Saturday, October 30, 2010

Happy Halloween!! - Candy Corn Cupcake Pops

I have a baptism cake, a pyrex post and a superb wedding cake post that I still need to share with you all... but in the spirit of the holiday this weekend, I am going to skip those for now and show you some Candy Corn Cupcake Pops that I made this morning.  The inspiration came from, of course, the wonderful Bakerella and her cupcake pops.  I haven't seen any to resemble candy corns, so I went for it!

I used vanilla cake, instead of the classic red velvet... and cream cheese icing that I have an abundance of in the freezer from last weekend.  I covered them with Yellow chocolate first, then Orange, naturally, and finished off with your White.  I have to admit, I did run out of Yellow and had to make just Orange and White, but it is often that you will find the rogue candy corn without a yellow bottom.




The inside!

Gotta admit... they taste pretty yummy!!

I hope everyone has a great and spooky Halloween, filled with tricks and treats!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Pretty Pink Package

A client asked me to make a birthday present cake for his wife Gosia.  Not a box, but a wrapped package, which was really easy.  A square cake with indent lines to look like folds in paper.  It was decorated with pink polka dots, a large pink bow, a gift tag and a single white rose.

The cake itself was chocolate with chocolate mousse filling and covered with chocolate buttercream and then fondant.



The client was actually surprised at how big it was... which I take as a compliment... I would rather hear that he got more for his money, than feeling cheated!  They really enjoyed the cake, and shared with co-workers the next day!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Autumn Cupcakes - Candy Pumpkin inside

After a cake tasting that I did for an upcoming wedding, I had a ridiculous amount of cream cheese icing left over, so I needed something to make.  Given the wonderful fall weather, what better than Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes!  I wanted to make them a little more Autumn, so why not add some candy corns and candy pumpkins.  First though, I had to get the batter going.


I wanted to do some sort of filling, but something different, so I baked a candy pumpkin inside.


I also wanted to change up the classic Cream Cheese icing, so I added some maple syrup and cinnamon for a Cinnamon/Maple Cream Cheese icing. sweet, but light and creamy!


I decorated with lots of pumpkins and corns, in patterns that remind me of pinwheels.


This one is a flower! :-)



And when you cut it open, it has a pumpkin inside.  It was something new for me, a trail and error, if you will... but i like to think, minus the error!  It came out perfect. The pumpkin stayed in tact, with a bit of the sugar caramelizing around it, making it very chewy inside, but holding onto its pumpkin integrity.  It was a nice little surprise.

These are guaranteed to bring you to the dentist, but they were yummy and definitely fit for the season. I'm already thinking of what I can bake tomorrow!!! :-)  It is the best time of year for baking! That's for sure!

Friday, October 15, 2010

Super Mario Birthday Cupcakes

I have been dying to do something "Super Mario" inspired for years, but never had the opportunity.  Well, finally the opportunity presented itself and I was like a kid in a candy store!!!

We'll get the basics down quick... the cupcakes were chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream, filled and topped.  Then came the fun part.  Circles of fondant to depict the background of each cupcake and then smaller pieces of multiple colors to turn little cupcakes into Super Mario's favorite characters, both enemies and friends!
Here is a top view of the bulk.  The only ones missing are duplicates  20 cupcakes, 10 characters done twice.

You can see the Mario and Luigi heads, the flying fish, the mushrooms and ghosts and squid.  A Goomba, some flower power, and the vicious pipe plants.


A close-up of the good stuff. A coin, flower power, and star power.


A scary Goomba looking to get squished.


A 1-Up mushroom on a question mark block.


A flying fish looking passive, but they are aggressive!


Marioooo... the name with the game. He was fun to make.


Luigi was more fun to make! haha... those eyebrows made it more fun!


The kids went nuts over them. The parents went nuts over them.. and I finally got to make my Super Mario treats (so yes, I went nuts over them too).

A highlight of my baking/decorating career! LOVE IT!! Every time I look at them I hear the theme song in my head! :-)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Grace's Baptismal FlufferNutter Cake

My dear "niece by association", Grace Margaret Fury was baptized Sunday, October 2nd.  She was a vision in her gown and slept through everything.

Her cake needed to be as beautiful, elegant, and delicate as she is... (not that that is possible, but I did my best!).

The flavor was something new I came up with on a whim, shared with Gracie's mama, who LOVED the idea, and the FlufferNutter cake was born. 
I made peanut butter flavored cake, put peanut butter cream on one side, sprinkled with chopped peanuts...


and then put marshmallow fluff on the other side...


put both sides together, covered with marshmallow buttercream and then decorated with fondant.  Yes... ALL OF THAT!!!!!


All covered in white fondant... no coloring.  The cross was cut from fondant, the oval is a cutout with her name inscribed with icing, and little round "pearls" that I rolled by hand to outline the oval. Two baby rosebuds sat on top.


 There was an overlay of fondant to resemble a pillow/blanket effect...  the bottom portion being indented with stitch markings for texture.


Close-up of the tiny rosebuds.


Once the cake was cut into, it oozed marshmallow fluff


And was devoured!


Gracie slept through the cake portion of the day too, but she's too tiny to have any, so it was ok.   And, in roughly 9 more months or so, I'm looking forward to making her first birthday cake!

On a side note, my apologies for being lax in the posts... I have a bunch more to come!