The Doc is In!

I love Doc McStuffins. It's such a cute cartoon. Calvin was obsessed with Doc for a good six months or so. 

This is my second Doc cake, and I'm ready to do another. She makes me smile.

There's room behind Doc and Lambie for a big candle, to be placed by mom.

Happy Birthday, Alivia!

My Baby's 1st Birthday

The first year...

It goes by so fast.

One day, I'm being handed this little bundle of warmth who needs me for EVERYTHING.

The next, I'm watching him walk around, smiling and babbling.

(Sorry for the picture quality there...catching him walking at that time was a bit like capturing Bigfoot on camera.)

So much changes in that first year...and that's why I just love first birthdays. It's a huge milestone. 

I've made many cakes for kids, and Mickey Mouse is a popular theme. While I just love Mickey Mouse, and so does Dexter, he also loves a show on PBS called "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood."

It's a sweet little cartoon, based on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood, and Mr. Rogers was a big part of my childhood. 

I had an idea for Dexter's cake, but I was worried that it wouldn't turn out the way I imagined it. Much to my delight, it did!

Daniel Tiger sits atop TheNeighborhood of Make Believe.

Complete with King Friday's castle...

Lady Elaine Fairchilde's Museum-Go-Round...

Daniel Striped Tiger's Grandmother Clock...

The Magical Tree occupied by X the Owl and Henrietta Pussycat...

And of course...the famous red Trolley...

Then, there was the coordinating smash cake...

...and Daniel Tiger cake pops...

He was a bit confused by the candle.

But he thoroughly enjoyed the cake (carrot cake).

 Nothing's better than watching a baby realize he can eat a cake with his hands.

I'm fairly certain he would have eaten the whole cake if I would have let him.

Two layers allows for two flavors: carrot cake and chocolate cake. My diet started the next day.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little beautiful baby, Dexter.

A Pretty First Communion Cake

It's first communion time! I just love seeing all the little girls and boys dressed up for their big day, and I can't wait for my kids to celebrate their first communion. Natalie will wear my first communion dress next year.

So, when I make her cake, I think I'll want to look outside of the box for a cake idea, like this mom did. It's so simple, and yet so sweet!

Thank you for letting me be a small part of your little girl's BIG day! 

More Ruffles

You can eat carrot cake...or you can eat carrot cake in the form of a princess dress. 

Either way, it's quite delicious, but this way is more fun...especially if you're a little lady and it's your birthday.

My favorite part of this cake is obviously the ruffles. Mom wanted ombré ruffles--so pretty!

March Madness

Just because I haven't posted in the past week, doesn't mean I haven't been busy. In fact, I'm so busy that I haven't been posting! Ha! 

This morning, I woke up and started to decorate a cake I was really excited about--a baby shower cake for TWINS! This is now one of my favorite cakes I've made. What a cute baby shower idea!

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream

This skating cake may look familiar--I made it back in December, and this little lady loved it so much, she wanted it...except in pink! 

Funfetti cake with cream cheese frosting

Meanwhile, some people don't need a special occasion to have a cake. She's my kind of girl.

Chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream with  chocolate ganache

Getting the right maroon for this cake was tricky, but I think I ended up with something pretty close to Magi school colors for a Magician hockey player.

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream

Remember the little Auburn fan? He needed cupcakes for another family celebration...and he wanted to share the love with his uncle, who is a Steelers fan.

Chocolate chip cupcakes with vanilla buttercream

These are the same cupcakes, except with a cookie dough frosting. Ohmygosh. So good.

Another hockey star had a birthday--and his mom had it transported across the state for his birthday! Fun!

Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream

Last, but not least...my nephew's rocket ship cake. This was his request for his 3rd birthday. He also requested a raspberry cake. The cake wasn't raspberry, but the filling was. It didn't hold up very well in a very humid Splashdown water park, but it tasted great...and he loved it, so that's all I care about!

A Decadent Birthday Cake

I love decorating cute little kids' cakes...but every once in a while, it's fun to make something a little bit more grown up. I've been eyeing this recipe from Sweetapolita for a while now...and yesterday, I got the chance to make it. She used pink food coloring to enhance the swiss meringue, but the cake was for a grown man, so I thought I'd lay off the pretty pink.

                                     

It's a dark chocolate layer cake with a strawberry swiss meringue frosting and a chocolate ganache topping. 

It's the first time I've made a swiss meringue frosting, and if you've never tried it, you need to. It's sweet, but not too sweet, and buttery. It's heavenly. I'll be making this for the next family birthday.

One more thing...Sweetapolita made the cake in three 6-inch pans...I opted for two 8-inch pans and four layers. This was an easy cake to make, but the swiss meringue was a bit tricky. It was definitely worth the work in the end!

Cake Pops...Little Drops of Heaven

The birthday fun continues for the little Auburn fan...who just happens to be a leap year baby. Yesterday, I made these football cake pops for him to share with his class.

Have you ever tried a cake pop? They're incredible. Bakerella has some really cute ideas for cake pops and cake balls if you want to try them out for a special occasion.

I like them more than cake, but they are very labor intensive. This flavor is funfetti with buttercream. Nom, nom, nom, nom...

The result is a very cute treat for kids--and some leftovers for us!