Feeling like a kid again...

Sometimes when working on a cake, I have so much fun it's like being a kid again. Which isn't a real far stretch because my husband says I never really grew up. he he I really LOVE letting it all hang out and having fun with my kids. So this cake was a very enjoyable project. The two little guys in the back seat are twin boys, the cakes recipients that were celebrating their 1st Birthday. Of course you can guess the theme of the party! And what child (big or little) doesn't love all those amazing books written by Dr. Seuss.


This was a moist vanilla cake with buttercream filling.

Cakes, Cakes, and more.... ummm.... Cakes...

Apologies are in order once again. I just don't know how some of you find the time to keep up with all this social media. I really do need a clone... and my clone will do nothing but paperwork, customer service, and social media! HA! I've also heard another word for clone is "intern".... but I digress... he he he

Have a cake shop can be a LOT of fun. It's artistically stimulating, a great outlet for creativity, and offers occasional ego boosts which are essential to female happiness. So, I won't complain about how busy I've been. I'll just play catch up once again and beg your forgiveness if you've come to visit several times over the past few weeks and thought to yourself, "the pretzels still?!!!!".

Cake 1:

This is a Birthday Cake for a gardener. Apparently his efforts are continually undermined by a little brown critter (aka groundhog). His chosen method for dealing with the little offender seems to be a planned attack with a broom in hand. Not sure what he intends to do if he gets close enough. But either way, it makes a cute diorama.



Cake 2:

A five tier buttercream wedding cake delivered to the Four Season's Hotel in Philadelphia. This was 5 tiers of blueberry pound cake with lemon curd filling. Can you say HEAVY??? It was a monster. But a very pretty one! The florist provided lots of fresh flowers for us to add on site. It took almost an hour to get all the flowers trimmed and arranged "just so", but I'm really pleased with the end result. And so was the bride! In fact, I was thrilled to hear that several of the guests requested a 2nd slice of cake. That in and of itself is a wonderful compliment that I was very happy to receive. Congratulations to Meg & Frank!

Cake 3:

My oldest and dearest friend requested this cake for her Mother-in-law's 60th Birthday. Faye is a huge fan of yellow roses so, Kathy requested yellow roses with a white background. I really enjoyed making these roses. Some have a little hint of pink on them, some are more peach and yellow, and some were just plain yellow. I added a little border around the bottom of each tier to pull the yellow down. But I have to say, my favorite part of this cake is the rose topper. I really do like it.

This was pound cake with buttercream filling and blueberry pound with lemon curd filling. Kathy's husband would much rather eat a steak than cake any day. So when he said he really liked the blueberry pound, I almost fell over! Finally! ha ha


Cake 4:

Another buttercream wedding cake. Only this time we mixed it up a bit by changing the color and the texture of the icing on 2 of the tiers. It adds an element of interest and really makes the cake "pop". The flowers were added on site. The toppers were made custom for the bride and groom. This cake was 3 different flavors to give the guests a variety as it was more of a buffet style reception. Congratulations Ashely & Matt!


Happy Baking, Caking, and Decorating!

Pretzel Day!!!!

How rare that the kids have a day off from school and I haven't got any cakes scheduled. But what a blessing it has been! My house is much cleaner than it's been in ages AND the boys were able to have a friend over.

Since I wasn't in the kitchen for work, I decided this would be a good opportunity to be in the kitchen, with the kids, for FUN and try out a pretzel recipe I've been drooling over. You can find the recipe HERE. It's a Bavarian Soft Pretzel recipe with rave reviews. (my favorite kind of recipe)



Here's a photo journal of our Pretzel Day Project.

First I assembled all the ingredients.


Then made the slurry of flour, sugar, yeast, and water. Once those little bubbles started appearing, I knew we were good to go.


So I added the salt and the rest of the flour.


Then threw it in my Kitchen Aid and let it go to town for several minutes. If it got too sticky, I'd just add a little flour.


Then I pulled it out of the mixer and formed a ball of sorts so I could divide the dough.


After I let it rest a few minutes, I started diving the dough out in equal portions. I sliced it lengthwise down the center and then got about 6 pieces from each strip.


Because I doubled my recipe, we were able to get 13 balls of dough. Which worked out great because the kids kept dropping pieces so I had that extra ball to divide up and pass around. We each got 3 balls of dough to use as we pleased.


The three little goobers hard at work.


Don't they look happy?


After we finished shaping all the pretzels, it was time to put them in a Baking Soda Bath. This is the step that gives pretzels their golden brown color. Skip it and the finish on your pretzels will resemble a loaf of bread.


After boiling the pretzels, we sprinkled them with a little sea salt.


Three very proud looking boys. Well except for my youngest. I'm not sure what expression that is, but it gave me a stitch in my side from laughing so hard. He's gonna kill me when he see's this. OOPS!


Here's the pretzel staff. They are very pleased with the outcome. Took me a few tries to get a good picture. They kept eating holes in the pretzel display.


And here's a close up of one of the braided pretzels we made. I'm a big fan of the knot of the pretzel. It's always been my favorite part of a soft pretzel. So the braids are perfect for me because they are pretty much a giant knot. As if I needed the carbs...


