oh,sugar!

1st Day Of School

2010-08-26T06:57:00.000-05:00

After a long summer of bickering and battles between my boys I was looking forward to the start of the new school year. My oldest (the pro) is going into 4th grade and my little guy (the newbie) is a kindergartener this year! The pro, like always was excited to get back to school . The newbie.....not so much! Like any normal kid he had a million and one questions.

Newbie- Will you be there with me?

Me -Just for a little while and then I have to leave.

Newbie-How long do have to stay?

Me- Until the teacher lets you know it's time to go.

Newbie-If I'm ready to leave ,can I just come home? I know the way!

Me-ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!

Conversations like this went on throughout the summer. Newbie comes up to me two weeks before school starts and declared that he decided not to go to kindergarten and would be staying home! I realized I would have to make this more exciting for him. Instead of the normal breakfast I'd have a little 1st day of school celebration.

I kept things pretty simple. I used (school) supplies I had on hand.

A pencil covered vase

Juice and Milk

Oranges,bagels and muffins on my Pottery Barn stand which I LOVE!

A bus full of Gala apples I picked up at Target.

I filled my galvanized pots and tray with their favorite cereals.

The cute little printable labels and banner were created by Kee2Creativity.

I also made a utensil holder from a can, some cardstock and crayons.

When the newbie got up to get ready for school he was so excited! He was the first one dressed and out the door. There were a few tears when I left( from both of us) but he made it through the day. Only 176 more to go!!

My Mother's 50th Birthday Cake

2010-06-13T19:50:00.000-05:00

I thought I had gotten to the point where I was comfortable making gumpaste shoes. Turns out maybe not so much! My mother was about to celebrate a milestone birthday and a cake involving shoes would be perfect for her because she absolutely LOVES shoes!!! Another one of her loves is Coach purses so I decided to try my hand at one.

The shoe process started off as it normally did. Cutting a shape from a template , making the heel and letting them dry for a week. I added the piece for the ankle strap at the beginning of day 3. So far so good.

I started to finish the shoe the day before her birthday.

Problem #1. When it came time to attach my heel I found that I had made it a bit shorter than it needed to be. Problem #2. The sole of my shoe broke in 3 pieces. I made repairs using black candy melts. I was hoping no one would notice once the shoe was completed.

The cake was made using the method I learned in my class at Cakegirls. She loved the cake! So much so she refused to cut it. I had to buy one from a store so the guests would have something to eat at the party.

Recent Work

2010-05-31T13:33:00.001-05:00

Hello everyone!! Here are a few pictures of some of my recent work. I try to get pictures of everything but I must admit I am a horrible procrastinator (I'm working on it, I swear) and often end up working right down to the very last second so photo shoots aren't always possible.

Christina's 21st Birthday cake- This is my favorite shoe so far. I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of this gumpaste shoe thing and my next one will be a bit more advanced.

Daijah's 13th Birthday-

Daijah's mom was buying her a new cellphone for her birthday and I came up with the idea of using the new phone as her cake design.This has to be one of the easiest cakes I've made. The screen and keyboard are an edible image purchased from Gogo Cake. I carved the cake a bit to resemble the shape of the phone,covered it in fondant and place the image on. Very simple and very effective.

Recital Cookie Favors-

I picked up this adorable ballet slipper cutter from ecrandal. I LOVE their cutters!!!

Did I mention ecrandal is having a sale???

Gorgeous copper cutters at great prices!

I have my eye on about a dozen designs that I simply must have ;-)

Mortar Board Cupcake Topper Tutorial

2010-05-05T16:07:00.004-05:00

Graduation season is upon us. Geez, where did the time go?? A choir teacher at a local high school in my area wanted to treat her graduating seniors with a little something sweet. Here's a simple and quick tutorial for making mortar board cupcake toppers.

Finished cupcakes

Some with little music notes for the choir members

Recent Work

2010-05-04T11:31:00.000-05:00

Back to my slacker tendencies!! Here are some of recent photos that I haven't posted.

Michael Jackson cake and cookie favors

Baby Boy Shower Cake and Cookie Favors

30th Birthday Bling Cake

Created for a childhood friend of mine. One of the most simple cakes I've made. The banding provides most of the decor and I added a few simple ribbon roses.

