National Capital Area Cake Show

I just came back from Virginia, where I attended the National Capital Area Cake Show. This show is one of the biggest in the country and is attended by many of the top sugar artists.  Attendees have the opportunity to take classes, attend demonstrations, watch live cake challenges and compete in a wedding cake or themed competition. While I was there, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend classes taught by two of my absolute favorite cake designers, Anne Heap of the Pink Cake Box (www.pinkcakebox.com)  and Zane Beg of The Sweet Life (www.thesweetlife.com). If they look a little familiar, it may be because you have seen one or both of these incredibily talented people compete on the Food Network Challenge and TLC's Ultimate Cake-Off. With instructors like Zane and Anne, it is hard to go wrong! Here are a few pictures of my completed cakes:

This cute little dragon is "busting out" of the cake!

With the ever-so-talented Zane Beg!

I embellished my jungle birthday cake topper with jungle leaves and the number two
 when I got home

The fine details

With Anne Heap--one of my idols in the world of cake!

Old Fashioned Vanilla Sugar Cookies

12/6/09 - COOKIE ORDERS NO LONGER BEING ACCEPTED


Thank you to everyone who has placed orders for Old Fashioned Vanilla Sugar Cookies. My schedule is now completely full, so I will be unable to accept any further orders. I wish you all the happiest of holidays and the best in the new year!


For me, the holidays are not complete without beautifully decorated old-fashioned vanilla sugar cookies. I have been making them for my family for many years. This year, due to popular request, I decided to make them available for purchase. If you are interested in ordering, here are the details:

• Orders will be taken until Friday, December 11th or until my schedule is booked
• All cookies are made from scratch and hand decorated
• Cookies will be available for pickup Monday, December 20th, Tuesday, December 21st and Wednesday, December 23rd*
• Shipping of cookies is currently unavailable

*If you are interested in cookies for an earlier event, please let me know and I will do my best to accommodate your request. 

COOKIE OPTIONS:

Large (4") Individual cookies - separately bagged and tied with a ribbon 
Price: $2.50 (minimum order 4 cookies)
  

Choose from 6 designs:

• Snowman
• Christmas tree
• Gingerbread man
• Snowflake
• Mitten
• Christmas light

Makes a great stocking stuffer, gift topper or gift to yourself!

Box of 1 dozen large (4") cookies - Holiday Mix

Price: $25.00/dozen

Assortment includes:

• 1 Gingerbread man
• 1 Christmas tree
• 1 Santa star
• 1 Snowman
• 1 Snowflake
• 1 Mitten
• 2 Christmas lights
• 2 Ornaments
• 2 Candy canes

Boxed 1 dozen Winter Fun Assortment - 6 large cookies, 6 small cookies

Price: $20/dozen

Assortment includes:

• 3 large snowmen
• 3 small hats
• 2 large snowflakes
• 2 small snowmen
• 1 large mitten
• 1 small snowflake  

Box of 1 dozen small (2 3/4" to 3") cookies - Traditional Holiday Mix

Price: $18.00/dozen

Assortment includes:

• 3 Winter hats
• 2 Snowmen
• 2 Gingerbread Men
• 2 Christmas trees
• 1 Snowflake
• 1 Candy Cane
• 1 Ornament

Purple Paisley

This two-tier wedding cake was done for a lovely couple who married in Las Vegas. Upon returning home, they decided to host a second celebration with family and friends who couldn't attend their destination wedding. Their wedding colors were white and lapis (deep purplish blue) and they wanted to carry that through with their second wedding cake. Both tiers were classic white cake filled with a rich and creamy cookies & cream buttercream. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Boo!

I was honored to be asked to make a Halloween cake to be raffled off at local fundraiser and decided on a not-too-scary ghosts & bats theme. The handmade ghost, pumpkin and tombstone, as well as the other decorations, were all made of fondant. Both cakes were filled with a creamy cookies & cream filling. The top tier was a classic white cake and the bottom tier was my signature dark chocolate cake.

Happy Halloween!

Cute as a button

This little baby boy shower cake is three layers of fluffy classic white cake filled with chocolate buttercream.  The blue/brown theme was created with vanilla fondant and dark chocolate fondant. The hand-made chocolate bow is highlighted with royal icing dots and matches the ribbon on the cake base. The buttons are a combination of chocolate fondant and vanilla fondant that was colored slightly darker than the base fondant to achieve a tone-on-tone effect.

Wild About Shopping!

A special cake for girl who likes to shop! This classic white cake was filled with a chocolate buttercream and and covered in marshmallow fondant that was dusted a sparkly pink. Each side featured a decorated mini purse and colorful flowers. The topper handbag is made of cereal treats that were molded and decorated with a zebra print. Everything is edible--even the nail polish and eye shadow!

Butterflies and Blooms cake

This past weekend, I made this very special cake for my cousin Beth's 30th birthday. I wasn't exactly sure where I was going with the design until I remembered how much she liked butterflies. I made some white and yellow sugar butterflies that I would later perch strategically on the cake. Because the birthday girl also loves the color turquoise, it was the ideal fondant color choice to go with the yellow and white accents. Ribbon roses were added to help give the cake a bit of sophistication, while polka dots contributed just the right amount of whimsy. The cake itself was a light and fluffy classic white cake with a creamy Italian meringue buttercream filling. The front of the cake boasted the number 30, while the back displayed the birthday girl's name.

Don't worry Beth, if 40 is the new 30 (to which I firmly subscribe), then 30 has to be the new 20! Hope you had a great birthday!