As You Wish. . .

BRING IT. Staying slim in the kitchen!

2010-12-31T14:46:00.003-06:00

We're bringing in the new year, and I'm joining the rest in the resolution to get fit this spring! I'm doing the P90X workout with my parents. Finished day 5 today! Only 85 more days to go...

Here's a picture of me that they featured on their box:

Yup. That's me alright...

(85 days from now)

Last week I got asked how I stay thin when I am baking all the time, especially when nutritional labels on my counter often look like this:

I get asked this slightly flattering and remotely embarrassing question more often than I'd care to admit, so I thought I would answer it once and for all.

My Top 5 Tips for Staying Healthy in the Kitchen

1. Stock the fruit and veggie drawers

Grapefruit and apples tend to satisfy my sweets cravings best when I'm baking.

I made seven batches of buttercream this morning in preparation for a wedding tomorrow, and a salad with hard boiled eggs, tomatoes, celery, and spinach make a fantastic fresh lunch after whipping buttercream all morning! Baked tilapia with lemon pepper and Parmesan cheese topped it off for some great protein.

2. Don't "clean" your fingers in your mouth

This one is tough. As tempting as it is to simply lick that excess buttercream off your hands before washing them, don't do it! Wear an apron and wipe your hands on them (my apron is usually really messy)

3. Play some great tunes

Is there a more perfect place for dancing than your kitchen?

Turn up the volume and groove a little as you bake!

4. Stay hydrated

Water doesn't have to be boring.

Get a fun cup and drink lots of water as you bake.

It fills your tummy when you get the munchies and is really good for you!

5. Allow yourself a treat at the end

Go ahead and eat a cupcake when they're all done! Just don't "sample" them every step of the way. This gives you something to look forward to when you don't lick your hands or the beaters. Besides, you've earned it.

Have a happy, healthy new year!

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

2010-10-29T15:35:00.001-05:00

Girls' night tonight! I'm so excited. So I made Pumpkin Spice cupcakes.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

* 1 package (18 oz.) spice or carrot cake mix

* 1 cup Pure Pumpkin

* 3 large eggs

* 1/3 cup water

* 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

* 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

* 2 packages (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened

* 2 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened

* 5 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

* 4 cups powdered sugar

Mix together all the ingredients for the cake. Mix it until combined first, and then beat it for 2 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie Spice is pretty impossible to find on the shelves right now, so instead I used this substitute:

1/2 ts. cinnamon

1/4 ts. ginger

1/8 ts. nutmeg

1/8 ts. cloves

So today, tragedy struck.

My good ol' Kitchenaid sputtered and died.

He lived a long life and made many, many batches of buttercream.

RIP, kitchenaid!

So for now, I am building up my arm muscles! Especially beating the cream cheese frosting. Oofta!

While the cupcakes cool, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. You will LOVE this frosting!!

I have a tummy ache from "sampling" it "just to make sure it tastes right".

Totally worth it.

Ready for girls' night!

Have a great Halloween everyone!

It's that time of year...

2010-10-09T13:48:00.001-05:00

It's that time of year when everyone gets sick!

I'm under the weather with everyone else...

That's when I'm glad I have this basket stocked with potatoes and onions:

Because then I can make chicken soup!

I chopped up half an onion and two stalks of celery and cooked them in a little olive oil over medium heat until the onions were translucent.

Then I added a couple potatoes, chopped in fairly small pieces.

You could use noodles instead if you want!

The Amish noodles sold at Fareway are fan-freaking-tastic!

But i didn't feel up for going to the store... ergo, I cook with what's in kitchen :)

Added pepper...

and 2 cans of chicken broth...

and some spices I thought sounded good: basil and parsley

I let those cook a bit (hot but not boiling) until the potatoes were about halfway done.

Meanwhile I chopped some chicken. I had the chicken in the freezer, and great way to thaw it fast is to plop it in a bowl and fill it with room temp water, let it soak a bit, and then empty it and fill it with warm water. Should be thawed in 10-20 minutes!

Added the chicken to the soup and then covered it and let it simmer until the chicken was done.

Don't let it simmer to long or the chicken will get tough. If you add the chicken at the right time, the potatoes and the chicken will be done at about the same time. Err on the side of having over-cooked potatoes rather than overcooked chicken.

Eat with a leftover bagel and a good book!

I'm reading 'Phantases' by George MacDonald--best author of all time! My favorite book by him is 'Lilith' tied with 'Malcolm' (aka "The Fisherman's Lady" and sequel "The Marquis' Secret'). He also wrote wonderful children's books like 'The Light Princess' (confession: I cried reading this one), and 'The Day Boy and the Night Girl.' So good.

Stay healthy!

Bagels!

2010-10-08T17:05:00.001-05:00

New Apartment!

One of my favorite parts about my new apartment is how much LIGHT we get in here! We have a south facing porch/window door and it lets in so much Vitamin D.

Above is my spidey plant. So proud of that little guy.

I also love this little peek-through from the kitchen to the living/dining room. Really opens up the place and lets the rooms feel connected!

Got the aprons hung and started baking! Then I realized that I haven't updated this blog in a month or two... or eight... I'll try to be better at posting! Really!

So let's start. Today I made something I've always wanted to try: BAGELS!!!

Got this cookbook from a friend and LOVE IT!!! Here's the recipe for bagels I tried today:

Bagels

Ingredients:

-1 c. plus 1 Tb. water

-1 1/2 Tb. honey

-3 c. bread flour

-1 1/4 ts. salt

-1 1/2 ts. bread machine or quick active dry yeast

Go ahead and load the ingredients into your bread machine in the order given.

flour power.

Set the bread machine on 'dough/pasta' and let it fly! Only set an alternate timer for 50 minutes, because that's when you'll take the dough out.

