Happy Holidays!

My husband and I had our annual 2-person holiday cookie party this year! New holiday designs include jolly snowmen bleeding from their necks (my husband's observation) and various christmas ornaments.

We yielded over 650 cookies!

Happy Holidays!

Wall-E for Evi-E

I guess it's true what they say about time passing by faster as you get older. Sigh. To me, it feels like just yesterday that I made Evie's first birthday cake? I'm sure Evie's parents can agree.

It's a huge leap from a ladybug cake to a Wall-E cake. Evie seems to love this movie and loves Wall-E. But who doesn't? I saw this adorable movie to do research for this cake, and I too, fell in love with Wall-E.

Here's Eve: Wall-E's love interest. So sweet.

Here's evidence that there is life on planet earth.

All the figurines are made of marshmallow fondant. Everything is edible, except for the wax candle.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Evi-E!!!!

Vanilla cake with almond buttercream. Marshmallow fondant decorations. Dirt is crushed chocolate cookies.

Dino for Hayden

Hayden is celebrating his 2nd birthday this week!

This dino cake design was inspired by his Evite birthday invitation, where a cute dino is blowing out his birthday candles.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Hayden!

Vanilla cake with classic buttercream and marshmallow fondant decorations.

New Moon Inspired

Seriously, does anyone else have Twilight Fever? It's finally November and the Twilight Saga's New Moon will be out in theaters in three weeks! For heaven's sake, three weeks!!! Can the weeks move any slower? Really!

It's Sandra's Birthday today! She's also a fan of Twilight, so I decided to make her a New Moon inspired birthday cake. This cake sort of resembles Bella's birthday cake in the paper cut scene. In retrospect, I should've used fresh gerbera daisies instead of fondant flowers.

Team Edward or Team Jacob... hmmm, I haven't decided yet. But it's fun just thinking about it... (big grin).

Happy Birthday, Sandra!

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream and fondant accents.

Happy Halloween!

Mummified chocolate headcakes

Identity Crisis

I suppose Halloween is the best time of the year to reinvent yourself and have a little fun while you're at it. Bob the Ghost was tired of his "scary" image, so he decided to go as a clown for Halloween this year.

Sissy wanted to walk on the wild side and let her animal personna out this year.

Joe was inspired by the recent airing of Goonies on tv this past weekend. Ah, Goonies.... good times.

Jane couldn't think of anything creative, so like everyone else, she decided to be a witch.

Edward didn't think being a ghost was scary enough, so he decided to dress up as a devilish one.

Okay, everyone is good to go.... anyone know of a good Halloween party?

Chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and fondant accents.

Check out the CupCAKE Spooktacular from last year.

Emma's Little Minnie

Emma's 3rd birthday is here! She recently visited Disneyland and now she's into Minnie Mouse. Of course, this little iconic creature needed to be a part of her birthday celebration. I tried my best to create this for her.

Minnie Mouse? Not quite, but it's Emma's Little Minnie.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Emma!

Vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream icing. The cake is covered with marshmallow fondant with fondant decorations. Everything is edible including Emma's Little Minnie.

Cake Phineas and Ferb

I bet only a hand full of people reading this blog know about Phineas and Ferb, am I right? Ethan requested a Phineas and Ferb cake for his 3rd birthday.... huh, what? That was what I was thinking when Heather told me what Ethan wanted.

I had to do some research.

This is Ferb. He doesn't say much, but seems pretty nice.

This is Phineas. He's a bit curious and dreams up adventures.

This is Perry. He's a platypus with a secret identity. Strange.

Today's adventure was to show up for Ethan's 3rd birthday

and help him blow out his candle.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ethan!!

Vanilla cake with buttercream icing. Everything made of marshmallow fondant/gumpaste, except for the candle.

Fly High, Cove!

A kite flying party was planned for Cove's 2nd birthday.... until a light thunderstorm forced us to seek out other plans. Thunderstorm, shamunderstorm.... nothing can stop us from celebrating Cove, so the party moved to her house, where bright and fun toys were waiting for all to enjoy.

Hopefully, the kiddos can get together soon to fly those beautiful kites.

Vanilla cake with buttercream and fresh strawberries. Cake is covered with marshmallow fondant with fondant decorations.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Cove!

Lana's 1st Luau

Several months ago, I reconnected with an old college buddy of mine through LinkedIn, asking me... "AK? Is this you?" It gave me a chuckle, because I haven't heard someone calling me "AK" in a while. The only nickname I hear from time to time is Sergeant Kim, which my husband gave me in graduate school. Apparently, I was mean when I was doing chemistry. Sometimes a girl's gotta do whatever it takes to not blow up the building... right?

