Fun birthday cakes...

Here's a cute upbeat cake for someone turning 40...a nice change from all of those "over the hill" cakes.

Here's another cute little cake I did for my friend Kelly's husband. He loves German Chocolate cake, and he's also into war games, so here's what we came up with, so there wouldn't be allot of cake left over.

Sweet cake for a sweet girl...

Designed this cake yesterday for sweet little Ella Davis, who was baptized yesterday. Her favorite colors are, of course...pink and purple. Chocolate with bavarian creme. Perfect little CTR emblem to remind her to "choose the right." Congratulations on your big step, Ella. Hope you enjoyed your cake.

Twin Cakes

The last party cakes I designed were for two sisters turning 18. One was on a swim team and the other was into ballet. I wanted the cakes to be alike, yet different, and be kind of abstract, so these are what I came up with. Both were vanilla cakes...one with whipped cream and fresh strawberries, the other with chocolate mousse...yum!

Happy Birthday, Carissa!

Today is my youngest granddaughter, Carissa's 1st birthday. We had a party for her the week before they moved to Hawaii, and here is a picture of the cake I did for her. It was done in chocolate marshmallow fondant with a gumpaste bow. Baking cocoa is added to the soupy marshmallow mixture before adding the powdered sugar. It's yummy. The rest of the pink decorations were done in pink marshmallow fondant. The cake flavor was vanilla with raspberry mousse filling. I don't know which she enjoyed more...the cake or the ice cream.

Happy March Birthdays...plus yummy Bavarian Creme recipe!

This is the latest cake that I did for my friend, Michelle, who works at Wynwood Assisted Living Center.

The cake flavor was Swiss chocolate with a Bavarian Creme filling. Michelle said it was a huge hit. I have always used a purchased ready to use Bavarian Creme until recently, when I discovered a yummy fresh alternative that I now make from scratch.

Easy Bavarian Creme Filling

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

2 (3 1/2 oz.) packages vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup milk

12 oz. Cool Whip, thawed

Mix together dry pudding mix and cream cheese. Slowly beat in milk. Fold in Cool Whip. You may also use other flavors of puddings.

Tips on working with chocolate ganache

1. Make sure your ganache is the proper consistency. Do not add too much cream.
2. Your buttercream icing underneath should also be the proper consistency. The trick is to make the icing spread smoothly, but don't make it too soft, or it will melt.
3. Do not let the cream boil before adding your chocolate...it should be steamy, but not boiling. After adding your chocolate, keep stirring until smooth.
4. If your ganache is too warm, let it cool slightly before pouring it onto your cake.
5. Position your buttercream iced cake (that you have placed on a cake board that is the same size as the cake) on a cooling rack on top of a cookie sheet or bun pan, and then pour on the ganache and let it drip down to cover the sides. When it has set up slightly, move the cake to your platter or dish or cake board that you will be serving it on. The excess ganache should remain under the cooling rack on the cookie sheet, and should be starting to setting up. You can scrape it up and add it to any leftover ganache and use it for decorating. 
6. Now you can add a bottom border and whatever other decorations that you choose. Remember, you can let the ganache set up a bit longer and then use it to make perfect chocolate roses. 

Icing Under Ganache

Tuesday was my daughter, Paula's 26th birthday, and so she invited a few friends over for cake and ice cream. The cake she requested was vanilla with chocolate mousse filling, covered with a dark chocolate ganache. I filled the cake with two layers of the chocolate mousse and put a layer of rich chocolate buttercream in the middle. I also iced the cake with the chocolate buttercream, which made the chocolate ganache go on much smoother. The cake was just what Paula ordered, and was a hit with her friends. Happy Birthday, Paula!

Tiffani's Birthday Cakes

My friend and hairdresser, Tiffani celebrated her 30th birthday yesterday. The cake she requested was actually a cheesecake with chocolate dipped strawberries. The strawberry glaze was made with Danish Dessert.

Her husband threw a surprise birthday party for her later that night, so I did another cake. This time it was actually a cake, but still had cream cheese and strawberries for the filling because I knew that's what she liked. So yesterday she got a double dose of my baking skills. I have done cakes for her entire family, with the exception of her daughter, Rebekkah, and now they are moving to Utah. . . so sad. I told Rebekkah she would have to come back to Colorado in October, so I can make her a cake.

Especially for Star Wars fans...

Here's one of the seven cakes I decorated last week. I was asked to do a cake for Garrett, the son of my friend and hairdresser, for his tenth birthday. He wanted something from Star Wars and he let me use my decorator's prerogative to determine what I would put on the cake. I found this great picture of Yoda with a light saver. I thought it turned it out great, and I think Garrett enjoyed it.