Sweetbakes

Some of Christmas...more to come

2012-01-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

LOVE this cake!

2012-01-16T21:04:00.000-08:00

Guitar Party Favors

2012-01-16T21:02:00.000-08:00

Over the hill!

2012-01-16T20:58:00.001-08:00

For a 40th Birthday...these were ordered for one of the middle school coaches...her fellow coaches wanted to give her cupcakes the morning of her birthday. And even though I was over scheduled... do I tell my daughters head Basketball coach No, when it is the night before the season starts...I think NOT!

Purple Zebra Birthday

2012-01-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

Loved making this cake and cookies for a little girl turning 5! The cake was White Wedding Almond Cake with a fresh Strawberry Filling and was set to serve 50. The cookies were favors to match.

Graduation cupcakes

2012-01-16T20:50:00.001-08:00

Cupcakes made for a beautiful Grad Girl! The cupcakes were Lemon with a Lemon Curd Filling, and a Chocolate Fudge Cupcake with a raspberry white chocolate filling! Yum!

White Chocolate wonderful!

2011-09-29T18:06:00.000-07:00

A subtle chocolate whisper at first, that ends up smaking you in the after taste... with a smooth sinful White Chocolate burst...or so that is what my girls said!

These cupcakes were for an order of Chocolate Fudge Cake with Raspberry White Chocolate filling. I created a new recipe also.... for a decident White Chocolate Buttercream icing. I made another batch with the same ChocolateFudge Cake but filled it with Chocolate Ganache Filling and topped with the White Chocolate Buttercream.

2011-09-28T22:10:00.001-07:00

Elmo Sugar Cookie for a Sweet Birthday!
Summer Fun Cupcakes. These were a part of a Birthday Party Class....for a beautiful little girl. She chose the designs....I thought they turned out so cute. The girls at the party did an amazing job.

Kung Fu Panda Two Sugar Cookies....(personally I hated this movie) But I thought the cookies were cute! :)

Dear poor neglected blog,

...someday I will be faithful to you again.

I miss you, I have had so many fun and creative adventures without you. I am sorry and promise I will be turning over a new leaf. Starting tonight you will be lifted on my priority list. I may even take you with me in a new direction...posting not only photos, but recipes, personal tips and up-coming events. Here are a few of my latest creations in the kitchen.

Cupcake Class #2

2011-07-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun...all 16 of us! We made "High Top" cupcakes...Chocolate Fudge cupcake with a mountain of homemade marshmallow creme icing and then dipped in chocolate. We also made Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough stuffed cupcakes and then decorated: Tye Dye inside and out, Duff roses, and Sesame Street characters..(.no it doesn't matter how old you are they are still cute)! The best part was spending my time with girls this age! I love that they have so much excitement!

So many Ruffles...so little time

2011-06-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

It is one of my very best friends birthday and I couldn't decide on a flavor or design, so.... I made both:) The Fondant Ruffle Cake is Chocolate Fudge with a Brownie layer and Cream Cheese filling. The Blue ruffles is Butter Pound Cake with White Chocolate and Raspberry filling. Even had a third idea I REALLY wanted to play with but, even I have my limits...she only has one day to eat cake before she goes out of town;)

Bridal Shower cupcakes

2011-06-30T09:29:00.001-07:00

Rainbows!

2011-06-30T09:24:00.001-07:00

The Coolest thing about this cake was that INSIDE was a total rainbow! Each of the EIGHT layers was a different bright color. I really wish I could have seen it when it was cut...Brooke if you read this, send me a photo :)

Huge Bake Sale!

2011-06-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

We are having the 3rd annual Wing Girls Bake Sale this Saturday June 11th at 12 noon until 2pm or while supplies last. Address is 7316 Oak Leaf Drive, Mckinney texas

This is a chance for the girls to experience and business ...I do the baking, they do the selling paper work and keep the money ;)

We are offering the following:

Cupcakes: lemon filled, raspberry filled, Rootbeer Float! and

chocolate peanut butter cup

Cookies: Jamie’s sugar cookies, new york times famous chocolate chip

Cake Ball Truffles: chocolate fudge, raspberry white chocolate, vanilla butter pound cake, and new this year ...cheesecake!

Homemade brownies.

You do not want to miss this! Come and stock up for your cookouts and picnics!

60th wedding

2011-06-06T08:03:00.001-07:00

a 60th wedding anniversary is a very big deal and deserves a big celebration! I made this cake for the party. The cake was a vanilla butter cake filled with raspberry and white chocolate. The cake was covered all in buttercream. Texas summer's mean hot, humid temps and I cannot tell you how much stress was involved thinking about transporting this buttercream 100lb. cake 20 min. to the church! The cake survived...I survived...and I hope the couple enjoyed it.

chocolate Love

2011-06-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

This chocolate fudge cake was filled with dark chocolate ganache and frosted in my favorite cocoa buttermilk icing. I dipped the strawberries and then painted them with gold luster dust. The love was written in white chocolate. It looks small but was actually a tall 10 inch cake.

Happy 60th wedding.

2011-06-04T23:03:00.000-07:00

hand stenciled buttercream on buttercream...fondant is for wimps ;) gumpaste bow and hand made brooches painted and be-dazzeled.

hippy happy birthday!

2011-06-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

So much fun on these cookies...I made 2 dozen for an order and made many more just because I was having a great time with design. I wish I would have been able to get more, and better photos. When I get so tired I decide to skip the photo session and always regret it.

My favorite!

