Cheeky Cakery

Last Call for Pumpkin Cheesecake!

2010-11-14T13:49:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's ALMOST Thanksgiving! Despite the crazy rush that comes with this time of year, it is without a doubt my favorite time of year! The friend and family favorite is my holiday Pumpkin Cheesecake. So this year, I've devoted my oven to that and that alone! If you are interested, please call or email me before November 18th and I'll put you on my list! There's limited room left on my list so the remaining space is first come-first served.

I added a pic that my mom sent me of one of my cheesecakes with some whipped cream. I make them both regular or sugar-free.

631.289.5893 or cheekycakery@gmail.com

thanks

Arsenal Footballer Cake (and yes, i mean soccer...)

2010-11-07T11:35:00.008-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEON!

Well, if you know me, you know that I have major love for soccer. Football, soccer...whichever your preference, it's an awesome game. You might not know this, but I've played soccer my whole life and though I haven't played in quite a while, my heart is forever in the game. I can still be found kicking the ball around, still have my old practice goal, still have my cleats, I'm still so much a footballer. And yes, ever since I was old enough to know, I've called it football. Because soccer was football before American football was football...plus I've always thought it sounded cooler and let's face it... I desperately want to have a link to my favorite countries...even if it's only in the lingo. SO... when a neighbor asked me to make a last-minute cake for her husband, I was MORE than excited to do so. First of all, this family is one of my favorites in a MAJOR way. And secondly...umm, hello?! I get to make another cake.

So the birthday boy requested my chocolate cake and my chocolate icing. His wife simply said, "Here's a picture of his favorite football club." His team: Arsenal. The Gunners. (I guess that makes him a "gooner"... you'd have to know some of the club history to get that one...) A team out of Halloway, North London. They play in the premier league and are one of the top clubs amongst English footballers. - So my neighbors had little else to request and just said "Eh, surprise us!"... Umm, OK! I can't wait to hear and see the response to this one! I'll post about it!

This time I wanted to showcase this new style I'm developing. The style? Crisp, clean, cool, flawless, perfection with a "wow, that looks so real" kinda vibe. I want to forge my name as a source for exactly what my new, official, trademarked slogan states: "elegant cake. edible art." I guess I'll let you guys decide, but if you want my opinion?... I think it kicks you know what... in a major way.

Cake details:

Chocolate cake

Chocolate Butter Cream

Vanilla (tinted) fondant

Sugar paste and Royal Icing details

100% edible

Single thick layer 10x14" carved cake, with added 1/4 globes.

*Arsenal Logo property of The Arsenal Football club of Halloway, North London.*

new logo, new look, fresh start!

2010-09-01T13:29:00.004-04:00

well, most of you know that i've been working on making things official (business-wise) and i'm just INCHES from my goal! one of the steps i've been working towards is developing a new, sleek look for CHEEKY CAKERY!

you'll notice on the blog that i've got my new and improved logo illustration! and have a new color scheme to match!

after many years of professional frustration (on the education/teaching) front, i'm turning the page and am going to pursue this cake-obsession with everything i've got!

so thanks to all my family and friends and professional contacts for their support and encouragement!

soon, verrrryyy soon i'll launch the official website! for now, get used to my new look! it's gonna be here for a long, long time! ;o)

hugs and cake and other such sweetness,

m :o)

sink your tooth into this!

2010-08-13T18:31:00.004-04:00

happy cake story alert!

this story starts like all good stories typically do: "so, this woman slips on a board..."

that woman? my mom. let's face it. i must have gotten my graceful, gazelle-like elegance from somewhere right? well, one day, not so long ago, my mom was walking in flip-flops on a near-by job site, going to visit my brother whist at work and took a step over a rock, stepped on a slippery piece of wood, fell on a garbage can and somehow fell teeth-first into the gravel. you know, true-blue family grace here! well, to the horror of my brother, blinking, looking up from the ground was a bloody, toothless mom. panic sets in, etc, etc. "where are my two front teeth?" "what about my reunion in two days??!" "mommy, what?! are you okay?" *tears* ...

see? isn't this an exciting cake story??

