First Annual Spring Bake Sale

For a month, I advertised on Facebook - my First Annual Spring Bake Sale.

I offered any variety of the following four flavors:

CHOCOLATE OREO COOKIES N' CREAM

Chocolate Cake with Oreo Cookie Bottom topped with a whipped Cookies n' Cream Frosting 

and Oreo Cookie Crumbs

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY

White Chocolate Cake filled with Fresh Raspberry Filling 

topped with Raspberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER

Chocolate Chunk Cake topped with a Creamy Peanut Butter Buttercream

VANILLA STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

Vanilla AND Cheesecake Cupcake with Fresh Strawberry Filling

topped with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream 

All orders were hand delivered by me on May 4th, 2013.

Jacob

I know this kid named Jacob...and he has become a huge part of our lives here.
I met Jacob when he was 4 months old when I started taking care of him five days a week.
He has turned into Ethan's best little buddy and in April, Jacob turned ONE.

His mommy was throwing a Barn Yard themed birthday celebration and requested some delicious cupcakes and smash cake for the event.

Jacob is very special to me so I wanted to make sure when he looked back at pictures from this day, he says "Damn, my cake and cupcakes were awesome!" Well, maybe without the bad word, but still I wanted it to be perfect.

The cupcakes were Vanilla Cheesecake and Chocolate, both with Fresh Strawberry Filling.

The smash cake was Chocolate also with Fresh Strawberry Filling - just no glaze and a thin layer of buttercream to prevent a sugar overload.

Everything was covered with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

I purchased the Cupcake picks from the local Bakers Boutique.

The cow spots are black Marshmallow Fondant and the barn cake topper is a bird house I bought at Michaels and painted myself.

I knew Jacob would be a great cake smasher...but I didn't know he would be the BEST CAKE SMASHER in cake smashing history!

He did not disappoint.

It was an awesome day and I am blessed to have been a part of his first year.

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Eggless = Not Easy

One of my customers needed an eggless cake and cupcakes for a family birthday party.

Eggs are a big part of my baking routine...so when I substitute other ingredients, although still very tasty, it is a challenge. I threw away the first cake because it just...well, it sucked.

The cake is Devils Food filled with fresh strawberries...and boy was it crumbly.
Trimming and placing the top layer was not an easy task.
Without the egg, which serves as part of the riser and most of the binder in the cake - the sheets were extremely fragile.

My favorite and most popular buttercream is Swiss Meringue Buttercream...but it is meringue based which does not fall under egg-free. So I used a classic Buttercream recipe that is powdered sugar and butter based. Although it is a bit more difficult to frost cakes with, it is very sweet and goes well with a fresh fruit filling.

I made a bowl of Dark Chocolate Ganache that I used as a drip around the edges of the cake, then whipped for the piping of the cake.

The cupcakes are Vanilla Cake with the same Fresh Strawberry filling and Vanilla Buttercream with a Ganache drizzle to kinda match the cake.

I welcome orders like this...ones that force me to try new things and explore new recipes.

Mickey Mouse Birthday...Again!

My friend Charlotte's son in a BIG fan of Mickey Mouse...so much so, he wanted a Mickey Mouse birthday party for the second year in a row! Here's what I did for him last year.

Charlotte is a big fan of the Hostess Cupcake.

So when you put the two together...here's what you get:

Devils Food Cupcakes filled with a Whipped Vanilla Buttercream

Dipped (3 TIMES) into Milk Chocolate Ganache

Given a cute little swirly line

and topped with Mickey Ears made with black cardstock and toothpicks - since there was no buttercream to hold up fondant ears.

They were super delicious, in case you were wondering.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jaxon!!!

Spring Baby Shower

A friend from High School got in touch with me and asked if I could bake something for her sister-in-law's Baby Shower.

The theme was Spring and Pastels.

White Cupcakes with Chocolate Mousse Topping

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

All were topped with a Yellow Flower made of Marshmallow Fondant.

The Cake Pop favors are Chocolate Cake mixed with Chocolate Frosting dipped in White Chocolate and decorated with a Pink Flower made of Marshmallow Fondant.

Tags and Ribbon were provided by the host....super cute, right?

I had a few extras...

Minnie Mouse is in the House!

My good friend, Charlotte's daughter turned ONE!

Chloe and her brother are big Mickey & Minnie fans...You'll see his Mickey Mouse stuff a little later.

Cupcakes are Chocolate Fudge

Ears are Marshmallow Fondant

Everything is generously covered in Strawberry Swiss Meringue Buttercream and decorated with Marshmallow Fondant.

Happy 1st Birthday Chloe!

Nautical Themed 1st Birthday!

One of my best customers placed a super cute order for her son's 1st Birthday.

It was a nautical theme and she wanted cupcakes and a smash cake.

The local Baker's Boutique did not (at the time) carry a small anchor cookie cutter or pre-made sugar/gumpaste anchors....so I made them myself out of fondant, along with some lifesavers for cupcake toppers.

The cupcakes were Red Velvet and Vanilla Strawberry Cheesecake, both topped with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

The mini cupcakes are White Cake colored Red, White & Blue with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Sprinkles.

The smash cake is a Vanilla Cake with a simple Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream filling and frosting covered and decorated with Marshmallow Fondant.

The lighting was very dim at the party location, so I apologize for the crappy pictures.

Happy 1st Birthday Mason!