Lana is B and Mel's baby girl and they wanted a luau themed cake to help celebrate the occasion. I was more than happy to do it.

This three-tiered strawberry cake is covered with marshmallow fondant. The "waterfall" is made of colored piping gel. I tried to go for the look of a "lei" surrounding the waterfall. I used toffee bits for the "gravel." Everything is edible, except for the waxed candle.

Happy 1st Birthday, Lana!

Jacob's Hot Wheels

Jacob is celebrating his 6th birthday!

The "racetrack" is made of chocolate fondant and the "grass" is buttercream. The look of grass can be achieved using a grass/hair tip.

Happy 6th Birthday, Jacob!

9 inch vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream. The cake decorations were made from marshmallow fondant and buttercream, except for the wax candle and toy cars.

Make A Splash, Oliver!

Oliver is turning TWO!!!!!

Bring your swim trunks and towels.... because Oliver's going to make a splash at his swimming pool themed birthday party!

We have baby blue Crocs and a colorful towel for little Oliver.

Can't forget the swimming noodles and floater.

Colored piping gel is the "water." The gumpaste "pavers" were inspired by our newly transformed backyard. It took some time to figure out the pattern, but I think it was worth the effort.

I just love these new number candles from Draegers.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Oliver!

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream. Everything is made of marshmallow fondant and/or gumpaste, except for the wax candle.

Cake Dino Aiden

Aiden is celebrating his BIG-1st Birthday today! Jennifer and Eric planned a dino-themed outdoor birthday bash for their adorable son.

Bronnie the gentle Dino came out to attend the party.

Some of the other attendees are T-Rex and Terry (who flew in for the occasion).

...and we can't forget baby Amar. He's vegetarian, so he'll be having the garden burger.

Happy 1st Birthday, Aiden!!!

6 and 8 inch vanilla cakes with classic buttercream and fresh strawberry slices.

Cake Mommy Nouveau

As a thoughtful husband, Eric emailed me asking if I can make a surprise birthday cake for his wife. She was busy planning their son's first birthday party, which was close to her birthday as well.

As we were brainstorming for his wife's birthday cake, Eric mentioned that he liked the Cupcake Nouveau design and the Cake Dora topsy turvy shape.

Done and done.

Happy Birthday, Jennifer!

6-inch chocolate cake with classic buttercream. Marshmallow fondant and fondant accents.

Cake Eva

I loved every minute that went into making this cake!!! Eva was celebrating her 30th birthday with style and asked for a purse cake along with other girly things.

It was my very first purse cake and I just love how this turned out. Two 8 inch vanilla cakes were stacked then carved into a shape of a purse. The whole thing was covered with marshmallow fondant. Oh, I just love the way the hot pink fondant scarf hangs off of the purse handle (also fondant).

A girl can't forget her essentials.....shadow, shadow applicant and lipstick were made of fondant. Notice the colored luster dust on the applicant. HOW FUN!

The strand of pearls were made of fondant as well. Everything on this cake is edible except for the flowers. Eva wanted fresh hot pink Gerbera Daisies. Whatever the birthday girl wants, the birthday girl gets.

Happy 30th Birthday, Eva!!!!

Cake purse sitting on top of a 12 inch square strawberry cake with cream cheese icing.

Cake Joseph

Joseph is turning 3!!!! He is into music right now, especially the guitar and drums.

As Joseph's mom was planning his birthday party, she couldn't decide on a theme. Eventually, she let him decide. She showed him various pictures of cakes ranging from sports theme to musical instruments. He was quickly struck by the drums and got excited.

Musical-theme birthday party it was with a cake to match.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Joseph!!!

9 and 6 inch vanilla cakes with almond buttercream and fresh strawberries. Cakes are decorated with fondant. Everything is edible except for the waxed candle.

Cake Zebra Torte - Happy Birthday, Justin!

Yesterday was my husband's 29th birthday.... again. Apparently, he will be celebrating his 29th birthday until he turns 40.

Justin didn't want me to make a fuss, so he requested something "simple" for his birthday cake. Hmmm, define "simple." Simple cake design? Simple cake recipe? I decided to make him this zebra torte cake...simple? You decide.

My inspiration came from this awesome website called Use Real Butter. Jenn's directions were spot on!!!!!!! First, I baked a vanilla chiffon cake followed by a second cake called a chocolate roulade..... made some whipped cream which was then spread onto the chocolate roulade then rolled into a "jelly" roll. Then, the rolled up chocolate roulade was sandwiched in between the two chiffon cakes that were drunken with vanilla flavored simple syrup. Finally, I covered the cake with an Amaretto infused and blindingly white whipped cream. The fresh red raspberries simply "popped" against the white. Simple cake decoration, yes, but not a simple process. It was one of those multi-step cakes I usually stay away from, but the end results were so gratifying. I would definitely make this again for the wow-factor.

