Cake Ideas 101

Cake Ideas – Using Coconut Flour vs. Wheat Flour

We know there are a lot of people out there who are allergic to wheat flour and the products made from it. Since one of the main ingredients in cake is flour, it stands to reason that many people are not able to enjoy eating cake because of these allergies. After hearing a lady comment that the cake looked so good, but she just could not eat it, we knew there had to be something out there. She asked me if I knew anything about coconut flour. I had to admit I had not even heard about it. So I did some research on the product. Many people who are allergic to wheat have no problem with the coconut flour at all. Granted, it is more expensive, but isn't it worth being able to have a piece of cake now and then instead of not at all? 😉 In our research, we found a company that offers the coconut flour at the most reasonable price when we compared them. This company has many health food related products that we would like to encourage you to check out while you are there that may also assist you in any other areas of your life. There are two ways you can actually find the coconut flour. 1.) Simply click on the coconut flour picture below to go in to the store. There is a blue bar across the top, and in the middle it says to select a product category. Click on the down arrow and select baking products. It will ask you to refine your search further. Click on Gluten Free. At the very top of the list of products you will see item #274-0001. Click on the word Coconut Flour beside it. 2. Or when you are at the blue bar, use the 'search' function at the right and type in the product code of 274-0001and it will be the first product brought up. Just click on the words 'Coconut Flour.' Either way, this will take you to the page where you can read all about the flour and it also gives the nutritional information if you scroll down the page a ways.

Now what good is that coconut flour if you don't have a recipe book to go along with it so you can know how to use it to the best advantage? Well, we have solved that for you too. We did some more research and found you a cookbook!

We hope you will be able to use these products for you or those you love so that those with wheat allergies will be able to "Have their cake and eat it too!"

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Cake Ideas – Birthday Money Cake

We all like being remembered on one special day of the year – our birthday. How do you think someone would like to receive a money cake on their special day?

Happy Birthday to You,

Here's some cake and money for YOU,

Happy Birthday to You!

Cake Ideas- Valentine’s Day Cakes

Cake ideas start to be sought when Valentine's Day approaches in order to make a treat for those special someones. A decorated cake for that holiday can make it memorable, no matter what the age of the recipient. What are a few ideas for the cake itself? Well, pink and red are usually associated with Valentine's Day. So how about using Strawberry or Cherry Chip cake mix for a pink cake or a Red Velvet cake mix for a red cake! Or you can always use a White mix and add red food coloring a few drops at a time to get the shade you desire. The frosting can be white or pink and then use any of the various shades of pink and red for the trimmings, writing, and decorations. The decorations on the cake can be any variation of things to spruce it up. Ideas for that could be red or pink artifical flowers, Valentine confetti, a cake topper, or fresh strawberries (don't put these on till ready to serve 😉 ). Since hearts are usually associated with the holiday, a heart-shaped cake definately fits the occasion. If a heart pan is not available, you can actually make a cake in that shape by pouring half the batter in an 8" square layer and the other half in an 8" round layer. After they are baked and removed from the pans, turn the square layer with a point on the bottom like a diamond. Cut the round layer in half and place the cut side of each half of the round layer against one upper side of the square layer, making it look like it has Mickey Mouse ears. What shape do you see? A Heart 😮 ! Heart-shaped cupcakes or ones in Valentine cupcake papers make great individual servings or something special for school parties. Any shape of pan can be used for a Valentine's Day cake and the decorations will give it the character needed for the special occasion. You can use any of the items listed earlier for decorating the cake, or you can also use colored decorating sugar, red hots, or candy conversation hearts that are in season for the holiday.

Cake Ideas – Cake Decorating Learning Options

Cake Decorating Learning Options

We would like to encourage any cake decorators, whether beginners or experts looking for cake ideas, to research the various options to learn this wonderful craft. You might be able to find a local decorator or bakery who would be willing to teach you the art. If you can’t find a resource that way, there are online courses through Craftsy where they have over 175 options on the subject of cakes. Feel free to also take a look here at what can be found online in the way of products available for learning how to make decorated cakes or for cake ideas in the way of books, DVDs and videos. And of course, if all else fails, there is always the Dummies Reference books – yes, they even have one for decorating cakes!

Cake Ideas – Decorating With Candy

Cake ideas can include candy such as plain old M&M's and Hershey's Kisses for decorating cakes. However, you can purchase these candies for those special occasions, and they will definately make a conversation piece. When my husband and I celebrated our 25th anniversary, we ordered M&M's that said 'Daryl & Linda' on some and 'Happy 25th' on the others. We had chosen the colors of silver (or course) and light blue or light turquoise for our anniversary colors to work with for the celebration. (We also used gold and yellow M&M's for my parent's 50th Anniversary and purple and lavendar ones for our son's wedding.) Several months before our party, we had received an email advertising for personalized M&M's, and we thought that was just too unique of an idea to pass up. Checking the website now, they have more options available than they did almost 2 years ago – including 22 colors! Our anniversary is April 10, so I was able to start picking up Christmas decorations on clearance in the right colors (silver garland and bells and blue balls, etc.) that we wanted for decorating for the event. See some of the table decorations in the pictures below.

Another place that has some really cool ideas for candy that can be served with your decorated cake as a little garnish, or scattered on the tables as a colorful decoration, is a store called 'Candy Warehouse.' You deserve to check out this store. You can search for candy by the type, the occasion, and by color of it – or the wrapper. Another place you can shop for specialty candy and tons of party decorations is the Oriental Trading Company. They have all kinds of stuff that we used for our anniversary, including individually wrapped dinner mints in silver foil that had anniversary greetings printed on them and 25th anniversary balloons. And since Valentine's Day was only about two months prior to our anniversary, I was able to find the 'Love' tag Hershey's kisses. One thing the papers that came with the M & M's said was to not store them in a refrigerator, but rather keep them in a small styrofoam cooler, as getting chocolate cold makes it turn a whitish color – and then they wouldn't have been very pretty for the party and people would have thought we were serving them old candy 😉 . So as you can see, sometimes you can think 'outside the box' and come up with some really great options that will enhance or compliment your cake ideas.