confetti by lexi

bounce! bounce! tumble, flop!

surprise it's not just another cake!  but it's not just an invitation either - it's an invitation with a cake to match!!  the request was for a gymnastics invitaton for twins, followed by a cake for the event a couple weeks later.  the invite is an oldie but goodie, perfect for twins since there are two kids on it.  and it turned out to be great inspiration for the cake...

so many little pieces of fondant to cut out, but the end result was worth it!  the boys loved it and i heard from several attendees that it was yummy too!

:) lexi

monster cakes

my internet kept going out last night, but i'm happy to back tonight with more cake!  actually, today's post is mostly about a cupcake party activity - monster cakes.  but first, the birthday girl needed to have a candle cake, so i made a mini 6 inch round monster cake with candle hair.  sure, you could put a candle in one of the cupcakes, but if you have enough batter, a mini cake just for candles is a fun bonus!

for the cupcake activity, i prepared the cupcakes and icing, purchased a variety of fun candies, and printed some examples.  this was a halloween themed birthday, so we chose orange, purple, and green for our monster icing, which i divided into pastry bags and tied closed.  when it was time to decorate the cupcakes at the party, i snipped off the points and squeezed each guest's choice on their cupcake for them to spread and stick candy into to create faces.  kids playing with icing and candy - of course it was a hit!  and before you think you have to wait until next year to make monster cakes, maybe you should consider a monsters, inc. movie party or read go away, big green monster! by ed emberly to your child's class and create cupcakes afterwards.  you could even incorporate them into a candy themed birthday.  monsters are definitely not just for halloween!

:) lexi

skate doodles

although i didn't bake anything new this weekend, i still have several cakes to share, so here we are rolling into another week of sweet art pieces!  this one was for an eleven year old girl's skating party, but i'm sure you could tell that.  she wanted me to include a traditional skate, turquoise blue plus other bright colors, and fun details.  i immediately remembered a doodle cake i'd done before and thought doodling around a fondant skate would be just the fun look she wanted.  hearts, stars, and swirlies - all things girly!

:) lexi

flashback friday :: cake carving 101

yay!  i blogged for a whole week!!  since it's been all about cake this week (with a few more still to come!), i thought i'd flash back to "how to bake a margarita" to revisit my cake shaping process.  if you click on through, you'll see a few more pictures and a description of how i turn three 9 x 13 cakes into the margarita.  enjoy & happy weekend!

:) lexi

original post: october 18, 2007

frozen with salt!

today, i have another cake created for a pre-wedding party.  i guess fiesta would be more to the point!  this is the fourth time i've created this margarita cake and there are always a few moments while doing the crumb coat when i think it's heading for disaster, but then it all works out in the end.  my favorite details are the clear sugar sprinkles for the salted rim and the fondant lime - it's always the little touches that make the biggest impact!

:) lexi

tasty tiffany blue

a cake covered in iconic tiffany blue buttercream with a sweet white fondant bow was the request for a recent bridal shower.  not surprisingly, the hostess' gift to the bride was in a matching box - one to open, one to eat!  how perfect is that?  so perfect, in fact, that i'm doing it again in a few weeks for an engagement party!

it was also perfect for a luncheon for a group of women called the tiffany circle.  now, technically the tiffany & co. logo fits just under the bow in the center of the box, but for the luncheon we found a more visible spot in order to celebrate the group.  what's not to love about a pretty blue box?!

:) lexi

party-on-purple!

what better cake for a mani-pedi party than a bottle of nail polish in the birthday girl's favorite color?  it gives nibbling on your nails a whole new meaning!  i really hope i get to create this one again in a different color - red, pink, aqua, neon green - the possibilities are endless!!

:) lexi

hello cake!

work has been keeping me away from the blog lately - creating, baking, even a little decorating around my house.  as soon as school started back up, people started throwing more parties and needing invitations and cakes.  i've actually been spending a lot of time in the kitchen with cake order on top of cake order, which keeps me away from the computer a little more than other things.  my goal this week is to share as many of those sweet treats as i can, starting with hello kitty times two...

two little girls were having a hello kitty themed gymnastics party and wanted hello kitty cakes with a little star power!  one went for a traditional hello kitty, while the other opted for pink and purple.  i carved the hello kitty faces out of 2 layer 8 inch round cakes and iced them with homemade buttercream.  the embellishments are all candy - jelly beans for the eyes and noses, cut and stripped twizzlers for the whiskers, and gumdrops, rolled out in sugar for the stars and bows.  i heard they were a hit!

:) lexi