Fig & Ruby Sweets

Purple Cake Tutorial

2011-03-06T16:37:00.000-08:00

My daughter had a purple party. She really wanted a cute dolly girl for the top of the cake so I decided to keep the outside of the cake simple.

Clothespin dolly girl! She was so fun to make and I love how she turned out! I used beads to make her hair.

The big surprise was the inside of the cake....

On the night before the party I was losing steam, I still had some decorating to do and I was tempted to ice the layers with white icing. I am so glad I didn't. I think the colored icing helps to make the look more dramatic!

You can make this cake too.
In any color you like.
Without too much headache.

I baked the cake(s) the week before. This way I was able to bake them, wrap them up and freeze them and not have as much to do the night before the party. I prefer to freeze my cakes for at least 24 hours before I decorate them. They are easier to ice and cut and I think it makes it much more moist.

I mixed a small amount of white cake batter with wilton icing coloring. I mixed lots into the first one to make a really rich, dark shade. I baked this in a 6 inch round pan. Then I took another small amount of cake batter (maybe 1 1/2-2 1/2 cups...I didn't measure!?) I added a bit less color to the next and a bit less as I went.

The night before the party, I mixed about 1/2 cup of icing in each of the shades of purple. I made sure the cakes were even by slicing the rounded tops off the cakes. I stacked the cakes and iced them with the appropriate colored icing between the layers.

I iced the whole cake with a crumb coat (icing made a bit thinner with a little bit of water. This layer will get crumbs in it but that's okay because it is not the final layer:)

Then I popped it in the freezer for 20 minutes.

Here's my lame {it's late, the lighting was bad, I was tired...} photo of my cake with the crumb coat on, all ready to be jazzed up!

Here's the tip that I used to make the rosettes. It's just a swirl movement. Here is a tutorial if you don't know how to make a rosette. This tutorial is great for a few other little icing/piping bag tips!

My rosettes are much bigger than hers but it is the same concept.

Why is her icing so white and mine a bit yellow? Because she used Crisco instead of butter. I personally find Crisco gross, unnatural and well, disgusting. That's just my opinion. Lots of bakeries use Crisco and people seem to enjoy it just fine:)

And WA-LA! Cake is done, ready for a spectacular presentation at the party!!

Adorable Gift! Little Pastry Chef Set

2010-12-11T12:46:00.000-08:00

I was at a craft fair last week at KCS and at the table beside me Shelly had the most adorable gift sets on display. This is a fantastic product, all hand sewn and for a really great price.

Here is the list of what the set includes:

Apron

Chef Hat

Decorating tube

Large and small cake in yellow (the cakes have zippered bottoms for storage of the accessories)

Fondant sleeves in pink, white and brown for both small and large cake

Fondant caps in pink white and brown for both small and large cake

White ruffle “icing” for both sizes of cake

10 violets

5 roses

7 white swags

It is all packaged in a cute white with pink dots (or plain white) cake box.

The price is $30 for the set!

You can contact Shelly by phone

(250)575-2648

or email

sewfrendly@gmail.com

Hurry before they are all gone!

There are other adorable ad ons that you can request:

Birthday candles ($1.50 each)

Strawberries and Whipped cream dollops (5 strawberries & 5 whipped cream for $6.00)

Roses in white, pink, yellow, etc.($1.00 per rose)

A footed cake plate ($6.00)

Assorted shapes such as hearts, dots, stripes, etc.

The cakes are yellow and there is a solid wooden box inside. The bottom is zippered shut so that you can store all the accessories...SO CLEVER!

The colored "sleeves" and fondant drippy looking tops can create so many different looks. What a fun toy!

Love the felt piping bag and chef's accessories!

How cute is this???

It would look great on a shelf in a room as well. SO sweet!

Vintage Tea Party Treats

2010-10-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I threw one of my daughter's a 9th birthday "vintage tea party" stye. You can see details HERE.

It was so fun to put on my apron and do a bit of baking for the party.

It's been a while.

Like a looong while!

Here are the pretties and their stats...

The cake was actually not cake at all. My daughter requested brookie.

Have you heard of it?

It's all Bakerella's fault.

My family will never be the same. We all love this little delight!

I couldn't imagine the brookie without the ganache top layer so I iced each layer with ganache and then iced the entire outside of the cake with ganache as well. It was quite easy to ice the cake with icing once the ganache was solid. I sped up the "get the ganache solid" process by sticking the whole cake in the freezer for a little bit.

For the record, this cake took 3 brownie mixes and 3 cookies mixes. The bottom layer is two 8in. rounds and the top layer is 2 6in rounds.

Sugar cookies, I must say, are really adorable but a lot of work. I was highly motivated to make these because it has been a long time since I created anything cute in cookie form but I am sure I will take a break now, it's just not my thing.

The packaging was easy and I was really happy with the finished product.

I use the "No Fail Sugar Cookie" and "Antonia 74" for my cookie and icing recipes. They are great and the cookies taste awesome every time.

Here is my easy little cookie display. If I were to do it over again I would have attached the cookie bags to the ribbons in a classier way. I used safety pins out of convenience {and maybe a little impatience} but imagine how cute they'd look with wooden clothes pins!

