Fall fun with fondant!

This was so much fun! This is a little fall-themed cake I made for Drake's fall festival. The pumpkins, leaves, and flowers were molded fondant which I painted with food coloring. I wanted the cake to appeal to the masses so I decided to make it chocolate. I didn't have the buttermilk which my standby chocolate cake calls for; so I just made the "Perfect Chocolate Cake" and icing recipes on the back of the Hershey's cocoa container. I was so glad I did! I hadn't made the cake since I was a little girl. The flavor brought back memories. It tasted like the kind of chocolate cake a grandma would make. Nothing fancy, just plain sweet cocoa goodness! In fact Justin said he thought it was the recipe his grandmother made. I don't think I'll throw out my other chocolate cake recipes; but I'll definitely make this one again!

Happy Birthday to Diane!

We love the Grammar girls! We were so happy to have Diane at the lake for her birthday. Knowing that she loves chocolate, I made her a cake that featured chocolate in several of its yummy forms...chocolate cheesecake with an Oreo crust, chocolate ganache, chocolate mousse, and chocolate cake. The creation was covered in ganache and decorated with a bit of fondant.

Mabry is 5!!!

I can hardly believe my sweet girl turned 5 last month! Where has the time gone? She was stuck on the idea of a "little pets" cake this year. We looked at several little pets cakes on line and she liked the ones with actual toys on them. I don't know, maybe it was all a plot to get some new little pets. Anyway, aside from a cake with new little pets that was chocolate and vanilla, she left the rest of the design to my artistic discretion! So, I went with her favorite colors, pink and purple. She approved!

Butterflies!

Mabry and I had so much fun making butterfly cupcakes to take to Laura on her birthday. I made a butterfly wing template that we placed under parchment, then piped dark chocolate around the border, and filled with purple candy coating melts. Mabry was a great helper!

Drake's Ironman Cake

For the last couple of years I have gotten to make Drake's cake for the annual 4th of July boys' birthday extravaganza. Last year it was a speed racer car and this year he requested Ironman. After figuring out who Ironman is (a Marvel superhero), my first thought was to do a sculpted cake that looked like him. In the end I scrapped that plan for something simpler but that the birthday boy still loved. I simply covered two round tiers in red fondant and placed chocolate bars cut to look like buildings around them. I used royal icing to pipe windows and placed a toy Ironman action figure on top. There was an LED light at the base of the action figure so that at night Ironman glowed!

Just as last year, Drake once again did not want to cut his cake. Rather he took it home with him. So glad he liked it that much! I heard that he kept the speed racer car for a week after his party last year! Luckily I made a HUGE cheesecake for the adult birthday boys! (Not the best picture)


On a side note to myself and any other bakers the 3 Cities of Spain Cheesecake recipe from Epicurious is the best! No water baths or starting the oven at 500 then reducing temp required. This time I tripled the recipe and baked it in a 12X12X3 pan. It baked for about twice the time the recipe specified; but still had no cracks and a perfect texture!

Happy 7th Drake, happy 20th Alex, and happy 4oth Tom! I love you and can't wait to make your cakes next year!!!

Leah's Cake

This baby shower cake was the mom-to-be's favorite, Italian cream with cream cheese icing. I encircled the tiers in rolled wafer cookies and used fresh pink roses on top. The sage green ribbon and rose paisley fabric were inspired by the nursery decor.

Crissy's Baby Shower Cake

This cake was made to match the plates and napkins that were used at the baby shower. The cake was a light yellow butter cake with lemon curd, buttercream and raspberry fillings. It was covered in buttercream and then fondant.