Tah-dah..... we have a ZEBRA TORTE! The cake got a lot of "oooos" and "ahhhhs" as we cut into it. It definitely put a smile on my face, as well as my husband's.

We paired this "simple" birthday cake with some homemade vanilla ice cream.

Happy "29th" Birthday, hubby.

Cake Princess Delia

In honor of Princess Delia turning 5, Sleeping Beauty and her friends are throwing her a Grand Ball to celebrate.  Of course, it'll be held at the magical white castle.

Delia's ball gown (pink, of course) along with her heels and tiara are laid out and ready for her.

Rainbows and flowers are included for this magical event.

Happy Birthday, Delia!

6 inch Vanilla cake with buttercream icing.  Cake is covered and decorated with marshmallow fondant.  Everything is edible.

Cake Graduate

Ashley received her Masters in Occupational Therapy.  Way to go!

The cap/tassel and flowers are made from fondant and gumpaste.

Everything is edible, including the open "diploma."  Congratulations, Ashley!

Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing.  The cakes are covered with marshmallow fondant.

Cake Score!

Yes, that's right!  We have a soccer cake.  Carving a cake into a ball shape was harder than I thought.

These birthday candles are so much fun.  Plus, the vibrant colors stand out so well from the black and white ball and green grass.

Happy birthday, Edwin!  I hope you enjoy the cake.

10 inch chocolate cake with buttercream icing.  The ball is all cake covered with marshmallow fondant cut-outs.  The base cake is covered in buttercream.

Cake Dora

Kaitlin is turing 3 this year!  Wow, I can't believe it's been almost three years since I made Kaitlin's baptism cake.

As you can see, Kaitlin is into Dora these days.

Everything edible except for the candles (3 and Dora figurine).

Happy Birthday, Kailtin!

6 and 8 inch Carrot cakes with cream cheese icing.  Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents.

Cake Pauline

Happy birthday to Pauline!

Writing done with chocolate candy melts.  Gumpaste flowers with luster dust.

Of course, it's all about the presentation, right?

6 inch Vanilla cake with classic almond buttercream

Cake Keevan

Keevan is receiving his first holy communion and turning 8 all in one month.  It's a lot of important milestones for a little boy to handle, but with a cool name like, Keevan... I'm sure he'll handle it just fine.

The writing and butterflies were done with chocolate candy melts.  The flowers and rosary were made from gumpaste.  I just loved how this cake turned out.

9X13 Vanilla cake with classic almond buttercream.

Cake Blossom

Congratulations to Reshma and Jyoti!  They're having a baby!!!!!  A cherry blossom cake for the lucky couple!  Reshma is Indian, but grew up in Hong Kong and loves everything Asian.  There's nothing more Asian than a cherry blossom, right?

9 inch strawberry cake with cream cheese icing.  Buttercream and gumpaste accents.

Cake Cumpleaños

Feliz cumpleaños, Emily! It's her 4th birthday and she loves the Sleeping Beauty.

She originally wanted the Little Mermaid, which I had major plans for...

...such as underwater sea creatures, octopus, coral, etc. All that was scratched when she changed her mind and suddenly wanted the Sleeping Beauty. A last minute change in design resulted in a simply and girly cake for Emily! She loved it and that's all that matters.

I usually hate putting non-edible figurines on a cake, but in this case I couldn't replicate a gumpaste version of the Sleeping Beauty on such short notice.

10 inch vanilla cake with classic almond buttercream

Happy Easter!

Hope everyone had their own delicious cupcakes for Easter!

Last minute vanilla cupcakes with almond buttercream.

Chick Cakepops

I saw this on Bakerella and had to try it.  Chicken wings are missing because I ate them... oops.

Cake Easter Babies!

DON'T drink the water!!!!.... unless you want to. There are four co-workers of mine who are due around the same time! Three girls and a boy! I envy them because the feeling of having a newborn in your arms is absolutely, without a doubt, the most incredible feeling you'll ever get to experience. Suddenly, the whole world disappears and it's just you and your baby. Sniff, sniff.

Baby Mock is not in our department, but every baby should be celebrated!
Baby Lindo, Baby Lee and Baby Cancilla are being thrown a surprise baby shower today!

My 15 month old son pointed at the cakes this morning and signed "eat." I don't give him cake, so I'm not sure where he got the idea that unnaturally brightly colored objects are food. Maybe because he sees mommy pounding away at the cake scrapes. Sigh.

