Peter's 30th Birthday

I got a request from my cousin, Sandy, to come up with a poker-themed cake for her boyfriend, Peter. He is celebrating a milestone birthday, the big 3-0. I had made Vegas-themed cupcakes a couple of months back for a coworker, so I thought "sure, I can do this!" Sandy then informed me that there must also be a royal flush represented on the cake as well. This was a bit trickier, but in the words of Barney Stinson, "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!"

The poker chips came out just how I wanted them to! I made black, red, and white ones to have a variety to play around with. The dice I made with white fondant and edible marker. 

The royal flush was the most difficult piece of this cake. I didn't want to make separate cards and stack them on top of each other in fear of an ugly rippling effect, so I kept them as one piece of fondant with indentations to mimic a hand of cards. I had to make a template first and then cut it out, because there was NO WAY I was free handing that!

Along with the poker-themed cake, Sandy wanted cupcakes topped with turtles. Yes, turtles. An odd request for a 30th birthday party, but special to the couple nonetheless. So I busted out my tools and got started molding and sculpting all of the little pieces that I would need for this project. I rolled out green balls of fondant and shaped them to form the turtle shells. I then wrapped the shells with a snake-like piece. The flippers I made from small circle cutouts that I sliced in half. Everything was attached using gum glue adhesive (gum paste dissolved in water). The eyes are drawn with edible marker. 

- isn't he adorable? -

- fleet of turtles -

And the finished product? .... dun dun dun duuuuun!

Happy 30th Birthday, Peter!

Elmo Birthday

Remember my other coworker Diana, who was preggers last year? I made her the elephant topper mini cupcakes for her baby shower last year, and was asked to make baby Nic's 1st birthday treats this year! Babies grow up so incredibly fast! It makes me feel old...

I was asked to bake Elmo cupcakes and a small smash cake for Nic to, well smash. For the Elmo cupcakes, I used the "grass tip" to create his furry face. It is a lot of piping, but you don't need to worry about perfection here! His mouth is half an oreo cookie (I went through lots of cookies trying to get that clean cut, because they would crack). Don't worry if it's not a completely perfect cut, because you can cover it with frosting. For the nose, I used an orange peanut M&M. The eyes were piped on and dotted with a candy-covered chocolate like these, which can be found at craft stores.

 Mama Diana went ALL OUT (with the help of Auntie A) in planning an Elmo-themed birthday party.  There were so many details that were well thought out. They did an adorable job! Gotta love Pinterest, right?

 that's a lot of Elmos...

The smash cake was a 2-layer 6" cake covered in buttercream and sprinkles. The letters of his name were made of fondant pressed into molds, which can also be found at craft stores. The top border are sprinkle stars made by Wilton.

Nic was really intrigued with the smash cake at first, but then I think he got grossed out. He did get a couple of good smashes in before he lost interest, though! If you look carefully, you can see his tiny handprints!

Happy Birthday, Nic!

Mickey Cupcakes

Remember my coworker Debbie, who was having a baby last year? I made her the mini button cupcakes for her baby shower last year, and had the privilege of making baby D's 1st birthday cupcakes this year! My, how time flies... I can't believe he's already 1!

Mommy Debbie asked me to whip up some baby Mickey-themed cupcakes for this year's birthday party! Debbie gave me a picture of the baby Mickey plates that she bought for the party, and I used it as inspiration for the color scheme.

How adorable are these little Mickeys??? The nice thing about making these Mickey ears was that all you need are circle cutters. I found 3 different-sized circle cutters that were in proportion to Mickey and started cutting up green, blue, and black fondant. I attached Mickey to the pastel discs using gum glue adhesive (which is a tiny piece of gum paste dissolved in a about a tablespoon of water). 

I have a crazy amount of cupcake liners in a variety of colors and patterns. While rummaging through my stash, I found these cuties! I had green and blue polka dot mini muffin liners that were PERFECT for this project. These really couldn't have come out any cuter... in my humble opinion... :)

 Happy 1st Birthday, D!

Vegas, Baby!

Did you get that? from Friends... anyone?

Anyhow, my coworkers and I threw a surprise bridal shower for a coworker. Where was she getting married, you ask? Where do you think? VEGAS! I was in charge of baking mini cupcakes for this special event. I wanted to jazz them up a bit to match the excitement of Vegas, so I decided to make some festive fondant toppers for my little sweets.

Using red and black fondant, I made some hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades. I bought these little cookie cutters at Williams-Sonoma a couple of years ago. You can find them here. Using white fondant, I cut out circles and created poker chips. With an edible marker, I drew on the details.

Congratulations to the new Mr. and Mrs. !

California Adventure Part 4: Bottega Louie

This is my last and final post about my trip to California... I know, I know. Four whole posts about this trip, but as you can see, it would have just been one reallllllllly long post! Naturally, I saved the best for last!

Bottega Louie: 700 S. Grand Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90017
The second our car pulled up to this store, it was love at first sight... Even before stepping through the doors, I was in love! My nose was pressed up against the window in awe of the tall, pastel macaron towers. As I finally stepped under the golden letters spelling LOUIE, I came face to face with a a whole counter of macarons. There was row after row of macarons in every color imaginable! I was so tempted to buy the biggest box of macarons they offered, but exerted some self-control and bought 13... (yes, 13 all for me!).

 aren't these just gorgeous??

The rest of the store is equally as beautiful, with shelves full of sweets in pastel packages. Even their homemade marshmallows are pastel-tinted! The detail they put into their brand was not overlooked by me. I was just as much in love with their packaging as I was with their products.

macaron boxes

pastel-tinted marshmallows

other sweets in sweet packaging

Their bakery case showcases edible works of art that I have never seen, including huge macarons, pies, and eclairs.

Super tempted to quit the East Coast and move out to LA just to work at Bottega Louie. I mean, who wouldn't?