Smart Phone Cake....I'm baaaaack!

Well, it has been almost 3 years since I've posted, but I think it's time to start back again.  I have a lot to show you from the last 3 years, so I figure I will show you little by little.  As I was thinking about writing this post, I realized how much technology has changed since the last time I posted.  Back then, the smart phone thing was just beginning.  Now, we live on our iPhones.  We snap pictures and post to Instagram in seconds.  So, sitting here at the computer, typing this post, is a little different.  In fact, I'm not even sure how to post....blogger has changed quite a bit in 3 years!!

In any event, I figured why not start with a "Smart Phone Cake" since I had this technology revelation.  Back in 2011, a friend of a friend asked me to make this cake for her son.  He was turning 16 and she was giving him his first smart phone for his birthday.

I think this cake was a half sheet, although it may have been a full sheet.  No matter, it was a big cake!  I covered it with black fondant and decorated it with fondant.  I hope you enjoy it.

I also decided to expand to scope of this blog to include recipes and tips.  Those are coming!

A special THANKS to my friends Ashley and Carolyn for inspiring me to start posting again!!!  :)

101st Post - A Zebra Cake

Although I've been light on the posts this year, I have been baking.  Here is a zebra cake that I made a few months back.  I was inspired by a cake my college roommate and good friend Jaclyn made for my friend Sarah when we were in college.  Anyway, it was a 12 inch vanilla cake covered in white fondant and made to look zebra with black fondant.  I finished it in super-girly hot pink buttercream and a hot pink circle in the center.  Enjoy!

A Tiffany Blue Communion Cake

A few months ago I got an email from a friend of a friend.  She wanted a super chic First Communion cake for her daughter.

She sent me a few pictures online but she wasn't totally happy with them.  One cake had a praying little girl on it. Her daughter didn't want any of that!  I have to confess, I was happy that she didn't because making people out of gumpaste is no fun!

Anyway, I took her idea and ran with it.  I made a 12" round vanilla cake and covered it with Tiffany Blue fondant.  I handmade over 200 gumpaste flowers and added edible pearls for the centers.  I made a patchwork pattern on the sides of the cake (which took careful measuring).

I also made a few dozen matching cupcakes.

I just love how this cake and cupcakes came out.  They were so elegant and classic chic.  Plus, they matched my dining room which is always a plus!!  Enjoy!

It's been too long...

I've been neglecting my blogs, I know.  But I have good reasons.  You see, I became a lawyer, I bought and painted nearly every inch of a house, and I've just been running around like a mad woman, all in just 5 months.

I have still been baking, though.  I've got great pics of baked goods from Christmas until now that I can't wait to share with you.

So, here goes.  A friend of mine referred her friend to me to make a record player cake.  You see, her husband is a DJ and the plan was to present the cake to him on the air.  She wanted to do the cake without using fondant and I was up to the challenge.

I made a half sheet cake.  Then, I placed a 10" cake on top of it for the turn table.  I used a little bit of fondant to make the record.  I covered a dowel rod in fondant to make the arm.  I used food coloring and painted it on with a paintbrush to give a more realistic look.  I also made cupcakes with little "records" on them.

So, here it is...a turntable cake!  ENJOY!

Also, everyone has been asking about my new kitchen.  Well, it's not huge, but it works.  It has about double the counter space that I had in the apartment so that is a plus.  I will say that at first it really needed a face lift. So, with the help of my paint crew, we painted the kitchen cabinets and changed the hardware.  Here are the before and after pics...

Happy 80th Birthday Pops...I mean...Bill

A few weeks ago, my Pop-Pop turned 80.  We had a nice surprise party for him at a local italian restaurant.  My mom was in charge of the invitations and she thought it would be funny to put a cartoon-like old man on them.  They turned out so cute that we thought it would be perfect to put the old man on the cake too.

I had to freehand the fondant carving on this cake.  For many of my more complicated cakes, I try to trace the images onto fondant so I can get a true image.  For this one I didn't have that option because I didn't have access to the image to enlarge it.  I must say it was difficult but I think it came out great.

The cake was a 1/4 sheet cake.  It had 1 layer of chocolate and 1 layer of vanilla.  I carved out the inside and filled it will Alton Brown's chocolate mousse.  YUM!

Happy 3rd Birthday Avery!

You might remember that last year, for Avery's 2nd birthday, I made Elmo and Cookie Monster cupcakes.  This year, I made this very neat Tigger and Pooh cake.  When her mom, Missy, asked her what she wanted on her cake, she exclaimed "TIGGER AND POOH!".  Missy stuck with the idea and it was a nice success.    I cut the Tigger and Pooh out of fondant and then I piped black chocolate buttercream around it to make it look like a cartoon.  Avery loved her cake.  Happy birthday Avery!

Another Phillies Cake!

Last year, I made an Eagles cake for my friend Kara's husband, Brian.  This year, Kara requested a Phillies cake.  Although baseball season was over by the time his birthday rolled around, Brian loved the cake.  Happy Birthday Brian!

A Friend from Buffalo & HAPPY BIRTHDAY STACEY

 The weekend before Thanksgiving, a good friend of mine from College Park came to visit me all the way from Buffalo, NY.  She is in dental school at the University of Buffalo and, after a long day of classes on Friday, she drove 7 hours to come visit me in Delaware.

