Nine by Thirteen :: Blog

Cake tastings and apple pie!

2011-07-31T09:18:00.000-07:00

I love to meet with brides to talk about their cakes, and I definitely love giving them samples of what they may have at their wedding. One of the best parts of these little get togethers is that you get to eat cake (or pie), and who doesn't want to eat lots of cake! For tastings I don't make whole cakes, I make cupcakes in each of the flavors you want to try, and give you bowls of each of the fillings you want to try, that way you can pair cakes with fillings that I may not have done, creating your own wedding cake flavor. I love doing tastings this way, I feel it makes it more personal, and gives you more choices (you get to choose 4 cake flavors and 4 filing flavors) so you get the cake you want.

I have a wedding coming up in September that will consist of a small cutting cake and 250+ mini apple pies. To get a feel of how they would look (and taste, obviously), I made samples for the bride and her family to try and make sure they LOVED them..they did! Mini apple pies are $2.50 a piece, (minimum of ten ordered), and they are the same size as a regular cupcake, but the edges are fluted to give them even more of a rustic look. These would be a great option to add to your dessert bar, have as your main dessert , or just to have in your freezer to microwave when you need something sweet, think with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream! Here are some pictures to get your mouth watering!!

Recently

2011-07-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

In the past few weeks we've had quite a few weddings. The first was a two tier wedding cake with four 10 inch cakes and 100 mini cupcakes for the dessert bar. Half of the cupcakes were decorated with a buttercream rose, and the other half with burnt orange buttercream dahlias, all hand piped.

The next cake was ivory with chocolate brown ribbon with silk flowers.

Our final cake was decorated with handmade gumpaste flowers, blue ribbon borders and yellow accents.

The last two were for the same weekend, my first double cake weekend. I'd be willing to do it again, but only if they're in this area. The first cake was delivered to Concord, and the second to Santa Cruz (both were for childhood friends).

Recent Projects

2011-05-28T19:07:00.000-07:00

We've had a few orders since I posted last, so I thought I would just combine them all.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling

Chocolate Cake and Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Filling

Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Filling

Gumpaste flowers to match the wedding dress

Vanilla Sugar Cookies with Vanilla Royal Icing

Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling and Chocolate Buttercream.

Vanessa's having a baby!!

2011-03-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

I got to make the cake for Vanessa's shower this past weekend. I've known Vanessa since she was born, a year after me, so basically all her life, and was honored to make the cake for her baby shower. I also made cupcakes, but neglected to get a picture of them (I know someone did). The theme for the shower was "Feather her Nest," so all the cupcakes were birds nests with three little birds piped in each one. The cake and the cupcakes were all triple chocolate with vanilla buttercream. Congratulations Ben and Vanessa, we can't wait to meet little Beckham!

This is Vanessa holding my new little baby girl, Brooklynne!

A Beautiful Day!

2011-01-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

We had the complete honor and privilege to make the wedding cake for one of my most cherished friends this weekend. Julie has not only been my dear friend (practically another sister) since I was 3, but she was one of my bridesmaids. She is one of the most beautifully sweet people I know, and I would have to say that by far, she was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen! Congratulations Jordon and Julie Lovell, we couldn't be happier for you both!

The cake was buttermilk vanilla bean with mixed berry cream filling and vanilla buttercream. All the flowers were made by hand from gumpaste. This is the first 5 tier cake we've done, but it was in Oregon and I'm almost 38 weeks pregnant.

First post of the new year

2011-01-23T16:32:00.000-08:00

So, we've had a pretty slow winter when it comes to cakes, which has been totally fine with me as I am pregnant (3.5 weeks left)!! This cake was made for a friend of mine who's baby girl, Brenna, is due 2 days before ours. The cake was apple spice with cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream, and it was delicious! Congratulations Bobby and Alicia, we can't wait to meet sweet Miss Brenna!!!

White Chocolate Lollipop Wedding Favors

2010-12-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

We made 250 white chocolate lollipop wedding favors all dusted with luster dust and each individually bagged and tied, ready to be placed at each place setting. There is 125 Airplane (he's fixing a plane) shaped pops and 125 Paintbrush (she's and artist) shaped pops. Such a great idea for personalized wedding favors!! Congratulations Vannessa and Rudy!!

Andrew's Birthday Cake

2010-10-24T17:56:00.000-07:00

My nephew Andrew turned 6 years old on Friday, and we celebrated yesterday. He's obsessed with bats right now and wanted a bat cake, not batman, and he wanted carrot cake (turns out, that's what daddy wanted), so that's what he got. This is a carrot cake with cinnamon cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream. The bats are all made from fondant. Happy Birthday, big guy! We love you so much!!

a cute little owl cake

2010-10-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

This is our first fall cake of the season, and I made a cake for my friends 27th birthday this morning. The cake was pumpkin spice cake with cinnamon cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream. All the decorations were made from fondant, both vanilla and dark chocolate fondant, and the owls were to represent mom, dad and son. Happy Birthday Giana!!

