Omer's 11th Birthday Cake / Omer'in 11. Dogum gunu Pastasi

Ayse's Baby Shower Cake and Princess Belle Cake

Hello everyone,

It has been a long time since my last post, but I did not have enough time to bake as much as I had used to. However, I just made this lovely cake yesterday, and I wanted to share it with you. Also, I realized that I did not share my dear friend Ayse's baby shower cake which I made a couple of months ago. I hope to write more often and post more cake pictures from now on. Until my next post, please enjoy my most recent cakes!

Herkese merhaba,

Malumunuz, uzun zamandir blogumda sizlerle pastalarimi paylasamadim. Bunun sebebi pasta yapmaya yeteri kadar vakit bulamamamdi. Nihayet aylardan sonra dun yeni bir pasta yaptim ve sizlerle paylasmak istedim. Umarim bir sonraki paylasimima cok ara vermem :) Bir dahaki paylasimima kadar sizleri hem yeni pastamla, hem de iki ay kadar once sevgili Ayse'nin bebek partisi icin hazirladigim pastayla basbasa birakiyorum. Hoscakalin...

Happy Birthday to Me :))

Saturday was my birthday. It is my 30th birthday; so this is the first time I made a cake for myself. Happy birthday to me!

Cumartesi gunu benim dogum gunumdu. 30 yas dogum gunum oldugu icin ilk defa kendime dogum gunu pastasi yaptim. Dogum gunum kutlu olsun!

Healthy Life

Hello everyone,

It has been a long time since I have posted my last cake pictures. Since that time, I was busy with my classes, and believe it or not, I have not been making cakes. Being busy was not my only reason for not making cakes. People who know me are aware that I do not eat cake icing. However, I cannot say the same about my kids. :) They love icing. Although I make most of my cakes for other people, there are occasions when I make cakes for my own family. And once I put the “family” cake in the fridge, my “icing monsters” :) do not let the cake stay in there no more than two days. :) I am a cake chef, but I am a mother too. So, being busy with the classes, and being a responsible mother keep me away from making cakes. Since April, I have been making healthier desserts. With “healthy,” I mean butter-free and with less sugar.

I was reading an article the other day. It was about the prevalence of obesity and diabetes. According to the article, in 2020 more than half of Americans are expected to become diabetic. This is a huge number. This number includes all of our kids who will be adults in 2020. I think we should think three times before we eat something, and before we feed our kids. This reminded me something. I used to drink a lot of soda, and buy soda whenever I went to the supermarket. Then I realized that my kids started drinking a lot of soda, too. I started telling them how soda was bad for their bones, stomach, etc. But my words were not effective, because I was still buying and drinking soda myself. Then I stopped drinking soda (at least in front of them:)), and solved the problem. They do not drink soda anymore. I think by not making cake for the family, I am doing the same thing. If we all do the same, we would at least decrease the number of people who will be diabetic or obese in the future. Enjoy the rest of your summer!

P.S.: If you have not read the article, you can find it at: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Diabetes/diabetes-half-us-adults-risk-2020-unitedhealth-group/story?id=12238602

Nevra's 6th Birthday!

It is that time of the year again; my daughter's birthday. This year, I made her a princess castle cake. I inspired by a lot of cakes from the internet. I enjoyed decorating it. I hope you like it too. My princess loved it!

Birthday Cake

Baby Animals Themed 1st Birthday Cake / Temasi Yavru Hayvanli 1. Dogumgunu Pastasi

My Son's Black Belt Cake / Oglumun Kara Kusak Pastasi

Baby Shower Cake (Baby girl with tutu)

A Cake for a Friend / Cok Sevdigim Bir Ablama Yaptigim Pasta

Birthday Cake / Dogum Gunu Pastasi

Elmo birthday cake for a little girl.
Kucuk bir kiz cocugu icin hazirladigim Elmo lu dogum gunu pastasi.

Omer's 10th Birthday Cake / Omer'in 10. Dogum Gunu Pastasi

Tuesday was my son's birthday. He loves legos; so, I thought making him a different lego cake from last year would be a great idea. When he saw the cake, he was so happy :)) I was happy too but exhausted :)) I am glad he loved the cake.

