Blog Archive

Friday, July 22, 2011

Kellan's Baptism Cake

It seems like just a few short months ago my cousin Chris (or Rob, his grown up name), was marrying the cutest girl ever, Miss Sarah Sue. Can't believe it was over a year ago, and now their adorable bundle of joy is getting baptized! I am so glad to have been able to make a chocolate cake for the occasion, ordered by his wonderful grandma (my auntie), Karen.

Love you guys, many blessings on little Kellan!

A Name, a Name, What's in a Name?

So, some of you have been asking me for updates on my business. And I have been able to update many of you in person, but for those of you I see less frequently, here's a little briefing.

After much deliberation, brainstorming, research, and feedback from many of you, I have chosen a name! I am simply waiting on finding a place to rent kitchen space from and registering my business until I announce it, create a logo, a website or do any heavy marketing. So thanks for all of your help with suggestions and feedback, it is much appreciated. I do want to note I have received many witty suggestions from friends, a few being, "Cake it or Leave it", "The Sweetest Thing- we are the icing on the cake" and "Cake me Home Tonight". It's not that I don't love these, oh I do, I am simply thinking about meeting all of my audiences with the name I choose...your names made it to my blog though :-)

In the meantime, I really appreciate all of your referrals and word of mouth marketing. I have been very blessed to have the word spread without me even trying by a great network of family and friends. I am thankful to you and to God for any success that comes my way.

Stay tuned, I hope to announce more updates soon! Sorry for the teaser!

Market Research: Asian Baking!

After a couple recommendations from friends of mine to learn the art of Asian Baking, I decided I would need to schedule a tasting with my dear friend Inning, who has been offering to introduce me to these light, delicious baked goods. At the top of her list is a bakery she frequents for a bag of delicious cake scraps (she eats like a mouse-literally ;-)), the AA Wholesome Bakery located in West Mesa on Main St. and Dobson in the Mekong Plaza. Some might like to know, there is also an Asian supermarket and yogurt place with boba in this plaza.

Being that Asian baked goods are not overly sweet or rich in flavor and dense in texture than those you might find in the average American corner bakery or even mom's kitchen, Inning was worried I might not like it and told me not to get my hopes up too high. It was too late for that because I love trying new foods, especially cakes! She was right about one thing, if I came with the expectation to find the selection in the bakeries I am used to, I might be disappointed-- not that there wasn't variety, there was a pretty good selection to choose from, but of many different types of baked goods. You shouldn't go in there expecting to find your average syrup covered bear claws, powder sugar doused donuts, or fudge smothered brownies. I was surprised though to find things like mini Pecan Tarts, which I couldn't resist trying. There were also whole cakes for sale, a few cupcakes, pastries plain and with meat inside, and more. Here's a Wikipedia article with more details about a typical selection. (Not at all related to this article, other than the Chinese symbol is the picture above, is actually a cake I made for my step dad after getting his black belt. Hey, I needed a picture).

As mentioned, I decided on the Pecan Tart, and since Inning picked up a whole bag of regular vanilla cake scraps, I got a slice of rolled chocolate cake, which was literally cake cut in a semi-thin strip, rolled with chocolate frosting. Inning was right, it was less sweet, but I absolutely loved how light and fluffy the texture was. You don't get overwhelmed eating a whole piece, and it's perfect for those moments you're craving a something sweet, but not enough to put you in a sugar coma.

So pleased as I was, I will most certainly venture into trying out an Asian cake recipe. It will likely take a couple trial runs on my trusty friend Inning before I will include in in my repertoire, but I am very excited to begin my research! Thanks Inning and my friend Daniel for encouraging me to try this out!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

A Surprise 30th Birthday Cake!


A few weeks after I made a graduation cake (posted below) for one of my best friend's little sisters, I got a call from their sister-in-law Maria, about making a friend's 30th birthday cake. Maria and a few great friends had ventured into putting together a dessert table with lots of goodies, including cake pops (a laborious task for anyone who has attempted them), and they decided they would like to save time by having me work on the cake. They had an adorable turquoise and red theme and a picture of the cake they wanted me to create. They asked that I incorporate more height by making it a 2 tier, with a nice big fondant bow on top. It was super fun to make and I was blessed enough that one of the party hosts, Karie Denny of Karie Denny Photography, took some awesome pictures of the cake! Check out the dessert table they set up!

Maroon and Gold Girls!

A couple of Perry High School grads, Miss Kasey Gates and one of her long time bestie's Megan asked me to make their graduation cake in May. Looking forward to their Freshmen year at ASU as roommates, they wanted me to incorporate their future school colors and theme into their cake, meant to feed 80 people. That's right, 80 people! They have a lot of friends =) Being that ASU is my alma mater, I was MORE than excited! Especially after their recent re-branding with the updated pitchfork.

I ended up using a super cute picture of them in their ASU shirts and some glittery letters and foam core to create the embellishments. I also used my new flower fondant cutters on the top to add some more sass.

PS. Keep your eye out for Miss Kasey Gates, she will be a star someday!!