Military Support

A friend's boyfriend just returned from Iraq/Afghanistan. She asked me to make him a cake. He's a Humvee driver, so I am creating a Humvee in the desert camo colors.

I'm going to be making a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. It should be super fun, and pretty easy. I'll be using black fondant to help create the wheels. :) Pictures will be posted this weekend... After he receives it.

I also send out a special prayer and special thanks to all our military who are serving at home, abroad, or in secret. Thank you for your service; thank you for your sacrifice. May God bless you and keep you safe.

Cake Pop Flavors

Please Note: I am a college student trying to make a little money to help make ends meet.

I am working in an unlicensed kitchen.

Following is a list of all the flavors I currently have available in Cake Pops. If there is a flavor you would be interested in, please comment, and I will work on it. For example, a person has asked about Gluten Free Lemon Pops. Still working on it. Please feel free to suggest flavors.


Prices are as follows:                                                                         Bouquets
$1 each                                                                                                One Dozen    $12
Buy 5 get one free (6 for $5)                                                                 Two Dozen   $24
One dozen $10                                                                                     50                 $35
30 Pops $20                                                                                         100               $75
40 Pops $25
50 Pops $30
100 Pops $60

New design
Rocky Road

New Flavors
Mint Chocolate Chip

German Chocolate and Caramel Macchiato

The "Usual" Flavors
These flavors will remain in stock, unless I sell out. Then it will take up to two days to make them.
Chocolate Cake Base
Chocolate Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Dark Chocolate
German Chocolate
Red Velvet
Rocky Road
Salted Caramel
S'Mores
Thin Mint
Turtle

Java Pops

White Cake Base
Almond Joy
Confetti
Cookies 'n Cream (With Oreo)
Mint Chocolate Chip
Peanut Butter Cookie
Peppermint Patty
Pina Colada
Snickerdoodle
White Chocolate Caramel

Yellow Cake Base
Almond Roca
Banana Nut
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (yes, made with cake)

Smores 

Oreo Flavors
Original
Golden

Chocolate Peanut Butter

Creamsicle (limited time)
Mint
Peanut Butter

Coffee Flavors (Made with real coffee, available in regular and decaf)
Java (Mocha)
Caramel Macchiato
Mexican Mocha
Orange Mexican Mocha

Their Own Uniqueness
Banana Split
Butter Pecan
Carrot

Graduation Celebration Cake Pop Bouquet
for an OIT graduate
50 Cake Pops

Chocolate Covered Strawberry
Lemon
Spice
Strawberry

Sugar Free Flavors 
(Sorry, most flavors are not available in Sugar Free due to the sugar content of added ingredients. Also, white chocolate is not available so all flavors are dipped in Sugar Free Chocolate. I can add nuts of any type to the following three flavors.)
Chocolate
Yellow dipped in Chocolate
Red Velvet dipped in Chocolate

Gluten Free Flavors
(I take extra care to ensure there is minimal chance of contamination. I use fresh chocolate, metal or glass bowls, and ensure all ingredients are either labeled gluten free, or do not contain wheat products.)
Almond Joy

Cake Pop Gift Basket
50 Cake pops

Almond Roca
Banana Nut
Caramel Macchiato
Confetti
Carrot
Chocolate
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Chocolate Chocolate Chip
Chocolate Peanut Butter
German Chocolate
Java
Oreo (Made with GF Chocolate Sandwich Cookies)
Pumpkin Spice
Red Velvet
Rocky Road
Snickerdoodle
Turtle
Yellow


Special Order Flavors
These flavors will not be in my regular supply. If you want one of these flavors, I will need at least two days' notice in order to prepare them. Thank you. :)
Irish Cream
Plain Chocolate
Plain Chocolate dipped in white
Plain White
Plain White dipped in Chocolate
Pumpkin Spice
Plain Yellow
Plain Yellow Dipped in Chocolate
Chocolate Strawberry Marble
Chocolate Vanilla Marble

Bride and Groom Pops

Neapolitan Marble (Chocolate, Strawberry, and White)
Gingerbread
Christmas flavor - Candy Cane

State of Oregon themed cake pop
For a pageant

Special designs are available, such as bride and groom, and baby feet. Please contact me if you want a special design. I charge more for some designs because they are time consuming and detail oriented. 100 Bride and groom Pops would be $75.