Amy and Dennis's Wedding

2010-09-29T12:56:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to make the wedding cake for a girl I grew up with. Their wedding was in Vallejo, CA at The Hiddenbrooke Golf Club. Everything was milk chocolate cake with strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream, and all the flowers are handmade from gumpaste. The grooms cake had an image of Zelda and Link on it. We had a great time doing these cakes, and a great time at their wedding!! Thanks so much Amy and Dennis for having us be a part of your big day!!

Soccer Cake

2010-09-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

We made a cake for a friends coworker this past weekend and 100 cupcakes for a wedding. The cake was red velvet with strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream, and the cupcakes were chocolate and vanilla.

Katarina's 1st Birthday

2010-08-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

My best friends daughter turned 1 today and I got to make her smash cake. It was a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party and so much fun! Kat's cake was funfetti with pink vanilla buttercream. The Minnie hate was made of fondant. Happy Birthday, Katarina, we love you so much!!

A 25th Wedding Anniversary

2010-07-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

I made cupcakes for a clients 25th wedding anniversary party today. They were Triple chocolate and vanilla velvet with a vanilla velvet with raspberry filling cutting cake. The cupcakes had silver edible glitter on them, but all in all, we kept everything fairly simple.

Happy Birthday Brittany!!

2010-07-18T21:36:00.000-07:00

Today was Matt's brothers girlfriends birthday, so we made her birthday cake. The cake was triple chocolate with chocolate mousse filling and vanilla buttercream with gumpaste flowers. Happy Birthday Brittany, we're very thankful for you!!

Janine and Ken's Wedding

2010-07-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

We delivered a cake to Los Gatos this morning (that was a long delivery) for the wedding of a good friend of ours. Janine and Ken's wedding was lovely, despite the heat, and we had a wonderful time. I'm very pleased with how their cake turned out, possibly one of my favorite wedding cakes we've done so far. The bottom tier was Chocolate fudge cake with vanilla cream bavarian cream filling, middle tier was mocha fudge cake with mocha mousse filling, and the top tier was vanilla velvet cake with strawberry filling all frosted with vanilla buttercream. All the flowers are handmade gerbera daisies. Congratulations Ken and Janine Tinsley, we're very happy for you!!

it's been a while

2010-07-15T09:06:00.000-07:00

From the blog readers point of view, it may seem like I haven't had any orders for a while, but I've just been so busy with work, teaching, and orders that I haven't had a chance to post anything (and I was on vacation too). We've had a lot of kids cakes these past weeks and they've all been quite cute. I'm just going to put this out there...the Mickey Mouse cake was made for my nephew and I was at my parents house when I made it which means that I didn't have any of my normal supplies. Obviously it wasn't the best cake I've made, but it was still quite cute!!

Our latest yummy things

2010-06-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

In the past two weeks we've had a few orders. First, last weekend we had wedding dress cookies for a bridal shower: vanilla sugar cookies with vanilla royal icing. This weekend we had two cakes, a small 6" cake for a one year old's birthday party (Vanilla velvet cake with vanilla buttercream), and a three tier for a going away party for a guy that is going into the Air Force (triple chocolate fudge with cookies n' cream filling and vanilla buttercream).

another cake for Brian

2010-06-08T07:35:00.000-07:00

We made another cake for the pie shop next door to my work. The cake was vanilla velvet with chocolate buttercream and fudgey-chocolate cream filling.

A few cupcakes

2010-06-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

This week I had the privilege of teaching a cupcake class for the first time at the store because the normal instructor was unable to. I had never taken the class before, so I was a little unsure of how it would go. They all said they really enjoyed it and the cupcakes turned out really cute...here are the ones I demoed in class and then the students took my example and did their own:

Also, this weekend I had an order for a lady from my church for cupcakes for a bridal shower she was hosting for her niece. The brides colors are raspberry and teal, and the flavors she chose for the cupcakes were triple chocolate cake with cookies n' cream filling and vanilla velvet cake with raspberry filling. The raspberry filling was wonderful...we absolutely loved it! Kathy, I hope you enjoyed the shower and the cupcakes were loved by all!

Graduation

2010-05-28T21:17:00.000-07:00

We made a graduation cake and 75 decorated sugar cookies for two different clients this week. The cake was all triple chocolate with cookies and cream filling and vanilla buttercream with marshmallow fondant accents. Congratulations Marcus and Alexis on your graduations!!!

