Cat In The Hat

A totally amazing talented friend of mine called me last week to help her with a project she had. She needed to make a birthday cake for a 2 year old, and this is the idea she had in mind. she wanted to make a cat in the hat! not bad for her first time decorating a cake this big! i gave her pointers, but she did almost everything on this thing! good job Erin!!! xoxox

admiral's birthday

so Admiral Ackbar had a birthday party and what's the best thing to do for someone's birthday then cut their head off, roast it, shove an apple in their mouth, and serve it to their guests! ok, or make a cake that looks like you did that, and let the Admiral have his birthday!






the cake is chocolate cake with peanut butter filling and chocolate butter cream frosting. rolled out fondant airbrushed with orange and yellow. the collar is rice crispy treats covered in fondant and dried and cracked to look look like cracked crab meat. sticking out of the collar are red and blue light sabers, which are pretzels covered in colored chocolate.

katelyn's 1st birthday cake

princess Katelyn turned 1! and every good princess needs a castle, especially one that's pink with glitter.



the bottom layer is neapolitan, vanilla sponge cake, strawberry buttercream filling, chocolate butter frosting.


the top tier is chocolate sponge cake, raspberry preserve filling, chocolate ganache frosting.


the towers are ice cream cones stuck together end to end with a sugar cone upside down. covered in fondant and hand painted stripes. the flowers are sugar paste rolled out and cute, covered in pink glitter. the doors are oreo cookie chocolate bars.

Katie's birthday bunnies

so this year i made something a little different for Katie's birthday. i've never made carrot cake before and i'm glad everyone liked it because i wouldn't try it, i hate carrot cake. however, it was really fun to make something different and it was a good excuse to try a bunny theme.


the carrot cake: oven 350

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
4 beaten eggs
3 cups shredded carrot
3/4 cup oil
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
8oz. crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 cup coconut
1 cup crushed pecans
1 tsp vanilla

in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg. set aside. combine carrots, pineapple, coconut, oil, vanilla. add eggs. stir together with the dry ingredients. add nuts. stir together just until mixed then arrange in cupcake trays or cake pans. cupcakes take about 15 minutes, cake takes about 30.




cream cheese frosting:

i was told over and over and OVER that the most important part is the frosting. it has to be thick and taste like cheese cake or it ruins the cake. no pressure...

2 3oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
4.5 cups powdered sugar, sifted

start with the cream cheese in the mixer, after about 30 seconds add the butter in chunks. beat on high until the two have mixed really well then add vanilla. little but little add the sugar until completely mixed together. taste after 4 cups of sugar have been put in, add the rest slowly to your desired level of taste.



all of the cupcakes were frosted then airbrushed lightly with pink(it was a pink themed birthday).
the bunny feet are circus peanuts, cut in half using only the bottoms. the pads are pink jelly beans also cut in half, secured with a little frosting. the tail is just a little more uncolored frosting.



the fleur de lys are vanilla fondant with a little pink dye.

christmas wreath

vanilla cupcakes with vanilla fudge frosting with white chocolate leaves and rolo ornaments.



the white chocolate leaves were made by melting down the chocolate, taking a mint leaf and painting the chocolate onto it. once its set and dry simply peel the chocolate off the leaf and repeat. using a mint leaf gives the chocolate a faint but really yummy taste.

Lanie's birthday cake

better late than never! so this pretty lady had a birthday a couple months ago, and i was so excited about it i made her cake, took it to her house, and ate it... without ever even thinking of taking pictures of it. someone was nice enough to snap a few shots, so here is her pirate themed birthday cake!

pretty standard round 4 tiered red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. covered in fondant and airbrushed blue and black.

the hard thing to see is the skull is actually another cake made for her to save if she wanted to. its the same red velvet with cream cheese frosting, covered with fondant and hand painted to look like a skull and cross bones. (the patch was added later)

all in all it was a 6 layer, 2 tiered scurvy red velvet pirate cake. and if all pirates tasted so good, i might learn how to swab a deck?