After 50 minutes, take out your dough and cut it into 10 pieces.

Roll each piece in a ball and then punch your thumb through to make a hole in the center about 1" wide.

Most of mine turned out ~~ugly~~ ~~lopsided~~ quirky and homemade.

Put them on a GREASED baking sheet that you'll use to bake them on later. Cover them and let them rise for 20 minutes or so. Meanwhile, set the oven to 450 degrees and...

...start boiling 2 quarts (or 8 cups if you measure in American like me) of water.

Last year I worked at Bruegger's, and learned that this next step is crucial to delicious bagels!

Boil them!

But be counting!

1..2..3..4..5..

After 15 seconds, flip them over.

After 15 more seconds, take them out and dry them on paper towels.

This I forgot to do.

They still turned out :)

Cinnamon sugar suuuure doesn't hurt!

In fact they were pretty darn tasty. Next time I want to try other toppings/mix-ins like:

• cinnamon raisin

• chocolate chip

• oats

• cranberries and blueberries

• sesame/poppy seeds

Put them in the oven and let them bake for about 10 minutes.

Keep an eye on them--take them out when they're just golden brown.

Did I mention these are FAT FREE?!? Woohoo!

...Not that that matters, of course...

Hot bagels fresh from the oven? YES PLEASE!

Have fun :)

Bound for Haiti

2010-02-25T10:57:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow I'm leaving for Haiti! As a journalist, I'm joining a medical team heading to a field hospital in Port-Au-Prince for 10 days. If you want to follow us, I'll be keeping a blog at www.trinitytohaiti.blogspot.com

You know what happens when I'm excited/nervous... I bake. So I made LOTS of cookies this week. Took some to class with me, froze some dough for the roommates, baked some up for snacking...

Also made a couple batches of Masaman Curry--best comfort food ever! Yes the can in the photo says 'yellow sour curry paste' but it should say 'masaman curry paste.' Surprise surprise, I used up all my masaman curry paste and forgot to take pictures! I'll have to run to Chong's when I get back from Haiti. If you want to try it out, find these two cans. Then follow the directions on the curry paste.

Note: I replace half the coconut milk with regular milk to make it thinner and a little less fattening :) Next time I make it I'll take pictures step-by-step and post them.

One of my highlights of the week is 'Family Dinner' on Tuesdays with my roommates. Here Roomie K is making some wonderful spaghetti for us! Such a good time to eat and talk together about our weeks.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! I'll be back on March 8, but until then, visit the Haiti blog. www.trinitytohaiti.blogspot.com

Until next time!

Monster cookies!!!

2010-02-17T15:16:00.001-06:00

Quick note: Remember to check out the website at www.asyouwishbakery.com

Yesterday Amy came to town and we baked monster cookies for her traveling crew!

Here they are baking... I've become a HUGE fan of oven thermometers! If you don't have one, I'd really suggest buying one. Ovens vary so much and knowing the actual temperature in the oven really helps.

Leftover dough? Freeze them in cookie-sized balls. Then if you have a craving for just one or two, you can just bake them up!

Thanks for letting me share your top secret recipe, Mom!! :)

Monster Cookies

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar

1 c. (2 sticks) butter

2 1/4 c. (1 lb) brown sugar

1 1/2 lbs. Skippy creamy peanut butter

6 eggs

1/2 Tb. Vanilla

4 ts. Baking soda

9-10 1/2 c. regular oatmeal

1 lb. M&Ms

12 oz chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine first seven ingredients. Mix very well.

Add M&Ms and chocolate chips.

Add oatmeal (enough to make a very thick dough) slowly

Store in refrigerator for several hours.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes, depending on size of the cookie. (Yesterday I baked for 7 minutes, rotated the pan, and then baked for 5 more minutes)

Enjoy!

Unicycles & Caramel Bars

2010-02-09T16:01:00.000-06:00

I love being back to school. The fun of writing papers and attending lectures still hasn't wore off yet...

I also just love being back in this quirky town. Only in Iowa City would no one bat an eye at seeing an abandoned unicycle in the snow.

My roommates are awesome and are amazing cooks! Here Roomie M and Roomie A are making curry. Yummm..... (AND they hardly ever use recipes! Seriously. I'm hoping to learn some of that cooking talent while I'm here.)

Meanwhile, I made some chocolatey caramel bars and thought I'd share the recipe with you!

(p.s. they taste a LOT better than the pictures look)

Caramel Bars

Ingredients:

3/4 c. melted butter

1/3 c. evaporated milk

German chocolate cake mix

50 caramels

12 oz. bag chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Mix first three ingredients. Pat half of the mixture into a greased 9x13 inch pan.

2. Unwrap caramels and melt with 1/3 c. evaporated milk. Pour caramel mixture over top of cake mix in pan.

3. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

4. Pat remaining cake mix between palms and lay out over top of chocolate chips.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

Big News!!

2010-02-05T13:50:00.000-06:00

WOW is it really February already?!

My good friend Di tells me that the Chinese New Year falls on Valentine's Day. How cool is that? But I can't believe it's only a week away. Which means I have some explaining to do for being gone...

I moved!

Back to the books this semester. My adviser informs me that I will still be able to graduate next spring, so my adventurous semester off starting As You Wish hasn't affected school at all. My plan was to put As You Wish on hold as I transitioned back to school, and maybe pick it back up in the summer or after graduation, but...

I can't stop baking!

Here's my new kitchen. My roommates (Roomie A, Roomie K, and Roomie M) are SO sweet and let me bake all the time :) Thanks ladies!

SOOOO.... As You Wish is BACK!! New Location: IOWA CITY!!!

Thank you, Lindsay for sending me this recipe for Almond Joy Cupcakes! YUMMM!!!!

