April's Birthday Cake

This style birthday cake is my new favorite. The two tiers give it a great look when you can do different patterns. The stripes and dots are the most popular so it makes sense to combine the two. I made this cake for a young lady named April. She is turning 14. The great thing about this style cake is that it is good for any age and any occasion.

Just "Ducky"

Here is a sweet ducky shower cake I made for a friend's baby shower. Tanya C. is expecting a sweet little fellow who will be named Carter. It seemed to be all the rage. This cake will feed about 48 if you are cutting small. It was really sweet. No pun intended.

Princess Olivia

This is my second castle cake and I am over the moon about it. I learned so much from the last go around. I did not use the windows and two turrets on this one. I think it makes for a beautiful cake. I also added a few royal icing plaques that were cute. With this cake there is nowhere to write happy birthday so I created my own space. I love that the castle itself is pink. It really stands out. Before, it just blended into all of the turrets and windows. I kept it simple so that it did not seem to be too busy. Also, the cake had less collateral damage from things being poked into it.

Down on the Farm

How cute is this! Aiden is sure to be a member of the Future Farmers of America with a set of cakes such as these. John Deere - need I say more? His mom wanted the fields to look plowed so I used a special tip and a little brown sugar to do the trick. His mom provided me with the fence, tractor and trees which were too cute. I added a chocolate alligator to the mix for fun. The play cake was cute also. I used royal icing a few days in advance to create the symbol which worked out well.

Wyatt's Puppy Cake

My little Buddy Wyatt requested a dog cake for his birthday. This you man has just gotten his first puppy for his birthday. (A little blond lab) It took me a few minutes to determine how I would approach this dog cake. I wanted it to be special. I completed the bottom sheet cake with borders and used 2 jumbo chocolate cupcakes, turned upside down, to create the dog. I used a 1M tip from Wilton to create the dog's hair, face an tail with brown butter cream frosting. Then I added the eyes, pink tongue and a tiny black ball of fondant to create the nose. I did attend his party and people devoured the cake. It is always nice to overhear people ask where the cake came from and how much they loved it. All the while knowing that you made it and they liked it. It always brings a smile to my face. For me, I love sharing Betty's goodies with the world. It is such an honor. It's all her. Her recipes, techniques. It was the on of the best gifts she has ever given me. I just supply it to the masses.

Dots and Stripes Forever

I LOVE this cake. One of my favorites so far. This cake is composed of a 10 inch and a 6 inch cake. It will serve about 25 people with good portions. I love the girlie look. Pink and green are by far the most popular colors that I deal with for girl cakes. I added a pearl looking detail that really made it pop. I also like doing initial cake. Initials are big right now. I think the simplistic look is great. You don't always have to write happy birthday on something. After all , they know who's birthday it is! I think this cake speaks for itself.

Surf's Up!

One of my favorite customers ordered this cake. Tina C. called me and asked for a surfer cake for her son Ron's birthday. I had never done one before but as you know, I love a challenge. I made the surfboard a few days in advance with royal icing and allowed it to dry. I did the borders in festive summer colors and added the surfboard to the cake. I think the finished product turn out well. Tina had a large party but I know she was hoping to have little cake left over to snack on. It's that the reason we buy birthday cake in the first place - as a front for having spare cake to treat yourself to! :)

HOPPY BIRTHDAY

This weekend was crazy with orders. I did 9 cakes in all. Betty came to help me frost cakes. She left the decorating to me, which was good because she would never freehand a design on a cake. These frogs were drawn by yours truly in an effort to have them matching. It took a good bit of time but I really liked the end result. Jadon's mom, Cindy, seemed to like the look of them when she picked them up. The smaller cake is a "play cake". Parents will request the smaller cake so the children can get the ever popular "hands in the cake" photo. I think that the companion cake is too cute!

Castle Cake

Another first for me! Here is my first castle cake. It was done for a 3 year old little girl. The base is a two-tier cake with butter cream frosting. This cake was also constructed in humid / rainy weather, which made it a little more difficult to complete. Once the layers were done, I added the turrets and allowed them to dry for a while. (They are plastic parts) The top pieces are plastic rolled in frosting, rolled in sugar sprinkles. I think they turned out cute. After everything was put together, I added lots of flowers and vines to complete the castle look. I think it was adorable!

Mother's Day

I did 6 mother's day cakes this weekend in addition to the birthday cake orders I had. That made a total of 12 cakes. It was a busy weekend but I loved every minute of it. Here are a few pictures of mother's day cakes that were made. When I think of mother's day, I think of "the Betty". She is so much more than a grandma. She is my best friend, my teacher, my assistant (when I fall behind schedule with cakes), my traveling buddy, my mentor, my therapist, my cheerleader and so much more. She has no idea how to use the Internet so I know she may never see these words but she has been one of God's great gifts in my life. I let her know how much I love her as often as I can. I encourage you to let those around you know that they are loved because time is a gift. This moment is a gift. Take advantage of it.