well anyway, that's the inspiration for this cake! see, in a panic, and luckily hardly in any pain at all, she calls her dentist who opened up his office one evening after hours and spent three hours with her, fixed her face, and sent her home, with little more than a scraped lip and a bruised ego.

my mom approached me a few days after her reunion and said "i'd like you to make my dentist a cake! a thank you cake! he really saved me the other day!"

she told me i can do whatever i want, but she's thinking a giant tooth! say no more! giant tooth it is!! i had never made a tooth before! how exciting!

i made a two-layer, red velvet cake, filled with a gorgeous cream cheese, iced in my italian meringue (nope, never gets old for me! :o) - i covered the whole thing in a vanilla fondant and got to work making all the details. i gave him a polka dotted bow-tie, a tooth brush, complete with some toothpaste, some bubbles cause he's gotta be squeaky clean. and even painted his pearly whites a sparkly white! i LOVED his nose by the way. i don't know why, but i couldn't stop photographing it!!

both the dentist, as well as all of his office staff loved the cake! and the best part? my mom is all healed and has put her flip-flopping nightmare behind her! :o) yay for cake that saves the day!

PINK! PINK! PINK! with a cherry on top!

2010-08-13T18:09:00.006-04:00

one of the coolest things about having a website are the people you "meet" via the internet. a very sweet woman contacted me asking if i could make a cake for her daughter's birthday. what i LOVED about this was that she knew exactly what she wanted and it was a cool, new cake that i hadn't made before. it was all... mandy, meet "pinkalicious"...i LOVE knew things!

now, i don't know much about this whole "pinkalicious" thing, except that it's PINK. it's all about pink. and it's SO adorable, and pink and girly!

i sketched up a few different designs for her and her daughter picked the final cake! here's her choice:

(having the little birthday girl pick my cake? i secretly think that is SO exciting, because that makes making cake SO much more of a challenge, knowing there is a little girl waiting to see her cake and you KNOW she was going to want it to be perfect!)

anyway, the cake was a triple layer white vanilla cake, filled with a really amazing banana custard. it was iced in vanilla italian meringue butter cream). i then decorated it with tinted vanilla fondant. i also included an edible image of the "pinkalicious" character. i topped the whole thing with a giant cupcake (which also had filling inside) and my FAVORITE thing ever!! the cherry!!!!!!! SO CUTE!

here are some pics:

you KNOW i love feedback!! here it is!!:

"Mandy!!! The cake looked amazing!!!!!!!!! No that's an understatement!! It was spectacular. K was in love with it. I can't lie, we were sad to cut it but the moment we did and took the first bite it melted in our mouths delicious!!!!

Thank you so much for helping me give my little K the cake of her dreams!!!

She will never forget this cake and neither will I!!

Much luck with all your future orders!! Thanks Cheeky..lol"

as usual, it really doesn't get any better than that for me! thanks for letting me be a part of your family's special celebration!

ps- my two FAVORITE pictures:

*sigh*... sometimes, the photographer in me just LOVES me soooo much! :o)

chocolate cake for a chocolate lover... that's not so chocolatey?.... huh?

2010-08-13T16:17:00.006-04:00

happy birthday to my mom! :o)

my mom's birthday is just another cake i was dying to make. she LOVES chocolate, but can't eat much of it because it tends to give her a headache, so how do you make a chocolate cake without giving your mom a giant headache? uhhh, trick her! duh! :o) what do i mean? well, one of the things i LOVE LOVE LOVE about my mom is that all you have to do is say the word "chocolate" and her eyes glaze over and she can smell it and she starts to smile the smile that only a passionate lover of chocolate can make.

see how much i like to challenge myself? the cake i designed had to look like a chocolate dream, but couldn't give her a headache...what to do? what to do?

well i first start with my sketches...

the design: a stacked cake. the bottom tier i decided to make her a giant rectangular cake that looked like a hershey's bar, only instead it would say "linda's." on top of that one, i put a super ginormous hunk of chocolate cake, just like nana used to make, and put an oversized sugar paste candle with a sugary flame.

inside the cake was a white vanilla, filled with a rich oreo butter cream. i then iced the whole thing with my italian meringue butter cream. I covered it all with a tinted vanilla fondant - by tinted, i mean tinted to a chocolately brown. i did some royal icing piping, stamped her name over and over into little rectangles and hand-painted the hunk of cake to look like a filled, old-school cake.

i surprised her with her cake and her reaction was priceless. her reaction is WHY i love cake!

my favorite part? she smells it and says "Oh my god! I can't wait to eat it! It smells like a giant Hershey's bar!!" and later, upon eating it exclaims, "it tastes so chocolatey!" ... (to which i scratch my head and tell her there's no chocolate in the fondant)... we laugh. gotta love a chocoholic! :o)

here are some more pics:

..."hugs and stitches" cookie pops ...

