When Life Hands You A Lemon...

...Make a pink lemonade cake! For Whitany's first birthday party, her mommy ordered a Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Pink Lemonade Filling/Frosting. I topped the simple, but sweet cake with handmade fondant lemons, green leaves, and a custom paper bunting banner with the birthday girl's name.

Her smash cake was also classic Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Vanilla Buttercream. The guests were also treated to Chocolate Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream, but I didn't get a chance to snap a photo of them!

Lately, I have been spending as much time with my girl outside as we can. The weather has been nice in the evenings and she LOVES running around in the grass. On a side note, I just had to pack away this cute ruffled dress because she is just getting too big. What happened to my tiny little baby!?

Alyssa's Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

I can't beleive my sweet baby girl turned ONE in August! I guess I can't call her a "baby" anymore... she's officially a walking, talking (well, babbling) toddler.

Since I bake cakes and cupcakes all the time, I really wanted to just keep things simple for her party. I made Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes with Orange Creamsicle Frosting and I used the same flavors for her smash cake. Nothing fancy... but completely yummy!

Here is the aftermath of her smash cake... i'd say she did pretty good!

Wedding Cupcakes: Three Yummy Flavors!

Wedding cupcakes: the ultimate "get this party started" treat! In July, I baked 200 yummy wedding cupcakes for bride Allie. She requested some pretty delicious flavors, such as Chocolate Cupcakes with Andes Mint Buttercream, Southern Red Velvet Cakes with Classic Cream Cheese Frosting, and Vanilla Buttermilk Cakes with Chocolate Fudge Buttercream. Is your mouth watering yet?!

For the set-up, I used my custom, 7-tiered dark wood cupcake stand (designed by my talented hubby) and brown polka-dot cupcake liners for each little cake. I love these next photos of the bride and groom feeding each other a cupcake!

If you are interested in wedding cupcakes or using my cupcake stand, please email Aliandy14@aol.com. Thank you to haileyking.com for sending me these fantastic photos!

Balancing Act

My life is a balancing act these days - wife, mommy, baker, full-time career, baby # 2 on the way - but I wouldn't have it any other way. It goes without saying that this little blog project of mine has been neglected and is screaming for some attention!

Here are a few quick shots of some cakes and cupcakes that just didn't make it on here for one reason or another - maybe I decided that taking a shower would be a much wiser use of of my time than blogging. Don't worry though... my oven is still full of goodies and I promise more updates and cake photos will be coming soon!

Happy baking everyone!

Cupcake Themed Birthday

What could be sweeter than a cupcake tower for a little girl's 2nd birthday party!? For Lyla, I made 2 dozen Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes with a combination of White Chocolate Buttercream and Pink Lemonade Frosting. To top off the tower, I made a mini Classic Chocolate Cake with White Chocolate Buttercream filling and frosting. I used marshmallow fondant to create little cupcake decorations to match the colorful theme.

Here is a little behind-the-scenes-cake-photo action for you... she likes to watch mommy!

Surf's Up Baby Shower Cake

Classic Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Fudge Filling... that is what the mommy-of-two-to-be requested for her baby shower. Her baby boy will arrive in early September and I know she is so excited!

This cake was so much fun to make and I just love the surfing theme and bright, cheery colors! I frosted it with White Chooclate Buttercream, used graham crackers for the "sand" and made the surf boards out of Marshmallow Fondant. Surf's Up!

Elmo Birthday Cake

This adorable Sesame Street - inspired cake was for Bailey's 2nd birthday party. The cake was made up of three layers of Vanilla Buttermilk Cake with Raspberry filling and White Chocolate Buttercream. The decorations, including Elmo, are made from fondant.

Bailey is one of the most adorable little girls and I am so happy that her mommy trusted me with her special birthday cake!

Wedding Cupcake Tower

Wedding cupcakes are such a fun, modern twist on a classic wedding cake. I am so happy with the way Lauren & Michael's cupcakes turned out.

They chose simple flavors, such as Chocolate Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream, Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Frosting, and Strawberry-Filled Vanilla Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream. For the cake topper (which is now in their freezer waiting on their one-year anniversary), they chose Chocolate Cake with Cookies n' Cream filling.

