Halloween Cake Pops & Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes

Fun Jack-O-Lanterns and Ghosts... Thanks Bakerella for always having fantastic ideas!! If you're interested in making these - I used the Americolor Food Writers for drawing on the pops (this is the best for writing on the Candy Melts according to Bakerella).

My Candy Stash - ready to go...


Some of the jack-o-lanterns after I put their faces on...


I thought I'd do a few ghosts just to see how they'd turn out. They were a little harder than the pumpkins - but I thought they turned out great for my first try. Bakerella has a great tutorial on these - click here. (I did not have the cookie cutters - so I just shaped the ghosts by hand - and I used white tic tacs for the arms)...


I donated all of this to Cakes for a Cure at my hubby's work. Every year they take donations of baked goods and auction them off to raise money for the American Cancer Society...


Pumpkin Ginger Cupcakes with Cinnamon Ginger Cheesecake Icing - these went for $25 at the silent auction...


Some extra cake pops - sold these as individual items for $1 each...


The cake pop display - this went for $50 at the silent auction!!


The cake pops were Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing - then coated with Candy Melts...

Teddy Bear Cars

My mother-in-law was planning her annual Teddy Bear Picnic for her preschool class and asked if I'd make something. I had a super busy week, so I needed something that wouldn't be too time consuming. I found this idea online and thought it was PERFECT!! No baking needed!!

I used 3 Musketeer candy bars because they would be the easiest for what I wanted to do and least messy for the preschoolers!! Some instructions online said to cut the Teddy Bears (Teddy Grahams) basically in half and "glue" them onto the car. Instead of doing that, I used a small Paring Knife to cut out a "seat" for the bears and then just pushed the legs down into the seat. I cut M&Ms in half for the steering wheel and used whole M&Ms for the wheels. I used Royal Icing (it doesn't take much) to glue everything together and for the headlights!!

This is a fun project to make WITH your kids as well!! There are tons of ways to change it up too!! Use different candy bars for the car. Use skittles or other small candies for the wheels and steering wheel. Use melted chocolate chips as your glue. Use your imagination and have fun!!!

The kids loved them - so it ended up being the perfect treat for a Teddy Bear Picnic!!

30th Birthday Cake - Flowers

I made this cake/cupcakes for a friend's 30th Birthday!! I tried out a new icing which EVERYONE loved!! The cake was a "densed up" White Cake with Vanilla Chocolate Chip Buttercream Filling and the French Buttercream Icing on Wilton's website (I know it's not really "French" Buttercream - but it's still yummy!!).






Wilton French Buttercream (click here for recipe)
**If you follow the instructions on the website - you will probably end up frustrated. I thought this icing was going to be a total flop when I started. But with these additional hints - it turns out wonderful!!
**After cooking and thickening the sugar, flour, salt - place this mixture in your Stand Mixer and beat on medium-low until room temperature (10-15 minutes). You can feel the outside of the mixing bowl to feel if it is cooling off.
**After adding the butter and vanilla - beat on medium-high (or high as long as it doesn't fling your icing all over the room) until peaks form. I just set mine on medium-high and walked away for at least 10 minutes and let it go.
**If it still isn't getting the consistency you need - place in the fridge for a few minutes to cool - then whip it again with the mixer.
**If you have left this icing in the refrigerator overnight - let it sit out at room temperature for an hour or two - then re-whip it until it is back to the consistency you need!!

Recipe to Dense Up your White Cake Mix (and make it taste better too!!)...
1 Duncan Hines Deluxe White Cake Mix
1 Jello Instant Pudding Mix - 4 serving size (I use vanilla)
4 large egg whites (or 3 large eggs)
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup oil
Mix on low for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes. Bake in greased and floured pan as per the box directions.
**this makes a very thick batter - so you will need to spread it in the pan most likely.

Wedding Reception Cake & Cake Pops

This sheet cake and cake pops were for a wedding reception. The wedding was at a beach and they had a reception after coming back home...

This was my first experience with a sheet cake and I learned a lot. I was worried a few times that it was going to turn out awful - but in the end it all worked out!! :-)

The shells are molded chocolate - and painted with some luster dust. The sand is brown sugar. The letters are cut from fondant using some Script Fondant Cutters.

Camping Theme Baby Shower

June 2012...

LOVE this one!! Mom-to-be sent me a pic of a cake she liked which inspired my ideas. All decorations are made from fondant - I still can't decide if I like the rocks or the fire best. There is also a baby in the tent...

This one is also Gluten Free!!

Cute as a Button - 1st Birthday

June 2012...