2010-08-11T01:07:00.005-04:00

a coworker/friend of my husband's approached me (via my husband) to see if i'd be able to make some cookie pops for their daughter's first birthday. the bakery they approached prior to me told them that it was "impossible"... i'm thinking the bakery meant it was "impossible to make it profitable..." that's one of the reasons why i love the whole "word-of-mouth" baker wannabe biz. i get to make cute stuff and make people happy in the process. :o)

SO, armed with a napkin (for the colors and deco-theme) i created 25 pink and purple cookies to match their party. a former coworker of mine gifted me an amazing (AMAZING) sugar cookie recipe, for which i am eternally grateful!!! and with that...i got to work.

these were 4" diameter, beautifully thick, crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, perfectly golden cookies, decorated with royal icing and finished up with royal icing stitches and a sparkly, fondant button. they are SO cute, i almost can't stand it! and i absolutely LOVE how her centerpieces turned out. she was also kind enough to send along a little email with her pictures - i LOVE reviews and she sent such a sweet note, i have to share it!! :

"Thank you so much for doing such an awesome job on the lollipop flower cookies! We knew they would be awesome when we ordered them just from talking with you but the outcome far exceeded our expectations!! The cookies matched our color theme and decorations perfectly and they were just right for arranging them as centerpieces. Everyone commented on how beautiful and adorable they were...and how delicious too! B, J and I couldn't agree more!! We look forward to working with you in the future and we recommend you to all our friends and family!!

Sincerely,

L, B and J"

Anyway, i LOVE feedback and am really happy that they enjoyed them so much! the pictures they sent are SO cute! i can't WAIT to make more of these!!

mandy *hearts* cookies!

...tool belt cake...

2010-08-10T16:59:00.004-04:00

okay, so first let me say i absolutely reject the term 'tomboy'... having been called a "tomboy" for most of my life, growing up with a carpenter grandfather, construction/painting biz father, and stemming from a long line of very strong, capable women... i prefer "strong, capable, tool-wielding woman" :o) and with that, i present my version of a 'tool belt cake'...

a friend wanted a small birthday cake themed around a tool belt, a black sharpie, some red paint and oreo butter cream. by far a very rich choice, but if eaten in small doses, totally yummy.

i designed this cute little cake with sugar paste tools: a purple handled hammer (because her husband likes purple), a paint brush dripping red paint (because the red paint represented some sort of inside joke between the two of them...and i LOVE inside jokes...and the opportunity to drip sugar "paint" all over a cake) and finally a cap-less, black sharpie (because this is apparently her husband's signature trademark item).

The cake was a triple layer white vanilla cake, layered with a rich oreo butter cream, iced in a vanilla butter cream, and covered in white fondant, with a wood grain brown fondant.

Happy Father's Day (well, it was happy :o)

2010-07-10T17:01:00.003-04:00

Okay, SUPER late posting this but...

my dad doesn't have a sweet tooth so for him, the father's day treat i made had to be something different. something still amazing. so my PASSION for fruit tarts took over and i knew this was one he'd LOVE! the fresh fruit tart with pastry cream and vanilla bean and creme d'amande (almond cream!!) it's like all the things i've ever loved to eat packed into a 10" round tart of perfection. oh, that's right, this one's for my dad. luckily, he and i share the same taste in desserts.

it's delicious, it's simple and it's beautiful to look at... and don't get me started on how amazing it smells...

Squiggle Cuppycakes...Old-School

2010-07-10T14:30:00.000-04:00

That's right. If you're a child of the 80's you know what I'm talking about. BEFORE Hostess lost their minds and ruined the only thing they ever did well. I decided to resurrect my childhood fave: the Squiggle Cupcake. You know the one: Chocolate cake, filled with a never-ending center of marshmallowy yummy-ness, topped with an amazing chocolate ganache and then, decorated with the white squiggly line (this time, done in white chocolate.)