Sweets On Vacation

2010-08-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry friends, I have nothing to show you from my own kitchen. I made some adorable chocolate dipped rice krispy pops and a fun rice krispy cake for a friend but I got no photos!

I did go on a fantastic vacation with my family to Westport Washington and my eye is always drawn to the sweets. Here is what I saw...

My boy sneeking salt water taffy!

My baby tasting her first candy necklace!

My big girl holding a giant cone:)

Candy sticks in every color...pretty!!

Best mint chocolate fudge ever...YUM!!

Tasty jawbreakers.

The kids were in heaven being allowed to have much more candy than we would normally allow.

Now I need to get busy planning the treats for my upcoming Stella & Dot party. Got any ideas?

Dunk, Roll & Cool Your Way To Decadent Ice Cream Cones

2010-07-02T13:17:00.000-07:00

Check out these delicious cones we made to celebrate the end of school/ beginning of summer.

Here's a quick tutorial that will hopefully motivate you to try them cause they are sooo yummy!

Choose some kind of candy bar or nuts that sound good to you...I went with crispy crunch (Canadian version of Butter Finger)

Melt chocolate in a double boiler. I went with dark chocolate chips and some unsweetened dark chocolate baker's squares)

Okay enough talking, here's the steps...

Dunk...

Roll...

Cool. (in the fridge. Mine are sitting on my silpat in my baking try. You can use parchment paper if you don't have a silpat.)

That's it! So easy and it makes the cones MUCH more exciting!!

Go make these!

Here are my kids and their cousins enjoying their cones outside (while the adults gobbled theirs down inside)

YUM YUM!

School Cuppies

2010-06-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

When my daughter's teacher came back to the school to introduce her students to her new baby, cupcakes were in order. I used a fun font (school daze) to make cute toppers with the baby's name. The cupcakes were chocolate with mint icing and grasshopper cookie crumbs on top. Delish!

Owl Cupcakes

2010-05-26T23:49:00.000-07:00

Owls are so popular right now. My next door neighbor growing up had an owl collection (figurines, not pets) so whenever I see owls I think of her. I kinda associate owls with the 70's. I guess peace signs and owls have re-established themselves in today's pop culture! Anyways, I came across these adorable cupcakes and I felt compelled to share them.

Looks like they used Oreos, junior mints and some kind of yellow candy. Easy and sooo cute! Sorry, I do not know where I found this, it was reeeal late one night. If you know where I got it, let me know so i can give the proper credit!

Newsflash: Kim from Frost Me knew where the owl was from...Hello, Cupcake a cute blog dedicated to cupcakes! Oh- she also shared that the nose is a banana Runt candy! So great! Thanks Kim!

Dirt Bike Cake

2010-05-07T23:24:00.000-07:00

One week after we celebrated my daughter's first birthday, I was back in the kitchen baking a cake for my son.

Lucky for me his request was fairly simple. He asked for a "dirt bike cake" and that is exactly what he got.

For me, it's all about the details. The "dirt bike guy" is #4 and my little guy turned 4!

My lil buddy with his buddies!

Peeking at the cake!

I used chocolate doughnut holes and cocoa puffs and chocolate rocks on this cake. The path is made from dark chocolate ganache.

This was a fun cake and very forgiving Best of all, my boy loved it and my husband deemed it "best tasting cake so far" Double points for me!!

Cait's Sweets Table

2010-05-06T15:21:00.000-07:00

My favorite element of Cait's party (aside from the cute baby of course) was the sweets table.

Let's face it, candy is CUTE!

I was so excited when I spotted these mini polka dotted take-out boxes at a party store in the bridal section!

The morning of the party I gave my 10 year old daughter a pile of ribbon scraps and she tied random matching ribbons on the boxes for a little added cuteness. I am all about using what we have and usually the best details come together at the last minute!

Oh- and can I just share- those are Victoria's Secret boxes coming in handy again! If you haven't purchased any PINK items from VS yet, I highly suggest you do so and then ask for a gift box in each size!

I found these Neapolitans and amazing pink rock sugar sticks at Michael's in California. We don't get some of the really fun stuff up here in Canada.

They were huge so I cute them in thirds and wrapped them individually.

The tags were a last minute thing as well but I have to share my new trick...The print on the background of the tag was originally the fabric that inspired the party color scheme. I used this fabric in Cait's tutu as well. I took the fabric in to the copy store, put it in the top of the deluxe copy machine and made a color copy of my fabric! Yahoo! I am so happy with this concept. If you already knew about this, don't burst my bubble cause I had never heard of such a thing and I am kinda proud of myself for coming up with it!

Imagine the possibilities?

The big lollies came with ugly wrappers so I unwrapped them and covered them with celophane and tied them with cute bows. So easy and it made such a big difference!

Oh- got that vase at the thrift store for $1. Great find!

Circus Animal cookies were a must at this party! The chocolate covered pretzels were a really big hit as well. (I took these photos a few hours before the party when the jars still had cellophane on them. I actually left the cellophane on until the end of the party because there were so many little ones and I didn't want all the favors to be gone before the party was over!)

