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!

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. ;)

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! :)

"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! :)

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)

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! :)

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! :)

Beach Ball First Birthday

This was one of the cutest themes I think I've seen for a Summer 1st Birthday - Beach Ball/Pool Party! Seriously, how cute is that?! The sheet cake was a rich, chocolate cake with all vanilla buttercream icing, even the details and accents. Then I made a little vanilla cake for the Birthday boy and used vanilla buttercream to give him his very own beach ball smash cake! Loved all the bright colors and designs with this project!

Pink Baby Shower Cupcakes with Handmade Flags

These were a fairly simple order, but just thought they turned out so lovely! Rich, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream swirls and my own hand made ribbon flag toppers! :)

Blue Elephant Baby Shower Cake

I don't seem to get too many opportunities to do the more "boyish" cakes even if they are baby boy cakes...somehow I'm always doing girly cakes - which don't get me wrong, I love!! But, it's so much fun to switch gears and change direction every once and a while! :) With this cake, my task was to match the Carters' Blue Elephant bedding collection, which is being used in the nursery - fun!! White vanilla cake with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream filling, covered with blue fondant which I marked to match the circle design found on the bedding. I then added a chocolate brown fondant strip at the base of the cake and finished if off with two little elephants I cut from fondant/gum paste mixture! Had so much fun with this design and was so in love with how it turned out!

Butterbeer Cupcakes and a Fond Farewell

So I've seen Butterbeer cupcakes popping up left and right ever since blogger amybites posted the recipe and I finally succumbed after I had the chance to make some toppers to go along with my cupcakes...I mean, you can't have naked cupcakes right?! Especially not when you're making the cupcakes in honor of the end of one of your favorite book/movie series! To fix that problem, I decided to make golden snitches and broomsticks as toppers using fondant and gum paste and a little bit of shimmer dust! I went by Amy's recipe exactly - didn't try to change a thing and the cupcakes...wow, were they ever rich! Yummy, but definitely not for the faint of heart! Have your glass of milk nearby! :) Butterscotch cupcake, butterscotch filling, butterscotch buttercream and a butterscotch drizzle?! Wow! But could it really be any other cupcake when you're saying goodbye to one of your favorite characters? No, of course not! Many, many thanks to J.K. Rowling for sharing her wonderful world (and imagination!) with the rest of us! And...are you working on any other projects? Just curious... :o)

Pink, Black and White Scrolled Shower Cake

This was another fun task of matching a cake to an item - in this case the shower invitation! The bottom tier was chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream filling, covered with white fondant. The top tier was vanilla buttermilk cake with vanilla buttercream filling covered with white fondant. I used pink fondant to edge the bottom of each tier, then added black fondant dots before attaching pink fondant/gum paste flowers that matched the ones on the invitations! I then cut black fondant scrolls using my Cricut Cake and attached them around the sides of the cake. I was very pleased with how the whole design came together - loved how the colors looked on the cake! :)

Hello Kitty Birthday Cake

Matching a cake to an outfit is one of my favorite things to do - it's just so much fun! Such was the case with this Birthday cake - Mom wanted to match the cake to a custom t-shirt she'd ordered for the big girl's special day. Bottom tier was vanilla buttermilk cake with vanilla buttercream filling covered with pink fondant. Top tier was chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream filling covered with pink fondant. All the accent pieces you see (even Hello Kitty!) are fondant as well! Another Hello Kitty cake that amazingly was able to leave our house (had to sneak it out when Taylor wasn't looking lol!)

Firetruck Cupcakes

These cupcakes were such a fun design! Vanilla buttermilk cupcakes with vanilla buttercream swirls topped with either gum paste stars bearing the Birthday Boy's age or a red gum paste fire truck complete with all the bells and whistles! Just loved how the bright red and yellow looked together too - Happy Birthday to a very special little Fire Chief! :)

Her Royal Highness Cake and Cupcakes

Since I have both a Son and a Daughter I love the fact that I get to enjoy both "girly" things and "guy" stuff...however, since I am myself a girl I have to admit I have an affinity towards the girlier things in life! Needless to say, I have SO been looking forward to this project!! A baby shower done in a princess theme! The small cake was vanilla buttermilk with strawberry swiss meringue buttercream filling and vanilla meringue buttercream icing piped into mounds of beautiful pink ruffles - oh, the ruffles!! I then fashioned a banner out of white fondant and added "HRH Emma Paige" in gold lettering for the coming Princess and topped off the cake with a hand made gum paste tiara! The cupcakes were also vanilla buttermilk with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, topped off with pink gum paste crowns, pink flowers and a touch of shimmer dust! Altogether a lovely welcoming for the little Princess-to-be! :)

Lego Star Wars Birthday

So it's just been me and tiny fondant lego folks the past few nights as I've been working on this cake! :) Both tiers were chocolate truffle cake with peanut butter buttercream filling covered with blue fondant. I used yellow fondant to cut out the lettering and stars, then painted the stars with gold food coloring airbrush color. The lego figures were all hand formed (many with the aid of my Son's books for reference lol!) from fondant then some details painted on with coloring. Another fun challenge!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Cupcakes

Yes, they truly are what the name says! Fluffy, decadent chocolate truffle cupcakes with swirls of yummy peanut butter buttercream icing topped off by peanut butter cups! Have mercy.

Heavenly Key Lime Pie

I have confessed in the past to Key Lime Pie being one of my absolute favorite desserts of Summer and after making it over the weekend, I thought I'd share what's in my opinion, the best recipe I've yet to come across!