8 and 4 inch vanilla cakes with buttercream icing. Fondant flowers and Whopper Easter Eggs. I used an edible food coloring pen to write on the eggs.

Cake Surf's Up

I love cake designs where I get to use piping gel.  It looks like toothpaste gel, but for some reason, it looks appetizing to me when it's on cake.  Piping gel comes clear and colorless.
Add a little bit of color gel, and we have water!  The wave effect comes from a little bit of buttercream swirled in.
I was tempted to use Goldfish crackers, but my husband shook his head with disapproval..."you can't put Goldfish crackers on a cake!!"  Suddenly, he's the expert on cake design etiquette. No Goldfish crackers here...marine life is made of gumpaste.
Everything is edible, including Jeff's surfboard and Bill's hand-woven beach chair.  Sand is crushed graham crackers and the "rocks" are toffee bits.

9 inch vanilla cake with almond buttercream and fresh strawberries.

Cupcake Nouveau

Artsy cupcakes for an artsy gal. These cupcakes were made for a jewelry artist, so happy birthday, Josie!

Carrot cake with cream icing covered in marshmallow fondant brushed with luster pearl dust. Black accent pieces are made from chocolate fondant.

Cake Preppy

This cake was made for Grace's baby shower.  She's having a boy!  This argyle design was perfect for this preppy mother-to-be.  I love how this cake turned out.  The cake is covered in marshmallow fondant with squares that are fondant cut-outs.

8 inch strawberry cake with cream cheese icing.

Cake '30 and Flirty'

Ebony and Kisha are 30 & Flirty and letting everyone know about it.  They threw a huge bash celebrating this momentous occasion.  After making this cake, I realized that I needed to hit the gym again.  This cake weighed a ton.  This is the biggest cake I ever made.... and probably my last.  My husband almost had a nervous breakdown.  Sigh. 

12, 10 and 8 inch cakes.  Strawberry cake with cream cheese icing (bottom), chocolate cake with whipped dark chocolate ganache (middle), carrot cake with cream cheese (top).  All marshmallow fondant brushed with luster pearl dust.  Cake measured over 16 inches tall.

Cake Rubber Ducky Sans Rubber Ducky

Made this cake for Gina who was going to decorate it with her own little rubber duckies for a baby shower she was hosting.  Hopefully, she'll provide me with pictures of the final show piece....

...and like she promised, Gina sent me this photo.  I just love how she displayed the cake and cupcakes.  I would've never thought to use cups and a bowel like this.  Very clever!

6 inch carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  Gumpaste "wood" and accents.  Vanilla cupcakes with almond buttercream for the "bubbles."

Cake Blossom

I made this cherry blossom cake for Robin's birthday....Happy Birthday! 

6 and 4 inch cakes.  Chocolate and vanilla cake with whipped chocolate ganache.

Cupcake Bouquet

Vanilla cupcakes with almond buttercream....just because. It's a Monday.

Cupcake Bambina

My friend is having a girl! A little bambina. These cupcakes were made for her baby shower, but apparently, they don't have baby showers in Italy so the whole experience was very new to her. Bambina, bambina, bambina!

These were carrot cupcakes with cream cheese icing. The mommy is very health conscious, so I used a recipe that called for one pound of shredded carrots... organic, of course.

Fondant flowers and butterflies. Everything edible.

Cake Abby

Happy Birthday, Abby!  Yeah, you're officially older than ME!  Hooray for birthdays!!!!!!!!!!!

6 inch chocolate and vanilla cake covered in chocolate marshmallow fondant.  Fondant accents.

Cake Bronwyn!

Bronwyn is finally in her terrific TWO's!  Ha Ha Ha!

She received Elmo slippers for Christmas, so she's now into this furry-red creature.

Bronwyn.  What a great name.  My mother-in-law told me that my husband would've been a Bronwyn had he been a girl.

6 inch chocolate cake with almond buttercream.  Chocolate marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents.  Elmo is made out of rice crispy treats with buttercream "fur."  I hope Bronwyn doesn't notice that Elmo doesn't have any hands.

Cake Taylor!

Happy Birthday, Taylor!  You're ONE now, so what are you going to do?.... Eat cake!

Taylor is an adorable one year old with the chubbiest cheeks you'd ever seen.

6 and 4 inch vanilla cake with almond buttercream.  Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents.

Cake Sabrina

Sabrina is ONE! She's a genius baby with an adorable smile that will melt your heart.

I decided to make her a Hello Kitty cake because she reminds me of this cute little icon.

