We're Late for a Very Important Date!

It's been a while since I have posted - but I have continued to bake over the past few weeks, despite a hectic work schedule and getting back into the swing of things after some travelling!  My first adventure back into baking was quite the adventure down a massive rabbit hole!  Alice in Wonderland themed cupcakes for a baby shower!

The task wasn't easy, I wanted something fun, colorful and yet somewhat relevant for a baby shower.  I came across some sample cupcakes and I worked to replicate them with my very own twist on them!  It took me about five hours from start to finish -- creating every piece from scratch (the mushrooms, flowers, and hats!).  My back may have been a little sore from hunching over the details, but it was all worth it when I put the cupcakes together and saw how Alice in Wonderland just popped from the cupcakes!  What do you think?!

Bake on!

Christmas Spirit!

I don't know what it is about this year...maybe it's the weather, or just being super busy...but it does not feel like CHRISTMAS TIME!  It makes me quite sad that I can't get into the Christmas spirit - I love buying gifts, wrapping them, decorating and of course making Christmas sweets!

It's been tough with my hours at work, then training for a half marathon (I'm crazy..I know)!  I just haven't had that much time to make super special Christmas/holiday treats.  I did have a request for Red Velvet Cupcakes for the beginning of December, so I decided to make them somewhat festive!  I made everything from scratch, including the cream cheese icing, then added some white sprinkles (to look like snow) and a candy cane as the North Pole!  What do you think?

Stay tuned... Christmas cookies are coming up this weekend and next, any suggestions on some new recipes I should try?!  Bake ON!!

A Very Sporty Birthday!

Growing up, I was quite the tomboy and into every sport imaginable.  I tried being a cheerleader, I even did ballet and loved it.  But, my true love was sports - softball, basketball, soccer, and even football.  I received a cake order by a little girl after my own heart...she didn't want a princess or a butterfly cake - she wanted a basketball and soccer themed cake!

I checked out a few designs, but I knew in my heart what I wanted to create for her.  A true fusion of soccer and basketball, mixing her two worlds into one cake!  I did a large sheet cake (vanilla) with home-made butter cream.  I made half the cake a soccer field, and the other half a basketball court and the two fields met in the center of the cake, where there was a half basketball/half soccer ball layered on top!  She was super excited for her cake and I was quite proud of how the two came together into one.  What do you think?!

Bake on!

Happy Turkey Day!

As I am sure most of you are stuffed to the brim with turkey and left over turkey, and all of the trimmings!  How was your Thanksgiving?  Mine was really nice, couldn't ask for better company, food and weather.  I had the opportunity to make a cake for a family friend - she wanted something fun, holiday-esque and yummy.  I didn't have too much direction, so I scouted some examples online and created my own version of a Thanksgiving cake!

I layered chocolate and vanilla cakes (homemade) and then made a chocolate butter cream, because the cocoa powder creates such a lovely and warm chocolate color.  Then I made some bright fall colors, yellow, red and orange to decorate the rest of the cake with giant turkeys on the side, and leaves.   I think it was a nice mix of classy, fun, and festive!  What do you think?  Bake on!

AWESOME 80's 30th Birthday!

The 80's has a lot of well-known looks, big hair, colorful clothing, and who can forget the music! (Okay, okay...I was born at the end of the 80's...but I can still like the music!) This request was for a friend who was turning 30, she wanted to turn back time and have a totally awesome 80s birthday party, cake included!  After tossing out a few ideas - Simon (the light up - Simon Sez game), a boom box, or even a rubix cube...a mix tape with fun colors won out!

I thought it would be really cool to make the inside of the cake match the funky colors of the 80's so I Tye-dyed the inside. This was the first time I have ever attempted to Tye dye a cake and it was quite successful!  I separated the batter into different bowls and added, red, green, blue, purple, yellow, and teal food coloring to each batter and then mixed into the pan!  It came out super bright and fun!  Decorating the cake was simple - the hardest part was making sure it looked like a cassette...do you even own any of them anymore?  I think I had 3 cassette tapes in my life!

It was fun, colorful and yummy - the birthday girl looked awesome (hot pink hair, teased to new heights and colorful spandex!) and she loved the cake.  Her birthday was totally awesome...what do you think about the cake?  Bake on!

Fast Four!

My nephew just turned four, and every year I make him a different birthday cake.  I ask him each year starting in September what cake he would like, and normally it changes about five times before he finally decides on the cake he wants.  This year - it was all about CARS!  He wanted Lightning McQueen from the Disney & Pixar movie, CARS.

I had made one of these cakes before, but that was about 4 years ago.  And they wanted the cake to be butter cream, not fondant!  That's a ton of piping!  But it was good practice...just had red icing everywhere!  He enjoyed the cake, and it was super yummy!  Take a look and let me know what you think... remember to BAKE ON!

Isn't my nephew cute?!  I had to bribe him to take the picture with me!

Feeding My Coffee Addiction for A Cause!

As you all may know by now...I'm addicted to coffee - anytime, any flavor, any size, and I'm in love (just don't tell my boyfriend!).  As part of my cupcake experiments, I knew I had to test out some coffee flavored ones - I found these in a cupcake book my mom bought for me and they sounded delish!  Mocha cupcakes with whipped cream icing - and as part of my fundraising for my friend's mom - I thought it would be fun to make 'em MINI!

Mini Mocha Cupcakes (doesn't it just roll off of your tongue!).  Well - I made my first mini batch, and ESPRESSO explosion, oh yeah... super strong espresso flavor.  So, I emailed all of my customers (3 dozen - 3 customers!) and warned them of the strong coffee flavor.  But - I also added a whipped cream icing, some cocoa powder and a tiny piece of dark chocolate and since they are all bite-sized, I figured it would combine really well into a yummy mocha (mini) cupcake!  I think they came out cute, what about you?  BAKE ON!