Kyla and Chris's Wedding Cake

2010-05-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

We made the wedding cake for my co-workers sons wedding. They're colors are dark purple and dark blue, but the lighting doesn't do it justice. The top tier is vanilla velvet with fudge filling; 2nd tier was mocha cake with cookies n' cream filling; 3rd tier was lemon cake with lemon curd filling; and the bottom tier was vanilla velvet with vanilla buttercream filling. We delivered it to a church in Stockton. All the cala lillies are handmade from gumpaste. Congratulations Kyla and Chris!!

a massive amount of cupcakes!!

2010-05-16T22:46:00.001-07:00

We had three events this weekend for a total of 484 cupcakes. 54 cupcakes went to a women's brunch Saturday morning, 120 mini cupcakes were delivered to a wedding reception in Walnut Creek, and 300 were delivered to a wedding in Oakdale. The first cupcakes were triple chocolate with cookies n' cream filling, and vanilla with strawberry filling and both frosted with vanilla buttercream, and I made lavender and pink fondant daisies to go on each. The second order had 4 different flavors: german chocolate, strawberry lemonade, carrot, and vanilla. All were frosted with vanilla buttercream, except the german chocolate, and they each had a gumpaste flower on top. The final batch were half triple chocolate and half vanilla, frosted with vanilla buttercream and each one had a crystalized viola on top.

and the bride wore white...

2010-04-22T18:52:00.000-07:00

I made cookies for a clients bridal shower this week. They were sugar cookies with lemon royal icing. She was very pleased with them, and I hope all the guests like their favors!!

Super Chocolatey Goodness and a Cake Tasting

2010-04-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

I made a cake for a bakery located nearby my place of employment this past weekend, because they make pies and the owner didn't want a pie, he wanted a cake...a chocolate cake. The cake I made for him was triple chocolate fudge with chocolate mousse filling, chocolate buttercream and chocolate ganache on top with chocolate roses. I haven't talked to him yet, so I hoped he liked it. The other thing we had this weekend was a cake tasting for a brides wedding cake we're doing in July. The flavors she chose were apple cinnamon, chocolate, vanilla, mocha and peanut butter chocolate chip. We had a lot of fun, and ate a lot of cake. Congratulations Janine and Ken, we can't wait to make your wedding cake!!

2010-04-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

We made these cakes this past weekend for a 60th birthday and a 9th birthday. The first cake for the 60 year old was Chocolate with strawberry filling and vanilla with strawberry filling. The birthday girl loves to Salsa and she loves gardenias, so I made a sugar gardenia for the front of the cake and hand painted the faux-spanish design around the border. The jewels are made from chocolate. The second cake was chocolate with chocolate chunk cream filling and vanilla buttercream. Happy Birthday!!

Caleb and Jason

2010-03-29T09:16:00.001-07:00

We celebrated my nephew's 9th birthday and my brother in law's 30th birthday this weekend and I made the cakes..are we surprised at all...I didn't think so. My nephew, Caleb, loves Star Wars, so I made a Star Wars cake for him, and Jason, my B-I-L is a General Contractor, so I made a tool cake for him. They both LOVED their cakes (Caleb had the best reaction when he saw his), and they tasted yummy too. Tool cake was triple chocolate with strawberry filling and Star Wars cake was triple chocolate with cookie's n' cream filling, and both were frosted with vanilla buttercream.

Finland Cupcakes

2010-03-10T22:56:00.000-08:00

we made these for a clients work party. They are triple chocolate with cookies and cream filling and vanilla buttercream

My 25th Birthday Party

2010-03-10T22:40:00.001-08:00

So, March 8th was my 25th birthday, so I had a birthday party on Saturday, and yes I made my own cake. My birthday party had an owl theme, and if you know me a little bit, you know that I love owls. It was a tea party and I had some fun desserts/favors to go with the theme. Thanks for checking it out.

I made sugar cookies and printed the owls on edible paper, the cake was triple chocolate with cookies and cream filling and vanilla buttercream, owl lollipops were amaretto dark chocolate, and the theme owls were on the invitation also

Onesie Cookies

2010-02-21T21:26:00.000-08:00

We made these cookies for a client for their baby shower. They are sugar cookies with royal icing. The new baby's name is Vanitzza.

cupcakes

2010-02-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

I only decorated these cupcakes. They were for my bosses mother in laws birthday party.

25th Anniversary Cake

2010-02-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

We made this cake for a 25th anniversary surprise party. The bottom tier was vanilla and the top tier was chocolate, both with vanilla buttercream as the filling and frosting.

Jungle Cake

2010-02-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

We made this cake and cupcakes for a friends sons 1st birthday party. All the animals are hang sculpted out of fondant and the animals on the cupcakes are fondant also. The cake was chocolate with cookies and cream filling and the cupcakes were yellow-chocolate chip, and they were both frosted with vanilla buttercream. Happy Birthday, Owen, you're such a big boy!!

