2008 Cake Decorating Ideas

Cake decorating is a hobby and a delight for all seasons. What better way to keep the family happy than to bake them a sweet tasting cake for that special occasion, or maybe just to show you care.

It is important before you even begin to bake your cake that you decide what you are going to actually decorate it with. You have a variety of options.

Most cakes are commonly topped with icing or frosting of which there are a multitude, including Buttercream Icings, Caramel Icings, Peanut Butter Icings and many, many others. There is also fondant, marzipan and butter cream which are also types of icing. Other icings to consider which aren't so common are those made with a mixture of sugar and cream cheeses. The simplest icing you can make is called Glace and is basically made with water and icing sugar.

The ingredients of your icing consist of sugar, water, butter, egg whites and milk. I would imagine most homes would have a plentiful supply of these ingredients but it's always a good idea to check before you get started.

The finished cake can also be garnered with sprinkles which are little piece of candy and add a nice texture and decoration to your cake.

Valentine Chocolate Gift Ideas 2008

Nothing melts a chocolate lover's heart like a valentines chocolate gift. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to create your own unique gift that will show her how much you love her on Valentine's Day. Here are valentine chocolate gift ideas for the chocolate lover in your life.

Chocolate Kisses
You really should give her more than the old standby, but if you insist, at least be creative on how you give them to her. There are many different ways you can use kisses without coming across cheap. You can create your own red or pink gift box and pack the inside with kisses with a love letter. Another thing you can do is make a path of chocolate kisses that leads to another gift like a bouquet of red roses.

Chocolate Heart Box
Either create your own heart-shaped box or look for a nice fancy one and fill it with gourmet chocolates and truffles. You can buy candy boxes in the shape of a heart but leave the candy out and replace it with gourmet chocolates. You could even put chocolate kisses inside.

Valentines Day Flower 2008

Valentine's Day, which is celebrated on February 14th, is a major festival in the western hemisphere. People express their love for each other by means of gifts, of which flowers play a prominent role. In fact, it is said that flowers and chocolates are so essential that those gifts would be taken for granted if presented, yet will be noticed if not presented. It is said that the tradition of gifting flowers was originally Persian and it was introduced to the west in the 18th Century. Rose ranks highest among the flowers gifted on Valentine's Day. Red rose, which is commonly associated with passion, and pink rose, commonly associated with appreciation and sympathy, are popular gifts on Valentine's Day. Within the category rose, giving a particular type of rose signifies some special meaning such as Red: love, Pink: grace, gentle feelings of love, Dark Pink: gratitude, Light Pink: admiration, sympathy, White: innocence, purity, secrecy, friendship, reverence and humility, Yellow: Yellow roses generally mean dying love or platonic love, in German-speaking countries, however, they can mean jealousy and infidelity, Yellow with red tips: Friendship, falling in love, Orange: passion, Burgundy: beauty, Blue: mystery, Green: calm, Black: slavish devotion (as a true black rose is impossible to produce), Purple: protection (paternal/maternal love). So Flower Express’s Flower gift Philippines made sure that their customers feeling can be conveyed through the flowers.

Delicious Recipes for French Dinner for Valentines Day

Delicious Recipes When you prepare your own meal for Valentine's Day, love radiates from your heart, pours into the food and gives it the mystical quality that ignites the soul. When you serve your Valentine an elegant meal do it with some attractive candles, good champagne or wine if you like, and a warm and loving smile. The real aphrodisiac is you!

Cream of Zuchinni soup with tarragon

Ingredients:
1 chicken bouillon (stock) cube
1 large tablespoon creme fraiche
500 g small courgettes (zucchini) firm and a shiny green
1/2 teaspoon of crushed peppercorns
2 sprigs of tarragon washed and drained
salt to taste

Wash trim and slice the courgettes/zuchinnis. Fill a pan with 1 1/2 cups water, add the stock/bouillon cube and bring to the boil. Add the sliced courgettes/zuchinnis. Cook for 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender, add the and salt, peppercorns, creme fraiche, and then blend. Pour into soup bowls and add the sprigs of tarragon as a garnish.

Chocolate Style Valentine Cake

Choco Cake

The secret ingredient in this pretty heart-shaped cake is whipped cream, which replaces butter as the fat and gives the cake an airy texture. Not in the mood for love, just chocolate? This cake can also be made in a standard 9-inch round cake pan.

Position oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F. Trace pan on parchment paper; cut out. Grease pan; line bottom of pan with parchment heart; grease paper.

For cake, combine chocolate and water in medium stainless steel bowl; place bowl over simmering water in medium saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is smooth. Set aside; cool to room temperature.

In mixer bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar and salt. Set bowl over simmering water in medium saucepan (making sure bowl doesn't touch water); heat, whisking constantly, until eggs are warm, 1-2 minutes. Place bowl on mixer stand; beat with whisk attachment on high speed until mixture triples in volume, about 3 minutes.

In clean mixer bowl, with clean whisk attachment, beat heavy cream until firm peaks form. Gently fold cooled chocolate into egg mixture; fold chocolate egg mixture into whipped cream. Turn into prepared pan.

Place pan in water bath and bake 45-53 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Place pan on cooling rack; let cake cool 25 minutes. Run sharp knife around edge of pan to loosen; carefully invert cake onto wire rack. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

To make glaze, bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate; stir until chocolate is completely melted and glaze is smooth. Stir in vanilla. Cover surface with plastic wrap; cool about 10 minutes. Place chilled cake on cake circle; set on cooling rack. Spread raspberry jam evenly over top and sides of cake. Pour warm chocolate glaze on top of cake; using clean spatula, spread evenly over top and side, covering completely. Refrigerate cake at least 30 minutes.

Place white chocolate in small stainless steel bowl; place bowl over simmering water in saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently, until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat. Color chocolate with icing color to desired pink tone. Place colored chocolate in parchment bag; snip tiny hole in bottom. Remove cake from refrigerator; drizzle with pink chocolate. Refrigerate cake at least 20 minutes to set chocolate. Let cake stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Can be stored in refrigerator, loosely covered, up to 5 days.

Valentine Cake Recipe 2008

Love Cake

Beat on a platter the whites of ten eggs to a stiff froth. Stir into them one and one-half goblets of flour, sifted six times, adding a teaspoonful of cream of tartar in last sifting. Bake immediately in three large jelly cake tins. Use only two of these, and reserve the other for a strawberry or any other kind of fruitcake.

For filling take one pint of very rich cream, add to it two tablespoonfuls of pulverized sugar and a teaspoonful of vanilla. Whip to a stiff froth and color pink with Dr. Price's fruit coloring. When the cakes are cold, spread between the layers and pile also on top of the cake.

Before you begin to whip the cream see that it is very cold. It should be set in a bowl of ice while whipping, especially in the summer.