2011-06-04T22:52:00.000-07:00

These were my favorite cookies to date...mostly because of who I made them for! She was so nice and made me feel so happy when she saw them. They were for a wedding rehearsal dinner. So elegant to have them sitting at the place setting. I really like white on white for weddings. And yes EVERY cookie was a little different.

baby shower love

2011-06-04T22:49:00.000-07:00

I love baby showers that do not stick to the typical baby pink and blue. I am a little obsessed with the color turquoise right now so I loved making these!

Royal tea Party you say?

2011-06-04T22:42:00.000-07:00

This cake was made for the best lady in the world. She was throwing a Royal Tea Party birthday for her daughter...and I love them both so I wanted it to be special in every way. The cake is vanilla with raspberry. Everything on this cake was hand made and edible. I painted each jewel and sat painting glitter for way to many episodes of house hunters ;)

lemon..my mom would be proud!

2011-06-04T22:35:00.000-07:00

My entire family...mom, sisters and brother LOVE lemon...me not so much. I made these butter pound cake cupcakes and filled them with a homemade lemon curd, with lots of lemon zest...and topped with crushed lemon heads and my buttercream. I made these for a beautiful lady I know from the Y, she was giving her husband a happy birthday. Mom, it's too bad I live so far away I had lots of extras!

disclaimer...not my cake

2011-05-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

It's not my cake!...Look at the cookies instead :) I helped host a bridal shower with some friends. The cake was beautiful and donated by another friend of the bride...everything about it matched perfect. I made the cookies..sugar, new york chocolate chip, mini lime cheesecake bites and Parisian lime macaroons....I do not even want to tell you how long I spent on the macaroons. It was my first attempt and I'm not even sure anyone ate any of them? I even made a lime zest buttercream filling... Why do people make macaroons? I had so many other great ideas for this event but had to use so much self control...because as tonight I am down to just 3 hours of sleep before I get up and get 4 kiddos up and going, then run off to teach aerobics . Darn sleep...

showing off my counters ;)

2011-05-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

I am in love with my new kitchen...isn't my granite pretty...and the marble is a HUGE cutting board they made me just for my sugar cookies and baking needs...love it! These cupcakes were for a 3 year old fairy princess birthday party. The crown was made out of fondant...small cake just for the birthday girl. I think this is the perfect way to celebrate a little person's birthday. Cupcakes are fantastic.... but the small personal cake makes it special just for the birthday girl.

Thoughtful Birthday...

2011-05-18T23:53:00.000-07:00

I hope my husband loves me as much as this man must love his wife. He wanted a special cake for her...he went to a bunch of trouble getting ahold of me to make the cake (busy...too busy!) and then would make his follow up calls in the car on his way to work so that he could surprise her on her birthday. I had a great time making the cake knowing how much thought he had put into her day. The cake was simple but I loved the color combo and thought it was perfect for a birthday surprise..

cupcakes!

2011-05-18T23:28:00.000-07:00

A cupcake sample chocolate fudge with a Cocoa Buttermilk Frosting, Italian Cream, Vanilla Pound Cake...

another quick look...

2011-04-08T23:23:00.001-07:00

Chocolate Love

2011-02-27T23:47:00.000-08:00

By far the richest most deserved cake I have ever made. I made this creation for the best lady ever. The cake was butter pound cake with a layer of mocha brownie, filling was cheesecake mousse and chocolate chip ganache. The entire cake was then iced with the ganache and topped with original See's chocolates...

a friend named "Taco"

2011-02-27T23:43:00.000-08:00

Bad camera ...Cute cupcakes. I made these for my daughters friend lovingly nick named "Taco" it was her birthday...her favorite color is purple and they are topped with edible fondant "tacos". I wish I would have taken better pictures...the taco shells were awesome, even had flecks to resemble the real corn tortillas. The meat was brownie, cheese was coconut...and the rest was fondant....my daughter made me add the "bean dip and chip" at the side of the taco...

once there was a blog named sweetbakes..

2011-02-27T23:31:00.000-08:00

And then she was busy...but alas I am back and really want to keep this blog updated and refreshed so get ready! First off the best Christmas ever and just a few hints of why it was so great...

A perfect two year old birthday...She LOVES M&M's... and she was so excited about the cake. She just kept taking handfuls of M&M's off of the top as we sang to her. A the cinderella doll...Oh how she loves Belle and Cinderella! She is so much fun!

a little peak of what I have been up too...

2010-12-21T23:22:00.001-08:00

Here is just a tid-bit of what I have been keeping myself busy with...there is oh so much more....I am so blessed and am having so much fun at this time of year...I do love to bake...have I said that before?

These cookies and cake and cake balls were done for one of the cutest mom's of all time...a first birthday party. Everything she did matched and was fantastic! Cake is buttercream with a hand stencil design on both the cake and the 4 dozen cookies! (8 dozen if you count the mini cookies in the shape of 1 that I did)

Simple gingerbread...But I love it. Just tonight I made another batch and this time I dipped the backs in chocolate.

A great big order of Christmas cookies (5 dozen)...and tonight I made a double batch to decorate for myself and my truest friend. I am going to do the next round in non-traditional colors...can't wait. Also tonight I made toffee and my hand dipped See's chocolates Butterscotch squares. Hopefully I will get to share some with you! :)

a new favorite..

2010-11-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

I love this cake...the picture is a cake halfway done, before I finished the last details....I also added glitter disco dust, a bottom border with some roses and custom writing on the top. I then proceeded to forget to take a final picture...I love the design and anything with black and white with pops of color makes me happy! The picture is so deceiving...the cake was very tall and weighed a ton.

baby oh baby shower

2010-11-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

This is my new favorite baby shower cake! I found a new technique for doing the rosette buds...I love it. A little bit of whimsy just the way I like it.