I finally made cake pops after years of drooling over the fab creations by Bakerella.

Monkey Boy Baby Shower and mini cupcakes

Dunkin Donuts Cake accented with a doughnut cookie

My First Cake Class

2010-05-04T07:00:00.003-05:00

Up until Saturday March 27, 2010 every single thing I knew about cakes was learned via Internet and books but I felt it was time I got more hands on training. Culinary school... hmmm, so not in my budget right now. Wilton classes.... No! I wanted something a bit more advanced than that. So I started ~~stalking~~.. I mean browsing my favorite cake designers sites when *gasp* I saw that Cakegirls offers classes!!!! I called and left a message with all of my contact info. Georgia ,who handles runs the office promptly called me back to finalize all the details. I was so excited!! That morning I made it to the bakery early. I even had time to run to the Starbucks across the street :-) By the time I got back there was one of the other students already inside (darn, I wanted to be the first one there). While we waited for the other six ladies I took pictures of all the cake designs I had been gushing over.

Including this little beauty that I've always admired. I didn't even know they made it.

Finally all of the others arrived and out comes Brenda Maher who is seriously one of the sweetest people you could ever meet. After a quick tour of the bakery she the class starts. Everyone is given supplies such as an apron, spatula, 10" square cake, super sharp knife (I have the scar to prove it),templates,etc.

During the course of 3 hours we learned carving, stacking, filling , how to cover a cake in fondant, painting on a cake, and some other many other tips.

Mary (the other half of Cakegirls) did pop in to finish a cake she was working on but I didn't get a picture.

My Finished Cake!!!

I had such an amazing time at my class on that Saturday and was truly saddened by the events that took place on Monday March 29,2010. The apartment above the bakery caught fire and the building was completely destroyed but fortunately everyone escaped the building without injury.

To help their employees bridge the gap they're selling t-shirts while they try to rebuild. If you'd like to help purchase one here.

What's New, Cupcake?

2010-04-06T10:33:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone! I'm sure by now you've all heard about the release of Karen Tack and Alan Richardson's new book What's New, Cupcake?: Ingeniously Simple Designs for Every Occasion.

Those little ducks are so darn cute I wanted to buy the book just because of the cover. I must tell you it only gets better once you get past the cover. The April Fool's section is my favorite. It features everything from pound cake french fries and faux foot longs. The authors have outdone themselves.

I can't wait to get started on some of these designs. Wait, what's that? You wanna join in on the fun? Ok,ok you don't have to twist my arm. I'm giving away a copy of the book!! All you have to do is leave a comment and you email address. The winner will be choose randomly on Friday April 9,2010 at 5:00pm CT. ~~What are you waiting for?? Post those comments~~ :-)

Sorry, US residents only.
Contest is now closed. Thank you for all those who entered!! The winner is ...... Red30!!! Congratulations

Little Black Dress Cookie

2010-03-11T21:47:00.001-06:00

Last month I celebrated my 30th birthday with a small group of my closest friends and family. My party theme was little black dress. My invitations were these darling clutch purse made by Kee2Creativity and they featured lbd's on the insert so naturally I wanted to carry that theme through to the rest of the details including the favors.

I was inspired by a design I saw in the book Cake Chic by Peggy Porschen and instantly fell in love. The book is filled with one gorgeous design after another. There were a couple obstacles in my way. First there was finding the cutter. Now I am all for making templates and hand cuttting cookies but this particular week I had so much on me that I just wanted to keep things as simple as possible. I posted a picture of Peggy's cookie design on flickr with hopes that someone could help me track down a cutter and sure enough the incredibly talented Glory of Glorious Treats came to my rescue. She suggested this great company called Ecrandal. High quality cutters and excellent customer service!! Thank you so much Eric and Jamie!

Ok, so I have this gorgeous new cookie cutter and I still have one more problem. Peggy's cookie was absolutely stunning and had gorgeous piped royal icing details. Royal icing and I have a love/hate relationship. It just never seems to work out for me. For my version of the cookie I chose to go with rolled fondant instead. You simply use the cookie cutter to cut the fondant and place it on a warm cookie. I added a few details to the neckline and skirt and added a bow using real ribbon.

