Bowling Themed Cake

This cake was for the 75th birthday of a woman who spends four days a week bowling.  If you aren't from New England you have perhaps never heard of Candlepin Bowling.  Candlepins are different from your regular bowling pins - they don't have the boulbous bottoms.   Plus the balls that are used are much smaller (and lighter!) than the typical three finger balls.  Anyway, I thought a '50's retro theme would be fun.

I always start with sketches.  This way I can be sure I've covered all the details.

I spent an evening watching the season finale of "Justified' (LOVE Timothy Olyphant!) and rolling out these individual Candlepins from white fondant!

For the decorations I chose retro signage from 1950's bowling alleys.

 Mini fondant bowling balls decorated the cake's base:

Sunflower Cake

I saw a cake similar to this on the web somewhere.  I thought it was wonderful.  My good friend Katie loves flowers of all kinds and sunflowers are certainly one of her favorites.  So this year I surprised her with a garden full of flowers in white chocolate.  The cake is a new recipe - brown butter pound cake... yumm!

Brown Butter Pound Cake (Adapted from Williams Sonoma)

Ingredients:
32 Tbs. (4 sticks) unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups milk
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 eggs

Directions:
Have all the ingredients at room temperature.

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, then cook until the solids separate and settle on the pan bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Continue to cook until the solids brown and are almost burnt, 18 to 20 minutes more. Pour the brown butter into a bowl, leaving the solids in the pan (discard the solids). Let the butter cool at room temperature until firm. The brown butter can be prepared up to 2 days in advance; cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Bring to room temperature before using. Cookin' Mary's note: It really is important to make sure the butter has gotten firm.  I suggest refrigerating it the night before you plan to make the cake.  It wont take long to come to room temperature once you're ready to begin making the rest of the cake.

Over a sheet of waxed paper, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine the milk and vanilla. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the brown butter on medium speed until creamy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the granulated sugar and brown sugar and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat each addition just until incorporated, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, dividing it evenly between the two halves and spreading a little extra into the head area of the pan. Bake until the center of the cake springs back when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the cake cool upright in the pan for 15 minutes.