The chocolate cake was lighter than air. So good. I might work on combining this recipe to improve my chocolate cupcakes...

The coconut filling tastes just like the addicting candy bar. Oh goodness. These might be trouble.

The chocolate frosting is a thick chocolate ganache, not buttercream, but it is extremely rich and delicious!

I won't be adding these cupcakes to the menu, but I hope you have fun making them!

Roomie A approved :)

Sorry for my long absence! I hope you all have had a wonderful couple months. Let me know how you're doing! Leave me a comment or write me an e-mail at asyouwishbakery@gmail.com

Stay tuned!

The weather outside is frightful!

2009-12-09T14:48:00.000-06:00

They're calling it the storm of the decade!

Yesterday morning it started snowing, and it just hasn't stopped!

Sophie loves it to run around in the snow, but only for a while...

By the house the drifts are knee deep, and out by the barn they're almost waist deep!

So after a little time out in the snow, Sophie's ready to hunker down and spend the day napping...

Can't blame her! This is what it's looked like outside all day

In good news, I have a wonderful recipe to share with you! Splotchy bars! I've been making these since high school and they're one of my favorites :) Enjoy!

Splotchy Bars

Ingredients:

White cake mix

1/3 c. vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 c. chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 c. butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine cake mix, oil, and eggs. Pat 2/3 of the mixture into bottom of a greased 9X13" pan.

Melt chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter together in microwave or over stove.

Pour into pan.

Pat bits of leftover cake mixture between hands and lay out across pan in splotches.

Bake for approx. 25 minutes. Should be a little jiggly, will set while cooling.

Enjoy!

Happy Veterans Day!

2009-11-11T16:11:00.001-06:00

First of all, happy Veterans Day! Thank you to everyone who has given so much for our freedom.

Made a fun assortment of 1 dozen cupcakes, 1 dozen minis, and 2 dozen cake balls.

I have a habit of sneaking in one or two little bears upside down! Hehe!

An order of bright fall color cupcakes...

And just for fun, made these cute little marshmallow snowmen!

I love foreign foods!

I've been trying new recipes fairly often recently...

This week's adventure was Pad Thai. You start off by frying peanuts...

Then cooking the onion and garlic (yum... This is when the house starts to smell really good)

Fresh bean sprouts are a must!

Pad Thai

1 egg

4 ts. fish sauce (just don't smell it...)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 ts. ground dried chili pepper

1/2 ts. ground pepper

1 shallot, minced

2 Tb. sugar

2 Tb.. tamarind (or white vinegar)

1/2 package Thai rice noodles

2 Tb. vegetable oil

1/3 c. extra-firm tofu (or chicken/shrimp/beef, etc.)

1-1/2 c. Chinese chives-green (optional)

2 Tb. crushed peanuts

Lime wedges (add a ton of flavor!)

1. Soak the dry noodles in lukewarm water while preparing other ingredients (5-10 minutes)

2. Rinse bean sprouts and reserve half for serving fresh. Mince shallot and garlic together.

3. Use a wok or big pot. Heat it up on high heat and pour oil in the wok. Fry the peanuts until toasted and remove them from the wok. Add shallot, garlic, and tofu and stir until they start to brown. The noodles should be flexible but not expanded at this point. Drain the noodles and add to the wok. Stir quickly to keep things from sticking.

4. Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, and chili pepper. Stir. The heat should remain high. If your wok is not hot enough, you will see a lot of juice in the wok at this point. Turn up the heat, if that is the case.

5. Make room for the egg by pushing all the noodles to the side of the wok. Crack the egg into the wok and scramble it until it is almost all cooked. Fold the egg into the noodles.

6. Add bean sprouts and chives. Stir a few more times. The noodles should be soft and very tangled.

7. Pour onto the serving plate and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve hot and a wedge of lime on the side and raw chives and bean sprouts on top. Condiments such as sugar, chili pepper, vinegar, fish sauce, and soy sauce can be available at the table.

Note: this takes very little time to make, so be sure to have your ingredients prepped before you begin! Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T10:10:00.000-05:00

November's flavor of the month:

S'mores!

With a graham cracker crust, chocolate-chip filled batter and marshmallow buttercream, these taste just like the campfire treat.

But they're just here for November, so order quick!

A fun surprise from Marmie--Aprons and a hat with As You Wish Bakery on it!

I was so excited!! So much fun...

Reata'z has now begun selling my cookies as well! This week I made peanut butter, but they were a little too soft, so I think they'll stick with the chocolate chip for now :)

But if you like a soft, peanut butter cookie, these are delicious!

I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!

October showers bring gum flowers...

2009-10-22T15:46:00.000-05:00

It's another rainy fall day! The tree right outside my window has bright yellow leaves--

they're breathtaking!

There's something tragically beautiful about fall...

Today I made gumpaste flowers.

People often ask what's in Gumpaste flowers... Honestly, despite making batches of it, I didn't really know. Glucose, Gum-tex, and powdered sugar... but what does that mean?

Checked the ingredients (correction: ingredient) on glucose and it's just corn syrup! Say what?!

Gum-Tex's ingredient is Karaya Gum. According to an ever-so-reliable source (Wikipedia), Karaya Gum is made from trees of the genus Sterculia. Hm... interesting.

But dyed, rolled...

...cut...

...stamped...

...and dried, they make beautiful decoration for cakes and cupcakes! And kids just LOVE eating them!

Also made some rolls in the bread-maker today... So simple and yet so delicious!

Rolls

Ingredients:

1 c. scalded milk

4 Tb. butter

1 egg

3 1/2 c. flour

4 Tb. sugar

1 ts. salt

2 scant ts. yeast

Directions:

Put first 5 ingredients in bread machine in order given. Pour salt around the outside edges of the ingredients. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in yeast. Set for the mix and first rise cycle, then knead on a floured board and form into approx. 15 rolls. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes.

