About Me

Hi, I’m Summer Stone and I am so glad you made your way here!the-headshotweb

Growing up, birthday parties and celebrations were an important part of our family life. We didn’t spend a lot of money or do extravagant things, but my sisters and I were made to feel incredibly special. Every time I put together a party or gathering I hope to invoke that same feeling that expresses to the people around me how much I care about them and how important they are to me.

I developed a love of baking as a young girl. No one in my family baked much from scratch so I would pour over cookbooks late into the night to learn everything I could from print. I could often be found making banana bread or cakes in the wee hours of the morning (I am totally a night owl!).

In school I was a math and science girl and I went on to study biochemistry in college and graduate school. I have always been fascinated with food science and my culinary curiousity eventually lead me to a writing position at CakeCentral magazine where I frequently write about baking science. This work allows me to explore all things in baking that intrigue me or frustrate my baking efforts and affords the opportunity to explore extremes in recipes and methods. Pushing the limits on ingredients and challenging well established protocols helps me to understand why and how things work. I hope to share my insights and rule-breaking methods with you!

In addition to my love of baking, I have a heart for arts and crafts as well.  For the past several years paper has been my primary artistic muse and I enjoy creating two and three-dimensional crafty pieces. I have been a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator for twelve years and you will often see their products show up in my displays. Three times I won their Artisan Award for creative works I submitted.

When you marry my love of baking and paper and people together parties are the natural result. This blog is a place for me to share the things that inspire me and discoveries that unfold as I continue to learn every day. I hope that it will provide inspiration for you as you celebrate the loved ones in your life!

I make my home in Newberg, Oregon where I have a couple of acres that adjoin a beautiful hazelnut orchard. I have two children that amaze and humble me every day. Maddie is nine and Asher is seven.  I love Jesus and though I frequently fail, I strive to love others as he loves me.  Thank you for stopping by!

Smiles,

Summer

 

146 thoughts on “About Me”

    1. I’m not sure which measurements to use. For example, based on the conversion charts, the US measurements would not be enough. I want to try the white velvet, and red velvet cake but I’m wondering if I will have the proper amounts. Have you baked these cakes using the US measurements instead of metrics?

  1. Hello from a new follower and fellow Oregonian! Your recipes sound and look delicious. I especially enjoyed your comprehensive information on Modeling Chocolate. Have you ever tackled the construction and decoration of a tiered birch-bark cake? If so any helpful suggestions, insights?
    Thank you,
    Georganne in Grants Pass

    1. Hi Georganne! I grew up in Medford so I am from your neck of the woods 🙂 I do not have experience with birch bark but it is so popular I am sure you can find some lovely tutorials out there. I wish you the best on your cake!

  2. Hi Summer,

    Great blog, I love this blog site and am very grateful to Jessica Harris for leading me to your wonderful blog.

    Now, one question, I’m wondering if you can help me with white chocolate ganache. Quiet frankly, it’s doing my head in. I love the easy of dark chocolate ganache, but it’s not the best flavour for every cake recipe. It constantly splits, no matter what I do!!! I have searched high and low for answers with no results.

    Thank you for your kindness and generosity,

    Kellie

    1. Hi Kellie, I totally agree with you on the dark chocolate ganache. There are times when I just don’t want the overpowering chocolate flavor and white ganache is a nice option. Here is what I have found out about ganache. When ganache is made with a low water concentration (like the thick type we like for covering cakes!) the fat particles come into close proximity with each other and since fat loves fat they tend to coalesce. This causes coarsening of the ganache as the fat and liquid segregate. White chocolate is more vulnerable because of the fact that it does not have the starchy cocoa to mitigate separation and white chocolate has so much more sugar which further thickens the liquid syrup reducing free water. Here are some options to try. Use more cream or a lighter/lower fat cream for the ganache. I know Planet Cake recommends a light cream perhaps for this very reason. The extra liquid may be all it takes to keep the fat globules apart. Second, you could add an emulsifier to help hold cocoa butter-liquid emulsion together such as liquid lecithin or perhaps even a portion of butter which has emulsification properties. Thirdly, you could add a product that helps maintain emulsions such as a small volume of xanthan gum. The efficacy of a gum is questionable though because of the fact that they thicken liquids via their long polysaccharide chains.

      I hope this helps! Please let me know the results if you try any of these methods out. Best of luck! Summer

  3. Summer,

    It is so great to read about your story and your background in science! What a great looking site and concept! Blessings on all of it! I can’t wait to try some of these great looking recipes!

    I knew you wrote for CakeCentral Magazine, but this is awesome!

    Brian

  4. Hi Summer – I am thrilled Jessica has “introduced” you via her email! I am really excited to learn from you and I can’t wait to make the golden buttermilk cake, it really sounds yummy. Love your site and am thrilled that you also love Jesus! 🙂

  5. hi summer,
    i came across your site through jessicakes. i love her and now you. i’ve searched through your archive and tried many of your cake recipes especially love your fresh strawberry cake. was wondering if you have a red velvet cake recipe that you shared. i’ve tried many but most lacks in some aspects. thank you for your time.

