Baby shower cake

This cake was for a baby shower. The cake was vanilla bean with lemon buttercream and fresh raspberries. I used a cake recipe from Sweetapolita (who got it from someone else), but I tweaked it to add vanilla bean.

Monogram cake

For a baptism, the lucky boy was wearing blue and orange, so the stripes on the cake matched. Cake was chocolate with Oreo filling.

Dinosaur cake

This cake was for a 4 yr old's birthday. I saw this cute dinosaur cake using the cuddly bear pan from Wilton so I want to try it. I bought the pan and followed the directions to a T. Disaster. The head wasn't done even though I baked it for the time it said, but on convection. Then, I made it twice more and both times there were no feet and once the head fell off. The last time I made it, it was still not done so I put it back in the oven. And it sill dent stand that high. I really would not recommend this pan. If the batter wasn't leaking out everywhere, then it's underbaked because it is impossible to tell if the cake is done.
The cake was chocolate with dulce de leche filling.

Dots & stripes cake

For sweet Claire, whose birthday is on New Year's day- she had a pre-Christmas birthday party at a candy store, complete with face painting and glitter tattoos. The cake was vanilla with vanilla filling.

Hello Kitty Cake V

Oh, the ever popular Hello Kitty party decor at Party City. This is the fifth cake I've done to match it. I love Hello Kitty and it's fun to come up with new ways to incorporate the colors and elements. This cake was for Olivia, who turned 5. I worked with Olivia's mom a few years back and we were pregnant at the same time. I imagine our boss was thrilled to have two of us on maternity at the same time. Oh, well.
Olivia's mom wanted fondant swags and a Hello Kitty figure. The HK is RKT (a little fat). The cake is chocolate vanilla marble with chocolate buttercream.

Elmo Sesame Street Cake

This cake was for Carolina (LOVE that name! We almost named both our daughters that, but alas, other names won out), who turned 2. Her favorite Sesame Street characters are Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby Cadabby. Elmo's body is cake, but his head and limbs are RKT. The rest of the decorations are fondant and gumpaste.

Green Orchid Cake

A 50th birthday cake for my husband's business partner. Green orchids are made from gumpaste/fondant, wrapped in satin ribbon. Cakes were red velvet and carrot with vanilla filling.

Star Wars Cake

A Star Wars cake for Coleman, who apparently loves Darth Maul. His mom wanted a positive influence as well, so Yoda made it on there, too.

 

The cake was dark chocolate with cookie butter filling.

Train Cake

This cake was for Aiden a couple months ago, who turned 1. The cake was chocolate with vanilla filling.

Cookie Monster Cake

This cake was for my buddy boy, who turned 1 last week. I'm so sad that he's growing up so quickly. Why, time, why?!! My boy is crazy about food- ever since he was about 5 months old he would get all excited when he saw people eating anything, and got upset that he couldn't have any. So, I thought it was fitting that he should have a Cookie Monster cake. I used this cake as inspiration (it's so adorable, I love it!!). The cake was chocolate with Cookie Butter buttercream. He's holding a real chocolate chip cookie.

The cake board says "C is for Canon." Happy birthday to the happiest boy.

Karaoke Cake

This cake was for Abbey, the mom of my daughter's pre-school friend. Apparently, Abbey loves Britney Spears and was having a karaoke party. The gorgeous birthday girl loves pink and green. The cake was chocolate with salted caramel buttercream, after her favorite Starbucks drink!

Orchid Cake

A cake for Sydney, who turned 21. The flowers are all made from half gumpaste/half fondant. I think combining the two is easier to work with and isn't as dry. I painted the middles with color gel. The cake is red velvet with vanilla meringue buttercream.

Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

First pumpkin recipe of so-called fall! Pumpkin bars are great to feed a crowd. This is my usual pumpkin bar recipe, but after having browned butter frosting on these banana bars, I decided it was only just and true to put them on these pumpkin bars.

