the baking updates!

My cousin gave me a cake decorating book several years ago and I've always admired this monster that was in the book.  Since Jackson was turning 6 and his cousin 11 I figured their birthday would be a good time to try out this monster.  Usually I have fun decorating cakes but this one was stressful.  Lots of new techniques and trial and error.  It took me a good 10 hours to do from start to finish...

Here are some of the butterfinger cupcakes, we thought they turned out really good.  The kids gave them two thumbs up.

A neighbor and really good friend asked if I could make something for teacher appreciation at their preschool this week.  We decided she would get some pots and grass and I would make these cute bumble bees that I had seen online.  I have been looking for an excuse to make cake pops, I've never done them before.  Well, they didn't turn out quite like the pictures but now that I have a little practice making them I'm looking to work on technique-look out for more cake pops in the future.

All boxed up and ready for school in the morning

bet you didn't know that bees like to smile!

Have a great weekend!
Leigh Ann

Week of May 1

Happy Tuesday!  Yes, more strawberry items this week…

Remember to place your orders by noon on Thursday, forward this email to anyone you think might be interested and let me know if you have any special orders/requests. 

Here’s what I have this week:

•        Ricotta Orange Pound Cake with Strawberry topping-$15

This is a recipe from Food Network, Giada De Laurentis and sounds great.  The pound cake is made in a regular sized loaf pan.

•        Butterfinger Cupcakes-$8 for 6, $15 for 12

My cousin sent me this recipe and said it was “beyond fabulous.”  Think chocolate cupcake, filled with fudge, topped with buttercream, chocolate ganache and then a layer of crushed butterfingers!

 Don’ forget about Mother’s Day next weekend, let me know if you want anything special for that!

Thanks, Leigh Ann

Ariel, Angry birds and a horse

Thanks for a great week!  I made three cakes, six loaves of strawberry bread and a bunch of "dirt" and strawberry/lemon parfaits.

For several years I have wanted double ovens but its never seemed a very practical investment.  In all reality we would probably use them a couple times a year.  This year for Thanksgiving we were fortunate because our neighbors were out of town so we used their ovens(yes, she has double ovens!!)-thanks Stacy!  Anyways, here's a shameless plug for my double oven investment-I had a full oven and lots of pans waiting to go in.  I'm also hoping for an industrial size mixer but I'll save that for another post!

All mixed up but no where to go....

Parfaits!

 Now, here comes the fun stuff!  Cakes!  We will start with Jacksons.  He is turning six this week-can't believe my little boy is 6!!  He had a party with a few friends at Chuck-E-Cheese and wanted an angry birds cake.  The fortunate thing is that we have an angry birds game and he wanted to use the pieces from the game on his cake-made for minimal decorating from mom. 

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

 Malin was turning three and wanted an Ariel doll cake.  I love these doll cakes because you can be so creative with them.

This is the one I was most worried about!  Rachel is a super sweet girl, the only kid who has ever hugged me over a strawberry pie!  She wanted a cake that was "pink and with a horse and a person on top, but not a real horse or person!"  Well, I got the horse and the pink but couldn't pull off the person-sorry Rachel! 

Hope everyone has a great week!  I'm gone this week but will be back, refreshed and ready to bake next weekend!

Week of April 17

Happy Tuesday!  Yes, more strawberry items this week!  The berries are handpicked by the kids and I and are from the Hall Family Farm berry patch.  If you haven’t been there they  have awesome berries, you can pick yourself and they offer pre-picked ones as well.  My kids love going.  http://hallfamilyfarm.com/

Remember to place your orders by noon on Thursday, forward this email to anyone you think might be interested and let me know if you have any special orders/requests.  Pick up for your items is usually on Friday after 1:30.  Also, check out my blog(listed below) to see what I’ve been up to-I posted some cakes I have made in the last several weeks. 

Here’s what I have this week:

•        Dirt Cups-$1.50/each

Sounds delicious, right??  In honor of earth day I thought this would be a fun dessert for the kids.  Its chocolate pudding, oreos, cool whip all layered with a few “worms” coming out the top.

