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!