Flavor of the Month--Pumpkin!

2009-10-16T16:55:00.000-05:00

I've decided to begin flavors of the month! This month is pumpkin.

Well it's nearly fall! And the llamas are LOVING this cool weather.

And I'm trying to stay healthy! Most recent discovery: grapefruit is phenomenal!! I once thought it was the worst thing in the world. And now that my taste buds have ~~died~~ matured, I think they're great! Plus, a TON of Vitamin C.

Made some cute purse cupcakes for a girl's fourth birthday. Happy birthday!

Also made a platter... Two dozen cookies and two dozen cake balls go perfect together!

Happy trails!

Twilight, Fairy Princesses, and Darth Vader...

2009-10-09T11:41:00.003-05:00

Wow! Has it really been almost a week since I last posted? It's been another busy one...
The As You Wish website is now officially www.asyouwishbakery.com!

And exciting news! BOXES!! Big white 24-cupcake holders, brown 12-cupcake boxes, and 6-cupcake boxes with windows! And each kind has an insert that keeps the cupcakes separated! No more falling cupcakes! I never thought I would get so excited about boxes... haha!

I had an order this week for a family celebrating birthdays for 4 family members... So I made fairy princess cupcakes, Darth Vader cupcakes, and Spidey cupcakes. I think the Spidey ones turned out the best, but I had a fun time trying to figure out how to make Darth.

I started with a clover and molded it into his helmet.

I used Twizzlers to make the light sabers...

Piped some details...

"Kooo berrr..... Luke, I am your father..."

The other specialty order I had this week were for a Twilight birthday party. I've never read the books, but I hear they're a real page-turner!

A couple nights ago two of my friends from Japan came over and made their first cupcakes! It was so much fun...

And their cupcakes turned out beautifully!

I also made 66 cupcakes for a local school's carnival.

This is my table right now, full of orders ready to be picked up or delivered.

Wishing you a sweet weekend!

"Our hearts ache, but we always have joy." 2 Corinthians 6:10

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

P.S. I just got back from the school delivery and there was a box in the mail with this ADORABLE mug from a wonderful friend! Thus, yet another cup of coffee today, but hey -- who's counting? :)

Giraffes, Buglarian, and Sushi

2009-10-03T19:53:00.001-05:00

Go to the As You Wish Website HERE

Possibly two of my favorite cakes ever today! This one says Happy Birthday Dessy in Bulgarian. How cool is that?! Sigh... I love my job.

And this is Mr. Giraffe for Elijah's first birthday.

So here's how I made Mr. Giraffe: 2- 13X9" pans, one square, one half-circle, and three mini-cupcakes.

The circle, square, and two cupcakes made the head.

Here's the head after carving... yummy scraps!

Then I layered and carved the 13X 9"s to make the body. Frosted in yellow/orange buttercream and decorated with fondant, and tada!

Today my brother R and sister-in-law M came over for lunch.

Sushi!!! Yum!!

Other than that, it was a cloudy day that lent to sleepiness and puppy naps.

Sweet old Sumo sleeps quite a bit during the day, but one look at him greeting the sunshine in the morning and I'm so thankful he's here.

Little Sophie is a pill who likes to jump in people's cars... (Be warned: if you come, shut your doors unless you don't mind this furry visitor!)

Cupcakes, Cookies, and Cake Balls

2009-10-01T16:59:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered what 12 dozen sugar cookies looks like in your dining room? Well wonder no more!

Today is the first day of breast cancer awareness month, and so a store downtown had 12 dozen sugar cookies made with pink fondant ribbons... It was fun to go into the dining room and be surrounded by sugar cookies!

Today I made 6 cupcakes like Thomas the Tank Engine and 6 football cupcakes... They were fun :)

I also made a topsy turvy birthday cake... Happy birthday, Debbie!

Unfortunately, I have recently discovered that I need to whittle down As You Wish to no longer include cakes... this weekend I will be making my last business cakes! Hopefully cake will return to the menu again, but for now As You Wish will specialize in cupcakes, cake balls, and cookies.

On Tuesday I decided to make some applesauce with all of those apples that wonderful customer gave me!

A messy job! But in the end, it was delicious! There's nothing quite like warm, homemade applesauce... tells me that its fall!

Homemade Applesauce Recipe

Ingredients

3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples.
4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
3 inches of cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
up to 1/4 cup of white sugar
1 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method

1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
2 Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.
Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.
Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

On the Web!

2009-09-29T11:11:00.003-05:00

Exciting news!

As You Wish bakery now has a website! It's still needing some tweaking, but pretty exciting! Dad's been helping me set up the website and take professional pictures for it using the light box that my 'Uncle' Paul made me! Here are the pictures we've been taking (and yes... this was a LOT of baking today!)

Hint of Almond

Coffee Toffee Swirl

Decadent Chocolate

Chai Spice

Strawberry

Caramel Latte

Chocolate Cake Balls

Almond Cake Balls

Yesterday I also made three dozen cupcakes for a local teacher whose last chemo treatment was Monday. They requested pink ribbons and 'Fight Like a Girl' on the cupcakes. You go girl!

I also made two dozen assorted cupcakes and a dozen cake balls for Reata'z Deli + Market, so if you would like to try one, stop on by!

And finally, a photo of dipping a cake ball... these are my weakness. Even after a long day of baking, these still taste amazing!

"Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it." -Habakkuk 1:5

All in a day's work...

2009-09-26T13:16:00.000-05:00

What a busy day! 8 dozen cookies, 1 cake, 3 dozen cupcakes...

