Cupcakes for Baby Alivia

A friend of mine is expecting a little girl named, Alivia in December.

This past weekend was her Baby Shower and I was thrilled to bake up some sweets.

Mommy-to-be was craving White Chocolate Chunk Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Filling & Buttercream but also some Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting.

What Mommy-to-be wants, Mommy-to-be gets.

The shower colors were pink and green.

I used my pink and green cupcake trees for the display because, well...they matched perfectly.

White Chocolate Chunks ready to go into the batter.

A freshly baked White Chocolate Chunk Cupcake.

Hot Salted Caramel Filling ready to go inside the cupcakes.

Filled Cupcakes.

So excited that I finally was able to use these!

Cupcakes!

Congratulations Trisha...can't wait to meet Alivia!

My future sister-in-law's Bridal Shower.

Tomorrow, November 10th 2012...my oldest brother will marry his longtime love, Julie in South Lake Tahoe.

A couple weeks ago Julie's family hosted a Bridal Shower in her honor and of course, I brought the cupcakes.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Drizzle.
French Vanilla Cupcakes with Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

So excited for tomorrow!

Pet Sematary

For the last 3 years I have made a spooky cake with a Halloween movie theme for the same cool kid for his Birthday.

First was this one, then last year there was this one.

This year...Pet Sematary was the theme.

I was given full creative go-ahead for this cake as long as it was Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Filling.

This cake was fun to make.

Smashing cookies into crumbs is always fun.

So it making spooky trees out of melted chocolate.

I covered the cake in Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream then took all my pre-made sematary decorations and went to town...

I saved the trees until I was making the delivery...way too fragile for a ride in the car.

Picture taken in the trunk of my car, LOL.

Happy Birthday Gage!

Boobie Cake...and then some!

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS CAKE NUDITY!

My parent's neighbor asked if I could do a cake for their son's 30th Birthday.
My mother had apparently been bragging about my cake skills and showed them pictures of this bOObie cake I did a few months back....they loved it and wanted one too!

They wanted to go a little further with the risky cake creation, though...they wanted a lacey bra...and panties!
They also wanted a belly button ring...and the number 30 somehow incorporated into the cake.
They requested extra large bOObies and pink attire.

The cake was Chocolate with Fresh Strawberry Filling and lots of Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

I covered the whole cake with skin toned Marshmallow Fondant then added the pink "fabric" outline for the bra and panties which were not crotch-less...they had to draw the line somewhere!

Can't forget the nipples.
I like to brush them on with a little pink Gel Coloring then rub it off/in with a paper towel for a realistic effect.
Realistic enough?

I tinted some Buttercream pink and piped on the lace swirley thingies.

Then I used a plastic chopstick to make the belly button, it worked perfectly.
I used tiny silver coated dragees to make the belly button chain and added a fondant heart with 30 on it.

I must say...she's quite sexy.
I try to make these kind of cakes how I wish I looked.

Still waiting for someone to order a Fat Girl Cake...

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, NEW Fish

What an adorable Baby Shower theme huh?

This cake is inspired by this Dr. Seuss book:

3 yummy layers of French Vanilla Cake filled with Fresh Strawberries and covered in a generous amount of Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

I covered and decorated the cake with homemade Marshmallow Fondant and used Gel Coloring & Vodka to paint the black accents.

Lil' Slugger Baby Shower

Baby Showers left and right...and more on the schedule.

This cake was made for a Baseball themed shower.

The cake was three tiers, each being a different flavor.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

and Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Filling

I accidentally colored the Buttercream Blue but then realized...why not? Goes with the whole "Boy" theme.

This Mommy-to-Be is a San Francisco Giants Fan...and she wanted to represent!

The whole cake is covered and decorated with homemade Marshmallow Fondant and Brown Sugar was used for the "dirt".

Congratulations Isabel on your Lil' Slugger!

2012 is the Year of Weddings for my family...

...and I started the trend!

On July 21st, 2012...Richard (that's my baby daddy, for those of you who don't know), Ethan and I hopped in the car and drove to Reno, NV where we eloped in a small chapel on the strip.

See...

Then, on September 8th, 2012...my older brother, Ray married the love of his life, Ashley.
(Note: They were engaged before Richard and I got married, so maybe...technically they started the trend.)

Then, on September 22nd, 2012...my other older brother, Tony married his long time fiance and mother of his two beautiful daughters, Sara at the SAME chapel in Reno where Richard and I sealed the deal.

And on November 10th...my oldest brother, Ken will marry his fiance Julie!
(picture and post to follow)

Crazy, right? Totally.

So here's what I made for Ray and Ashley's beach wedding!

Flavors:
Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Buttercream topped with a mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cup
White Cupcakes with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream
Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Filling and Salted Caramel Buttercream with Drizzle

The cutting cake was also Chocolate/Salted Caramel.

One guest actually told me the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake was "life changing"...awesome.

Here's my niece, Emiley giving the camera her best frosting face.

Congratulations Ray & Ashley...you are absolutely perfect for each other and the flavors you wanted prove it!

Pink & Grey Baby Shower

Everyone goes to a Baby Shower hoping for a good time...well, when you order sweets from me that's what you'll get!

These pretty cupcakes were made for a Pink & Grey themed Baby Shower.
The soon-to-be Auntie who ordered them for the shower had very specific design requests from the soon-to-be Mommy.

Half the cupcakes were Vanilla Cheesecake and the other half were Chocolate...both were filled with a Fresh Strawberry Filling and topped with a very generous amount of Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

There was a variety of toppers: Chocolate Butterflies, Crystal Sprinkles and Fondant Flowers.

It gets better...

There were also cake balls.

Red Velvet ones, mixed with a dollop of Cream Cheese frosting and then dipped in colored white chocolate and topped with Crystal Sprinkles and a simple Fondant Heart.

Mini cupcake holders and liners make the PERFECT packaging for cake balls.

Sometimes when I deliver these sweets....I want to stay for the party...this was one of those times.

At least I had a few extra cake balls for myself : )
You know...so I could get a good picture...ya, that's it.