More of that fabulous printed fabric paper! I have had this hat box for a long time, I just keep painting it, covering it with paper, you name it, I have done it! Height is an important aspect of a sweets table so this box was very helpful.

Another view...I was so happy with the bunting. It was not hard at all and it turned out so sweet! It is going up in Cait's room now.

Party favors for baby's friends...Bibs and matching stuffies!

Our Sweet baby is successfully one!

Caitlyn's First Birthday Cakes

2010-04-28T23:02:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we celebrated my little girl's first birthday. It's hard to believe that she is one already.

For her party I had been planning to do a pink and brown giraffe theme. I mean planning since before she was even born. A few weeks before the party I found some amazing fabric and all my plans changed. I still incorporated the pink and brown and a few giraffes but it was more about fun colors and simple sweetness.

Here's the cute clothespin doll I made to go on top of the cake. I used my fun fabric to make her dress. I debated about putting a package in her hand or a sign or a balloon but I then decided on the candle. It's practical and cute!

The cake is two tall 6 inch layers of chocolate coconut cake with butter cream icing. I did a ganache drip on top mostly because I love the taste but I also love the simplicity of it. If you have been following this blog for a long time, I am sure you have noticed that I have not always been into "simplicity"...well, life has gotten full and simplicity is a must these days! I guess I proved to myself I *could* make a fancy cake of any kind and now I am more interested in making a great tasting, beautiful cake without losing too much sleep!

This is Cait's "smash cake" I used a round cookie cutter to make this. I cut three rounds out of a thin flat cake and stacked them up. This is a great option when you don't have a teeny pan. (Or when you've misplaced yours, eh-hem...)

The giraffe on top was a ready to finish wood toy at Michaels. Can't remember what those bendy toys are called?

Here's the little birthday baby taking a first lick...

Taking off her giraffe so she can get to business!

There they are, the big cake and the tiny smash cake perched on the pretty sweets table. I'll share more about that really soon!

Sweets For A Doll

2010-04-12T11:51:00.000-07:00

This is my first sweets table! It was so fun to create!!

This is during the day when we were setting up. In the evening the plastic chairs did not show:)

Oh shoot, you hadn't noticed them?

Well now you see them!

Curly Willow looks great on it's own but I wanted it to have a special touch. I saw something similar to this over at TomKat Studio.

I made the huge tissue paper puffs for a baby shower a year ago so I knew just what to do, just on a much smaller scale:)

I gave my kids (10, 8 and 6) this job and they executed it so well!

Chocolate Coffee Mini Cuppies

Pretty Vanilla Cuppies.

I used two Vicoria Secret boxes for the cupcake stand.

I have a slight obsession with cake plates.

Sticking a candle in the teeny cute cake. We didn't cut into it, I sent it home with the birthday girl.

The cupcakes and candies were plenty.

Here's the birthday girl with her cake.

I am not sure if there was anything more beautiful that these two together?

Have I ever told you how much I love birthdays???

I didn't get a shot of the cake in it's adorable stand but be sure to look closely at the pics with the whole table to admire the latest member of my cake plate collection.

She's so pretty and I got her for $10 at Home Sense!!

Favor purses from Michael's wedding favor isle.

We dressed them up with an adorable Poupee Girl.

The guests digging in to the sweets!

Here are the party planners with the birthday girl. I just wanted to point out how cute the sweets are as a photo prop!

If you are planning to have a sweets table at your party, be sure to make use of the cuteness in a few photos!!

(after all, the photos will be there long after the sweets are scooped up, right??)

Thanks for coming over to check it out! I hope you will feel free to ask me if you have questions. If you are inspired to try something that you have seen, go for it!

I want to see your finished product so please send me a pic or a link!

Seashell Cookies

2010-04-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Poupee Girl Party Pics are up over at Fig & Ruby. Go check them out for an explanation of what in the world I am talking about!!

Seashells are important to Poupee Girl so it seemed fitting that we make the cookie favors seashells. I bought little zip bags, plopped one cookie in each bag, folded cute paper over the bag and stapled. I actually gave this job to my 6 year old...it's that easy!

I love this paper/pattern/color combo!

What Inspires Me?

2010-04-07T23:28:00.000-07:00

Hi! I am in the throws of preparing for my sister's "Poupee Girl Dress Up Party". The color scheme is aqua and pink with an Asian flair. When I came across this yesterday it took my breath away! How can I ever begin to live up to the likes of Amy Atlas? The girl is UNREAL! I am not going to try to attain this level of Fantabulous-ness but I sure am gonna appreciate it...and perhaps drool a little bit...and daydream a lot...and maybe even lose a little sleep at night...

Hello Kitty Cake

2010-03-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

This cake is chocolate coconut cake with fudge filling and fresh strawberry buttercream.

Simple 8 inch rounds, a nice smooth layer of icing and a few gumballs...very easy yet super cute!

Making the top of the cake not edible meant I was able to prepare it in advance and saved me the stress of the "night before the party cake meltdown" (ask my husband, it's a real thing!!)

The white flower shaped layer is a wooden box that I got at Michael's.

I painted it inside and out, made a cute Hello Kitty Spoolie to attach to the top and gave it to my little girl.

And the inspiration behind this cake- Maddie Faith, my Hello Kitty lover!

