Holiday Gift Guide 2019

Posted on December 11, 2019 by meganmkrtschjan

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I love to give good gifts – I’m not always spot-on, but I generally spend some time thinking about what the person I’m giving to would appreciate.

[The links below are affiliate links which means if you buy something using those links, the company gives me a little bit of money as a thank you for the promotion]

Do you have a baker friend, family member, or coworker? Here are some of my favorite things for bakers:

1. 4″ pans. They’re cute, they’re tiny, they’re a great way to use leftover cake batter or make personal-sized desserts.

2. Brown glassine cupcake liners. I love these liners ❤️

3. Americolor icing colors. I like these gel paste colors because they’re cleaner to use than the small jars from Wilton. Americolor also has a wider range of colors to work with.

4. Wilton 1M open star tip. If I was told I could only use one icing tip for the rest of my life, this would be the tip. I use this to get that great swirl on cupcakes, rosettes on the side of cakes, and I even use it to put buttercream on cookies. It’s versatile, inexpensive, and adds a great flair to any dessert.

1M Open Star tip

5. Bench scraper. Want to get the sides and top of your cake nice and smooth? This beach scraper is your solution. There are tons of video tutorials for how to use them and they’ll change the way you ice a cake!

6. Fondant letter and number mold. This is such a quick and easy way to make great looking letters and numbers. If you’re not comfortable writing with icing, this is a great alternative.

I LOVE cookbooks and I read them like a regular book! If you’re looking for a great baking cookbook, look no further!

Cake Confidence – I follow Baking with Blondie on Instagram and LOVE what she creates.  This cookbook compiles the best of the best.

Joy & Megan

Joy the Baker – Homemade Decadence – love my sprinkle sugar cookies??!! They’re from here. Joy is one of my faves.

 

 

 

 

 

All About Cake – Cristina Tosi is another favorite of mine. Maybe you’ve seen her on Master Chef Jr. as a judge?? Get this and make the cake crumbles

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The Perfect Scoop homemade ice cream is AMAZING! These do make smaller batches. but so worth it

via GIPHY

Let me know what you ended up getting!

Megan

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Valentine’s Day Breakfast

Posted on February 14, 2015 by meganmkrtschjan

This morning we had a Valentine’s Day breakfast with our little family. I wanted to make a couple quick Valentine’s themed food. Cinnamon rolls are a much anticipated breakfast treat, so I dressed them up for Valentine’s Day!

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You just need 1-2 canisters of the big flaky cinnamon rolls with icing, some food coloring and sprinkles. I pretty much use parchment paper or a silicon mat on my baking pans. This keeps me from having to wash every pan every time.
(null)Unwind one of the cinnamon rolls almost all the way. I coiled up the other end so both ends were coiled. Then you can shape them into a heart.

(null)Pinch the bottom of the heart so they don’t separate while they bake (some of mine didn’t stay pinched, but were still very cute.) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes or until the tops start to brown. Let cool on a cooling rack for a few minutes. (null)While the cinnamon rolls were baking I scooped the icing into a bowl and used some purple food coloring to tint the icing. Purple is a fave color in our house. Once the rolls cooled a bit, I slathered on the icing and added some sprinkles. Note: these sprinkles ended up being too hard, so I recommend using jimmies.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Welcome 2015

Posted on January 5, 2015 by meganmkrtschjan

I can’t believe it’s the new year already.  Every year goes by quicker and quicker!  I don’t usually make resolutions, but I have been thinking about what I’d like to accomplish (okay, so that sounds like a resolution; however, I’d like to think it’s a little more laid back and doesn’t add the pressure of a “resolution”)

  • Cater a wedding – I haven’t done that in a while and I may have one on the books already
  • Revamp this website – I’m getting bored with my logo, the fonts, the layout.  In 2015 I hope to bring a whole new look to Icings on the Cake (how would you feel if I even changed the name?! Am I crazy?!)
  • Host a Holiday Open House – I know, the holidays just ended, BUT with how fast the year flies by, I better start planning now.  I’m thinking I would feature my dessert offerings for the holidays, have some to nibble on, give customers the opportunity to order, maybe have some crafty projects to sell to help make those family gathering special and unique – all in the comfort of a home!
  • Cook through a cookbook – a colleague of mine, Becky Scent, has been doing that for the last year and I’ve enjoyed reading her reviews.
  • Read 50 books – that’s my Goodreads Challenge for the year.  I didn’t quite make it last year, but I’m determined this year
  • Take time to create every week! It can be for my house (I have TONS of DIY ideas), something to spruce up the office, add things to my professional portfolio, try a new baking technique
  • Spoil my husband – Jason is what he calls a “daytime dad” – he stays home during the day with our 4 kids and I have no clue how he does it.  Our kids are awesome but they are exhausting! I need to do a better job of giving him time to himself and letting him know that his work is so important and so appreciated!