Christmas tree

Quickie but goodie! butterscotch rice crispy treats colored with green food coloring shaped into a christmas tree wrapped in sour cherry candy rope, big cinnamon gummy bears and about 50 gum drops. a little hard to see but there is a rice crispy star on top.

rice crispy treats:

3 tblspn butter

10oz. marshmallows

6 cups rice krispies cereal

1 cup butterscotch chips

5-10 drops green food coloring

put butter in a pot and cook over low heat.

once butter is melted, add marshmallows and cook down until melted.

add butterscotch chips until they too are mostly melted.

while everything is cooking, put the 6 cups of cereal into a large bowl.

combine all ingredients into large bowl and stir around just until incorporated. before adding food coloring, take out a small hunk of treat, that will be for the star. add green food coloring to the rest if the bowl, incorporate until smooth.

lay a piece of parchment paper on the counter and take out the ball of rice crispy treat.

slowly mold the christmas tree making sure not to pack to tightly otherwise the treat will be to dense.

once the tree is shaped, add decorations however you like! just like a real tree!

take the small hunk you took out, and shape it into as best a star as possible. i like making a disk, leaving it in the fridge for a bit, then cutting the star out. push a tooth pick into the star and place on top of the tree. enjoy!

Strawberry waffles with brown sugar bacon

so not that this is a dessert, but man were these waffles were good, and just in case someone needs a super easy super tasty recipe for breakfast, well... here's one you can use! not to mention a little candied bacon to go with them...

candied bacon:

cook the bacon as regular, but while cooking, just sprinkle a little brown sugar over each piece to add a little flavor and crispiness.

Strawberry waffles

1 3/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups buttermilk*

1/3 cup oil

2 eggs

1 cup chopped strawberries

add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. add the rest of the ingredients into the dry mixture. whisk until mixed. make waffles based on instructions of waffle maker. enjoy!

*if you want a sweeter waffle, you can substitute regular milk for buttermilk. use 1 tablespoon baking powder, and omit the baking soda.

Happy thanksgiving!!!

thanksgiving turkeys and pumpkins! yeah, i love thanksgiving!!!!

the turkeys are pumpkin spice cake with caramel cream cheese frosting, rolled in chocolate jimmies. there is a ginger cookie with candy corn feathers on it, the head is a mini cupcake the same as the big one, with raisonette eyes, candy corn beak, and fruit by the foot gobbler.


pumpkin spice cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoons salt

2/3 cup butter

1 3/4 sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups milk

1 cup pumpkin pie filling

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

mix butter first then mix in sugar, then eggs, one at a time. separately mix all powders together, then mix into wet mixture. add milk then vanilla. finally mix in pumpkin pie filling and spice. mix all together, then put into a ziplock bag and pipe the mixture into cupcake papers. bake for about 13-15 minutes @350degrees. let cool and frost

the pumpkins are the same pumpkin spice cake with orange colored vanilla buttercream frosting, rolled in orange decorating sugar, and topped with a rainbow twizzler stem.

Halloween cupcakes

Halloween treats!!! vampires with mini cupcake "bites", ghosts and spiders. i won second place in the Cupcake Camp challenge, i might have done a little better if the vampires didn't get tossed around in the car on the way to the competition. still cute though, check out the angry eyes on the ghosts!

the vampires and mini "bites" are black bottom cupcakes with cherry filling, so when you bite into the cake, it bleeds in your mouth! cream cheese frosting, black sprinkle hair, m&m eyes, and hot tamale fangs.
spiders are hostess cakes with pocky legs. the legs are held together with a little melted chocolate. the eyes are royal icing.
almond pocky legs!!! mmmmmm......
the ghosts are devils food cake with a little melted chocolate on top to hold a mini twinkie in place and covered with a thin layer of fondant with black food coloring.