My daughter's 1st Birthday!! Saw something similar as a baby shower cake - but thought it would be cute for a 1st birthday as well...

Spiderman Cakes

May & June 2012...

I did my first Spiderman Cake in May and had a request for another one in June. The first cake I used my tiny 4 inch cake pans to make the building for Spiderman to sit on. The second cake I used a "tin can cake" which was much easier!!

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

March 2012...

My daughter wanted Strawberry Shortcake for her 5th birthday... this might be one of my all time favorite cakes!!

Girly Stacked Cakes

March 2012...

I did two similar cakes in March - loved how both turned out!! Both were iced with the Italian Meringue Buttercream - YUM!!

Pink/Purple - with Dots and Flowers...

Pink/Purple - with Dots, Flowers and Birds...

Giant Cupcake

March 2012...

I have been wanting to make a giant cupcake for a while - and I finally found 2 good reasons in the same week!! I  helped a friend of mine make her daughter's 2nd birthday cake and then made my nephew's 1st birthday cake. Both involved using my new Big Top Cupcake pan - which I love!! I made giant candy cupcake "papers" for both of these using Candy Melts...

Baked...

Finished...

For comparison with normal size cupcake...

1st Birthday Giant Cupcake...

Mini Cakes

February 2012...

I guess I must really like the Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Filling and Whipped Cream Icing - because I've done it again - in yet another form... Mini Cakes!! These were for a Valentine's Banquet at our church. I garnished them with some melted chocoate...

Squares...

Hearts...

Strawberry Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

February 2012...

Another sweet treat for my daughter's preschool class. I saw this idea and couldn't wait to try it. It was so easy and I thought they were delicious!! I used strawberry cake - put a little strawberry filling in them after they baked - and iced them with a stabilized whipped cream. (I even added a few chocolate chips in the bottom of the cones before baking). YUM!! :-)

Batter in the cones...

Baked...

Finished!!

Blue's Clues Cupcakes

February 2012...

For my son's 2nd birthday - I wanted to make some really yummy cupcakes to make the "cake" part of his party a little simpler than a big huge fancy cake. He had recently become a big fan of Blue's Clues - so I made some Blue's and some Pawprints out of Candy Melts.

Creme Filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Ganache Frosting

AND
Strawberry Creme Filled White Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting

Bob's Cake

January 2012...

Just for fun - I have to share this picture because it makes me laugh every time I see it. My father-in-law made his own birthday cake....

Taste = YUM!!
Looks = LOL!!

Safari Baby Shower & Zebra Cupcakes

December 2011:

Safari Theme Baby Shower Cake...


Zebra Cupcakes...

Bridal Shower Cake - Pink/Black

My last "catching up" post for today is from October 2011. I was asked to make the cake for my cousin - Ashley's - bridal shower in Kentucky. So not only did I make & decorate this cake - but I had to drive it 2 hours!! Needless to say I was a little nervous since the whole thing was stacked and put together before I put it in the car with 3 kids!! Thank goodness we have a van - so there was plenty of flat floor space!! I wanted to make sure it was well protected so I lined an empty (giant) diaper box with waxed paper and set it down over the cake in ther car. Worked out pretty well actually - just put a couple of pieces of tape on the cake tray right where the box landed to keep the box from sliding around. GENIOUS - lol!! Once we arrived at the Shower - all I had to do was stick the 'A' on top!! :-)

The bottom tier was Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Chip Buttercream Filling
The top tier was Cookies and Cream Cake with Oreo Buttercream Filling

YUM!!

Teddy Bear Cookies

September 2011

My daughter's preschool class was having a Teddy Bear Picnic - so I was asked by her teacher (my MIL) to make a treat. What could be better than Teddy Bear Cookies!?!?

(found the idea HERE)

Cookies finished and ready for the Picnic...



Isabella made her own!!

Pistachio Chai Muffins

September 2011 - Saw these on Facebook - posted by Once A Month Mom - and had to try them!!

They are so pretty - AND very yummy!!

HERE is the recipe - ENJOY!!

Lonestar State Cheesecake

August 2011 - Super Yummy Cheesecake for my hubby's birthday!!

I love the Sour Cream Topping on this Cheescake - gives you the perfect smooth top (even if your cheesecake cracks!!)

HERE is the recipe...

So Far Behind

I am SOOOO far behind on this blog. I have created quite a few cakes since my last post and really want to share them. Hopefully I can find some time in the next week or so to catch up!! Come Back Soon!! :-)

My most recent cake... Strawberry Shortcake for my 5 year old daughter. By far my FAVORITE cake EVER!! Here's a sneak peak... (I'll post pics of the full cake when I catch up!!)