They turned out well and my guests were thrilled. My poor little birthday cake suffered major damage in transit and I didn't get any pictures before that incident. Dispite the cake fiasco a great time was still had by all.

I've been busy!!

2010-02-08T12:54:00.000-06:00

I know I've been a bit of a slacker when it comes to posting but I've had a very good reason. Here are a few more of them :-)

This mini cupcake tower was created to match the birthday girl's party dress. There were 4 dozen cupcakes all were not pictured.
While making these purse cookies and purple cake I must have sang Purple Rain by Prince at least 50 times.

This cake was created for a guy who loves Rocawear clothing!! He's not alone because I love the brand as well.

Giant Cake Slice

2010-02-08T12:28:00.000-06:00

On February 2nd I celebrate my 3oth birthday. Since I won't have a party until the 13th I decided to keep this cake simple and save the more ornate one for the party. I've always wanted to make a "slice" of cake and I finally got my chance. The cake is carrot with cream cheese frosting and all accents were fondant.

Pamper Me Pretty

2010-02-08T09:59:00.001-06:00

This cake and matching mini cupcakes were created for a spa party.

Pink and Chocolate Baby Shower

2010-02-08T09:55:00.000-06:00

Pink and chocolate brown has to be my favorite color combo for a baby shower. I wasn't very pleased with how the cake turned out but I was thrilled with the cookies.

Happy New Year!!

2010-01-02T17:48:00.000-06:00

Happy 2010 Everyone!! My first cake of the year happens to be a football themed giant cupcake. The toppers, football and jersey (my favorite part) are made of fondant.

Up next we have laptop cupcakes. My nephew Ryan came up with this idea. The cupcakes were for his Aunt Courtney who is always on her laptop!!

Finally we have the animal print cake with matching shoe cookies.

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-27T08:54:00.001-06:00

Ok, I know I'm a couple days late!! Things were just so hectic. What would the holidays be without a Giant Cupcake??? Since it was Christmas I had to go with a giant cupcake ornament! The directions for the chocolate liner can be found here . I hope all of you had a very merry Christmas!!

Recent Cakes

2009-12-27T08:37:00.000-06:00

First up we have a skateboard cake created for Dave who recently turned 10. The cake is half white , half chocolate and filled with fresh strawberries.

Next we have the Baby Gone Wild Cake and Cupcakes. This design was inspired by a baby shower featured on the stem party blog . I love Amy's ideas and I was actually featured on her blog earlier this year.

Last but not least I got to make this 3 tier cake for Princess Bryonna who was celebrating her 2nd Birthday. Her theme was Disney's The Princess and The Frog. The Princess Tiana topper was purchased.

1st Birthday Prince Cupcake Tower

2009-12-09T09:15:00.000-06:00

Prince Kehinde celebrated his 1st birthday recently. In honor of his big day I created this giant cupcake with gumpaste topper and dozens of minis. The directions for the candy liner can be found here. I love my Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan!!

Boot Cookies

2009-12-09T08:49:00.000-06:00

So I kinda have this shoe obsession :-) instead of running out and buying every single pair I want I've created them in cookie form. You can look forward to more of these. The cookies are NFSC covered in fondant.

My Latest Projects

2009-11-09T13:09:00.000-06:00

This Giant Cupcake and Hula Dress Smash Cake was created for Elise's 1st Birthday.

Luau Cupcake Tower

1st Birthday Prince Cupcakes

Sophia's Giant Spongebob Cupcake

Onesie Favor Cookies

Leopard Print Shoe and Boot Cookies

Shoe Box Cake with Gumpaste Shoe

Naughty or Nice Cupcakes created to accompany the Naughty or Nice card collection by Kee2Creativity

2009-10-21T16:36:00.001-05:00

This year I decided to join IronCupcake:Earth 2.0. The first challenge of the year is MUSIC . I'm so excited about being a part of IC:E that I just wanted to share the news with everyone.

What is IronCupcake:Earth you ask?

IRON CUPCAKE:Earth, yes a lofty name indeed. It should be, it is a way for bakers from anywhere, all over the world, to take place in the ultimate flavor challenge. Why? To promote world peace, one cupcake at a time. IronCupcake:Earth is in it's second year and is now over 425 bakers strong! To join the fun, visit the JOIN IRON CUPCAKE:EARTH .

