Sawyer's 4th Birthday Cake

Two words: Barbie cake. That's all she wanted.
I love how it turned out, especially the skirt, with the stenciling.
Happy Birthday, Baby-Love, I can't believe how time flies.

Quincie's 1st birthday cake!

My best friend Kirsten has three boys. And one baby girl. If you think Kirsten isn't having a blast with a girl, you are dead wrong. I think she was hoping that Q would go to town on the cake & smash it up, but the dainty little thing just sat there plucking dots off & eating them. Such a girlie-girl!


- Posted from my iPhone

Ladybug Cuppies

So you know all the hype lately about that book "Hello Cupcake"? Well I haven't been really impressed. But if you want to know what one does impress me, go to Costco (or wherever) and get Martha's cupcake book. (It's like twice as much if you don't get it at Costco though.) Amazing decorating ideas, I've only tried two of the recipes, but I like my good old vanilla cupcakes best. I tried the ladybug cupcakes for last Sunday's family dinner, and they were so fun to make together, Sawyer & Matt helped make the marzipan ladybugs and I had this idea to turn it into a summer sidewalk because I had way too many cupcakes to frost. They turned out so stinkin' cute.

BJ & Renee-Anne's Cake

My nephew & his darling bride were good enough to trust me on this one. Their wedding was a week before the reception, and when I saw her dress I asked Renee if she trusted me because I wanted to change her cake a little & surprise her with it. It was supposed to be all 4 tiers with those modern circles, but I thought that the bodice of her dress was way to pretty & I've always wanted to recreate the bride's dress in cake, so here it is. I LOVE how it turned out. The top & bottom tiers were carrot cake with cream cheese filling, the 8" was chocolate-chocolate chip cake with mint chocolate ganauche, and the 10" was brown sugar pecan cake with caramel buttercream and peaches, one of my favorites.

Typical BJ face. I wish them the very best that life has to offer, they are adorable together & amazing.

Callie's Cake

At this particular wedding (which was lovely beyond words, btw) I met Laurel Farrer, of Backstrom Events.
She pretty much made me want to get married all over again or have an "event" just to use her services & hang out with her in the process. If you have any need at all of an event coordinator, please call her, she is lovely and will certainly reduce the stress of your planning process.
I was so lucky to have been involved in this wedding. I left feeling like family & with renewed love for the human race in general. The cake turned out pretty cute too, if I do say so myself!

Megan's Cake

This is the first time I have experienced zero stress while making a cake. Then I started to stress out about why I wasn't stressed & what could go wrong because I wasn't stressed out enough. It's very simple but I am in love with it and I challenge anyone to find a flaw in the fondant, or to guess which tier is the foam one. That's right Bobby Flay, let's throw-down.

Kathleen's Cake

I kinda love how this one turned out, its simple, which I love, but doesn't involve flowers or ribbon, so it's got it's own vibe going on. I loved that Kathleen went with a fall theme just because she wanted to. The current weather sucks anyway, so lets just pretend to be in our favorite season. Sounds good to me. Anyway I love the nuts and the feathers and pine cones and the chocolate hand painted details at the corners. We've got a coconut cake with lime curd, almond cake with raspberry filling & buttercream, white chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream, and on the bottom, my current favorite, brown sugar pecan cake with peaches & caramel buttercream. All are covered in nummy marshmallow fondant.

Tinkerbell Cake

My niece Janene has a five year old. WEIRD! I'm old. Evie wanted a Tinkerbell cake & of course, she got it. Have you seen her? Of course she got it. Not only did she get it, but I drove six hours to deliver it and only could stay for 4 hours. So yeah, she's awesome. She got the cake. It's a white chocolate cake with strawberry filling covered in Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Hanne & Sophia's Baby Blessing Cakes

We did a joint baby blessing celebration at Susie's this weekend, we've been blessed with two beautiful baby girls in our family recently & it was so fun to be able to do some cakes for the party. Mandy requested the same flavors I did at Melissa's wedding because we all didn't get enough that night. So we had (left to right) almond cake with pastry cream, whipping cream & strawberry filling; coconut cake with lime curd; and lemon cake with lemon curd & blackberry filling. The poor little lime/coconut cake had an unfortunate delivery mishap, that's why she's a bit misshapen. Mental note to me: always take pictures before delivery.