If you want to see the party details, hop on over HERE.

A peek inside the box!

Cute cake toppers.

I have a baby in my life and the addition of little Caitlyn has inspired me to find ways to simplify without losing the wow factor. I am so excited about the possibilities.

Do you have any ideas?

Please share!!

Hello Kitty Cake Pops

2010-03-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I'm no Bakerella but I am one of her biggest fans and I do like to attempt to copy her! I got the idea for these adorable Hello Kitty Pops on her site and she is always nice enough to include gobs of gorgeous photos explaining EXACTLY what to do.

She makes me feel like they will be "easy".

They are not easy.

Mine are not perfect.

That's okay, my 6 year old birthday girl loved them!

She was so proud to take these cuties to school.

While Maddie was at school passing out pops, I was at home trying to create a Bakerella-esk photo shoot.

Here are the results...

Kitty with some flowers.

(decor for Maddie's party this coming weekend...stay tuned!!)

Kitty in a jar of gumballs.

(gumballs will be going on the cake this weekend:)

close up Kitty, give us your best smile!

Oh right, you don't have a mouth.

Funny that we are all okay with your anatomically incorrect face.

You are cute...mouths are overrated!

"Hello, Kitty"

Kitty friends in a jar of gumballs.

Ooh, the cuteness is more that I can bear!

Ouch.

Kitty guts.

I didn't finish this pop.

I'm not a fan of white chocolate melting candies.

I'm making a mental note for next time about that!

Thanks for looking!

Valentine Treats

2010-02-11T09:14:00.000-08:00

Need a cute, simple and quick last minute valentine idea? Here is what we made at our house last night...

Aren't they too cute?

My 5 year old wrote all 20 of her cards herself.

I was so proud!

Wanna make some?

Here's the low-down...

find some do-dads for the top.

(we used what we had in the cupboard)

red hot hearts

white mini dagrees (little balls)

classic red sprinkles

melt some chocolate

We used this stuff from Michaels.

I heart Michaels

In a really big way.

Seriously, a really big way.

But anyways....

We used our mini muffin tins to keep the jumbo marshmallows from rolling around.

We dipped the marshmallows 1/4 of the way into the chocolate and then carefully set it back in the tin.

This is the hardest part!

We used a little skewer to guide them into the tins without them toppling on their sides.

We topped them with the pretties as we dipped them.

The chocolate dries, so you must work diligently.

We threw them in the fridge to harden up.

This was only about a 10 minute wait.

When we took them out, they were ready to be bagged and tagged.

We bought little zip lock style bags in a pack of 100 at the dollar store for...

you guessed it...

one dollar!

What a steal!

The cuteness possibilities are endless for the tags at the top.

My girls wanted to write them themselves.

Must be something about my craft-nazi-ness.

Makes my kids want no help from me.

Sad but true.

We folded the cute card stock tags over the little bags and stapled them in place.

Wa-la!

80+ school treats done in one evening!

Make these!

Then come back and show me!

If you need another fabulous idea or two, check out these bad boys:

I LOVE The Idea Room. The ideas seriously never stop!!!

When I visit my head is spinning with new projects.

Kinda like when I set foot in Michaels.

And we all know how I feel about Michaels:)

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Great Tutorial On Decorating Sugar Cookies!

2010-01-30T21:26:00.000-08:00

I have had quite a few people ask me questions about how I decorate my sugar cookies. In my head making my own tutorial sounds like a fantastic idea. In my reality, that is never gonna happen. I am learning that I can not do everything!! I am also in awe of the amazing resources that are out there in the blog world and I would love to share some of my favorites with you.

Enter Sweetopia
I could spend hours pouring over Marian's sweet photos and amazing creations. She is Canadian and oh so talented, creative and productive!

Marian has also made some really helpful tutorials. On the left hand sidebar of her blog she has a button for tutorials. How great is that?!?!? Today I present to you her tutorial on "How To Decorate Sugar Cookies With Royal Icing"

I agree with all of her tips and this tutorial is basically exactly what I would say, had I the time and gumption to make my own tutorial:) She mentions Antonia 74's icing recipe and this is the one that I use. Love it. SO GREAT!

Just to give you a feel for what this girl can do, check out these bad boys...

Seriously?

Adorable.

They are right up my alley.

Are you convinced? She's good, reeal good.

You can be too!

All it takes is a few helpful tips and a lot of practice!

Easy Peasy Treats!

2010-01-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Okay so I know I know, I just told you I was done making treats.

This is an exception. I am allowed to make exceptions:)

I just have to share the details.

Behold- the easiest treats EVER!!

That's right, that is all it is...

*two jumbo marshmallows(I made 20 treats using one bag = $2.50)

*stuffed on a wooden skewer ($1 for 100)

*dipped in melting chocolate ($3 per bag with coupon at Michaels, I used 1 1/2 bags)

*covered in sprinkles ($4 with coupon at Michaels)

Lay on parchment paper or wax paper on a tray and let them harden in the fridge...

Wrap 'em up however you feel led to do it...

* I went with cookie bags from Michael's, tied off with curly ribbon and tagged with the kids' names.