The bride asked for this "branch" detail, which I think turned out so beautiful. The morning of the wedding, I cut the branch and stripped all of it's leaves. I used dark brown spraypaint to acheive the color of the wooden cupcake stand and let it dry for a few hours. I used a padded art tape to adhere the branch to the cupcake stand. LOVE it!

Lauren found this adorable "Love" cake topper on etsy.

Lauren surpirsed Michael with a groom's cake... she asked for his favorite Cookies n' Cream Filling and i decorated it with a nautical theme. Yum!

I just love my solid-wood, 7-tier cupcake display stand... and I can't wait to use it for more wedding cupcake orders! Also, I want to thank Ashley McCormick for sending me these AMAZING cake photos. Be sure to check out her photography blog!

Dump Truck Baby Shower Cake

Growing up, I always played with boy toys. That's just what happens when you have an older brother. I used to "drive" his dump trucks and hot wheels all over the house. Although my daughter doesn't have any real "boy toys" to play with, her absolute favorite toy is a little stuffed turtle that has black and green spots and a blue turtle face. It's not girly at all... and she doesn't care.

This baby boy shower cake has a homemade marshmallow fondant road and dump truck on top. The cake is made up of three layers of Vanilla Buttermilk cake with White Chocolate Buttercream filling and frosting. Simple and delicious!

Guy Harvey Cake

I love the way this fishing-themed cake turned out... rustic waves with the Guy Harvey signature logo on the front. Harrison's mommy found those cute toy fish for the cake, and it was perfect for the birthday boy!

The cake was vanilla buttermilk cake with chocolate fudge filling.

What a Sweet Year it Has Been!

They say time flies when you are having fun... well 2010 must have been a really fun year! When I reflect back on all of the blessings in my life this past year, I am so humbled and amazed.

We started the year off right in January by visiting our nephews in Chicago. In February, we closed on our very first home. We celebrated our 1-year wedding anniversary in March and in April we found out that our bun in the oven was a precious baby girl. In May we hosted our first gathering with friends in our new home, and during the month of June our nephews occupied our pool almost everyday! So many people I love attended my baby shower in July and the best day ever was in August when our sweet baby girl entered the world. I didn't sleep much in September, but I got to be a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding. The month of October was filled with cake orders and our sweet little niece Jovie was born. In November, we celebrated Alyssa's first Thanksgiving with family and friends. Now it's December and there are too many blessings to count. I can't wait to see what 2011 holds for my family!

Construction Cupcakes

I'm married to a building contractor, so I had to get this construction zone cake right! I love the way it turned out, with the bright colors and "manly" appeal perfect for a little boy's birthday party.

For Cole's 1st birthday, I made a Banana "smash" cake with chocolate frosting and two different cupcake flavors... classic chocolate and vanilla buttermilk. Yum! All of the decorations are made out of homemade marshmallow fondant.

Hello Kitty

Now that I have a little girl of my own, I am learning to appreciate all things girly and pink. In fact, pretty much every item of clothing in her closet has some form of pink on it!

I LOVE the way this girly, Hello Kitty birthday cake turned out. Whimsical and feminine, perfect for any little girl's special day.


It's made up of Strawberry Cake layers and Cream Cheese filling with White Chocolate Buttercream.

Steelers Cookies

Fantasy Football, a new sport in our household. Brian is playing in a Fantasy Football group for the first time this year and Sundays will never be the same. I can't tell you how many NFL games we watch on Sundays, but it is actually kind of fun to have players to cheer for!

Here are some adorable Pittsburg Steelers sugar cookies that I made for a football fan's 30th birthday...

Babies & Brides

I enjoy making cakes for those special moments in life... like expecting a baby or getting married. Here are two recent cakes that I made for special celebrations...

The first was a baby shower cake for a mom expecting a little girl. It is made up of lemon cake with Lemonade Buttercream Filling and the entire cake is covered in homemade marshmallow fondant.




The next cake was ordered for a Bachelorette weekend at the beach for a bride-to-be. It was Fresh Strawberry Cake with Cream Cheese Filling and White Chocolate Buttercream.