Danny's Birthday Cake

Matt's bestest friend Danny turned the big 3-0 a few weeks ago & his darling wife Jessica threw a big ol' surprise party for him, complete with an over-the-hill, death-of-your-youth theme. I still need her pictures from the evening, but here is the only picture I got of the German Chocolate grave cake I did for him.

Snowman vs. Penguin Cake

A while back I donated a cake to a charity auction for Karson's Kause and today was the day to pay up. This cake was for a set of twins' 16th birthday party. I love how it turned out & hope that the girls did too! It was white chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream, almond poppyseed cake with lemon curd buttercream and chocolate cake with cookies n' cream filling.

This is the kinda crap I do when no one is around to tell me how to do the cake

....and when I just use what I have in the freezer left over from old cakes. Pink & purple icing from Sawyer's birthday cake & a random spice cake leftover from who knows when? But it was quite yummy. So yummy in fact that the left over cake from the party is currently in my garbage can. (so I don't eat the entire thing, not because it's nasty.) Do you like the tender words of love? Yeah, so did they. That's how we roll. I love you Kierstin & Kirsten! Happy Birthdays!

Rick's Birthday Cake

I am taking some time off until the Spring wedding season rolls around to enjoy the holidays and have a break, but I did this small, simple birthday cake for a friend of ours. He really wanted a coca-cola cake, which is basically a Texas brownie, where you pour the frosting on while the thin layer of cake is still hot. It's a divine recipe, but not so great for making a layer cake out of. Actually I think I know how I'd do it better in the future, so I probably will add this to my list of favorite recipes. And yes, we caught it & crossed the "t" before delivering it, just not before taking pictures.

Staci's Cake

Another Amy Jackson coordinated wedding, I really love that I have a repeat customer, she's such a doll! Staci pretty much let her step-daughter pick the flavors, but I hope that she was pleased with the brown-sugar spice cake with caramel buttercream filling 3" tier; the white cake with strawberry filling 6"; and the chocolate-chocolate chip cake with sour cream fudge filling 9". They are all covered with a chocolate glaze for that shiny, "glazed doughnut" effect! Thanks Amy & Staci!

Paisa's Ukulele Cake

Our semi-adopted Samoan son, Paisa just turned the big One Six last week! We celebrated with a ukulele cake because he drags a uke nearly everywhere he goes, and is actually very, very good on it. Matt & I are so glad that he likes us, and comes over and especially for how sweet he is with Sawyer, she looks for him every Sunday & is very disappointed if he isn't the one who gets to pass the sacrament to our row. He really is such a cool kid & actually makes us excited to have teenagers!

Bella's Cake

Chocolate overload is what we call this one; it's a chocolate cake with vanilla bean syrup and mint chocolate ganache, covered with a rich chocolate glaze.

Caroline's Cake

Matt's niece gave me exactly 3 days notice on this one. Then she texted me and said "my friend is allergic to red. pls don't put any red on the cake." ooops. So I took the peices I'd cut out to make the star shape and made an extraneous football shaped cake, without any red on it. Can I get some validation on this one? Is it possible for anyone to be allergic to red? I hate the way I look in red, does that count?

Ashley & Jeremy's Cake

Upside-down? Yes, this cake is upside-down. As it turns out, it's really not that much different from making a regular cake, but it did take some finagling. They picked marble swirl with sour cream fudge filling on the 8", white chocolate cake with raspberry buttercream filling for the 10", and lemon cake with lemon curd & blackberries for the 12". I'm so glad Ashley kept her promise to let me do her cake, even though we both left the gym that we met at.

