Baking on the Road, The U.S.A. Tour 2013

Last month I visited my people in the U.S.  It was great times catching up and seeing some of the people I love.  Each person I went to visit had one request in common, "Can we bake a cake?"

I totally love baking with family and friends - what's not to love when it comes to visiting with the promise of buttercream?

I stayed with our oldest daughter Marie - she let me destroy her kitchen several times over.  I baked an Action Event cake that I've already blogged about here.  I also baked a Chocolate Cake with Pecan Coconut Filling - as well as some cupcakes.  She blogged her experience here. 

Sneaking in time for our oldest son Jack is a must!  He's a thousand kinds of fun to hang out with.

There was a really neat opportunity to share some cake decorating skills with a group of young girls my dear friend teaches.  And by group I mean there were like... 16 girls armed with a cake that had been crumb-coated and was ready to frost.  Also, everyone swirled-up a cupcake!  They were great!










After a visit in Utah, I went to see my dad in Missouri.  My dad is as goofy as dads can get and I love him like crazy.  We baked a lemon cake together.  He invited friends over to share in the delightful, lemony goodness.  We had such a good day spending time together.  A wonderful group of friends and my dad and laughter... the stuff dreams are made of. 

I also got to spend a day with my BFF Charlotte.  She is so patient with me [hint: she's patient with everyone, she's that good].  She had her heart set on a Chocolate Cake with Pecan Coconut filling topped with Chocolate Buttercream roses. 

 

 

 

I was so glad to have the help of some of her people.  Her daughter Sarah had just arrived in town the night before - she brought her anklebiters with her, which meant we had an extra amount of help in the kitchen!  She blogged her baking fun here.

 

 

This is picture of Sarah's hands as she stirred the filling.

 

 

 At the end of a long day baking.. a triple layer cake, several dozen cupcakes, and pounds of buttercream - we enjoyed a wonderful meal together with friends and family (you know the kind of evening that goes long into the night). 

The Sugary Shrink and her BFF Charlotte.

 The next morning I got on a plane and returned to my life partner.  The best of a happy ending.

It was a wonderful trip and I look forward to doing this again.