    1. Thanks Chelsea! I have not posted a Red Velvet recipe yet but my White Velvet Cake is very close. Reduce cake flour to 5 1/4 ounces add 2 tablespoons natural cocoa and 2 tablespoons red food coloring. It makes my favorite Red Velvet Cake 🙂

  6. Hi Summer – I just made 2 lovely bqtches of your Easy Stable Swiss Meringue Buttercream and felt compelled to send you a great big THANK YOU! It came together beautifully and was ridiculously easy! Best wishes & appreciation,
    Hi Summer – I just made 2 batches of your Easy Stable Swiss Meringue Buttercream and it was absolute HEAVEN to make! Thanks so very much!

  7. Hi Summer. I was wondering if I can get your opinion on fondant for covering a cake. I have never tried it mostly because I have heard a lot of negative comments about the taste, and after working so hard on a cake I hate to cover it with something that doesn’t have the greatest taste. That being said, I know it can make a cake look a lot neater, more so than buttercream which can have that “spread on” look even with smoothing.

    If you do use fondant, do you have a recipe that tastes good or a brand that you recommend? Thanks! I am very new to cake making and decorating and am trying to learn as much as possible.

    Thanks so much for you help!

    1. Hi Susan, If you are going for taste Marshmallow Fondant (aka MMF) is your best bet. Here is the MMF recipe I usually use. Jessica Harris has a great video on making MMF. Having said all that I am not a big fan of eating any kind of fondant. Don’t get me wrong, I cover cakes in fondant all the time. It is just a given in my family that we peel it off before we eat the cake or eat around it. I do know people that eat it. but not many. So I guess it comes down to the question of whether or not you are willing to put in the effort for the visual effect when it will just be peeled away. Sometimes for me that’s a “yes” and sometimes a “no”. If you are looking for a commercial brand of fondant, FondX seems to be the least chemical tasting of the readily available brands. There are some high end professional brands that I have heard great things about but they are expensive and hard to track down. Best of luck to you!

  8. Hi Summer, do you have a yummy vegan vanilla cake? I have made many different recipes but they are all kind of tasteless. Thanks!

    1. I am going to work on getting one up. Yes, vanilla vegan can be tricky. It is amazing how much flavor eggs actually add. Many times they come out tasting like play-dough because there is nothing that can compete with the flavor of the flour. I will see what I can do. 🙂

  9. Summer, nice to meet you. What a wonderful introduction of yourself!!! This blog represents the caring and loving person that you are. Thank you!!! — I’ve asked you where you live, in a separate post, but I can see you live in Oregon. So, I’d say yeah, in a sense, we are neighbors 🙂 —
    I totally love your blog and find myself visiting (every day!) for any excuse since I find answers to all my baking/caking related questions 😀 — I also love baking, caking, cooking, crafts and the likes so your blog is just P.E.R.F.E.C.T.!!!!
    Thank you Summer — God bless you always!!
    Rosie

    1. Thank you so much! My favorite thing about blogging is all of my follower friends that I get to interact with. I am soooo glad to have you visiting!

  10. Hi Summer! Love your site! It has really helped me through my baking trials. I have a recipe that I would like for you to look at, I need some help with it. I am not happy with the texture. How can I get it to you?

  11. Hi Summer,
    I’m a fan of your site. I really love and appreciate how you break it down for your readers. I have a question for you and given your scientific background I think if anyone could do this it would be you. Could you please consider coming up with an eggless non chocolate cake recipe? I can make a pretty good one with chocolate but the yellow cakes are much harder. I have kids with severe allergies to eggs and was hoping you could figure out the chemistry of an eggless yellow cake.
    Thank you so much for always answering my previous questions. Your site is just wonderful!!!

    1. Hello Janhavi! Yes, I understand how frustrating it can be to make a good vanilla cake without eggs. I will get to work on it again. I have made a couple but was not super excited about the results. I want to find one that is very delicious. It may take a bit of work to get a great result but know that I will be at work on it! 🙂

    2. Just found your blog and am looking forward to learning more about cake baking and decorating. Wonderful “about me” writ-up; especially your last paragraph!

  12. Hi Summer

    Jessica Harris suggested I ask you as you are the recipe queen – I am after an egg free cake recipe which is good for carving and covering in fondant. Can you recommend one please?

    thank you!!

    1. Are you looking for Vanilla or Chocolate? Let me dig around. I have a good vegan chocolate cake that is nice and sturdy I will look up 🙂

      1. Hi Summer a good chocolate and a good vanilla recipe would be great! I want to use it them in a stacked wedding cake. thanks so much!

  13. What I really like about your site, besides the fantastic recipes, is that I am starting to see some friends on here as well. Your fame is growing, Summer…time for a cookbook!