Jailhouse Cake

Our cute friend has recently made some big changes in his life, so Matt & I made a cake to celebrate. He LOVED it! Said it was the best cake he'd ever had. He really likes poppy-seeds, and now that he doesn't have to pass random drug tests, we celebrated with an almond cake with poppy-seed filling and vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream. If you can't tell, this is one of the corner squares from the Monopoly board. I forgot to write "In Jail" on top, but I suppose the "Just Visiting" part was the most important part though.

Holly's Cake

One of the more gorgeous brides ever, Holly McOmie chose a very elegant cake and delicious flavors. I was so honored to be a part of their day and am happy to add chocolate marshmallow fondant to my repertoire. The six inch tier is chocolate-chocolate cake with mint ganache filling; the 9 inch tier is white butter cake filled with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream; and the 12 inch tier is almond butter cake with whipped cream, vanilla bean pastry cream and strawberry filling.

Ashley P.'s Cake

Ashley stumbled upon my blog somehow & I am so glad she did. Not only did she have some fantastic suggestions- the sanding sugar crusted buttercream is such a cool look, but she and her family were so kind and wonderful to work with. This cake is a ten inch almond poppy seed cake with whipped cream, pastry cream and raspberry fillings; an eight inch chocolate-chocolate chip cake with mint ganache filling; and a six inch brown sugar spice cake filled with caramel buttercream and peaches.

short notice

It is possible to do a cute cake with only two days notice. (Provided I have nothing on my schedule, like I did on Tuesday.) This one was for a second marriage, the couple a bit more mature, and they just wanted something fun to celebrate, no formal fondant. I really like the way the buttercream looks all imperfect, yummy & edible, less like a scupltural fondant art peice, you know? The cake was my new favorite combination; almond cake with pastry cream, whipping cream and strawberries.

Lacey & Adam's Cake

I can't really claim this entire cake. When they asked me to do it, I had to decline because my schedule that weekend was out of control & I knew I wouldn't be able to put as much time into it as I should have. Turns out it was a good choice because I had a miscarriage that week and, frankly, I turned into a complete zombie for a few days. So they had another friend bake & fondant the cake & I just assembled & decorated it. Anyway, the best part about it was the cute little ribbon around each tier. They didn't have any & it really needed an extra something, so I cut up a bit of fabric they had lying around that completely matched the table overlay and used that as a ribbon. I think it turned out quite cute and very pink which was pretty much the whole point of the reception!

Viewmont High Class of 1998 10 Year Reunion

These cupcakes went over like gangbusters. There were my famous Peanut Butter & Jam Cupcakes, Coconut Cupcakes and Mint Chocolate Cream Cupcakes. It was really, really fun to see my old friends and reminisce.

Tim & Annie's Cake

My cute personal trainer, Tim married even cuter Annie tonight, I was sad that I didn't get to see them, I hope they liked their cake; I sure did. We took the design on the middle tier from their invitation and it turned out very cute, if I do say so myself!

Melissa's Cake

Darling sister of my darling sister-in-law, practically like family and so easy-going and wonderful! Melissa's cake was mentally tough only because of a delayed UPS flight that kept me guessing right up to the eleventh hour. booo UPS. Everything turned out alright though and this little beaut was devoured in no time at all, which is awesome because there weren't a huge amount of people there, so by my figuring, most people went back for seconds. (Myself included.) It was almond cake with raspberries, custard cream & whipped cream on the top tier; coconut cake with key lime curd in the middle tier; lemon cake with lemon curd and blackberries on the bottom. Good choices, huh? You have no idea.

Nicole & Jason's Cake

I've done this cake before, but I think it looks very cute with the gerbers. Their wedding colors were so cute, and the bottom tier has a layer in each color; hot pink, sky blue, crazy green and orange. All photographs were kindly provided by Michelle Nuttall, who btw, is wonderful and would be awesome to work with, if you're lookin'.