1st birthday lady bug...

2010-11-04T23:24:00.000-07:00

I Love to do cupcakes...all of the fun none of the stress. These were funfetti cake with a strawberry buttercream filling.

a sneak peak....

2010-10-17T22:47:00.001-07:00

yes...I still bake...

2010-10-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

I am still baking...but apparently not blogging! Here are just a few of the baking adventures I have been up to. I keep saying, "when I have a min. I will sit down and catch up my blog"...and then I turn around and it has been 2 months! I also have found that because of a shift in priorities as of late that I am baking and then not even taking any pictures! My newest favorite to bake is a ...Banana chocolate streusel bundt cake...The kids are over the moon every time I make it and it has wholesome ingredients all through it! I will post the recipe...when I get a min..... :)

Remember me?

2010-08-01T22:54:00.000-07:00

h Yeah I'm the girl that once kept up with a blog....and then I went on a very needed month long holiday with my little people. Laughter, crying, yelling, screaming, hugging, loving and 5,534 miles later I am back! I plan on uploading some fun things I did right before I left of my adventures...and my first cake back is set to happen this Saturday :)

I am not sure where I will be going this next year with the whole cake decorating..aerobic teaching...class taking, mommy being, life living...happiness finding....home decorating...friend making...wife loving,.... person I plan on exploring...but its gotta be good right?

U of A!

2010-06-05T20:30:00.001-07:00

The BIG upload

2010-06-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

So I have been busy...very busy ...but have not posted any of the pics....

In random order here are some of the cakes I have been working on.

Great Big Volleyball sugar cookies

2010-05-23T21:52:00.001-07:00

pinkalicious!

2010-05-23T21:47:00.000-07:00

Pinkalicious Cupcakes for a birthday party...the photos did not turn out well because of terrible lighting, but the cupcakes turned out cute...funfetti with strawberry butter cream.

If every birthday...

2010-05-19T20:45:00.000-07:00

Oh...if every birthday could be our first! I did this cupcake-cake for a friend, her granddaughter was turning one. It was actually my first ever cupcake-cake and I LOVED it! I was so nervous about starting it...and it turned out to be fun! They were hosting the party at an exotic petting zoo type place. I think every birthday should be celebrated all out...hear that Husband.....(someones birthday is in a few weeks)... ;)

Did you miss the Bake Sale?

2010-05-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

Then we will see you next year! :)

Wedding shower

2010-05-10T21:18:00.001-07:00

I am so happy with this cake...because you see this is the second version...the first cake was done under complete stress and instead of just letting it be...I kept trying to make it perfect. I kept trying until I finally pulled all of the icing off three times and started over...only to finally crumble the whole thing in my fist in a childish fit! I then stayed up all night baking a new 3 layers of cake and decorating :)

baby shower love

2010-05-10T21:14:00.001-07:00

Wing Girls 2nd Annual Bake Sale!

2010-05-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Wing Girls are having their 2nd annual bake sale! This Saturday May 8th at 8 am until 11:30....or until supplies last. The girls put alot of work into this bake sale...

as a creative adventure, and also a way to earn money for their summer camps.

The girls will be selling:

Cake ball truffles

Caramel Brownies

Toffee Brownies

Cupcakes

M & M cookies

Peanut Butter Cookies

The Famous New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sugar cookies with Butter cream icing

Rice Krispie Treats

And the little guy will have his lemonade stand again :)

We would love to see you...if you need my address just e-mail me at geotulip@yahoo.com .

Somebody has been eating cookies...

2010-05-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

I have discovered that the pickiest eater on earth LOVES my sugar cookies! Can you say dinner?

new cookie design

2010-05-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

I have a new design for baby shower cookies....I love the little flower faces :) I think I will put together a baby shower set including both the new flower faces and the baby buggy. The set will also include the onsie and some others I am currently working on. I thought if I put together some sets you can order them as gifts for the new mom's and families....some ideas that I am working on.

To each thier own...or you have got to smile

2010-04-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

My dear sweet daughter turning 12 this past week let it be known well in advance that she, "Did NOT want me to make her a cake!" In fact she REALLY wanted a "store" bought cake from Costco. Ok and fine...less work for me...maybe when she is 35 years old she will appreciate my homebaked goodness :) Like the wonderful Oat bran and psyllium bran muffins I made to celebrate TAKS testing in the morning!

Bridal Shower Invite

2010-04-27T21:57:00.000-07:00

The back view of the cake

The top of the cake

The front view of the cake

I did this cake to match a bridal shower invitation. The cake was wedding white almond, with raspberry white chocolate filling. The cake was covered in buttercream and the accents were fondant. My sweet little Martha Stewart daughter was sitting next to me the whole time I decorated the cake and she made the most detailed 2 tiered cake all out of fondant...with the same flowers that I used on this cake ...and because I am a bit of a cleaning freak and hate clutter...I threw it away and I neglected to take a picture of it! Sometimes it would probably be ok to leave things on the counter for just a day or so!

baby boy knox

2010-04-22T19:32:00.000-07:00

I made this cake VERY late one night...in fact the night of the Ice Skating birthday party....I really liked the way it turned out. Ribbon roses are one of my most favorite things!

double decker cookie cake

2010-04-22T19:28:00.000-07:00

My sweet 10 year old wanted a double decker cookie cake to take to school and share with her class. I made the cookies and she did all of the rest. She designed and frosted the cookie cake herself!

Birthdays!