I can ship as well. Shipping is $12, and I ship in a priority mail box which has about a 4 day delivery. The pops are fine in that length of time, especially in the colder weather. I will not ship once the temperature hits 60°. This will ship up to 50 cake pops.
Shipping is not available until October.

Mermaid Waters off the Port Bow!

A friend's daughter turned five this week. She is an adorable little red-head that just loves the Disney Princesses. Her favorite is Ariel from the Little Mermaid. My friend asked me to make her a Little Mermaid cake for her birthday.

It was a chocolate cake with strawberry filling. Buttercream Frosting and the entire cake was edible except Ariel.

It turned out very lovely. I used Nerds candy for the ocean gravel.

Janice Mead's Pound Puppies - For Sale

These Pound Puppies are created by Janice Mead, my mother. She uses the original Pound Puppy pattern from the 80s.

Each puppy has it's own unique personality because of the stretch of the fabric as Mom sews them together. They spotted ones have spots that are completely unique to him/her.

Mom does not use the Pound Puppy patch or eyes. She creates her own eyes and "signs" the puppies with hand sewn heart and paw pads.

Mom strives to make each puppy unique and child friendly. The puppies do not contain any removable plastic parts and are sewn to withstand play. They are super soft and cuddly. They love to be cuddled and pampered.

If you want one, please email me.
The large Puppies are $15. Small are $5.

Color availability is what is shown in the images. No other puppies are available at this time.

Large: Yellow, Green, Tan

Small: 5 Tan, 3 Pink Dalmatian, 4 purple, 4 green, 1 camo, 1 yellow

Cake Pop Vacation???

I have to make another batch of Java Pops tomorrow. I ran out today. Thankfully, the cake is already made, so I just have to mix it up and dip them. I still have an upright freezer completely full of cake pops. I will also have two boxes that won't fit in the freezer full of cake pops. I'm going to have to adjust and move things around a little to get them all in the freezer.

I also made gluten free cake pops. It really is amazing how many baking ingredients are naturally gluten free: nuts, coconut, white frosting, chocolate, chocolate chips. It made creating flavors a whole lot easier. I made up 8 flavors of gluten free cake pops. I have to say, the are scrumptious. Gluten Free cake is denser and richer, so the pops are as well. Unfortunately, they are quite a bit more expensive to make, so it's time to find some recipes and experiment.

After the Java Pops are made tomorrow, I will be taking a Pop break. I have a large supply, so I can afford to take a break and just refill the ones I run out of as I go.

The Yard Sale Facebook group has been successful. I've had seven orders in two days, and at least one more in the works. My mother has orders for two more little camo puppies, too. So, we're both doing well.

I hope I can take a Cake Pop Vacation in January... I need to.

Cancelations

Well, the bazaar was cancelled. Bummer. I was looking forward to unloading a few more pops.

Fortunately, a friend shared a local Craigslist type site through Facebook. Love it. I posted that I had pops for sale and made 6 sales in less than a day. That's very helpful. Especially in light of an empty checking account 2 weeks before Christmas.

I also posted my mother's little pound puppies. She sold 3 of them within 3 hours of posting.

I believe it is a great site. I'd share, but it's for locals only.

Here are a few photos of cake pops I've made, and mom's little Pound Puppies.

A bazaar is a good thing

I had a nice result from the bazaar. I wish I could have done a little better, but overall, it was successful. I made $255. I think for the number of people that came through that was great!

I have another bazaar tomorrow and all I made were some sugar free ones. Figured I had enough left over to sell at this bazaar.

 

In total I made just over 1,100 cake pops for the bazaar.
My mother was also part of my table. She sold pound puppies. They're a little difficult to see here, but she made them in multiple colors and in two sizes.

