Cowboys & Painting CupCakes

It's Tuesday, only three more days to the Labor Day weekend! Today I have for you two sets of cupcakes. The first is for my husband's boss' birthday last week. My husband helped me come up with the design. We chose the Dallas Cowboys for the star and helmets, but then we decided to do his boss' face, well hair outline, on the others. I think they turned out pretty awesome!

The next set of cupcakes was for a 5th birthday. The party was at a pottery painting place, so the customer and I decided to go with a painting theme. These cupcakes are red velvet with cream cheese frosting. The customer loved them and I loved making all 36 of them! 

Merchandise Monday: Cake Stands

Happy Merchandise Monday! Today we have cake stands. I believe everyone should have at least one cake stand...if not more.

The first cake stand we have is a Scalloped Cake Stand by William-Sonoma. They offer three sizes which range in price from $42 to $52.

The next cake stand is from Vessels and Wares on Etsy. It is $56 and seems to be the perfect fit for both decorative purposes and to show off an adorable cake. 

The third cake stand I found online is from OliviaDru on Etsy for just $20. I really included this cake stand because it would fit in my kitchen so well (it's black and lime green). She also has 5 other colors to choose from. 

The final cake stand is from Hobby Lobby. This cake stand is only $15.99 and another stand that would look great in my kitchen or dining room. Plus its super affordable! 

Come back tomorrow for a look at two sets of super cute cupcakes! 

The Beatles Cupcakes

Let me tell you. I love cupcakes (if you haven't noticed)...I love cakes too, but it is just a different feeling when you make cupcakes. Every cupcake has its own little identity--it can be its own cute cake or it can be the exact same as the other 20 cupcakes. 

A customer called a week or so ago wanting cupcakes for her father-in-law's 60th birthday. She thought of doing Beatles cupcakes and I thought it was a terrific idea! She sent me a couple of images from online, and I just went with that. I think they turned out adorable! 

They were birthday cake flavored (minus sprinkles & cherry).

Favorite Things Friday: Cute Cupcake Toppers

For today's Favorite Things Friday we are taking a look at cupcake toppers! As a kid I loved when cupcakes came with a cute little prize on top. Usually it was a ring or tiny toy. Today I've chosen three unique and fun cupcake toppers...ones you won't find in a grocery store. These, of course, are all from Esty.com!  

These cute tippers are from Cupcake Confessional and they are a-dorable! Who wouldn't love a cute mini robot on their cupcake. I smile every time I look at them! Ahh! Too Cute!

Now from Lulus Cupcake Boutique  little suitcases. So why do i love these? Um, they look like Barbie's luggage! I'm pretty sure my Barbie had a little suitcase like this. Plus it is totally 90s and who didn't love the 90s?!

Finally tiny pots and pans from Hey YoYo. Again, I would have loved having these for my Barbies, but on a cupcake would be so cute. You could have a "stock the kitchen" shower for a bride and place these on the cupcakes. Again, so stinkin cute!

Back to School Cake!

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a super sweet lady asking me to make a cake for her school's new teacher tea, called "hi tea". She let me have a lot of freedom coming up with the idea for it. I decided to use the Legacy Christian Academy crest and then on the second tier I did the same color scheme, but added a "Back to School" theme on the bottom. The cake was French Vanilla with cream cheese frosting. Both delicious and cute!

Recipe Wednesday: Symphony Brownies

When I was in college one of my roommates showed me the best version of a brownie I have ever had...Symphony Brownies. And for today's Recipe Wednesday that is the recipe of choice!

First you'll need to purchase a regular box of Brownie Mix and a couple of Hershey's Symphony Bars (the one with toffee and nuts is the best). 

Next, prepare the brownie mix as usual except when placing in the plan, split the batter. You'll put half the batter in the bottom of the pan, then unwrap the Symphony bars and place them on top of the batter. You'll then cover over the bars with the rest of the brownie batter. 

Bake the brownies just as you normally would. Let them cool and then when you cut them...

Whaaaclaaa! Deliciousness! Easy to make and delicious to eat!

***These are not my personal photos...you can thank google images for them :)

Simply Seinfeld.

Last Thursday was my dad's 58th birthday and knowing his deep love for Seinfeld, there was only one cake I would think to make. Each item on the cake represented an episode or joke from Seinfeld...and let me tell you there was a lot to choose from. The Fusilli Jerry on the top of the cake was made from actual noodles and meant for him to keep on his desk later. I loved making it for him!

