Elegance in Black, White and Orange

One of my favorite cakes. A four-tiered round almond Italian cream, Tiramisu, and Vanilla cream cake covered in buttercream and adorned with black ribbon and faux orange flowers. I love it...need I say more?

Wedding Cake No. 1

Oh Joy! Here is the first wedding cake I made with my friend in 2006. There were several contributing factors that made this cake super hectic: first this was the first wedding cake I ever did, secondly it was one of the hottest days of summer and I am one of those still in the dark about something called Air Conditioning, and finally, the bride insisted on displaying her cake outdoors! An experienced baker knows that frosting does not hold up well AT ALL in the heat. Ahh, but I got lucky and the coastal breeze picked up enough for the cake to be outdoors without turning into the Wicked Witch of West as she melts.

Our Little Secret Surprise

I love to experiment and often do so on my family and friends as they are my best critics. More often than not, I succeed and on those occasions I don't there is cereal for dinner and instant pudding for dessert. This is not one of those times.

For my Fiance's birthday I surprised him with two days of concert tickets. The first day was to see a series of bands we both love with many of our friends. He had no idea what I was planning. I packed sack lunches (dinner) and these Secret Surprises for all of our guests to enjoy.

I obviously couldn't make a cake since knives are not allowed in Shoreline Amphitheater so cupcakes seemed to be the most reasonable alternative.

I love cupcakes and I love cheesecake, so why not combine these two heavenly desserts into one? And so I did. I topped them off with a layer of coffee frosting, dipped them in chocolate frosting and piped a swirly do-dad on top.

Diva Delicious!

A local salon that I attend often has several events pertaining to topics about make-up, skin care, hair etc. One particular event was centered around a celebrity make-up artist and he calls himself a Diva. So to stick with this running theme, I was commissioned to make pink diva cupcakes.

These are a bolder version (given the vibrant color) of my Pomegranate Cosmo Cupcakes with a Pom Frosting and garnished with a marinated cranberry.

Let's just say that after this event, I was inundated with people asking me to make these!

Sammy's Safari Party

Little kid theme parties are always so much fun. Little Sammy, wanted to have a Safari party for her sixth birthday. At the request of her mother, I kept the artificial coloring to a bare minimum as you can see.

Sammy's birthday cake is a five layer Death by Chocolate cake with Mocha buttercream filling and rolled Marshmallow fondant painted with purple Zebra stripes.

The cupcakes were a variety of Vanilla cake with Kahlua frosting and what I like to call, "Our Little Secret" a chocolate decadent cake with a cream cheese filling toped with Kahlua frosting then dipped in chocolate ganache and garnished with a swirl.

Autumn Never Tasted Better

As soon as fall comes, I linger on the mild days and cooling nights, lighting a fire and watching the summer leaves turn crimson and gold and fall to the ground. I find myself reverting back to a child and stomping through the fallen leaves as they crisply crunch beneath the weight of my boot.

Another reason I love autumn, it that I have an excuse to use pumpkin IN EVERYTHING I make. This recipe from Everyday with Rachel Ray is no exception; Pumpkin and Cheesecake Cupcakes with a Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting.

I promise, this is one I had to hand out to my friends, in fear that I would devour all of them.

...And then we went all Topsy Turvy

My hairdresser's daughter recently turned the magical 16 and her daughter loves anything funky, oh and the 80s (Really? I lived through the 80s and I could definitely live without the clothes). Non-the-less, I wanted to make her something special since you only turn 16 once.

This is a what I call Funk. Three layers of my own version of Confetti cake with vanilla buttercream icing and wrapped in Marshmallow Fondant (yummy). The circles, zigzags, and stripes are all fondant that I air brushed in various bright colors and the trim of the cake are gum balls. In the photo I have the cake does not include the glow sticks as you see in the rendering, since the mom had them in her possession at the time of delivery. However, when I do get the picture, I'll post it!

Spook-tacular!

Witches, Goblins and Ghosts!
(Among other scary and non-frieghtening costumed creatures) Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year. It is the one time that you truly use your imagination and become some thing or someone else.

I was a busy gal Halloween 2009. With many people asking me to make them cupcakes and cakes. The Witch's Calderon, was outstanding. This cake was for a friends Spook-tacular gathering of 100 close friends. Weighing in at 41 pounds, this cake was an alternating six layer, Vanilla Itailian Cream and Devil's Food Cake with Mocha Buttercream and Brown Sugar Buttercream Frostings. I covered it in fondant and used buttercream frosting as the gurgling stew and air brushed layers of color to make it "pop." On the top of the cake I used a ramekin, filled with Dry Ice and a splash of H20 to give it additional pizzaz. The wooden spoon handle is also air brushed fondant. The calderon is garnished with plastic skulls, gummy worms and marshmallow eyeballs.

Everyone loved this cake and at first they didn't even realize it was cake! It was a fun work of art!
Also pictured are Halloween Cupcakes, the Witch herself and Voodoo kitty too!

Seasonal Confections

Christmas only comes once a year, as do the truffles and mice. These have become so popular among my friends that as soon as Jack Frost begins nipping at our noses, the requests start pouring in. For some years now, I have given these homemade treats as gifts inlue of purchased items.

Though these are a time-suck, I find that these confections often taste better because I made them with love and I feel it radiates through all of my work.

The photo of the mice are chocolate covered cherries, sealed with a Kiss and garnished with sliced almond "ears".

The truffles in the photo are dark chocolate and milk chocolate rum rolled in confectioner's sugar, toffee, walnuts or chocolate sprinkles.

Red Velvet Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

I love my mother-in-law. Yes, it is true. Diane is a wonderful person and naturally, when she celebrated a milestone birthday (no, I won't give up her real age) I was only too thrilled to make Diane a cake she would love. The funny thing is that I never verbally offered to make one, she made subtle hints about the flavor and colors: Red velvet cake with a white frosting.

I found an amazing World War II era Red Velvet Cake recipe that was TO DIE FOR! Since WW2 was a time when dairy and eggs was rationed, this recipe contained neither. I admit that I was a little skeptical, but it was divine. The cake turned out moist, rich and tender. I gave the frosting pizazz by using Mascarpone Cheese in my frosting recipe. It was a great alternative and added a slightly tangy and nutty flavor to the cake.