Busy making cake pops

I am participating in a bazaar on December 2 and 3. I am selling cake pops. I currently have 8 flavors made up. I still have many more to go. I have 14 cakes left to make, and then, put together my pops. I will be busy for the next week. Thankfully, it's a holiday weekend, so I don't have to worry about school.

TinkerBell is adorable

I am about to be blessed with two great-nieces. Both babies are due about two weeks apart, roughly in January. At first, I was upset with the prospect of becoming a great aunt at the young age of 35. But I soon realized that I am still young enough to enjoy the little girls while they are also young and energetic.

This week, one of the girls had her baby shower. She asked me to make the cake. Her theme is TinkerBell and lady bugs. I was very excited. I purchased some Tink cupcake toppers about 8 months ago and have been designing the cake in my head ever since.

The cake was pink champagne with buttercream frosting. I used gum paste flowers and I do believe this is the best cake I've made to date.

I spent the day with my other niece, whom I do not know very well, and I am extra excited about bringing her and her little girl into our family.

Children are a very big blessing.

Well, There is Dirt

Instead of making a "muddin' cake," I decided to make a construction themed cake instead. Less messy, but still has some dirt on it.

The first muddin' cake I made had lots of mess on it, and it wasn't very brightly colored. This is for a one year old's birthday, so I wanted to integrate some bright colors into the cake.

The little guy's favorite toy is Chuck the Truck, so I thought a dump truck and a construction theme would be closer.

It turned out really cute... But, when I put it in the box, the front was damaged. :( I was not happy. I think it's pretty easy to fix, but still. I'm not happy about that. :(

This is a chocolate cake with no filling. I used chocolate buttercream frosting. The "dirt" is made out of low -fat Oreos. Something I discovered about using low-fat instead of regular: when I crush the regular, I have a uniform color - dark brown. With the low-fat kind, there is more white and it's a lighter color. It's better as dirt. I used pretzels for the stack of wood and the orange fencing around the outside of the cake is orange colored candy coating. I used silver sprinkles for the gravel under the jeep and cement truck. I found the trucks at my local dollar store.

The biggest issue I had was writing on the cake. I made a couple mounds of dirt and the frosting rolled off as I tried to write on the cake. So, I made a sign instead. It looks kind of like one of those "The future home of..." signs that are always around construction sites.

Hope they like it.

Such fun!

I have another cake order for the very first "theme" cake I've ever made... The muddin' cake. It's for a one year old, so lots of bright colors and fun.

Very excited because this is a rectangular cake, so I have more room to play. Hooray!

Attempt #2: Refried Beans, not so Successful

I attempted making the refried beans again, using the recipe I made up. Still really tasty... except, I put way too much salt in them. So much that it burns my tongue. Of course, I'm not a big salt eater anyway, so to most people it's probably perfect.

Tomorrow I will make another pot of beans and make them up without the salt, then mix them to counter the extreme amount of salt in the first batch.

This time I used black beans. They are a little sweeter tasting, once I get past the salt.

Cake Pops Galore

Starting tomorrow, I will begin making more cake pops. I just got a new job and I will be extra busy between college and two jobs. So, I need to make a little every day so I can stock up. Also, I have that bazaar coming up in December. I want about 900 so I have an abundance, but also so I don't run out of any one flavor.  Plus a few hundred sample sized pops. Itty bitty pops on a toothpick. Those should be cute. I might even have to start another new fad. Itty bitty pop bites: 12 for $1.

Let me see how tough they are to make first.

Wedding Cake Success

My newest endeavor was a success. It's a 4 tier, stacked cake with the top on pedestals. It turned out quite lovely. I need to practice with fondant. I have a tough time smoothing it down the sides. I guess I'll have to make some cakes just so I can practice.

Too bad my neighboring cake testers are all getting married.

Amazing New Flavor

Last night I invented a new cake pop flavor. It is really tasty. They are chocolate peanut butter cake pops. And they are scrumptious. They have layers of chocolate and peanut butter (melted peanut butter chips) on the outside of a scrumptious chocolate peanut butter cake.

I'm willing to share this pop recipe with a few of my followers here.

