Cake The Day

Adorable Minnie Mouse Cupcakes and Summer Time!!

2013-05-25T22:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Summer everyone!! I'm so excited that summer is finally here!! The downside (but also a good thing) is that it's a super busy time of the year for my cake bizz. Is it just me or does EVERYONE have a birthday in the summer? Not to mention it's wedding time too.

I know I haven't posted anything in what seems like forever for me. But in my defense I have been baking up a storm in my kitchen and making some pretty neat and yummy stuff that I can't wait to share once I have more time to sit down and blog. Also some people have had some questions about my marshmallow fondant and I was thinking I would just go ahead and do a tutorial on how I make it.

So I just wanted to take a moment to share these cute little Minnie Mouse Cupcakes I made this weekend. I didn't take pics for a tutorial or anything since I figured everyone probably knows how to make fondant bows and circles. :) If not please let me know and I will be happy to do a little tutorial for anyone who is interested!

While I don't always have time to keep up with my blog, I usually keep up with my Facebook page and regularly post pics on there of my work as I'm doing it so be sure to click here and go "Like" it! I did spend some time today editing some stuff for upcoming tutorials. Even though it was sunny out and REALLY wanted to go outside, I was hard at work on my laptop. :)

I hope everyone is having a great summer so far!! Please feel free to let me know if you have any requests or want certain tutorials. I would love to know what everyone wants to see and would be super happy to share what I have learned.

Adorable Easter Cupcakes

2013-04-07T18:22:00.001-05:00

I know, I know, Easter is over...but I couldn't resist sharing these cute little guys with everyone and I finally have a moment to sit down and blog. Between working full time, being a mommy, and doing all these cakes and cupcakes, my free time is so limited right now. But busy is a good thing right? :)

Since Spring is finally here it's wedding season in the cake decorating world which means lots of opportunity to get my creative juices flowing and making some awesome wedding cakes! I have so many great ideas and designs in mind for this season and I can't wait to share them all with you! But for now let's talk about these adorable cupcakes. :)

I first saw this idea on Pinterest and I just had to give it a try. Not to mention I rarely have an opportunity to do anything in pastels which I'm really LOVING right now. I love that this idea is so simple and yet so ADORABLE!

I'm not sure how everyone else was doing them, but at first I thought that everyone was just using a small round tip to make the nests which I thought might take awhile. So I had the idea of using a a Wilton #233 Grass Tip like this one here. This worked out great and made the process so much quicker and easier than I had planned.

The only thing I would do different? Maybe next time I won't use Reese's Peanut Butter eggs since I know I am a SUCKER for peanut butter and couldn't resist eating the leftovers...

Hope you guys enjoy these as much as I do!

Kitty Cupcakes

2013-04-07T17:57:00.000-05:00

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I LOVE cats. So you can only imagine how much I enjoyed making these guys. When I was first asked to make kitty cat cupcakes, I never imagined that they would actually include fur. :) But with the help of my handy Wilton Grass Tip I had some furry cupcakes in no time! Okay that sounds weird but you know what I mean. ;)

For the most part I was able to do these all fairly quickly. I think the most time consuming part about these little guys was cutting out 144 eyes including the white, green and black. 48 ears, and 24 noses. Then I just painted the whiskers and mouths using black or white gel color and vodka (perfectly safe for children because vodka evaporates immediately).

I'm super happy with the way these turned out. I only wish I had some better lighting to photograph these in but unfortunately it isn't always sunny in Alabama. :)

Hope everyone is having a great weekend! As always feel free to leave comments and questions.

Tutorial: Cat in the Hat Cupcakes

2013-03-23T16:49:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, all of the schools in my area were celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss. So when someone requested some Cat in the Hat cupcakes I got super excited to make some fondant toppers!!

I really wanted to go about making these the simplest way possible so I thought what a great opportunity to grab my camera and show everyone how I did it. :)

So as promised via my Instagram "teaser" pic, here is a little tutorial on how I made these adorable toppers.

The Hat:

I started out by rolling out red and white fondant. I rolled them both at the same time to make sure that they were the same thickness. Using a Wilton 4B tip I cut out two white circles, and four red circles.

Once I had my circles cut out, I put them together like little sandwiches using a paintbrush and a tiny bit of water as glue.

Tip: If you don't like the seams to be so noticeable, you can use a tiny bit of water and your finger to rub around the seams and this should help make them less noticeable. If you have the time and patience, the longer you do this, the less noticeable they will be.