2010-04-22T19:13:00.000-07:00

My daughter #2 really wanted me to make her a cake...unlike daughter #1 who specifically requested, "NOTHING homemade, I want a Costco cake!" Anyway daughter #2 designed this cake after one I had done previously and was so happy with it. The cake was Chocolate fudge chip, with one layer of vanilla butter. The filling was Chocolate fudge...she is my daughter after all.

I made the tiara's...yes, I said tiara's because I always make at least 2 in the case of a mishap. Well, I took these first pictures and decided I should put the cake on the cake stand... I had not "glued" down the tiara with frosting yet...and the tiara made it to the ground in a million pieces. I was so sad because I had let daughter #2 pick out her favorite of the two....however the differences were very slight and we all were still happy.

Her party was at the Ice Skating Rink for 50's night...and among other contest there was a milk shake eating contest....and guess who won 2nd place...even to surpass grown men! My tiny little 10 year old....After downing a full McDonald's Milk shake in minuets she was not even able to eat more than a tiny bite of her cake that night. But no fear she had it for dessert every night for the next week!

What happens..

2010-04-22T19:05:00.000-07:00

So alot of this has been happening around here lately...when your #4 and mom stays busy...you learn to adapt even if you are the princess of the house!

Cupcake

2010-04-12T15:00:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to help a friend out with her daughters birthday party. She decided to have a cake decorating party...it was cheaper than flying to meet "Duff" :)

I made 9...yes 9, 6inch cakes for her. I torted and filled the cakes ahead of time and then had them boxed and ready to decorate. I then showed the girls how to ice a cake, and "play" with fondant. They learned how to decorate with polka dots, ribbons, bows, ribbon roses, and leafs. The girls were so sweet and they did an awesome job! The cakes looked fantastic and I will have to ask her mom for a copy of a picture to post. This is the cake I made for the party...the 11 year old designed it herself...

Birthday Boy

2010-04-11T22:41:00.001-07:00

My little guy turned 7! I am so happy to have him in my life. He is absolutely amazing...he is beautiful, kind, sensitive and the smartest little person you will ever meet. He has endless passion for life, and the energy to match it. I love being around him and I am so grateful to be his mom. I made him this basketball cake...he is obsessed with basketball. I had so many other things going on during this time that I was only able to give a sliver of effort into the cake...I did not even start on it until midnight the night before...but he didn't noticed and loved the cake anyway.

Easter Cupcakes

2010-04-11T22:35:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes were Vanilla butter and chocolate fudge...the dirt is Oreo and the bunny feet are made out of fondant....the tails were fun..we painted mini marshmallows with corn syrup and then rolled them in non-perils.

Camo

2010-04-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

This is in buttercream! I had a great time figuring out how to make this camo come out...I was happy with it, and hope that the sweet girlfriend to hunter Michael liked it also :)

Blessed!

2010-04-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

Why have I not found time to post pictures of all of my latest cake and cookie creations.....Oh...Yes, my blessings:) I am so Thankful to be a mommy! I find myself tired and frustrated that I do not get more done each day, and then nights like tonight when I sit and snuggle and smell and love my sweet little baby that is growing up too fast...everything begins to fade and I remember what brings true happiness and Joy into my life...these little blessings.

I Phone

2010-03-31T21:26:00.001-07:00

It has been awhile! Not that I have not been baking...but I did have about 1 week off of orders and it was strange...I actually slept almost 7 hours a night for a whole week! The sinus medicine helped that...I had a terrible experience with vertigo...I hope you never experience that for your self! Now I am back in full force. I made the cutest rainbow cupcakes for my kids. I made the cake 7 different layers of color, and then did a tie-die colored frosting but alas...I never took a picture! Bad blogger. I have also made the kiddos peanut butter cookies, and browned butter chocolate chip cookies.... this is a big deal because between the orders, my own need for rice crispy treats, and trying to keep their sweets intake at bay, it had been a very long while since I had made them some good 'ole' mommy chocolate chip cookies. They LOVED them and didn't even know they were made out of whole wheat pastry flour and natural unsweetened peanut butter :)

Now on to the I Phone. I made this cake for a friend. It was her son's birthday and he was requesting an I Phone...isn't she a fun mom! The picture she showed me was a beautiful edition of this cake but they had used an edible printer...which I have none....so I did my best with using a technique of butter-cream transfer. I hope that he liked it and eats cake for breakfast every day this week :)

pictures do not do justice..

2010-03-15T20:53:00.000-07:00

I Loved this cake and was so excited to post it...and then I saw my horrible photography skills in action. The pictures really do not do this cake justice...it turned out so cute. It was for a combined baby shower, one lady was having a girl, and the other a boy. The cake(of course) was chocolate fudge with a chocolate oreo cream cheese filling...yeah...pregnant ladies remember :)

loved this

2010-03-12T22:13:00.000-08:00

OK so I loved, loved, loved this cake...mostly because I HATED it at first. It gave me such a headache in the beginning and I kept second guessing my ideas...but in the end I LOVED the design. It was for a girl turning 12. She is a cutie to the extreme and she plays "Mad Frog" club volleyball (hence the mad---frog!) she also is always fashionably set and so I tried to capture all of these things in a cake for her.

sneak peek purse...

2010-03-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

Hand-painted leopard print hand bag purse....so fun to make...structure is rice crispy treat, covered in fondant...and then hand painted with food coloring gels and edible dust. More to come the cake was a vision in my head...to match the sweetest 12 year olds hobbies.