  14. Hi Summer,
    Can you share a tried and true recipe that uses all of those egg yolks that are left over when making SMBC? I feel guilty throwing them out. Thanks,
    Georganne

  15. Hi Summer,
    I tried your strawberry cake this weekend. I didn’t add any flavoring or color though, but I thought it was just perfect. I covered it with a simple vanilla SMBC and I filled it with the same vanilla SMBC but mixed in some strawberry purée. It was divine.
    I had a quick question- why is it that a cake recipe doesn’t always automatically make for a good cupcake recipe? For eg. I noticed that you mentioned to someone who’d asked, that the orange cake paired with the passion fruit buttercream wouldn’t work too well as a cupcake. Could you explain the science/logic, that way in the future when I look at a recipe I’ll know to not waste my ingredients on cupcakes. Thanks.

    1. Hello, In a perfect world every cake recipe would work as a cupcake but the difference in pan size and shape end up making a big difference. The major issues have to do with leavening and richness of the recipe, but that oversimplifies it a bit. Cupcakes have so much wall support that you need to keep leavening to a minimum or the cupcakes will rise too fast, faster than the underlying structure can support. That is also when richness comes into play. If you have a fat and sugar heavy recipe and you have overrisen your cupcake it will be much more likely to sink and fall. Conversely, cakes have less wall support and volume of batter. In turn, the time it takes to heat the batter causes it to rise and climb the walls of the pan more slowly so you can have a richer cake with less risk of collapse. If you have a relatively rich, dense cake that bakes very flat, it will not likely make a good cupcake. On the other hand, if your cake is light in texture it may make a good cupcake but you will likely have to reduce leavening or change your mixing method to limit aeration. I usually have good success though going from a yummy cupcake to a cake. It just doesn’t work as well the other way around. I hope this helps clarify. If you have any further questions on the subject or need more explanation or detail, let me know! 🙂

      1. Hey Summer! Glad I came across this discussion on cupcakes. I often have difficulties with some of recipes where the baked cupcake itself is perfect but once it starts to cool it will separate from the liner. I have read where to much leavening would cause this, but have fixed it most all my recipes, except this one below: Can you tell me if this is still the case or is the batter just to wet? This cake bakes up really well and tastes great. I use it as my recipe for my wedding cakes.

        3 C cake flour
        2 tsp baking powder
        1/2 tsp salt
        1 3/4 C granulated sugar
        1 stick unsalted butter
        8 oz sour cream
        1 1/2 C whole milk
        1T pure vanilla extract
        1 tsp almond extract
        4 egg whites

        I beat egg whites until they form stiff peaks, sift flour powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar, add sour cream, add flavoring, alternate flour and milk, beginning and ending with flour.

        I also tried adjusting it to the following, it had a better flavor, but it’s still pulling away from the liner:

        3 C cake flour
        1 1/4 tsp baking powder
        1/2 tsp salt
        1 3/4 C granulated sugar
        2 sticks unsalted butter
        8 oz sour cream
        1 cup whole milk
        4 egg whites
        1 T pure vanilla extract
        1 tsp almond extract

        Mixed it the same as recipe above – My first thoughts were maybe I wasn’t cooking them at a high enough temp, I am baking them at 275 degrees (convection oven, low fan speed) about 25 min.

        Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 🙂 Thanks so much!

        1. It seems to me that the wrapper pulling away is more of a moisture issue than a leavening issue. I would start my trying to bake them at 300 F and see if you get any improvement. You may need to further reduce your milk but the temperature is an easy place to start. Let me know how it goes!

  16. Hi Summer,
    I’m becoming dependent on you! Is this good? Everyone of your recipes as been spot on! I appreciate you so much! Feeling like I am buttering you up? Well, I am a bit, but not kidding about your accumen.

    You see, I have tried off and on for over 30 years to recreate a bran muffin I used to buy from a bakery in California. It was similar to a carrot cake texture and had raisins and nuts, and the baked muffin seemed to be soaked in some kind of glaze. Well I have recently been pouring a boiling buttermilk, corn syrup and butter glaze over my carrot cakes and it is wonderful. If I shared my carrot cake recipe with you could you adjust it’s ingredients to become bran, not carrot? Possible? Are you interested in such a thing? Thanks for your consideration!

    1. I always knew you were a girl after my own heart! Bran muffins are my favorite muffin in the whole world! I do have a recipe that I like but if you would facebook message me your carrot cake recipe I can look it over and see how to meld the two.

    2. Dear Georganne, you are not the only that has become dependent on Summer!!! she’s not only tha’ absolute best but…she’s super nice and kind too!!! I call her my ‘cake-angel’– yup, she saves me ALL the time. Thank you ‘Cake Angel’!!! 🙂

  17. Good evening, Summer;

    First I have to say I love your site it has become my go to for all things cake and cupcake.

    May I ask for a review of a recipe I have been working on. I have run through it a couple of times with positive comments but i would really appreciate your blessing and/or feedback, adjustments.

    I know there is a narrow line between muffin and cupcake and I am really pushing for a true cupcake.

    Apple Spice Cupcake:

    3 eggs + 1 yolk
    2/3 c granulated sugar
    2/3 c brown sugar
    1/2 c butter
    1/2 c apple cider
    2 t vanilla extract
    2 1/2 c AP flour
    1 T cornstarch
    2 t baking powder
    1 t baking soda
    1 t salt
    2 t cinnamon
    1/2 t ground cloves
    1/2 t nutmeg
    1 1/2 – 2 c grated apple (I use 2 varieties)

    350 F 20 minutes

    Thank you for your time!