(Sorry there aren't more pics, my camera died right before I got pictures of the back of the cake--I would eventually like a Canon Rebel, if anyone knows a cheap place to get one)

Merchandise Monday: Back to School Edition

For many kids and adults alike, its Back to School Day! I used to love this day. The nervousness in the pit of my stomach and all my first day of school stuff laid out and ready to go. But the best part of going back to school were the school supplies. So for Merchandise Monday I decided to do cupcake/cake related school supplies!

First, you have to have a new lunchbox for school! Why not carry this super cute lunch box from Luna Belle Boutique. And the best part? It can be personalized! I'm absolutely in love with it! 

This second item is a very important addition to our lunch box: a cupcake holder! You can't have your cupcake all smooshed in your lunch box, you need something adorable to keep it in! If you look at the link to the top left you can purchase it on Amazon for only $6.99! 

The third item for Back to School are these amazing crayons! Shaped like cupcakes, they are easy for younger kids to hold and super adorable. These are off of Etsy.com by Red Elm Designs. Who wouldn't want to take these to school!?

Finally, no back to school kit is complete without a notebook! This book is off Esty.com as well, made from a recycled cake box. How cute is that? It is from Ivy Lane Designs and only $10! This Etsy shop has multiple other designs as well.

I hope you all have a great day back to school and enjoyed this Merchandise Monday!

Electric Guitar & Beautiful Baylor Birthday Cake

Last week my friend Adam turned 28 and for his birthday I made him a guitar cake. Now, I am just beginning to work with sculpted cakes and let me tell you, you need more than a couple of day to do them and a really big fridge/freezer. I think the cake turned out pretty sweet though and Adam really liked it!

On the same day as the guitar cake, my friend Meredith asked for a cake for her mom's birthday. I had made a similar cake for my own mom in March, so she wanted the same one, just different colors. This cake was also a 6inch. It was white cake with chocolate filling. And just a super cute little cake.

Favorite Things Friday

As many of you know Oprah has her "Favorite Things" list that comes out every year. Guess what!? JessiCakes will now feature on Friday a "Favorite Things" list. And from time to time there may be giveaways from the favorite things list! So get excited & check out today's edition of "Favorite Things Friday"!

First, we have a cupcake kit from Layer Cake Shop. It's the "Happy Homemaker Cupcake Kit". It comes with everything you need to make adorable & vintage themed cupcakes. You can purchase this kit on www.layercakeshop.com for $12. It comes with... 

• 24 assorted homemaking cupcake toppers.. a mix of chalets, cars, babies, baby bottles, diaper pins, pots and pans, trees, flowers and scottie dogs.
• 24 assorted pink and pink plaid baking cups
• 1 ounce of yellow jimmies sprinkles
• 12 assorted royal icing twist flowers
• 12 fat free bakery labels

I think it is stinkin' adorable! Who wouldn't love a cupcake cake with mini pot & pan on it!? 

Next we have one of my all time favorite items that William-Sonoma has ever made...Star Wars bakeware. The best, of course, are the cookie cutters in the shape of Yoda, a Storm Trooper, Boba Fett, & Darth Vadar. Geeky, but awesome! They also sell a line of sanding sugars for decorating your intergalactic cookies. In addition to the cookie cutters there is the kid's apron (which I've shown below) as well as pancake molds! The cookie cutters go for $19.95 and the apron is $19.95 (plain) or $24.95 personalized. 

The third item on our list is one of my new favorite shows on Food Network, Cupcake Wars. At first I thought the show was extremely cheesy and a wanna-be Food Network Cake Challenge, but I soon got addicted and love the crazy combinations and cupcake decorations each baker creates.  There are three rounds on the show, original cupcake, decorations on the cupcake, & finally bake 1,000 cupcakes and set it up in a cool display. The creator of Sprinkles, is a judge as well as some French chef and then the guest judge. If you haven't watched it yet, give it a couple of episodes and you'll be in love with the Cupcake War! 

Our final item on the Favorite Things Friday List are Cake Classes! Interested in learning the fine art of cake decorating? Maybe you like cupcakes or cookies? The Cake Carousel in Richardson,TX has plenty of classes to choose from! They occur almost everyday with various times and even special guest cake decorators who do specialty cake demonstrations. On October 23rd Lauren Kitchens from Fancy Cakes by Lauren will be demonstrating Muppet Monsters! You may have seen her on Food Network Challenge when she made an awesome Sesame Street Muppet Cake. 

If you don't live in the Dallas area or prefer something more simple, check out your local Michael's or Hobby Lobby. They offer cake decorating classes and other craft/baking classes year-round!