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What are your goals for 2015?!

Megan

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Confession

Posted on July 18, 2012 by meganmkrtschjan

I have a confession……when a recipe calls for butter, I always use salted butter. (I can hear the audible gasps). Yes, Ms. Martha Stewart would give me that look.
Wait, I’m not done…..and when I use said salted butter, I also add the salt that is called for in the recipe.
There, now that I have that off my chest, the world may continue to rotate on it axis.
Oh, and don’t judge, I haven’t had any complaints that my baked goods are too salty, so you can go ahead and use salted butter all you want.

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More New Photos

Posted on March 19, 2012 by meganmkrtschjan

And I still can’t believe how long it’s been since I last posted new photos. I’ve done close to 30 cakes since my last, big update! Make sure to take a look at each of my three categories to see them all (Birthday, Wedding, and Special Occasion).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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More Birthday Cakes!

Posted on March 16, 2012 by meganmkrtschjan

Sorry it’s been so long! Here are some new birthday cake pictures… Wow! I did some of these over a year ago!!!

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Four Ingredients

Posted on February 3, 2011 by meganmkrtschjan

My family LOVES cooking shows, especially competitions. The creativity the chefs have to take seemingly non-related ingredients and making a cohesive and, hopefully, delicious dish. Sometimes we look at each other and say, “that will never taste good.” Occasionally a chef will get a nod with a “never thought of that.” My mom had the great idea to challenge my dessert abilities with giving me 4 ingredients that I had to incorporate into a dessert recipe.

Bananas, chocolate syrup, pecans, cream cheese (obviously they weren’t going to go too ambitious on the first try)

My vision turned into some sort of chocolate banana “sundae”.  A few extra ingredients I added from the pantry were a chocolate cake mix, powdered sugar and butter.


2 smashed bananas got folded into the chocolate cake batter and baked in a 9×13 pan according to the package directions.

I made a quick cream cheese/buttercream icing:

1/2 c. butter, soft

1/2 c. vegetable shortening

1 tsp. vanilla

4 oz. cream cheese, soft

4 c. powdered sugar

2-3 T. milk for consistency

I topped the cake with the cream cheese icing, sprinkled pecans on top and drizzled with the chocolate syrup.

Try toasting the pecans first………I’ll do that next time.

Everyone enjoyed a slice and were the typical critics like I was really a contestant on the Chopping Block.

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Sweet Treat

Posted on December 28, 2010 by meganmkrtschjan

I’m obsessed with blogs.  I would read blogs all day long if I could.  I’ve never written a blog before, but my favorite blogger got me thinking.  I’m going to start documenting my life of food.  More specifically, my life of sweet food.  Sugary, gooey goodness.  It all started with finding a gem of a blog: bakerella.com; go ahead, take a look at it right now.  Then, I decided to buy her book and voila! my blog begins…….

These photos were taken with my iPhone….not bad.  I think it needs a bit more light.

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Just a Few Dessert Photos

Posted on November 23, 2010 by meganmkrtschjan
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Free Consultations and Tastings

Posted on November 22, 2010 by meganmkrtschjan

I am happy to provide free consultations and tastings for all weddings and any event expecting more than 75 people.

I love people. And the best way to get to know people is to meet with them. And when it comes to cakes and desserts, it’s important to have full confidence in what you put on someone else’s plate. That confidence, I think, comes from knowing the person who made it. So if this is your first cake order with me, let’s get together!

Many people come to me without any ideas about what they are looking for – what flavors, colors, themes, or decorations – and that’s okay. Don’t be intimidated by all of the options. All of these things can be worked out over a warm cup of tea.

Call or email me, Megan, today to schedule your free consult or tasting:

p. 630-709-3583
e. icingsonthecake [at] gmail [dot] com

I look forward to meeting with you soon!

Sincerely,

Megan Mktschjan
Icing’s on the Cake Baking Co.

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