All these recipes have been tested and tasted. If you have a difference in results, remember that every oven has different temperature balance and baking times may be varied. Also, make sure all your ingredients are fresh and added according to the recipe.

CAKE RECIPES

YELLOW DREAM CAKE
I love this cake because it’s easy to make and so delicious. It creates a sturdy yet moist cake perfect for decorating.

Makes two 8-inch round cakes

Ingredients:
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large fresh eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Step-by-Step:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. Grease the inside of the cake pans with shortening. Dust the pan with flour.
3. In large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. In large mixing bowl, cream butter on medium setting of mixer for one minute. Gradually add sugar. When needed, stop the mixer to scrape down the sides, making sure all the butter and sugar are mixed well. Beat until light and fluffy.
5. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Add eggs to butter & sugar mixture. Continue beating until well mixed. Scrape down sides when needed.
6. Set mixer to low setting. Slowly alternate adding flour mixture and milk. Mix well. Add vanilla.
7. Spread batter into dusted pans about 2/3 high. Smooth evenly.
8. Bake for 25 -30 minutes. Check for doneness by carefully touching cake to see if it bounces back. If it is not done, check every five minutes.

CHOCOLATE CRAZE CAKE
This delicious cake has a wonderful flavor. I also use this recipe to make chocolate chip muffins. I just add chocolate chips on top of cupcake before baking. Yummy!

Makes two 8-inch round cakes.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cup (2.5 sticks) butter
1 ½ cup granulated sugar, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large fresh eggs, room temperature
2 ¼ cups sifted all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
1 cup whole milk

Step-by-Step:

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. In large bowl, add dry ingredients together: flour, baking sods, salt, coffee, and cocoa powder.
3. In large mixing bowl, cream butter on medium setting of mixer for one minute. Gradually add sugar. When needed, stop the mixer to scrape down the sides, making sure all the butter and sugar are mixed well. Beat until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla.
4. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Add eggs to butter & sugar mixture. Continue beating until well mixed. Scrape down sides when needed.
5. Set mixer to low setting. Slowly alternate adding flour mixture and milk. Mix well.
6. Spread batter into dusted pans about 2/3 high. Smooth evenly.
7. Bake for 25 -30 minutes. Check for doneness by carefully touching cake to see if it bounces back. If it is not done, check every five minutes.

CARROT SPICE CAKE
This carrot cake is fresh, moist and fabulous. You must cool and refrigerate before frosting.

Makes 2 8-inch round cakes

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
¾ teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
4 large fresh eggs, beaten and at room temperature
3 cups shredded carrots

Step-by-Step:

1. Preheat oven to 305 degrees F (180 degrees C).
2. In bowl, mix dry ingredients together: flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt.
3. In mixing bowl, mix sugar and oil together on low speed. Add eggs and beat together till mixture is well mixed.
4. Add carrots to wet mixture.
5. Slowly add flour mixture. Turn mixture off to scrape the bowls. Mix well but do not over mix.
6. Pour batter into greased and dusted pans.
7. Bake 30-35 minutes. Check for doneness by carefully touching cake to see if it bounces back. If it is not done, check every five minutes.

CAKE MIX VARIATIONS

I regularly use cake mixes to make cakes. As a busy mom, I need quick results. I do like to add ingredients to the cake mix to give it different flavors. Here are just a few:

Lemon Zest Cake:
Add 2 tablespoons of lemon zest to a white or yellow cake mix recipe.

Mocha Latte Cake:
Add 1 tablespoon instant coffee granules and ½ cup sour cream to devils food cake mix recipe.

Cinnamon Spice Cake:
Add 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves to yellow cake mix recipe.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake:
Add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips to devil’s food cake mix recipe.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cake:
Add ½ cup creamy peanut butter to devil’s food cake mix recipe. Sprinkle 1 cup peanut butter morsels into batter and gently mix.

Chocolate Orange Cake:
Instead of water needed in recipe, add 2/3 cup orange juice and 2/3 cup water. Add 2 tablespoons grated orange zest.

COOKIE RECIPES
Decorated cookies are very popular these days. They make beautiful gifts and using cookie sticks you can create cookie bouquets to replace flowers as a sweet sentiment.

Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (softened)
1 cup sugar (process in food processor for 30 seconds to get superfine)
1/2 tsp. salt
1 large egg
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Step-by-Step:

1. Cream butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy with mixer at medium speed.
2. Add yolk first, beat, then add whole egg. Add extracts and beat well.
3. Add flour, beat at low speed until mixed, but do not over-mix.
4. Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, up to 2 days. Allow dough to soften at room temp. for 10 minutes before working with dough.
5. Preheat over to 375 degrees. Dust work surface and rolling pin. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick. Continue sprinkling flour when needed to prevent dough from sticking. Cut into cookie shapes with cookie cutters or templates. Place on cookie sheets (best with parchment or silicone-lined pans).
6. Bake in preheated oven for 10 - 15 minutes, depending on size of cookie. Remove from over and allow to cool before decorating.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup butter (softened)
1 8-oz package cream cheese
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Step-by-Step:

1. Cream butter and cream cheese with mixer. Add sugar and beat until fluffy.
2. Add egg and extracts until well beaten.
3. In small bowl mix flour and baking powder together. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Beat until well mixed - do not over-mix.
4. Divide dough in half. Wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate several hours.
5. Preheat oven 375. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Into desired shapes and place on cookie sheet (best lined with parchment paper).
6. Bake 8 - 10 minutes depending on the size of cookie. Look for cookie have light brown edges.

FROSTING RECIPES

The Right Frosting:
Making professional decorators frosting doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult to make. After experimenting with many frosting recipes, I found an easy and quick way to make the frosting you need to decorate any of the cakes in this book. I call it “wonder cream” because it is like butter cream without the butter, yet wonderful.

White Wonder Cream Frosting

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. tub of store-bought white or vanilla frosting (do not used “whipped” frosting)
1 16 oz. tub (use tub of frosting as your measuring cup) Crisco? shortening (I only use Crisco?)
1 Pound (16 oz.) box of Powdered Sugar
¼ Cup warm water

Jill’s Tip: You may add a teaspoon of any clear extract to give your frosting added flavor. My favorites are vanilla, almond, champagne, lemon, and hazelnut. To find clear extracts that will not discolor your white frosting, go to the cake-decorating isle in discount or craft stores or commercial food stores. I also have used the Torani syrups as flavorings.

How to Make:
Add tub of frosting and shortening into a mixing bowl. On low speed, beat frosting until mixed well. While mixer is still on slowly add powdered sugar. Add small amount of warm water until mixture is smooth. Once all mixed together, beat for about one minute longer. Do not over mix. It will create air in the frosting, which makes frosting a smooth cake difficult. If frosting seems stiff, add some more warm water. If frosting seems too runny, add powdered sugar and mix.

Note: When making frosting roses, the frosting needs to be stiff. Add more powdered sugar to get a firm frosting that will create a beautiful flower without drooping on the cake.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:
White wonder cream frosting recipe (see above)
1 Cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ Cup vegetable oil

Mix cocoa powder and oil together to make chocolate syrup. Add to white frosting and beat on low speed for a few minutes. Add powdered sugar if needed to make a firmer frosting.

Mocha Frosting
This frosting creates the ivory colored frosting many people like for wedding and anniversary cakes.

Ingredients:
White wonder cream frosting recipe
1/2 cup instant coffee granules
1/4 cup warm water

Mix coffee and water together to make coffee syrup. Add to white frosting and beat on low speed for a few minutes. Add powdered sugar if needed to make a firmer frosting.

Royal Icing
This icing is used for cookie decorating or to create designs that get hard to the touch and can be placed on cakes and cookies

Ingredients:
3 T. meringue powder or 3 egg whites (no yolks)
4 cups powdered sugar
6 T. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla or almond extract (or both)

Beat all ingredients together until stiff peaks form. Add more water to make a glaze or add more sugar to thicken. After decorating, the icing will harden so you can stack cookies for storage etc. This icing dries fast so keep covered with wet towel or saran wrap until use

Buttercream Frosting for Cookies
This icing is used for cookie decorating but does not harden like the royal icing.

Ingredients:
3 T. meringue powder or 3 egg whites (no yolks!)
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar (1 lb. 3 oz.)
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract (clear extract preferred)

Mix meringue or whites with 2 cups powdered sugar. Slowly add water until well mixed. Turn mixer to high speed and whip until stiff peaks form. Add extract. Add remaining sugar and shortening until whipped well.