Make them and feel like it's fall. Or just feel happy that these are in your belly.

Pumpkin Bars
adapted from BHG

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 15-ounce can pumpkin

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup cooking oil

In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat together eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add the flour mixture; beat until well combined. Stir in chopped pecans, if desired.
Spread batter in an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerator. Makes 24 bars.

Browned Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Combine browned butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread frosting over cooled bars.

Minnie Mouse Buttercream Ruffle Cake

For my girl, who turned 5 last week. The spunky, crazy and sassy LuLu loves Minnie Mouse. I wanted to try these buttercream ruffles and what better time to experiment than on a cake for our family? There's a tutorial here, but it's really easy. The cake was chocolate, filled with chocolate ganache. The buttercream was just vanilla.

Happy birthday to my sweet pea!

Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

I'd like to say that I'd been planning on making these bars for a while, but honestly, we had a bunch of bananas that went super-ripe in about a day's time (what's up with Costco bananas? They're green one day and brown the next?!). So, I have made banana bars before, but this whole roasted banana idea intrigued me. 

Start out by roasting the bananas with brown sugar and butter. I did mine under the broiler in about 5-7 minutes.

After the bananas are roasted, it's pretty straight forward. Butter, sugar and eggs, add in the dry and wet ingredients alternately.

Ok, and now listen carefully. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT use any other frosting with these. This frosting is so yummy and wonderful it's a crime not to use it. Now get to it and make these. And share with friends. A lot of friends.

Roasted Banana Bars
adapted from Cooking Light
3 cups sliced ripe banana (about 5 medium)
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
4 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
Baking spray

1. Preheat broiler.

2. To prepare bars, combine banana, brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon butter in an 13"x9" baking dish. Put under broiler for 5-7 minutes, until the bananas are golden. Cool slightly.

3. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°.

4. Weigh or lightly spoon cake flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Combine banana mixture, buttermilk, and vanilla in another medium bowl. Place butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs to granulated sugar mixture; mix well. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternating with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

5. Pour batter into a 13"x18" baking pan (cookie sheet) coated with baking spray. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Browned Butter Frosting

1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly. Combine browned butter, powdered sugar, cream cheese, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer until smooth. Spread frosting over cooled bars.

Hello Kitty Cake IV

I made this cake a couple months ago, but I didn't get any pictures of it except for this one from Instagram. It was for 2 sisters who had the exact same birthday, two years apart. It was made to match the same Hello Kitty party decor as this and this.

Cinderella Cake

When I was pregnant with my first son, one of my good friends was also pregnant with her first daughter. Her daughter was born a couple weeks before my son. Now, three years later, she asked me to make little Hanna's birthday cake. I can't believe how quickly time goes by! Hanna wanted a Cinderella cake (when I dropped it off on the morning of her birthday, Hanna was already in her Cinderella dress ready to party). 

Cake was strawberry with vanilla filling.

Noah's Ark cake

The same cute mom who requested the Cars 2 cake also wanted me to make her son's christening cake that was for the same weekend. She wanted something similar to this cake, and this is what I came up with. She liked the animals and colors, so I stuck with that. I know Noah's ark wasn't a sailboat, but the boat was made of rice krispie treats and I wasn't sure structurally how to make a tower sit on top of it.

Cake was red velvet with vanilla buttercream.

Cars 2 Cake

Someone contacted me on Facebook to order a cake like the Cars 2 cake I made last year. She wanted it for her little boy, who turned 1. This one was to be bigger, so it's three tiers. The cars are made out of rice krispie treats and covered and decorated in fondant.

My Little Pony Rainbow Dash Cake

First My Little Pony cake I've made- what happened in the past year that MLP has completely changed? They're all sleek and less cutesy. Anyway, Liv and Sadie are sisters almost exactly two years apart and they love MLP from Netflix. :) Rainbow Dash is their fave.

The inside was rainbow vanilla with vanilla buttercream.