Johnette Lopuszynski Bakes!

A tasty photographic chronicle of my many baked goods - and what inspires them.

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I made another cake for another friend! Happy Birthday, Kathy!

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We celebrated a birthday in March with our friend Tim when he came to see the boys perform in the Passion Play. We laughed a lot, and ate ourselves silly that weekend. We had big meals consisting of stuffed peppers and pork roast, and of course Taco Bell. Birthdays are fun. Food is fun.

Tim loves chocolate cake. I made him Hershey’s cake. Here is the recipe.

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This cake was for my friend Marleen’s birthday, and we celebrated way back in February. Marleen always asks for a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and I have been making her that for about 15 years. I really liked the way this cake turned out, especially the colors. Claire and I celebrated Marleen’s birthday by taking her to a fish fry because that is where she wanted to go since she hadn’t been to one in such a long time! We also went to Claire’s house for coffee, cake, and conversation.

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My boys were all in the Musical Passion Play at church, and we brought these for the dessert buffet in March. I am very proud of you Jack, Drew, and Sam. Your dedication to long practices (especially after NA musical practice for Jack and basketball for Sam) was pretty amazing! I am always proud of you guys. You did a wonderful job, and I am still amazed you could handle school, homework, and activities with ease.

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Anonymous said:

How did you manage to learn to frost your cakes so well? I love to bake but I never make cakes because I find it impossible to make the frosting look professional like yours do!

Dear Anon,

Thanks for the question and the compliment! Everything I do is just trial and error. I bake so much that I have just gotten to practice a lot, and I learn with each new cake! If I don’t like something, I scrape it off and start over. Fluffy icing is easier to work with, but if I use something that is of a stiff consistency, it helps to put the spatula I am using under hot water and then run it over the icing. That makes the frosting look more smooth. I also sometimes use a cake turn table which also makes frosting a cake easier.

Another tip: using sprinkles or coconut, or jimmies helps hide flaws - especially on the sides of a cake. I sometimes do this when I have no patience to make things look smooth!

I actually learned to make icing roses just by watching a YouTube video, so if you are interested in learning by watching, I am sure you could find a video that would help with different frosting techniques!

Remember, though, you shouldn’t get stressed! Everything takes practice, and all kinds of cakes can look nice (and taste great) whether they look “professional”or not. If you love to bake, just do it! Trust me when I say, I am no professional, just passionate about baking.

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I am just so behind with everything, and I have to catch up. I have done so much baking, but not much posting because of our busy life. Regardless of the craziness, my mom and I made time to celebrate her birthday in March. We had a great time! We went for happy hour appetizers at the Cheesecake Factory with Claire and Marleen before watching a play in the South side on the eve of her birthday. It was really a great night. Mom spent the night, and the next day we visited thrift stores, went to Panera for lunch, and later had cake with the boys. The cake was lemon and white almond marble. The colors were picked especially for you, mom. You are so full of life and joy. You are vibrant and colorful!

Also: the roses on top are suppose to look like a heart! I love you, mom!

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Some things I baked for Easter: huge thumbprints with lots and lots of icing, cut-outs, nut horns and poppy seed horns.

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Here are the other cookies I brought to Annabelle: made from my bargain M&M’s.

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I was so busy last Wednesday, and I needed to bake something quick to take to piano lessons. I figured I would use some of the green M&Ms that came in the 90%-off Christmas bag I bought after New Year’s (I used the red ones for Valentine’s Day). In addition to the Saint Patrick’s Day-themed candy I put in the batter, I also mixed in some Snicker’s baking bites. Voila! Quick and cheap baked goods to bring to Annabelle! Yesterday I brought her another type of cookie with more green M&Ms mixed in!

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day.

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I made this last year, and never posted it...now is a good time to post it! It was a birthday cake for Annabelle’s son. I knew it would make her happy if he had one, so I brought it to piano lessons and gave it to her so that she could give it to him.

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Another pie....Sam made this one with a little supervision from me. We donated it to his elementary school for the basket auction/dessert night. It is blueberry pie with almond glaze. Our pie has a broken heart!

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Here is the pie I made for my husband’s birthday this year: apple and pear pie with caramel-pecan topping. Since it is March 14th tomorrow, I am finally posting it! Happy Pi day! 

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Thank You Cookies!

I wrote thank-you notes to my husband’s boss and co-worker (they are wonderful and generous and kind and amazing)! I sent cookies along with the notes - they had coconut, raisins, walnuts, oatmeal, and chocolate mixed in them.

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My house was like a bakery yesterday! I made peanut butter kiss cookies, Reese’s cookies, magic cookie bars, and brownies with chocolate icing. I was actually surprised at how much I accomplished in one morning! In the evening, I made pumpkin blueberry muffins. Today I made a ham and cheese quiche and two huge pepperoni rolls. All of this food was to take to my friend’s niece who is going though a hard time. Sam and I delivered the food tonight, and she was very appreciative.

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Our  traditional family Valentine’s Day dinner: the heart-shaped meatloaf that I have been making since the boys were really little. We also had pink mashed potatoes and red jello, too!

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Two different heart cakes for two different friends: one for Annabelle and one for Jen.

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Annabelle cancelled a couple weeks of piano lessons in January, and last week was our first week back, so I really wanted to bake her something. I brought her brownie hearts last week, and today I am making her a heart cake. Might as well get all the Valentine themed stuff in while I can. I like making heart shaped baked goods...especially for someone as sweet as Annabelle. And she loves chocolate!