Heavenly Key Lime Pie (as adapted from Southern Living Magazine)

Ingredients:
1-14oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
2 tsp key lime zest (which I omitted for my quick version!)
1/2 cup key lime juice
1-9in. graham cracker pie crust
1 cup whipping cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together condensed milk and next three ingredients until well blended. Pour mixture into pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until pie is set. Cool completely on a wire rack (about an hour). Chill in refrigerator one hour before serving. Beat whipping cream at high speed with an electric mixer 2 to 3 minutes or until soft peaks form, gradually adding powdered sugar. Top pie with whipped cream and garnish with key lime slices if desired.

*So I totally cheated this time around and went the "quick, fast & in a hurry" route with the recipe! I didn't use fresh key limes - we visited A Southern Season yesterday and I picked up more of the same bottled key lime juice that I used in my Key Lime Cupcakes - a brand called "Nellie & Joe's", so I was a little worried about how it might turn out as I'd actually squeezed all those tiny key limes by hand last go-round! Turned out wonderfully!! I couldn't tell any difference in taste and still had use of my hands afterwords, which was also nice to say the least! :)

Hello Kitty Cupcakes

As connoisseurs of Hello Kitty at our household, I have truly been looking forward to this cupcake project for quite some time! And now that the moment has finally arrived...behold the awesome cuteness that is...Hello Kitty in all her pink bowed glory!! (Taking it a bit far, yes I know - I apologize, just got a little carried away there) There were two dozen cupcakes for this Birthday girl - one dozen vanilla, one dozen chocolate both topped with a swirl of pink vanilla buttercream. I then placed toppers formed from gum paste/fondant on top - some even had a sprinkling of edible rainbow shimmer dust for added girly glee! Ah, the cuteness of it all! :)

Simple 60th Birthday

This was a simple request for a Mom who loves both the beach and pound cake with cream cheese icing! Pound cake with cream cheese icing (and filling) edged with crushed graham cracker "sand" and fondant shells. "60" for the top of the cake was cut out of fondant and brushed lightly with bronze shimmer dust - loved the simple elegance of this cake!

Yummiest Chocolate Cupcakes Evah!

Truly, the title says it all...these cupcakes are just wonderful! :) I've been wanting to try my hand at Italian meringue buttercream ever since discovering that was what I enjoyed every time I dined on the heavenly cupcakes at Sugarland, but it just always sounded so complex and honestly anything that involves a candy thermometer just scares the daylights out of me!!! But, after watching a few youtube videos and finally gathering my courage (and the required 7 & 1/2 sticks of butter - yes, you heard correctly!) I finally decided to give it a try! I thought my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe, my ultra-moist chocolate espresso would pair nicely with the smooth, creamy buttercream so I started with that as my base. I did burn my first batch of syrup (drats!) and have to move on to batch #2, but other than that, all went very well and out came a beautiful batch of smooth vanilla italian meringue buttercream! Success! I then decided to top it all off with some chocolate shavings - ah, yes - just right!

Army Guy Birthday Cake

This was a Birthday cake for a special little guy turning five who is especially into "army guys" right now! :) Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream icing, topped with a chocolate army helmet cake covered in cammo colored fondant and accented with fondant "dog tags" bearing the Birthday boy's name! (All the green army guys you see on the cake were plastic toy soldiers)

Funky Pink and Black Wedding Cake

I actually had the pleasure of working on this wedding cake back in May, but have been anxiously awaiting the photographer's views of the cake as I was so focused on getting the cake and all my gear to the venue that I forgot my own camera!! I loved, loved, loved the colors, design - just the free spirit that both the Bride-to-be and her cake embodied! :) Bottom tier was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling, next tier was chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling, next tier was vanilla buttermilk cake with vanilla buttercream filling and finally the top tier for the Bride and Groom was white vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling. All layers were covered with white fondant and all the detail work was black or hot pink fondant. The Bride-to-be provided the beautiful brushed metal toppers which couldn't have been designed to match the cake any better or so I thought! :) Many thanks to the talented Stephanie's Creative Photography for the wonderful photos!

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes

The strawberries really weren't the main reason I wanted to try out this recipe (shocking, I know!) While the hubby loves strawberries, my main draw to this recipe was trying my hand at swiss meringue buttercream which I've never made before. Nervous, yes - but determined! :) Strawberry cupcakes (made with two whole cups of chopped strawberries no less!) topped by strawberry swiss meringue buttercream and fresh strawberry slices! *Side Note - I almost gave up on the icing (!) after adding the butter - I was dismayed that the consistency turned soupy, but decided to put my Kitchen-Aid to good use, kicked up the speed, walked away for a few minutes and when I came back - voila! Perfect consistency swiss meringue buttercream!*

Princess Belle Birthday Cake

Belle Birthday cake for a very special little princess turning 6! Both the square cake on the bottom and Belle's dress (the skirt) were fudge marble cake with vanilla buttercream filling. Square cake was covered with pink fondant imprinted with a pretty vine pattern. Belle's dress was all yellow fondant, set off by a pretty pink gum paste flower! Happy Birthday, Miss Savannah! :)

Little Miss Matched Birthday Cake

Oh, if only Little Miss Matched had been around when I was growing up...I mean we had Lisa Frank, but still! LOVED this cake!! Both layers were yellow vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream filling. Bottom square cake was covered in blue fondant and black zebra pattern fondant (which I just loved the way it really popped against the blue!) Top round cake was covered in lime green fondant and varying shades of fondant circles, edged in orange fondant ribbon and an orange fondant bow. The whole crazy thing was topped off by fondant/gum paste curly-que's in varying shades! Now that's what I call a cake! :o)