Christmas at The Olvera House...Gingerbread House Competition!

It's a tradition at my house to watch The Christmas Story ("you'll shoot your eye out kid!") on Christmas eve, open gifts at midnight after reading the birth of Jesus in the bible, eat Christmas lunch, pop Christmas crackers together, sing "Happy Birthday to Jesus" & eat the cake we make him, and have a gingerbread house competition! Guess who won that?! 

"Today in the town of David a savior had been born to you; he is Christ the Lord".  -Luke 2:11

I had a very blessed time with my family! Here are a few highlights from the day: 

(Jesus's Birthday Cake I made him)

(prayer and christmas poppers)

(all of our houses)

(Mine and Joel's house! We WON!)

Garden Cake

Here's a garden cake I just finished up yesterday! It's a three layer butter pecan cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. I used fondant only to decorate the top of the cake. I used butter cream to decorated the edges with grass and leaves. 

My niece came over while I was in the middle of making the cake and she wanted to do her own again. Love it!

These are some pictures of her at work. She's a pro & she's only 4...TALENT! 

Butter Pecan Cake Recipe

I made these cupcakes using butter pecan flavored cake and basic vanilla buttercream frosting. I garnished the tops with halves of pecans. 

Butter Pecan Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of chopped pecans
• 1 1/4 cups of softened butter
• 2 cups of sugar 
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Bake 1/4 cup of the butter with the pecans in a baking dish for 20min. Stir frequently.

In a large bowl cream together sugar and remaining butter until light and fluffy. Add in one egg at a time. Stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the creamed mixture alternatively with the milk. Stir in 1 cup of the roasted pecans. 

Pour into cupcake tins or into 9inch round pans.

Bake at 350degrees for 25-30min. 

Let cool and then add frosting. 

Vanilla Frosting:

• 1 cup softened butter
• 8 cups confection sugar
• 1 can (5oz) evaporated milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract 

Beat together butter and confection sugar. Add milk and vanilla; beat till smooth. Stir in remaining remaining roasted pecans.

Spread frosting between cake layer or pip onto cupcakes.

Mini Anniversary Cake

I was asked to make a small anniversary cake for my friend's parents. She wanted it to be so small that it only fed about two people. So I made this mini three-tiered cake (it's about as tall as a pencil). It's a chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. I covered it in blue fondant and pipped white buttercream around to decorate it. 

I was also babysitting my niece while I was making the cake and she saw what I was doing and wanted to make one herself. This is her lovely masterpiece! It's a cake made out of blobs of blue fondant and decorated with buttercream pipping and checkers. 

Birthday cake pops

The cake flavor is vanilla with vanilla icing. I dipped the pops into red candy melts and added the black candy melts and piped on white melted candy melts to spell out "Happy Birthday".