    All the best,

    Sean Elliott

    1. Hi Sean, Ahhh lovely autumn apple treats! This recipe looks great. There is such ingredient interplay that unless I made them I would have difficulty making any suggestions. I would think your major concerns would be moisture and sweetness and that depends a bit on what you are getting from your apples, and cider. The butter is a touch low for a traditional cupcake but you may not need it with the apple volume you add. If you want to push the envelope you could cook your grated apple with some of the sugar and the cider and you could add up to 1/4 cup more butter or a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. With this you would not end up with a soggy cupcake but you could squeeze in a bit more cupcakey richness. Yum! I wish I had one to eat right now! 🙂

  18. Hi Summer, Thank you so much for your advice. I gave them an apple butter filling and a scoop of vanilla bean buttercream…..”apple a la mode”.

    God bless,

    Sean Elliott

  19. Hi!
    I recently tried your vanilla cupcakes, I got rave reviews. I made a dozen cupcakes and used the rest of the batter in two 6″(2inch deep) pans. The cake looked fantastic. I however noticed that both my strawberry cake and vanilla cake brown and crisp a bit along the sides. Is there any way to avoid this? Will using parchment paper on the sides help? Or will lowering the temp work better?
    Also, do you have a good tried and tested carrot cake recipe that you like?
    Thank you so much for your recipes and help.

    1. So glad you liked the cupcakes!
      Some browning along the sides and edges is normal and contributes to a slightly caramelized like flavor in the cake, but if you feel it is excessive you can definitely lower your oven temperature. Other options include using bake strips that are soaked in water and prevent the sides of the cake from baking faster than the inner portions, or you can place your cake pan inside a larger cake pan to bake and this will insulate the sides of the pan a bit and help with over browning. Good luck! Let me know if this works for you. 🙂
      I have a couple of carrot cake recipes that I like, but I am hoping to combine them into something that I really love. I will get on it and let you know!

  20. I love your site, I was just wondering why you are inconsistent with your measurements; sometimes they are in grams sometimes cups etc…

    1. Hi Jessica, The way that I formatted my recipes has changed over time. I try to include all measurements these days in a similar arrangement but I have not gone back and converted all of the old recipes. If you there is something missing from a specific recipe please let me know and I will go in and add whatever is needed. 🙂

  21. Hi Summer!
    I LOVE your site!!! I´ve left many comments and asked a lot of questions and you were always so kind to answer them in a very helpful way. Thank you!
    Could you please help me with these questions:
    Can I freeze cupcakes (of course without the frosting)?
    Can I use any cupcake batter to make mini-cupcakes?
    Your cake recipes always call for 3 pans. I only have 2 and so far I´ve made 2/3 of the batter for my 2 pans. Now my question: Could I keep that third part to bake it later or would that damage my batter? (Yes I know, I could just buy a third pan! 😉 )
    Your sweet tables are amazing! Could you please write a blog post about party preparation? (when you start, what you do first/last and so on) Please??
    Greetings from Austria,
    Iris

    1. Thank you Iris! Yes, you can freeze baked cupcakes. They may get a sticky top when you thaw them but it is not noticeable once you get frosting on them. You should not have any trouble making mini cupcakes out of standard cupcake batter. I do it all the time. Sometimes the texture is just slightly different (lighter) but they are still wonderful. On the batter, I would not store batter long term. There are going to be changes that occur. Leavening is probably the biggest issue. All of your leavening agents are going to continue reacting. Chilling the batter will slow this down but only so much. If you are going to bake it within a couple of hours this should not be a problem but its probably not a good idea beyond that. The type of leavening will make a difference too. If you have a baking powder leavened cake you will be better off because they are usually double acting meaning they have an initial reaction and a heat activated reaction. Even if it sits it will unlikely trigger much of the heat mediated reaction. If the batter is mainly baking soda leavened you will have more issues because the chemical reactions will continue as the batter sits and you may have little actual leavening left to occur by the time you get it in the oven.
      I will work on outlining my party prep plan. Thanks for the request! Best wishes and thanks for continuing to read the blog! 🙂

      1. Thank you, Summer! I froze the cupcakes and they tasted just as good! Stupid question: Do you bake and freeze them without a cupcake liner? I did and put them in a liner afterwards but I was wondering if I could freeze them in the liners. I made mini cupcakes from your banana cupcakes recipe and they were DELICIOUS!
        Okay, I think I will just buy another pan! 😉
        One more question: Are there any cakes of yours that you especially recommend for stacking? I´m planning to make a 3 tiered cake and was wondering if there were certain cakes I could use for the base and others which would´t work for that. I definitely want to make the american mud cake and I know that it is heavy. I was hoping to be able to use it as the 2nd tier though. Is there any cake of yours that could hold that weight as the base or should I better use the mud cake as the base? (I´d love to use the golden buttermilk cake as well.) I use bubble straws for stacking and ganache all my cakes.
        Thank you so much!!!
        Iris

