Hibiscus Baby Shower Cake!

Hello!  So, I have some tutorials that I desperately want to get to, but just  haven't had the time!  These past few weeks have been crazy, and the next few weeks look to be shaping up to be the same!

So, today, I will leave you with the other cake I made for the past weekend.  I actually, kind of really love it!  It's a baby shower cake.  They wanted something elegant (similar to my Magnolia Baby Shower cake that I entered in the CT Cake Competition).  Hibiscus flowers have special meaning to the expectant couple, so we chose those for the decor.  I used gender neutral colors and I think it came out just perfect!  I think this would also make a very elegant tropical/summer themed wedding cake.

 I really love how the gumpaste Hibiscus turned out!!

 I think that yellow one is my favorite :)

The baby was made with the First Impressions baby mold.  You can check out my tutorial for it here!

If you would like to learn how to make these beautiful Hibiscus flowers for yourself, you can find my video tutorial here!

I'm sorry I don't have more to share, but I hope you enjoyed the photo's!  I know I always enjoy looking at cake pictures :)

Happy Caking :)

Inspiration!

Wow, I've been a busy girl!  Last week I had two cakes to do.  While I had a moment I wanted to share at least one with you all.

This was for a joint birthday party and the design was totally up to me (love when that happens!).  I was watching the Food Network sow Aarti Party and when I saw the title design I thought it would look awesome on a cake!!

Since I've been "caking" I see patterns and designs that I can just envision in cake form.  I don't often get free reign on the design, so I really love these occasions when I can pull from my "idea box."  OK, o it is not a literal box (yet), but it should/will be.  I have quite a collection of "stuff" at this point, scrapbook papers, fabric, napkins, T-shirts, bits of jewelry....  As soon as I have some free time I'm going to organize all of these things!

I just wanted to show that you can/should look for inspiration everywhere!!

Happy Caking :)

I'm Back! Cupcakes & What I've been up to :)

Hi Everyone!  I'm so sorry about the loooong break between posts!  I have been insanely busy the past few weeks.  Here's a little of what I've been up to!

After my last post I got very busy.... making cupcakes... 210 Cupcakes for a wedding!  And we were guests at the wedding, 2 states away...  So I was also busy packing my family and packing the cupcakes, and my "emergency kit" and making Buttercream (buckets of buttercream!)...

The cupcakes were a hit, the bride and groom were incredibly grateful and the guests couldn't get enough!

This adventurous couple picked Chili Chocolate, Chai and Vanilla for their flavors.  They were all delicious, but I have to say I think the chocolate was the favorite, it certainly went the fastest!  I am not much of a "spice fan" myself, but even I thought this was a superb cupcake.  A rich chocolatey flavor with a hint of chili and at the end a kick of heat.. very exotic, very YUM!

I made the orchids using the New Wilton Gumpaste Flower Kit .  I plan on making a tutorial soon, I really love how they came out.  In fact, everyone thought they were real! 

Here is a full view of one of the stands I created (I was very proud).  It was my intention to make a photo tutorial, but it was a learning process and I didn't get pictures of all of the steps I ultimately took... Next time though, I will certainly do it!  Anyway, the stands held approximately 30 cupcakes and the catering staff kept them refreshed, but the method I used could certainly be used to make a bigger stand.

So, after a wonderful time at our friend's wedding, I was away for 2 weeks at my mother's house to babysit my nephew.  BUT, I got a lot accomplished while caring for two toddlers!  I am happy to announce I am officially the proud owner/operator of Happy Cakes by Renee, LLC!!  That's right, I finally got my business registered with my state as an LLC!  I've also gotten myself an insurance policy and one last step until I will be up and running, operating from a licensed commercial kitchen!  I can't wait, this kitchen is HUGE compared to my tiny apartment kitchen.  I am very excited to have made this progress towards growing my business.  I can't wait to make more people happy with cake!

Happy Caking :)

Cool Link for Calibrating Your Oven

Any serious baker knows that oven temperature is extremely important to the success of your recipe!  We've all probably learned the hard way that our oven is not necessarily baking at the correct temperature and by trial and error figured out how to adjust for the difference...  Well, I came across this really cool article on Cake Central and had to share!  Did you know that you can calibrate your oven temperature with SUGAR!  I didn't... but now I do!  Also, and I'm shocked that I didn't know this before... but keeping a pizza stone in your oven (on the bottom rack) will help regulate the temperature!

So, for the good of hard working ovens everywhere, check out this article and make sure YOUR oven is working properly.  If you have recipes that continually fail, it could be the temperature of you oven!

Calibrate Your Oven with Sugar, Keep Its Temperature Steady with a Pizza Stone

Happy Caking :)

Mmmm... Cupcakes!

Am I the only one who thinks cupcakes are beautiful?  They don't have to be ornately decorated.  I think a pile of fluffy, delicious buttercream on top of a single serving cake is a thing of beauty!  I made these cupcakes yesterday... I've been dreaming about frosting... White Chocolate Buttercream to be exact!  And I can't just make frosting, so I made Devil's Food Cupcakes to serve it on!!

Now that the weather is warmer, I've had retired my absolute favorite recipe (Swiss Meringue Buttercream) in favor of the more heat resistant American Buttercream...  To make it White Chocolate flavored, just melt down some really good quality White Chocolate and add about 1/2 - 3/4 Cup to about 2 Cups of your favorite buttercream recipe (let the chocolate cool a bit first!).

If you have not tried White Chocolate Buttercream I encourage you to give it a shot... but for now, feast your eyes on these beauties!

 I used Reynolds Staybrite liners for these cupcakes. I love them, they are adorable and sturdy and don't fade!

 And just to prove that you don't need a fancy wrapper to have a beautiful cupcake, I made a few with plain old white liners!

Beautiful, right?  Almost too perfect and beautiful to eat.... almost ;)

Happy Caking :)

Icing Smiles

Hi Everyone!  I have a few things planned for today that I'm hoping to share in a future blog post.  But I wanted to stop and take a moment to tell everyone about a great charity that I stumbled upon this morning.

Icing Smiles!  They coordinate celebration cakes for critically or terminally ill children and their siblings.  I saw a story on Cake Central that tugged at my heart strings and prompted me to check them out.  I think what they are doing is great!  What these children and their families are going through is so difficult and sad.  But to have a beautiful and delicious cake can really bring smiles to their adorable faces.  Who doesn't love frosting?!

This charity relies on donations exclusively for operation.  They are staffed entirely by volunteers and rely on the generosity of bakers to donate their time, skill and product.  They coordinate cakes for children all over, so if you are willing and able to help, please consider contacting them to contribute to this amazing and generous programs!

You can visit their website or facebook page for more information and/or to contact them about contributing.  You needn't be a professional baker to help out, they're happy to have the help from amateur bakers as well!

Happy Caking :)

Simple Rose Cake

I made this cake over the weekend... It was a vanilla cake, filled with strawberry buttercream and fresh strawberries.  It's a buttercream finish with gumpaste roses and a fondant "ribbon" around the middle.  I'm trying to find a style of roses that I'm really happy with, so these ones were just for practice :)

Once I find a style/method of rose making that I'm happy with, I might make a tutorial.  But for now, if you want to try making gumpaste roses, check out Edna's tutorial on YouTube, she's a great teacher and you only need circle cutters, which most cake decorators will already have!

Happy Caking :)