Under the Sea Cupcakes

Aren't these just so colorful & festive? Thank you Nataleah for having such a fun birthday theme and letting me go crazy with the cupcakes! I created each of these six designs: beach, oyster & pearl, octopus, crab, fish, and the 3-cupcake mermaid on top. All the shells & starfish were molded out of chocolate. I made all the animal "parts" (octopus arms, crab limbs, fish fins) also out of chocolate (I hand draw my own templates). The "sand" was a mixture of graham cracker crumbs and raw sugar. The "ocean" is blue & white frosting applied with a spatula. The octopus is a double cupcake to make it 3D. The seaweed & coral I hand-piped out of royal icing, and the pearls and colorful "rocks" were all candy. So yes, everything (other than the umbrellas and the birthday sign) was edible. And the mermaid was a mixture of piped frosting, molded chocolate, and candy pearls. For a final touch. everything got a generous dusting of edible "pixie dust" glitter (a must for a 4 year old birthday girl!) As far as flavors, the cupcakes were vanilla and chocolate chocolate chip with vanilla and cream cheese icings. These were so much fun to make. Bring on the kids' parties! (I think they're my favorite!) And Nataleah couldn't wait to get her fingers in the frosting. Happy birthday, Beautiful!

P.S. I've got to give "props" to my Dad (the original MacGyver) for building my cool cupcake stand. It's the perfect way to show off my work. Thanks, Dad! (It's available for rental when ordering cupcakes).

Bowling Cupcakes

These bowling cupcakes were for a 13th birthday party at Lake Forest Lanes. The bowling pins were vanilla cupcakes made taller with mini cupcakes and donut holes. The bowling balls were chocolate cupcakes covered with black sugar. Bowling cupcakes are $36 per dozen ($2.50 each ball, $3.50 each pin)

Pool Party Cupcakes

Everybody in the pool! These vanilla and chocolate cupcakes were covered in choppy blue buttercream icing to look like pool water. The kids, plus their pool noodles, innertubes, and water wings, were all hand-piped in frosting. I missed the party this year, but I hear the cupcakes were a big hit with the swimmers. Cupcakes with piped decorations are $2.75 each ($33 per dozen).

Monkey Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes for my friend Nelma's son's 2nd birthday at Scooter's Jungle. The monkey faces and ears I designed with chocolate candy melts and stuck them in chocolate frosted cupcakes. The swinging monkeys and vines were piped on blue frosted cupcakes. I even molded my own bananas out of yellow taffy (I couldn't find "Runts" candy...that was my first thought!) The cupcakes were triple chocolate and banana chocolate chip. The kids (and adults) loved them (I know, because I was there!), and I loved making them. So fun!

Graduation Cake

I made this cake for my neighbor Nick's Santa Margarita High School graduation. The cake was frosted in buttercream icing with gold fondant decorations. The graduation cap was a small cake wrapped in fondant and topped with a fondant square (and a real tassell). The cake was vanilla with strawberry filling. Congratulations, Graduate!

Baby Noah's Cake

I made this cake as a smaller version of the baby shower cake I did a couple of months ago. The client saw the cake on my blog and wanted one just like it. She even made the colors of the baby shower match the cake! The actual cake was vanilla layered with strawberry & chocolate fillings. And all the decorations were made with tinted fondant. This size cake feeds between 30-40 guests (I think! In my sweet-o-holic family, it may be less!)

Baby Boy Cookie Pop Centerpiece

I made this centerpiece for another baby boy shower. The onesies were so cute the first time, that I decorated them with similar designs: preppy stripes, argyle, polo shirts, etc. And I got to try out my new "bottle" cookie cutter. I think they turned out just as cute. I made 12 cookie pops, then arranged them in a metal bucket as a centerpiece. I also did another 24 cookies without the sticks and just wrapped them in bags with bows. They were used as party favors for the baby shower. The mom-to-be emailed me as soon as they were delivered and said that she "almost cried" when she saw the onesie cookies that said "I love Mommy" and "I love Daddy". I am so happy when I get to be part of something that special! Congratulations Marcai!