          1. Hello Summer!
            I just wanted to tell you that I used the American Mud Cake as the base, the Sour Cream Vanilla Bean Cake as the 2nd tier and a lemon cake with your simple lemon buttercream on top. It all worked beautifully and tasted fantastic! Just so you know how much I trust you and your recipes: this was a cake for my daughter´s dedication for about 60 people, so I really wanted it to be perfect. I trusted you and made the Sour Cream Vanilla Bean Cake for the first time without trying it first! But I wasn´t disappointed – it was so so good! (and I LOVED the frosting!)
            A very loud “Thank you, Summer!!!!” all the way from Austria to you! 🙂
            Iris

  22. Hello Summer (beautiful name),

    You have done such a great job informing us all how to colour modelling chocolate, how about a recipe for making the modelling chocolate to compliment 🙂
    Your advice was very useful, I actually went into a store today to check on colouring modelling chocolate and was told the colourings (as used for sugar paste), were not suitable, but that they sold colouring’s as a selection box that worked in place of. I tend to use Sugarflair products, a thick paste/gel and thought I could add this to the corn syrup and then add as per recipe instructions to the melted chocolate,or indeed as as I would any colouring to sugarpaste. Only difference is heat is the enemy and not air!

    Many thanks 🙂

  23. Hi Summer! What brand/type of cinnamon do you find to be the best choice for baking? Overall where is the best place to purchase all spices that are great quality?

    1. I don’t have a huge breadth of knowledge of cinnamon types. I usually get the large container from Costco since I go through so much of it in my spice-loving household. Sorry I’m not super helpful in this realm. If anyone has a suggestion please share! 🙂

  24. For most baking I use a large container of cinnamon as well. When I want to really highlight the flavor, I use Vietnamese Cinnamon which I buy from Penzeys Spices. The smell is amazing and the difference in taste is worth any increase in price!

  25. Hi Summer my name is Petra I live in Greytown, South Africa, I just found your sour cream vanilla bean cake recipe and i want to try it out, I am making a winnie the pooh cake, my first official order for my business, but I havnt quite found my favorite recipe. Tell me can I use one 30cm cake tin for this recipe? Will it rise to a substantially large cake? Or can you suggest a different recipe?
    Many thanx
    Petra

    1. This cake is so rich that I don’t recommend making it small and deep. It is just not formulated for it. I generally bake in 2″ tall pans so I don’t have the experience to suggest a recipe for such baking. So sorry 🙁

    1. Hi Jackie, Thank you so much for your sweet consideration! These past couple of months I have been facing a number of personal challenges including the finalization of a divorce that took up a lot of my extra time as a single mom and energy that I had been channeling into the blog. My heart is to keep providing all of you lovely readers good information and recipes and I am working to post some holiday-worthy bakes in the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your patience with me as I trudge along! With love, Summer

  26. Hi Summer, your such a sweet and kind person.. you reply to each and every comment on the blog and you really help everyone with your suggestions. With everything that’s going on in your life I pray that God gives you the strength to carry on & be happy.. remember you have someone who always keeps you in their prayers. Hope to see you active on your blog soon and can’t wait to try your holiday recipes.. take care & God bless!
    Love Natassia

  27. Hi Summer, I just found your American Mud cake recipe! 🙂 It Looks absolutely fabulously yummylicious!
    Please would you let me know if it stacks well, eg for wedding cakes and if the recipe can be adjusted for larger dimensions eg 12 & 14 inch diameters.
    I simply can’t wait to try it, being the chocoholic that I am 🙂

    Wishing you and your family a blessed Christmas
    Bev (South Africa)

    1. Hi Bev, This cake stacks beautifully for wedding cakes. I have seen it stacked in 6 layers for very tall cakes. And I have seen people bake it large although I have not done it myself. It is delicious though! Give it a try 😉

  28. Hi Summer, thank you ever so much for your reply.

    I feel relieved that I have found your site, thank you for being so generous!
    I cant wait to try this recipe (and many of your others) after Christmas 🙂

    I also saw your Quintessential chocolate cake which I found after contacting you – it also looks absolutely divine. Which one would you suggest for best results for stacking large wedding cakes between your American Mud Cake & Quintessential Chocolate cake?

    I will definitely be making both though 🙂

    1. Hi Beverly, Both of these cakes will stack well and have great chocolate flavor. The difference really is in the texture. Quintessential Chocolate cake is more light and fluffy like a traditional butter cake and American Mud Cake is a bit more dense and brownie like. I guess for the sturdiest version I would go with the Mud cake but you would be in good shape either way! Let me know which one you end up making first! 🙂

  29. Hi Summer!
    Thank you ever so much for your reply 🙂
    I will definitely be trying the American Mud Cake first and will certainly let you once I’ve made the Quintessential Chocolate cake as well.
    Can’t wait 🙂
    Thanks Again.

  30. Hi Summer!
    I am looking for a white chocolate cake recipe — I searched but not having any luck. Do you have one here? I thought I had seen one at one point. Thanks!

