Bachelorette Penis Cake - Don't Judge.

So, I'm running around campus one day and get a text from my boyfriend, "Hey..can you make a penis cake?".

Intriguing, right?

So, I said I would give it a shot. Bear in mind that I have NEVER attempted to make a cake look like any body part. And the story thickens...

It's for his boss. She is hosting a Bachelorette party for a close friend, and the only thing this friend wanted at her party was a penis cake. No pressure, right?

So I do what any diligent amateur baker does - I research. I googled penis cake images for hours (warning: graphic content occasionally follows when searching for this), watched Youtube videos on how to make a penis cake, and read dozens of blogs.

Thanks to Brandi, who made this awesome video. It was a huge help!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CbtkO5GXNo

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I did my best, using my favorite chocolate cake recipe and vanilla buttercream frosting. Since they didn't want fondant on the cake, I made the icing as smooth as possible and here is how it ended up:

Here are the details:

Cake Recipe:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup strong black coffee   

Interestingly, this cake recipe doesn't require you to combine the ingredients in a specific way. Just preheat the oven to 350 degrees, butter and flour cake pan, and combine all dry ingredients in mixer first (make sure you sift your dry ingredients!!! - Baking 101, duh). Then, add in all wet ingredients, mix a couple of times by hand, and finish with mixer. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Icing Recipe (which I had to double to accurately ice the cake):

• 1/2 cup butter-flavored crisco
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar (or until desired consistency)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• (some people use 2 tbsp. milk, but I didn't need it)

"Skin-tone" Icing color:

• 2 parts brown to 1 part pink (more pink for the head)

I wish I could walk you through a step-by-step process, but I didn't take pictures =/ But feel free to contact me with any questions!

P.S. The most valuable thing I learned from this experience is to do a crumb coat before you decorate. Always. Crumb. Coat.

Until next time, compadres.

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

Let me just preface this by saying, the ingredients needed to make this damn cheesecake are expensive. $8 for spices (ginger and nutmeg); $7 for pecan halves, $3.50 for gingersnaps, $6 for cream cheese…buuuuuut the experience of tasting this cheesecake? Priceless.

Since it smells like football and deer hunting season outside, I thought it would be appropriate to bake something seasonal and fun. Fall is my very favorite time of year, and there was something about a Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake that screamed falling leaves and autumn. My mom was the first to mention this recipe to me, and because she is generally a connoisseur of all things dessert, I went with it.  (And also because I was planning on making Indianapolis Colts cupcakes until I heard about Peyton’s surgery, so I’m holding off on that until the grieving process is over). 

Anyways, I couldn’t find a perfect recipe, so I did a little mixing and matching. For the crust, I used a gingersnap cookie recipe that I found online – trust me, with this cake, gingersnaps AlWAYS trump graham crackers. Then, I found the Better Homes and Gardens pumpkin cheesecake recipe and combined it with a praline recipe I found in an old cookbook.  Voila!  

Oh – I almost forgot to mention: Always do your research prior to taking on baking tasks. I’m used to quick and simple dessert recipes, and after realizing how involved this projects was, I wondered what I got myself into.  But I am here to tell you that it was well worth it.

Step 1: Make the Praline topping

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of brown sugar (packed)
• 4 tablespoons of butter (unsalted please)
• ¾ cup of chopped pecans

• Pretty simple: Preheat the oven to 325° F and line a cookie sheet with foil. 
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in sugar until completed blended.
• Bring to a boil for one minute without stirring.
• Add pecans until they are completely coated.
• Spread out onto the cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool, break into pieces, and set aside.

Brown sugar and buttery goodness boiling.

Step 2: Make the crust..

Ingredients:

2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ cup melted butter, 1 tsp nutmeg

• Crush the gingersnap cookies (I put mine in a baggie and crushed them with a hammer, which is pretty much the only time I use that hammer)

• Drizzle melted butter over the cookie crumbs; add cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Mix well and then transfer to springform pan by pressing the mixture onto the bottom of the pan and one inch up the sides.
• Bake at 325° F for about 6-8 minutes. Let cool completely.

Step 3: Make the cheescake.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 packages of cream cheese (8oz each, softened)
• 20 oz pumpkin
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 4 large eggs

•  Beat together sugar and cream cheese. Mix in flour.
• Add pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. 
• Transfer to the cooled crust.
• Bake for 55 minutes at 375°F.  

FINALLY: Once the cheesecake has baked, refrigerate overnight. Release the pan sides, put on platter, and cover the top of the cake with the praline crumbles. For better presentation, leave one inch plain border around the edge of the cake. 

Cut and serve!

Annnddd I'm out.

Hasta luego, Camaradas.

<3 Meg