New Holiday Flavours!!

Mmmmm, the "elves" over here at Adair Weddings are busy busy busy this holiday season!!

Here's some new flavours:

Milk, Semi-Sweet or Dark Chocolate:

Chocolate Toffee Crunch

Chocolate Cherry

Chocolate Rasbperry

Chocolate Cheesecake

White Chocolate:

White Chocolate Cheesecake

White Chocolate Rasbperry Cheesecake

White Chocolate Peppermint Crunch

Almond

Just a few of the new flavours we've been whipping up here at the end of 2010!!

Call us to place your holiday orders! 760.812.0574

Mention you read this blog, and receive 20% off your holiday orders.

Happy Holidays!!

-The Elves at Adair Weddings

Christmas is Coming!!!

Christmas is JUST around the corner! We're cooking up some amazing new delights for the holiday season, here's a teaser of some new flavors...

Almond White Chocolate Cake Balls
Orange Dark Chocolate Cake Balls
Dark Chocolate Double Mocha Cake Balls
Peppermint Cake Balls (White Chocolate Cake, crushed peppermint, mint white chocolate)

And a few of last year's favorite holiday flavors:

White Chocolate Eggnog Cake Balls
Kahlua Cake Balls (double chocolate cake, Kahlua, dipped in White Chocolate)
Grand Marnier Cake Balls
Amaretto Cake Balls
Red Velvet Cinammon Cake Balls
White Chocolate Cake Balls


Mmmmmmmmm. My mouth is watering just THINKING about all these luscious flavors, the yummy chocolate, peppermint...Mmmmmm.

Call us today to place your order! Mention you saw this blog, and we'll take 20% off your holiday order.

Cheers!

Julia

Artwork

What IS this? Just a little mini-cake I threw together last night.

White Chocolate Fondant, hand-painted with shimmer dust (Super Pearl), and then some fondant accents (handle, rope, and the "11"), and the leaves and little accent is out of candy clay, molded and painted.

I used Silver Luster Dust, Super Green, and Champagne. I also used edible glitter for the "11"

The inside was Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese icing. My special mix! Yum yum!! It was cake that was MUCH enjoyed! This was used as a centerpiece. It looked like some sort of figurine, one lady thought it was a porcelain piece! Maybe a teapot!!

We have a wedding coming up on 10-10-10, so watch for an update with pictures! We're doing the cake, flowers, AND cake balls.

A new cake ball flavor! Cream Cheese Brownie. Mmmm. It's GOOEY!!

Cheers!

Julia

Cupcakes and Ice Cream!!

I got a call from a good friend of mine, she wanted cupcakes for invitations. Hrm. Shipping cupcakes, maybe not. SO, I thought, hey, cake ball cupcakes!



So, I took the tutorial that Bakerella has (her blog BTW, FANTASTIC. Thats where my baking inspiration started!!) on her blog, made it my own, and off I went.

THEN, because I didn't have peanut butter cup candy molds, and they were on sale (yay!), I bought these really cute dessert cordial cup molds. They kind of look like miniature ice cream cones.

Ice Cream Cake Balls!!!

Here's the two different ones side-by-side.

I don't "play" around that often, so this was really fun. Usually I'm running so many different directions, I do what's on the order sheet, and I'm done. So, it was a treat to "play" this morning!!

And the "sprinkles" I used are actually edible glitter. I get SO many requests for this stuff!

Still trying to update all the things I've been making lately, still behind. But this is a fresh post, as in, I finished the ice cream cones, took pictures, and here I am posting! It's a first! =)

Oh, the cupcakes are a Double Chocolate cake with Chocolate Ganache. Dipped in white & milk chocolate.

The Ice Cream Cones are Mocha Cake, with a Dark Chocolate Ganache, MORE Coffee to strengthen the flavor, and dipped in white chocolate (cone) and Dark Chocolate (top)

They are the BEST Mocha Cake Balls I'd put together to date!

