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