Rylee's Birthday Cupcakes

I made these water polo cupcakes using blue & white frosting that I sculpted with the spatula to look like water. The balls were designed with chocolate candy melts and once they hardened, I just stuck them in the frosting. I had to post these additional popcorn cupcakes as well because (in an effort not to go back to the market for the 27th time this week) I decided to make my own yellow marshmallows. I colored the marshmallows with food coloring, and they turned out so much cooler than the yellow marshmallows you buy in the multi-color bag. It actually looked like the blotchy butter color that happens when you microwave popcorn! I love when that happens...

60th Anniversary Cake

This was a very special cake for a very special family. My good friend Stephanie ordered this cake for her grandparents' 60th anniversary. They wanted to create a small replica of her grandparents' actual wedding cake. So she gave me a photo and I created this "retro" cake for their party. The cake had a tier of lemon cake with lemon filling, and a coconut cake with bavarian cream filling. The tiers were covered in fondant and the decorations piped on. The hearts I created out of royal icing so that they would stay stiff (as they were in the photo) and the roses were molded out of gumpaste. The color details were painted on with pink & silver shimmer dust. Once the cake arrived at the party, it was topped with the couples' original heirloom cake topper - a very special touch. I don't think they did fondant cakes back in the day, but it sure turned out nice. The family was so happy with the results, and the guests of honor recognized their cake right away. And that was the greatest compliment of all. Happy Anniversary!

16th Birthday Cupcakes

These cupcakes were for my friend Maria's son's birthday. Knowing me very well, she gave me free reign to design whatever I could. The majority of the cupcakes were topped with a simple swirl of frosting and sprinkles. But I did manage to throw in a couple personal touches, like a couple of "pupcakes" to represent the family chihuahuas. I made the pups with marshmallows, chocolate, and jelly beans. Also, I created the Trabuco Hills High School logo of a mustang out of chocolate since Kevin is in the THHS Marching Band. The letters are all molded chocolate as well. The cupcakes were a sampling of several flavors: lemon, strawberry, spice, coconut, and chocolate chocolate chip. Something tells me that the chocolate chihuahuas were the first ones to go!

Spring Cupcakes

Here are some cupcakes I made for my husband's work. On the left are coconut cupcakes covered in flaked coconut with a tiny fondant flower. The middle section are chocolate chocolate chip cupcakes with an oreo sunflower. On the right, you'll recognize the chocolate butterflies (leftovers from the birthday cake) plus some simple piped flowers on my newest flavor of cake, "wine cake" (actually an old family recipe that is quite tasty in cupcake form; try it with cream cheese icing...who doesn't like wine & cheese?)

Kylie's First Birthday

This cake design was (loosely) based on a photo that the client found on the web. I added the giant cupcake as a third tier to the cake, which served as an individual cake for the birthday girl. When it came time to serve the cake, they simply removed the cupcake and put it in front of the eager one-year old for the obligitory "cake all over the place" photos. This particular cake had a tier of coconut cream cake with coconut filling, and another tier of chocolate chocolate chip cake with chocolate filling. I covered the cake with buttercream icing and piped the polka dots and pink frosting details. The flowers and butterfly wings I hand-made from chocolate. The butterflies were a variation of the ones I made on the Butterfly Birthday cake, only a little more "whimsy" to fit the occasion. It turned out really fun & colorful.

Butterfly Birthday Cake

I made this cake for a rather sophisticated 8-year old's birthday. She asked for a cake that was "pretty" and "fancy". I think it is a fun look for an 18-year old or even a 28-year old! The cake was strawberry with strawberry filling (pink through and through!) and covered in homemade buttercream frosting. The flowers and swirls were piped on, and the butterflies were created out of chocolate. Their wings sat angled off the cake so that they looked like they were fluttering away. Buttercream cakes start at $3.00 per person served.