Here's some updated Flavors you can order from us;

Dipped in White Chocolate

White Chocolate

Strawberry Cheesecake

Lemon

Red Velvet

Amaretto

Bailey's Irish Cream

Almond Flavored White Chocolate

Dipped in Milk, Semi-Sweet, or 60% Cacao Dark Chocolate

Double Chocolate Cake

Red Velvet

Mocha

Red Velvet with Cinnamon

Rum

Chocolate-Coconut

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake

Cheesecake Brownie

Grand Marnier

There are SO many possibilities!! These are just some of the flavors we've created, contact us if you have a special request!

Please note, we do request a week's lead time for a special request. Sometimes we are able to accommodate same-day requests, but please call for availability. We are not a regular shop, but a made-to-order specialty bakery/flower shop.

Now, I'm off to have a wee taste of my new creations. Isn't that my job? To taste them??

Cheers!

Julia

My life as a Wedding Professional....

As some of you are aware, I got remarried earlier this year. The month before our wedding, my parents threw my fiance' and I a little party at the Grumpy Golfer, here in Victorville. We kept the guest list small enough to be able to use their open area, as I loved the chairs, tables, and the fact that we didn't need to do excessive decorating to make it a fabulous-looking event!


Here's some photographs from Kenneth and I's party. Photography credit goes to Autumn Huffine, who did a FANTASTIC job capturing some amazing moments!! She's a young, budding photographer, whom I recommend! Contact me for more information...

The theme was "Black & White", kind of shabby-chic, with pops of Green and Hot Pink. I ADORE pink, it's one of my favorite colors. (I ended up wearing HOT pink slingbacks for my wedding a month later. I will have to post the pictures I took of my shoes & jewelery before hand, they came out so pretty!)

Anyway, my mother and I had fun putting everything together. Picking out sparkly things, lots of candles, and I planned the CAKE. Which turned out to be a monster of a cake. But hey, why not?

6-tiers. But it was SO gorgeous!

I did layers of White Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling & Buttercream, Double Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache and Cream Cheese Icing (at the request of my fiance'), and a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache & Cream Cheese Frosting. Of course i topped the whole thing off with my White-Chocolate/Marshmallow fondant.

Hand painted, shimmered, and all the little details with black royal icing on the top two tiers. The biggest cake I've done (even now, months later!!), but it sure was stunning! I also did Red Velvet cake balls in Pink & Green to match the decor.

My mom found the trim at a local fabric store, and I wrapped the bottom "plate" in some black raw silk. Topped with a "M" for my soon-to-be new married name, and a hot pink hydrangea!!

We had a DJ, Nedro, he's awesome. If you need a DJ here in the High Desert, please let me know! I've worked with him before, he was the only one I even considered using! Played the music I wanted (mainly 40's and 50's), and has a great setup!

My Uncle David Clark also was there, he played the clarinet. For those of you who don't know, he's the world record holder for the oldest man to sail around the world solo! 86 years old, and running wild and free!! My sister also sang for Kenneth and I.

The surprise of the night? A singing cowboy!! My father met this gentlemen about a week before, and brought him as a surprise! He's the last of the Singing Cowboys from the mid 1900's. Awesome surprise! (I was hoping for Elvis to show up at my wedding after that!)

Some other pictures from the night. My favorite is the one of Kenneth and I dancing, just our feet. Plus you see my shoes! =) (I <3>

What a night! I am SO happy we did the party BEFORE the wedding. It made my wedding day fairly stress-free. Okay, being in Las Vegas helped that too!! We got married on June 12, at the Venetian, in the courtyard. Yes, pretty much in a MALL. I find that fitting.

In fact, I found some really pretty shoes while my girls and I were waiting for the wedding to start! My groom did a major no-no...the marriage license got misplaced! We found it, it was actually a funny story, and everyone was laughing about it. Just meant I had more time to be a bride!! (no nerves for me this time....everything was perfect)

I'll post wedding pictures soon. They were gorgeous!

Cheers!

Julia

Hello Kitty!!

I got a call a couple of weeks ago from a lovely gal who was struggling to find a cake for her daughter's birthday. Labor Day weekend actually. Honestly, at first, I told her I just didn't think I could pull it off.

After mulling it over, speaking with Kaylin (my amazing Intern!), we decided it WAS something we could handle.

