Monday, March 28, 2011

Fairy Cupcake Tower


Here is the cupcake fairy topper that I created for Mikenna's 9th birthday party.  This cute fairy was sculpted out of gumpaste and was named Joyce by the birthday girl!  Joyce sits at the top of this beautiful pink themed cupcake tower, filled with mini chocolate and vanilla cupcakes each topped with a swirl of pink Swiss meringue buttercream and a gum paste flower.  Happy birthday Mikenna!


Tuesday, March 22, 2011

My kitchen....

It all started in my home kitchen.  My cakes and treats got progressively more difficult and detailed and my family became less and less interested in eating everything I baked.  Luckily, friends were happy to receive any of my baking and I used every opportunity to give treats away.  Eventually, I had to consider how I was going to continue to finance the cost of the ingredients, the supplies and the courses.  I let it be known that I was taking orders and that's when I needed to think about becoming a legitimate cake design business.  We were lucky in that we suddenly had come into some extra space in our home, as my mother moved out of our basement and into a nursing home.  We set about converting our basement office into my Sweet Handmade kitchen.  There were lots of hurdles, but to make a long story short... today is the day!  Insured, properly zoned and health board approved, let me give you a tour of my kitchen!


Both a handwashing sink and double sinks for dishes help make this a proper place to work.  Above the long stretch of counter is one of my favourite features, the hanging area for my recipes and measuring spoons; handy and at my fingertips.  My indispensible Kitchenaid is at the ready and the area to the right of my stove keeps my most often used dry ingredients within easy reach.


Here is the island.  This is where I put the finishing touches on the cakes and cookies; make the buttercream super smooth; roll out the fondant; drape the fondant on the cake; craft the gum paste flowers; pipe the icing and sculpt the characters to make any cake more personalized and complete.


Here is shot of the rolling rack and also the storage unit for my cookie cutter collection - I have over 100! 


We installed cork floors and used both new and reclaimed Ikea cupboards.  While this space is in the basement, it has lots of natural light and is an absolute joy to work in.  With cupboards dedicated to baking pans and cooling racks and drawers just for gum paste cutters and molders, rolling pins, mixing bowls, offset spatulas and candy thermometers; with mason jars full of chocolate, sugars and coloured sprinkles; a fridge full of butter and eggs, cream and milk, this is every baker's dream kitchen!!  And now, what can I create for you?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Leprechaun Hat Cake

I've never met a leprechaun, I've never even been to Ireland, but I imagine there are all different kinds of leprechaun personalities.  The shy one, the bold one, the happy one and the grumpy one.  And then there would be the one who would wear this jaunty little hat.  I can only imagine he would walk with a confident gait and have a magnetic personality to match!  Maybe this March 17th I will finally meet my first leprechaun.  Can't wait to see what his hat looks like!  This hat is made of four delicious layers of brown sugar butter cake, filled with caramel Swiss meringue buttercream and is covered with shamrock green fondant.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Pirate Cake with Cupcakes

Ahoy Matey!  This super-cute pirate cake is suited to a young pirate boy or pirate girl celebrating their birthday.  In addition to the cake sporting the pirate, the crew is on the cupcakes, most of them sporting a scar or two to prove their bravery in battle.  The pirate map leads us right to the treasure, in this case, Liam's third birthday party!  This cake with cupcakes can be tailored to your needs, with flavours and quantities at your discretion.