Simple and Elegant

Making this cake was very simple but man, it was the hardest to assemble. I haven't done a cake like this before and I'm not a talent at arranging flowers so this turned out to be more of a challenge than expected. There are a few things I would have done differently knowing what I know now about flowers on cakes but it luckily still turned out pretty. The ribbon looks black in the picture but it's actually a dark brown. The colors for this wedding were gorgeous.

Fair Well Youth!

This cake reminded me that I will be thirty in a few short years (sniffle, sniffle) and I'm starting to think 30 is not so old. Well, this cake was for a gal turning 30 and was to be an over the hill cake. I decided a funeral for her youth would be fun ("youth" is the missing word on the tomb stone in this picture). The black and purple turned out way cool I think. I used my air compressor to paint the bottom tier black. Have I mentioned how much I love that machine yet? It's seriously a must have for cake decorating. Anyway, I'd love to do this cake again in different colors. It was so much fun!

Blue and Brown Baby Boy Blessing

I have wanted to do a baby blessing cake forever for the reason that I would finally have an excuse to buy the booty cutters. I actually made these a couple of weeks ago because I couldn't wait until today to make them. :) I love this cake except my border wasn't supposed to come out looking like a ruffle. I made my royal icing using the exact instructions for the first time and it went flat after I piped it. I guess my instructions work better but it gave it a pretty cute look, luckily. I was also excited to do a BLUE and brown cake instead of pink and brown. Baby boys rock!

Another Ryker Cake

Does this cake look familiar? One of my old friends from high school liked the cake I made for my son's birthday and wanted one just like it for her son and her nephew both turning 2. We switched up the colors a bit so it wasn't identical to the last one and I actually liked this one better. I like to do side non-fondant cakes for the wee-ones because it helps with the fun mess factor. :)

Wedding #2

This is my second wedding cake (I don't count the princess one only because I helped with it. It wasn't my customer). Thank heavens for my clay extruder because I don't know how I would have done this cake without it. This was another order where the bride knew exactly what she wanted. I wasn't quite sure how the teal would look with sunflowers but everything seemed to come together pretty nicely. They did a great job decorating for the reception and the cake went perfect with it. One thing I did learn-my white cake is way easier to do square with than my chocolate. I really like doing the wedding cakes. It's fun to be a part of someones big day and I like meeting all the people.

Orange and Sailor Moon

The girl this cake was for loves the color orange (obviously). That was the easy part of this cake and was the main request. If possible, I was to add Sailor Moon or Musical decor which turned out to be super difficult. I know zilch when it comes to Japanese animation and musicals. I threw around so many ideas. I originally was just going to print out some Sailor Moon pix but I couldn't make it look right in my head with the orange theme. So finally I decided on the little starry night design with a moon. Not exactly "Sailor Moon" but I hope it worked for the birthday girl. I am loving the diamonds. I think that's one of the coolest designs on cakes. And the big 16 on the top was way easier than I thought it would be.

70th Birthday

Another friend of mine at work asked last minute if I could make a cake for her mother turning 70. It was a Hawaiian-themed birthday and she wanted something very simple (yeah for simple!). Now, I know there probably aren't any plumeria's that look like this in Hawaii but I think they're pretty. :) I did a lot better on my writing this time because I found a font on Word and just tried to copy it. Hey, if it works, it works. Oh, and this was my first order for a lemon cake which is one of my favorite flavor's. Delish!

My Son's 1st Birthday

I've been wanting to try a tilted cake forever but I haven't wanted to chance it on a paying customers cake so I thought I'd try it for my own sons birthday and it was way easier than I thought it would be. One reason is because I didn't have to worry about keeping it straight. This was one of my more simpler cakes and it's one of my fave's. I've realized that simple can go a long way. Oh, and we tried a new flavor...chocolate cake with a cookies and cream filling. Yummo! Happy birthday my little love!

Blue and Sliver Graduation Cake

Super fun cake and I love these colors! This was for a brother and sister (twins) graduating high school and the only requirement was that it was square and had the school colors. I was so excited because I've wanted to do the diamond pattern forever and this was the perfect opportunity. I thought it came together nicely and the picture does a great job of hiding the uneven areas. :( These square cakes are so much harder but they turn out so cool. Making cakes can be a lot of work and sometimes I wonder as I'm making it if it's worth it but once it's complete and I get a great reaction like this customer gave me, it's absolutely worth it!

Chocolate Cake Recipe

I tested a handful of chocolate cake recipes and none compared to this one. The only downfall to it is it's so moist, it's hard to decorate. You'll have a hard time trimming it if it isn't frozen. It calls for coffee but I switched that out for prepared hot chocolate. The chocolate taste is pretty strong so if you like it more mild, just use water.

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
2 C white sugar
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C prepared hot chocolate (should not be hot-you can even just add in aprox. 3T hot chocolate powder and then 1 C water)
1 C buttermilk (I never have this on hand so I make it-put 1T distilled white vinegar in measuring cup and then fill with milk until you reach 1 C)
1/2 C Veg Oil
1 tsp vanilla extract (pure vanilla-not imitation-can buy it the cheapest at Costco)

Oven 350. Grease 2-8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, powder, and salt.

Add eggs, hot chocolate, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick clean. Cool on wire rack.

This cake is my most ordered and usually paired with the cream cheese frosting (scroll down to the Easter cake for the recipe) but it would also go well with just plain or chocolate butter cream, chocolate mousse, or even ganache