And I am SO happy I decided to go for it! What came out was the most ADORABLE cake I think I've done yet!! Hello Kitty!!

I did her nose in edible gold glitter, and her bow is also covered in glitter!! The cake was my fabulous White chocolate cake with strawberry filling. Of course, topped with my vanilla buttercream (I make everything from scratch, and I use REAL butter, no crisco-base unless it's a cake that's going to sit outside all day), and of COURSE my White Chocolate/Marshmallow fondant on top!! Mmmmmm. The cake smelled AND tasted as good as it looked.

I just don't understand why more bakers don't make their own fondant. It's really not that hard, and it's SO much easier to work with! I make it just before I'm going to put it on the cake, and it just slides on that cake like a DREAM. It's smooth, and tastes as good as it looks!!!

Here's to all bakers, and those out there that make fabulous cakes! I'm still learning SO much, but I aspire to be better. I've been working with Gumpaste, but it's still a learning curve for me. (and it smells awful!) I've still to take any classes on floral design OR cake design. Maybe it's time to take a theory class? Hrm, a thought!

Keep an eye out, I'm still working on updating my blog with recent events and posts!

Cheers!

Julia

Detail on Quinceañera Cake

Some close-up detail from the recent Quinceanera cake. The ribbon I used on the cake was also the same ribbon Lizbeth had on her dress!!

Happy Birthday Lizbeth, many happy returns!!

(and I do hope you enjoyed that yummy Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Icing.....It sure did SMELL amazing!!)

Quinceañera

I had the recent chance to do a 4-tier cake for Lizbeth, for her Quinceanera. Kaylin was by my side to accomplish the feat of this enormous cake! (it probably weighed 50+ pounds! All the fondant!!)

What I did was take photographs of the dress, and then took aspects of the dress and incorporated it into the cake. It's wild, crazy, and just "WOW". I used a ton of edible glitter in Gold, Teal, Electric Blue, and Silver. The flowers are all hand-painted, as is the entire cake. I used different colors of luster dust over a navy blue base. (I tinted the fondant, and then painted over it to give it a different effect.

I HAD intended to make the topper from Gumpaste, but it wouldn't set. So I went with my backup plan, which were wooden letters spray-painted gold with navy blue crystals.

All in all, it's probably the most time I have EVER spent on a cake. But it came out gorgeous!! I am still making everything from scratch, including my fondant! I use a marshmallow-white chocolate base for my fondant, and kneed in sugar to make it the right texture for the cake design I am working on. (if that makes sense?) I am not a fondant fan, simply because it usually tastes HORRIBLE, but I have to say, the fondant that I make is quite yummy! My children like to eat the scraps! As they are spoiled when it comes to cakes and sweets at this point, I figure if those 4 like it, I've done a good job!

Keep an eye out, I'm still trying to update with recent work. I've fallen far, far behind in my blogging!

Cheers!

Julia

Cake Balls!

Recently, I had the chance to do a charity event for the Friends of the Phelan Libary.

Here's some of the cake balls we did. My intern, Kaylin has been working just as hard as myself! We did over 200 cake balls, in 4 flavors. White Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Mocha, and Red Velvet!

We also dusted them with a new medium, edible glitter!! You can't see in the pictures the way you can in real life, but it sure does sparkle!!

This batch here to the right is from my daughter's birthday party. Just shimmers, some royal icing designs, and luster dust sprinkled. This was also the debut of Mocha Cake Balls, a newer invention!!

The current popular flavors are:

Mocha

Red Velvet

White Chocolate

Strawberry Cheesecake

Lots of new things going on. Keep an eye out for more posts, and more photographs!!!

Mountain Lakes Wedding Tour Location!

Sorry for the late post on this, but I have our location for the Wedding Tour this Sunday, May 23rd from 12pm-6pm!

Adair Weddings will have floral displays as well as a cake to taste, and plenty of Cake Balls at the St Moritz Lodge at Lake Gregory Regional Park.

24171 Lake Drive
Crestline, CA. 92325

It looks like we're going to be doing a Black & Ivory theme, which is fabulous, as we did this AMAZING Black & White theme party on May 15th at the Grumpy Golfer in Victorville, CA.