Bunco Magic

Here is the highly anticipated Bunco cake ordered by Lisa D. When she called me a few weeks ago, I was up for the challenge. At the time, I did not even know what Bunco was. I thought it was a card game. Silly me. Anyway, she requested pink so I can only imagine that she and her gals play with a set if dice that are pink. I had a good time making this cake but it was tough. It was raining that day. Rain + cake frosting = Doom. Here is a tip from "the Betty". When the humidity is high, make sure you give yourself ample time to place your cake near a fan for drying the butter cream. If you apply a lot of butter cream on a humid day, you get a sweet little landslide. I made the top out of a solid piece of white chocolate dyed pink and the dice spots are white chocolate marbled with pink for extra pizazz. I think it turned out well.

Wilson's Cupcake

This cake was made for Wilson Grant's 1st birthday. His mom Claire, who is too sweet, came up with a cupcake theme. She brought me the cupcake pan and I baked and decorated the cake. It was a challenge because you can't just smooth on the frosting. No mortal man can do it, only someone with super human abilities. Just kidding. I made the color circles with royal icing and added them for some great color. This cupcake is actually a giant 12 inch cupcake but you wouldn't know that unless you saw it in person. It turned out well and she seemed to like it. I also made a large sheet cake that complimented this cupcake cake. It was a challenge but I LOVE a good challenge. Well, I have to run and put some cakes in the oven. I have a big cake weekend. 2 large birthday cakes, 24 cupcakes and 2 mother's day cakes. FUN, FUN, FUN!

Susan's Cute Cake

Let me say that my homemade chocolate frosting is the best. It is my favorite and if you get a chance you should try it. Here is a cake I did for a great friend Susan Todd. It was a surprise birthday party. Boy was she surprised. She and I have birthdays a week apart and she thought she was going to a party for me. (I don't think she wanted to go.) When she got there, she was so shocked and pleased to see all of her favorite people there waiting to wish her well. She did have a great time. Everyone raved over the cake and I had a great time knowing that they enjoyed it. It was not like being puffed and proud but glad that God had given me a gift to share with others. I once asked "Betty" (AKA Grandma) why she started doing cakes and in her wise way, she taught me a life lesson. She told me that she had asked the Lord to bless her with a way that she could serve Him, no matter how great or small. He blessed her with a talent for baking and decorating and she has served him with her gifts ever since. What a life richly lived!

Barnyard Birthday Disaster !!!!

This cake is so cute, right? It has a great story behind it. My niece Kayla was having her 3rd birthday and I had been planning a special cake for her. She is my best baking helper and I wanted her to have a terrific cake for her special day. I had gotten a great cake pedestal to display it on and I used it for the first time with this cake. I had been saving it for a great occasion. I spent a lot of time on the chicks and pigs. There are even little eggs in the chick nest. As I was taking the cake to the car, I twisted my ankle and fell onto the sidewalk. The cake flew out of my hands and onto the ground. The cake plate broke and the cake was everywhere. On top of that, as many know, I hurt my ankle and ended up going to the ER. I was crushed. All I could do is cry. I worked so hard. The only comfort that I had about it was that Kayla and her mom and dad had stopped by to see it earlier in the day. At least she knew that I had made that great cake for her. It was a bad day but weeks later I am getting around fairly well and the pain is minimal. My only regret is that I lost my great cake plate I had so proud of.

Thomas The Train

I got a call from my good friend Susan who requested a Thomas cake for her nephew Zach. He is over the moon about trains. His grandma, Gigi, takes Zach to see the trains every week. I was excited to make him a special cake for his birthday. I must admit, Thomas was a little challenging. It was hard to make him appear 3-D. I got am e-mail from Susan a few days after Zach had his special birthday party at school. She told me how he was so proud of his cake. My favorite part of her e-mail was when she spoke of how he commented that his Aunt Susan had gotten him the "Bestest Birthday Cake Ever!" That is the sum off all of my efforts, my greatest reward-

Guitar Hero

This was a cake for a young man named Ward. His mom needed cake to feed 50 people. I am always up for a challenge but this one was extra challenging. I had gone to a church function the night before the cake was due and stayed out too late. I was finishing up the cake around 1 in the morning. My baby named Corky (a sweet little bulldog with a big hunger for cake) decided to give it a taste test. I had placed it on the table letting it sit while I cleaned the kitchen. When I turned around, she was shamefully licking her lips. You can imagine how I felt. Well, I had to re- bake two cakes and make more frosting. I finished up around 4 AM! I promise, I learned my lesson and now my sweet little angel is never allowed in the kitchen. I must give props to my husband Sid because he had a Guitar Hero guitar for me to use to make a pattern. He also helped me make it through the night to complete the cake. I questioned my commitment to baking due to my lack of sleep and heartbreak. I am proud to say, I made a full emotional recovery!

Beach Party Birthday

I did this cake for my pastor's wife - The lovely Ginny Cox. The shells were a lot of work but so worth the effort. Most people could not believe that they were edible. They were made of white chocolate with shimmer dust. The pearls were fondant. Mrs. Ginny was overwhelmed by it and that was the highlight for me. I was pleased with everone's reactions. It was enough cake for 100 and many people kept coming back for more. It was all eaten. I think that is the highest compliment.