Silky Sweet Cupcakes

I think Swiss Merengue buttercream will be my standard frosting from now on. I rarely make the typical overly sweet buttercream these days. It is just too sugary and really doesn't taste good.
Swiss merengue is a silky, light buttercream. It is the perfect accompaniment to any cake flavor and as above pairs nicely with fruit fillings. I have both fresh raspberries and strawberries on white and yellow buttercake.

Typical buttecream as found in stores is made with confectioners sugar, butter, milk or water and some extract. Swiss merengue on the other hand is a bit more involved. First you heat up egg whites and sugar until very hot. Then it gets mixed for a time until it becomes a merengue. Then you incrementally add butter and whip it up until light and fluffy. Lastly vanilla extract is added. My Swiss Merengue always reminds me of vanilla ice cream.  

Shortbread Cookies

It's about time I start sharing recipes with the world. These are creative shortbread cookies that are just yummy. I dipped the ends in bittersweet chocolate. This was either loved or hated by my taste testers. If you can't stand the lack of sweetness in bittersweet chocolate feel free to dip in the chocolate of your choice or not at all (which was my preference).

Adapted From Mindy Segal, owner of HotChocolate Restaurant and Dessert Bar in Chicago.




1 Cup Granulated sugar
4 Cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1/4" cubes
1/2 cup strawberry preserves
8 ounce bar of bittersweet chocolate
Powdered sugar for dusting

1. On low speed, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment mix all the dry ingredients together for about 30 seconds.

2. Add butter and mix well until the dough starts sticking together. Be patient, this did not happen as quickly as I thought it would. If it is taking to long try coaxing the dough to form by increasing the speed briefly.

3. Bring the dough together on a work surface and form one big ball. Divide it into four equal pieces.

4. line a baking pan ( at least 9"x 4 x whatever length you have at hand). Roll each piece of dough about 1/8" thick to fit the pan you are using. All pieces should be equal in size (or as equal as possible, no worries if it is not perfect).

5. Place a layer of dough on the bottom of the pan (I added plastic wrap underneath going up the sides so the dough would be easy to remove). Spread a very thin layer of preserves on top of the dough. Keep layering dough and preserves, ending with the dough.

6. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until set, about two hours or overnight.

7. Preheat oven to 325 degF. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spray with some pam or something like that. Release dough from the pan and cut into very thin slices (about 1/4"). Place slices in pan and bake until set. (Depending on your oven this can vary, start checking at 10 minutes, also the lighter your pan is the paler it maybe darker pans make cookies bake darker and more unevenly).

8. While the cookies cool, melt your favorite chocolate. I am assuming you know how to melt. remember don't overheat it or it will seize (clump up and be no good).

9. To finish your treats dip on end of the cookie in the chocolate and set on parchment paper. You could either refrigerate the cookies until the chocolate is set, or you can wait it out at room temperature.

10. Once set dust the chocolate with powdered sugar and Enjoy!

Mix it up....You could use any powdered nut for this as well as preserve.

New Look?

I was playing around with some Bonn Boni logo type stuff and came across some really cool free editing sites on google's Picasa. I love the blue and red color combo design and font. Ideally I think it would be good to have a cake drawing in there. There were so many designs to choose from but I think I will stick with this one for the time being.

I loved my first picture that I associated for my little cake biz 4 years ago.  I put this cake on all my business cards and continue to use it because it makes a great avatar. The reason why this one little cake is so special to me is because it was my first cake with fondant. I worked so hard making the roses and coloring them just right. This is when I realized (at the age of 23) that I had a hidden talent. Bonn Boni officially started a few years later.  

This was my first paid order. I was

soooooooooooooo excited. 

It's amazing the things you discover later in life. Cake continues to be my passion and I truly get lost in the decorating process. It is not simple but yet I love it. There are many sleepless nights just getting everything perfect, but it is well worth it in the end.  

Brownie Chunk Cheesecake

Just thought to share a yummy cheesecake in the making.

Happy Birthday

Cupcakes are just the cutest things. Fluffy clouds of icing on top of your own personal cake. No sharing...at least not usually. This was for a little girls birthday. It was a Princess Tiana themed birthday. The entire cake including topper is completely edible. As you can tell the main cake was also a marble cake like the cupcakes.

Fall Weddings

This cake consisted of alternating layers of fresh lemon cake and white velvet cake. What I liked most about this cake is everything is custom down to the scroll work. The cake is also covered with fondant giving it a beautiful finish. I added a touch of tangerine oil to the fondant to liven it up a bit.

Add me on FaceBook.

Fairy Cake

I was super happy to make such a unique cake for a teenagers birthday. She and her mom came to me with a simple sketch and I elaborated on it. Over the summer she was into watching the popular cake shows on tv, so her only wish for her birthday was to have a cake just as special for herself. The cake is a buttercake sandwiched between layers of swiss merengue buttercream and fresh raspberry fillings. This cake took me away to a happy place.