Bright Butterfly

2010-03-05T20:33:00.000-08:00

This is a cake that I did today for a 17 year olds birthday surprise. The mom described the girl as loving bright colors, fun, drives a VW Bug, and wanted butterflies on it. I really liked this cake. It turned out busy, but in a good way I think. My favorite part was the butterflies, I made them out of chocolate. The cake was Wedding white almond with butter cream filling. Boy, it takes a LONG time to color that many shades of fondant.

polka dot

2010-03-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

This is the Polka Dot cake that I did to match the cupcakes and cookies for the Ice Cream Party. The cake was Chocolate Fudge Cake with chocolate cream cheese filling.

ice cream, you scream..

2010-02-28T22:08:00.000-08:00

The pictures do not do these cookie justice...they turned out SO cute! I loved them. I could not find an ice cream cookie cutter anywhere in Texas , and did not have time to order one, so I hand cut each cookie. You can not see it from the picture but the cherries on top were so cute. It made me want to shellac them and keep them in my glass jar :)

Its all in the details..

2010-02-28T21:56:00.000-08:00

I did this set of cupcakes to match a cake and cookie order....The occasion was a 4 year old's birthday. The mom was doing an ice cream themed party...but not just an ice cream party. This women knew how to throw a party. She had centered the "scape" around these colors and made the most fantastic dessert buffet table. I absolutely loved her style. I think the charm is always in the small details, the one that can take something average into extraordinary. In my next life...I'm going to cater parties like this...and open my bakery....and cater "come to you" cake/cookie decorating birthday parties....ya...time...The cupcakes were from scratch, vanilla vanilla cake with butter cream icing and fondant polka-dots and fondant cherries...rolled in sanding sugar and jimmies.

baby boy blue

2010-02-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

The cake was Vanilla almond with a raspberry and white chocolate filling...one of my favorite. You can not see it well in the picture but I used the disco dust on some of the chocolate details...I LOVE that stuff.

Teachers Birthday

2010-02-26T16:43:00.000-08:00

I made this cake for my daughters school teacher. The cake was 2 layers of chocolate fudge, and 1 layer of vanilla butter...I then layered it with chocolate cream cheese fudge. I wanted her to be able to have a small cake to take home and share with her husband. The design was simple...but I just loved it. Purple is her favorite color. The cupcakes were for her class...both vanilla and chocolate fudge. I doubt those 4th graders appreciated the rich, natural, fresh ingredients or the time I spent making them...do you think they can even tell the difference between grocery store and mine?...I know that my kiddos can..my Emily always comments on store bought, "mom, all that I could taste was shortening and powdered sugar" makes a mom proud :)

Smile Pretty

2010-02-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

Guess what...my daughter got her braces off! She looks beautiful! To celebrate I made these cookies for her orthodontist, I also gave some to my friend the dentist who gave me the cookie cutter. It just so happened that I also received an order for 20 smiles with braces for another Orthodontist office that same day :) I really liked the way they turned out.

Rolling in Sugar

2010-02-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

More sugar cookies from this past week. I had so much fun with the onsies! She did not find out if she was having a boy or a girl....Whats my guess? A girl....

Traditions

2010-02-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

Every year when I was a kid my mom ordered or bought (depending on the craziness of her life) A gigantic sugar cookie. I loved it and wanted to set the tradition up early for my kids. The only down part is that I love to make the cookie...see their happy reaction, but then as a mom who constantly tries to uphold a "healthy" clean food life style...I never want them to eat the entire ginormous cookie!....I am happy to report it seems as though they have caught on to the moderation in all things better than me :) They have put the cookies in Tupperware and have only eaten a very reasonable cookie sized portion a day...as a kid I assure you I had the whole thing gone in a day and a half!

Playing around

2010-02-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

So husband spent the entire weekend having NBA fun...I had left over cookie dough and icing...and so what was I going to do...PLAY. My favorite way to decorate a cookie, the middle of the night, no rules...just creative fun. This is what i came up with.

cupcake polka dot!

2010-02-16T21:33:00.000-08:00

Love these cupcakes...Strawberry and butter cream on the pink, and Chocolate fudge with chocolate fudge frosting on the other. I topped the strawberry with a fondant birthday wish...and the chocolate was topped with a dark chocolate disk.

Bling Bling

2010-02-10T19:44:00.000-08:00

This is a cake I did today for a little girl...I think she is turning 10 tomorrow. The thing I loved about this cake, is that her mom wanted so much for her little daughter to be happy and surprised with it. She had a list of things that she wanted on the cake....and it was only a 6 inch cake. I squeezed as much of the list as I could onto the cake. You know when you meet a mom that has the love for her kiddos seeping from every pore? This is that mom. It made it fun to make all of the little make-up and jewels. I also got a new product that I was playing around with. It's called Disco Dust and it is basically edible glitter....with real pizazz. You can not really see it in my terrible photography but it is on the "jewels". I loved it! I am sure you will be seeing more and more of it.

The actual cake was Chocolate Fudge with a Chocolate cream cheese mousse filling. My favorite part of the cake was the jewels randomly placed in the border. Now I'm off, I've got 55 cookies to cut out and bake for tomorrow...onsies and crowns....

Another Olivia!

2010-02-10T19:39:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun making cookies for a sweetie named Olivia...and not my Olivia! This Olivia also wanted crowns and cupcakes for her birthday favor. I can't say it to much I really love making cookies...none of the temperament of a cake and all of the fun of the creating.

Party like your 12!

2010-02-05T20:29:00.000-08:00

My daughters best friend turned 12 today. Of course to celebrate my kiddo wanted to make her a cake....She baked the cake, made the filling, and even was in charge of the zebra stripes. (I cut them and guided her on where to place them) It was also her idea for the make-up and color scheme....however, it was me who stayed up until 2 AM finishing the details along with my Mavs cake. ...and then doing the clean-up. I love this birthday girl like my own so I didn't mind :) I also made her these birthday cookies...I like the idea of the birthday cake cookie with the candles and will have to play around with that design some more.