This years prizes providers and sponsors are:

The Demy™ by Key Ingredient
Hello, Cupcake by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson
Bella Cupcake Couture
Cupcake Stackers by Gourmac
The Cake Mix Doctor Returns! by Anne Byrne

Weekend Cakes

2009-10-09T12:24:00.000-05:00

I love when cakes go according to plan. This weekend was free of any sugar battles. Let's hope the rest of the month goes as well.

I had the honor of making this really cute Mickey cake for DaMari who is the nephew of one of my best friends. This design was inspired by on of my flickr friends creativecupcakes.

Sunday October 4 was my oldest son's birthday. Darius has been a huge Toy Story fan since he was 1. He was Buzz Lightyear for Halloween 2 years in a row. He wore the costumes until they literally fell apart. So needless to say he was super excited when he found out the double feature was coming to theaters in 3D the just in time for his 9th birthday. Here is his birthday cake.

Now there was no way I was going to attempt sculpting these characters myself so I purchased a figurine set. The "wood" floor is made of fondant and is totally my favorite part of the cake. It looked totally real. I used the technique from Confetti Cakes For Kids which is one of my favorite design books (I love the work of Elisa Strauss).

Black and White Cupcake Tower

2009-09-20T06:58:00.001-05:00

I created this for a black and white 50th birthday party. The flowers toppers were inspired by a fellow flickr friend o'holysweet. I must say hers are much more stunning than mine :)

I also created white flowers for the Triple Chocolate cupcakes.

And here is the assembled tower. Not the best pic but you get the idea.

I had a couple cupcakes left over and decided to try my hand at fondant cover cupcakes. I love the end result! The letters on these were created using Tappits. I have them in a few different fonts and they are a lifesaver for me because my own writing is terrible! The upper and lower case Script sets were used for these particular cupcakes. I also have the Funky Alphabet set and the Standard Alphabet set.

Fall Booties

2009-09-19T19:45:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone!! I haven't abandoned my blog. I've just been super busy and extremely distracted.

Anywho...... I'm back!! Lately I've gotten tons of emails from sites like Bluefly.com and a catalog from one of my favorite stores Von Maur. They're filled with tons of the hottest items for fall. The one thing that stood out to me the most were booties a.k.a shooties. Since I can't afford to buy all the real ones I want I created some in cookie form.

They are NFSC covered in fondant.

Here is the black cookie packaged and tied with this great damask ribbon I found at Michaels.

And here is the silver ruffle one (my fave!)

More Pink and Purple Cuteness

2009-08-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

So Tink wans't my only girlie creation of the day. I also did this Abby Cadabby cake for Keniya....

and this pink and purple cupcake tower for Ms. Maya who is one her way to WIU. Congrats Maya!!

Giant Tinkerbell Cupcake

2009-08-08T18:07:00.001-05:00

I told you all this is my most popular cake. People are just fascinated by the Giant Cupcake. This one was created for Arielle who turned 9. The #9, leaves and flowers are fondant and gumpaste. The liner is chocolate and Tinkerbell is a toy topper.

Sesame Street Cupcake Tower

2009-08-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

This weekend I created a mini cupcake tower for Xavier who was turning one. The tower featured 8 dozen mini cupcakes in chocolate and white with fondant circle cutouts. The topper was a Giant Cupcake with a chocolate liner which has quickly become my most popular cake. The Giant cupcake has a gumpaste #1 and an Elmo image. I also added #1 "confetti" (the leftover cutouts from the cupcake toppers).

I also made some simple cookies for favors.

Luau Cupcake Tower

2009-06-28T10:37:00.000-05:00

My friend's daughter Shana had a luau to celebrate her 21st birthday and I was honored to make this cupcake tower for her. I created chocolate and white cupcakes with flip flop,flower and umbrella(non edible) toppers.

The giant cupcake topper was made using the Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan, which I totally love. I did my signature chocolate liner. Not a good swirl day for me but I think it came out pretty darn cute.

