Valentine Mini Cakes

I am completely enamored by beautiful chocolates.  It has to be the best part of Valentine's Day!  They speak to me, so luxuriously packaged and so deliciously decadent.  Not being a chocolatier, I decided to create these beautiful Valentine's desserts out of cake.  These luxurious mini chocolate cakes are decorated to look like decadent boxed chocolates.  A special thank you to Rosie at Sweetapolita, whose talent inspired me to create these.

Each mini cake starts with a 2" or 3" base of my Devil's Food Cake and is topped with a lavish filling and frosting before they get covered in handmade modelling chocolate or fondant. 

Rum (dome with sprinkles):  A base of Devil's Food Cake is covered with a dome of rum flavoured Swiss meringue buttercream frosting.  I wrapped this boozy treat in milk modelling chocolate and topped it with chocolate sprinkles.

Mocha (square with red squiggle):  I brushed two small tiers of Devil's Food cake with Kahlúa syrup and filled the tiers with coffee Swiss meringue buttercream before wrapping them in delicious dark modelling chocolate and topping the whole mini cake with a squiggle of red royal icing.

Classic (gold dome):  A dome of my classic Swiss meringue buttercream sits on top of a circle of Devil's Food Cake and is then wrapped in fondant, which I coloured with a gold lustre dust.

Almond & Apricot (square with dark squiggle):  A square of Devil's food cake is brushed with an apricot compote and topped with an Almond Dacquoise (it is an almond meringue) and the entire mini cake is frosted in Swiss meringue buttercream before being coated in dark modelling chocolate.  Yum!

Raspberry (pink heart):  A heart shaped cake is brushed with a raspberry compote and topped with raspberry Swiss meringue buttercream.  I then covered the cake with pink fondant, which I painted with an edible pink lustre dust - so pretty!

Salted Caramel (round with salt):  Two tiers of Devil's Food Cake are filled with handmade caramel and frosted in chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream.  Covered in milk modelling chocolate and topped with fleur de sel to make this decadent flavour extra delicious.

Chocolate Mint (round with dark swirl):  Two tiers of the cake are filled with a mint chocolate ganache and frosting in a mint Swiss meringue buttercream.  Covered in a dark modelling chocolate.  So good!

Double Chocolate (square with pink heart):  Two tiers of Devil's Food Cake, filled with chocolate ganache and frosted in chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream.  Covered in milk modelling chocolate and topped with a fondant heart.

These special Valentine chocolate cakes come complete in a pink or red box and a matching ribbon, ready to give your special someone, or to share with a number of your special someones!  Box of 9 mini cakes: $45.  Place your order early!  Pickup days are Saturday, February 11th until Tuesday, February 14th.

Valentine Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake

Sure to leave your sweetheart smitten!  This cake starts with three layers of Chocolate Génoise Cake.  I cover the layers with Bittersweet Ganache and top each layer with thick Milk Chocolate Mousse into which I mix bits of buttery cashew brittle.  The entire cake is topped with Whipped Bittersweet Ganache and decorated with cashew brittle hearts!  Everything about this cake is just spectacular!

This cake serves 12 and costs $90.  Place your order early!  Pickup days are Saturday, February 11th until Tuesday, February 14th.

Noah's Ark Cake

For little Owen's Christening, his mom and I decided on a Noah's Ark cake, a special and symbolic design for an important occasion in this little boy's life.  Creating the cake was a labour of love, with each animal taking on a personality all their own...

...those super-cute giraffes with their silly grins and those monkeys peaking out of the portholes just above the waves....


Owen's dad was also Christened the same day, so we put a small tribute to him on the cake as well.


...the lovable turtles, the sly snakes peaking out from behind those elephants (just look at those ears and trunks!) ...

...the super-cute pigs and the hippos and ducks and alligators were a joy to create....


Thanks Cake Avenue for the inspiration.


....and finally the zebras and the lion and lioness.  I finished the design with a pair of white doves, symbolic of peace and love, two things I hope are plentiful in Owen's life. 

The cake itself was alternating layers of chocolate butter cake and white butter cake were frosted in vanilla and chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream and covered in homemade fondant.  The fondant was sculpted to look like rustic boards and a thatched roof, I am really pleased with how it turned out, as was little Owen's family! 

Chocolate Easter Cake with Truffle Egg Nest

With Easter just around the corner, it is time to think about the dessert you will be serving at your special dinner.  Last week I posted my extremely kid-pleasing Easter Bunny Cake, today I'm posting this elegant cake, perfect for those of you who don't get a visit from the Easter Bunny and who need their own chocolate fix!

My Truffle Egg Nest Cake is a super tall 6" cake.  It is a rich chocolate cake laced with espresso powder for a subtle mocha flavour. It is layered with a whipped ganache and then topped with a shiny dark-chocolate glaze. Inside the milk-chocolate nest are bittersweet-chocolate truffle eggs, coated with milk-chocolate tinted a sweet blue colour and brushed with luster. This gorgeous cake feeds 8 to 12.  Contact me for pricing and delivery options.

Chocolate Orange Peanut Bark

Delightful dark bittersweet chocolate is mixed with peanuts and orange zest to make this wonderful gift box with a healthy kick!  Flavonoids from the dark chocolate, monounsaturated fat and vitamin E from the peanuts and a little hit of vitamin C from the orange zest makes this an easy gift to give.  Available year-round, contact me for pricing.