I should also add that it was her birthday weekend!!!  She asked for one present...an appearance on the blog!  Ok, that was obviously going to happen.  We really made it a weekend of eating.  On Friday night, she started off by eating risotto straight from the fridge.  Then, on Saturday, I made buttermilk pancakes and bacon (yum!).  We had Iron Hill for dinner and made lots of cupcakes (for Cody's baptism).  We also made peanut butter cookie dough ice cream (double yum!) and watched lots of movies.  It was a weekend of total indulgence!

On Monday night, for Stacey's birthday, I made a nice homemade dinner and a chocolate birthday cake for her to take home to Buffalo.  Matt Perry came up from Baltimore for a visit too, which was icing on the cake!

Stacey, THANK YOU for taking the very long trip to come visit me...and for the good times (and presents) you brought!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Oh, I should also mention that she loves to play with the camera...

Cody's Baptism

A few weeks ago, my beautiful nephew, Cody was baptized.  I made cupcakes for the party that followed the church service.

Happy Birthday Ian!

I have been so lazy with blog posting lately, but today is the day to change that.

A few weeks ago we went to Ian's 3rd birthday party.  Ian is the very cute son of Jim and Deb.  Ian loves trains so for his birthday I decided to make a Thomas the Train cake.  I made 2 9" cakes.  I cut one of them in half an stacked it on top of the full layer.  Then, I took chocolate icing and chocolate truffles and made a tunnel for the train to ride through.

The cake came out really cute and , of course, Ian loved it.  Happy 3rd birthday, Ian!

Liz's Bridal Shower

Today at work we had a bridal shower for one of our fabulous paralegals!  She is getting married in exactly a month.  One of my co-workers suggested that I make a miniature wedding cake for the shower.  We tricked Liz into thinking that we were doing a Halloween munchie day.  Everyone brought in food and we ate like crazy.

The cake was really tiny.  It was a 6" base with a 3" top  I put a cupcake on the very top and covered it in buttercream flowers to make it look like a hydrangea.  I hope you loved the cake, Liz!  Can't wait for the wedding!

Happy Birthday Alex!

Today we went to a birthday party for our friend Matt's son Alex's birthday.  Alex turned 6 and he gave me 3 options for his cake.  He wanted either soccer, space, or legos.  I thought that a lego cake would be awesome, so that's what I made.  I did a quarter sheet cake and decorated it with fondant "legos".  Alex loved it!  Happy 6th birthday, Alex!

Go Tigers!

Over the summer, I met a girl in my bar review course that asked me to do a grooms cake for her October wedding.  Her fiance went to Clemson so she wanted a Clemson themed cake.  She really gave me creative license but she did request that I put "Howard's Rock" on top of the cake.  Apparently this rock is good luck for the football team and they rub it before each game.  Does this sound familiar, Terps?

Here is the Clemson cake.  The best news of it all is that the bride and I both PASSED the Delaware bar exam. For her, it was a particularly exciting week because she not only passed the bar, but 2 days later, she married her Clemson groom!  Congratulations Amber!

Oh, and speaking of weddings, last night we went to a wedding in NYC.  They had a "Viennese Hour" which is an hour full of every dessert imaginable.  They put all the desserts on a stage in the ballroom.  What an awesome idea!  Good call, Dave and Leah!

Sunday Morning: French Toast Muffins

Last Sunday, Risa over at Baked Perfection posted these muffins.  I saw them and instantly needed to try them.  This Sunday, I had some left over french bread.  Greg requested french toast for breakfast, and, well, it was just perfect timing.  These muffins are really excellent.  The cake is buttery and moist.  The topping is a true fench toast.  It is really the best of both worlds for those of us who like to eat cake for breakfast.

Since I didn't have any cinnamon bread I added some salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and sugar to the topping mixture.

I know, I rarely post a recipe, but here it is.  YUM!

French Toast Muffins from Baked Perfection

French Toast Topping

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

6 slices cinnamon bread, crusts trimmed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

Muffins

1 cup milk

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 egg, slightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups flour

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Topping

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine all the french toast topping ingredients in a medium bow and set aside. Combine 1 cup milk, melted butter, 1 egg, and vanilla extract in another medium bowl. Combine all remaining muffins ingredients in a large bowl. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture just until mixed.

Spoon batter into a greased or lined 12 cup muffin pan. Soon French toast topping evenly over batter; press down slightly. Baked 20-25 minuted or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Immediately brush muffins with maple syrup. Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl. Sprinkle over glazed muffins. Cool 5 minutes; remove from pan. Serve warm.

Happy Birthday Skylar!

Today was my nephew Skylar's 5th birthday.  He LOVES Super Mario Brothers so I decided to make a Super Mario Brothers cake.  There were about 30 people at the party and I thought a tiered cake would be much more exciting than a sheet cake.  I frosted the entire cake in blue buttercream and used fondant to make the decorations.  Everything on the cake is edible.  My mom was my sous chef this time.  It took the two of us 8 hours to pull this one off.  I have to say, though, it might just be my favorite cake ever.  There is something about fondant that makes it so appropriate for the cartoon look.  It was just so perfect here.  Most importantly, Skylar loved it!