Saturday, December 6, 2008

Snowman Cake


Red Velvet Cake with Peppermint Mocha Truffle Fudge Filling and Cream Cheese icing. Everything is home made right down to the fondant.

I really like how this chilly creature turned out!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Holiday Crunch

I've been making Holiday Crunch for 4 years now. It started as a gift I'd give friends and family for the holidays. So many people wanted my recipe but I just can't give it out! If my friends and family can make it for themselves, what would I give them at Christmas?

WHAT IS IT???? If that is your question, here's your answer! An irresistible combination of pecans, almonds, and popcorn covered with caramel toffee and drizzled with dark chocolate.


I've also got a test going this year that has peanut butter chocolate drizzle. It's a slight taste of peanut butter and WOWZA!!! It's good!

Friday, November 21, 2008

Ben 10 Birthday Cake


This was a tricky one. Marble Cake with Buttercream Icing. Frozen Buttercream Transfer. This is for the son of a man that works with my husband. Apparently the local bakeries don't do Ben 10 yet.

Happy Birthday Aidan!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

For the Outdoorsman...





This cake was made for the father-in-law of a good friend of mine. He's a hunter, fisherman, camper... etc. So we went with an outdoorsman theme. (Is that a word?)

Anyway... I'm thrilled with the result. There's a TON of detail in this cake and you really could stare at it for a while. Of course to me... that's what's so cool!

Hope you like it!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Baby's First Birthday Cake.





This is a cake for my nephew's 1st Birthday.
This is a White Cake with mini chocolate chips, butterscotch icing, and Twix candy bar crushed on top under the leaves. The decorations are all fondant.

The bushel is two - 9" round cakes and the little pumpkins are mini bundt cakes sandwiched together with butterscotch icing between the layers. They are iced and covered in fondant.

The leaves are all made out of gum paste. Baby is also gum paste. Absolutely everything on this cake is edible. Minus the cake plate of course.

Here are a couple of photos of the Birthday Boy and his cake.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Wedding Cupcake Balls



This was a fun project and a first. Cake balls are made of strawberry cake with cream cheese icing dipped in dark and green chocolate. Gum Paste flowers, bows and royal icing accents.

Wrapped a ribbon around a terracotta pot and used styrofoam to hold them in place. What a cute and tasty little floral arrangement!



Here is the finished basket. I individually wrapped each cake ball and tied them with a ribbon. Then all the basket pieces were added, arranged, and shrink wrapped.

Friday, July 25, 2008

Sarah's Birthday Cake


This is my nieces Birthday Cake. I had a lot of fun making it although the humidity gave me a run for my money! I wanted a fun cake so instead of just plopping the puppies on the cake, I had them wreaking havoc by digging into it. This is the first cake I've covered in fondant that was iced with Italian Meringue Buttercream. It's much more challenging that covering a cake that has been iced in classic buttercream. Guess I'll have to make more of these so I can get more practice!

What a wonderful reception this cake got! I'm so pleased with how much Sarah loved her cake. If I make a custom cake for my niece's or nephew's, they don't get a gift. The cake IS the gift. But it is their choice (or their parents if they are too young). When I asked Sarah if it was worth it to get a cake instead of a gift, I got a very enthusiastic "yes!".

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

July 4th - Independence Day Cake




Made this cake for the 4th of July celebration at my friend's house. It's been years since the old gang from high school got together so it was a very special occasion. I really enjoyed getting together with everyone and where there is a celebration... there must be cake!!!

I used Swiss Meringue Buttercream for this cake. It's so light and fluffy. The cake is a sinfully delicious chocolate cake with 2 cups of mini chocolate chips in the mix. Chocolate covered strawberries surround the cake. The blue glitter turned everyone's teeth blue while they were eating. Thankfully the color was very short lived and we all returned to a healthy pink within minutes of finishing.

Friday, June 27, 2008

Allie's Dora the Explorer 3rd Birthday Cake


Made this cake for my niece's Birthday. She's turning 3 and just loves Dora the Explorer. It's 2 - 10" layers. Bottom layer is chocolate and the top layer is vanilla. The filling is cookies and cream butter cream. It is iced in butter cream with fondant accents. This is my second Frozen Butter Cream Transfer (FBCT).