Sweet Treats Challenge

2009-06-28T09:16:00.000-05:00

The Flickr group Sweet Treats held a challenge for cupcakes and cookies with the theme of toys and circus. Needless to say I was very excited about this. I decided to go with my favorite toy as a child .... My Easy Bake Oven!!! The funny thing is I got to bake a lot as as a child with my Gram but it was just something about having my own little oven. I remember how those little mixes were gone in the first day. I would go to the kitchen and sneak ingredients to make up my own recipes. After much trial and error I finally created some that were edible. Anywho is my EBO cupcake. (I also did and Etch A Sketch one as well).

For the cookie challenge the theme was Circus. I wanted to do something that might not be as common as i.e. a clown , so I went with the Human Cannonball. My 4 year old son Christian says it looks like a man in a fish shaped sleeping bag!! Well I guess the members of Sweet Treats thought otherwise because my cookie took 1st place in the intermediate division!!

Please check out all of the other amazing entries:

Cupcake (Intermediate)

Cupcake (Advanced)

Cookie (Intermediate)

Cookie (Advanced)

and the winners.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T12:17:00.001-05:00

I know by now you've seen this cake done a million times which is why I dreaded making it but you have to give the people what they ask for!

Ryan's BBQ Birthday Bash

2009-05-31T07:34:00.000-05:00

My nephew Ryan turned 6 yesterday. After months of going back and forth over a theme with my sister, she finally decided on a simple family BBQ. I had to come up with something really special for him because he's such a sweetheart. Cupcakes were a given since we're all so infatuated with them. So I thought I'd use foods you eat at a BBQ as the toppers.

Since they would be displayed on a stand I had to come up with an awesome topper cake. A grill seemed like the likely choice. I had seen cakes before that were simply a round cake decorated as a grill but that just wouldn't do. I wanted something more 3D and a bit more realistic so I began my research. The inspiration from my grill came from a Wilton design. The design was very cute as is but I just made it more personal.

For every party I do favor cookies are a must! I saw these cookies done by my Flickr friend sweetTcakes . They went perfectly with my theme.

I love when my work turns out the way I imagined. I was so pleased with the finished product and Ryan loved it so that's what matters most!!

Bobby Jack Cake and Candy Cupcakes

2009-05-31T06:49:00.000-05:00

This Bobby Jack cake and candy cupcakes was created for Daijah. Bobby Jack and the candy pieces are made of fondant.

Margarita Cupcakes

2009-05-17T08:40:00.001-05:00

These cupcakes were created for Sweet Treats Cupcake of the Month Club .
This month's theme was Margarita. I had a blast doing these and can't wait for June which will be Banana Split Cupcakes.

Heel and Clutch Cookies

2009-05-17T08:06:00.001-05:00

These were "just for fun" cookies. Since I can't afford the real thing I'll have to settle for the sugar versions. I had so much fun with these I can't wait to make more.

Pink Lemonade Baby Shower

2009-05-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

Created for a"Pink Lemonade"baby shower but would also be adorable for a first birthday. These cupcakes and cookies feature a cute little cupcake and monogram.

Clara's Casino Cupcake Tower

2009-05-10T17:50:00.000-05:00

I recently had the privilege of creating 13 dozen cupcakes and a 6 inch topper cake for Clara's 70th birthday party which was held at theMajestic Star Casino in Indiana. The flavors included white cupcakes with pineapple filling, yellow cake with strawberry filling, chocolate cupcakes with chocolate filling.

Because everyone deserves a piece of @$$ on their birthday....

2009-05-10T17:42:00.000-05:00

This cake was created for my co-worker Jesse. It was ordered by some more of his fellow co-worker. They felt that even Jesse deserves a piece of @$$ on his birthday. Yellow butter cake with buttercream icing and covered in chocolate fondant.

Jamani's Madagascar Cupcakes and Cake

2009-05-10T17:36:00.000-05:00

This set of cupcakes and cake was created for Jamani who recently turned 3. The flavors were chocolate with a chocolate frosting and fondant topper. He also had white cupcakes with butter cream frosting. These cupcake were adorned with an edible image topper. The topper cake was white cake with a fresh strawberry filling. His mom added a toy to the top of the cake at the party.

