Barnyard Birthday Bash

Yee haw!  I was lucky enough to be a part of a special boy's birthday party who was turning 1!  He had a barnyard birthday bash & requested a barnyard cake.  Since there were kids, I decided to do some cupcakes as well as a cake.

The finished cake & cupcakes on display at the party

I made chocolate, vanilla, & lemon cupcakes.  The personalized paper toppers were farm animals on one side & either the number "1" or "Elijah" on the back.

 

The top tier was a 4 inch high 6 inch round lemon cake filled with cream cheese covered in marshmallow fondant.  

The bottom tier was a 4 inch high 10 inch round black & white cake (one layer chocolate & one layer vanilla) filled with chocolate frosting covered in marshmallow fondant.

I just love the fence detail around the bottom tier!

The cake & cupcakes was made to feed about 50 people.

White Chocolate Garlic Cupcakes

That's right, GARLIC cupcakes. My husband loves to cook & had an iron chef potluck for his birthday. The secret ingredient, Garlic. I searched for a garlic cupcake recipe & came across a white chocolate garlic cupcake. After a test run, 3 cloves did not show through the finished cupcake, so I actually added 10 cloves! Haha. The white chocolate frosting also had garlic oil in it. Although guests/judges were hesitant to try it, my cupcakes came in 4th place out of 20 garlic dishes in Battle Garlic!

Kitchen Bridal Shower

I threw a kitchen bridal shower for my lovely friend and cousin last weekend. Since she was new to cooking & wanted to learn for her new life with her future hubby, I thought this theme would be great for her!

Her wedding theme is purple, so I also incorporated the color into her cupcake/cake tier! I made ube (taro) cupcakes which are purple. I topped the tier with 4 jumbo cupcakes that were wrapped with sayings "Congrats, Donna" and "Isn't love delicious?" and had little kitchen gadgets on top of the cupcakes (a knife, spoon, frying pan, & spatula).

A bridesmaid had her sister make chocolate cake pops & mini red velvet cupcakes to also go with the theme. My sister also made yummy pecan tarts from scratch for the first time! So proud of her!

I also made a photo garland as decoration that said "BRIDAL SHOWER." It was simple to make. I just printed photos of the couple onto regular card stock paper & also created the lettering on my computer. After cutting them out, I hole punched them at the top & strung purple string through the holes.

For centerpieces, the Bride's florist created centerpieces, but I also threw in some kitchen themed centerpieces. I had measuring cups filled with chex mix for guests to snack on at the tables! So easy, cheap, & cute!

Bacon Chocolate Cupcakes

My newlyweds bible study group had a BACON potluck for one of our summer gatherings. My husband made bacon potato gratin, & of course I attempted cupcakes with bacon. I made a basic chocolate batter & after frying bacon & chopping it into pieces, I poured about a cup of bacon bits into the batter, then baked. I topped each cupcake with chocolate frosting & more bacon. The cupcakes & potluck were a hit!

Here are some other bacon desserts!

Bacon brownies!

My friend had added some of the bacon fat to the brownie batter!

These were so good! Chewy & delicious!

Bacon rice crispy treats!

Subtle salty flavor but still delicious!

Bridal shower baby cakes

My cousin is getting married in August and had her wedding shower this month!
I was asked to bring some cupcakes!
Since it was mainly ladies, I thought baby chocolate cupcakes with a little cream cheese glaze would be perfect for the guests who wanted to have some treats, but not feel too guilty eating an actual size cupcake. The bride to be loved them!

Boxing Glove Cake

My daughter's godfather is a huge boxing fan & his birthday was coming up. His fiance asked me to surprise him with a red velvet & cream cheese frosting birthday cake shaped like 2 red boxing gloves. I was a little intimidated, but with the support of my husband, I was able to get this delicious cake done! I also personalized the gloves with his last name!

This is my last cake for a while because I am pregnant with twins! It was a little tough rolling out the fondant for this cake because my belly kept getting in the way of the counter! Hahaha....Anyways, I am very proud of this cake, but will take a break from cakes for now!

Snow White Cake & Cupcakes

My friend's daughter turned 3 & had a Snow White themed birthday party. There was a face painter, balloon artist, a bouncer for the kids, & Snow White herself. They ordered a red velvet cake & cupcakes with cream cheese as well as vanilla cupcakes for the party. It was fun!

Lakers Jersey Cake

My godson, Riley, turned 6 this week & for his Lakers themed birthday party, I was asked to make him a Lakers jersey cake. It's an 11x15 cake. One layer of chocolate cake, the other layer yellow cake filled with a delicious chocolate & Heath toffee filling! It was a big hit! Go Lakers!

Happy 6th Birthday, Riley!

Lemon Golf Cake

My uncle in law is a big golfer & for his 4_th birthday, I made him a 2 layer lemon cake filled and frosted with lemon frosting. I decorated it with green chocolate candies & candy melts shaped to look like grass, as well as with a golfer figurine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE JOJO!

Disney Princess Birthday Party

My little girl is finally 3 years old! She had been asking for a princess party with a castle & lots of pink since December! Of course I had to make her dream come true! Here are some photos of the party, decorations, centerpieces, guests, & of course the CAKE & CUPCAKES!

The birthday girl & the cake:
I made a 2 layer red velvet cake with cream cheese covered in marshmallow fondant & decorated with a tiara & jewels. I also made chocolate strawberry cupcakes (per request of the birthday girl). Some cupcakes were topped with pink cream cheese frosting & chocolate candy tiara molds & some with edible white pearls. The other cupcakes spelled out "HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY PRINCESS CHLOE" in marshmallow fondant.

My little princess & me...





Decorations:
My sister colored this 4 ft tall stand up of Cinderella that I bought from Oriental Trading for $3!


Another wall decoration I bought from Oriental Trading for $6!
Here's Princess Chloe & a royal guest!


Another photo prop from Oriental Trading!
Here's a royal guest eating one of my strawberry cupcakes while riding away in her carriage!


One of the centerpieces I made using a piggy bank!


The princess & her very pink castle pinata


Favors:
Personalized mini MnM favors for her royal guests


Favors:
Foam swords & bubble swords for the Knights. Princesses went home with wands.

At the end of the party, centerpieces were taken apart!!! Happy Birthday Sweet Princess! I can't wait to plan your next celebration!!!

Buko Pandan Cupcakes

My cousin Nikole turned 19 & requested a Filipino dessert turned cupcake!  She wanted a buko pandan cupcake, which is coconut & pandan leaves (somewhat a banana flavor).  I decided to make the cupcakes using coconut milk & pandan extract then filled them with macapuno (shredded sweetened coconut in a syrup).  I made butter cream frosting flavored with coconut milk & a hint of the pandan extract.  I topped each frosted Filipino treat with some more macapuno.  It was a big hit, especially with all the Filipino aunts & the birthday girl!

Here she is holding a cupcake up!



Spiderman Cake

One of our close friends' son is turning 2! He loves Spiderman and I surprised him & his parents with a small chocolate cake filled with chocolate filling and of course chocolate chips. I covered the cake in homemade marshmallow fondant colored blue, red, & white for his eyes. The writing around the cake is also marshmallow fondant. Happy Birthday, Logan!

Strawberry & Chocolate Cupcakes

One of my best friends had her birthday this past week. She loves Sprinkles Cupcakes Strawberry Frosting, & chocolate cake, so I decided to surprise her with my own spin on her favorite. I made a Strawberry butter cream with fresh strawberries & topped them over a chocolate cupcake. I made homemade marshmallow fondant to top it off to resemble the Sprinkles cupcake, but personalized it with the birthday girl's first initial! Happy Birthday Kristi!