Supplies:
Sucker sticks
Baggies
Ties
Devils food cake mix
Eggs
Oil
Peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
Melting chocolate (aka almond bark)
2 packages Reese's peanut butter chips
Shortening.

Directions: Bake cake according to package instructions. Cool completely.

Place chocolate in a bowl; place over a small saucepan with about 2" of water. Place on burner, set to lowest heat. In a separate bowl, melt peanut butter chips. Place the bowl over a small saucepan with about 2" of water. Place on burner st to lowest heat. Stir both frequently. Do not allow the chocolate or peanut butter chips to get too warm or the chocolate will crack on the pops. Add enough shortening to each flavor to make them thin. The chocolate will use about 2 tbsp of shortening. The peanut butter will need more, but you have to just add more until it is thin enough.

Crumble cake in a bowl. Add enough peanut butter to make the cake form a ball. Make sure the cake is not sticky or mushy. The cake needs to be just sticky enough of form balls. Form balls about 1" around. Place on a waxed paper or parchment lined cookie sheet. Chill for 15 minutes. Remove from fridge. Dip sucker sticks in chocolate and push into balls. Make sure they go at least half way through the pops. Chill for 10-15 minutes or until the chocolate is set.

Now comes the fun part.

Dip the balls in chocolate and place in styrofoam blocks to dry. Once the chocolate is dry, dip in peanut butter about halfway down the pop. Allow to dry. Dip one more time in chocolate far enough down to leave just a small strip if peanut butter showing. This give the appearance of a Reese's peanut butter cup that is cut.

Or, be creative. Dip the balls fully in chocolate, then peanut butter, then chocolate, and top with finely ground peanuts. (make sure the nuts are very finely ground or they will make the chocolate run off the pop and they won't look pretty)

 Tip: squish the balls in your hand until they form a solid ball. If you are using crunchy peanut butter, the nuts will make it more difficult to shape the balls. It can also cause the balls to break apart when you add the sticks.

 Don't be afraid to experiment a little. These are yummy pops, but rather boring to look at.

Wedding Cake Order

This weekend I will begin making a huge wedding cake. I'm very excited for this one. I have free reign. The only requirements are red and ivory, and roses. Easy. It's for a dear friend who is like a brother. I am making it for him as a wedding present. I will start Saturday because school is keeping me super busy, so I need some extra time to prepare things.

Chocolate Peanut Cake Pops ideas are running through my head. I'll be working on that recipe this weekend as well.

Stay tuned...

Attempt #1 a success: Yummy Refried Beans

I have now made homemade Mexican style Re-fried beans. And they are yummy.
They are still fresh and haven't quite finished meshing the flavors, but they are still pretty good.

I'm going to put the recipe here because the one I used, I completely changed, and it is no longer the same recipe.

Michele's Refried Beans
3 cups uncooked pinto or black beans (do not use canned), sorted and rinsed
Water
1/2 cup lard
1/2 to 1 large onion (depending on your taste preferences), finely diced (food processor is very quick)
2-4 jalapeno peppers (to taste) finely diced
3 Tbsp minced garlic (or more, if you want)
1 tsp cumin
Salt

Soak the beans overnight (or at least 8 hours) in water that covers them at least 3 inches. Drain the beans. Place beans in a large pot or stock pot. Fill with enough water to cover at least 3 inches. Bring beans to a boil and simmer until they are soft enough to squish easily - 3-4 hours.

Remove from heat, but do not drain. Using a food processor (or a big spoon and a bowl), gently puree beans, adding enough of the bean water to keep the beans almost fluid. Make sure you don't completely mash the beans, because there needs to be a few lumps. You will use quite a bit of the water, but don't worry, as the beans sit, they'll finish soaking it up and they'll dry some.

Melt lard in large skillet over Medium heat. Add onions, jalapenos, and garlic. Saute until cooked through. Add cumin. Add mashed beans. Stir well to mix and cook until they are a thicker consistency.

Add a lot of salt. These take a lot of salt, but you could also try some different seasonings if salt is a no-no.

