Favorite Quote Ever :)

Life is short. Eat more cake!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Blue Gingham Baby Shower Cupcakes




I really enjoyed making these toppers and loved the look once all put together! :) One dozen fresh strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing and one dozen chocolate espresso cupcakes with vanilla buttercream icing, both with hand painted fondant toppers made to match the blue gingham baby shower invitations!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Welcome Back Teacher Cupcakes



These were just a little "Welcome Back!" for my Daughter's teachers! Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream swirls and coordinating liners and cupcake toppers/picks! Hope these make their first days back in the saddle a little sweeter! :)

"Sweet Romance" Cake Squares



Honestly, this isn't the type of project I normally take on - however, had a friend contact me late in the week with a cake "emergency"! She'd ordered cake squares from a "big box" store but they weren't going to be able to do the colors she needed (the closest they could come is hot pink and black? Really?!) Was there any way I could just do the decorations? Well, sure - why not! The cake came to me with a base coat of plain white buttercream - no frills or decorations whatsoever - a blank canvas, if you will! It was really a simple task to add fondant cutouts in the coordinating colors then buttercream piping details in gray to match the bridal shower decorations - all done! *Once again - I did not bake this cake, but I did have fun decorating it!* :o)

Saturday, August 20, 2011

50th Wedding Anniversary Cake


Working on this cake took me back - it's been a while since I've done the basketweave pattern, loved it though and thought the design turned out so nicely! :) 50th wedding anniversary cake made for a special couple! Almond pound cake with vanilla buttercream filling and icing covering the cake. The flowers were all royal icing, I also added a little gold shimmer dust to the roses which I thought looked so pretty!

Pink and Green Dottie Birthday


I just loved the way this cake came together! Birthday girl requested pink, green and a "curly L" for a topper for her cake, so that's exactly what she got! :) Fresh strawberry cake with white chocolate buttercream filling covered with green fondant. I then added pink fondant dots and a pink fondant ribbon and bow. Finally topped it all off with a pink curly "L" hand formed from gum paste/fondant!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Little Mermaid Birthday Cake


I just love The Little Mermaid :) This was one of my very favorite Disney movies growing up - I had a very well-worn VHS (don't laugh!) copy to prove it too! This Birthday cake was for another very special Little Mermaid fan's day! Rich chocolate cake with (mmmm!) strawberry buttercream filling covered with blue fondant - even Ariel's perch on top was a small chocolate cake covered with textured fondant! All the seaweed, coral and shells were made from fondant, as was the Birthday girl's name which I painted with a thin covering of white shimmer dust. Ariel was not made by me - purchased her from a local party supply vendor. ;)

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Fresh Blueberry Cupcakes



Yes, I do realize I've been a bit obsessed with cupcakes as of late...I just don't see how that's a problem! :) Vanilla cupcakes with fresh blueberries tucked inside (yum!) and a swirl of vanilla bean cream cheese frosting on top (just sitting there looking gorgeous!) then two beautiful little blueberries topping the whole thing off! I loved how these cupcakes tasted - oh, so very yummy - but even more than that I just adored what a stunning visual the white made against the blue! Lovely! :)

Saturday, August 13, 2011

"Mounds" Inspired Cupcakes



Have to admit first off - I am not a fan of coconut. I love the scent, don't mind the flavor, but I just am not a fan of the texture - ick! Sorry to all the coconut fans out there, for me it's just too similar to tiny particles of plastic lol! However, when a good friend made the request that I come up with a "Mounds" inspired cupcake, I embraced the challenge wholeheartedly! I used a dark chocolate cupcake as the base and filled it with a dark chocolate ganache - yum! Then I made a buttercream icing but instead of using regular milk or whipping cream I thought I'd try coconut milk, which gave it a nice subtle hint of coconut flavor (still might add coconut extract next time to ramp up the flavor a bit more!) Then I topped it all off with a sprinkling of shredded coconut - altogether a lovely cupcake! :)

Monday, August 8, 2011

Fresh Peach Cupcakes



Have to admit - I was pleasantly surprised with these cupcakes...immensely so! I am not a huge peach fan, but when I found this recipe it just intrigued me so I had to try it! So EXTREMELY glad I did! This may be the best non-chocolate cupcake I've made so far! Fresh peach cupcakes with dulce de leche swiss meringue buttercream topped with toasted pecans! W. O. W. :o)

Friday, August 5, 2011

Monkey Baby Shower Cupcakes




Loved this shower theme!! Vanilla cupcakes - one half with chocolate buttercream, the other half with vanilla buttercream icing swirls, topped off with hand formed gum paste/fondant monkey toppers for a Baby Shower! :)

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Zebra Stripe Birthday


This Birthday cake was for a special little girl who loved both zebra stripes and the color pink! Vanilla buttermilk cake with vanilla buttercream filling, covered with white fondant, then black fondant zebra stripes! Then I used a strip of pink fondant to edge the bottom of the cake and added pink and green curli-ques on top! :)