(By the way this blog update totally reminds me of the 30 Rock where Liz Lemon believes she is sitting next to Oprah on a plane, when in fact it is a 13 year-old girl. She tells everyone Oprah's favorite things are saltwater taffy, calypso music, & sweater capes. Just the idea of a sweater cape cracks me up)

CakeBites & a Favorite Things Cake

Last week I got a couple of great cake opportunities! One of which was three different flavors of CakeBites. The chocolate with white drizzle are the Chocolate Lovers, the white and yellow are Lemon, and white with chocolate sprinkles is The Classic. 

(For a full list of flavors check out the flavors & prices under "pages" on the left menu)

This next cake job was for Jaden's 10th birthday. I made a favorites cake for his brother, Evan, a few weeks ago. Jaden however was more into laser tag, drums, and candy! It was a definitely a fun cake to make. The cake was vanilla with strawberry buttercream!

Recipe Wednesday

Okay its another new segment! Recipe Wednesday! Yay! Today we'll feature Peach Crunch Cake from Bakerella!

Peach Crunch Cake

• 24.5 oz jar of sliced peaches in light syrup
• 1 package yellow cake mix
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 16 pieces
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Layer ingredients in a 13 X 9 dish, in order starting with the peaches.
Bake for about 40 minutes.
Serve warm or cold… with or without ice cream.

This is one of my favorite recipes and it is so easy and delicious! It is a perfect dessert for dinner with friends and easy enough for a fun night at home. I always make one side with walnuts and the other without in case guests do like them. For the full recipe with pictures click here. Enjoy!

***Photo and Recipe Courtesy of Bakerella (www.bakerella.com)

Adorable Giraffe Print!

This is the second giraffe print cake I've ever made and both were super cute, but I have to say the pink accents made this cake adorable! I was so proud of how my bow turned out, as well as my border. This cake was a simple vanilla with vanilla filling.  Classic and super-cute! I hope Olivia loved it!

Merchandise Monday!

Welcome to a new blog segment on JessiCakes! It's called Merchandise Monday.  On Mondays I'll feature a cake or cupcake related product. Today I decided to check out some super cute jewelry on Etsy.com 

These adorable earrings are subtle. You can get them on Etsy from Madison Craft Studio's Shop. I really like that they are silver and simple. Not too much color. 

These necklaces are super cute and found at Crafty Addiction's Shop. The best part is that these can be personalized!! I love that and can totally see a cute little baker-in-training (like my niece) rocking one of these. 

This ring reminds me of a baking crest for serious cake decorators. It's from EElizabeth's shop. I feel like this ring makes you pretty legit! 

Hope you've enjoyed this blog update! Tomorrow will be another cake entry! 

Swimming Pool & A Seven Year Old!

This week I was able to make a swimming pool cake for a super sweet 7 year-old! She requested a swimming pool cake with people swimming in it. I think the figures turned out great! The cake was vanilla with cookies n'cream frosting. 

I really enjoy making figures out of gumpaste! I really love the swimmer in the pink inner tube and the bow in her hair turned out adorable! 

Hog-a-licious!

Well, this isn't my first college cake, but it its my first Arkansas cake. It was for a recent high school graduate named Alex. This super sweet girl is headed to Arkansas on Saturday for her freshman year!  Good luck Alex & Happy Birthday! 

(By the way the cake is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting & fresh strawberries...yum!)

Fashonista Cupcakes!

This is a funny story. My friend Lindsay wanted a shoe cake for her boss. I had never done a shoe cake, but always wanted to attempt one. I then did a little research on a shoe box & fancy shoe cake. To do one of these cakes you have to start about two weeks from when you need the cake. Gumpaste takes forever to get really hard & stiff enough to hold its own weight. Instead of making a disaster of a shoe cake, Lindsay and I decided for the short time that cupcakes would suffice. We used the same shoe concept, but added a matching hand bag! The cupcakes were chocolate with peanut butter and vanilla frosting and white cupcakes with strawberry buttercream and chocolate frosting!

Thanks Lindsay for being so flexible! 

88 was never so sweet!

This past weekend was my grandmother's 88th birthday. For her birthday I decided on a cake and cupcakes for her special occasion. The cake was french vanilla filled with strawberry buttercream. There were cupcakes in this same style as well. The other cupcakes were banana with cream cheese frosting sprinkles with cinnamon sugar. All the cupcakes had a tiny fondant flower and edible pearl. 

The birthday girl loved the cake and cupcakes as did the rest of the party-goers. 

Thomas & Evan

A few weeks ago my darling nephew, Evan, had his 4th birthday. I had showed him a few cake pictures in March...his birthday was in July. This boy talked about his Thomas cake for almost 5 months!!! People would ask about his age or his birthday and all he would say was "Thomas cake". And he did love his cake! I was so happy I got to make it for him! 

***Thanks Michael for the pics!