In this case, I was a little pressed for time, and wasn't able to spend too much time on this part but they still came out looking just fine in the end. :)

Next roll your white fondant a little thinner, and cut out a circle that is a little bigger than the red and white circles to make the brim of your hat.
Once you have your "sandwiches" stacked on top of your brim, use your finger to press down (or "smoosh" as I would call it) on one side to give it that whimsical look and you're all finished!

Green Eggs & Ham:

Now for the easy stuff. :) For the green eggs I first used an oval cutter to make a white fondant oval.

Okay now remember that Wilton tip we used earlier to cut out the white circles for the hat? Now we use that same tip to cut out a green circle to make the yolk. :)

For the ham I started by forming the fondant into a small ball in the palm of my hand. Once I had a perfect ball, I used the outer edge of my palms and rolled back and forth to form a tail and then bent the "tail" a little at the end.

Yay! Now that we have all of our figures formed we can start painting. For the paint I used gel food coloring mixed with a tiny amount of vodka (yes this is safe for children because the vodka evaporates almost immediately) to paint the details and lines. And now we're all finished!

The cool thing about making fondant figures like this, is that you can make them as big or as small as you want them, and they can be used on cupcakes or cakes depending on your project. I hope everyone found this helpful! If you have any questions or comments I would LOVE to hear from you!

XO
-Reva

Tutorial: Owl Cake

2013-03-11T13:51:00.001-05:00

Just stopping in to say HAPPY MONDAY with this quick cute little Owl tutorial!

I was SO excited when someone finally asked me to make an owl cake. I have been waiting for an excuse to make these cute little guys for so long! They are absolutely perfect for a little girl's birthday but since I have all boys none of them were interested in owls. :)

You can make these things as big or small as you want to depending on what you need them for. The size that I made them would probably be the perfect size for cupcake toppers. But I actually made two, and used them on top of a cake.

They are really easy and quick to make. Not to mention super cute! The whole process is very simple so go grab your fondant and let's get started! :)

First roll out your darker color fondant. In this case I went with a pink theme owl so here I have the darker color pink rolled out. Cut out one large circle using a round cutter.

Now use the same cutter to take off just a little from the top so that we have a nice curve for the ears of the owl.

Next I have my light pink fondant rolled out. Cut out a circle using a round cutter that's a little smaller (left) than the one we used earlier (right)

While you have your light pink fondant rolled out, go ahead and cut out the two wings using a leaf cutter like the one I used pictured above. Note: If you don't have leaf cutters, you can also use small upside down hearts to make the wings which also looks cute. :)

Next make two small impressions on each wing. You can pretty much use any tool that you have on hand to do this,

Here I have my smaller light pink circle. Using a tiny round cutter, or the other end of an icing tip like I did, I just cut two curves into the circle to make room for the eyes.To make the eyes, just roll out white fondant and use this same icing tip or cutter to make two white circles.

Now for the beak: First take a small amount of orange fondant and roll it into a tiny ball. Then using your finger, roll it into a tear-drop shape in the palm of your hand.

Using a small paint brush and a tiny bit of water,you can start putting the pieces of your owl together.

To make eyes stand out more, roll out black fondant and cut out two circles using a cutter or icing tip smaller than the white ones we just did. Here I used the bottom of a Wilton 1A to get the perfect size.

To be sure that the feet are consistent in size, cut out two orange circles for the feet using a cutter or icing tip, and roll them into little balls. Then use a small amount of water to attach them to the owl.

I hope you guys found this helpful. Please feel free to leave questions and comments below! :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

2013-03-02T22:11:00.001-06:00

This week I had a craving for something amazing. So my first thought was cookie dough. In all honesty y'all, I was really tempted to make cookie dough, drizzle chocolate over it, grab a spoon and dig in. But then I pictured myself doing that, and thought it seemed pretty silly. :) I wanted to bake something that was going to satisfy my craving and then some! Besides, cupcakes are a much more elegant way to stuff our faces right?

So when I searched the internet and came across the idea of putting raw cookie dough (without eggs of course) inside of a chocolate cupcake, I knew this was the cupcake for me! Everything about this thing is amazing!

If you have any excess cookie dough after filling your cupcakes. You can just flatten it out a little on the top like this. A little extra cookie dough never hurt anyone right?

This is the cookie dough scoop that I used to get a consistent amount of dough for the filling. If you don't have one of these that's okay. You can just use your cute little peepers to eyeball the amount you will need to fill each cupcake.