As an added note: I ate some of these beans while I was typing this. The longer they sat, the tastier they got. So, that means that most likely, the beans will improve with flavor over time. Make these a day ahead of time for the fullest flavor.

Mexican Food family Gathering

My aunt and uncle are traveling evangelists. They come through twice a year, and our family gathers together and does what our family does best: eat and talk. (Well, and tell terrible jokes). So, this time through, I decided that I was going to foot the bill for the family dinner rather than my mom and dad. Usually, they spend all the money, and everyone else comes to eat, with maybe a desert or salad brought along.

I haven't cooked a full meal for a large gathering in a while, so away I go.

I have another not so looked at blog that I put together for my church's Daniel Fast last year. On that blog I have this really wonderful recipe for Meatless Mexican Lasagna. It's very scrumptious. It's one of those foods that has so much in it that you just can't imagine what else you might find. And it's tasty as well.

Besides the Meatless Mexican Lasagna, I am going to attempt authentic re-fried beans (made with LARD!!!), and real Mexican Rice. Not those packages of rice that are bland and boring. I am also planning to make the delicious Hershey's chocolate cake with (Sh!) cherry filling and chocolate cream cheese frosting. Yummy. I can't wait.

The funny thing is, when I told the family that I was cooking, they began to plan what else to bring. So, now, there will be all kinds of Hispanic dishes and I don't have to cook as much. Oh, the plans I make, always bring out the best in others.

Silly Little Pops

I have an order for a batch of cake pops. I sell a batch for $25. The batch usually ranges from 30-50 pops depending on how big I make them, the density of the dough, and how much frosting I add.

Today, my batch made 47 pops. The last one made 42.

Not bad for $25.

New Adventures in Popping

I bought a Cake Pop book. It's not Bakerella's, but it's good. I looked at her book today, and although it is amazing, it's really for the beginning popper. After six months of making cake pops, I am no longer a beginner, but I admit, I am not an expert either.

I bought Wilton's Cake Pop idea book. It has some really adorable pops in it, but they are very time consuming. I wouldn't want to make hundreds of them. That's for sure. I think it will be a really useful tool for me. I can be more adventurous in my future endeavors.

I also found a few people on Facebook that are in the cake pop business. I've listed their links on the right of the page. They have some amazing ideas. Very creative. In fact, one has a really adorable bunch of cake pop roses. I have a wedding cake coming up for a very dear friend who is more like a brother. He loves cake pops. So, for his wedding, I am going to make him some red rose pops. He will love it.

His cake is going to be amazing, and I can hardly wait to tackle it. I have a few weeks left before his wedding, and I can hardly wait.

I am also going to do a bazaar in December. Nothing but cake pops. I will start preparing those about two weeks out. I think I will make between 500 and 800 pops. I will prepare some in boxes, and some individually. I am hoping it is successful. I need the money.

College is expensive now.

Holiday Baking

Holidays are here... Well, almost. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's are coming rapidly, and I have a feeling I will be doing cake pops galore.

I've moved to another college, and have already started a new reputation campaign. I have a good baking rep at my first college, and I still get people who want them. So, now, I have two "monopolies" on cake pop venues.

It's pretty cool. I'm going to attempt to make some ghosts for Halloween for my classes. Should be interesting.

Sugar Free Baking

Did you know that Hershey's Sugar Free Chocolate Chips are not only sugar free, they are artificial sweetener free as well? They are simply chocolate.

And they taste like semi-sweet.

Perfect for diabetic baking.

Baggie Delivery

The baggies arrived today. Much earlier than I expected. However, I was disappointed to see only 5,000 baggies. I rechecked the website and the size I ordered 4x4" is in fact available in 5,000 baggies. I believe I can live with just 5,000 baggies.

I also received my iPad today. I am totally hooked. Hopefully, not only will it help me with textbooks while at college, but it will help me organize my life. I also have an iPod touch, but it is so tiny that I couldn't use it to read texts. But, I still love it for music and games.

Sugar free cake pops need to be made this evening, for a raffle for my weight loss group.