Sali gunu oglumun dogum gunuydu. Oglum lego lari sevdigi icin bu yilda lego pastasi yapmaya karar verdim. Gecen yil yaptigim lego pastasindan degisik bir pasta yapmaliydim. Sonunda fotograftaki pasta ortaya cikti. Oglum pastayi gorunce cok sevindi. Tabi o sevindigi icin ben de cok sevindim ve yuzundeki mutlulugu gorunce kendi kendime yorgunluguma degdi dedim. :))

Baby Shower Cakes

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cranberry Cake

Hale's 18th Birthday Cake / Hale'nin 18. Dogumgunu Pastasi

Ayse's Birthday Cake / Ayse'nin Dogumgunu Pastasi

Carrot cake with buttercream icing. Happy birthday Ayse!
Pasta kremali havuclu pasta. Aysecigim, tekrardan dogumgunun kutlu olsun. Iyi ki dogdun.

Cupcakes for a Party / Okulumdaki Parti Icin Hazirladigim Cupcakeler

Melissa's Birthday Cake / Melissa'nin Dogumgunu Pastasi

My friend's daughter Melissa is 8 now. I made this special cake for her. Happy birthday princess.

Isikcigimin prenses kizinin 8. dogumgunu icin hazirladigim pasta. Dogumgunun kutlu olsun fistikim :)

A Birthday Cake for a Friend / Arkadasim Icin Yaptigim Dogumgunu Pastasi

This cake was for my friend's birthday. It was a chocolate cake with ganache icing. Happy birthday Sultan.

Sevgili Sultan'nin dogumgunu icin hazirladigim cikolatali ve ganache kremali pasta. Iyi ki dogdun arkadasim.

A Cake for Community Gathering / Kandil Programi Icin Hazirladigim Pasta

Kandil programi icin hazirladigim klasik pastalarimdan :) frambuaz marmelatli, ganache kremali cikolatali kek.

This cake was for a community gathering. One of my standard combination: chocolate cake, raspberry filling, and ganache filling.

Cikolata Soslu Irmik Tatlisi / Semolina Dessert with Chocolate Sauce

Irmik tatlisi yapimi cok kolay, lezzetli, ve pratik bir tatlidir. Yillardir kullandigim ve paylastigim bu tarif anneme ait. Hemen tarife geciyorum.

Malzemeler:

1 su bardagi irmik
1 + 1/2 su bardagi seker
1 lt. sut
1 paket vanilya (Eger evde vanilya yoksa, limon kabugu rendesi de koyabilirsiniz)

Yapilisi:

Butun malzemeleri orta boy bir tencereye koyup orta ateste irmik tatlimiz koyulasincaya kadar devamli karistiriyoruz. Istediginiz sekilde bir borcami hafifce suyla calkalayip (tatlinin borcama yapismamasi icin) ve kalan suyu bosalttiktan sonra irmik tatlimizi kabimiza bosaltiyoruz. buzdolabinda 2-3 saat dinlendirdikten sonra servis tepsimize ters cevirip, istedigimiz gibi susleyip servis yapiyoruz. Suslemek icin tarcin, robotta cekilmis ceviz, findik, sam fistigi kullanabilirsiniz. Ben bu sefer tatlinin ustune cikolata erittim ve robotto cekdigim potiborleri serptim. Afiyet olsun!

Semolina dessert is one of my favorites. It is delicious, healthy, and so practical. The recipe belongs to my mother, and I have been sharing this recipe with friends for years. I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 cup semolina
1 + 1/2 cup sugar
1 lt. milk
1tsp vanilla extract (It is not a must! You may substitute it with lemon zest)

Directions:

In a medium pot, put all of the ingredients, and stir them until the mixture comes to a boil. When it is ready (thick), turn the stove off, and take a medium size bowl (i.e. salad bowl). Rinse the bowl (don't forget to get rid off all the water, don't dry it though :) ) before you put the dessert in it. Keep the dessert in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours. When it is cool enough, take a serving plate, put it over the bowl, and flip it. You may decorate your dessert with cinnamon, or ground nuts (hazelnut, walnut, pistachio, etc.) This time I used melted chocolate and ground graham crackers. Enjoy!

Beze / Meringue

Yapilisi gayet kolay ve pratik bir tatlidir beze. Tarifini hemen paylasiyorum.