More Valentine's Cupcakes

2010-02-05T12:41:00.001-08:00

These are triple chocolate filled with cookies and cream and topped with vanilla buttercream and a handmade dark chocolate heart.

Happy 80th Birthday, Millie

2010-02-01T20:54:00.000-08:00

We did a cake for an 80th surprise party this weekend for a lady that loves gardening. All the flowers are made from gumpaste as well as the ivy leaves. The bottom tier was triple chocolate with chocolate mousse filling, the middle tier vanilla with strawberry filling and the top and the side cake were carrot with cream cheese filling, all frosted in vanilla buttercream. Happy Birthday, Millie!!

delicious pillows of goodness

2010-02-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

I've been on a marshmallow making kick lately, they're just too good! These are homemade vanilla marshmallows, and they're incredible!! My mom said that they're "like eating a cloud," and if you know my mom, she doesn't often say things like that, and let me just tell you, it was THE cutest thing I've ever heard come out of her mouth. Anyways, they're delicious, and light, and fluffy and all around amazing!!!

Happy 25th Birthday to my Husband!!!

2010-01-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Today is my husbands 25th birthday (on the 25th) and we had a birthday party for him yesterday. He's really into frisbee golf, so I made him a frisbee golf cake. The cake was triple chocolate with cookies n' cream filling and vanilla buttercream and the cupcakes were more of the same and also some dairy-free apple spice cupcakes with dairy-free vanilla buttercream on top. I made the mini frisbee golf hole with help from my dad, and I'm very pleased with the outcome, and Matt loved it too. Happy Birthday, Baby!!!

To celebrate a new blessing

2010-01-25T08:31:00.000-08:00

This cake was made for a baby shower to celebrate Naomi Jade. She came a little bit early so they were't sure if they were going to be able to have the shower, but she made her appearance quickly and Mommy and baby got home so they were able to have the shower yesterday. Congratulations on your birthday, Naomi, I pray you will be a blessing to all you meet!!

The bottom tier is triple chocolate with vanilla cream filling and the top tier is Vanilla Buttermilk with chocolate cream filling, both are frosted with vanilla buttercream and fondant accents. The booties are handmade out of sugar gumpaste along with the quilt on top.

Valentine's Cupcakes

2010-01-19T15:41:00.000-08:00

So, Valentine's day is getting closer so I made some cupcakes this afternoon as some samples. They are red velvet with vanilla buttercream, and handmade vanilla hearts.

New Yummies

2010-01-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

We made these things at Christmas time this past year (2009). We made 4 different truffles (red velvet cake truffles, double chocolate amaretto truffles, dark chocolate coconut truffles, and raspberry chocolate cream truffles), cake pops, S'Mores cupcakes with fresh homemade marshmallows, and apple spice cupcakes.

13th Birthday

2009-12-19T21:54:00.001-08:00

This cake was made for a 13th birthday party. The girls favorite colors are purple and black. The cake is triple chocolate with chocolate chunk and cream filling. Happy Birthday!

Dessert Bar

2009-12-16T21:51:00.000-08:00

We did a dessert bar for a bookstore's Christmas party last night. We made Peppermint Bark Cookies, Chocolate Chunk Cookies, Black and White Cheesecake Bars, Gingerbread Cookies, Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, Apple Tartlets, Red Velvet Cake Lollipops, and a two tier cake that was Apple Spice with Cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream. They all loved it, and I was very pleased with how everything turned out!

My Mom's Birthday Cake

2009-11-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

My mom is turning 60 on December 10th, and since my entire family was getting together for Thanksgiving, we celebrated her birthday up in Klamath Falls. My mom grew up on a farm in Wisconsin, so I made her a farm themed cake (no, it's not farmville), and she loved it! The bottom tier was apple spice with vanilla filling, and the top tier was triple chocolate with strawberry filling, all frosted in vanilla buttercream and all the animals are handmade out of fondant (so fun to make). Happy Birthday, Mom, you're the best!!!

Birthdays

2009-11-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

My family went to KlamathFalls this past weekend for Thanksgiving, and there my Mom decided to celebrate all 7 grandkids birthdays that have happened over this year. So I made 7 cakes for my nieces and nephews, each in the design they wanted. Caleb loves Transformers, Brianna is into Hello Kitty, Erica's favorite princess is Sleeping Beauty, Andrew and Dylan love Star wars, Isaac loves army, and Emily loves princesses, but really Isaac wanted the princess cake the whole time. Happy Birthday to my wonderful nieces and nephews, I love you all so much!!

She likes Starbucks

2009-11-21T18:25:00.000-08:00

We made a cake for a girls surprise birthday party today. It is vanilla chocolate chip cake with chocolate mousse filling and vanilla buttercream. The Starbucks cup was made out of fondant. Happy Birthday, Gina!!