  31. Hi Summer!

    Thank you or your wonderful website. I have look alot of your cake recipe. I would like to know is this cakes recipe (for the vanilla cakes and other light color cakes) they are enough sturdy for make a wedding cake or a sculpted cake? Thank you!!

  32. I am so excited to find your ‘take’ on SBC! I’m a Eugene baby now living in WA and, like you, love Jesus, too! I fell in desperate like with French Buttercream after a visit to Sweet Life in Eugene. Next month I am part of a Night of Inspiration for the ladies at our church–3 time frames of 30 min each with three classes in each time frame. My class is introducing women to the wonders of frosting beyond American buttercream. Your method for SBC is what I will be experimenting with tomorrow as I prep for that class. I am so looking forward to trying your recipe and method. Thank you so much for sharing it!

  33. Hi Summer,
    I pray all is going well. Any new recipes for Easter? I am going to try and make the vanilla cupcakes and decorate them as chicks:-)

  34. I read your comments about cupcake vs cake recipes. How would you modify your white velvet recipe to be used for cupcakes?
    Thank you-

  35. Oh, my word! What an answer to prayer! I stumbled upon your site at 2am while contemplating an extra-large mass of meringue (for Swiss Buttercream) that would not get stiff. I actually did pray (these cakes are for a special vow-renewal service at church in the morning) and I need SO much frosting! I do not want to make a run to an all-night grocery for more supplies. Your explanation about how SMBC actually works made sense-a miracle in itself at this hour! I poured out a bit of the soupy meringue into a smaller bowl and added butter. Perfect! I was stunned! I am back in business! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

    1. Hi Jackie! I have not stopped but my life has just shifted the last couple of months in a way that has limited my blogging time. I hope to get back to it very soon. I have come up with some great recipes that I would love to share. I just have to find the time to photograph and write up the details for you all. 🙂 I miss my interactions with readers and am looking forward to getting back in gear. Blessings to you! Summer

  36. Hello Summer! I absolutely love your recipes! I love how you explain the science behind them. I was wondering if you were planning on making a white cupcake recipe to share or another flavor of cupcake to share. You are truly gifted and I greatly appreciate your sharing your talent, time, and recipes with all of us! God Bless you!

  37. Hi Summer! I love your site and have used your recipes several times now (I’m very careful to read the comments below the recipes before I try them, just in case there are hints/tips/tricks I need to know and follow). I try to only use scratch recipes when I bake, and this is just one reason I absolutely love your site! Another is I love to learn the science behind baking and your explanations are easy to remember and keep in mind when I get asked the why’s of ingredients and mixing order.

    I also have a website (I teach cake decorating classes and sell cakes), and I have posted a couple of recipes that I like and have tried on there (all out of recipe books, so far, and with the appropriate crediting to those books). I have students that ask for my recipes and good recipes to try. I have no problems sharing my recipes and I also send them here to your site.

    I guess what I’m really wanting to know is if you would mind if I repost your recipes to my site (by the way, my site is http://www.cakesbymle.com if you would like to stop by) and also post a link to your site on mine. I’m hoping you’ll be able to access my email from this post, so you can email me if you would like.

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge, and I hope we get to hear more from you soon! It has been way too long since we’ve gotten a new recipe to try!

  38. Hi Summer’s daughter!. Just checking on your mom’s blog to see if she found the time to come back. We’ll be here to enjoy her amazing recipes and explanations when she is ready. I hope you had a great summer!

    1. Oh man, I think about you guys every day! I am trying to eek more time out of everyday so that I can get back to posting. My wedding reception is in a week and my desire is to get back to it after my honeymoon. The uber talented Jessica Harris is going to make our celebration cake (we were married in May but are celebrating with friends and family now), so I hope to have some exciting and delicious pictures to show soon. She is using my Super Moist Coconut Cake recipe so I can’t wait to gobble a piece!
      Love to you, and I hope for more interaction very soon 🙂

  39. Hi Summer. I recently found your blog and think it is amazing. It is now my go to place for all things cake. I have a very generic cake question and know you will be able to answer it for me. When you bake, do you use bakers sugar which milled finer or everyday sugar? Can you tell me if using a finer milled sugar will significantly alter a recipe? Thanks so much for your help!

    1. Hi Liz! I am glad you are enjoying the blog. I hope to get back to posting new information soon. To answer your question, I typically use standard granulated sugar, not baker’s/superfine sugar. I have not found significant differences with the two, other than the fact that superfine sugar yields a slightly shorter cake. You can read more about sugar variation in a post I wrote for The Cake Blog- Oh, Sugar Sugar. Best baking wishes!

  40. Hello Summer,

    I stumbled across your blog page a few weeks ago when a friend ask me if I could bake a white mocha cake. I’m an ‘aspiring cake decorator’ and thought I had better expand my recipe list beyond vanilla and chocolate. Your White Mocha recipe made me look like a star!!! I’ve had repeat requests to make this cake which is fast becoming a favourite among my friends and family.
    I adore your site, creative recipes and general baking information…in fact I think I’ve developed something of an addiction to viewing your site regularly!!

    Thank you for being so generous in sharing your knowledge, experience, ideas & creativity!