My 'Uncle' Paul made me this SWEET lightbox to photograph my cupcakes! I am so excited and so blessed! Thanks Paul!

I'm still learning how to use it... but doesn't this look better already?

Speaking of blessed, one customer brought me a bushel of Mcintosh apples from her apple tree! Wow! I munched on one immediately and it was sooo sweet and delicious. Tomorrow Marmie and I are going to whip up some apple treats... stay tuned!

Yesterday I started baking, and then disaster strikes!

Oh Coffee Toffee! Why do you fail me now? 2 dozen flopped cupcakes!

But you know what my motto is... 'When life sinks your cake, make cake balls.'

And then... tweak your recipe! The cupcake in the lightbox is the new and improved Coffee Toffee Swirl!

I made a dozen Coffee Toffee and a dozen Hint of Almond for a family whose son is heading to Iraq after this weekend. It was especially an honor to bake for someone serving his country in this way. Thank you!

Here's a party platter from Thursday that I'm now listing on my new brochure (e-mail me at asyouwishbakery@gmail.com if you would like a copy of the new brochure!) that has 2 dozen chocolate dipped cookies and 2 dozen cake balls.

It's Kate's second birthday, so I made her this 6" Whinny-the-Poo cake and a dozen specialty cupcakes. She is the youngest with three older brothers, and her parents call her their 'little spot of pink in a sea o blue.' And so these cupcakes are just that!

Today is also the first anniversary for one happy couple. So I made them a dozen of these sweet heart cupcakes.

And finally, 8 dozen cookies for a house warming. 3 dozen chocolate chip, 3 dozen peanut butter, and 3 dozen sugar.

What a day! I hope your was equally sweet.

Shine...

2009-09-23T21:01:00.001-05:00

Breaking News: As You Wish made the cover of the Insider today! Click here to check it out online!

In other news...
Woo! What a fun order!

"Strawberry with lots of color. That's all I want!"

Red, pink, blue, green, yellow...

Pretty darn cute!

I also made a two-tier 8" peanut butter cup cake... yum!

Confession: I was in the middle of making chocolate cake balls, had the cake all baked, and got stuck! I just didn't want to make buttercream! Saw some apples... and some bananas...

...4 loaves of banana bread and 3 loaves of apple bread later, I did get my buttercream made, and had some yummy bread to give out to friends to boot! :)

Here's the recipes for the breads:

Autumn Apple Bread

Ingredients:
1/2 c. butter or margarine
1 c. brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
2 c. peeled and diced apples, moistened with lemon juice
1/3 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1/2 c. chopped raisins/dates (optional)
2 c. flour
2 ts. baking powder
1 ts. cinnamon
1/2 ts. nutmeg
1/2 ts. salt
1/2 c. sour milk (to sour, add 1/2 ts. vinegar to room temp milk, let curdle)

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar and add beaten egg, stir in fruit and nuts. Sift together dry ingredients and add alternately with milk. Place in a loaf pan; let stand for 10 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees F until cooked, about 1 hour (Check after 25 minutes... I'm pretty sure mine baked a lot quicker than an hour). Serve plain or buttered!

Sweet Banana Bread

Ingredients:

1 3/4 all-purpose flour

1 1/4 ts. baking powder

1/2 ts. baking soda

3/4 ts. salt

1 (3oz) package cook & serve vanilla pudding mix

1 ts. cinnamon

2/3 c. white sugar

1/2 c. shortening

2 eggs

2 Tb. milk

1 1/3 c. mashed ripe banana

1/3 c. chocolate chips (or more :)

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and vanilla pudding mix. In a large mixing bowl, beat sugar and shortening until light, scraping sides of the bowl often. Add the eggs one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Mix in the milk.

2. Add flour mixture and mashed bananas alternately to creamed mixture, beating until smooth after each addition. Fold in chocolate chips or walnuts if desired. Pour batter into a lightly greased 8X4" loaf pan.

3. Bake at 350 until tests done (forgot to time it, sorry! Check it after 15 or 20 minutes)

Take some time to celebrate today!

Sweetness

2009-09-10T15:20:00.000-05:00

Yay! Another new recipe!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes
Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcakes with Chocolate buttercream.

I made two dozen Peanut Butter Cupcakes and two dozen confetti cupcakes for this birthday order. I love making confetti cupcakes. They're always so cheerful!
Happy birthday to the birthday boy!

I love that my 'office' gets to be this cheerful (and tasty!).

Today I made 40 marbled cupcakes for my amazing neighbor who's starting this season's piano lessons this week. They were my first marbled cupcakes and took a little experimenting, but

I made a batch of chocolate cake and hint of almond. First I put in some chocolate...

then topped them with hint of almond.

A swirl with the knife, and they're ready to bake!

I think they're so pretty! And better yet, you don't have to choose between chocolate and white.

Purely for research reasons, I had to cut one and see what the marbled inside looked like... and tasted like... :)

I topped them with vanilla buttercream and gumpaste music notes I made a few days ago. Voila! I'm calling them Marbled Mozart.

I'll be baking and cooking for the 'Just Joy' women's retreat next weekend, and so I practiced making baby cupcakes (if you have cakes, then smaller are cupcakes, are these teacupcakes?).

Seriously. How cute is that little guy? The chocolate ones need some tweaking (which is understandable. Chocolate should come in massive quantities!) but hint of almond turned out well :)
Here's mom:

One of my goals with As You Wish is to bring sweetness to people's lives, not just by sheer quantity of sugar but also through deeper encouragement.

I know that everyone has a different story, is at a different stage of life. Some are celebrating new life, others are mourning the loss of life or the loss of a relationship. Some are laughing, others weeping. I know that, at some point, heartbreak falls on every heart.

