Primrose Cake Pops

Kari and her husband Chad celebrated the adoption of their daughter, Primrose, this week.  She is an absolutely beautiful little girl, who I'm told has an absolutely beautiful disposition.  They are most certainly blessed!  To help celebrate, our mutual friend Erin ordered cake pops.  I was told that they had to be pink, pink and more pink with bling if I had it!  Kari also likes fruity flavored cakes, so I chose strawberry cake as the cake pop flavor.  

On half of the cake pops, I decorated them with royal icing primroses.  Appropriate, eh?!

 On the other half of the cake pops, I decorated them with varying shades of pink "p's".

And I wrapped them and tied them up with a few shades of pink ribbon.

I hope that Kari, Chad, Primrose and the rest of their family had a wonderful celebration!  I wish them all the best (and I can't wait to officially meet baby Primrose!)!!!  Congratulations!!!!!

Thankful for Turkey Cake Pops

Last year around this time, MY cake decorating instructor, Karen, came over and provided a demonstration to me and some of my cake classmates on how to make cake pops.  One of the cake pops we made was one that looked a lot like my turkey below.

So, I was asked by Ben Franklin to do a demo on cake pops in the store on Saturday and I thought that this being Thanksgiving week, what a great cake pop to make!  And perhaps you can try these with your families this week!

 
So, after the cake pops are dipped in chocolate, you add two preztel legs,

 two candy eyes,

 4-5 candy corn feathers,

and an orange and red rainbow chip sprinkle. 

I LOVE how ridiculously silly they look.  I just laugh at them!

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!!!

Callie's Owl-stravaganza!!!

One of my very best friends in the whole wide world, Stacy, was planning a 1st birthday party for her beautiful daughter, Callie.  She asked me to do Callie's cake and gave me PLENTY of notice (which I always appreciate), and Stacy included me in her brainstorming ideas for the party (which was also super fun).  It was neat to listen to all of Stacy's fantastic ideas and her amazing vision turn into such a beautiful party.  

She decided to go with an owl theme for Callie's party.  The colors she found herself drawn to were bright pink and orange.  She researched high and low to find the "right" items for the party, which included making her own items (the masks and the owl pillows seen below) and ordering banners and signs from an artist on etsty.com.  Here's the picture she gave me for inspiration for the cake. 

Stacy wanted an two-tiered cake and we discussed ideas and exchanged thoughts back and forth.  She ultimately gave me creative freedom and I took it.  In the final hour, I decided to make the two-tiered cake a topsy-turvy cake, just for fun!  The owls and the color-schemed screamed "whimsical" to me and the topsy-turvy was then justified. 

But first came the owl topper.  Sculpted out of rice krispies and covered in gum paste and fondant. 

I wanted the owl to look as though it was sitting in a nest on top of a tree.  The nest was designed to be Callie's smash cake (but we decided on a cupcake at the party...more on that later).

The top tier of the cake was a yellow cake with buttercream and strawberry preserve filling.  The bottom tier of the cake was a chocolate cake with chocolate fudge, buttercream and Oreo filling.  (Best.Flavor.Combination.Ever!  Totally MY favorite!)

Stacy also requested soy, dairy and gluten-free cupcakes for the party due to some dietary restrictions.  She provided the cupcake mix and I baked them and decorated them with 7-minute frosting; a very marshmallow-y, light and sweet topping!

 And here's what the cake and cupcakes looked like at their destination. 

We're getting ready to sing Happy Birthday to Callie.  Here's her smash cake. 

And here's the adorable Callie!  A cute little princess, indeed!

After Callie's adventure, I carved up the cake.  A rare moment when I actually get to see the cake cut and served.  Here's what it looked like on the inside.  YUM!

Dear Callie - I hope you had a wonderful birthday celebration!  I'm so thankful I got to be a part of your special day!  I look forward to celebrating many more with you!