This was the first wine-themed cake I made. It was for a wine tasting-themed birthday party.

I started by baking one, 8-inch round chocolate cake and one, 6-inch round chocolate cake. I filled each with chocolate buttercream.

Then, I iced the bottom cake with beige vanilla buttercream. I stacked the 6-inch cake on top and piped basketweave with chocolate buttercream. Then I began decorating with fondant.

I tinted and hand-rolled vanilla fondant to create all of the different grapes on the cake. I “filled” the basket with an assortment of colorful grapes to correspond with the different kinds of grapes used for wine-making.

I also added bunches of grapes on each side. This added color and balanced the cake. I kept the bottom tier simple by piping beige-colored dots on it. I also piped “Happy Birthday.” The cake was finished with a dusting of edible glitter that added sparkle and sheen.

The final result fit the theme well and was a hit at the party!

 I have sculpted cakes in the past and I’ve been waiting for the opportunity to do it again. This time, I was asked to make a dog-shaped cake. I baked chocolate buttermilk brownie cake and shapped it into a dog. Then, I set him atop a 1/4 sheet chocolate buttermilk brownie cake.

Next, I hand-piped “fur” and “grass” with vanilla buttercream. The ears, nose, collar and eyes were hand-formed from fondant. I addded small, royal icing daisies and hand-piped buttercream borders.

The cake was served at a retirement dinner party.

I’m in Salt Lake City today spending my FAVORITE HOLIDAY with my boyfriend.  Because he knows that I love baked goods, he woke me up today with a cup of coffee and a cupcake from my favorite SLC bakery, The Sweet Tooth Fairy.  I had a strawberry cupcake that was swirled with cheesecake cupcake (I think) and some type of yummy buttercream on top. I was in love.  Check out all of the goods from the Sweet Tooth Fairy at http://www.thesweettoothfairy.com/ 

chocolate cake pops with love

Unfortunately, my boyfriend does not share my love of sugar or my passion for baked goods. I did not bake anything today for him because he wouldn’t eat it (sad). How could anyone pass up baked goods?   I did, however, bake a ton of Valentine’s Day treats throughout the month of February for friends and family. I am dedicating this post to all of the treats o’ love I made this month.

cake pops with love

 I made  an assortment of cupcakes this month: fresh strawberry cupcakes with pink, strawberry buttercream, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing (see photo above).   I also baked, dipped and decorated lots of Valentine’s Day cake pops. Cake pops are so trendy right now!

In addition to these individual treats, I also threw  together a small,  chocolate cake for my dad to bring to his coworkers. I wasn’t in the mood to decorate a cake, so I iced the cake in buttercream and stuck little hearts and pearls all over it.  It was simple, but looked super-cute! Plus, the ladies at his work loved it!

I hope everyone enjoys their Valentine’s Day!

Don’t forget to eat something sweet!  xoxo

I just LOVE these cupcakes!

I had some extra, hand-painted fondant hearts and thought they would be adorable cupcake toppers.

I baked a dozen chocolate cupcakes (in leopard-print cupcake liners, of course) and iced them with chocolate-almond buttercream.

Each cupcake was topped with one, little leopard-print heart.

They were so simple, yet so cute!

One of my favorites so far!

I baked this cake for a coworker’s “Going Away” luncheon. I used my favorite chocolate buttermilk brownie cake recipe, filled it with chocolate buttercream and piped the basketweave with vanilla-almond buttercream. I topped the “basket” with a variety of fresh berries. Then, I dipped some of the strawberries in milk chocolate (who doesn’t like chocolate-covered strawberries?).  When I was done positioning all of the berries, I realized that I had forgotten to leave space for a message. I cut the “banner” out of thin, white fondant and hand-piped the message. My coworkers were impressed with not only the presentation, but the combined flavors of ripe, fresh fruit, sweet buttercream icing and rich chocolate cake.

I received a request from a coworker to make a cake that “looks like a jewelry box threw up on it.”  She wanted a cake that was filled with animal prints, pearls, beads, diamonds, bows and “anything tacky.” This was my interpretation of her tacky birthday cake.

Several day in advance, I cut out hearts in various sizes and formed small flowers. I also made several bows in a variety of sizes. As they dried,  I added shading and details with luster dust and disco dust.  Once all of the pieces were made, it was time to start baking.

I made a two-layer, pink velvet cake that was filled with cream cheese filling. The cake was iced in hot pink buttercream before the decorating fun began.

I created hand-painted, leopard print draping on the sides on the cake and added a leopard print bow. I also hand-rolled black fondant balls for the border around the bottom.

Next, I positioned all of the little “tacky” fondant pieces on the top of the cake.  I used lots of white pearls and blacks pearls in different sizes to fill in spaces between the fondant pieces.   I sprinkled glitter all over the cake once everything was in place.  I love the end result!

Cheers to 2012 and a new year of baked goods!

  Happy New Year, everyone!

I think these cupcakes are perfect for ringing in the New Year! They’re so sparkly, chic and festive. I made these vanilla cupcakes with vanilla buttercream for fun, but if I would’ve had a NYE party, they would’ve been served! Another idea would’ve been to substitute my champagne cupcakes with champagne buttercream icing.  I think this would make them all the more festive!

I have been wanting to make this cake for a long time, but haven’t had an occassion to decorate it for! 

This three-tier cake alternated in flavor. The top and bottom tiers were pink velvet cake filled with almond-vanilla buttercream and were covered in vanilla fondant. The middle tier was a chocolate cake, filled with chocolate buttercream and was covered in chocolate fondant. 

Once the cakes were iced and covered, I painted the top and bottom tiers’ leopard spots with gel food coloring mixed with vodka. 

Then, I stacked the cakes and added the details.   I made the pink ball borders and pink bow out of pink fondant. I flecked the entire cake with edible glitter. As a finishing touch, I added the wires and hung “diamonds” for bling.  It was quite the center piece of table at the wine bar where we celebrated!

This is one of my favorite cake recipes to make.  It is a chocolate cake iced in peanut butter chocolate ganache and covered with chopped peanut butter cups.   It has been a hit every time I’ve made it! The original recipe can be found at www.bakerella.com.   My sister’s friend requested this cake for her sister’s 18th birthday. I added an edible glitter covered,  purple fondant bow with a handmade fondant tag. I’m sure the cake tasted as good as it looked!