One of my most favourite memories is making chocolate chip cookies as a child.  I think I started making them at around age 5, and then it became "my job" to make cookies.  I always used to day dream that I was teaching a cooking class as I was making the cookies.  I would pretend that I was giving instruction as I went through the steps to make the cookies.  The most important step was always to taste the dough once it was all made, before you cook it, "to make sure everything was alright".  That was really just my excuse to eat raw cookie dough.  I LOVE IT!!!  I would almost rather eat raw cookie dough over cooked cookies!  But, alas, I was told I could no longer eat the raw dough because I might die.  No one wants that...  Thankfully, some other bakers, who love cookie dough as much as I do, have figured out a way to have your raw cookie dough and eat it too!  I decided to try out a few raw cookie dough recipes, and here are my results:

The first step in edible cookie dough is heat treating your flour, to kill any bacteria that might be living there.  Preheat your oven to 350 and spread your flour out on a baking sheet.  Bake for 5-10 mins.  That's it!  Super easy.

https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2014/04/edible-cookie-dough-recipe-two.html

Ingredients
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
1/8 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon  milk
5 Tablespoons  flour (To eliminating any bacteria risks, by toasting your flour at 350 degrees F for just 5 minutes we kill off any harmful bacteria.)
2 Tablespoons chocolate chips

I found this recipe on the internet titled as "Cookie dough for two" so I figured I would give it a shot.  I was also going to try one titled "Cookie Dough for One" but the recipe was nearly identical, so I figured the portions was just a matter of opinion.

This recipe was fairly easy to make, but it involved you mashing your butter and sugar together with a fork (due to smaller portions), so you better be sure your butter is soft for this one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be2waiwxHcI

I love Cupcake Jemma.  She makes some amazing stuff and is super entertaining to watch.  She makes these incredible looking cookie dough cupcakes, so I just HAD to try her recipe.

120g soft unsalted butter
50g chocolate chips
95g caster sugar
45g demerara sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
100g plain flour
2 tbs plain yoghurt
pinch salt

Super simple to make!  Just pop everything in your mixer and let 'er rip!

The third recipe I tried was my own variation, based off of my chocolate chip cookie recipe.  I'm not even going to bother posting it here, because it honestly wasn't the best.  It came out a little grainy and the flavour wasn't where I wanted it to be.

Cookie Dough for Two on the left, Cupcake Jemma in the centre and my own recipe on the right.  My recipe turned out much like the Cookie Dough for Two, but the taste and texture wasn't as good.  Cupcake Jamme's dough came out the smoothest.  It reminded me of the cookie dough that you would find in a premium ice cream.  I think it probably works wonderfully in and on top of cupcakes and cake.  However, for just eating raw, the texture wasn't what I was looking for.

My favourite was the Cookie Dough for Two (or for one, if we're being real here).  The texture and the flavour were exactly what I was looking for in an edible cookie dough.  Adding the flour one tablespoon at a time let me control how moist or how dry I liked my dough.  Also, let's be perfectly honest - if someone wants a little cookie dough to eat, making a huge batch isn't ideal.  These portions were perfect for someone like me, who wants a little cookie dough here and there, but doesn't need the temptation of a freezer full.

Finding a cake that would work for both my oldest Niece as well as my Nephew is becoming a challenge the older that they get.  Since their birthdays are within days of each other, it isn't always practice since we often have one family party, and there's only so much cake people can eat!

This year, I decided to go with a Galaxy theme.  I made cake, cupcakes and cookies (I'm trying to work on my cookie skills this year).  Everyone was pretty impressed with the display, and loved the dipped cookies!

In the middle of one of the worst summers of my life, I was able to brighten it a bit with this beauty of a cake.  My friend Larissa requested a Super Hero cake for her son Declan (see previous Treasure Chest, Thomas the Tank Engine and other cakes).  Larissa had a very clear idea of what she wanted and sent me a picture to work with.  Thank goodness for that, because having very clear direction really helped me when my mind was on other things.  I am so looking forward to next year's cake already!

When my sister-in-law asked if I could make the cake for her parent's 50th anniversary, I was so pleased!  They are amazing people and they deserve so many great things in life.  They gave us Cheryl, and for that, I will always be grateful to them.

This is another example of simple looking fantastic.  I had NO CLUE what I was going to do for this cake, so I winged it.  Working with the "gold" theme (thanks goodness I bought all those gold paints and sprinkle back in February!) I tinted the fondant slightly, added some ribbon that I had on hand, and whacked the crap out of it with sprinkles!  Big ones, small ones, sparkles, all the gold I had on hand!

I was quite pleased with the end result.  I just wish I had pictures of the 50 cookies my niece decorated for me.  If it wasn't for her help, the order would not have gotten done!  Thanks James.

Happy April Birthdays to my brother Scott, and his girlfriend's daughter Anna!  Trying to come up with a cake that would suit both of their tastes was IMPOSSIBLE, so I didn't even try.  I knew the most important thing to my brother would be that Anna was happy with her cake, so I went full rainbow on it.

This is just vanilla cake dyed with gel food colouring.  I'm happy with how the colours turned out - sometimes you need to use a lot of gel colour to get the final colour you want.

Then I had to cover it and make it pretty.  I went with a basic buttercream covering, with some sprinkle and a chocolate gnash drip.

My Mom never asks for much.  She always makes sure everyone else has everything they need or want, and very rarely asks for much for herself.  This year, she requested "something with white chocolate and raspberry".  So that's what I did.  I made many layers of vanilla cake with white chocolate gnash buttercream and raspberry buttercream.  I did a quick raspberry swipe along the side of the cake for a nice painted effect.

The cake ended up being so big, that I had trouble cutting it at the restaurant!  It was still yummy though.

My good friend (and biggest fan!) Tara decided to purchase my services as a wedding gift for her cousin Lauren.  After much discussion, Lauren decided she wanted her cake to be solid gold.  I had never made a solid gold cake before, so I set to work doing my research.  Part of the project entailed ordering in all kinds of edible gold paint and sparkles from the UK.  I was so pleased with my little purchase!  How could a girl not get excited about edible sparkles? 

The cake itself has layers of vanilla cake with raspberry buttercream, as well as a top layer of spice cake with cream cheese icing.  Yum!

I really can';t take much credit on this one!  All I did was bake and cover the cake.  The rest of the decoration was done by my amazing boyfriend (the cake was for his nephew).  He had a vision, and I didn't see it, so I let him run with it.  Logan was pretty pleased with the end result and we all enjoying it!

I realize this is a little late... My personal life has taken over any time I've had for running the business.  Unfortunately, the only projects I am able to say yes to are projects for family and close friends.  I would love to say yes to everyone, but time just does not permit right now.  Luckily, my friends and family keep me busy enough, that my need for creativity is satiated.

Every year, it has been my pleasure to make cakes for my nieces and nephew.  This year was a little tougher as Jamie turned 15 and Jackson turned 13.  I was short on ideas and on time, so I had to wing it on this one.  I just went with some geometric shapes and some nice colours.  One cake chocolate and one vanilla, to keep he crowd happy.  Next year will be Jamie's sweet 16 - can't wait for that cake!

It's been my pleasure to follow this cute couple through their important life moments.  From their engagement and their wedding to first daughter's baptism.  I was overjoyed to hear that they were blessed with not one, but TWO more beautiful daughters!  Sean is going to have his hands very full in a few years...  They decided to go with the same cake tower that we did for Katerina's baptism - a topper cake with cupcakes and cake pops.  When I came to pick up the cake stand (and meet the babies!) Anna Maria told me that everyone was raving over the cake pops!