Imagine the possibilities? Make these your own way and send me your photos!!!

Football Cuppies

2010-01-21T14:39:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I am not making sweets these days.

I have two reasons; one is my cute little 8 month old..she wants me to love her every waking hour. And I want to love her too! Cakes can wait till Caitlyn grows bigger and does not need me so much!

The second reason is we have gone healthy around here and I think when I take baking back up I will be doing it in a much different fashion and until I perfect that, I will only dream of the possibilities!

Take this adorable idea I saw over at HWTM. Oh my! how cute is this for a super bowl party? Someone please make these and send me a photo!!!

Ballet Sweets

2009-09-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I did a ballerina party for one of my daughters. A friend of mine just threw her daughter an amazing ballerina party and It reminded me what a great theme this is for little girls!!! Here are the treats from my daughter's party.

This cake was fun and easy to make. The trick is amputating the Barbie! You must take the legs off in order to position them in the right place on the cake. This Barbie was $6 at Walmart and she was wearing a tutu and slippers! I hot glued the candles in her hands.

I used icing tip #103 and applied the icing in a small zig zag to make the cake to look like layers and layers of ruffly tulle. You can do this!!!

My love of royal icing continues...The tutus and slippers are royal icing and I added little pink pearls and decorative sugar to make them really pretty and sparkly!

Ladybug Treats

2009-09-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

Here are the details on the ladybug treats I did for the baby shower last weekend!

Gotta love this cake stand. If you do not own this, you should look into getting one for yourself.

I use it so much for all sorts of purposes!

I made the ladybugs out of royal icing weeks in advance. I love anything I can do in advance! Royal icing keeps great in an airtight container at room temperature!

These are mini cupcakes. Mini cupcakes are awesome because you can make 48 out of one regular cake recipe, they don't need much icing, and nobody feels guilty eating two!! When I send treats with my kids to school, I usually opt for the minis. I always cringe at the amount of cupcake that goes in the garbage once the icing has been licked off of a regular cupcake. With minis, it's the perfect amount of icing and cake and the whole thing gets eaten!

This little ladybug was covered with red sugar to make her nice and sparkly. Remove the sugar from the areas that you want to put the black spots because the black icing will not want to stick to the sugar! GRRR. (I'm mentioning this to save you the frustration I endured!!!) I got the dome- shaped cake by using my Pampered Chef baking bowl. Completely ice and sugar the bug before you place her on top of the green cake.

I made the head in advance out of royal icing. The antennae is a black pipe cleaner.

Fields of Daisies!!
I always decorate my cupcakes in these large baking pans so they are easy to transport.

Questions? Ask away! I will try to answer.

Have you made any ladybug fabulousness? I would love to see it!!

Sneak Peek

2009-09-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Here's a little taste of the treats from the baby shower we threw today. More to come tomorrow!

Mmmm...

2009-09-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

Smells good over here!!

Daisy Daisy

2009-09-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

In preparation for a special party this weekend I have created a pile of daisies. I had daisies in my wedding, I guess I kinda like them, they are so happy and so fresh!

These are made out of royal icing. Did you know that royal icing creations can be made in advance and kept for months in an airtight container? I love working with royal icing because it gives me the freedom to give attention to little details way before the "crunch time". When I decorate the cake tomorrow night I won't have to fuss with piping the daisies or washing up the mess, I only have to place these little lovlies on!!

Preparing To Take Flight

2009-08-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

These cute little horse cupcake toppers have been packaged up with great care. They are about to make the journey from here in Canada to Lisa in Connecticut. I made a few extras just in case a couple don't make the trip. I enjoyed doing this long distance order. I am contemplating offering this to customers around the globe. I love working with royal icing and I have discovered I can make just about anything...

Seahorses galore!

My all time favorites.. the Octopus (octopi?)

Little ballet slippers

Initials on sticks!!

I wonder if people would like to be able to order custom royal icing toppers? Any input? I have done some cute royal icing toppers on sticks as well...maybe those would be a hot item. Hmm...something to ponder!

Gotta love Initials!

2009-07-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

Initials never get old. I just love using them on cakes and cupcakes...actually, I use them on shirts, backpacts, etc. I like to personalize just about anything with a plain surface!

Here is some initial inspiration!

Jelly bean Fun

2009-07-08T22:35:00.000-07:00

Hannah Montana

2009-06-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

Hannah Montana is a popular request.

Here are two different treats we did for two Hannah Montana parties.

This birthday girl wanted an electric guitar cake!

I made it to match her Hannah Montana Partyware.

Strings and dials painted with silver lustre dust.

Mini cupcakes with Hannah stickers on top.

Angelic Angel Food

2009-06-07T22:48:00.000-07:00

A new spin on angel food cake! These cupcakes has whipped cream icing and adorable fondant angels on top. They were for a baby dedication but they would be adorable little Christmas treats as well...just add a little green and red holly!

Sorry about the horrible pictures, I hope you can get the idea!

Floating on little clouds, each angel is unique!

I used butter cream for the hair, arms and wings but if I were going to make them again I would use royal icing .

Pair these with custard and fresh berries- YUM!

Funky and Fun

2009-06-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

This cake was so fun to make for a fun girl in her 20's. The fun tag and sparkly cake skirt are such cute details!!