  41. Hi Summer,

    I have not found many sites that has so much detailed information. Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge. I was able to fix at least 10 different kind of issues that I was facing in baking. Thank you so much for your help. It such a relief to take advice from somebody who knows what she is talking about.

    Hoping that I can continue to write to you and learn more.

    Thanking you
    Juny

  42. Hi Summer!

    I really love your recipes and all the information you provide!

    My question is about adapting your recipes for larger pan sizes. Specifically I would like to use your marble cake recipe for a 13″ round pan. Do you have any tips for me?

    Thanks so much!
    Karen

  43. Summer, where are you? My sister and I love your recipes, and we’ve been looking forward for some new recipes… Hoping you’re ok! And thanks for sharing your knowledge and magnificent recipes 🙂

  44. Hi Summer,
    I wanted to make your orange cake with passion fruit buttercream but wanted to do chevron designs on the sides made out of modeling chocolate. Do you think the cake and buttercream frosting will stand up well to that? I was going to refrigerate the cake so the buttercream sets and is hard before I apply the chevron design. What do you think? Any tips would be greatly appreciated! Thanks! Laura

  45. Hi Summer!
    I just wanted to say ‘hello’ and that I am so happy I stumbled upon your beautiful blog. As a new food blogger and passionate baker myself, you are a wonderful inspiration – thank-you.
    x

  46. Hi, Summer, I love your recipes, and all the information you share. I enjoy baking reading your past posts, and cant wait to hear from you this new year! Thanks

  47. Opps, it occurred to me I shouldn’t have posted my email “publicly”…please delete my comment after adding me to your newsletter 🙂

  48. Summer, did you go to SOU or Oregon? When you mentioned The Beanery I knew you had to be in Ashland or Eugene, Oregon. 🙂 I’m from Medford (native) but I live in Grants Pass. Can’t wait to try your cake recipe….sounds delicious!

    1. Hi Amy, I was born in Ashland and grew up in Medford. I went to OSU for grad school. It’s a small world! So nice to have a local friend here. 🙂

  49. Hi Summer!

    I love your recipes and your site! I’m not exactly sure where/how I found you, it has been a couple years now. I think I had done a web search for a recipe. However, yours is the first site I go to when I’m looking for a recipe to try. I love your science behind the baking and that you have so many flavor combinations.

    I am a cake decorating instructor, and I also have a website. I don’t write my own recipes, but I do like to post the ones I like to use so my students have a place to go when they want to try something new. I’m wondering if I could get your permission to either post a couple of your recipes on my site (crediting you with the recipe, of course!) or add a link to your site from mine. I’m a bit of an amateur with websites, and I don’t really know the etiquette for this.

    Thank you for considering, and I really hope to see you post new recipes soon! We miss hearing from you!

    1. Hi Emily, You are welcome to add a link back to my site. That way I can answer questions that come up. I’m so happy you are enjoying the recipes!

  50. ” I love Jesus and though I frequently fail, I strive to love others as he loves me.”
    Amen. I loved this part. Words to live by.

  51. Love your site… everything is making me sooooo hungry! I have a totally random question bc my MIL really wants to find a double boiler like you have on the Easy Foolproof Swiss Meringue Buttercream post. All the ones we’ve found have giant lips on them. Thank you for your help!

    1. Oh man, I have had this one so long I can’t remember where I got it or even what brand it was. It’s a cheap one. I wish I could help! Best of luck.

  52. Hi Summer, I thank God for leading me to you. I had a lot of unanswered questions regarding how to paint on modeling chocolate and then I found your site. Praise God! All my questions have been answered. Thank you for sharing your knowledge. You are a blessing to all your followers. God bless you.

    P.S. You make beautiful flowers. 🙂

  53. Where can I find your American Mud cake recipe. I had it on pinterest however, the link does not work anymore. It also does not work on your website. I made it and my family loved it.

    Thank you!!

  54. Hi Summer,
    I accidentally stumbled upon your blog today. Your recipes sound amazing! I so appreciate your background in food science and your clear and detailed instructions. I’m going to try the vanilla bean, sour cream cake first. It and the French buttercream frosting sound elegant and delicious. Hopefully I’ll be successful and suitably impress my guests.
    Thank you!
    Sheila
    ps: Unless you were intentionally making a pun in your bio, I think you probably meant “pore” over books rather than “pour” – although the pun is nice too, especially when speaking of cookbooks.

  55. Hi Summer,

    I read all your posts of baking science on ‘thecakeblog’. It was veryinteresting and well researched. During my trainee program as cook I had one question but nobody could give me a reasonable respond. I hope you can help me find out the reason why egg yolk and egg white change their color when adding physical influences. Why egg white truns from transparent to white or egg yolk from orange to yellow? Is it because of water, air, or light?

    Thank you ! Greetings from Germany

    1. Hi Hina! I somehow missed your question before. I apologize for the late response! Yes, the color change has to do with light transmittance as the protens rearrange structure. In liquid form eggs are a soup of protein clump/ball-like subtances in a liquid base. When heated, the proteins unwind and lengthen and then crosslink with each other to form a mesh-like network. Light doesn’t pass through the cooked “mesh” substance as well as the previous too and the light and is reflected back to appear white. In the case of the yolk, the color is muted by protein the network and appears lighter than before. I hope that helps!