No matter what your story is, I want to share this encouragement with you:

"For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a might savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." Zephaniah 3:17

Paints & Pints

2009-09-07T18:25:00.000-05:00

What is this mess in the hallway? Well... let's just say it all started with a cool shower curtain. Add a simple tug at the wallpaper, and I plunged headlong into redoing the bathroom!

I am woman, hear me roar!

With lots of help (thanks, Dad!) we got the bathroom done in two days! Woo hoo!

Last night I also went out to our ~~weed~~ vegetable garden and picked lots of tomatoes and peppers...

...thus, salsa! I made a half batch of this recipe from recipezaar. Here's what I did:

I n g r e d i e n t s

* 6 c u p s d i c e d t o m a t o e s ( d o n o t r e m o v e s s k i n s o r s e e d s )
* 1 or 2 l a r g e y e l l o w b e l l p e p p e r s , s m a l l d i c e d
* 1 l a r g e g r e e n b e l l p e p p e r , s m a l l d i c e d
* 1 l a r g e o n i o n , f i n e d i c e d ( o r r u n t h r o u g h f o o d p r o c e s s o r )
* 2 l a r g e j a l a p e n o p e p p e r s , f i n e l y d i c e d w i t h s e e d s r e m o v e d
* 1 t a b l e s p o o n s s a l t
* 1 / 4 c u p s u g a r
* 1 / 4 c u p t o m a t o s a u c e
* 1 /2 c u p b o t t l e d l i m e j u i c e
* 2 t e a s p o o n s m i n c e d g a r l i c ( I u s e t h e j a r r e d m i n c e d g a r l i c )
* 1 1/2 t a b l e s p o o n s c i l a n t r o , p a s t e ( a v a i l a b l e i n f r e s h h e r b s e c t i o n o f g r o c e r y )

D i r e c t i o n s

1 . D i c e t o m a t o s a n d p l a c e i n f i n e m e s h c o l a n d e r t o d r a i n e x t r a j u i c e / w a t e r .
2 . W h i l e t o m a t o s a r e d r a i n i n g , d i c e r e m a i n i n g v e g e t a b l e s a n d p l a c e i n l a r g e p o t .
3 . A d d s a l t , s u g a r , t o m a t o s a u c e , a n d g a r l i c .
4. S t i r c i l a n t r o p a s t e i n t o l i m e j u i c e a n d s t i r t o b r e a k u p p a s t e . A d d t o m a t o s t o p o t a n d s t i r w e l l .
5 . B r i n g j u s t t o a b o i l , t h e n l a d l e i n t o containers. Sample the warm salsa—it’s really good!

I don't have a canner, but I followed this up to step 5 and it's wonderful! It made about 2 pints of salsa.

And since I was already straying from cupcakes this weekend, I made muffins for my Dad and B2.

Have a great Labor Day!

Joy

2009-09-03T11:42:00.001-05:00

I truly believe that joy must be sought out. It just doesn't come naturally, at least not all the time. But there is joy in the little things! We can mourn yesterday and fear tomorrow, but we should always celebrate today.

...cake helps :)

Today I'm finding joy in red nail polish, dancing squirrels, and sugar-covered smiles. I love being in such a happy business! These are photos from a cake delivery a few weeks ago. If I make you some cake/cupcakes/etc., send me a photo and you can be a blogstar!

Three exciting things happened today: I had an interview and photoshoot to have As You Wish appear in the Insider for the Courier in a couple weeks! I'm excited! It's not often that I appear in a newspaper and not be the byline!

I also tried a new recipe for Pistachio cupcakes. (Yumm!!!! My new favorite)

What should I name them?

I also made these gumpaste music notes as my dear friend and neighbor (and my piano teacher, llama whisperer and prairie expert) is starting up her fall season of teaching piano. They'll be the toppers for cupcakes for her students.

I hope this brought a little joy to your day. Go out and celebrate!

Name The New Recipe!

2009-08-30T18:27:00.000-05:00

Thought I'd start off with a picture of my first homemade confetti cupcakes! Confetti cake was always my favorite growing up.

But my highlight for the weekend was this three-tier flower cake! My table was covered in leaves and flowers all week.

Learned one sad lesson. See these bags full of two days' work of gumpaste flowers and leaves? Turns out that even after they've dried, putting them in ziplocs make them soften and mush together! Ach! Fortunately I found out with enough time to save most of them.

Put some gumpaste violets on some flower wire to have a 3-d effect.

With this cake, I tried using cardboard and dowel rods to help support all the layers. I loved the result! Never going back :) The bottom layers is almond and the upper layers are chocolate.

When it came time to attach the decorations, I wasn't sure what to use. I assumed corn syrup would work, the adhesive I use for fondant on fondant, but it didn't work for the gumpaste! Fortunately, Google is much smarter than I am, and I found out that mixing Meringue Powder and water works!

Two hours later...

I had a blast making this cake for my good friend Holly.

With some leftover cake and fondant, Marmie made her first fondant cake! So cute!

Today I tried a new recipe! Chocolate, toffee, and coffee are involved. So what should I name them? Mocha Toffee or Coffee Toffee? (Say Coffee Toffee ten times fast. Hehe!)

Mocha Toffee or Coffee Toffee? You decide! Leave me a comment below!

My Cupcake Record!

2009-08-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

This last weekend was a busy one! I had a topsy-turvy cake order and my family reunion on Saturday. It was my first time using wire decorations, but I like it!

With my leftover fondant I covered that baby topsy-turvy I had baked. Kinda cute! The kids at the reunion loved it. I couldn't help but smile when they came up and asked me if they could eat it!

I also made two Oreo cakes: one out of brownie and ice cream (a big hit! Had to keep B2 from sinking his teeth into it!) and one out of white cake with frosting.