Baggie Mayhem

I have been searching for the little baggies to wrap my cake pops in for several months. I usually buy them at Michaels, but it gets rather expensive when I'm making several hundred and I can only buy 100 at a time. If I don't have coupons, they run $4 per 100, which is roughly 4 cents a bag. Still not terrible, but when I have to make 500 cake pops and wrap them, I'm looking at $20, just in baggies.

So, I have been searching for a large scale supplier. All to no avail.

I finally found one a few days ago. I've shared the link in my links list to the right of the blog. I bought the 4x4" baggies because the 3x4" baggies from Michaels are always the right length, but sometimes, just not the right width. The best part is: with shipping, 10,000 baggies were only $62, which comes to less than one cent per baggie. I'm very thrilled with this.

Now, I need some orders so I can use up my 10,000 baggies quickly, and have to buy 20,000 next time.

Bride and Groom Cake Pops

Regardless of the cancelled wedding cake, the Bride still wants the cake pops. I originally decided to make bride and groom cake pops. I found a photo of them awhile back on the internet and couldn't wait until I could make them.

However, they are more time consuming that regular cake pops. The groom has a little bow tie and buttons that have to be put on with either a toothpick, or a #1 decorating tube. I started with the toothpick, but after 20 minutes, I didn't even have 10 cake pops finished. So, I switched over to the tube. Worked great for awhile, but soon, unmelted clumps of chocolate started making their way to the tiny hole and I couldn't keep it clear long enough to get through one cake pop. So, the last 20 or so took a while. But, 2 hours later, I had 100 groom pops.

Now, I'm waiting for the white chocolate to melt so I can finish the bride pops. 100 of them, but they are really simple. Just dip them and sprinkle sugar on them to give them that sparkle. Then, add a little heart for a "necklace" and I'm done. The little heart will take awhile because they are teeny tiny, but once I have the pops ready to go, that shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Then, into the freezer. Deliver Saturday morning, and I'm finished.

Out of curiosity, I looked these little pops up on the internet, just to see how much a baker would charge... Wow, they are roughly $28 a dozen. So, for 200 cake pops, it's around $500. Wow. I think I'll make them myself.

Waterfall Birthday Cake

I made a birthday cake for my brother's mother-in-law's 71st birthday. Sadly, it was during the week I was supposed to do the wedding cake, so I didn't give it a whole lot of thought. I kind of had an idea in mind, but once I got to baking, things happened.

The first layer turned out awesome. Level, pretty pink, nice and moist. But, dense enough to hold the next layer and the waterfall. The second layer was another story.

When I make white cake I use the Wilton Meringue Powder instead of egg whites for two reasons: first, I hate wasting all those egg yolks. And when I'm making layer cakes for someone, I use 2 cake mixes for each layer. So, that's six yolks I have to waste. I've tried freezing them, but I still end up wasting them.

Second, the powder makes the cake really white and really dense. It also gives it a little "zip" which goes great with a champagne filing. Shh. It's a "Michele Secret". The powder gives it a nice moist consistency and helps it stay level. It's also faster to measure out 6 tsp of Meringue Powder and 6 Tbsp of water than it is to crack and separate 3 eggs for each mix. (AND, it keeps the sprinkles in "funfetti" cake from bleeding and turning the cake gray.)

So, that's why the first layer turned out awesome. It was white cake with a few drops of red food coloring to make it pink. I used the Meringue Powder and it was perfect. Unfortunately, it was after 10 PM when I made the second layer, and I ran out of Meringue Powder. Michaels was closed, and I wasn't driving two miles to Walmart at night just for 6 tsp of Meringue Powder. Plus, I like to use the coupons from Michaels, makes things affordable for a college student.

Instead of Meringue Powder, I used egg whites for half the needed eggs. And one egg yolk; it popped out of the shell when I opened it and broke when it hit the batter.Well, those egg whites made a huge difference in the cake. It was super scrumptious, but it was also so moist that when I turned it out of the pan onto a cooling rack, it all but crumbled. I couldn't use it.