Teapot Cookies

2009-05-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

Adorable Teapot cookies for a baby shower "tea". You can see the rest of the baby shower HERE. These cookies made the trip from Kelowna to California. They all made it, no breaks!!

We especially loved the tags on these.

Using the baby's name and initial turned out so cute!!

Fun cookie favor display at the shower.

Teapots and polka dots...does it get any cuter?

Spider Man Cake

2009-04-26T22:38:00.000-07:00

Today was my husband's 35th and my son's 3rd brithday party. Check out the full story here.

Next week baby #5 will be arriving. This may be my last cake for a little while. I will try to update the blog with things I have not yet posted. Thanks for looking.

Feel free to leave comments so I know who's been here!!

The kids went crazy over the chocolate buildings. The Spider Man candle was the birthday boy's favorite part.

Sweet little birthday boy!!

Caramel Popcorn

2009-04-24T20:32:00.000-07:00

Pretty favors for a birthday dinner. Even something simple like homemade caramel popcorn can look elegant at the table when packaged just right.

Death By Chocolate

2009-04-21T21:27:00.000-07:00

I just finished up my last order before taking a little break to have baby #5 (due May 3). What a fun job! I did three different icings to top these rich and moist chocolate coffee cupcakes; Mocha, Chocolate Vanilla Swirl and chocolate fudge.

Handmade chocolate embellishments

Pretty!

Cute tags to distinguish the three flavors.

Are ya drooling yet?

Is there anything better than chocolate?

High School Musical

2009-04-11T23:19:00.000-07:00

I was given this super cute candle and asked for a High School Musical cake...

Birthday girl's name in lights!

Hand drawn "Wildcats"

The finished product!

Still Love These Colors

2009-04-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

I just came across this photo of these teeny cupcakes I made for a birthday girl a few years ago. The colors just grabbed me today and made me happy. I just thought I'd share the love :)

Lil Chicks

2009-04-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

For the "barnyard" themed preschool dance recital today, some little chicks!

Can you guess what my daughter is in the show??

"peep peep"

So cute in little rows!

These cake balls are delicious and different and just about anything can be added to them to make them fit your theme!!

Rock On!

2009-04-02T16:50:00.000-07:00

This cake for a rock and roll "Rock Band" party was so fun to create!

We really love the vibrant "boy colors".

80% of our orders are for female cakes so it's a real treat when we get to mix it up and create something cool for a guy!!!.

March Madness Of Another Kind...

2009-03-24T23:55:00.000-07:00

While the men are busy watching the sweet sixteen....

look what we have come up with so far in March!!

St Patrick's Day is never complete without treats!!

Sweet Puppy Cake

And the next weekend, a second puppy..this one was a teeny version.

Caterpillar Baby Boy Cake

Funky Pink and Purple Baby Girl Cake

Mermaid Cake

2009-02-27T12:55:00.001-08:00

A new mermaid cake! The color combination on this cake was so pretty!!

Close up...isn't she lovely?

The tra-la factor got even better when this cake got sliced open!!

Cowgirl Cuteness

2009-02-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

Here are the adorable sweets ordered to coordinate with a cowgirl party you can see here that we did a few weeks ago.

And the Winner Is...

2009-01-12T09:50:00.000-08:00

After a long-drawn out close to this New Years Favorite Sweets Countdown, we have a winner!

The best part is, you and I agree!!

This Castle Cake is my favorite cake and as the votes poured in, many of you shared my opinion!! The Castle cake has won as my favorite cake and as the Reader's Choice for favorite cake!!

Maddie Faith's 4th birthday Castle Cake!

Putting the finishing touches on the cake the morning of the party.

For me, this cake is a favorite because of the amount of work that went into it and the satisfying results at the end! There were so many little details on this cake and when it was all put together it was so pretty!

My 4 year old was thrilled as well which, at the end of the day, is always the point for me with cake...it is about the person the cake is made for, it is a way to acknowledge them and tell them that they are special. What an awesome way to communicate, with something that looks beautiful and tastes great too!!!

Thanks for all of your votes. It was fun to hear every one's opinions!

A Slight Delay...

2009-01-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

I must aplologize for the suspense....I am not holding out on the #1 cake and the reader's choice cake for damatic effect, my computer screen died! I can post from another computer but all of my pictures are on the one with the dead screen so the results must wait.

It is not too late to get your votes in, I'll keep tallying votes till I am able to post.

#2

2008-12-31T00:49:00.000-08:00

My personal second-favorite cake is....

The Ladybug Cake!

It is too cute for words, we'll just leave it at that!

Get your votes in for your favorite cake! only two more days!!

I will post the reader's choice on January 1st!!

Only 3 to go...

2008-12-29T10:15:00.000-08:00

Fig & Ruby Sweet #3 is awarded to:

The Digger Cake!

This cake took a bit of engineering and a ton of frustration before I ended up with the finished product. My husband saved the day with a few small suggestions.

I had originally planned on making both the truck and the digger out of cake but I came to my senses and convinced myself that my 2 year old would be thrilled with "only" a digger made out of cake :) He was thrilled. He enjoyed eating the "dirt" out of the back of the truck most of all.

