Death and Buttercream

They don't mix, do they?? Today I created this little Mini for a book club.  They were reading a book called The Book Thief, which I have not read, but my understanding of it is that it includes Nazis and stealing, and that it is narrated by Death.  In general, these are things I try to avoid in cake making!
Thankfully, my client Ashley is a low-key kind of lady and didn't mind one bit what was on the cake.  I took advantage and made a modified, scaled down, fondant-less version of a CakeGirls cake that I have wanted to recreate for so very long. Top it off with four necessary book club items (wine bottle, wine glass, reading glasses, and the book itself) and you're good to go! I hope they enjoy it!

Red velvet cake, cream cheese filling,  cream cheese buttercream frosting.

Tinker-berry

Today, I prepared 18 cupcakes for a sweet little girl named Emerson.  She is turning 3, and requested some pretty Tinkerbell cupcakes. Her Aunt Stephanie, who has been a friend of the family since, hmmm..... forever, mentioned strawberry cake.  Strawberry cake is not in my usual repertoire (I think I've had too many scary hot pink not-so-strawberry flavored cakes in the past), so I was excited to see if I could create something even I thought was yummy. It's a rough life, having to test recipes and eat the results!  This batter has almost 2 cups of fresh strawberry puree in it, and it made a world of difference.
I hope little Emerson and her friends enjoy them!  Happy Birthday!!!


Strawberry cupcakes, buttercream frosting, fondant accents.

I Love the 80s

Today I got to deliver a superfun cake for superfun gal named Maureen-- a former co-worker of my husband.  She's turning 25 and wanted to do so in style, so she sent me a request to make a *much* smaller version of something seen on Cake Boss.  Let me tell you, I am certainly no Buddy Valastro!
Still, this was a fun one-- the "spiked collar," the wire topper, even down to the cake itself!  The tiers are alternating layers  of red velvet and butter cake... I hope Maureen gets a picture once it's cut!
Probably my favorite part of this cake is not very visible in these pictures-- Maureen lost her mother to cervical cancer and asked me to turn the exclamation point of "80s Rocks!" into a remembrance ribbon.  Love that!

Have a totally radical party, Maureen! :-)

Micaela's Monogram

Busy cake weekend!  My final order for Saturday was a dozen monogrammed cupcakes for Micaela's 15th birthday.  She sent me a copy of her party invitation so we could match colors, and we decided on these.  She sent me the sweetest note yesterday telling me how happy she and her friends were with them.  Love that!!

Red velvet cupcakes, cream cheese frosting, fondant monograms.

La la la la, Elmo's World!

Today, I was excited to deliver a cake to a sweet little girl named Hope.  She was having an Elmo Extravaganza to celebrate being 2, and from what I saw, they were going to have a blast!  Her mommy, Sarah, had gone all out and had the most adorable decorations and details scattered throughout her house.
Sarah had provided me with the Elmo pan.  It's been a while since I did a cake like this, and I was instantly reminded that, despite appearances, these cakes are probably 10 times harder than the most complex fondant covered cake would ever be! Tricky to bake, tricky to smooth, tricky to get all those stars in the right place... but at the end of the day, little Hope and her family were all quite happy with it.
Happy Birthday!!

Chocolate cake, buttercream frosting

 They also ordered 12 chocolate and 12 vanilla cupcakes-- I added the tiny fondant "Elmos" just for fun!

Wild W.W.I.V.E.S

This evening I had the privilege of reuniting with an old teacher friend.  She had ordered a cake for her Bible study group, and had no other requests besides red velvet and the name of the group.  (She was recently married and has sworn off of decision making for a while.  Wedding planning will do that to you!)  I decided this would be perfect opportunity to create a "mini"-- a small oval cake that serves up to 12.  It's the perfect size for a small celebration, and I hope these ladies enjoy it during their time of fellowship!

Red velvet cake, cream cheese filling and frosting, fondant accents (zebra, purple, and green?  I think I'll call this the "Loulu's Signature!"  :-))