Butterfinger & Salted Caramel Cupcakes!!!

YUMMY!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes with Milk Chocolate Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Crushed Buttercream Candy Bar Crumb Topping

You know you like my "Bite Me" liners...a gift from a friend.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Filling and Salted Caramel Swiss Meringue Buttercream topped with Salted Caramel Drizzles and Candied Caramel Swirly Thingies

This was the first time I made my own Caramel...and it was fantastic!

Yo Gabba Gabba!

This show must be a hit with the little ones...looks kinda scary to me.

A little man was turning 2 and his mama wanted a cool cake for his party.

She requested chocolate cake with strawberries.
I love strawberries.

I covered the cake generously with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

Then covered it with homemade marshmallow fondant.
I made all of the characters with fondant too.

No faces.

Faces.

I totally underestimated the amount of time it would take me to make these guys...but I was pleased with the result and feel much more confident going into the next cake with fondant characters.

I love the stereo.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson!!!

Cupcakes will never be enough...but THANK YOU

In September, my father was forced into early retirement due to a below-the-knee amputation on his right leg.

For as long as I can remember, my father has battled multiple health problems and always fought through them to provide for his family.

Now, it is time for his to focus on himself and getting healthy so he and my mother can enjoy their retirement together.

My father's last employer was a HUGE part of making this sudden and difficult transition for my parents, as easy as possible. They were compassionate, understanding and helpful in allowing my father to recover without worrying about all the small details surrounding a sudden disability and retirement.

To say THANKS, I wanted to bake them something sweet and delicious.

Two of my most popular cupcakes are the Vanilla Caramel and the Oreo Cookies n' Cream so I made them both.

I wanted to try these out too:

I went with my father last month to pick up his things and I was overwhelmed by the amount of co-workers happy to see my father and see him healthy. One after another came out of their offices to give their best wishes to my father. He was truly loved and appreciated and I know that he will be missed.

So, THANK YOU to everyone at Herrick Steel in Stockton, Ca.

THANK YOU for providing my father with his best job, best bosses, best co-workers and for taking such good care of him Monday through Friday for so many years.

Halloween Birthday Cake

A friend from High School asked me to make her twin boys a Halloween themed cake for their 1st Birthday.
She sent me a few pictures...wanted the top tier from one cake, bottom tier from another and the topper from another but she also gave me creative go ahead...

She requested marble cake with chocolate buttercream.

This was my first time making marble cake...and it was fun. See:

I filled and frosted both tiers with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream.

Then....I decided I was going to make my own fondant from scratch.
I used Wilton's marshmallow fondant recipe.
My tip: SIFT YOUR POWDERED SUGAR or you will have lumpy fondant.
I also only used between 6-7 cups of powdered sugar, not 8.
I made my fondant and used it the same day without any problems.

I am very grateful it worked out well, because I didn't have a back-up plan.
I will probably be making my own fondant from now on.
I feel cool.

I used Rice Krispy Treats to shape two witch hats, two headstones and a ghost body.
I gave each treat a thin coating of the buttercream just to smooth it out a little bit.

After that...I covered everything in fondant and got to decorating.

Happy Birthday Jett and Chase!!!