Matt's Totoro birthday cake

So Matt turned 28! Being that he LOVES Miyazaki films, Naturally he asked for his favorite character. TOTORO!!! I thought i would throw in a few soot balls as well

i started out with a normal, round cake. Devils food cake with Cream Cheese Caramel filling.

then i made another square vanilla cake, also with cream cheese caramel filling.

then i quartered the vanilla cake to make the ears and leg/feet.

i stuck a skewer on each side to keep all parts together. 

next everything was coated in vanilla buttercream frosting, followed by white Fondant.

airbrushed with a light gray, pink for the mouth and ears.

the whiskers are toothpicks painted black. the eyes and teeth are molded fondant. the teeth are actually one long strip with teeth cut into it.

these are soot balls, they are rice krispie treats rolled into balls and then coated in chocolate. the eyes are white royal icing, with painted black dots.

Totoro is sleeping in a bed of flowers and grass. all faux grass from michael's cut and shaped. it all sits on floral foam

i think next time i'll make the insides red, just for a little added authenticity. :)

Root Bear Floats!!!

root beer cake with vanilla buttercream frosting! a whole lot cleaner than the real thing. 

Porcupines!

1 cup pecan halves

1 tblsp unsalted butter, melted

2 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut 

1/2 cup dried apricots

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces

7oz. condensed milk

preheat oven to 325degrees

on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, drop the pecan halves coated in the butter, in the oven for about 10 minutes to brown the pecans. 

once the pecans are out of the oven, let cool then mix with the rest of the ingredients. put about 2 tblsp worth of batter in balls on the cookie sheet. bake for about 10 minutes, or until the coconut turns a pale golden, do not over burn. let cool completely. 

should make about 20-24 cookies.

unicorn 2.0

so my WONDERFUL mother in law sent me the candy i actually needed to make these horsey unicorn cupcakes. i can't tell you how hard it was to find circus peanuts, they don't exist in california that i've found so far. send me your peanuts! 

cupcake: french vanilla cake

frosting: vanilla buttercream frosting

neck: vanilla wafers stuck together with white chocolate.

head: circus peanuts

mane/eyes/ears: chocolate and sprinkles

magic horn/tail: twizzler

sometimes, even the most magical of herds lose a fellow rider... 
godspeed old friend, you'll be missed...

lollipops!!!

i found these awesome lollipop molds today at Michaels, soooo... i went a little crazy

the 4 flavors are:

dark chocolate

white chocolate

strawberry lavender

peanut butter

i made so many i broke the microwave reheating the chocolates, oops. 

Katies tiffanys cake

cake: devils food cake 

frosting: 

super chocolate buttercream

 

melt down 3oz chocolate, cool

1/2 cup butter

3-4 tblsp cream

1 tsp vanilla

16oz powdered sugar

beat all ingredients together for about 5 minutes, add a little milk if needed for easy spreading.

filling: homeade raspberry filling-

 10oz fresh raspberries, 

4 tblsp. cornstarch

2 tblsp. light corn syrup 

bring the 3 ingredients to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently

take off stove and put in fridge for at least 2 hours, for maximum thickness, over night.

the flowers, bows, blue box, and pearls are all fondant. 

unicorns!

my first attempt at making animals. i had nothing i wanted to make them out of so i improvised with WAY to much frosting... but they still got a photo shoot and they still got eaten, and they taste good... and they're magical, its all i can really ask for!

the cupcake is a vanilla cake with toffee chips

the frosting is a vanilla buttercream with pink and purple mixed in for the mane

the unicorn is vanilla cookies with cream middle

the horn and tail is red vines shredded

Vitas flower cake

orchids, lilies: stargazers and peace, roses, baby's breath. the whole cake is edible, even the flowers. 

bottom cake: super moist chocolate cake, caramel filling, buttercream frosting

top 3 cakes: flourless chocolate cake, chocolate ganache topping dripped from the top onto the bottom cake. 

Caramel filling:

3 cups sugar, divided

3/4 cups milk

1 egg beaten

pinch of salt

1/2 cup butter(cut up)

sprinkle 1/2 cup sugar in heavy saucepan: place over medium heat. cook, stirring constantly, until sugar melts and syrup is golden brown. 

combine remaining 2 1/2 cups sugar, milk, egg and salt in bowl, stirring well: stir in butter. stir butter mixture in caramelized sugar. (the mixture will lump, becoming smooth with further cooking.) cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until a candy thermometer registers 230 degrees (15-20 min). cool 5 minutes. beat with a wooden spoon to almost spreading consistency and spread between layers and on top of cake. 

buttercream frosting:

1/3 cups butter, softened

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

2-3 tblsp half & half

1/2 tsp. vanilla

cream butter at medium speed of an electric mixer; gradually add sugar alternately with half&half, beating until light and fluffy. stir in vanilla.