This cake opened up my mind to how fun cakes for boys can be!!

Sweet #4...

2008-12-28T22:24:00.001-08:00

Just has to be....

The giant pink cupcake!

This was for my youngest daughter Madison's 2nd birthday. She asked for a big pink cupcake with a strawberry on top and that is exactly what she got!! This was before the days of the sur la table cupcake mold pan. I had to figure this one out with the pans I had on hand. The top part of the cake was fresh strawberry cake and the bottom part was chocolate. The combination of chocolate and strawberry was really, really good. This is probably my favorite tasting cake to date..and it was so darn cute :)

Sweet #5 is...

2008-12-27T11:13:00.001-08:00

The Ducky Cake!

I just love the look of this one...the bubbles are so fun!

And #6 goes to....

2008-12-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

Favorite Sweet #6 jsut has to be...

The Poodle on the Pillow Cake!

This cake stretched me in a lot of ways...I had never made a "shaped cake", I had never used fondant...and I had never experienced a "cake disaster" when I opened the fridge the morning of a party!

Our little pink poodle's entire head fell off overnight and sent me into a panic in the morning! Because this was my first disaster, I was not prepared...I did not have extra icing. I had to whip up a whole extra batch, tint it the correct shade of poodle pink, and repair Miss Poodle in time for the party. It all worked out and I learned a lot along the way.

Sweet #7

2008-12-23T21:46:00.000-08:00

Favorite Sweet #7 belongs to...

The Cheerleader cake!

I made this cake for my daughter Mailee and it was so much fun to do!

I have been drawing cheerleaders for a long time; I puff painted them on T-shirts for cheer camp and drew them life-sized on the signs for rallies and football games in high school....so this was a little blast from the past!!

I love the overall look of this cake with the stars and stripes, the red white and blue and the fun firework-like candles... truly All-American!!

Favorite Sweet #8...

2008-12-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

Fig & Ruby Favorite Sweet #8 is....

The octopus cupcakes from the sea creature baby shower cupcakes!!

I loved how funky these guys looked perched on top of the light teal icing! They had so much personality with their wiggly legs and sprinkles on their heads. They were also really really fragile so it was an extra big accomplishment when they were safely placed on their cupcakes!

The colors, the subject, everything about these guys was different than I had done before and dreaming up and creating something completely new is satisfying!!

Get your votes in for your favorites! I'll post the results on New Year's Day!!!

Countdown Time!!!

2008-12-23T09:26:00.000-08:00

I just did the math...so correct me if I'm wrong (math is not my forte)...Only 9 days till the New Year!!! I thought we'd do our own little Sweets countdown!

I will countdown to 2009 with a countdown of my favorite Fig & Ruby Sweets of all time. I am ending the countdown on New Year's Eve with my favorite sweet of all time but on New Years Day I will be posting the Reader's Choice for best Fig & Ruby Sweet!

To vote, just leave a comment on this blog post, email me or leave me a message on facebook describing your top pick! If you want a refresher, you can click on the cakes to the right and they will take you to my cake galleries. You can even leave the word "vote" in the comment section on the facebook picture of your favorite sweet...it all comes back to my email in the end. You have until New Year's Eve to get your votes in. One vote per person please:)

And for Today...drum roll please......

Favorite Sweet #9

This baby shower cake for a little baby boy named Sterling turned out so cute, I love the color combination and the different designs on the layers. This is the first cake that I did with the textured stripe layer. it just sort of happened and when the cake was finished, I loved the look and depth of that layer in particular. The "textured stripe layer" has since become a Fig & Ruby signature!

My favorite cakes might end up being a bit memory-biased because for me, most of my favorites have personal significance as well :) This particular cake I made for a woman who called me out of the blue, she was so excited for her sister and she wanted her to have the perfect cake for her new baby boy. The proud Grandpa came to pick up the cake and even showed me pictures of his precious Grandchildren. What a sweet and loving family, I had thought at the time. 4 months later, the principal of my girls' school came up to me and told me that I had made his son's baby shower cake! Such a small world!

Stay tuned for my #8 favorite tomorrow!!!

Retro Flower Cookies

2008-12-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

These cookies were so FUN!!!

The colors, the pattern, it all ended up feeling a bit "retro".

Check out their cool "display" too... We are always happy to work with you and provide a super cool way to present your Fig & Ruby treats.

Cake Time

2008-11-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

Cake times are the best times!!

Here are a few recent cake orders for you to enjoy!

Baby blocks for a first birthday.

Teddy bears for a baby shower.

Wedding Cookies

2008-11-05T13:05:00.000-08:00

Need a favor idea for your wedding? Cookies make a for a great presentation and taste fabulous as well! Cookies can be baked in various shapes and iced with any shade imaginable.

This ring bearer approves!

Two classic designs, this bride and groom ordered 1/2 of each. Other options are avalible

Wall E

2008-10-06T09:49:00.000-07:00

Wall E, such a cute and loveable character! Putting a wee Wall E on top of a perfectly delicious classic chocolate coffee cupcake makes for a heavenly treat.

Something for Everyone...