Corn on the Cob Cupcakes

I totally have become obsessed with cupcakes lately, I know, I know it's such a trendy thing, but whatever, they are fun and I've got a few orders coming up. For Matt's birthday I made these little cuties, lemon cake with lemon curd filling and lemon-vanilla buttercream, turned in to corn on the cob with various JellyBellys and those little corn poker thingys.

Look what Kirsten found!!- Angel's Cake

Clear back in April of 2005, I did a cake for cute little Angel Winslow, back in my parents ward, and it turned out lovely but I didn't get any pictures of it, but Kirsten did. YEAH!!

Just for Fun!

Sunday dinners are always an excuse to play with something new, but it hasn't been until this week that my experiments have turned out this beautifully! I'm sorry, but this totally reminds me of pastry shops in Paris, and I honestly would say that it tasted just as amazing. Its a white cake with a rum infused moistening syrup and vanilla bean pastry filling covered in vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and topped with apricot glazed fresh fruit. Whoa, that was a mouthful! Trust me, it was awesome!

Porter's Diego Cake

My BFF's oldest turned the big 4 this weekend, and, crazy little dude that he is, threw hisself a grand ole Go Diego Go! themed extravaganza. Good thing he turned the majority of the planning over to his amazing Mama because she totally outdid herself. I was fortunate enough to be able to contribute the cake, and although it's just a two-tier variation on a NickJr.com cake, it was quite a hit!
My photography skills are such a joke. I am hoping that Kirsten will email me some of her's soon. (hope, hope)

There, that's a little better, thanks, Kirst.

Sharon's Cake

Champagne luster dust and ivory royal icing piping over white cakes with cookies n'cream filling. Top tier is chocolate-chocolate chip cake with mint fudge filling. YUM! This is another of my very favorites.

Annalee's Cake

Annalee... girl, I love you! I am so proud of you & so happy that you found John, you guys are awesome! Thanks for letting me do your cake, it was a joy! I'm so glad you loved it!

Chocolate Transfer Sheets Kick A$@

Okay, I was hesitant to post this on my cake blog because I don't want to sound overly excitable and unprofessional. But how COOOL is this!? It's this whole new world of chocolate transfer sheets, there are unlimited numbers of designs available, and they are so simple and impressive! Look here and here to see what Martha did with it, I totally want to do these cakes for a wedding. (I wish I had a professional food stylist & photographer on hand at all times. This is picture is pathetic, I know.)

Max's Birthday Cake

So the brother of the critter cupcake girl had his fourth birthday today, and wanted a dinosaur cake, and I certainly wasn't going to say no to this little sweetheart. What a babe, huh?

Sabrina's Cake

Alright, the Precious Moments topper is not really my style, but it's all about what the bride wants, right?

Kari's Cake

I love this cake. The magic of the first snowfall... I LOVE it.

Kaley's Cake

Boy, oh , boy this one was a beast. I can't say I wouldn't do it again though, I just seriously understimated the amount of time 300 cupcakes with 300 chocolate monograms would take. I'm just glad my husband is so patient and supportive. Anyway, it turned out extremley cute if I do say so myself, and everyone at the wedding was ga-ga over it, so it all works out. Now I know what is involved and I would love to do another cuppie cake.

McKayla's Birthday Critter Cupcakes

These were for one of my best friends daugther's 6th birthday. She is such a cool little chic, I just love her to peices. The little critters were fun to make, they are made of chocolate, I'd like to try doing more detailed ones next time, that could get really fun, maybe use a paintbrush instead. Cool. I love doing this!

Erika & Greg's Cake

Sometimes I think I am sick of doing just plain white fondant and flowers, but every once in a while the bride picks beautiful flowers and the cake turns out like this; just so elegant and simple, and I love that look all over again. Because this cake was my friend Erika's I came back later and was actually able to eat my cake and stealthily ask strangers if they liked the cake. I gotta tell ya, I am pretty proud of myself. Not too bad for a self-taught chica.