WARNING: After you have your mini cookies baked, I would recommend throwing away any cookie dough you have left. I made the mistake of keeping it around and found myself eating it right out of the container the next day...

Inspiration: The cake and filling recipe was adapted from The Cake Blog, and the frosting was adapted from Tidy Mom.

Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

For the Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line cupcake pan with liners.

First combine all dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk until well combined.

Add oil and sour cream and mix at a medium speed.

Gradually add water and continue to mix.

Add vanilla and eggs and until combined.

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full with batter.

Bake for 16 minutes or until your toothpick comes out clean.

After your cupcakes have cooled, hollow out the centers. I used a large icing tip (pictured above) to do this.

For the Cookie Dough filling:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

In a mixer beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy.

Gradually add in flour and sweetened condensed milk and mix until well combined.

Stir in chocolate chips.

Fill center of cupcakes with Cookie Dough. I used a cookie dough scoop to get a consistent amount for each. Then I used my hands to roll the scoop of cookie dough into a cylinder shape and pushed it into each center.
If you want to decorate your cupcakes with mini cookies, use some of the remaining dough to bake mini cookies at this point.

For the Frosting:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp, salt
3 tbsp, milk
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Beat butter and brown sugar with paddle attachment until creamy.

Mix in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Beat in flour and salt.

Mix in milk and vanilla extract until smooth.

Decorating:

Fill a piping bag fitted with your choice of icing tip and swirl on top of cupcakes.

Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Top each cupcake with one of your mini cookies.

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Duck Dynasty Cake

2013-01-06T18:07:00.000-06:00

I was so glad to be a part of this special birthday cake for a little duck hunter named Jack. Even though this was just a simple sheet cake, making the duck out of fondant turned out to be very time consuming but I still had a lot of fun making this one and I really love how it turned out! :)

As always, if anyone is interested in tutorials on how I made anything I post please let me know in the comments.

Making the Symbol:

To make the symbol, all I did was print a picture of the "duck" that I found online, and cut it out to use as a template.

Then I rolled out black fondant and cut around the template using an Xacto knife.

Next I rolled out white fondant and cut out a large oval.

Last I put the duck pieces that I cut out on the white fondant oval using a tiny bit of water.
Once you have your symbol you can use letter cut outs to write anything you want. On it. Hope this was helpful! :)

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcakes

2012-12-13T09:42:00.000-06:00

I'm a little late in posting this because I actually made these around Thanksgiving. I can't even believe how busy I am baking this year! :) I made these pumpkin cupcakes for someone at my son's daycare, and also gave some to my co-workers. They were a big hit! And the best part is, I stumbled upon this recipe by accident and out of desperation!!

So I was up super late one night getting ready to fill this order and I hadn't even started baking yet when I realized I didn't even have any eggs. :( It was way too late to run to the store and this order was due the next morning!! So I had no choice but to figure it out. I grabbed a box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix from my cabinet and this is what I came up with. I am so amazed at how these turned out and I will be using this recipe from now on!

P.S. The topping is crushed graham crackers!! Yummm!!!!

Enjoy!

Feel free to leave comments and suggestions! :)

Cupcake Ingredients:

1 Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix

1 small can pumpkin pie mix

1/2 cup water

Baking Instructions:

NOTE: Do not mix cake mix as instructed on box. Only use the ingredients listed above. :)

Fill cupcake liners

Bake at 350° for 20-25 min

Cream Cheese Frosting:

4 oz unsalted butter (softened)

4 oz cream cheese (softened)

2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat together cream cheese and butter. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup to 1 cup at a time with mixer on low speed until creamy. Mix in vanilla extract.

Headphones Cake!!

2012-11-11T19:11:00.000-06:00

Since I have such a love for music, this is probably my favorite cake that I have done. And yes, you can even eat the headphones! :)

I even hand painted little musical notes with food coloring!

Feel free to leave comments if anyone is interested in a tutorial on how I made the headphones!

Recipe: Gooey Mocha Frappe Cupcakes

2012-11-03T15:08:00.000-05:00

Three letters for you coffee lovers out there: O.M.G!! Haha! I know one thing, these guys are YUMMY!!

Opening a box of these babies smells just like walking into Starbucks!!

