Pumpkin Patch

McKade's 2nd Birthday Cake
for his fall festival themed party.

Norfolk Southern

I made this cake for a friend whose husband works for Norfolk Southern. It was a yummy pineapple coconut cream cake.

Homemade Apple Pie

I love fall and harvest time. It is a family tradition to trek to the North Georgia Mountains and take in the beauty of Amicalola Falls and the changing leaves. The trip is not complete without a stop in Ellijay at one of the many apple orchards. This year we made that stop at Hillcrest Orchards. We had a fabulous family day and brought back a huge bag of apples. I love the smell of fresh baked apple pie in the fall. It reminds me of my grandmother!

Today I made up 5 apple pies. We are eating one and freezing the rest. I must say it is YUMMY even gluten free. You really can't tell the difference in the crust!

RECIPE

CRUST

• 1 cup all purpose flour (substitute a gluten free flour* + 1 1/4 tsp xantham gum for GF)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
• 1/3 cup shortening (I use spectrum organic or coconut oil)
• 4-6 Tbsp cold water

Mix together dry ingredients, cut in shortening, add cold water a little bit at a time. Chill briefly before rolling out. Divide dough in half for top and bottom crust (give the bottom a little more than half). Roll out bottom crust and lay in pie plate, trim off excess. Roll out top crust and set aside.

FILLING

• tart apples
• lemon juice
• 2/3 cup organic cane sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp flour (substite gluten free flour to make it GF)
  
• 2 Tbsp butter
  

Peel and dice about 3-4 cups of tart apples, squeeze a dab of fresh lemon juice on the apples. In a separate bowl mix remaining ingredients. Pour mixture over apples and cover them. Dump apples in pie plate, slice up 2 Tbsp of butter over the top, wet the rim of the bottom crust, lay on the top crust. Take a fork and impress the top crust around the edges. Trim off the excess with a knife. Cut 5 slits in the top of pie. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until crust is brown.

*I use Bob's Red Mill All puropse g-free flour. Sometimes I combine 1/4 cup Bob's Red Mill Brown Rice flour and 1/4 cup White Rice flour with 1/2 cup all purpose flour for an even better blend.

3D Ladybug

I was so happy to get to do this Ladybug cake. I had been wanting to do something similar for awhile and was getting ready to do one for my katybug just for fun. This was for a little girl's first birthday. Her nickname is Addi-bug. The ladybug on top is on a separate cardboard hidden by green grass and this cake was taken off to be her smash cake.

Toy Story

Blue & Brown

Military Cake

I really loved getting to make this cake. It was in honor of a friend being deployed for his second war time tour. I admire the bravery of our service men and the sacrifices they have to make. My prayers are with him and his family during this time.

Princess Cake

I really loved how this cake turned out. It was made for a good friend for her daughter's 5th Birthday. We had the cake with a pillow topped with a crown and some cute little coordinating cupcakes.

Maxine Cake

Who can resist Hallmark's shoebox greeting card lady Maxine when it comes to birthday humor...especially for over the hill humor. This cake was actually for my mom ordered by her co-workers.