Mickey Mouse

2009-11-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

We made this cake for a clients sons first birthday. The cake is vanilla with chocolate cream filling and vanilla buttercream with marshmallow fondant.

Course 2 Final

2009-11-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

This was the cake I made for my final for Course 2. The cake was chocolate with vanilla buttercream and handmade royal icing flowers.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T22:23:00.000-07:00

The cake that I made earlier this week was for the same girl this cake was made for. The first one was for her family party, and this was for her halloween/birthday party. This cake was black and orange funfetti with vanilla cream filling.

not so sure about this one.

2009-10-31T22:20:00.000-07:00

This cake was the final for my course 3 that I turned into a Wall-E cake for my nephew's birthday. The bottom tier was painted to "resemble" trash, but it looks more like a mosaic. The top tier is sky. This is pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese filling.

another fall cake

2009-10-27T22:25:00.000-07:00

We made this cake for a friends golden birthday...she turned 27 on the 27th. Happy Birthday Emily! The cake was funfetti, but with brown instead of multi colored because she likes brown, and bavarian cream filling with vanilla buttercream and fondant accents.

Grandpa's 95th Birthday party

2009-10-26T08:20:00.000-07:00

We went to Fresno yesterday to celebrate Matt's Grandpa's 95th birthday. I made the cake, cupcakes, and cookie favors. We had a ton of fun, and Grandpa was very pleased with everything...you should have seen his piece of cake. The cake was Chocolate with Strawberry filling and vanilla with chocolate cream filling.

Chocolate Covered Joe Joes

2009-10-20T23:55:00.000-07:00

I made these for a friend today. They are white and milk chocolate covered Trader Joe Joes, which are basically oreos, but much more delicious!

Cake for a Photographer

2009-10-17T18:31:00.000-07:00

We made a birthday cake for a friend of ours who is a photographer. The cake is a teal funfetti, with cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream. The camera is made out of vanilla pound cake and fondant. Matthew did the majority of the detail work on the camera, and I am blown away at how good it looks! My husband is amazing! We made it to match the camera that she uses. Happy Birthday, Giana!! The second picture was taken by Giana, and that is her camera sitting next to the cake.

it's a box

2009-10-17T18:20:00.000-07:00

This cake was made for my Wilton Course 3 class. It's golden vanilla cake with strawberry filling and vanilla buttercream.

pretty and petite

2009-10-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

These are mini hot pink velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and fondant accents. I made them for one of my new friends, Eric and Jessa, because they were gone for a while, and they're uh-mazing! Thanks for being rock-awesome friends!!

Wilton Final Cake

2009-09-29T21:51:00.000-07:00

I took the Wilton Course 1 class so I can start teaching where I work. I learned a few new things in the class, and I'm excited about courses 2 and 3 starting next week. Here is the cake that I made for my final. It is red velvet with vanilla buttercream. These are my first ever buttercream roses, and I'm pleased with them for my first try.

Gum Paste Daisies

2009-09-26T17:43:00.000-07:00

I was in a class today to learn how to make gum paste daisies, and these are what I made in class. They're completely edible, and fun to make.

Minnie Mouse Cake

2009-09-19T19:28:00.000-07:00

We made this cake for a little girl's first birthday party. Fenix turns 1 next week, and the party theme was Minnie Mouse. The cake was Vanilla with Strawberry filling and Buttercream icing with fondant accents. Hope you like it!

Go Giants!

2009-08-29T00:47:00.000-07:00

I made these cupcakes for a friends baseball party. They're double chocolate cake with fudgey frosting...yum-o!

pretty yummies!!

2009-08-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

My neighbor had a baby on Friday, so I made some yummy cupcakes to celebrate!! They are buttermilk vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream

Pool Table Cake

2009-08-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't make this cake by myself. My sister was asked to make a groom's cake for her friends wedding, and asked me to help her make it since she's never worked with fondant before. Krista baked the cake, and I taught her how to make the fondant, and helped her with bits and pieces of it. She did a lot of the work, and we're both very proud of it. The cake is chocolate with Bavarian cream and sliced strawberries, along with vanilla buttercream and marshmallow fondant.

John and Juli's 1 Year!!

2009-08-11T00:10:00.000-07:00

I made cookies to celebrate my sister and brother in law's first wedding anniversary. They're wedding cake was covered in chocolate ganache, so I colored the icing to match the original.

A Family Reunion

2009-08-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

We did a cake for an Italian family reunion this past weekend. It was a pound cake with almond simple syrup, raspberry filling and buttercream frosting. The grapes are made of royal icing, and the flag is made from fondant. They were very pleased with the cake, and so was I!