Anyway, this picture is terrible, but here they are - a thank you gift to some former co-workers.

Pizza anyone?

2010-07-10T14:13:00.004-04:00

Fresh from the oven...sort of.

so my brother, for as long as i can remember, has LOVED pizza. for his birthday, we were traveling up to visit him in Rhode Island. i HAD to bring him a cake! SO, since everyone who knows me, knows i LOVE the Cake Boss, I decided to use Buddy's cake as my source of inspiration!

the cake itself was a two-layer vanilla cake. i filled half with a lemon curd, and half with my nana's FAMOUS chocolate filling. i iced it all in *drumroll* vanilla italian meringue butter cream and then the fun part - the decorating!!

i covered the cake in fondant. using the techniques i watched on the Cake Boss, i used various pieces of fondant in reds, oranges and yellows for the "sauce" and then made my first batch of white modeling chocolate EVER!! (which is SO YUMMY i might add). I made fondant olives and fondant pepperoni too! i used the steamer to melt the top just like Buddy and he's such a genius because it worked PERFECTLY! so thanks to him for his brilliant idea!!! it made for an awesome cake (if i do say so myself). i used various colors of petal dust to paint the dough and used a torch to caramelize the white chocolate. once again, thanks Buddy! (as if he's reading this! lol)

my brother opened the cake box and laughed. he was pretty impressed. i think one of the best compliments came next: "oh man! it's so cool. it's disgusting. it's cake but it looks like pizza! [more laughter] that's awesome."

Happy Birthday to the best brother a sister could have :o)

More pics:

Buffalo Bills Cake!

2010-07-10T14:04:00.002-04:00

I've been SOOOO bad about blogging!

This is me trying to catch up!

Meet: The Buffalo Bills Birthday Cake!

A friend of my husband's needed a cake for her husband's birthday. He's a Bills fan and they wanted a simple cake: so behold, my simple triple-layer vanilla cake, filled and iced with vanilla butter cream. I then decorated it with white fondant, an edible Bills logo printed with my newest toy - edible ink on edible frosting sheets. Ahh, technology. Gotta love it. Anyway, I put some royal icing grass around the outside as a border. They absolutely loved it and from what I hear, they ate it all in one night! That's all the compliment I need :o)

Here are a few more pics:

Cherry on Top: Happy Mom's Feedback :o)

2010-05-24T19:50:00.005-04:00

oh happy happy birthday to you!

YAY for feedback!

when you make a cake...when you're me... you really want it to be so incredibly perfect - though nothing can ever be PERFECT, it's gotta come as close a humanly possible. i was really happy with the look of this one! its got such a whimsical, happy face on (yes, my cakes have faces...they sometimes talk! ...just kidding...sorta! LOL)

anyway, L is an AMAZING photographer (who took AMAZING photographs of my wedding!!) and promised to take some shots of her daughter's birthday cake! here they are, along with my favorite part: FEEDBACK! :o)

"Everyone thought the cake was AMAZING!!!! It was delicious too!!! K loved it, got some great pics!! Thank you so much again!!!! ... More than I had expected...you are a GENIUS!!" *this is the part where i blush!*

so to some of my favorite people: L and the whole family! i love you guys and was more than happy to make your cake! i hope you loved it and ate it until it was all gone! :o)

Happy Happy 5th Birthday K!

Bruins Puck Cake: Bride's Feedback :o)

2010-05-24T19:28:00.007-04:00

i can tell you, the most nerve-wracking part of cake: the waiting... the waiting for the feedback. mostly because i'm always excited to hear about the cake. how'd it go? were they surprised? was it good? did you enjoy it? did you love it? what'd'ya think?? i LOVE when clients send me feedback!

M was so QUICK to respond! and would you believe i MISSED it?!? "new" facebook is more than a little annoying to me, with all its settings, notifications, etc. i haven't quite set it up the way i want it yet! so the night of her rehearsal dinner, she had posted the following note:

Mandy -

thanks so much for the groom's cake! i was so excited to see it and it looked terrific, just like i knew it would. everyone thought it looked great - and it tasted delicious too! you did a fantastic job with the detailing. Josh loved it and he was definitely surprised. thanks again - you were so awesome to work with!