Go Mavs...

2010-02-05T20:09:00.001-08:00

So yes, I am swimming in flour and sugar! This is a cake I made for a birthday boy. They were going to a Mavs game. The cake was Chocolate Fudge with a Cookies and Cream filling. I iced the cake in buttercream and used fondant for the details. The basketball was made out of rice crispys. I textured the fondant on the ball to resemble an actual b-ball and then "painted" it with food coloring to try and re-create leather. And guess what...the Mavericks logo on the ball is piped by me, with butter cream! I used a technique called butter-cream transfer. You basically print out the image in a mirror image and then pipe it backwards and freeze. After about 10 min. the image can be peeled from the wax paper and placed on the cake. Fun!

Love This!

2010-02-05T13:23:00.001-08:00

A Sneak Peek

2010-02-04T23:07:00.001-08:00

Just a quick sneak peek at this years Valentine cookies....it is after 1 am and I have to get some sleep... 58 cookies decorated and bagged, check. 10 inch basketball court and ball baked and iced, check. 8inch diva its my birthday and I'm 12 cake baked, decorated and ready, check. Running for an hour, check. Yoga for an hour, check. Clean house, check. Dinner for kiddos, check....sleep hummm when is that supposed to happen exactly?

singles, doubles...love

2010-01-29T20:03:00.000-08:00

I made this cake for a lady wanting to surprise her husband for his birthday. I see them together all the time and they seem so happy and in love...The cake was chocolate fudge with a decadent chocolate fudge filling...I literally melted the finest chocolate I could buy, and poured it into the filling base...Yum! I hope he enjoyed it with a bug scoop of vanilla ice cream! The cake was covered in butter-cream icing...Yes butter-cream...pretty smoooth if I do say so myself. I had extra batter and so I made the cupcakes just for fun.

Happy 29th ;)

2010-01-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

I made this cake for a friend at the gym. She is the Queen of the gym, everyone knows her, and loves her...she is not to be messed with...Don't you go standing in her spot in class, or spending to much time on her elliptical.... or she WILL MAKE YOU MOVE :) I knew that she needed a crown. I really enjoy her and wanted her to feel special on her day.

Oh Baby Boy!

2010-01-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

I made this cake for a baby shower. The cake came on a week when I had a million reasons why I should be laying in bed doing nothing...but alas time does not just stop when we want it to...unless your 1 year old and you rule the house ;)

The cake was to be a 10 inch on the bottom, and a 6 inch on the top. The dimensions were this, however...it morphed beyond control. This cake turned out HUGE! In part because I made a triple layer for both the 10inch, and the 6 inch. I also torted all layers to put in extra filling layers. It was heavy. The flavors were Vanilla Almond with butter-cream on the bottom, and Chocolate Fudge Cake with a Chocolate Fudge Toffee Crunch filling on the 6 inch. I really love this teddy bear cake. I was a bit skeptical when she said turquoise but ended up loving the color combo.

A Year!

2010-01-09T19:35:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not my sweet baby Olivia has turned one today! I have heard it said a million times but feel it so much...."Time goes to fast...enjoy your babies!" I am so blessed beyond mention for my 4 sweet children. Olivia has been the best thing that could have ever happened to our family. I made her a birthday spread in the theme of Mary Englbreit whom I think is so fun and whimsical. I love the way the cookies turned out....The cake on the other hand...because of the constant heater running in the house, the buttercream dried out a little while I was decorating it and cracked in a few places. I could have solved this by adding 2x more shortening to the recipe...however because my family and friends were going to be eating this cake....I opted to keep it less greasy tasting. All and all it was a wonderful celebration of a little life only 1 year new...I can't wait to see what the next year will bring us!

Pastel Cupcake Cookies

2010-01-09T16:58:00.000-08:00

Cupcake cookies are so fun to make..the possibilities are endless. These were for a little girl turning 3. The mom requested pastel colors...and I did a number three cookie to out in the bag.

This Years Edition of Christmas Cookies

2009-12-08T21:18:00.000-08:00

Really.... having a baby in the house I did not think these would get done this year...but alas the church cookie exchange was calling my name.....

Go Cubs!

2009-12-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

I just LOVE baby showers....I think that it does not matter whether or not it is your 1st baby or your 7th you deserve a party! The excitement of the approaching birth and also to celebrate and honor the MISERY that comes hand in hand with every pregnancy. I remember all to clear how different and at times (or all the time for me last year) miserable tired and yucky you feel. I also remember the sheer joy and overwhelming sense of wonder and gratitude you feel. All of this entitles you to a HUGE Big Deal Party! I got a chance to make some treats for a friend from the gym. They are THE cutest group of girls and are not only teachers (love teachers) but also so nice and fun. She loves the cubs apparently, and that was the theme of the shower. She is having a baby boy right around the time I was due with Olivia. These cup cakes were a new recipe I tried..YUMMY they were Chocolate Chip Cookie dough filled cupcakes with a chocolate chip cookie dough buttercream icing...I can give you the recipe if you want it.....I also thought they needed more chocolate...pregnant remember.....so I did an Oreo Fudge cupcake with a cream filling......needless to say the husband was glad there were a few extra this time!