I love how Hello Kitty is bringing Sabrina some tulips.

9 inch Carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents, including Miss Kitty.  Everything edible except for the wax candle.

Cake ROCCO!

Happy 1st Birthday, Rocco!  The safari-themed party was attended by all his friends wearing party hats!

There was Harry the Hippo....

Zoe the Zebra, Tyrese the Tiger..

Elijah the Elephant, Louie the Lion...

Moe the monkey...

and finally, George the Giraffe!

Oops, can't forget the party monkeys to escort the guests home. 

Cupcake pops and Monkey cake pops were the party favors.

Vanilla cake with almond buttercream.  Cake covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents.  The moat/swamp was made of blue colored piping gel.  Everything was edible except for the wax candle.  Took me about a week to make the figurines...enough time to dry.

Apples, Apples, Apples!

I made 30 caramel/chocolate covered apples coated with crushed toffee pieces.  One apple was simply covered in caramel and white chocolate and coated with crushed peppermint candy.  This person is apparently allergic to milk or dark chocolate....sigh.  Life without chocolate, sniff, sniff, sigh.....well, I guess there's always donuts.  Hmmmmm, donuts.

Cake Gardner

Happy birthday, Tawna!  Tawna, from what I've been told, enjoys gardening, so her daughter wanted a cake to reflect her hobby.

Crushed oreo cookies for the "dirt" with a silk flower.  Carrot cake covered in marshmallow fondant.

Cake Nutcracker

Happy Birthday, Alex!  Alex is in the Nutcracker this season, so her aunt requested a cake reflecting her passion.  The ballet slippers are made of gumpaste with luster dust to give it that shimmer.  

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing.  Cake covered in marshmallow fondant with fondant accents.

Beet Velvet Cupcakes

I never really liked red velvet cake, yes there, I said it.  I thought the idea of adding an entire bottle of red food coloring to a cake batter to get the red color seemed like it was a recipe for a Red Food Color Cake.  Plus, I think people really love red velvet cake because it's always accompanied by cream cheese icing, and who doesn't love cream cheese icing.  So, I was in search for a red velvet cake recipe using non-artificial ingredients.  I came across a recipe that called for a cup of pureed beets....brilliant!  These cupcakes were moist and delicious, however the red color was no where to be found.  Perhaps I'll try adding 2 cups of pureed beets next time or try red cabbage.  Hmmm, red cabbage cake.... intriguing....maybe not.

Beet Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing.

Holiday Cookies!

I think it's now a tradition in our household to make holiday cookies the day after Thanksgiving.  Hooray for cookies!  Sugar cookies decorated with royal icing and white chocolate.
It's all about presentation, right?  The sugar cookies are accompanied by thick and chewy chocolate cookies and chocolate chip cookies.... YUM!

Cupcake Thanksgiving

We have pumpkin pies (carrot), scarecrows (strawberry), sunflowers (vanilla) and fall leaves (chocolate).... YUM, YUM!
Creamy chocolate buttercream adorned with fondant fall leaves.
Fondant and crushed shredded wheat cereal accents for scarecrow.

Cupcake 30

Cupcakes!  Enough said.

Cake Potted Flower

This cake was long time coming.  I first made a potted flower cake for a friend about 5 years ago.  Let's just say, it wasn't pretty...I didn't know about fondants back then.  I think this one turned out polished and pretty.  I'm happy with this one.
Crushed oreo cookies for "dirt."
I'd like to say this was made of gumpaste or royal icing or something edible, but it's not.  It's a silk flower I bought from an arts and crafts store.  Although, I could probably make something like this using a rice krispy ball decorated with royal icing.... yes, that'll go into my "to-do-one-day" folder.
Since it was a gift, I wrapped it to fit the occasion.  I just love these clear boxes.  Happy Birthday, Kristin!

6 inch vanilla cake with classic buttercream.  Covered with marshmallow fondant.

Cupcake Pops

I was at a baby shower where they were giving these out as party favors.  A cupcake pop is basically a cakeball on a stick...uh, GENIUS!  Needless to say, I was intrigued and decided to make them for myself.  EASY, FUN and TASTY!

Vanilla cake covered in dark and white chocolate with sprinkles!

Cake Evie 1

Evie is ONE today!  This adorable one year old had a ladybug-theme birthday party, so I was happy to make this cake for her. 
The cake took little time to assemble, but there was a lot of prep-work involved.  All the daisies and ladybugs are made of gumpaste (edible pen for the details on ladybugs).
The name was also made of gumpaste, coated with edible pearl dust.

Vanilla cake with almond buttercream.  Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste and buttercream accents.

