Shayna's Cupcake Cake

Thanks to Suzette who placed an order for 30 cupcakes for her daughter Shayna.  Shayna is turning 7 years old. 

She requested a cupcake cake otherwise referred to as a pull apart or pull away cake.



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Each cupcake receives dollop of icing beneath it and is placed firmly on a 16" square board.

All 30 cupcakes are placed on the board and now it is time to decorate.

Here is another shot of the cake.  I finished off the cupcakes with buttercream icing and added a  gumpaste crown, ring, flower and number 7.  Can you see the cupcakes underneath?

Sweet Heart Cupcakes

Instead of just plain white cupcakes, I took them a step further and made them unique. Show that special someone a Valentine's message by adding Sweetheart candies to your cupcakes.



I went to a bulk candy store for the Sweetheart Candy.  Ugh!  Some of these candies had smudged messages.  Have you ever tried picking up perfectly composed Sweetheart Candies with a large scoop?  Yes I carried home some "broken" hearts.... but I took care of that by (ahem) eating them.

A Cake for Mya

Thank you Camille who requested a 1st Birthday cake for her very special girl Mya.  I baked a two layered white cake, dressed it up with fondant, and adorned it with a gumpaste princess crown.  I added silver dragees to give Mya's crown a bit of a jeweled effect.

I wish I took photos throughout this process, but I have so much fun decorating cakes I was in total tunnel vision mode.  I wanted to share what I did with the cake.  Here are a couple of photos.

I added drops of yellow food colouring on the batter.

I then swirled the food colouring with a toothpick.  This is a wonderful way to show colour to the cake itself as one slices it.

Red Velvet Sandwich Cookies

For all of the Red Velvet Cake Lovers out there this is the perfect Valentine's Day dessert. 
This is an easy cookie recipe made with cake mix

Ingredients:
1 White cake mix
1 Tbsp cocoa
2 Eggs
1/3 Cup of oil
2 tsp red food colouring

1. Mix everything together and blend well.
2. Spoon cake batter in Tbsp. amounts onto cookie sheet and space a few inches apart.
3. Bake at preheated 350 degree oven for 10 to 12 minutes.
4. Allow to cool completely after baking. Then spread frosting over one cookie, and press another on top.

I like to use either a vanilla buttercream or cream cheese frosting. Delish!

I Heart Cake

Valentine's Day is just around the corner, so I decorated what I call the I Heart You Cake.

This is a vanilla two layered cake, covered with fondant.  I decorated the fondant by piping red buttercream icing.

It's so simple and oh so pretty.  I absolutely Heart it!

Soaking Fruit in Alcohol

I have just returned from another trip to Jamaica with the hubby to ring in the New Year in Negril Beach.  Before boarding our flight I stopped at the Duty Free shop to purchase a bottle of Over Proof Rum for soaking fruit.  Traditional Jamaican Black cake usually includes fruit that has been soaked in alcohol for months.

I am quite excited about my purchase of my Cuisinart 4 Cup Mini Grinder which was my gift to myself for Christmas. I had a combination of prunes, cherries, mixed peel and raisins soaking in Red Label Wine before I departed for my vacation.  I strained the fruit from the wine and added it to my grinder.  I had to do this in batches, as this only holds 4 cups.

There is a grind and a chop option.  For this process I chose chop by keeping my finger pressed on the button. Nicely done... don't you think?

I transferred the pureed mixture to a glass jar and poured in some of the Over Proof rum. I the sealed it with an air tight cover.  I'll let you know when I use it.