Cupcakes for Grandma's Birthday

2009-08-10T23:41:00.001-07:00

I made these cupcakes for Grandma's birthday. They're yellow cake with vanilla buttercream, and I tired covering some of them with fondant for the first time . I was only kind of happy with the fondant covered ones, but I'll put more frosting on them next time so that they're mounded better.

John's Birthday Cake and Some Cupcakes

2009-07-30T09:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday (the 29th) was my brother in law's birthday, and my sister hired us to make a cake for him. She wanted a chocolate cake with mocha mousse (with extra espresso), covered in brown fondant with leaves...something outdoorsy. So that's what we made for her. I had leftover batter, so I made some cupcakes, and filled those with the mocha mousse. John loved the cake...yay!!

This weekend's final cakes

2009-07-19T23:15:00.000-07:00

We had a lot this weekend, and now it's all done and I'm off to Washington DC for the week. We had 2 today, and the first was for my friends sons 1st birthday party, it was a construction theme. The cake is chocolate with bavarian cream filling. The second cake was for my mother in laws birthday today. The bottom tier was chocolate with strawberry filling and the top was dairy free yellow cake. Both were iced with vanilla buttercream and topped with homemade marshmallow fondant.

Whitney's Baby Shower Cake and Treats

2009-07-18T17:39:00.000-07:00

My next door neighbor is due to have a baby August 12th, and I got the opportunity to make her cake, cupcakes, and cookie favors for the shower. She doesn't like pastels, but instead she likes really bright colors. Each table had a different theme color, and the cookies matched their tables. It was all very cute, and the colors on the cake and cupcakes coincided with the theme colors. We did a 3 tier cake and cupcakes for everyone. The guests ate the cupcakes, and Whitney was able to take the cake home. They're saving the top tier to eat when Katarina comes to celebrate her birthday. The cake and the cupcakes were both Buttermilk Vanilla cake with Strawberry filling and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Lindsey and Pete's Wedding Cake

2009-07-11T23:55:00.000-07:00

We made a cake today for a girl that I went to high school with. She wanted a small cake, just for her and her husband to cut, and then a top to save for next year. So this is an 8" and a 6" cake...totally cute. The bottom tier is chocolate cake with fresh strawberry and the top tier is banana chocolate chip cake with chocolate mousse, and both cakes are frosted with our vanilla buttercream. Lindsey asked for polka dots on her cake in different shades of blues, and then some splashes of pink. I really hope they like how their cake turned out! Congratulations on your wedding, Pete and Lindsey!!

Guitar Cake

2009-07-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

We made a cake for a client's sons birthday party. He hand makes guitars that are really nice, so I tried to make this look as much like the one he has for sale on Craigslist. I'm pleased with how this cake turned out, and I hope that he liked it too. It's Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse Filling, and Vanilla Buttercream, and all the decorations are made with marshmallow fondant.

Juli's 22

2009-07-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Today, July 8th is my younger sister's, Julianna, 22nd birthday today so I made a cake for her. The cake was French Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Fresh Blue Raspberry (blueberry and raspberry) filling and Vanilla Buttercream. Everyone loved the cake, and I'm stoked with how it turned out!!

Alicia and Paul's Wedding Cake

2009-07-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

Matthew and I drove down to Southern California this week for a clients' wedding. We had never met Paul and Alicia before, but we were honored to be able to make their cake for them. Their cake was 4 tiers, with a 6" Cake topper, so it was pretty massive. The bottom tier was vanilla cake with mocha mousse filling, second tier was chocolate cake with strawberry filling, third tier was vanilla cake with raspberry filling, and the top tier was chocolate cake with strawberry filling. The table that the cake was on was not even, so it made the cake lean a little with the weight of the strawberries, but all in all, I'm very pleased with the final product! Thanks for asking us to make your cake, Alicia and Paul! Congratulations, and may God truly bless your marriage!!

2 birthdays and Father's Day

2009-06-20T15:31:00.000-07:00

Some of my family got together to celebrate my sister's 30th birthday, my nephew's third birthday, and to honor my dad and bro-in-law for being amazing fathers. We had delicious dinner at Claim Jumper (yumm), and I made 3 cakes. Isaac's cake (lightning mcqueen) was funfetti with vanilla buttercream. My sisters cake and the father's day cake were both chocolate, one with mocha mousse, and the other with fresh strawberry. They were all delicious, and I am so pleased with how each of them turned out!!

Cake Balls

2009-06-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

So, these have been my latest experiment. I like to read other blogs about cakes, and this is something that I've been seeing a lot lately on all the blogs, so I decided to try to make them. They're pretty easy, but this was my second try because the first time was a semi-disaster. They are French Vanilla buttermilk cake with chocolate buttercream and milk or white chocolate coating on top.