My youngest who is 2 months older than Allie also loves Dora so it was like pulling teeth keeping him away from this cake. You know how an excited 3 year old loves to flail around! Talk about mommy having an anxiety attack.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Mom's 60th Birthday Cake




This is my favorite cake to date. It took forever but was a blast and turned out really well. It's a chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip filling. Iced in butter cream with fondant accents. Figures and accent details are all made of fondant and gum paste. There are a few support pieces that are not edible. Mom loved it!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Pre-School Teacher Thank You





I made this cake for the kids end of year picnic at pre-school. It's a Thank You for the teachers. Garrick especially came out of his shell this year and has become a social butterfly. Pre-School was huge for him! I can't believe he will be in kindergarten in the fall. Anyway, this is my very first stacked cake and the first cake to see sculpted 3D figures.

This cake is dark chocolate fudge on the bottom with mint chocolate chip butter cream between the layers. The top cake is vanilla with chocolate between the layers. The cake is iced in butter cream and covered with home made fondant (which tastes better than the Wilton fondant I had been getting at the store). Everything you see is edible except the wires holding the stars in the top of the cake. The picture on the top of the cake is the schools logo.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Wilton Course 2 Final Cake Basket Weave




This is a cake of firsts. My first basket weave, first rope border, first color flow (the birds), and all new flowers. It's also my first Red Velvet Cake. I made a change this time with my icing and tried making butter cream with 1/2 butter and 1/2 shortening as opposed to all shortening (the Wilton Method). I like the melt in your mouth creaminess that the butter gives the icing. It also gives it a yellowish tint which is good for the look of this cake.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Pink and Brown




Chocolate Fudge Cake, Peanut Butter Mousse Filling, and Chocolate Butter Cream make up this cake.

The brown is accented with pink butter cream dots and roses. The bow and tag are fondant. This cake was made for my cousin's Birthday.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Pre-School Teacher Thank You





These two will go on a cake for the teachers at the pre-school my boys attend. They will be sitting on the bottom tier of the cake with a banner between them. They are made out of fondant mixed with a little gum paste and are edible although they won't be eaten. (I'll remove them from the cake just before it is cut.) I am really happy with this little pair.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mother's Day Cake for my Mom



Made this cake for my mom for Mother's Day. It's a lemon cake with vanilla pudding between the layers. Butter cream icing and fondant accents.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Spring Garden



This was a gift for my mother's friend. Everything you see is edible and hand crafted. This cake also got rave reviews for the chocolate fudge cake with Peppermint Fudge filling.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

My son's 3rd Birthday Cake




Braden's 3rd Birthday Cake. Chocolate with chocolate fudge filling and iced in butter cream with fondant accents. A lot of fun to make!

Daisy's and Teal




This is my final project for a course I took to learn to work with fondant and gum paste. It got rave reviews not only for the decor, but also for the moist strawberry cake.

Fondant Drape




This was my first cake completely covered in fondant. I LOVE the clean look that fondant gives a cake.

Anniversary Cake




This was my first carved cake. It was a gift for my in-law's 46th wedding anniversary. They hated to cut it but said it was just as yummy to eat as it was to look at.

Cake for Bible Study Teacher





This was a gift for the woman that teaches our Friday Morning Bible Study. I just love Jill dearly. I was thrilled to make this for her.

Jessica's Birthday Cake




My sister in law asked me to make a cake for my niece's 1st Birthday. This was my very first cake request.

My final cake for Course 1

Holiday Crunch

For years I've been making candy over the Christmas Season to use as gifts for friends, family, and colleagues. This delectable confection has been a part of my repertoire for the past 5 years and is by far the most popular.

Popcorn, almonds, and pecans covered with homemade caramel toffee and finally drizzled with chocolate. It's very tender and just melts in your mouth.

My recipe is most definitely a secret and one I've guarded well. I can't very well give this treat as a gift if all the recipients could whip up their own batch. As a result, those who have been begging for my recipe asked me to sell it instead.

So this past winter I made it available. In the 6 weeks that span the Thanksgiving and Christmas Season I sold over 300 packages! Including an order for 85 tins to a NJ company. WOW!

Photobucket