Purple Cake Tutorial

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!!

Vintage Tea Party Treats

 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!

Caitlyn's First Birthday Cakes

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!

Ladybug Treats

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!!

Gotta love Initials!

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!

March Madness Of Another Kind...

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

Cake Time

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.

Baby Shower Cake

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.

Initials Take the Cake

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!