Whitney's Princess Book

2009-06-13T22:27:00.000-07:00

My neighbor's boss is hosting a baby shower for her tomorrow. They work at a book store, so her boss hired us to make a cake for the shower. I felt very honored to be able to make this cake, because Whitney is one of my very close friends! Her baby is going to be a girl, and her name is going to be Katarina Marie. I'm very pleased with how this cake turned out. It is a french vanilla cake with fresh strawberry filling, vanilla buttercream, and marshmallow fondant. I painted the castle and the words with luster dust and petal dust mixed with clear vanilla, so everything is edible. This is our third attempt at fondant, and I'm most happy with this one. I hope I keep getting better with the fondant. Thanks Paula for asking us to do the cake, and thanks Whitney for having a baby!!!

Ice Cream Cones

2009-06-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

My Mother in Law made gift baskets for her co-workers for the end of the year and hired us to make hot fudge sauce and caramel topping, so I threw in some ice cream cone cookies. The cookies are decorated with lemon royal icing, so I tinted the ice cream icing yellow and topped them all with rainbow sprinkles (my favorite). I made the caramel and fudge from scratch and then canned them so they don't have to be refrigerated until they're opened. Thanks for checking it out!

Happy Anniversary to my in-laws!!

2009-06-02T21:12:00.000-07:00

My in-laws celebrated their 28th wedding anniversary on May 30th, so we had the family over for dinner tonight, and we made an anniversary cake for them. We are so grateful for their wonderful marriage, and I am so thankful that they had Matthew!! Happy Anniversary! The cake is apple spice with vanilla buttercream frosting. It's all non-dairy because my brother in law is allergic to milk.

dessert and a graduation

2009-06-02T20:44:00.000-07:00

We went over to our neighbors house for dinner so I made a cake, double chocolate with peanut butter cream cheese frosting. It was delicious, and very decadent. We also made cupcakes for our friends graduation party. There was double chocolate with peanut butter cream cheese frosting, and apple spice cupcakes with spicy vanilla buttercream. They were all delightful!!

Kindergarten

2009-05-28T16:30:00.000-07:00

My Mom and sister ordered cookies for both their kindergartens end of school parties. My Mom wanted her cookies to say "K rocks, 1st rules," standing for Kindergarten rocks, but 1st grade rules. They were a lot of fun, and very summery!

Brandon and Kim's wedding

2009-05-18T22:25:00.001-07:00

Matt and I went to southern California this weekend for our good friends, Brandon and Kim's wedding. Matt was one of Brandon's groomsmen, and I got the pleasure of making their wedding cake. I was very pleased with how the cake (and cupcakes) turned out, and B. & K. liked everything too.

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-10T23:06:00.000-07:00

I made cookies for my Mother-in-law, Grandmother-in-law, and next door neighbor (her baby's due in August). I was very pleased with how they all turned out.

A Baby Shower

2009-05-10T23:03:00.001-07:00

A client ordered duckling cookies for a baby shower she was hosting. Also, a picture of the box they were delivered in. Thanks so much Elaine!

Bachelor Party

2009-05-10T23:00:00.000-07:00

I made cookie favors for a bachelor party last weekend, and they were pretty cute; a bunch of bras and panties.

New Recipes

2009-05-10T22:57:00.001-07:00

I made some new recipes and here they are. The first is banana cake with peanut butter frosting...so yummy! And the second is cherry-almond cake with almond buttercream, also delicious!

Bridal Shower Cookies

2009-04-18T23:30:00.000-07:00

We also made cookie favors for B & K's shower today.

Bridal Shower

2009-04-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

We made mini cupcakes for our friends bridal shower this afternoon. I wanted to try some new things and get some fresh spring time flavors in the cupcakes. There is Raspberry Cake with Lemon Buttercream, Pina Colada Cake with Strawberry Buttercream and Toasted Coconut, and Double Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Buttercream and chocolate shavings. They were all a major hit! Love you Brandon and Kim!

Happy Easter

2009-04-10T08:21:00.000-07:00

I made these cupcakes for my Mom's kindergarten class, and I hope they are well-received. Happy Easter everyone! Praise the Lord for His wonderful gift of salvation!

Easter is upon us

2009-04-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

My sister needed an Easter cake for her kindergarten class, but it couldn't be bunnies or eggs, it had to portray the realy meaning for Easter, because it is a Christian school. I'm very pleased with how this cake turned out, except the cross resembles a certain not-so-pretty something. Happy Easter everyone!

First Logo Cookies

2009-04-08T15:54:00.000-07:00

I just delivered my first order for a business, and did the logo on all the cookies. Matt made an outline of the logo, so it wouldn't as hard, but it was a lot of free-hand. They were fun, and a lot of work! Thanks Jane!!