~ M

that's so exciting to hear! thanks so much M for taking the time (the night before your wedding!) to send me that message! i couldn't be happier to hear it!

once again, congratulations on your wedding!

sending you my very best wishes!

happy birthday with a cherry on top!

2010-05-23T13:33:00.005-04:00

*sigh of total happiness* ~ well i'm done! L picked up the cake earlier this morning and i am so happy that she seemed so happy with her daughter's birthday cake. what's cool about good friends is that when they're there to support you, it starts to seem like there's nothing you can't do. over a sushi dinner several weeks ago, i was telling L about my plan to make Cheeky Cakery "Official" and get my business license! so hearing that, she asked if i'd want to make her daughter's 5th birthday cake. it was a great opportunity to make a cake, experiment with a new design AND get a load of new pictures to publish on my blog and put in my portfolio! cool friends are hard to find :o) ! SO, thanks L! i more than appreciate the opportunity!!

so may i introduce the cutest birthday cake i've EVER made? it's a slightly topsy-turvy cake. i didn't want to make it TOO extreme because L had to drive an hour to bring it to the party and i was SO nervous to make it topple over! i LOVE how it came out!

the cake is a lactose-free white vanilla cake.

the frosting and filling: my FAVORITE vanilla italian meringue butter cream, tinted the birthday girl's favorite color: pink! :o)

it's a multi-layered cake and decorated with all edible elements (except for the cherry stem) made from a smooth vanilla fondant, dusted in a pearl luster dust!

so here are the pics! i cannot wait to hear the feedback on this one AND see all the amazing pictures i'm sure L will take (she's an awesome photographer!)

enjoy the pics and feel free to leave a comment below!! :o)

happy weekend!
<3
m

Birthday cakes are some of my favorite things!

2010-05-21T20:12:00.002-04:00

so, i'm blogging, whilst around me wafts the smell of a melt-in-your-mouth yummy white vanilla cake baking in the oven. that's the one secret i'm willing to share so far. the cake that's in the making... it's made from an amazing new recipe: white vanilla. It's light, fluffy, and melts in your mouth! i have dreams of doing it with real vanilla beans too! have i ever told you how much i LOVE vanilla bean EVERYTHING? it's one of the most delicious flavors to me - sweet, soft, and calming. plus, it looks really cool!

anyway, a friend of mine asked me to make her daughter's 5th birthday cake! OMG! the only thing i love more than birthday cakes, are birthday cakes for little girls. BECAUSE: they can be so girly! and i'm such a girly-girl!

all i can share so far is that it's going to be a delicious multi-tiered creation, with a palette of pinks, purples, whites and silvery glitters, and will include stripes, polka dots, lollipops and all topped with a cherry! it's inspired by so many different cake artists that i'm obsessed with! SO...imagine that if you will and i'll post pics on SUNDAY when she's coming to pick it up! wish me luck! i'm bouncing off the walls!

xo
m

Bruins Hockey Puck Grooms Cake

2010-05-13T20:56:00.009-04:00

Today was my most recent bride's rehearsal dinner for their wedding. "M" contacted me months ago asking if I would be able to make a groom's cake for her fiance. Taking some of his favorite things into consideration, we designed a Boston Bruins Hockey Puck cake. The cake is a 10" round, triple layer cake. The cake is an amazing white vanilla cake, filled with a rich, yummy chocolate pudding filling, iced with an incredible (if i do say so myself) light, creamy, fluffy Italian Meringue vanilla butter cream. Of course, we decked it out with black vanilla fondant, giving it a slightly grainy appearance for texture - after all, it's GOT to LOOK like a puck (just not TASTE like one! ;o) I added edible images of the team logo, her fiance's favorite F-16 AND, though I'm a Yankee fan... the Boston Red Sox "B"! We delivered it this evening and I'm more than excited to hear the feedback. I can only hope that they love it as much as I do! Best Wishes "M" - to you and your hubby-to-be! Enjoy every bite and every second that follows! Happy Wedding!

Here are some pics!

taking a minute to swoon...