I also made some chocolate cake balls. I get to crumble cake with my bare (very clean) hands. How great is my job?? :)

Here's the table at the reunion!

Monday I made cookies and brought a tray up to Mal's school for the teachers.

Yesterday and today I had two identical cupcake orders. Set my own baking record of 48 cupcakes in one hour this morning! Woohoo!

Decadent Chocolate Chip
with chocolate buttercream and mini oreo

Chai cupcakes
with Chai Spice buttercream and Teddy Grahams

Almond cupcakes
with vanilla buttercream and wafer cookie

During my breaks, I'm cranking out gumpaste leaves and flowers for a three-tier for Saturday! Stay tuned! I'm really excited for this cake!

Another Day To Celebrate

2009-08-21T20:53:00.000-05:00

Today was a full day! I worked over 9 hours in the kitchen today. And it's all in preparation for tomorrow! I have three cakes for tomorrow. I got to try out my new oreo pan, which was fun! I didn't like the look with the white cake because it browned... but it will taste good! I made another one with brownies which will be better!

I made just a LITTLE too much cake batter... and so I made cakes for a baby topsy turvy...

...and 62 mint-chocolate chip cake balls.

I love trying new recipes, and I'm excited to see what these taste like dipped in chocolate! They look like keepers for now!

I also baked three tiers of decadent chocolate cake for a topsy turvy tomorrow. I used a heating core for the first time and loved it! It helps the cake bake evenly across. So nice!

Made a double batch of fondant. There's a lot of recipes online but I prefer the ones that use marshmallows. I've probably made 10-15 batches of fondant, and I still learn more each time. But what I've learned from the start is that fondant is messy!

I also learned to dye it right away, otherwise it takes forever! It takes a LOT of food dye, too.

At this point, you can roll it out and get a marbled effect. This decision is a whole lot more appealing after 5 minutes of kneading. Be sure to keep adding Crisco to keep the fondant from drying out.

But keep going, and voila! Beautiful color! Do you see an elephant?

After it's dyed, wrap it in saran wrap and keep it in an air-tight container overnight. Tomorrow I'll roll these out to decorate the topsy turvy.

Split and frosted the cake layers, and carved them slightly so they have a tilt.

Then covered it in chocolate ganache. This will be the adhesive for the fondant tomorrow. Think there's enough chocolate in this cake?

And now I leave it to set overnight. Whew! I'm excited to decorate it...

The only bummer about being in the kitchen all day is that it was SUCH a beautiful day out! Sophie and I took a break and went to visit the neighbor's cows.

Take some time to celebrate the day!

Until next time!

Week's Worth!

2009-08-20T22:13:00.000-05:00

Mom and I went to Minneapolis Friday and Saturday for my cousin's wedding shower. Brought chai cupcakes (fixed the frosting recipe, yay!)

Saturday was also my uncle's 50th birthday party! Happy birthday, Uncle Brad!

Then Saturday night we drove back to Iowa and dipped over 250 cake balls for a friend's wedding!
They're pretty, but not nearly as beautiful as flowers from a friend! Thanks Holly!

Bride tested, flower girl approved! The wedding was beautiful, Christy!

Today was the first day of school for the local elementary schools, so I made these cookie pops for a few friends.

Stay tuned this weekend for:
-2 Oreo cakes
-Topsy Turvy cake

Peppermint Patty Pals

2009-08-13T13:26:00.000-05:00

I had the yummiest breakfast to start off the day! Krusteaz' Blueberry mix is the best ever! And I made them in heart-shapes because, let's face it, no matter how old you are, pancakes taste better in shapes.

Then I got to work making Peppermint Patty cupcakes. Yum!

You're supposed to put the peppermint buttercream frosting on top, but I wanted to decorate them, so I piped the frosting into the cupcakes...

...and dipped them in chocolate ganache! Ghirardelli makes the best chocolate ever and this was the most beautiful chocolate ganache I ever made!

I decorated them Africa-themed for my brother (B1) and his wife (Mal), who get back from a 6-week mission trip to Africa. So proud of you two!

I finally got to use my cute little animals! Yay!

Lately I've been playing 'Mama Mia' in the background as I bake. Such a wonderful musical! One song is stuck in my head, and I love the lyrics:

I have a dream,
a song to sing
To help me cope
with anything

If you see the wonder
of a fairy tale
you can take the future
even if you fail.

I have a dream.

Double Cake Day!

2009-08-12T18:43:00.000-05:00

That's right, today I made two birthday cake orders! I worked from 8-4:30 (boy do I love my job! I can't believe I get to bake all day and call it 'work'!) and by the end of the day had two pretty sweet looking birthday cakes!

And Baker's Joy = sheer amazingness. I used to spend forever greasing and flouring each pan, but enter Baker's Joy, stage right! This stuff is better than Pop Rocks. Try it out.

Yesterday when I brought the tray to Dad's work I left with a cake order! Sure to make it chocolate with extra chocolate (this is my sort of cake order!), I was told to make a computer cake for Nate's 28th birthday.

I was nervous to make a tiered chocolate cake. Most of the chocolate cakes I've made have been really moist and I wasn't sure it would hold up... But I tried it anyways! I made the Decadent Double Chocolate Chip Cupcakes recipe into an 8" and 6" cake rounds. Then I cut each layer in half and put in a chocolate frosting. I think I'll be doing this a lot in the future because this way the cakes still get frosting even if they're fondant-covered.

I marbled red, black, and white fondant and rolled it out to be the "counter" for the computer. As much as I love fondant, dying it black is a work-out!

Then I made the computer and keyboard out of Rice Krispie treats. I cut up Andes mints to be the keys, then covered it in fondant and used an edible pen to write on it.

Voila!