I was tired and a little frustrated now. So, I called it a night, and watched TV. When I woke up this morning, I decided to attempt a made-from-scratch white cake recipe I found online (link posted in the links list on the right near the bottom). It turned out pretty well, even though it wasn't really white. More, tan. I did like that it turned out nice and level, though. Might have to play with the recipe a bit to make it more of a true "white" cake. However, weirdly, I added red food coloring and the cake went in pink, and came out tan. So, I don't know what happened there. Make sure you read some of the comments. They give some tips in there that really make the cake better. The only thing I didn't like was that the entire outside was crunchy. I made a second one and it also turned out very crunchy, but the inside is flaky and moist.

So, overall the cake turned out. The top layer, although white, wasn't that bad. Everyone loved both layers. I used buttercream frosting. My favorite recipe is the kitchen aid recipe that came with my mixer, with one change, I double the recipe and replace half the butter with shortening so it won't harden so much. I used piping gel to create the water and waterfall, I used a 6" circle to make the hill the waterfall came from. I also used graham crackers to make the sandy beaches.

Although it's not what I had pictured, I was so worried about the top layer, that this is what it turned out to be:

Cake Pops are still "in"

I have made over 2,000 cake pops in the last 6 months. Amazing. I gave a lot away, though. At first, they were a trial, I donated some to different groups, and I took some to church functions and family functions. As the popularity of them grew, I began to make a little bit of money off them. Overall, I've made well over $500, just off cake pops. Not bad for a college student.

I got an order for some cake pops that was rather challenging. She wanted 9 different flavors. And she only wanted 2 dozen. Unfortunately, I didn't have any made. I had a bunch, but I was afraid they would begin to taste like freezer, so I gave them away. So, today, I made 5 cakes just to make these 9 different flavors. I already had a few cakes made up and frozen, so that was good. Since she only wanted 2 and 3 of each of the flavors, I now have quite a bit of cake made up and ready for the freezer. It will keep for awhile so, anytime I get a little order, I can just pull out the flavors I need and whip some up!

Cancelled Orders

Well, the really big wedding cake I had was cancelled.

Misunderstandings aren't ever a good thing.

Too bad, I was looking forward to the challenge.

New cake mix... not a good idea

I attempted to use a new cake mix that a bride bought for her cake. Yuck. It is a pudding mix, but you pour the pudding on top of the cake and leave it in the pan... Not the right kind of mix for a wedding cake... Thankfully, I have enough boxes of regular cake mix to make up for the horror this mix made. It was a mushy mess. Blech... And it doesn't taste all that great.

Homemade cake SUCCESS!!!

Ever attempt at homemade cake - from scratch not from a box - has been an utter failure. They always sink in the middle and turn into brownie like cake in the center most part of the cake. While still delicious, that means the middle of the cake has 2" of frosting just to make the cake appear level.

So, tonight I have attempted, once more, a homemade cake. It has just over 2 minutes left, but it is level and lovely. No big hole in the center. Hooray! Too bad I am squishing it up for cake pops. But, I will taste test a small piece first just to see how it tastes.

Once I tipped it out of the pan, the cake stuck just a little. Easy fix. Next time I make it, I'll just line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. Should come right out.

See the recipe in my Favorite Recipes section located on the right of the screen. Make sure you follow the high altitude directions.

Wedding Plans Go Well

Well, so far the wedding cake is working out. Of course, I haven't yet made the cake. The calla lillies turned out gorgeous. They're very realistic. Hot pink is a hard color to manage, though. The color fades very quickly in very little light. So, I have to "paint" them with color dust. That helped a lot, and now they aren't fading.

I have decided to make it a six tier cake. Starting with a 16" bottom square tier, then decreasing by 2" until I hit 6". Unfortunately, two less tiers will only serve about 130, and she expects 200. Which means, I have to make a larger cake, but it has to start with square, because it won't look right starting with a round cake.

That's fine though. Now, I get to try something new and challenging: stacking tiers. My previous wedding cakes were sitting on a tiered display, so I didn't have to stack them. I have to support the tiers very well, because the bottom tier will be supporting 5 very heavy cakes. It will be a challenge, and the main assembly will have to happen at the park, which means I will have fun.