9 inch cake.

Cake Wedding

I just love wedding cakes.  This cake was made for a couple renewing their wedding vows after 30 years of marriage!  I hope they like it as much as I loved making it.

Vanilla cake filled with almond buttercream and fresh strawberries.

9, 6 and 3 inch cakes

Cake Chip and Duckie!

Happy 1st wedding anniversary, Chip and Duckie! Chip asked me to replicate a smaller version of their wedding cake....oh, okay... no pressure!

It's not quite the same, but it's pretty close...close enough...okay, in the same color category. I have to say that doing a scroll design is really hard. You have to have steady hands and there are no do-over's. I practiced on a sheet of parchment paper before scrolling the cake. I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Chocolate cake with whipped dark chocolate ganache and raspberry sauce filling. Covered with chocolate fondant, decorated with buttercream and fondant "ribbon."

6 inch.

Cake Gift

It's Sandra's birthday!  I made her a strawberry cake with cream cheese filling!  Yum!  I love this recipe!

6 inch cake covered with chocolate fondant and adorned with fondant flowers.  In retrospect, I should've made white flowers with pink centers.  These remind me of teeny tiny fried eggs with the yellow.  In any case, I love how it turned out.

I got this packaging idea from Ace of Cakes.  I just love that show.

Cupcake Pie!

I saw this design on cakecentral.com and thought is was so cute!  These are strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese icing.  Strawberry preserves for the "fruit filling" in the cupcake pies.

Dark and White English Toffee Goodness

Yep, these are not cakes...this wouldn't be just a hobby if I were that good. It's sometimes good to take a break from making cakes....wait, WTF? Who said that? In any case, these are fabulous and very tasty! I think I'll try making them with mini M&M's next time.

Chocolate covered granny smith apples with white chocolate and crushed english toffee.

Cupcake Flower

I hope this cupcake-craze never ends.  

Vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream and fondant accents.

Cupcake-d Out!

I made 300+ cupcakes in one week...how is that possible?  I was in total Sergeant Kim mode once my son went to bed (he has an early bedtime).  It was quite a scene here at Cupcake-Central, but I got them done and the feedbacks were great.

Vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream and fondant accents.

CupCAKE Spooktacular!

Hooray for Halloween cupcakes!  I made these for a friend over at YouTube.  They're all chocolate cupcakes with buttercream icing and fondant accents.  
I have to say my favorite is the ghost.  How cute is it that he has his own little pumpkin? 

Cakeballs Galore!

A cakeball is a cross between a truffle and a piece of cake.  Nothing but heavenly goodness can come out of those two.  YUM!

Cake Emma

Emma is turning 2!  I think this cake turned out cute.  I love the bow, but could be smaller.  I also tried using pearl dust, but can't seem to capture that on film very well.
Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents.  Everything is edible...yes, even the bow.  However, gumpaste taste really bad....blah.

Two cakes in one weekend was too much for me.  I over extended myself this weekend....but I can't help it... we're talking about cake here, folks!

6 and 9 inch

White cake with fresh strawberries and cream filling

Cake Trueman Two!

I saw a cake like this on cakecentral.com and just fell in love with it.  So, needless to say I made it the first chance I got.  I think it turned out rather adorable.
Everything is edible, even the wood.  The figurines are made of gumpaste, including the duckies, towel, scrub brush, clothes and yes, even the "wood."
The "wood" is simply made from gumpaste painted with brown food coloring.  The wooden barrel is cake.
My husband thought it was weird that I would put a wooden barrel on a baby shower cake.  I explained that maybe the baby takes a bath in it.  He thought that was even more weird.  I kinda agree, but then again, our son was once bathed in a kimchee bowl by my mother.  And that's not weird at all, right?

3 and 8 inch 

White cake with fresh strawberries and cream

Cake Astronaut Ethan

Happy birthday, Ethan! Wow, this cake was so much fun to make. Everything on this cake is edible except for the wires and the wooden "flag pole." I love it when clients give me a theme and tell me to just run with it.

Gumpaste figurines and cut outs.

Squiggly things on the party hat is written with edible pens. I love it when a cute little green alien crashes a birthday party with his party hat on.

Flames are royal icing. Astronaut and rocket are made out of fondant and gumpaste. The "flag" is made of gumpaste and written with edible pen.

These were made as party favors to match the rockets and space theme. This project took a very long time, but really enjoyed it overall.

White cake with fresh strawberries and buttercream filling. Covered in marshmallow fondant.

8 and 10 inch

Cake Bouquet

I like this cake.  But if I had to do it all over again, I would've made the flowers all daisies.  I thought it would be a quick cake to assemble, but the stems (fondant) took way too long.  The flowers were made ahead of time.