The next is for my uncle's 50th. Happy birthday Uncle Brad! We play a lot of cards in our family, and so he got a poker-themed cake. I made three tiers of almond cake, each tier cut in half with frosting in between the layers. Put the fondant down...

...and added the decorations! Tada! This was such a fun cake to make!

And now, I'm exhuasted. A full day! Calls for curling up with a cup of coffee (decaf) and John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress...

Till next time!

What a Day!

2009-08-11T16:27:00.000-05:00

It's sure been busy around the house today! On the agenda: two trays filled with cupcakes, danishes, and cake truffles to be delivered to Dad's work and Reata'z Deli+Market, a really sweet cafe/deli where you may be finding As You Wish treats in the near future!

First up, cake balls!

Here's the cake truffle mixture ready to be scooped and frozen...

Then dipped and ready to go!

While letting dough for Almond Danishes rise, I popped another batch of Chai cupcakes into the oven. These sure make the house smell good! Next I want to try smaller, individual-sized Almond Danishes.

Yesterday I made some more little animals! They're so fun. I've got to say that the panda is my favorite.

Marmie and I made our first photo-box to take pictures of the cupcakes when they're done. Extremely high-tech as you can see!
Took a few pictures to try it out... I'll still have to play with lighting and color-correcting, but here goes!

Mister Panda and flower cupcakes . . .

. . . and a Chai Spice cupcake. Note the nice, swirly, behaving frosting. That cute little curl lasted.... until I stepped out the door! By the time I got to Reata'z the frosting had melted all over! Ach! I'll have to fix that problem...

Here's mom's bear face. So cute!

Here's the big tray ready to go off to Dad's workplace! And while I was there I got another birthday cake order for Friday--a computer cake!
That'll sure be fun. Stay tuned for that one!

And here's the tray I brought to Reata'z for the tasting appointment today. Sounds like a real win-win situation and another step for getting As You Wish on its feet! (I still can't believe that Chai frosting melted everywhere. Argh. Ever have moments like that? At least it still tasted good! Thanks for your patience, Shannon!)

One of my favorite parts about As You Wish is the delivery! I just love bringing a little sweetness to people's days. I hope this brings a little to yours! Stay tuned this week for two birthday cakes, surprise cupcakes, wedding shower cupcakes, and 250 wedding cake truffles!

Making me smile...

2009-08-08T18:32:00.000-05:00

Meet Sophie.

Despite her quirky sleeping habits, Sophie is more often to be found jumping up and down, chasing after a ball, or jumping into a car whose door was left open for more than two seconds. Last time she sat in the parked car for an hour and a half before getting out. You can't help but smile when Sophie's around!

Sophie and "Grandpa" Sumo (right) love walking out in the back field every day... But normally, sweet Sumo likes to sit in the living room and watch me bake.

And Oh, Chai! I found a divine new recipe for Chai cupcakes with Chai Spice Frosting. YUMMMM!!!!! Absolutely heavenly with coffee!

Mom brought home a book on sculpting clay full of these cute little creatures! I copied them using fondant, and they're so fun. I can't wait to make a cake with them sitting around the tiers!

Unfortunately, my first attempt at an elephant flopped. Thus, he promptly turned into a pirate.

On the menu this week:
-250 cake balls for a wedding
-1 themed 50th birthday cake
-Bridal shower cupcakes

Stay tuned!

It's Official!

2009-08-06T13:17:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we swung by the courthouse and I got a business license! 'As You Wish' is now official. I never thought I would ever call myself a businesswoman... but here goes!

So, as this is my first day as an official businesswoman, I thought I'd give you a taste of what my mornings are like. First things first, the elixir of life. Coffee. I usually visit this pot once or twice... or three times... But you gotta admit, the world is just so much brighter on caffeine.

Then I went to work on two batches of cupcakes: double chocolate chip and spiced carrot cake. (Note: melted, unsweetened cocoa is NOT as tasty as it looks! Don't ask me how I know.)

Then I tried to decide what my favorite kitchen utensil was, and it was a toss-up between....

The classic wooden spoon...

...and the ever-so-handy rubber spatula. Which do you think? Leave a comment at the bottom and let me know! :)

Meanwhile, Marmie (who is nearly as crazy as I am) is having a blast with her new vaccuum cleaner and pretending it's a machine gun!

The double chocolate chip cupcakes came out of the oven, and I dipped them in the white chocolate ganache... what a mess! But what is "messy" but a synonym for "fun"?

And after a little touch-up, they even looked kind of pretty!

Dad and brother2 agreed to be my taste-testers... and it was all I could do to keep them from eating them all!

And the Spiced Carrot Cake cupcakes didn't turn out to shabby either! Till next time!

Beginning A Dream

2009-08-05T10:38:00.001-05:00

I've always been what you might call a 'stress baker.' Thus, finals week meant loaves of bread and batches of cookies flying out of my oven! Whenever my college roommate came home and saw me up to my elbows in flour kneading dough, a platter of cookies on the counter, and more in the oven, her response was always, "Uh oh!"

But my passion for baking goes way back. By the time I was three, Marmie had her little blonde girl by her side watching and "helping." In junior high I spent Sunday afternoons baking treats for my football-crazed family. By high school, I was baking for a local coffeeshop. Now, I'm setting up shop at home and starting my own business!

I'm working on perfecting my own danish recipe. It has a flaky crust, and a sweet, creamy, almond filling and is topped with powdered sugar icing and toasted almonds. I've also made some with raspberry and peach fillings. Also very tasty!

But right now my passion is cake! These cakes are all made with fondant. I make my own almond cake, buttercream icing, and marshmallow fondant.

Topsy Turvy

Marbled White Rose

Vine

Harry Potter Sorting Hat

Cake Truffles

Cupcakes
Stay tuned for future baking discoveries!

-Kirstin Leigh