Baby Shower Cake - for a Girl!

So, I think I got the gender right on this cake at least!  I had a request from my friend Kimberly to do a cake for a baby shower she is hosting.  They wanted something simple and cute with bows, polka dots, and lots of pink!

This is a Carrot Cake with cream cheese filling.

Here are the photos:

This was a fun one!  I got to use my new square cake pans for the first time!  I also learned how to make this bow - which may seem simple but it's actually a little challenging!

I hope they enjoy this!
Thanks,
Aly

Sharilyn's birthday! :)

One of my best friends, Sharilyn, celebrated her 28th birthday yesterday!  I had the day off today so I thought it would be nice to stop by her work and bring her a cake.  :)

This was just a little cake but was fairly time consuming.  The daisies, although they are cut-outs, don't cut out cleanly so I spent quite of bit of time "cleaning them up."  Her favorite color is blue, so I did some blue flowers and used yellow and orange since those colors look good together.  (If you've seen my wedding pictures, you would know my obsession with these colors :) ). 

I don't get to see Sharilyn all that often so it was so wonderful to chat with her a bit today.  I hope she knows, although we don't see or chat often, that I love her and she is still one of my most wonderful friends.  :)

Here are a few photos of the cake:

Happy birthday, dear friend!
Love,
Aly

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes!

Well, I tried something new... at the request of my husband.  A few months ago we were at the cake store in Orange and the girl working the register mentioned she was making Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.  Kyle, who adores Guinness, Irish Car Bombs, and cake has been bugging me to make them ever since.  I finally got brave.  The recipe is interesting, as you have to heat the Guinness with butter and then add it to the rest of the ingredients.  The cake mix also includes sour cream which makes it extremely moist and helps to off-set the alcohol flavor.
These are very intricate cupcakes, requiring a filling and a frosting.  The filling is a chocolate ganache with Irish whiskey.  This time around I didn't add the max amount of Irish whiskey so the ganache still has a nice bittersweet chocolate flavor. 
The frosting is a normal buttercream, but instead of using milk I used Bailey's Irish Cream.  I must admit - these cupcakes are literally the BOMB!  They are an awesome idea for anyone hosting a St. Patrick's Day Party or any Irish-themed party.

Here are a couple photos of the final product.  (The frosting does require some more trial and error as it was not fluffy enough to make the piping look "pretty").

There are a variety of recipes out there for these cupcakes.  I'm going to try to modify this to make it unique to "me"... but if you are interested in trying this recipe just "google" Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes.

Thanks for reading!
Aly

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year's Eve and that 2011 has started out with lots of wonderful things!

Our old neighbors and good friends, Stephen and Kimberly, are expecting a little bundle of joy in early February!  I couldn't attend the baby shower today, but her hosts were kind enough to let me make a cake for her.  It didn't turn out exactly as planned since they are having a boy and the cake looks pretty feminine, but I think it turned out okay.

The design is supposed to be a onesie.  Their colors were green, yellow, and white.  I added a little "tie" to make it more boyish.  If I could do it over again, I definitely would NOT do any polka dots!   It definitely looks like a girl bathing suit - but whatever!  It's cute! Here is a photo: 

Happy New Year!
Love,
Aly

Holiday Birthday Cake!

Last night, Kyle and I went to Shirley Pepys' home for the Newport Harbor Boat Parade.  We had such a wonderful time watching all the beautiful boats, eating delicious food, and spending time with the super awesome Pepys family and their close friends. 

We celebrated Renee's birthday last night as well - with a trombone quartet to play Happy Birthday while we sang.  Pretty fantastic!

I made Renee a birthday cake.  The top tier was fudge marble with homemade dark chocolate espresso frosting/filling.  The top tier was devil's food with homemade caramel frosting/filling. 

Here are some photos:

Merry Christmas and have a very happy New Year!

Love,
Aly

December Update!

Well, life has been a little crazy lately so I haven't been updating my blog as often as I'd like.  I have made a couple cakes recently.  I'm not overly thrilled with them, but this is always a learning process.  :)

Here is the golf-themed cake I made for Kyle's dad's birthday:

I also have another co-worker who is turning 30 this week.  He requested a Raiders cake.  This was much more difficult than the Green Bay cake due to the detail of the shield.  I need to invest in a much better exacto knife blade as my cuts into the fondant are pretty rough.  But, nonetheless, the cake is done.  PHEW.

Here it is:

I've also been busy making Christmas cookies!  I've made a batch of 7 layer bars and two batches of fudge.  I have this awesome recipe:
In a bowl on the side, place 1 stick of butter, 1 bag of chocolate chips, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

In a pan on the stove heat: 5 oz of evaporated milk, 2 cups of sugar, and 10 large marshmallows.  When the marshmallows are melted, pour this hot mix over the dry mix in the bowl.  Stir until the butter is melted.  Pour into an 8 x 8 pan immediately and let set. 
You can also add nuts to the bowl if you prefer.  This is the best fudge I've ever made!
Enjoy!
Aly

Co-worker's 30th Birthday Cake!

I'm sure most of you know I started a new job in August as a Management Analyst for the City of Ontario.  I LOVE IT!  I get to work with some pretty awesome people, too!  One of my co-workers is turning 30 this week.  He is from Wisconsin - thus, he is a huge Green Bay Packers fan!  (I am too... :) ) So, I figured, what better way to celebrate his birthday than with a cake in honor of our beloved team!

This was really cool because I used a round cake pan -- and when I cut out the "triangle" to make my cheese head, I had two perfect sides to make a football!

Here are some photos from my creation:

This cake is by no means the best I have ever done -- but for completing it in less than 2 hours (not including baking time), I'm fairly satisfied!

Thanks for reading.  Hope you had a wonderful Veteran's Day Weekend!
Aly