2010-05-11T19:23:00.009-04:00

i'm always excited when there's a cake on the horizon! i'm about to start a cool groom's cake: a hockey puck! it's my first hockey puck too! you know me and "firsts!" (see Valentine's Day post! :o)

anyway, the person that hired me is such a sweetheart! and i love that she's so excited to surprise her man with a cake made just for him! i just wish it was the day already! i get terribly impatient when i want to make a cake...and it's simply not time yet! i think that's why i need more cakes to make, more regularly!! think of how happy i'll be!

a friend of mine asked me to make her daughter's birthday cake as well! that's in a few weeks! it's going to be awesome! when i'm at work, every chance i get i'm busy sketching ideas, inventing cakes in my head! sending out good vibes for new clients!

i guess i just wanted to gush about the prospects, the opportunities lying ahead, the changes i'm making for my own personal satisfaction! i cannot wait to sink my teeth into the cake scene! pretty soon i'll be officially, licensed and ready to go! it's going to be awesome!

i guess i want to thank all my family and friends for being so supportive of me! it's an awfully good feeling to know that there are so many incredible people backing you and pulling for you and telling you "you can do it and it's going to be great!"

on that note: my husband came home yesterday and in one of the most adorable displays of affection, walks into my living room with something behind his back.

"Ohhhh, Cheekies!" he calls. (he calls me "Cheekies" - in case you wonder where i came up with "Cheeky Cakery" now you know.

"Yes, Bean." Yup, that's one of the many nicknames I call him.

"Commmeee heeeerrrre" and with that i walk into the living room. He's got this huge grin on his face and he holds out a little bag and says, "Open this."

of course i hop over to him and gush, "A present?! For me?! Yay!" I really am a giant 8-year-old.

i rummage through the white tissue paper and feel what I know is a book. i open it, careful not to tear anything important. and i was so amazed. looking down, in my hands...Cakes to Dream On, by the one and only Colette Peters.

now if you know me, REALLY know me, you know i LOVE Colette! she is one of my favorite inspirations. i've even emailed her before and we've discussed cakes. i mean, i LOVE LOVE LOVE her cakes! i was blown away. but then my husband says, "Open it...to the inside cover."

and this is what he wrote:

"To the owner, operator and head chef of Cheeky Cakery,
I believe in you. Now you have to believe in you.

Love always,
B"

and i think i most definitely will. love my B. always.

The perfect piece of cake is...

2010-05-09T18:55:00.003-04:00

Valentine's Day!!!

2010-02-14T23:03:00.008-05:00

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to all my cake enthusiasts!

Though this blog post will be going up at the very last minute on Valentine's Day, I certainly can't let the day go by without wishing everyone all kinds of love, peace and happy-ness! (and yes, I did spell it that way deliberately ;o)

I thought I'd share with you all my "Heart Day" projects and sweets! Try not to drool on the keyboard!

Well, I'm nothing if not a hopeless romantic. Since Brian and I only got married a few months ago, we've been having a lot of fun with all our "married firsts..." You know... first married one-month-iversary, two-month-iversary, three-month-iversary...uhh, you get the point; not to mention, our first married trip to the mall, first married sushi date night, first married Christmas... which brings me to the point of this blog post: our first married Valentine's Day!

I didn't have much going on for Valentine's Day (in terms of orders for cake or other goodies), which was nice in a way, because I got to focus on my family and my new, adorable husband, who I'm obviously smitten with!

That being said, here are some chocolates I made several different people, family members and my hubbs...

I made some delicious solid White Chocolate cups with pink vanilla accents - My brother has always loved White Chocolate ANYTHING, so with him in mind, I sent a small package up to Rhode Island the other day... though it will arrive the day after Valentine's Day, I miss him since he moved up to his new school, so I figured I'd surprise him with some "Heart Day Hugs" from his big sis. Hopefully they arrive in one piece, so to speak

I also made some Caramel-filled Kissy Lips and Pink solid Kissy Lips, which I think are SO cute! and really quite yummy!

I then made some of my favorite flavor combinations! (And let's face it, I didn't invent this, but whoever did should be most proud!)

Peanut Butter and Chocolate ...and fresh, hand-chopped, organic peanuts... Any combination thereof is nothing short of edible bliss (and you can quote me on that!)