I'll be posting photographs from the party this past weekend soon, as well as photographs from this coming weekend's wedding tour!

More to come

-Julia

2010 Wedding Tour!

We will be up in Lake Arrowhead (location TBD) on May 23rd for the Bridal Tour!!

I will keep you posted on where we will be on the tour. Come see us, taste cake balls, cake, see some gorgeous floral arrangements, and talk weddings!! (our favorite topic!!)

Cheers!

Julia

Sparkle!!

The exciting part of planning a wedding, the ring! I'm going to shamelessly plug one of my favorite jewelers in this post, Diamonds by Lauren (http://www.diamondsbylauren.com/). They are based out of New York (where else??), and they really do some fabulous pieces!!

If you are looking for a ring with character, something different, unique, or just a fabulous ring at a fabulous price, I highly HIGHLY recommend this company!!

What you're looking at in these pictures is a Henri Daussi Cushion Cut stone set in a split-shank halo setting. The center stone is a M color, VS1 clarity, but because of a strong blue fluorescence, the center stone looks anywhere from a pale yellow to a white (G-H color) depending on the light.

I want to add some advice here ladies....it's not about the ring!!!!! Of course we all love sparkle, big diamonds, etc, but I want to caution you to remember what an engagement ring stands for, not what it looks like. It's a token from your fiance', partly because De Beers tells us we have to have one (!!), and because he wants the world to know that you belong to someone, and are off the "market", so to speak. Our society puts too much emphasis on the material things, and so many couples don't really KNOW each other when they get married, because they focus on the ring, the party, the dress, and not getting to know each other, discussing EVERYTHING possible (and here is where pre-marital counseling is extremely important! Something big you never thought of may come up, and it could be a deal breaker, you just never know), and agreeing on things before marriage, instead of waiting until you hit a brick wall.

My biggest piece of advice? Marry someone for who they are, not for who you want to make them into. And talk talk TALK before walking down that aisle!!!!

A post on sparkle, ends up in some philosophy! I suppose I'm just adding some wisdom (not sure if it's good, but it sounds good!) as I sit here watching the sun break over the snow-capped mountains. Such a gorgeous morning!

Cheers!

Julia

P.S. If you need a ring, call Diamonds by Lauren!!!

Let them eat cake!

2010 has been a pretty wild year so far (all exciting, and I have fully embraced it all!), and January started off with a bang for us, mainly in the baking department.

We did this elegant 2-tier fondant covered cake with freehand "squiggles" for a recent birthday party. The ribbon is edged in blue sequins, and we matched the accent color (the blue) to the color of the sequins. We did two different tiers, White Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Filling on the bottom, and Chocolate Chocolate Cake with Raspberry filling on the top, smaller tier.

Something like this would serve 35-40 people, and would be approx $125 with free delivery within the High Desert area. Please contact us if you live outside of the High Desert, as we DO deliver all over Southern California, and you will find that our delivery costs for Wedding & Special Event cakes are minimal.

This simple Chocolate Buttercream covered Chocolate Chocolate cake is a simple 2-layer 9" cake with a textured icing, instead of smooth.

Perfect for a small event, this cake yields 15-25 slices, depending on how you cut it.

Pricing for a cake this size starts at $20, and goes up depending on how elaborate you wish it decorated, type of icing (fondant is slightly higher), and delivery charges (we deliver free within a 10-mile radius)

In addition to the simple silver & gold (not pictured) covered display plates, we can also "stage" your cake, do custom cake stands, etc. This is something we discuss with you during a consultation, and having an idea for your decor, event space, and personal style.

Contact us to schedule a complimentary consultation, and we are even able to arrange tastings on occasion, if we have enough notice. Our basic pricing for Wedding Cakes is by the cake, NOT the serving, and we don't charge double if your wish is for a cake to be covered in fondant. We make all our icings & fondants ourselves, so in addition to looking beautiful, it will taste fantastic. We never freeze our cakes, and bake fresh within 24 hours of scheduled delivery.