  56. Hi Summer, I would like to try your sour cream vanilla cake and I would like to layer it with a peppermint cheese cake for New Years. I am wondering if the cake is dense enough to hold a cheesecake layer or do you think that the cake crumb is too fine to hold a cheesecake layer?
    I greatly appreciate your blog and hope that you have a blessed 2018! Joy

    1. Hi Joy! This cake will be a great choice to pair with a cheesecake filling. The cake has a nice structure that will hold up well to the weight of the cheesecake but is not excessively dense. This combination sounds delicious! Best wishes.

  57. Hello,
    I have a question about smbc? I use your recipe and I was wondering if I could substitute vegetable shortening for 1/2 of the butter?

    Tracy in Biloxi.

    1. Hi Tracy! That should work fine. Start with a syrup that is cooler than room temperature. Add the butter first to aid in the emulsification. Beat the butter for a couple of minutes before adding shortening. Then add the shortening a little at a time. Add the vanilla slowly. Shortening may not “absorb” liquids as well as butter does.

  58. Hi! Do you have an Instagram page or somewhere you post more frequently? I love reading your content and especially love your science based approach!

    1. Hi Sarah! Your message somehow slipped through the cracks! Right now I don’t have an Instagram page. I’m homeschooling my son this year and it is consuming all of my baking time. I have a couple of projects ready to go that I would to love to post though. I will try to get them up over a weekend or break and talk my daughter into setting up an Insta page for my cake and bake projects. Thank you for your interest and support! Hugs!

  59. Hi Summer,

    I came to your blog from the cake blog and I love your posts on baking science! They are really informative and wonderfully done. I think you should publish a book on it. I would love to have a copy. Do you have any reference books for baking?

    1. I’m glad you have enjoyed the information! A couple of reference books that I go back to again and again are How Baking Works by Paula Figoni and On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee. The first book gives a good rundown of very basic baking science fundamentals. Harold McGee’s book is a highly detailed volume on food science principals. For the most part, you wouldn’t need much more detail on any food subject than he provides. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a book that hits the middle ground or offers practical tips for bakers. Perhaps someday I will take on that challenge and try to fill the gap. Thanks for your encouragement!

  60. Speaking of books… I live in fear you won’t have the time or inclination to have the site going and I will have no way to hold on to all the recipes! Do you have them in a digital format I’d then print at home? Send it as a booklet? I’d of course buy it from you in whatever format as long as they are preserved for all posterity!!! Please let me know.

    1. If I were to ever let the site go, I would definitely create a format for all to download the recipe collection. Thank you for valuing the recipes!

  61. I wish you would keep your fans updated. I love this blog and have been a fan since the beginning. I have tried all you cakes and they were all outstanding. Please keeps updated.

  62. Don’t know if you still look at comments all these years later, but I tried your SMBC method this week. I used the traditional method successfully each of the three times I’ve tried it, but thought I’d try your method. I used carton whites and love how quickly the syrup came together. I think my mistake was using a quart sized mason jar to cool it because when it came time to add the syrup to the butter the next day, it was obviously still too cold. The mix turned into cottage cheese. I remembered reading somewhere that heating the bowl over hot water might work. It took two tries and changing from the paddle to the whip attachment and just letting it whip on med high for 8 minutes, but the end result was great. The cake’s recipient (a pastry chef) said it “tasted like vanilla ice cream.” From her, that’s high praise because we both live vanilla. It’s definitely worth it to try again and pay better attention to the syrup’s temperature based on her pronouncement. In the meantime, I’m glad I plowed through, remembered all I’ve read rather I g than getting panicky and tossing the batch. Also, it was my best-looking cake ever.

    1. I’m so glad that you persevered! SMBC is so much about having your butter and syrup meet at a happy temperature place. Once they both get to the place where the fat is pliable and able to emulsify, but not so warm that it breaks down, the buttercream can come together beautifully. I hope your hard-fought knowledge will serve you well in the future. Smiles!

  63. Hi Summer! Hope you have been doing well! I just want to say that I miss your posts! I hope you will be doing another one soon! I’m sure so many other ppl will agree with me! Xx
    Jessica

    1. Thank you so much Jessica! I really miss posting too. I keep trying to figure out a way to fit it into my schedule. But I’m always here to answer questions and if you ever want a specific recipe or advice I am more than happy to share or chat. XOXO!

  64. “Hello,

    A few days ago I emailed you about the possibility of a collaboration on cakepaperparty.com. I’m unsure if you got my first email so I thought I’d write back.

    Are you open to accepting guest posts on your blog? I would love to provide you with a well-written article your readers will enjoy.

    I can send you a couple of topic ideas to start with. If you are interested let me know! 🙂

    I can also offer you an exchange of links from one of my websites to yours.

    Best Regards

    Karen Rutherford

    Founder of Cakedecorist.com”

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