If you've ever had pretzels stuffed with cream cheese, cheddar cheese, or other goodies, you know how YUMMY they can be. I decided I wanted to try a version that had a quirky family favorite inside; Cream Cheese and Green Olives. (don't knock it till you've tried it!) YUMMY!!!! It turned out DELICIOUS. Will most definitely do that again!

Made a top and a bottom, spooned a little mix on the bottom piece, then inched down the edges. After I pinched the edges down, I used the cookie cutter again to reclaim the pumpkin shape.


Oh yes!!! Warm cream cheesy goodness with just the right amount of saltiness. MORE PLEASE!


And the inside of the stuffed pretzel. I know... you don't even like olives, but it looks good doesn't it!


I've never been accused of being neat while I bake or decorate. This is what my cooktop looked like after 20 minutes of dipping pretzels in a baking soda bath. Thankfully, baking soda is a great cleaner, so now it sparkles. ha ha

Happy Baking!

Pink Mitzvah

WOW! WOW! WOW! When I walked into the Banquet Room at Hamilton Farms to delivery this cake, I was speechless! Not sure who the event planners were, but they did a stellar job! The overall feel was elegant, pink, fun, and girlie! And the perfect backdrop for this Bat Mitzvah Cake.


And I do so very much love this cake. I made lots of anemone flowers for it, including custom candle holders around the base of the bottom tier. And made a rhinestone plaque for the top tier with Daryn's name on it.




Each tier is a different flavor and filling combination to allow plenty of variety for the guests.

For the love of cake

One of the biggest compliments I get as a baker is a referral. But even more than that, when my customers come back time and again, it means they are happy. And that makes me very happy.


So when I did a wedding cake for the Byrd couple last year, I was thrilled to get a great review. But even more thrilled when Dana's mom called to order a replica of her wedding cupcakes for a Christmas gift because Dana liked them so much! And then, recently, I got a call from Dana that their First Anniversary was approaching and they didn't save the top tier of their wedding cake to celebrate with. She said it was so good, they couldn't help but eat it! Can I tell you how much I loved hearing that? Ehhh... everyone enjoys a little ego boost.


Anyway, I worked with Dana and created a replica of the top tier of her wedding cake so that she and her husband could celebrate their first Anniversary.

This cake was a very moist and delicious pound cake with homemade raspberry filling. Mmmmmm YUMMY!

Simply Fall

Homestyle iced wedding cakes are getting pretty popular and I have to say, I can see why. They have a look to them that says, simple, elegant, and EAT ME! Some cakes, you just don't want to cut. But a homestyle iced cake is just begging for someone to dig in and start eating. And as a baker/decorator, I really appreciate the ease of these cakes. They are a breeze to decorate and assemble. It doesn't get much better than that!


This was a lemon cake with homemade strawberry filling. Fresh and delicious and the perfect compliment to the buttercream icing.

A cake fit for a Princess

Sometimes my work puts a smile on my face that stays with me ALL DAY LONG! This was one of those days! When Devon/Mama Cheaps and Lily came to pick up Lily's Birthday cake, the smile that kiddo had on her face had me smiling on the inside for the rest of the day. It added a spring to my step and gave me a burst of energy. It's one of the things that make my job so enjoyable.


Cake makes people happy... You can't deny it. But when someone goes out of their way to give you a cake that represents you and reflects your passions... well... the smiles from that are all the encouragement I need to keep on cakin'!

I mean really, look at the smile on this kids face!


Lily Bean's cake was double chocolate with whipped chocolate ganache filling. It was 2 layers of cake and various accessories to dress it up like the pretty princess castle she wanted.

There's something about bright colors on a cake...

Whether you are assembling a cake with very little detail and a small pop of color or the entire cake is decorated in bright and bold colors, there's something about it that catches your eye and makes you happy.

Soft colors are delicate and pretty. Bright colors are stunning and bold. And they definitely catch your eye!

This first cake/cupcake combination was for a 1st Birthday. It's a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake that was designed after a cake I did a while back. The bold colors are perfect for young children and the figurines can be kept and played with for years to come.




This is the cake that I did a while back that served as inspiration for the smaller version.


Gotta love those bright, bold colors!

Super Hero's drive the BEST cars!

This was one of the most challenging and the most rewarding cakes I've done in a while. It frustrated and confounded me, and at the same time, it went so amazingly smooth that I was waiting for something to go wrong the whole time. Thankfully, it never did!

I baked 3 half sheet cakes for this monster, then I cut up the 3rd one and pieced it together with the first two to make a nice LONG car. I should have taken more photos of the process. But, not surprisingly, I got so involved in what I was doing that I never stopped to grab the camera.

The front of the car, top and some of the back, I carved on my own. Then the back end of this car started to confuse me with all the bumps and lines. So I called my husband over to help me finish the carving and WOWZA, he did a stellar job! So here it is, the Batmobile!!! This is the 1989 version that Michael Keaton drove.




Can I tell you how much I love that car!? It was pretty big and measured almost 2 foot long! And the best part, I got a phone call from the mother of the groom (this was a groom's cake), when she arrived at the venue. She was calling to tell me that she just saw the cake and that it was AMAZING! Yeah!!! Happy Clients make me smile!

Happy Baking!