Mini Cupcakes for Kee 2 Creativity

2009-04-26T13:03:00.000-05:00

These mini cupcakes were created for the amazing Kee Sherman of Kee 2 Creativity. She is vendor at a bridal show today and wanted cupcakes for her booth. I didn't get a chance to get a picture of them set up so I have yet another in the box shot. The flavors I used today were Banana cake with Cream Cheese frosting and Vanilla with Tahitian Vanilla buttercream.

Banana Nut Cake wih Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake
butter, for greasing pans
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped pecans (I didn't use these)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Frosting
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature (1 stick)
1 lb confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Butter and flour 3 (9-inch) round cake pans; set aside. Preheat oven to 350°F.( I used mini cupcake pan and liners)
2. For Cake: In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add the eggs and oil and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened; do not beat. Stir in the banana, pecans, and vanilla.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared pans and bake for 23 to 28 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake layers in the pans for 10 minutes, and then turn them out onto a rack to cool completely. (I baked for 11-12 minutes)
4. While the cake cools, make the frosting: In a bowl, blend together the cream cheese and butter. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the pecans, or reserve them to sprinkle over the frosted cake.
5. Fill and frost the cake when it is completely cool.

This recipe was originally posted on Food Network

Yellow Cupcakes

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation
Heat oven to 350° F. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of a mixer fit with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, stirring after each addition. Add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating it with the milk and mixing just until incorporated. Add the vanilla and combine. Divide the batter among 12 cupcake tins with paper liners. Bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting or decorating.

Kaye's Buttercream

Kaye's buttercream can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3days and in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. To use the chilled buttercream, bring it to room temperature and beat at medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. To speed up this process you can lightly reheat the buttercream, in its mixing bowl, over a hot water bath, before beating.

In a small saucepan, bring to a boil:
1/2 cup water
2 1/4 cups sugar

Use a clean pastry brush and cold water to wash down any sugar crystals that form on the sides of the pan as the water heats. When the sugar comes to a boil set a timer for 7 minutes, and let boil.
After 5 minutes, in the bowl of an electric mixer, begin to whip at high speed:
1 cup egg whites (about 12 large egg whites)
Whip until stiff. They should be done when the timer goes off.
With the mixer on high speed, slowly beat the sugar syrup into the egg whites, pouring the syrup to the side of the bowl to avoid the whip.
Continue to beat until the bowl is cool to the touch, about 10 minutes.

Slowly add:
1 1/2 pounds (6 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
When the buttercream begins to jump out of the bowl reduce the speed low.
Mix in at low speed:
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Beat until light and fluffy. At some points the mixture might look curdled. Just keep beating; it will become smooth again.

Yield: 8 cups

Recipe from The Whimsical Bakehouse

Happy Birthday Ashley and Tiffany

2009-04-20T17:48:00.000-05:00

My twin cousins Ashley and Tiffany turned 11 this week. These are the mini cakes and cupcakes I made for them.

Ashley LOVES High School Musical and most importantly Zac Efron. So I had to find some way to feature him on her cake. The basketball and music note toppers were made of fondant.

For Tiffany I created Pokemon cupcakes and a mini Pokeball cake. The toppers were supposed to be edible images but I can't get my crazy printer to work. That thing has been a thorn in my side since I purchased it. Anywho, I printed the toppers using regular paper. Not my exact vision but Tiff loved them.

Easter Basket Cake

2009-04-10T16:20:00.000-05:00

Who knew a little cake could be so much trouble??

I baked and filled yesterday only to discover this morning the fresh strawberry filled layers slid apart. Couldn't find my leaf cutter to make the grass I really wanted.
I made the bow too large for the cake. So I had to make a last minute bow and it had no time to dry. When I put the handle on it cracked!!!

PB&J Cupcakes

2009-04-04T13:40:00.000-05:00

I created these for the Flickr group Sweet Treats Cupcake of The Month Club. This month's flavor was peanut butter and jelly. The sandwich toppers are made of fondant.

Cakespy Cuppie

2009-03-28T18:03:00.000-05:00

I love cakespy!!! I currently own 3 original paintings and can't wait to buy more. One of my pieces sits on my nightstand, another is on my desk at work and the other is on my fridge. I spent a large amount of my day looking at this little cutie. So there was only a matter of time before I recreated him in edible form.