Volleyball Cookies

2009-11-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

Yes! Volleyball Season is over! I am so happy to free up some of our schedule. I made these cookies for my girls teams. They were playing their year end tournament...and guess what...they both took the championship! I was so happy for them. The girls worked hard this season and I wanted to help them celebrate with their friends. I made the cookies 3D with the volleyball made of a smaller cookie attached. I did the cookies in the team colors...one is a darker blue and the other is turquoise. You would be amazed how hard it actually is to make that little ball really look like a volleyball!

quick cake

2009-11-20T20:38:00.000-08:00

I did this pink polka dot cake for a friend...she was hosting a baby shower. The cake smelled divine...it was a wedding butter almond cake with a whipped chocolate ganache filling...to die for.

I actually have been craving cake...weird for me.... and it was hard not to take a piece:)

It is iced in butter-cream and the decor is chocolate fondant.

Halloween Cookies 09

2009-10-31T19:58:00.000-07:00

This years Halloween Cookies! I had an order for 40 cookies and had a great time decorating them. I decided as long as I was making the cookies, I would double everything and make a bunch for teachers, my senior aerobic class, and friends. Ok just so you get the idea of how much cookies I actually made, rolled out and baked...the sugar cookies alone took 12 cups of flour! That does not even count the Chocolate Sugar dough, which I also doubled...of the 4 batches of royal icing...but I really and truly LOVE decorating cookies and had a great time....only 4 hours of sleep both nights...but all in good fun:)

Cupcake Fun

2009-10-31T19:39:00.001-07:00

I wanted to let the kiddos decorate some cupcakes for Halloween, and I also wanted to try out some new cupcake recipes and idea's. I started with the "Cookie Dough" cupcake. Very easy but YUMMY. You start with a Yellow Cake batter (your favorite recipe or box mix made) fill each cupcake liner 2/3rds of the way. Take chocolate chip cookie dough rolled into small cookie dough balls( about the size of a large marble) and put in the cupcake middle. Top with additional 1/3rd batter, and bake according to recipe. These will give you a yummy surprise chocolate chip cookie filling. If you want to freeze the cookie dough balls before you place into the cupcake batter it will stay doughy and give you a gooey (in a good way) filling. try it.

For the second cupcake I made Martha's (you know my good friend Martha Stewart...ya were close like that) Chocolate Graham Cupcakes....oh my think smore's!

You basically make a graham cracker crust, line your cupcake liners with it then add shaved chocolate layer and bake for 5 min. You then make a chocolate cupcake batter from scratch and pour over your graham layer....ya, yummy...then sprinkle with more graham crumbs and chocolate and bake......oh my! She has the recipe on her web site and also in her Cupcakes book. They were awesome and well worth the effort. You do not even need icing...however I wanted to play around with the fondant ghosts and smore's toppings...

Pumpkin Cheesecake Magic Bars

2009-10-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

I came across this recipe on the blog http://www.picky-palate.com/ and knew that I had to try it. It is a combination of a cheesecake bar and magic cookie bars (which if you know me at all know that magic cookie bars are my all time favorite treat!) I also love pumpkin, and I really like cheesecake bars...yet HATE cheesecake...weirdo I know... Luckily I had an event to bring a treat to and so I made the bars. Did I love them?....no...sadly they will not even make my "will make again list" but you still might love them. I think that I did not love them because they are closer to a cheesecake than anything else. Jump on over to her site and check out the recipe in Octobers archives. She has some VERY decadent looking recipes.

Fall Y'all

2009-10-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

I made these fun, whimsy fall cookies just because! I haven't done that in a while, it was so fun just to be creative. I actually made them to take with me to Utah, I thought because I was flying I could bring my mom and sisters some of my baked goods that I never get to share with them. I loved the color combo's and I will be doing some more of these, along with fall leaves and turkeys. And I will of course be doing some fun Halloween cookies soon. I have been baking...but very lazy about taking pictures and posting. I made Zucchini Bread twice, Apple Cobbler and Cinnamon rolls....You have to love fall. Next on my list is PUMPKIN!

Baked out..

2009-09-13T21:32:00.001-07:00

White Almond cake with Raspberry filling and cream cheese butter cream frosting.....2 dozen for an order and the rest....for my kids

Strawberry cake with NO FILLING!...boys are weird :) I put pureed strawberries into the cake to make it taste even better....I thought it would have been so great with a cream cheese filling and fresh sliced strawberries, but alas he requested NO FILLING...and it was his birthday!

Wedding cake cookies...each with it unique design for a bridal shower favor. They looked pretty bagged and tied with a "plum" ribbon...yes I had to search 3 stores to find the right "plum" ribbon!

This weekend I have made and decorated..2 dozen cookies, 2 dozen cupcakes, a cake...2 kinds of brownies, rolls, cake ball truffles, homemade ice cream....Okay so all of it was not necessarily a must...(brownies :) (wink) (ice cream) But enough to make me tired of looking at my kitchen, and tired of doing dishes...speaking of, I just bought the most fabulous set of nesting glass bowls at Costco...25 bowls all different sizes...so cute..and they were only $20.00 bargain....but I digress....

I have made an executive decision to put cake decorating on hold for a while...I will still do cupcakes and decorated sugar cookies if someone asks...but cakes..no not now. My life is crazy busy, with 4 kiddo's all with their own schedules...Olivia's being the most demanding :) and teaching fitness classes, and the 4th graders harder than conceivable homework...and on and on I have decided that it is just not my season for doing cakes anymore...I do love it and will continue at some other time...but for now it just does not feel right anymore. That being said I will continue with this blog..... with the intent to post recipes and "creations" as was my intention all along. The blog sort of morphed into just my cakes...and I am excited to start posting more recipes and other creations again.

