Bake and Make

I wanted to make a dessert for Easter dinner but my family is pretty picky. I had to use whipped cream for the frosting and fruit for the filling. I wanted to liven it up with some white chocolate Easter Eggs and flowers and a few fondant blooms too. So I did.

I started off with four layer cakes that I tried to cut to make fairly even. Then I frosting the layers with whipped cream and used bananas and strawberries to liven up the filling.

In the end it turned out okay. Not as pretty as total fondant but it tasted better than a fondant cake.

I SHOULD Have . . .

I SHOULD HAVE NOT . . .

It's that one four-letter word that keeps giving me problems. But I can't seem to help it. I have a fault--maybe even a double-fault:

F. O. O. D.

That's why Fry...day is such a problem in my house. Yep, you guessed it. That's the one day of the week when all I can think about is yummilicious goodness. So once again this is another

FEEDING FRENZY FRY...Day





Can I help it if I love to bake? I guess the real problem is that I love to eat. Plus, like I said, it's FRYday! Which always makes me think of crunchy, crispy, deep-fried food.

And I've never been one to fight...my urges. So, I asked myself, why not make a few fondant flowers and create a flowerful feeding frenzy to start the weekend?


Food...food...food. . .

That's what I was thinking when I should have been at Pilates doing my hundreds.

I tried to distract myself by thinking of fields of beautiful aromatic flowers...

but then they were . . . Fondant flowers. . .

That's why I played hookey from my fitness class. I know I should have been working out but I never said I was perfect.

So, instead of doing what I should have done, which I'll probably regret at my Weight Watchers weigh-in this weekend, I sat down at the table and pulled out my dough.

And, I should have felt guilty but I guess I never do what I should. Instead I was doing what Mom used to tell me NOT to do--I was playing with my food again.

And, it was like turning back the clock four decades and enjoying that old favorite "PlayDoh" again.

I just wish I could eat like I did back then, when I was a kid: without fear. Back then, when I was around eight, nine or ten, I never worried about finding a few extra pounds. Now, there's no need for any games of hide-n-seek. No searching required, I can find those pounds without even looking.

But, I can't help it. I still love to play with my food. And baking makes me feel like a kid again.

And, if you're like me, and you like to bake too here's how I created my very own play...dough play date.

I frosted my cupcakes with my homemade cream cheese frosting (which was designed to be the flavorful glue for my flowers to stay stuck to their cupcake) then I rolled out the fondant and cut or pressed the flowers into a funciful plateful of flowerful food.


How 'bout you, is there anything you've done lately that makes you feel like a kid again?

And, if you're curious about this culinary creation, here's my own recipe for

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1/2 package of cream cheese
1 stick of softened butter
1/4 cup of milk
1 2 lb package of powdered sugar

Cream all ingredients slowly, so the powdered sugar doesn't go flying into the air and making a mess you won't want to clean up. After the sugar is incorporated into the dry ingredients, mix until smooth. Now use the frosting like paint and create your own little slice of delicious pie...ces of art.

And have some Yummmilicious goodness - even if you shouldn't!