Can't Stand the Heat

July has been a month of hot, hot, HOT. Consecutive days of triple digit heat? Oi vey. And the weather man just said if something with the air pressure doesn't happen, this heat will stick around well through August. The Texas summer may finally be getting the best of me. I don't hate the heat per se, but when baking, we're frenemies. The humidity just deflates my frostings!

But on a happy note, July has also been a month of many birthdays in my group of friends, so I figured this would be a perfect time to try out some new recipes. I like to bake, they like to eat, it's a win win for everyone!

The flavors I tried out were strawberry margarita, pancakes & bacon, Reese's and cookies n' creme.

Overall, I'd say it was a success, but I'll definitely be making some tweaks to the recipes I used. Which isn't too surprising...whenever I try something new the first time around I'll make it verbatim, see how it goes, make my changes from there and make the recipe my own.

Cookies n' creme - Specially made for my friend Kristin! I've made this before, but tried out a new batter recipe I found from Brown Eyed Baker. Pretty pleased with the outcome, I threw in some pieces of Oreos this time around and was glad I did. It just added to the cookies n' creme flavor.

Strawberry margarita - verrrry interesting. Hint of a margarita but definitely a cupcake! They turned out a little dry for me, but the boozy glaze that the recipe called for helped to moisten them up. These will be perfected.

Reese's - Spencer's new favorite cupcake. Enough said.

Pancakes with maple frosting and BACON! - My one FAIL of the night. I was so disheartened about these mainly because I was so excited to try them. The frosting just smelled so maple-y. Mmmm. But the cupcakes didn't turn out as fluffy as I'd liked. I need to work on my batter. One day it will come and I will show you the finished product! Many were skeptical about this, but come on...bacon! Reminds me of this video. Bacon is bad for you, they say? Nay, I say! Bacon is good for me!

I'm going to end on a high. Happy baking everyone!
Don't forget to like my Facebook page Cakes.by.Anna. :)

Don't Feed the Models...

Totally not related to cakes, but still an adventure. As many of you know, Spencer and I are engaged! Eight and a half years in the making, the big day is May 18, 2012. We're very excited about this next step in our lives.

We had been trying to take our engagement pictures since April, but things kept getting in the way...thunderstorms, sunburned faces from tailgating, facial hair trimming mishaps...I seriously thought Spencer was trying to sabotage our photo sessions whenever one of these came up.

Well, a couple weekends ago, we were able to have a successful session. It was a lot of fun and I couldn't be happier with the way they came out! Our lovely photographer is a co-worker and friend, Miss Audra Stroud. She's amazing and great to work with! Please check out her work at audrastroud.com. If you're in the DFW area and in need of a photographer - definitely consider her.

We started off bright and early at 6:30 AM over at White Rock Lake - which just so happened to be where Spencer proposed. After we headed over to Deep Ellum to take some pictures with the brightly colored walls and murals.

Here's a peek at the pictures Audra edited. Enjoy!