I made Chocolate cups with those chopped peanuts I mentioned earlier... you might also note the Chocolate Kissy Lips (filled with fresh organic peanut butter!)

And on top of that, layered Peanut Butter and Chocolate cups, with (you guessed it!) peanuts for the crunchy texture I favor so often!

Lastly, and this brings me back to my list of "firsts..."

Well, back when I first met my husband, our first Valentine's Day together was really a very special one for me, because I used to HATE Valentine's Day with a passion. But on this first one with him those few years ago I decided to make him a chocolate cake. Not just any chocolate cake, but a sinfully chocolatey Devil's Food layer cake made with chocolate pieces... that was filled with a homemade ganache and iced with chocolate fudge frosting. What made this cake so memorable was that this was the first thing that I ever made him. And he still remembers it because it weighed what he described as "9 pounds of chocolatey goodness"... I think it might have been what sold him on me way back when.

So, keeping that in mind, I decided to resurrect this old cake, and make it for our "first married Valentine's Day"... Though this time, I made it in the shape of a heart (cue the cheesy music now)... Anyway, I had him close his eyes this afternoon and sat the cake stand in front of him and asked him to open his eyes. They of course, flew open and immediately down to the cake in front of him and he exclaimed (with no prompting from me mind you) "Oh my God!!! The 9 Pound Chocolate Cake!! It's BACK!!!" and jumped up, ran to get a knife and plate (and brought over two cups for milk. I thought it was so sweet that he remembered to share!

But it brought me back to why I love cake (and him) in the first place...

Cake: because I love how people just get so darn excited over something I find particularly easy to do...something so simple...

Brian: because he is the love of my life and adds more to my life than I could have ever imagined possible...* swoon *

So with that thought, I leave you with my little homage to the cake I "invented" back when me and my sweetheart were celebrating our "first" of many firsts to come! It's short, time-lapsed and to the point! (PS- the song is thanks to the Plain White T's and is titled "1-2-3-4")

Enjoy!!

So I guess all that's left to say is...

xoxo

iCake makes its debut in a brand NEW YEAR!!

2010-01-01T22:31:00.001-05:00

Well first of all, Happy New Year! I'm so excited to share this with everyone! The feedback is in on the iCake!

And I quote: "..I can not thank you enough for the beautiful cake you made for my brother... Everyone was blown away...we didn't want to put candles on the cake so I held them!... It was too funny and we didn't want to cut the cake but we did and it was delicious!..."

I have to admit, I was very excited to hear about how the surprise went! I'm so overjoyed to hear that the birthday boy was surprised and happy with his cake! Trust me, nothing makes me happier than being the person responsible for glowing happiness in the presence of one of my cakes... not to mention...elated cake-eating!!!- It doesn't get any better than that! and these pictures speak a thousand words for sure! How funny are they!! They didn't want to put candles in the cake, so they HELD THEM! Classic!

Thanks so much to the wonderful family for sharing these pictures with me! You are my first official feedback on my blog and I'm so proud and happy to share this with my fans! :o)

Most importantly, thank you for letting me be the one to make your cake! I love what I do and love that you loved it too!

xoxo

What a happy, exciting post for my first one of this brand new year!

Happy 2010!

Mandy

2009-12-30T12:02:00.000-05:00

I'm SO excited to post about this cake! You'd never know I'm writing (and publishing) on 5 hours sleep! Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

SO allow me to intro this newest cake from Cheeky:

So I was asked to help out a family member who's brother's birthday is coming up! He's addicted to his iPhone, and she told me how much she'd love to surprise him with an iPhone cake.

I was SO excited to do this one, because I ♥ my iPod Touch (it's next to the cake in the above picture to show scale!), which for those that don't know, is very similar to the iPhone (without the phone part that is...)