2008-10-06T09:34:00.000-07:00

Let's be honest, not everyone loves cake. That is okay, they don't have to, there's more for the rest of us!! If you have someone special in your life who is a non-cake eater, we can accommodate!

Check out this super cool "cake" we created!

Each wine glass was filled with cheesecake and the table was full of topping options. The "cake" still donned candles for the big "Happy Birthday" song and it made quite the statement.

Do not be discouraged by the "non cakers" in your life, you may not be able to understand their cake issues, but we can definitely help you come up with a way to acknowledge them on their special day with something other than cake!

Wedding Lovliness

2008-09-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

Although I LOVE creating cool and unique cakes, sometimes classic is just as enjoyable! This cake order for a classic 50th anniversary wedding cake was so fun to make and it reminded me that the originality of the cake is not what is most important, it is the sentiment behind it!

Chocolate on top, vanilla on the bottom...a little bit of everything!

Something Different...

2008-09-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

The way I see it, cake is art! As much as I love the classic looking birthday cakes, sometimes it's fun to mix it up a little bit! Today I was in the mood for preppy stripes. I hope the birthday girl loved it!

Calling All Horse Lovers!

2008-08-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes are too sweet! We have lots of great ideas for a horse themed party as well. Give us a shout if you are interested in throwing your horse-lover a party she'll never forget!

All decorations are made by hand by me...they are not purchased. This is good news because it means we can create almost anything to coordinate specifically with your theme, colors, etc.

Let your imagination run wild...what do you want on top of your cupcakes???

Ice Cream Themed Treats

2008-08-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

This ice cream social party theme was so cute for a first birthday. No matter what the theme, we can create a cake that coordinates perfectly!

Fig & Ruby is now "skirting" our cakes. This optional cake skirt dresses up the cake board and looks so adorable!

Cookies as favors- what a great idea! These delicious treats can be personalized with names or dates. Fig & Ruby has dozens of cookie options to choose from.

Tagged and bagged and ready to hand out to the guests. Did you know that Fig & Ruby specializes in creating amazing stationary? Cute tags are the tip of the iceberg. We can do your invitations and meet all your stationary needs or create a fabulous mommy card for you.

Check out our stationary today!!

Baby Shower Cake

2008-08-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

Cakes are such a great sentiment. This cake was purchased by one sister to congratulate the other on her new baby. Cake seems to go along with special times, significant moments in life; birthdays, anniversaries, graduations and new babies. How sweet it is to order a custom cake for your loved ones as opposed to the average sheet cake. Order yours today!!

Classic baby boy-light blue and lime green.

Patriotic Cupcakes

2008-08-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

Canadians and Americans can all agree these cupcakes are adorable! Together in a display they are incredible!!

Fresh berries and whipped cream make these cuppies oh-so tasty.

Oh yeah, you are seeing right...even the cake inside is patriotic!

Call Fig & Ruby for your next event. Let the desert be the centerpiece and the talk of the party!!

Starfish and Coral

2008-07-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes were one element of a sea creature cupcake tower for a baby shower this weekend. They are fun and bright! Wouldn't these be stunning in an all white or cream monocromatic beach wedding cupcake tower display? Fig & Ruby can do it! Call and book today!!

Keeping With The Trends...Hannah Montana!

2008-07-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

No doubt there will be quite a few Hannah Montana birthday parties this year...we can accommodate! These cupcakes are fun, or consider an electric guitar cake or a funky cake with Hannah on top...the possibilities are endless!!

Cupcake Craze

2008-07-16T16:08:00.001-07:00

The popularity of the cupcake is not dying down. We have seen it pick up speed and we are running with it! Cupcakes are not what they once were. They are beautiful and sophisticated. By themselves they are adorable, as a group they are phenomenal! We can make gorgeous swirly cupcakes to coordinate with any color scheme. We make them in the traditional size and also in a mini.

Check out these teeny treats:

For the golf lover...

This grass is also adorable at Easter time with tiny jelly beans tucked in the middle!

We can create a sophisticated and delicious cupcake display with these chocolate balls in a variety of flavors and colors. we can mix and match the icings to make an incredible display!

A treat and a take-home all in one!

We have many exciting cupcake orders on the go right now! (flowers, ocean creatures, ice cream...) Check back regularly to see the latest creations!

Initials Take the Cake

2008-07-16T15:57:00.000-07:00

Recently, letters have been making their appearances on our cakes. There is no better way to simply personalize a cake than with a bold initial!

Check out this awesome baby shower cake with the baby's first initial proudly placed on top!

This is an all-time favorite. What girl couldn't resist this fabulous "A'?? We can take your ideas and create an edible masterpiece! We are dying to try cupcakes with cute initials on top...give us a call if you need some sweet cupcakes or cake!

An Official Introduction!

2008-07-15T21:24:00.000-07:00

Fig & Ruby knows cake! We love parties, we look after all the details for your big events and confectionery masterpieces are no exception! You are in good hands with us from start to finish. We will make your event outstanding right down to the matching candle to top it all off! By offering deserts as a part of our services we are able to provide our customers with the assurance that every aspect of your event will be personally looked after by US! You can relax knowing your stationary, your decor AND your cake will all be meticulously coordinated with your theme.