•        Strawberry custard and lemon cream parfaits-$2/each

Made with fresh strawberries and lemons it’s a refreshing spring time dessert.

•        Strawberry bread-$4/mini loaf

Yummy for breakfast or a snack, bread with pieces of strawberries baked in.

I’ll be out of town next week (Jason and I are heading out of town, without the kids!!!) but will have items available on the following weekend, May 5^th.  Also, Mother’s Day is coming up, let me know if you want anything special for that!

Leigh Ann

http://myneighborsoven.blogspot.com

march/april cakes

Here are pics of some cakes that I have made recently.  For most of them I have found a design on-line or in a book which I use as a baseline and then I make my own changes as I go.

My friends son was turning six and he wanted a race track cake that he could put cars on. 

This is not the finished product but it was my first time making flowers.  I made it for my family so I could practice.  It took me a little while to figure out how to make them but once I got started it was fairly straightforward.   If Jason hadn't cut me off I might have made 50 more flowers!

This cake looked cute in person but my camera skills seem to be lacking.  The picture doesn't make it look as nice.  I've also learned that covering your cake board can go a long way in making a better presentation.

Princess/Barbie cakes are fun to make because you can be so creative.  Mali wanted a barbie cake with bright pink frosting. 

Obviously this is a learning experience for me. I have always enjoyed making cakes but haven't gotten a lot of practice. Thanks to everyone who has asked me to make a cake or food item for them!  I appreciate all the support that I have received. 
This week I am excited to be making three cakes-another princess, one with a horse on top and an angry birds cake. They are all for kids birthdays which makes me a little nervous-they can be the  most honest critics!  Hoping they all turn out like I've pictured in my head...

Week of April 10th

Happy Tuesday!  I love this time of year because its Strawberry season!  Remember to place your orders by noon on Thursday, forward this email to anyone you think might be interested and let me know if you have any special orders/requests.  Also, check out my blog(listed below) to see what I’ve been up to-there’s a cute easter dessert on there. 

Here’s what I have this week.

·        Strawberry Pie-$10

Crust and filling made from scratch, a light refreshing dessert

·        Nut and Fruit Power Bars-$1 each

This is a new recipe I found.  Some of the ingredients include-oats, whole wheat flour, honey, sunflower seeds, walnuts, dried fruits.  It would be a good choice if you need to detox from Easter.

·        Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes-$10 for 6; $18 for 12

Chocolate cupcake with a peanut butter ball filling and peanut butter buttercream frosting

Thanks, Leigh Ann

Push Ups....with cake

Several months ago a friend told me about a new trendy baking idea know as cake push pops or cupcake shooters and ever since then I've been looking for an excuse to try them. I ordered the containers in February and finally used them to make some Easter cupcakes. They were so much fun to make and the combination of cake and icing flavors are limitless, so are the ways you could decorate them. Since this was my first time I looked on the internet and got the idea to do bunny peeps from another side but plan on getting more creative in the future. The kids enjoyed helping to make them, and we all enjoyed eating them!

There are lots of ways you could present these.  In baskets
with grass or sand.  You can add styrofoam underneath to
 allow them to stand up, and there are several other options.

so proud of the push pops they made

They come with lids for transporting and
keeping the cake fresh.

If you still have any doubt about how good
these were, her face should convince you:).

Babka

Yum!  Chocolate babka
photo from marthstewart.com

I probably shouldn't share this with you but since most people ate their babka last weekend I thought I would.  There are some reasons why we make special things for the holidays and don't eat them year round.  I made six babkas and used:15 eggs, 18 cups of flour, 9 sticks of butter and 5 pounds of chocolate!!  Yes, thats what made them so good! 

My family was sick over Easter so I didn't make ours.  Hopefully we will have company over soon so we can indulge on this bread.  At first I was nervous about making it(that seems to be a theme with my baking) but it was fun!  I love starting with simple ingredients like butter, flour, sugar, eggs, etc and being able to create something special.