The birthday boy's birthday date is actually January 6th, but the family is celebrating early! However, I added personal touches like the calendar says "Jan 6" and if you look really carefully, it's even "1:06PM"... and my favorite part? "iSal" in the top left corner...because it's the only time you get to see your name in cake! (The birthday boy's name is ....drumroll...Sal!) :o) **EDITED TO ADD: Actually, the date was Jan 5. And easy fix! :o)**

Anyway, so the biggest challenge was determining scale for this one because it's a small party, they didn't want a HUGE cake (we all know how much I LOVE to make big cakes :o) So how do make the cake 9x13 but also make it look a little cartoonish, and colorful...The answer: we enlarged some of the favorite apps (and typical ones) and made the iPhone have 3 rows of apps instead of 4. (So for all you detailed oriented cake-fans, yes, I'm well aware of the scale, and it was completely intentional)... the best part? The size, shape and color of the apps on the cake...totally works for the cake itself! I just want to pick it up and call someone (or at least play some Scrabble).

BIG props go to my sous chef, Brian,...my loving and wonderfully helpful and supportive husband who helped me mix and knead all the fondant colors by hand! Plus stayed up with me...lets just say VERY late to finish this! :o) I'm a lucky girl for sure!

The birthday boy hasn't seen it yet! I can't wait for reactions to this one! I'll update you when I know! :o) Cheers and Happy Happy New Year!

"♥ ur iPhone?

The Holidays are coming! The Ovens are warming!

2009-10-28T21:11:00.001-04:00

I'm so excited about the holidays!
They are coming and I've created my Holiday Price List for Thanksgiving!

Are you interested?
If so, contact Mandy at
cheekycakery@gmail.com or call 631.289.5893!

Price List for Thanksgiving and Holiday Treats!

French Apple Tart……….. $20

9” Round

French Apple Tart (Sugar-Free)……………. $22

9” Round

Pumpkin Cheesecake ………………………$25

9” Round, Graham Cracker Crust

The World’s BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies……………. $18

2 Dozen

Down Under Delicious! Australian for CAKE!

2009-09-12T17:58:00.000-04:00

Well my husband (Brian) took me to Australia for our honeymoon! It was amazing, but that's a whole other blog! His birthday was only a week or so after we returned to the States! I thought it was only appropriate that I make him a cake to commemorate the best vacation we've ever been on...EVER!

This was a cake shaped like the continent of Australia - two layers thick of the best chocolate chip vanilla cake ...tinted to match the red sands of the Outback! I filled it with some homemade cannoli cream too!

It was iced in a red sand-tinted vanilla cream and highlighted by some white ocean waves. The cake rested upon oceans of blue fondant with a few edible white-tipped reef sharks, to add an element of DANGER! Everything was edible by the way... I like the challenge!

Sitting atop the cake was my edible husband complete with snorkel gear and a little koala to keep him company...her name was Chelsea (so named after the koala we met and HUGGED whilst in Oz!)

Obviously, he loved it!

I don't know what he wished for though...he did already marry me! ;o)

Scrabble-tastic Cuppycakes

2009-09-12T17:52:00.000-04:00

My aunt loves Scrabble so when it was time to make her birthday cake, I decided that this called for Scrabble cupcakes.

The cupcakes were an organic chocolate cake, topped with a blue-tinted vanilla buttercream and decorated with fondant wood grain Scrabble tiles - which, of course, spelled out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY CONNI"

I believe it's VERY important to play with your food! And the birthday girl loved them!

Cheeky Cakery

Last Call for Pumpkin Cheesecake!

Arsenal Footballer Cake (and yes, i mean soccer...)

new logo, new look, fresh start!

sink your tooth into this!

PINK! PINK! PINK! with a cherry on top!

chocolate cake for a chocolate lover... that's not so chocolatey?.... huh?

..."hugs and stitches" cookie pops ...

...tool belt cake...

Happy Father's Day (well, it was happy :o)

Squiggle Cuppycakes...Old-School

Pizza anyone?

Buffalo Bills Cake!

Cherry on Top: Happy Mom's Feedback :o)

Bruins Puck Cake: Bride's Feedback :o)

happy birthday with a cherry on top!

Birthday cakes are some of my favorite things!

Bruins Hockey Puck Grooms Cake

taking a minute to swoon...

The perfect piece of cake is...

Valentine's Day!!!

iCake makes its debut in a brand NEW YEAR!!

♥ your iPhone? There's a cake for that! ©

The Holidays are coming! The Ovens are warming!

Down Under Delicious! Australian for CAKE!

Scrabble-tastic Cuppycakes