Celtic Bridal Shower Cake

Celtic Bridal Shower Cake

May 2008

The theme for Mary and Ryan's wedding is the symbol for the celtic trinity, a simple and elegant trefoil.



This cake was for a wedding shower at an office. I love making cakes like this because it represents a break from the daily routine to celebrate someone's life and spend time in community. So I kicked it up by adding a layer of vanilla cake between the two chocolate ones. It was fun to assemble and hopefully retained its whimsy when cut.

Details:

Cake Details:

• Cake: Two layers of chocolate cake, with a layer of vanilla in the center
• Filling: Choclate bavarian cream
• Icing: Vanilla buttercream
• Decorations: Tinted vanilla buttercream and chocolate frosting

Kit Kat Heaven

Kit Kat Heaven
May 2008

If you haven't tried the "kit kat bar" at Central, you need to go immeadiately. Michael Richard (also of Citronelle) has layered hazelnut crunch with chocolate and chocolate mousse, and paired it with hazelnut ice cream that is thick and rich like gelato. A wonderful treat after a great meal.

Giraffe Cupcakes

Giraffe Cupcakes
May 2008

Kristi love both Giraffes and cupcakes. I wasn’t sure how these themes would mix for the baby shower treats, but I used the same chocolate layering as with the soccer balls to make little giraffe heads/necks that popped out of the icing.

Displayed beautifully at the party by Lanier.

What a great bite!

Cake Details:

• Cupcakes: Chocolate with chocolate chips
• Icing: Vanilla buttercream (white and baby blue)
• Decorations: Chocolate giraffes

(photo credit: Lanier)

Giraffes Part 2

Giraffes - Part 2

May 2007

Here are some details on the chocolate details. Outline the design by hand or using a template and let set in the freezer.

Melt the second color of chocolate (not too hot) and pour into the outlines. Let set.

Flip them over and add details, like the eyes.

Soccer Cupcakes

Soccer Cupcakes
May 2008

The Benefit Concert and Silent Auction for Ambassadors in Sports-Kenya was a huge success raising awareness, and funds, for AIS-Kenya “an organization building hope and relationship with the children of Kenya through the game of soccer.”

These cupcakes were part of the bakesale. I was going for the look of a soccer ball in a grassy field. I started with dark chocolate to pipe the circles and pentagon shapes, then filled it in with white-chocolate.

Cake Details

• Cupcakes: Chocolate


• Icing: Tinted vanilla buttercream


• Decorations: Chocolate soccer balls

Mojito Cupcakes

Mojito Cupcakes
May 2008

Congratulations to the NCL Fellows Class of 2008! To celebrate our last Wednesday night together we had a fiesta and I wanted to make something a little different to mark the occasion. Since we are big fans of the mojito, I modified last summer’s margarita cake into a mojito cupcake. They were yummy and would be perfect at a hot summer BBQ.

Ingredients:

White Cake mix (not yellow or butter recipe, just white or french-vanilla white)
1 can margarita mix (thawed)
1/8 cup dark rum OR a splash of rum extract
Peppermint extract
Zest of one lime (optional, but recommended)
Fresh mint leaves
Vanilla frosting (whipped cream frosting is best)

Recipe:

Start with boxed white cake mix. Add the eggs and oil as instructed, but instead of water mix the rum/rum extract with the melted can of margarita mix to make up the liquid amount indicated on the box. Top off the liquid with a splash of mint extract and the zest of one lime.

Bake as directed and top with a dollop and whipped cream frosting and a fresh mint leaf.

Cake Details:

• Cupcakes: Mojito
• Icing: Whipped vanilla frosting (yes, really, it was off the shelf)
• Decorations: Mint leaves

Diva Cake

Diva Cake

May 2008

I'm back from my hiatus and happy to be baking in my new kitchen in Washington, DC. Somehow I managed to move from the 'burbs back into the city and gain both counter AND cabinet space. Yahooo!

The theme of this bridal shower was "Divas" and fits our advocate-morning-loving-mostly-naked-wild-and-wonderful darling Darla perfectly. So the cake fits with the crown theme that each diva attendee wore as a name tag. It is also color matched to the coral and orange rose bouquets that will be the wedding colors.

A toast to all the divas!

Cake Details

• Cake: Triple layer of lemon vanilla
• Filling: Chocolate Bavarian cream
• Icing: Tinted vanilla buttercream
• Decorations: Tinted buttercream, gold luster dust, royal icing daisy on the crown

(photo credit: Kayla and Dawn)