Happy Birthday Sparky!

I always look forward to family birthdays.  I usually get some more freedom to "do what I want" and my family are usually victims of new recipes or ideas.  Why?  Because then I get to taste them.  It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it.  

So, when my brother's birthday was approaching, I talked to my sister-in-law to see if she had any ideas for my brother's cake.  She asked me to do something with squirrels (more on that later).  Other than that, she really didn't have much of a preference and we both knew that my brother wasn't all that picky.  I know that one of my brother's favorite flavors is lemon, so I started looking for some fun lemon recipe ideas.

In the process of researching, I discovered a little website called "Pinterest".  You may have heard of it.  I am know addicted and am looking into a 12-step program to detox.  It.Is.Awesome.  And the cake ideas are endless!  I just love it!  Anyway, I came across some pictures of a lemon meringue CAKE which I thought looked fun.  My brother's favorite pie is a lemon meringue pie so I thought this would be perfect.  

I started with a lemon cake and I made some lemon curd and filled and stacked the cake like so:

These are three 6-inch cakes sliced in half for 6 layers.

Then I made up some White Cloud frosting, a Martha Stewart recipe.  I've made 7-minute frosting before and that's what I thought I was making again until I had all of the ingredients put together and discovered that I had to beat this stuff for about 25 minutes!!!  Well, I'm happy to say, it turned out beautifully!

Frosting the cake was a cinch!

It didn't have to be super neat if I was going to give it that lemon meringue pie look.  I achieved it by using the back of a spoon and making little peaks.

Then, I got out my blow torch (yep -- I have one for when I make creme brulee) and I torched the little peaks.

I think it looks like meringue right out from the broiler, don't you?  

So, back to the squirrels.  My sister-in-law sometimes calls my brother "Sparky", and references Chevy Chase in the movie National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.  A squirrel in that movie had a pretty destructive role.  So, she requested that squirrels be somewhere on the cake.  I was happy to oblige.  

And here's a delicious shot of the inside of the cake.  Mmmmmmm!!!!

Happy Birthday, Brother!  I'm so happy we got to celebrate another year of you!  Here's to many more!

Love,
Sis

Are You Ready For Some Football?

Kathy requested a football themed cake for her son's birthday party this weekend.  She wasn't looking for anything big but she told me that leftovers would be okay!  Chocolate cake was requested with chocolate frosting and I had a football pan so we were good to go!

The chocolate cake is my favorite.  Alright.  I said.  Chocolate is my favorite.  I LOVE it when people order it.  It's fun to make and it's oh so delicious!!!  The chocolate frosting was a new recipe.  It was a cream cheese chocolate recipe and I added my own flare to it.  I think it tasted like fudge.  Think about it.  Fudge.  Delicious, chocolate fudge with chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream on the inside.  This cake was delicious!  

I hope that the party was a success and I hope that their favored team won the Super Bowl this weekend!!

Look! Henry's TWO!

I have to admit that I get a little giddy when my past customers request another cake from me.  It's a re-affirming thing; I'm doing something right.  Whether they like the way my cakes taste or look or [hopefully] both - I just get giddy when I get a repeat customer.  

So, you can imagine my giddiness when Vince, a high school friend of mine, requested another cake for Henry's 2nd birthday.  He simply sent over a jpeg of the invite and I knew I had free reign to create something special for Henry, as I did last year with his jungle cake.  

Here's the inspiration/invite:  

And here's what I did with it:

I think the polka dots made such a fun-looking cake!!  The cake itself was a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream.

 I hope that Henry had a fantastic birthday party!  And Vinny - it was GREAT to see you again!

Century Club

On Thursday, I received this in the mail:  

It's a "Century Club" pin from Wilton.  Receiving it means that I've had the privilege of teaching over ONE HUNDRED students.