Happy 18th Birthday, Emily

2009-03-29T23:26:00.000-07:00

My brother in law's sister turned 18 on March 28th, so I made a cake for her. I used fondant again, and this is the second one I've done with fondant. It went okay, but I only had an hour to decorate it, so it's a bit sloppy. I made the fondant instead of buying it, and it tasted 100% better than the wilton stuff. Happy Birthday, Emily! Love you!

new cookie cutters

2009-03-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

I bought some new cookie cutters the other day, and wanted to try them out.

Mary Kay

2009-03-24T11:21:00.001-07:00

I have recently become a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant, and had Career Conference this weekend, so I decided to make some Mary Kay cookies. Hope you like them. Let me know if you need any Mary Kay products.

samples for september

2009-03-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine from Eureka is getting married in September and she's thinking about having us make favors for her wedding. I wanted to help with the decision making so I sent her some samples to try and win her over. Now she has to decide if she wants us, and which ones she wants. Should be fun! Thanks Kristen!

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes

2009-03-18T23:43:00.000-07:00

I was trying to figure out some new recipes for a bridal shower coming up, and this is the first one I came up with, it's fresh raspberry cake with lemon buttercream. I wanted a cake that was light and fresh to go with a spring like theme. I think I nailed it, these were delicious!

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-06T16:36:00.001-08:00

Here are the cookies that I made for St. Patrick's Day to take up to my sister's in Arcata. They're sugar cookies with a "hint of lemon" royal icing. The icing is so delicious with the lemon in it..yummm!! Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!!

Dylan's Turning 3!

2009-03-01T08:47:00.001-08:00

We made a cake for Dylan's third birthday party last night, and it turned out great! Krista asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he yelled "Lightning McQueen!" I was going to make a big Lightning McQueen, but I ran out of time, and this one meant that I didn't have to buy him a birthday present, it came on the cake. They absolutely loved the cake, and it was a lot of fun to make. Piping all the grass on made my hand want to fall off, but it was totally worth it. When we brought out the cake everyone got really excited, and Andrew wanted to drive HIS Lightning McQueen on it. Matt and I had a lot of fun with this one, and we'd be happy to do it again, or anything else that you may want.

2009-02-22T13:09:00.001-08:00

I wanted to try out a new cookie cutter I just bought, and here's what came of it. These are shortbread sugar cookies, that are so delicious, and they have almond royal icing on them. These

make great wedding favors when

nicely in their cute little glassine bags that I have for them!

My First Cake Tasting

2009-02-16T12:10:00.001-08:00

A few posts ago I showed a few pictures of a couple that I made an engagement cake for, Brandon and Kim. They were up in this area for the holiday weekend, and asked me to make their wedding cake, and I am SUPER excited! Since they were not completely positive about cake flavors (they knew they wanted to have the cake that I made for the engagement), I decided to do a cake tasting for them. We did 5 different flavors of cake and 4 different fillings for them to pair with the cake. I made 50 mini cupcakes, so they got 10 of each flavor. The cake flavors were chocolate, vanilla, yellow, carrot and spice, and the filling flavors were bavarian cream, fresh strawberry, chocolate mouse, and mocha mouse. They were all delicious, but the mocha was amazing! They will be making their decision soon on the flavors, and their wedding is coming up in May. Can't wait to do you cake, and for you 2 to finally be married...yea!!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-16T10:27:00.000-08:00

I made some cute cookies for Valentine's Day this year, they were sugar cookies with royal icing. I think that these would make a great favor for a party or shower or even a wedding. I could pipe the bride and groom's names and the date, so cute! Hope you all like them!

A Kindergarten Christmas

2009-02-05T21:47:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little late, but my sister is a kindergarten teacher at a Christian school in the Bay Area, and she asked me to make a cake for her kindergarten Christmas party. It was a white cake with red and green swirled in it and buttercream frosting. The cupcakes were for my nephews preschool Christmas party, and they're eyes were so huge when they saw them. They were delicious chocolate cake with buttercream frosting!

newly engaged, and so happy!

2008-12-07T01:02:00.000-08:00

A pair of our best friends just got engaged today, and Matt and I got to tag along. In order to keep everything a surprise for sweet Kim, Matt and I put it together in Malibu. After our wonderful picnic on the beach, we came back to our place and they got their special 'engagement cake.' The cake was vanilla with fresh raspberry filling and a buttercream frosting. Even though it was so small, the top layer was horrible to decorate...wouldn't stay in one spot. I'm including pics of the beach setup, proposal, and of course the cake. And she did say YES!! Congrats Brandon and Kim, we love you both so much!

Pumpkin Cookies

2008-11-30T19:21:00.000-08:00

I made cookies for a friend who had surgery, and I liked how I did the packaging.