A Sweet Cupcake Cake

This cake was made just today for a 24th birthday! The customer was her mom and asked for a cake with a cupcake/gummy bear theme. It is a white cake with cookies-n-cream filling. The cupcake itself is a carved cake just sitting on a smaller 6-inch base cake. 

Mom & daughter both loved it! And I did too! It was one of my favorite cakes I've made, mostly because of my deep love for cupcakes!

9 Dozen Cake Bites..oh my!

Yes, you read that right, 9 dozen Cake Bites! 9 dozen!!! But if you think that's a lot...how about 200? Because that's how much I really made. Two batches of cake make 200 cake bites...crazy! My shoulder was sore the next day from rolling so many bites. 

The Cake Bites were for a bridal shower that had over 50 people in attendance. The customer ordered 2 dozen Classic, Chocolate Lovers, & Wedding Cake (*That's our newest flavor) as well as 3 dozen Reese's Peanut butter Cup. Here is a sample of all 4 flavors: 

Yummy! If you are interested in seasonal Cake Bite flavors (pumpkin will be released this week and order forms for Christmas Cake Bite Boxes will be as well), please let me know! 

Recipe Wednesday: Halloween Sugar Cookies

So I've never worked with royal icing before, though I have made countless amounts of sugar cookies. I took a risk and found a recipe online from the Joy of Baking. The recipe is below the photos of my cookies. I also did not make the cookies from scratch (*gasp*), but used my dear friend, Betty Crocker. 

Let me tell you, I've used this mix numerous times and have ALWAYS been happy with the results. If you roll it thin enough (as the directions state) your cookies will hold their shape just fine. 

I will warn you, it makes a GIANT mess, but easily cleans up with warm water & soap. I used a piping bag and tips to decorate with (sizes 2 to outline & 4 to flood). I was pretty happy with my first attempt. 

Royal Icing Using Meringue Powder:

4 cups confectioners' (powdered or icing)sugar

3 tablespoons meringue powder

1/2 teaspoon extract (vanilla, lemon, almond)

1/2 - 3/4 cup warm water

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder until combined.  Add the water and beat on medium to high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form (5 to 7 minutes). If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more powdered sugar or water. To cover or 'flood' the entire surface of the cookie with icing, the proper consistency is when you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface of the icing for a few seconds before disappearing.
The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.


Read more:http://www.joyofbaking.com/RoyalIcing.html#ixzz13WhyUafr

m&m's!

I love, love candy! When I received the opportunity to make some m&m mini cupcakes for a ladies church event, I was more than excited! The mini cupcakes were chocolate with vanilla frosting and topped with fondant circles to represent the m&ms. I piped the "m's" out of buttercream. 

Overall I think they turned out delicious! 

My bags are packed & I'm ready to go...

Happy Monday to you all! Today I have a 21st birthday cake. Now here are few discretionary things you ought to know before looking at the cake. 

1) The pictures I took are TERRIBLE (partly my fault, too lazy to setup a nice background, partly my cameras fault--have I mentioned how I need a new one--preferably a Canon Rebel?) 

2) This cake was churned out pretty quickly for my sister-in-law's 21st. Really I'm embarrassed by the board I put it on....should have put that crooked side in the back. 

3) The stickers on the suitcase cake are all the places my sister-in-law has been, pay attention to the South African flag, because she'll be leaving in January to be there for almost 6 months on a mission trip. If you'd like to donate to her trip (she has to raise $5,000) please email me at Jessicakes.McKinney@gmail.com and I can help you do so. 

So now on to the cake. It's a simple vanilla/vanilla frosting cake and made to look like a mini suitcase. I think it turned out pretty cute. I do think an printer that prints edible ink on edible frosting sheets could have made the stickers look even better. The printer will go on my "want" list as well. 

Did anyone pay attention to the Baylor sticker? She's a Baylor Bear and if you didn't know...we're ranked...#25....AND bowl eligible...AND #1 in the Big 12 south!! Sic'em!

The Cutest Halloween Decoration Ever...

I have something adorable to show you. It's the greatest Halloween decoration ever. 

Seriously, it's adorable. One of my best friends showed it to me and it was created by her Dentist Mom & her office. It has to do with my favorite Halloween decor item and my favorite theme item. 

Can you guess? The Halloween item is a pumpkin....

.....the theme item is a Cupcake. 

Ready to see it???

Scroll down and check it out!!!

AHHH! It's so stinking cute I can't help, but want it and love it! It's made from two pumpkins. The large white pumpkin serves as the "cake", while an upside down lampshade provides the "liner". The frosting is foam insulation spray painted brown, the sprinkles are penne pasta spray painted various colors... and finally, the cherry on top is a small pumpkin sprayed red. 

If you don't absolutely love this pumpkin display...I suggest you start reading a different blog ;)

Thanks Lauren & Krista Darr for the photo and great idea!

48 Colorful Cupcakes

Last week I was able to make 48 cupcakes in primary colors. It was not only fun to make, but so bright and pretty! These were for a joint birthday party. But enough chatter from me, check them out yourself!

It's great weather for golf...

Golf is one of my favorite sports to play...it's relaxing, you get to drive in a car, and feel cool. When I was asked to make a golf cake for a customer I could not wait to come up with a an awesome cake. I loved how the yellow cake with chocolate filling came out as did the customer. She bought it as a surprise for her boyfriend's birthday. I'm not going to lie...my favorite part is the Ping Golf Bag. I would so carry that...

Hey "Lego" my cupcakes!

These Lego cupcakes were fun to make and turned out so cute! I love the pieces and the blocks. The cakes were vanilla with chocolate frosting and topped with fondant decor. Hopefully the birthday boy enjoyed them!

Disney Delicacies

Not only was the blog under construction last week, but I was also on vacation with my husband to Walt Disney World! It was a wonderful and even magical trip. We enjoyed the parks, the rides, and the shows, but what we loved was the food! It was Epcot's 15th Food and Wine Festival. Let's just say we knew what our agenda was that day, to eat as well as what we did the rest of the trip. Below are a few pictures of our Disney edible adventure. 

First Meal at Disney World

Canadian Chipotle Sausage with Corn Polenta

Mickey Bar & Frozen Banana

Lobster Roll

Mickey Rice Kris-pie Treat

Pineapple Soft Serve Float

Chocolate Mousse

Mickey Waffle

Speaking of Disney...

The Little Mermaid called an ordered a cake...well, really the cake was for the Little Mermaid, Brady, and ordered by her mom for her surprise party! The cake was so fun to make-- and double chocolate (cake & frosting), and perfectly fit in with my excitement to go to Disney World the following week. Plus I absolutely love sculpting figures out of fondant and this cake had a ton of them. 

And We're Back...

Welcome to the new blog and introducing the new logo! 

Sorry last week was such a long break and that I've been so inconsistent. Hopefully I'll be back and as strong as ever! Let me know if you like the new blog style by leaving a comment. This week will be a lot of cakes, photos, and fun so keep checking back everyday and supporting the blog by clicking on the ads around each post--they bring revenue to the site. 

Under Construction!

Dear JessiCakes Readers:

We'll be under construction for a week or so developing an updated blog, links, and more. Please check back every so often to see our progress. Get ready for JessiCakes 2.0 (basically just redone with the NEW LOGO)! Happy October and I'll see you when we're updated!

--Jessica