Pinkalicious Cupcake

2009-03-23T06:40:00.000-05:00

After reading the book Pinkalicious to my son for the 9000th time , I decided to make the cupcake from the story. The colors are a bit off because I just used the supplies I had on hand.

The liner is made of candy here are are the directions. I used the Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan for this cake. I recommend baking your two halves seperately because they have vastly different baking times and your top swirl would be way overdone before you base. Once cooled I trim the sides on my cake to get it to fit in the candy shell. The top the cake it covered in buttercrem then rolled fondant. I added a few fondant "sprinkles" and a cherry and voila ,Pinkalicious Cupcake!!

Candy Liner for Giant Cupcake

2009-03-22T21:46:00.000-05:00

I recently had lots of request for directions on creating the liner for my Giant Cupcake. It's a really simple. I got the idea from the Wilton 2008 Yearbook.

Supplies:
Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan
Candy Melts (any brand)
Rubber Spatula

1. Melt the candy per instructions on package.
2. Pour half of melted candy into pan.
3. Tilt pan and use rubber spatula to spread candy around until all sides are evenly coated.
Gently tap pan against your work surface to remove any air bubbles. Refrigerate until firm.
4. Apply second coat and refrigerate until completely firm. (I usually wait 20-25 minutes)
5. Unmold
6. Fill candy shell with a cake base. If you chose to bake your base using this pan you'll have to
trim the sides in order for it to fit inside the shell. I always use two 4" round cakes for my
base.
7. Decorate!! Pictured above are 3 of my finished designs.

Better Late Than Never

2009-03-15T09:31:00.000-05:00

I was supposed to start this blog in January but due to certain circumstances I was unable to. It's basically about my adventures in custom confections. The posts below are all cakes or cupcakes I created this year.

Johari's Mall Madness

2009-03-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

This cake and cupcakes were created for a scavenger hunt party at the mall. Johari's mom is the owner of Kee 2 Creativity and creative mastermind behind this and many other incredible parties. She's a brilliant graphic and invitation designer and a super mom!!

Pink and Chocolate Giant Cupcake

2009-03-15T07:22:00.000-05:00

My favorite colors are pink and chocolate brown so they were a must for my birthday cake. I created this cake using the Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan. I made a chocolate liner to coordinate with the brown liners on my mini cupcakes. The cake and cupcake were topped with buttercream and fondant "sprinkles".

8 is Great!!

2009-03-15T07:13:00.000-05:00

8 is great was the theme of the party. I created fondant and gumpaste #8 toppers. The jumbo cupcake is double chocolate with vanilla buttercream. The others are yellow cupcakes with buttercream.

Taekwondo Cake and Cupcakes

2009-03-15T06:56:00.000-05:00

Created for a 15 year old's birthday who recently earned his black belt. Each of the colored belts on the cupcakes represent a belt he received after promotion tests on the getting his black belt. The cake and cupcakes are White Creme. The cake has a strawberry filling.

Partysaurus Cake

2009-03-15T06:28:00.000-05:00

This was created for my son Christian's 4th birthday. The cake was heavily inspired by a Debbie Brown design. My version features mini cupakes with fondant toppers.

1st Birthday Princess Smash Cake

2009-03-15T06:14:00.000-05:00

This cake was created for Mackenzie. The venue for the party provided her with a cake from a local bakery but her mom still wanted a cake by me. I kept the design simple. It features a gumpaste crown and bow.

St. Patrick's Day Cupcakes

2009-03-15T06:01:00.000-05:00

Created for a school bake sale. Triple Chocolate cupcakes with Milk Chocolate frosting and White Creme cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream frosting. Each one is topped with a fondant shamrock.

Breakfast At Tiffany's Samples

2009-03-14T16:03:00.000-05:00

These mini cake samples were created for an upcoming graduation party in April. One is a black dress with gumpaste pearls. The other is a Tiffany style gift box.

Pink and Chocolate Polka Dot Cake

2009-03-14T15:59:00.000-05:00

This cake was created for my co worker Diane. It is white creme cake with a fresh strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream. All accents are fondant.