A Month of Birthdays

The month of July is a big month for birthdays! Six of our law school friends have birthdays in July, so Marie and I organized a dinner for all of us to go out to dinner in Philly to celebrate. Normally, I would make a cake for each of my friends for their birthday...but I figured 6 large cakes would be too much for 15 people. Kelly has the amazing idea to do mini cakes for each person (3" each!). Of course, Kelly's idea was perfect, so I made each person a personalized cake. Binder and Fina got ice cream cake, so Kim, Lauren, Megan, and Angela got my cakes. Marie came over (thank goodness) and helped make the cakes.


Kim's favorite is German Chocolate Cake, so that's what she got. 100% homemade, of course. This cake was incredible! I am always disappointed when I try new recipes, but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. I will definitely make it again.

Megan with her cheetah cake!

Do you see how she matches the cake???

Angela with her cake!
Classy and beautiful--just like her!

Lauren with her cake--peanut butter!!!
Do you see how she matches???

Now, here's some action shots from before the party.....

Covering Lauren's cake in fondant

Covering the whole thing in sugar!

Marie frosting Megan's cake


Marie cutting out fondant flowers for Angela's cake


Molding the flowers before painting them with pearl dust
Angela asked me to try something that I have been wanting to try, so that's what I did. We made fondant flowers, sculpted them, painted with pearly dust and piped on buttercream centers!

Breast Cancer Cupcakes

One of my co-workers did a fundraiser for her friend to walk in the Breast Cancer Walk. She did a Silpada party and donated all the proceeds to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I made these pretty pink cupcakes for her party. They were chocolate cupcakes with pink liners, pink frosting, and pink ribbons. They were a huge hit and the party. I gave her cake pedestals to display the cupcakes. Truly beautiful!

Forget the Cholesterol Test Birthday Cake

My boss loves food. Of course, a love of food can cause the cholesterol to go through the roof. That is what made my food-loving boss to go on a crash-cholesterol-lowering-diet for a WHOLE month! Problem: his birthday fell into the diet month. I figured he would make an exception to the low-fat thing for his birthday, so I made a REALLY sinful cake. He loves chocolate cake and cheesecake, so I combined the two into a marbled cake. I poured the chocolate cake batter into the pans and then followed it with cheesecake batter. I baked it and frosted with chocolate buttercream. This thing was DECADENT! Pictures of the inside of the cake are to come! Check out the outside! HAPPY BIRTHDAY VINCE!

Happy Birthday AMERICA!

My friend Marie LOVES patriotic holidays. She's the girl who wears red white and blue for George Washington's birthday. Naturally, the 4th of July is her favorite of all American holidays. This 4th, we went up to Villanova country to celebrate with Marie, her friends from home, and some law school buds. Even Jacqueline came along (my Panamanian friend--her 1st 4th of July party!). I made these patriotic cupcakes for the event. I know, they were a lot like the Memorial Day cupcakes, but I think I kicked them up just a little bit. Check them out...and HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY AMERICA!

Thomas the Train Cake

One of my co-workers had a 4th birthday party for her son. He loves Thomas the train so I made a Thomas cake for the party. I took a 1/4 sheet cake, cut notches in the top for the smoke stack, and placed a round cake on top for Thomas' face. Greg had the amazing idea of piping icing on the board for smoke--how cute! Happy 4th Birthday JP!