E-Mail: adairweddings@gmail.com

Phone: 760.812.0574

Next post....keep an eye out for more updates! I'm working on updating back events, getting more pictures on here, and we're still working on the new website!!

Cheers!

Julia

Cake Balls!!!

Thanksgiving, 2009, I went a little crazy with the Cake Balls. Not that anyone complained or anything!! It was actually a bit of an experiment, as I wanted to play with some flavor combinations, colors, luster dust, and see how long it actually took to dip & decorate 350 cake balls (not as long as I expected!!)

I did 5 different flavors, and they all pretty much went off without a hitch.

White Chocolate Eggnog

White Chocolate Cake, Buttercream Icing, Eggnog (the kind with REAL brandy!), dipped in White Chocolate, and dusted with pink luster dust

Kahlua

Dark Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Icing, Kahlua dipped in a

White Chocolate and dusted with either Gold Luster Dust or

a chocolate "K".

Rum

Dark Chocolate Cake mixed with a Coconut-Pecan mix, and Rum dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and dusted with gold luster dust.

White Chocolate

White Chocolate Cake mixed with Butterream and dipped in a white chocolate. No embellishment, as I needed to distinguish between alcoholic and non-alcoholic.

Chocolate

Chocolate Cake mixed with Chocolate Buttercream, dipped in milk chocolate. No embellishment on these either.

The new flavor combinations were a hit, I think the Eggnog were the favorite. I have since done some other alcoholic combinations, using Bailey's Irish Cream (with white chocolate!), Amaretto (also with white chocolate!), and am going to experiment with Grand Mariner very soon!!!

A couple of weeks ago I was making Red Velvet Cake Balls, and got this insane inspiration to add Cinnamon to the mix, and use chocolate chocolate instead of the white chocolate. Mmmm, it was AMAZING. It was the "extra" thing I felt it needed.

Back to the kitchen to create more exciting treats!! Watch for updates after Valentine's Day, as we are going to be busy busy busy baking in the kitchen!! Cake, Cake Balls, it will be a sugar fest!

Have a lovely weekend, and go find your sweetie something sweet and amazing for Valentine's Day! They deserve it!!

Cheers!

Julia

2010!!

Wow, welcome to a FABULOUS new year!! We have been busy out here in Southern California, baking, arranging, and planning events this upcoming year. There are many changes along the way for Adair Weddings & our crew, but we embrace it, and look forward to all the many challenges ahead of us!

Did you know that 2010 is THE year of love and romance? So, all of you 2010 brides out there, congratulations! The Chinese New Year starts on Valentine's Day this year, AND it is the year of the Tiger, so it's going to be a good one!! A fun thing to do? Check your date, see if it's auspicious or not! Here's a website I have used...although of course, if you really want to plan your wedding date around the Chinese calender, you have to actually see a wise woman (or man), and they will take your birthdays, your names, and come up with a list of dates that are "lucky", and there are various types of "luck". If you want financial success, get married on a specific date, if you want a house full of children, and it goes on and on. A couple who married last May did this, and that was why they picked May 2, 2009. (and that was a rainy weekend! still a beautiful wedding, and they ARE happy)

Red Apple Tree (they also do feng shui, if you are decorating your home!)
www.redappletree.com/chinese/astrology_horoscope.htm

Chinese Fortune Calender
www.chinesefortunecalender.com

I am not affiliated with either of those sites, just a couple I have used in the past for a little bit of fun.

There are other HUGE changes on the way here at Adair Weddings, and we have a BUSY week ahead of us, with Valentine's Day!! I realize I haven't updated some of the events we did at the end of last year with posts, photographs, etc, and I apologize! We are working on some technical difficulties, so I'm behind. We should have the new website up in the next couple of months, along with some exciting news & information!

I will endeavor to post some pictures from the Red Hat Valentine Tea this coming week, and of course we're making LOTS of cake balls around here!!! I am also going to be making heart "boxes of chocolate" this year, the cake that sort of started it all!!! Which I am excited to share with more people this year, and of course get some photographs on here!

Until next time, eat lots of cake, wear beautiful shoes, and remember, 2010 is going to be a FABULOUS year!!

Cheers!

Julia