The recipes being featured will not all be sugary delights...yes, believe it or not I have evolved my taste buds a bit... and even went without a grain of sugar for more than 3 months this summer! I totally believe in moderation in all good things and will try to post some of my crazy healthy creations...as well as the most decadent treats imaginable...which brings me to these delights..MAKE THIS! (homemade ice cream to come next!)

Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cup quinoa -uncooked

2 1/2 cups water

6 Tb orange juice

2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 clove garlic

2 ears fresh corn on cob (cut)

1/2 c scallion sliced

1/2 c red peppers diced

2 Tbs diced red onion finely chopped

1 avocado diced

1 tomato diced

Bring water to boil, add quinoa and return to boil. Add salt and reduce heat, simmer 18 minutes. Take of heat, fluff with fork, place in bowl and let cool in refrigerator. While cooling saute onion garlic and corn until caramelized, set aside. Mix juices, vinegar and salt together. When Quinoa is cooled add dressing and all other vegetables. SO HEALTHY AND SO YUMMY!

Loved, Loved, Loved this cake

2009-08-29T21:18:00.000-07:00

Okay it is rare that I get to do a cake that has a sophisticated flare to it... Usually it has everything to do with kiddos and fun, but this weekend I was asked to do a cake in a black and white theme for a birthday. First off I love black and white..so that made it a fav right from the beginning. The cake itself was Butter Yellow Cake with a Whipped Chocolate Ganache Filling. I covered the cake in butter cream and then did all of the detail work in chocolate fondant. I made the flowers all out of fondant, and then painted them with luster dust. The bow is also out of fondant. I wanted the back of the cake to be as pretty as the front so there is a flower on both sides. I loved the little pearls and wanted to put them randomly on the sides of the cake at the end of the paisleys...however my little critics (daughters) said, "mom, it looks good how it is...less is more.. just stop!" so I left them off...if it were my cake I would have put them on. I really hope she liked the cake as much as I did.

I always think that someday I am going to make all the "sophisticated, sassy cakes" that I have in my head , just to play around...I would love to just experiment with trying the new techniques, or ideas that I have floating around in my head.....it was fun to be able to do this one:)

Little Einsteins

2009-08-29T21:12:00.000-07:00

This week I was able to experiment with some Little Einstein Rocket Ship cookies. I had no idea what I was going to do to fit the theme. I decided on the rocket ship and then had to hand cut out each shape and decorate free hand..... I really, really LOVE to do sugar cookies! I forget how much I love to create. Sometime cakes can stress me out because cake and butter cream can be so unpredictable...some times its perfectly smooth and sometimes it turns out a crumby mess...but with cookies its never about the stress for me just about the creating part...I LOVE it!

Hello Kitty

2009-08-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to a special little girl who had so many things in common with my sweet little Olivia...for starters her name was Olivia!...she was 7 weeks premature and ended up being from my neighborhood! I really hope she had a wonderful 4th Birthday. The cake was done in a 9 inch base with a 4 inch cake stacked on top. The flavors were Chocolate Fudge with a Chocolate cream cheese mousse filling...can you say YUM. I really REALLY wanted a piece of this cake. I am not sure if its because I do not eat sugar very often anymore, or if it was just a very yummy combination but the smell, and sights of this cake had me dreaming of cake last night. The cake was frosted in butter cream and the details were all made of fondant...yes even the Hello Kitty.

Penguin Party

2009-08-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Yeah for something new! I am always so excited when I get a request for something totally new that I haven't tried before. This weekend was just that...a Penguin Party Cake. A sweet little girl was turning 3 years old and loves penguins. The cake was Chocolate Fudge with a Cookies and Cream filling. The "glacier" was made out of rice krispie treats and covered in fondant that I hand painted with pearl luster dust. The penguins were all sculpted in fondant. I also made all of the glass candy to look like ice. The glass candy was a fun way to work with sugar, I think I will start to work with sugar in more ways, I really like the dimension it gives the cakes. I would love to try the hand blown bubbles I have seen them do on the Food Network....

Life's a Beach Baby!

2009-07-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

Really another beach cake? Yes! But everyone has been a little different. This was for one of daughter #1's great friends. She was having her party at a water park with a beach theme...or so was the plan :) (it rained cats and dogs all day long...) They had a great time despite and hopefully enjoyed the cake. This cake was chosen by the girl..and I was happy to try something new. The cake was Strawberry Cake with a Vanilla Cream Cheese filling along with Strawberry glaze. I also made her Strawberry Cake Ball Truffles dipped in Milk Chocolate and drizzled with white chocolate. My kids are now all calling for Strawberry cakes for their next birthday...they devoured any extra cake scraps and the truffles.

Happy Birthday Farm

2009-07-31T19:31:00.001-07:00

Happy first birthday Maddie! This was so fun to make. I was so happy to make this cake for a little girl I know turning one. She loves farm animals and so it fit. I did the barn in pink...and made the little "smash" cake to match. The best part was seeing the pictures of her smashing and eating the cake! The cake itself was chocolate fudge with a cream cheese chocolate filling and a drizzle of caramel. I was much happier with all of the animals this time around.

Peas and Carrots..Mashed Potatoes...Sunflowers

2009-06-26T19:55:00.000-07:00

Aren't these Cool! My daughter and her friend made these all by themselves! They are from the book Hello Cupcake . We loved the way they turned out. The peas are skittles, the carrots are starbursts..The pat of butter is a starburst stretched out, and the gravy is caramel. This was such a fun baking project for us all. The girls did amazing work. When I already have cake and butter cream on hand it makes it fast, fun, and simple to let the girls create. I think we will be doing many more cupcake creations in the future... so stay tuned.