Malzemeler:
2 yumurta beyazi
1/2 cup veya 125 gr beyaz seker

Yapilisi:
Firininizi 150 C derecede isitin. Tepsinize pisirme kagitlarinizi yayin.
Yumurta beyazlarini kar haline gelinceye kadar mixerle cirpin. Yaklasik 4-5 dk.
1/2 cup sekeri azar azar eklerken karisimi mixerle cirpmaya devam edin. Toplam mixerle cirpma suresi 10 dk kadar olacak. Hazirladiginiz karisimdan 1 corba kasigi kadar alip tepsinize koyun. Eger vaktiniz varsa, karisimi krema torbasina koyup sekilli bezeler de hazirlayabilirsiniz. Onceden isittiginiz firinda 20-25 dk kadar pisirin. Bezeleriniz pistikten sonra, firini kapatin ve kapagini acin. Firin soguyuncaya kadar tepsi iceride kalsin. Amacimiz bezelerin kitir kitir kalmasini saglamak. Afiyet olsun.

Meringues are practical delights; in addition, easy to make. Here is the recipe for basic meringues.

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 300 F. Line the baking paper on the baking trays. By using electric mixer, beat egg whites into stiff peaks. It takes about 4-5 minutes to form stiff peaks. Gradually add sugar into the mixture, and mix well after each addition of sugar. Total mixing should be about 10 minutes. After the mixture is ready, you may use a piping bag to make shapes onto the trays.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes. After 20-25 minutes, turn off the oven and leave the door open.
Let the meringues dry inside of the oven. Bon appetit!

Profiteroles

This was my first try of making profiteroles. I made the first batch yesterday, and it was already gone by the end of the day :) My husband was asking another batch today. I already made the second batch. I think I will be making profiteroles for a long time until we all get tired of eating them :))
Profiterol tatlisini uzun zamandir yapmak istemisimdir. Kismet dun ogleneymis. Evdekiler profiterolleri bir anda bitirince, kesin bir daha isteyecekler diye aklimdan gecti :)) Bugun esim ise giderken "aksama tatli olarak profiterol var degil mi?" deyince bir parti daha yapmak sart oldu :)) Henuz ikinci partiyi bitiremediler ama bence profiteroller uzun zaman evimizin vazgecilmez tatlisi olarak kalacak:))

Pötibörlü Cupcakeler / Cupcakes Made from Turkish Crackers

I loved the taste of these cupcakes. This is definitely my new favorite cupcake recipe. For the ingredients I substituted flour with Turkish cracker. That is why it is called "Pötibörlü Cupcakeler." Pötibör cracker is a commonly used cracker for desserts in Turkey. It is like graham cracker here in U.S. The glaze on top of the cupcakes is lemon glaze made from lemon juice and powdered sugar. If you would like to give it a try, click on the link. By the way, the recipe is in Turkish; however, try google translator :)) If you have any questions, please e-mail me. Enjoy!

http://www.ulkerpotiborlupastalar.com/tarif/kap-kek


Duyduk duymadik demeyin :))) favori cupcake tarifimi buldum :)) Herkese mutlaka tavsiye ettigim bir tarif. Yumusacik bir o kadar da lezzetli. Tarifinde un yerine potibor kullanildigi icin potiborlu cupcake adini almis. Gayet pratik bir tarif. Bu guzel cupcake tarifini Pinar Belendir hanim asagidaki linkte uygulamali sekilde anlatmis. Herkese afiyet olsun!

http://www.ulkerpotiborlupastalar.com/tarif/kap-kek

Cupcake Bouquet / Cupcake Buketi

This cupcake bouquet was a gift to my daughter's teacher. Thursday was my daughter's last day of school. So, I thought this "sweet" gift would be a nice way of thanking to my daughter's teacher.
Gectigimiz persembe gunu kizimin okulunda son gunuydu ve bu "tatli" hediyeyi ufak bir tesekkur hediyesi olmasi dilegiyle kizimin ogretmeni icin hazirladim.

Orange Cupcake / Turuncu Cupcake

I made the orange colored icing cupcakes for a party at my son's class.
Oglumun sinifindaki parti icin hazirladigim turuncu kremali cupcakeler.

I made these cupcakes for an activity at my son's school. Vanilla cupcakes decorated with gumpaste flowers.
Bu vanilyali cupcakeleri oglumun okulundaki bir aktivite icin hazirladim.

Baby Shower Cake for a Friend / Bir Arkadasima Bebek Partisi Pastasi

I made this cake for my friend's baby shower. Chocolate cake with fresh strawberries, and buttercream icing.
Bu pastayi bir arkadasimin bebek partisi icin hazirladim. Cikolatali keki pastaci kremali ve taze cilekli yaptim.