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.

Baby Shower for Niece #4!

My oldest brother Ken and his wife Julie are now the proud parents are a precious baby girl named, Sienna.

But back in March - I hosted their joint Baby Shower.

I've always wanted to make a "naked" cake...and Julie was kind enough to let me try it out for the shower...but my brother Ken had one request...Hostess.

So their cake was inspired by the Hostess Cupcake.

Devils Food Cake Filled with Dark Chocolate Ganache and a Whipped Vanilla Buttercream, stacked and left "naked" with just a sprinkle of powdered sugar for prettiness.

The flowers are not real and the Elephant toppers were made by myself with scrapbook paper.

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!

Sock Monkey 1st Birthday!

My cousin's son turned ONE in February!

They threw a FABULOUS party for him and the theme was SOCK MONKEY everything!

Mom wanted a big 4 tier cake with a variety of flavors.

Bottom Tier: White Cake with Raspberry Filling
2 Tier: Lemon Cake with Lemon Creme Filling
3rd Tier: Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Filling
Top Tier: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Mom also wanted a smash cake for baby Ryan.

Marble Cake with Banana Pudding Filling.

Both cakes were covered in Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and decorated with Marshmallow Fondant.

To date, this was probably the most difficult, time consuming project...but one that I am most proud of.

I had another 1st Birthday order going at the same time as this, so unfortunately in all the chaos I did not snap any photos of the process, sorry!

Happy 1st Birthday Ryan!

Christmas is a time for Giving.

My parents are two of the most thoughful and giving people I know.
They asked me to bake up a bunch of sweets - none for them, all for others.

They asked for three small cakes to give to their neighbors.
Each cake has French Vanilla and Red Velvet layers with a Chocolate Ganache Filling.

They are each covered in Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream then decorated with homemade Marshmallow Fondant.

They also asked for 2 dozen cupcakes...something Christmas-ey for my father's old co-workers.

One dozen French Vanilla cupcakes with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream and White Chocolate snowflakes.

One dozen Devils Food cupcakes dipped in Chocolate Ganache with Vanilla Swiss Meringue wreaths and Sprinkles.

And lastly, they wanted some Cheesecake bites.
Man, I love Cheesecake - so I get excited anytime someone orders it, because I always make extra.

I made the bites a little bigger than usual...well, because...why the heck not?!

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!