I love how bread will rise when you let it set for an hour. This
dough started out as 1/3 that size!

St Patricks Day Recap and Week of March 19th options

I hope everyone had a good weekend!  It was a pretty slow week for me because I didn't make any cakes (they take the most time!) but here is some of what I did.  Looking forward to this upcoming week because I have some cake orders and several different things you can order for Easter. 

Pistachio Bread
Its green on the inside!

Almond Joy Cheesecake
These mini cheesecakes were just the right sized
serving for one person!  More flavors to come later.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes
...all boxed up and ready to go...

I’m going to try something new this week-Chocolate Babka.  It’s a sweet yeast bread usually made for Easter Sunday (celebrating the rising of Christ).  It looks delicious and if the name sounds familiar it is probably because it was on an episode of Seinfeld.  The great thing about this bread is you can freeze it for a month before baking.  We are going out of town so I won’t be making anything for the next two Fridays, after this one.  The Babka would be a great thing to purchase, freeze and then all you do is place in the refrigerator for 5 hours to defrost it and bake for one hour-your house will smell great and it makes a special Easter breakfast/snack.  The other items this week are also able to be frozen.  The lemon bars will be fully baked, you will just need to set them out to defrost(takes a couple hours) and dust them with powdered sugar before serving.  The cookie dough will need to set out 30 minutes before baking, I’ll already have the dough frozen in shaped balls so just place on the cookie sheet and bake.

However, I can also bake any of these items fully so they are ready to go this weekend.  When ordering just let me know if you want the item for this weekend or packaged to freeze for Easter/spring break.  And don’t forget to email me with any special orders or questions.

Here is what I’ve got:

·        Chocolate Babka, one loaf-approximately 10 servings; $12

·        Cookies-Peanut Butter Hershey Kiss cookies-always a family favorite! $8/dozen

·        Cookies-Dark and White Chocolate Chunk Cookies with Ginger-Chocolate cookies with an extra “kick” from the ginger- $8/dozen 

·        Lemon Bars-a spring time classic.  $1.50/bar

Thanks,
Leigh Ann
leighann433@hotmail.com

Week of March 12th

Here is what I have available this week.  Remember to place your order by Thursday at noon and it will be ready for you Friday afternoon.  Also, email me for info on special order items/cakes.

Since St Patrick’s Day is Saturday I’ve tried to come up with related food:

 -Pistachio Bread-$5 for a small loaf, $8 for a regular

• This tastes SO much better than it sounds.  I consider it a breakfast bread, similar to banana bread but with pistachio pudding as one of the ingredients. Also contains pecans.

 -Chocolate Stout Cupcakes with Irish Cream Frosting-6 for $10; 12 for $18

• Sounds like the perfect St Patty’s Day Cupcake!

-Chocolate cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting-6 for $8; 12 for $15

• For those less adventurous, or for the kids in the family

-Individual Almond Joy Cheesecakes-$5

• This one doesn’t have anything to do with St Patricks Day but it does remind me of spring

Let me know if you would like anything this week.  Also, email me for info on special order items/cakes.

Cakes, cakes and more cake!

Week one was a success!  Thanks to everyone who ordered!  Here is some of what I did.

Baklava right out of the oven

Remember doing things in high school for extra credit?  Well, my very first order was for Baklava that a high schooler needed for an international food fair at school.  I'll admit that I never thought I would do my kids homework for them but I've already done some of Jackson's and he's only in kindergarten.  So here I was, slightly amused that I am now doing a high schoolers homework too!

Baby Shower Cake
A delicious two layer Lemon Cake with
White Chocolate Buttercream frosting.

Birthday Cake
Mint Chocolate Cake with Mint Cream
Cheese Frosting-like a thin mint in cake form!

Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

And finally, a birthday day princess cake for Princess Annie. I was a little intimidated when thinking about how to make this cake but I had a lot of fun once I got started. I can't wait to make another so I can try out some more decorating ideas.

Princess Cake!