Breakfast Anyone?

I decided at some point that I had not baked nearly enough today so I made some breakfast cupcakes! I've been wanting to try something like this for a few weeks so today was my opportunity... Yellow cake with a cinnamon batter swirl topped with a cinnamon cream glaze--yummy!

Madison's Castle

This a Disney Princess themed cake for Madison's 5th birthday. You can't see them well in the photo but a different Disney Princess peers from each window in the castle! I think I got them all: Belle, Cinderella, Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine, and (my favorite) Ariel!

Cupcakes!

I made cupcakes this morning... I was trying a new style... a poured icing top rather than a mound of swirled buttercream. It makes for a smoother palette if I plan on decorating the cupcakes some other way. Ava wanted butterflies and flowers in her favorite shades of pink and purple so this seemed to fit the bill!

Aaarrrrgh! Ahoy Mateys!

A pirate's life for me! I missed "Talk Like a Pirate Day" last week but I'm making up for it! One photo is the invitation I was given for inspiration, the other is my creation!

Yummy...

I refuse to compromise flavor for style! A lot of fancy cakes will be absolutely gorgeous but taste like sawdust... sometimes cakes are made a few days (or weeks) in advance and then frozen so they are easier to work with. I never do that-- first, I think it adversely affects the flavors but I'm also a bit of a procrastinator so I never work ahead! :)

That being said, I also like to make simple, yummy cakes with no particular kind of decoration. I made a chocolate peanut butter cake and some decadent cupcakes this week!

The cake was three layers of chocolate fudge cake, filled with peanut butter buttercream and chopped miniature Reese cups, then iced with chocolate buttercream icing, and topped with chocolate ganache and more chopped Reese's.

And since I had some extra batter, I made cupcakes!

I also make a Turtle Cake with three layers of chocolate fudge cake, homemade salted caramel filling, whipped chocolate ganache icing and topped with poured chocolate ganache and toasted pecans!

Wedding, Star Wars and Another Wedding

Busy weekend for me! I had a wedding cake to make for Friday, a birthday cake on Saturday and another wedding cake AND groom's cake on Saturday!

The first wedding cake was for Sarah, a girl I work with. She had chosen the cake and the topper she wanted far in advance so this was an easy cake.

The birthday cake was for 6 year-old Michael's Star Wars themed party. I had every intention of making a light saber out of cake but on Thursday night, I had an epiphany! Fortunately, not only did my idea work but it was amazingly COOL! I made a hollow cylinder of blue-tinted hard candy (trust me-- this was definitely a learning experience) and attached a fondant handle. I put the light saber on a cake, added the wording and then added the "amazing" touch... I put a glow stick underneath the candy and the blade of the light saber GLOWED IN THE DARK!!! Too cool! Michael sent me a thank you note for his cake and I have to admit, it was the sweetest thing I have ever receieved!

Saturday evening I created a wedding cake and a groom's cake. I took no pictures of the groom's cake because it was the ever-popular chocolate-covered strawberry cake I've made before. I loved the fall colors of the wedding cake and the reception site was amazing!

Just Dew it!

I know that most soda cans are 12 ounces but the birthday boy was 19 on this birthday!

West Virginia Wedding

I went home to WV a few weeks ago to make a cake for a friend from high school. Even though we were a few years apart in high school, our moms are now best friends so Natalie and I have spent more time together over the last few years. I promised to make her wedding cake, no matter where she got married so when she chose WV, I knew I would be baking in my mom's kitchen. The wedding was everything it should be and I surprised Nat and her new husband Paul with a groom's cake as well!

Chocolate Strawberry Decadence

This cake was from a few weeks ago. My husband's boss Carmen recently took a promotion within the company so I made a cake for the celebration reception. Carmen's life story is so inspirational... she came to the US at 17 with no knowledge of the English language and is now a successful senior director in the biggest retail company in the world! But most importantly, she is a good person-- always looking out for those around her. Carmen's birthday was right around the same time so I needed to make another cake fore her... I wanted to make her FAVORITE cake which turned out to be chocolate and strawberries! This is a cake I have made so many different times in so many different ways, it was a no-brainer!

Whoooooose Cupcakes?

I made cupcakes a few months ago for my friend Christina's baby shower. She just gave birth to her son Henry on Tuesday so I thought I better get around to posting the picture! i made them again just this past Tuesday night for my friend Katie's daughter Kaia's grade school teacher. The teacher loves owls so I made enough for the whole class! They loved them!