Three years ago, when I started on this cake decorating journey, I never would have imagined that I would be where I am today.  I was at a Michael's store, picking up a cake pan for a big cake I was planning to make for my husband's and my annual Academy Awards party, when I saw a brochure about cake decorating classes.  I signed up for the first class that night and counted the days until the first session.

My intention was only to take the first class, but I fell in love with cake decorating and I truly enjoyed the people I took the classes with.  I still see Alice, Marie, Keith and our instructor, Karen, a few times a year to catch up and learn new skills.

I love teaching and I love decorating cakes.  It's a stress-relieving [most of the time] hobby where I get so much enjoyment.  And I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for my super fun classmates, my great teachers, my wonderful students, and my fantastic friends, family, and "fans".  I am humbled and so very thankful for your support.

Thank you.  Thank you SO very much!

Tanner's 18!!!

So, late last month, my godson turned 18.  EIGHTEEN!!!!  I still remember holding him for the first time.   And decorating pumpkins when he was about 3 or so (as seen below).  I simply cannot believe how fast time flies and what an amazing young man he's become.  

Tanner's mom, Kim, and I went to grade school and Jr. High together.  We've known each other MOST of our lives.  When I moved from my hometown right before high school, Kim did an amazing job of keeping the lines of communication open between us.  We continued our friendship and visited each other throughout those years.    We kept in contact through college and still see each other pretty regularly to this day.  To be a part of her life and to play such a humbling role in Tanner's life has been a real honor.  

(Tanner (posing with his cake) and I are giving the 'ol stink-eye to Kim who's having a hard time using my camera.  The cake is REALLY heavy...)

What a handsome young man!

As graduation approaches, Tanner is planning his college days.  He plans to go into photography and has a really impressive "eye" for it.  His photography is really something!

I was absolutely honored to do this cake for him.  He asked for a pretty simple design.  White buttercream with confetti going down one side.  I used candy-covered chocolate chips, because - YUM!

The top tier is Tanner's favorite; banana cake with banana cream filling.  The bottom tier is a real crowd pleaser; chocolate cake, chocolate fudge and Oreo buttercream filling.  When I said the cake was heavy, I wasn't kidding!!

I had such a wonderful time at Tanner's party, meeting his friends and seeing/visiting with his family.  I even got to see a few more of my grade-school friends as well.  It's always nice to catch up!

To Tanner - I wish you the very best year yet.  SO many adventures are right in front of you.  The sky's the limit, Buddy!  I can't wait to see what you do next!

Love,
Ann
XOXO

Have you HERD the MOOS?

You know when you have this great idea in your head and then when you see it in true form it makes you laugh hysterically?  Well, that's what happened with these cow cake pops.  I had this idea in my head and these turned out more silly than I even anticipated.  Carrie requested 10 of these little cows as a birthday party favor for her son's class. 

I had milk chocolate and white chocolate ready to melt.  The candy eyes really give these little cows a bit of whimsy, don't you think?  (LOL!)  The cake pops themselves where made out of chocolate cake. 

I hope that Carrie's son has a great birthday this weekend! 

Hello Kitty/Abby!

My long-time friend, Kim (seriously, we've been friends since we were SIX!!!) asked me to do a cake for her daughter, Abby's 12th birthday.  Abby is really into Hello Kitty these days and wanted a Hello Kitty cake.  I had SO.MUCH.FUN with this one!

The cake itself is a chocolate cake with buttercream filling and frosting.  The decoration is made up of fondant and gum paste.  

The very best part of this cake was the delivery.  Kim lives about 90 minutes away from me, but we decided to meet half-way and have lunch.  Such fun to meet up with good friends like that!!

Here's Abby's cake with the party decorations.  Would you believe that I hadn't seen them?  It was by luck that the colors worked out as perfectly as they did!  Maybe that, or Kim and I are telepathic.  Wouldn't surprise me!

And here's the birthday girl, Abby with her cake!

 SO happy to be a part of your birthday, Abby!  I hope you had a great day and a great party!