Spider Shack Cake

Happy Halloween!

I made this cake this week just for a little Halloween fun. The inside is a devil's food cake to keep in the Halloween spirit. The cake is also covered in a edible glitter, which you can't really see in the picture, but it made it all the more festive!

This was the first time I have piped using royal icing (the spider webs) and I think I need to do a lot more practice. Now, I just need to make more cakes to practice one.

Smart Owl Cake

I made this cake to thank all of my teacher 'friends' over at Talbot Hill Elementary. These teachers are my best cupcake eaters and testers (although sometimes I think they might like anything I bake!) ;). Thanks for all the good work you do!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I decided on red velvet cupcakes because honestly, I can't figure out what the big deal is all about. I understand that it is a southern tradition. I understand that it does look pretty and can be kind of a specialty or something you can't get all of the time. I understand that it is supposed to be a feathery and delicate cake topped with a sweet-but-not-too-sweet cream cheese frosting. I understand that it is supposed to be out of this world. But really, it is still just a cupcake. And that's coming from me, someone who often dreams cake and cupcakes.

This time I really did my homework when picking out a recipe. I picked through ingredient lists and read so many reviews that I couldn't remember this way or that. I settled on a recipe that looked promising and went for it.

This cupcake was definately red velvet. It was light and fluffy and had an intense red color. The chocolate flavor was mild but had a nice tone to it that went well with the cream cheese frosting which turned out perfect, not too sweet and not too tangy.

However, I have to admit, I still don't think I'm sold on the trend. it is a good cupcake, but most are. It is a perfect choice for a holiday treat like Valentine's day, no contest. But the best cupcake ever...I challenge someone to convince me. :)

Overall Rating 4 out of 5
Darn good cupcake!

New Owl Cupcake Toppers

Owls are a serious trend...and one I am buying into. I made these new owl cupcake toppers, and think there even cuter than the previous set!

Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

My most favorite thing about the fall season are pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. I posted my favorite recipe for them last fall, so I decided to try a different recipe for this year. This year's recipe was a Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcake with Spiced Buttercream frosting.

The chocolate pumpkin cupcake bottom recipe was pretty close to my original pumpkin cupcake but with cocoa powder added to the mix and then chocolate chips folded into the batter right before baking. This cupcake had a great chocolate flavor and you could still really taste the pumpkin as well, which was nice. The chocolate chips were a nice surprise and made them just a little more special.

For the spiced buttercream, I used my stand-by Favorite Vanilla Buttercream recipe but added a heavy handed amount of cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. It turned just as good as thought it would be.

I have to admit that, although many people gave this cupcake a great review, I was not particularly a fan. I wanted the cupcake bottom, which was good by itself, to be paired with just a simple vanilla or cream cheese buttercream. The spiced buttercream was good on it's own as well, but I would have rather had it piped on top of brown sugar cupcake bottom.

I have to add that I think the best part of these cupcake are the wrappers and toppers I found at Michael's craft store. These are so cute!

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5
all components were good but needed to worked into different recipes.

Stephanie's 30th Birthday Cake

I love all excuses to make cake, so a friend with a super special 30th birthday party seemed the perfect reason to make more cake.

I love the look of the dots on the top layer. So pretty and, surprisingly, very time consuming! The bottom tier was supposed to have these really pretty super straight lines going down the sides. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out the right technique to use before I had to get this cake to the party. The lines of small connecting dots turned out pretty good, but now I have to figure out the super straight line technique as well. Looks like another project to add to the list...and another reason to make more cake!

Pink Dragonfly Cupcake Toppers

The other day I was contacted by a lady who was throwing a baby shower and needed a large number of dragonfly themed cupcake toppers. I was so excited about this order since it meant my fondant work was going to be shipped all the way to Florida.

Best part of the story: The dragonfly cupcake toppers turned out super cute!

Worst part opf the story: These toppers DO NOT ship well. I was so embarrassed that they din't all make them there in one peice.

Thanks so much, Kate, for being super understanding and awesome! I hope you had a wonderful and memorable baby shower!

Transformer Birthday Cake

I had a request for a Transformer Birthday Cake made with Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting, and at first I was a little apprehensive.

First, I really don't know anything about Transformers and had to do a little research. I tried my best to take the idea and design of Optimus Prime and translate him into cake. I think it turned out pretty good. It is simple but I think you get the Transformers feel.

Second, I don't really know a lot about Red Velvet Cake. I made a few recipes to try it out and although it is good I still question the overall popularity of the cake. I think it will have to be next week's cupcake experiment.

Here is the final product. Happy Birthday Anthony!