White cake with classic buttercream.

6 inch.

Cake, Go Ethan Go

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ethan!  He was having a Dora/Diego theme birthday bash.  He's a cute little munchkin, so I was happy to do this cake for him.  This is my first waterfall cake.... it was a very fun cake to make.
Close up of the waterfall...which is made of blue piping gel.  Fish and river rocks are gumpaste/fondant.
The palm trees are made of pretzels and fondant/gumpaste.  The snake is made of gumpaste.  
The elephant, donkey and giraffe are Dora/Diego plastic figurines.  
Diego and the number "2" are waxed candles.  The birthday sign is made of gumpaste and the message is written with edible pens.

White cake with classic almond buttercream.

10 and 8 inch cakes.

Cake Cone, Anyone?

These are VERY DANGEROUS!  I popped three of these suckers in my mouth... in a row.  How is that possible, you ask?  First, they look like ice cream cones.  Second, they are teeny tiny junior ice cream cones filled with white cake!!!!!!  COME ON!  I'm going crazy here.

White cake topped with classic almond buttercream sprinkled with "jimmies."

Cakeball Charity

I was asked to donate some of my cakeballs for charity and of course, I was thrilled to do it.  The Light The Night helps support research for therapies and hopefully one day, a cure for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.  Check out their website.
White cakeballs covered in dark chocolate adorned with chocolate fondant flowers.

Cake Nisha

This cake was for an adorable little girl turning 5 years old.  As I was knocking at the front door of her house to deliver the cake, she looked out the window and gave me the biggest smile.  I asked, "Is there a little girl who's turning five today?"  She replied, "that's me, that's me, that's ME!"  Then she saw the cake and said..."oh, no thank you.  I don't like vanilla.  I only like chocolate."  Cute, cute, cute!

CHOCOLATE cake with dark chocolate ganache filling.  Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents.

6 inch cake.

Cake Oliver 1

Oliver turned one! This was one of my most challenging cakes, but still very fun. I like how it finally turned out, but I was skeptical during the assembly.

Chocolate cake with whipped dark chocolate ganache filling. Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste and buttercream accents.

9 and 6 inch cakes

Cake Justice

I finally got to do a "book" cake. A friend decided to go back to school and study law. This was my first time using chocolate fondant, and it was more difficult to work with. It also didn't help that I kept eating the "cover" because it was so darn good. The fondant tasted like a Tootsie Roll.....mmmm, Tootsie Roll.

Chocolate cake with chocolate fondant and buttercream accents.

9X13 inch cake

Cake Justin

My husband turned 33 this year, so I made him a cake of something he really enjoys but never has the time to do....golf (...boring). When I presented this cake to him, he replied "that's an awesome cake, but what am I, twelve?" Apparently, he thought the cake was more suited for a twelve year old. I'm so glad he's acting his age. Sigh.

Carrot cake with cream cheese buttercream. Fondant putting green and golf ball and piping gel for the pond. The sand trap is made of crushed animal crackers and the tree bushes are made of rice crispy treats covered in buttercream.

CupCAKE Candied Carrots

Candied carrots!............ I thought that was the highlight of these cupcakes. These were made for my husband for his 1st Father's Day. Carrot cake with simple cream cheese icing was his favorite, but now I think it's anything with candied carrots on top.

Thinly sliced carrots were boiled in simple syrup for 40 mins. They were cooled then rolled up into little rossettes. Cute, cute and yum!

Cake Lovely

These cakes were made for two June birthday gal-pals. I thought they turned out really pretty because the designs were simple.

Chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache filling. Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents.

Cake Daisies

A lot of planning went into making this cake. The bees are "flying" with the help of floral wire. Everything on this cake is edible, except for the wire.

Chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache filling. Covered in marshmallow fondant. Buttercream "grass" and fondant accents for decor.

9 and 6 inch round cakes.

Cake Winter

I just love these cakes. The penguins are my favorite. They took soooo long to make but well worth the time and effort.

Chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache filling. Covered in marshmallow fondant with gumpaste accents. Coconut to mimic snow. Christmas trees are ice-cream cones covered in buttercream.

8 inch square.

Cake Jeff

I'd say my basketweave techniques are improving. They take a little bit of time but the end results are well worth it.

White cake with chocolate buttercream filling. Decorated with chocolate buttercream and pumpkin candy corns.

8 inch square. This cake was so high I think it fed well over 25 folks.

CupCAKE Spooky

Cupcakes! Need I say more? In terms of inventions, these are up there next to butter and cookies.

Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with buttercream icing.

Cake Cherry Blossom

Cherry blossoms make anything look elegant. Despite the fact that I need to work on my buttercream penmanship, I think these cakes turned out pretty.

White cake with classic almond buttercream. Covered in marshmallow fondant with fondant and buttercream accents.

Cake Piroulines

These chocolate ganache cakes with pirouline cookies are always crowd pleasers. If you love chocolate...this is the cake for you. The first, of course, is someone's well deserved birthday cake. The second cake was a "welcome home baby Oliver and a sympathy all-in-one" cake. I think the message got across.


Chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache filling and pirouline cookies.

Cake Speedos (Adult Content)

It all started off with an innocent Twinkie.

It's amazing what this indestructible confectionery concoction can do

with a little bit of imagination.

I could not stop laughing while making this cake. Who knew you can get abs like that with those little individually wrapped vanilla cream-filled goodness. This cake was for a friend who was getting married. For some reason, she just loves men in Speedos.

It's not a party without party favors. I made these cakeballs covered in dark chocolate with teeny tiny "something" on top.

"Wishing you a lifetime of Hap-PENIS!"

Tee hee hee.

White cake with almond buttercream. Marshmallow fondant with fondant accents. Twinkies for abs and the other thing. Chocolate sprinkles for the pubes...he he he.

Cake Oliver

This was for a little "bun" that was in the "oven," named Oliver. I had fun making this cake, but I really need to work on making the fondant accents "dust" (powerdered sugar) free.

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Covered in marshmallow fondant with fondant accents.

9 and 6 inches.

Cake Ganache

This was my first time working with chocolate ganache....LOVE, LOVE, LOVE chocolate ganache. It has to be one the best inventions...next to butter. The cake is decorated with pirouline cookies.

9 inch cake

Cake Abby

Birthday cake! Everyone deserves a cake on their birthday. In retrospect, I could've made the bow a little smaller. The bow got a little to heavy for the cake. I thought it was going to sink in but it turned out fine in the end.

Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Covered in marshmallow fondant with fondant accents.

Cake Baby

This was a great cake. I enjoyed every aspect of making and eating this cake. This, of course, was my very first tiered cake. It was for a baby shower for a wonderful friend who kept encouraging me to bake more. This is also the same friend who wanted to take the cake decorating class because she's addicted to sugar.

Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Cake is covered in marshmallow fondant and decorated with fondant accents. Cakeballs are strawberry cake covered in white chocolate with fondant accents. Yummmmm, cakeballs.

9 and 6 inch cakes. Used drinking straws as dowels to support the upper tier.

Party Favor

These cookies were individually wrapped and given to guests as a party favor at a baby shower.

Martha Stewart's Sugar Cookies glazed with royal icing and accented with fondant flower.

Flat Individual Cakes

Yes, I know. You think cookies are not cakes...but you're wrong. I think they're just flatter versions of individual-serving sized cakes. So there!

Every year, my husband and I bake and decorate holiday cookies for family and friends as gifts. Last year we made over 650 cookies! You learn a whole lot about your partner when you're decorating 650 cookies with them. I learned that my husband has a great sense of humor.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Cookies, Peanut Butter Cookies and Martha Stewart's Sugar Cookies.

Cake Maureen

I enjoyed making this cake. This was my first basketweave cake...put my buttercream piping techniques to the test. I was satisfied with how it turned out.

Carrot cake with white chocolate cream cheese buttercream icing. Yummmmm, I love cream cheese.


9 inch cake

Cakeballs

Cakeballs, need I say more?

Chocolate cake with caramel praline creamer. These cakeballs are covered in dark chocolate and sprinkled with crushed Heath Bar. Don't you just love the word sprinkle? I made these for a holiday function at work.

Project Cake

My friend convinced me to take a cake decorating class with her and another friend. I think it was just her excuse to freely eat more buttercream. She made a lot of "mistakes" where she had to wipe off the error with her finger and lick the evidence clean. I think we were all on a sugar high by the end of the class. Good times, good times.

Cake Fire Hazard

This cake was so fun to make. It was for someone turning 40 years old. The cake has a smaller cake on top. Melted candles put out by a fire extinguisher. CAUTION, when turning old.

Carrot cake with cream cheese icing. Covered in fondant with fondant accent pieces. Everything on the cake is edible.

9 inch cake

Cake Kaitlin

This is my very first post with a picture of my very first cake covered in fondant. I loved making this cake because it was for my friends who were baptizing their first born, and I got to use FONDANT!

Carrot cake with cream cheese filling. This cake is covered in fondant and decorated with royal icing and fondant accents.

9 inch cake