Happy Birthday in Red Velvet

A deliciously sweet way to say Happy Birthday: luscious red velvet with Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting. I hope Nana had a wonderful day.

Valentine's Day Gifts for my Friends

This year at the suggestion of a friend, I decided to box up some of my yummy cake truffles in the spirit of Valentine's Day.  It was so nice to see them all lined up and ready to make someone's day a little sweeter. I think I'll be doing another batch of cake truffles for my 'friends' around Easter time.  Now to think of the perfect springtime flavors... any suggestions?

Arizona Sugar Arts Show, Feb 6, 2010

A month ago I decided to check out the world of competitive sugar arts (yes, it really does exist, but I know that with cable cake show you probably knew that).  It was the Arizona show in Glendale.  While I didn't place in my division, I did receive some very high marks on my cakes (98/100 with one judge).  It's obvious that these decorators spend weeks creating their sugar sculptures (no real cake here, folks. Mostly all dummies under that frosting), so if i decide to try again I'll know to start much earlier to create the level of detail that is needed to bring home a medal. 

I did two cakes. A tiered and a single layer. This tiered cake was covered in fondant and had gumpaste picados and flowers. I sculpted the bride and groom from gumpaste and fondant, painting with color. 

The single layer cake was very lovely, but just not intricate enough for competition. 

Who knows if I'll do it again, but the experience was fun.