This potato gratin dish is one I created to take advantage of the truly beautiful asparagus spears that were on sale that week. I put together heaps of tangy sharp cheddar cheese, luscious cream, fresh asparagus and earthy, waxy red potatoes. I love the way the asparagus delicately flavors the potatoes and the cheese sauce, accented with just a touch of herbs and black pepper.Since it turned out so well, my partner and my roommate urged me to write down the recipe for this asparagus and potato casserole. It smelled so good coming out of the oven they wanted to dig in right away but I was mean and made them wait until after I took this photo.

Bring a bit of summer holiday or tropical paradise to your party with a sandy beach cake. It makes a great centerpiece and conversation piece. Fondant seashells and starfish atop sugar sand bring a sunny, tropical ocean feeling to this cake.By following these directions you can make a summery, tropical beach cake for your next party.

Fondant seashells are easy to make and make great cake decorations. With simple tools and a little creativity you can make realistic looking seashells from fondant or gum paste. They are tasty, sweet and can be made weeks ahead of time.This lens details the process of making four kinds of fondant seashells for cake or cupcake decoration or for use as novelty candy.I'll be adding more to this lens shortly - more types of shells and better photos of a few that are already here.

Skulls used to be considered scary but now, they're a teen fashion accessory. Cute skulls are found in jewelry with little pink bows or fairy wings. They can be found on socks and hoodies in girlie pink or purple, sporting bows or accompanied by hearts.This cake is the perfect blend of cool and cute for a teenage girl. It's just a little bit goth but it's still a little bit girlie. It would also make a neat cake to celebrate the day of the dead or even Halloween.I've created step-by-step directions so you can create a cute skull cake for whatever occasion.

I've been making cakes using fondant for decoration since March of 2008. Before then, I wasn't much of a fan of fondant but I've since used it quite a bit and even made my own fondant, I've become a bit of a fondant evangelist.I'd like to share my enthusiasm about fondant and I'd like to show off my fondant cakes - the triumphs, the disasters, and the ones that fall somewhere in between. Really, this lens is about yummy, fun fondant and the fun a regular person with no special training or cake decorating experience can have with it.I hope you'll give fondant a chance, whether you decide to eat it instead of pushing it off your slice of cake next time or whether you dive right in and use some of it yourself.

Fondant or gum paste starfish and sea stars are fun to add to any beach, aquarium or ocean themed cake. Small versions are also fun for decorating cupcakes or other desserts. With a little flavoring, they can even stand alone as place settings or candy favors.There are many types of starfish but I'm going to stick with the most commonly seen three types of sea stars.Asterina stars, Linckiia stars, and serpent stars have three distinct body types and come in many different colors so these three types should give you a good base to work with when you want to make fondant starfish for any purpose.

Fondant is like edible modeling clay. It can be shaped, colored, cut or molded. It can turn a plain cake into a work of art. If you've seen Ace of Cakes you've seen fondant in use. A baker can make real works of art with the use of a little fondant. However, commercial fondant can be expensive and frankly, doesn't taste very good. With some experimentation, much of it very messy, quite unappetizing and downright dangerous - I've come up with a simple and inexpensive alternative to commercial fondant that is surprising easy to work with.

About a year ago I started testing the waters of fondant cake decoration. I have to say, I absolutely adore it. I hope you'll look at my recipes, instructions, and brag pages to see how to make some of these fun cakes! I was surprised to discover how easy it actually is to make home made fondant. And once you have fondant it's a lot like working with modeling clay. Since I love cooking for people and making things for people fondant cake art has been a great way to combine the two things.As the birthdays roll in through 2009, you'll see more cakes. Coming up next should be a beer can, if all goes well. I'm also thinking of making a Green Man face, too.