And the best part is that they are filled with yummy, gooey chocolate ganache!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

(Depending on how pressed for time you are, you can either use Devil's Food boxed cake for this, or you can use an extra yummy chocolate cake recipe which I'll list below. I adapted this one from FoodNetwork.com :)

1/4 pound unsalted, at room temperature.
1 cup sugar
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
16 fluid ounces chocolate syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground coffee

For the frosting:

1 cup butter, softened
3 teaspoons ground coffee, or espresso
1 pinch salt
2/3 cup milk
3+ cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

For the ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream
8oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

For the cupcakes:

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate, vanilla and coffee. Add the flour and mix until just combined. (Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.)

Using an icecream scoop, fill your cupcake liners just a little over halfway.

Bake at 325°F for 25-30 min.

For the frosting:

If you're using instant coffee, mash it in a bowl with the bottom of a spoon until it becomes powdery.

Beat butter until smooth. Mix in vanilla and coffee. Beat in confectioners' sugar and milk alternating until desired consistency is reached.

For the ganache:

Pour all 8oz of the chocolate chips into a med bowl. Heat heavy cream in a small saucepan over med heat. Bring just to a boil (be careful not to boil over) and pour boiled cream over your chocolate. Whisk mixture until smooth.

Once your cupcakes have cooled, hollow out the centers using an icing tip. Fill cupcakes with slightly cooled ganache using a piping bag. The last step is to ice with the YUMMY frosting!!

Bachelorette Cupcakes

2012-08-27T12:41:00.000-05:00

I had so much fun making all of these little fondant corsets and rings for this Bachelorette party! Not to mention the very yummy cupcakes!

I was a little pressed for time on these so I wasn't able to snap pics for a tutorial. But I couldn't resist sharing these so if anyone is interested in how I made them or has any questions please feel free to leave comments and questions below.

I also did a Lingerie/Bachelorette Cake!

Hawaiian Theme Birthday Cake

2012-08-27T12:33:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to share this pretty birthday cake I did this weekend. :)

Behrens-Bowman Wedding

2012-04-15T13:48:00.003-05:00

Alice in Wonderland: Mad Hatter Cupcakes

2012-04-15T13:20:00.004-05:00

I just loved making all of the little figures. Feel free to leave comments if you're interested in a tutorial on how I made these little guys.

I think the little teapots may be my favorite!

Butterfly Cupcakes

2012-02-18T01:18:00.001-06:00

Just wanted to share these cute little butterfly cupcakes I made for a little butterfly-lover. They are super easy to make. If anyone is interested in a tutorial feel free to leave a comment below! :)

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

2012-02-18T01:13:00.001-06:00

Just a simple idea for decorating Valentine's Day cupcakes. Hope everyone had a super special Valentine's Day!

Shoe Cake!

2012-02-18T00:38:00.000-06:00

Toy Story Birthday Cake

2012-02-18T00:32:00.002-06:00

Buttercream Swirl Wedding Cake

2011-09-27T20:21:00.000-05:00

Daisy Sheet Cake

2011-09-20T07:25:00.000-05:00

Lingerie/Bachelorette Cake

2011-09-20T07:22:00.000-05:00

If you like this cake, check out the bachelorette cupcakes that I made for some cute ideas on toppers! :)

Going into this cake I wasn't exactly sure how I was going to sculpt everything. So I decided to start by baking the the ta-tas (I feel like a kid giggling while I try to explain this) in ceramic bowls which worked out really well. Once they were out of the oven and cooled, I did have to sculpt them quite a bit with a knife because they weren't the right size or shape at all. Then I covered them with the ivory colored fondant.

For the rest of the cake I just used a 13x9 inch cake. I didn't use any templates for this. I just put the 13x9 inch cake below the ta-tas and went to work cutting out the hourglass shape.I was a little pressed for time so I'm sorry I didn't have more pictures to help explain the whole process. Feel free to leave any questions below.

Toy Story Butter Cream Cake

2011-08-20T14:51:00.000-05:00

XBOX 360 Cake

2011-07-03T02:39:00.000-05:00

This cake is perfect for grooms. Nothing says manly like an Xbox cake! Oh wait, I play video games too sometimes. As always, if anyone is interested in a tutorial on how I made anything please let me know in the comments. :)

Everything on this cake is edible. Even the controller! I have gotten quite a few requests for this cake. Next time I'll be sure to snap some better pics.

Monster Truck Cake!

2011-06-18T03:38:00.000-05:00

Boy/Girl Baby Shower Cake!

2011-06-15T20:41:00.000-05:00