The cake is white fondant with black ribbon around the bottom to finish the bottom of each tier. In the square tiers, I am going to put a criss-cross pattern with gemstones at each intersection to bring the gemstone part of her theme into the cake. Then, I will put a few calla lillies around the cake, and she is going to top the cake with chocolate covered strawberries. Should be quite lovely.

I am also making 200 cake pops. I made 69 two days ago, and threw them in the fridge. They are plain right now, but I am making a bride and groom cake pop. The bride is covered in a sugared "dress" with a pearl necklace around her "neck". The groom is wearing a chocolate tux, with a little bow tie. The bride was simple, I made a trial one. Goofed it a little, so it didn't get saved. But, it turned out well, and I look forward to the challenge of creating these little cake pops over the next few days.

The overall wedding cake is a challenge, mostly because of the size. It should be quite interesting putting fondant on a 16" square cake. Considering, I've never put fondant on a square cake at all, and I've never put fondant on a cake that large. The largest was 14". My mother will help me with this one because I know I won't be able to lift the fondant for a cake that size on my own. Extremely heavy.

Should be interesting; I'll post pictures as soon as it is finished.

Another Wedding, more to do

A friend asked me to do her wedding. She wants 100 cake pops, 100 cupcakes, and a wedding cake. Thankfully, it's a simple design on the cake.

The biggest problem is the size. She wants to have the round and square tiers that are so popular. I have the pans, the problem comes in the sizes. If I were to use the largest square pan, I would have to have several tiers. It would be 16" sq, 14" round, 12" sq, 10" round, 8" square, and 6" round.That would be 5 tiers, plus the top. It will be extremely heavy, but I suppose I can do it. LOL

The best part is the flowers. Her colors are black and hot pink. Her flowers are calla lillies. So, I am making gumpaste calla lillies in hot pink. The cake is basic white fondant. I will wrap black ribbon around the base of each tier to finish the bottom and place the flowers around the cake, with a big bunch on top. I'll put some ribbon loops throughout the bouquets to bring the black into the design. Should be beautiful.

I started mixing the gumpaste colors last night and my hands are now hot pink. I will make as many flowers as possible tonight, but calla lillies are simple. Just two pieces, and attach.

Boop Boop E Doo

I've always been a fan of Betty Boop. She's so cute with her giant head, big green eyes, and love of everything red. So, when a friend asked me to make a Betty Boop cake for his mom's birthday... I smelled a challenge.

I started looking online at Betty Boop images. I found several that I just loved. I picked four, and had my mom help me pick the best one, which is the classic Marilyn Monroe pose with the skirt blowing up. It was also the one with the most detail.

The cake chosen was a 9x13" rectangle. Two layers, yellow cake with strawberry filling, and buttercream frosting.

Now, I'm not very good at drawing anything, let alone drawing something as detailed and exact as Betty Boop. My creativity comes in the form of colors, layout, design. So, I decided to "draw" Betty with Color Flow.

The color flow technique has been around a long time. I have some Wilton year books from the 70s that show the technique. It's pretty simple. Outline the design, then fill it in. Or so I thought. Getting the outline the right consistency is paramount in the decoration. Otherwise, I spend the whole time trying to clean my little #2 tip. So, I had to slowly thin it until it was thin enough to write with. I outlined Betty, and by the time I was finished, my arms felt like rubber. Still a little thick. Although, I only broke one parchment bag this time.

I had to wait a couple hours before I could fill in the outlining, and I figured one thing out: The facial features need to be added after the skin tone was filled in because it was very difficult to get the skin tone to flow into the tiny spaces between her eyelashes. Toothpicks came in handy for this design.

The most important thing to remember: Allow the color flow design to dry 100% before you try to remove it from the waxed paper. I didn't allow it to dry once before, and the design broke. Two days minimum to dry, longer if the design is large or the color flow is thick.

The result of the Betty Boop cake was marvelous. I love it and can't wait to do it again.