First time for fondant!

I was very excited about making this birthday cake because this was the first time I got to use fondant, as well as my first tiered cake!! I was given full creative reign, so I had a good idea of what I wanted the cake to look like, and I picked my favorite colors: pink, black, and white.  As I said, this was my first time working with fondant, and lets just say between dying it and rolling it out, I learned a lot!  It was not as easy to work with as I thought it was going to be!  There were a few moments where I wanted to pull my hair out, or throw the cake out the window, but I stuck with it.  It was a good learning experience, and I know my next one will turn out much better!  This cake was made with basic yellow cake with a mocha mousse filling.  Here is the end result....

Exciting News!

As much as I love baking and decorating cakes and cupcakes, I still have a lot to learn!  Everything I've learned in baking so far has been from watching my mother, grandmother, and aunt in the kitchen all these years.  Everything I've learned in decorating has been from watching shows like Ace of Cakes, or Cake Boss.  I haven't had any formal training thus far, and although I consider myself creative, there is only so much I can do being self-taught.  So, after much thought and consideration, I decided to register for classes at the Wilton School of Cake Decorating in Darien, Illinois!  I've enrolled in their Master Course, where I will learn to make 15 different flowers, 20 types of borders, and by the end of the course will be doing a 3-tiered wedding cake!  The session I'm enrolled in is from January 25th - February 5th 2010.  Until then, I will continue to make cakes to the very best of my ability, and will be counting the days until I can take my skills to the next level!  Thank you to all my family and friends for their amazing support in making me realize the potential I have, and encouraging me to take this next step! 

Who doesn't love PB&J?!?

Simple peanut butter cupcakes, made with all-natural peanut butter and dry-roasted peanuts as well.  

 

Then, each cupcake is filled with grape or strawberry jelly so you get a taste of jelly with every bite.  The cupcakes are covered with peanut butter frosting, and topped off with another spoonful of jelly for good measure!

 

Who needs a sandwhich when you have these?!

Another 1st Birthday!

This past week we celebrated another 1st birthday in our circle of friends!  My good friend Natashia's baby boy had a nice birthday party on Saturday, and I had the honor of baking the cupcakes for all to enjoy!  Natashia requested basic vanilla cupcakes topped with vanilla-blue buttercream frosting. 

 

Again, I apologize for the low-quality pictures, taken with my iPhone.  Hopefully Santa will bring me a nice camera for Christmas!!  =)