The Easter Bunny Likes Carrots.

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. And not for the obvious reasons of sugar consumption and chocolate bunnies. I love what the day represents and the time that we get to spend with family.

Brian and I had Easter dinner at Grandma & Grandpa Sellers' house and I made a fresh Carrot Cake to complete the traditional meal. This cake has a full pound of grated carrots, chopped pecans, and lots of homemade cream cheese frosting on top. Eating vegetables should always taste this yummy!

While I was baking, Brian asked me why I decided to make carrot cake. [He always asks me weird questions.] So I told him that the Easter bunny likes to eat carrots. He responded by saying "You're wrong. The Easter bunny likes Easter eggs." Yes, my husband is twisted. At least the cake had eggs in it... that made him happy.

Pretty In Pink

Birthdays are momentous. I think they are so important, they deserve an entire week of celebration. To put it lightly, I LOVE birthdays.

Today is Mandi's 26th birthday and we are all a little tired from the super-fun-filled weekend we just had! Mandi is more than amazing. She has such a good heart and understands the true meaning of friendship. She has an obsession with Gatorade, loves watching re-runs of Newlyweds, has more white shirts than anyone I know, adores her niece & nephew, and believes in the power of prayer. Best of all, she has a contagious laugh that I always catch. My husband says when I am with Mandi I act like a "goofball." Need I say more?

What is a birthday celebration without cake? For Mandi, I made a 4-layer Fluffy Lemon Cake with lemon curd filling and pink lemonade frosting. She was so surprised when we brought out the cake and all of the colors came together so perfectly... it looked like a celebrity birthday bash!

This Cake is Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Brian and I eat alot of bananas. In fact, my grocery cart seems to magnetically attract bananas everytime I am in the store. I guess I'm afraid there will be a banana shortage or something.

I rejoice on those rare occasions when several bananas don't get eaten and begin to turn brown. Over-ripe bananas don't last long in my kitchen... they quickly turn into quickbread or these amazingly wonderful cupcakes.


One of my best friends, Lauren, just celebrated her 29th birthday and I wanted to make her a sweet treat. I took the same recipe that I used to make her daughter's first birthday cake back in 2007 and made these delicious Banana Cupcakes. The cakes are light and fluffy with intense banana flavor. I topped them off with cream cheese-peanut butter frosting to satisfy her sweet tooth.

When I delivered them to Lauren's house, Raigan (her daughter) instantly licked the frosting off of one and wouldn't even share with mommy! That is a good sign...

I Love You Blue

Will Farrell said it best in the movie Old School when he expressed his love for the old man named Blue. Well, I am in love with Blue too... blue-berries, that is. Earlier this week, Brian and I joined the Moser family for dinner and I made a fresh Blueberry Streusel Cake for dessert. I feel so blessed to have many different families that love us and make us feel at home. The Moser's are no exception. I have always been inspired by Cheryl's passion for baking. In fact, everytime we visit their house, I catch up on several months' of Taste of Home magazine!

The term "streusel" is a German word that means something scattered or sprinkled. The crumb topping on this cake has cinnamon and nutmeg, two of my favorite baking spices. The topping becomes crisp after the cake cools and adds a nice contrast to the lemony cake underneath.

While eating his second slice, Blake asked me if chocolate would be good in this cake. I am a firm believer that chocolate makes everything taste better, so I will definately try adding a drizzle of chocolate on top next time I make this cake!

Every teenage girl needs a pink party cake!

I remember turning 13... I drove my mom crazy about finally being a teenager. This is a milestone birthday for every little girl because it marks the beginning of such a fun part of life.

I recently made this two-layer stacked cake for Morgan, my best friend Lauren's little sister. She had a 60's themed party and the black & pink colors blended so well with all of their soda shop decorations.

Shower her with lingerie...

When I got the call from Tiffany asking me to make a creative cake for Krisie's lingerie shower, I must admit... I was a little nervous! Don't get me wrong, I love a good challenge. But baking for people you went to high school with can be intimidating. There's the desire to impress, the feelings of insecurity, and the passion to do your best.

Krisie is getting married one week before me and we have both dated our husbands-to-be for nearly 10 years! She is a beautiful person, inside and out. I made her a Red Velvet cake with classic cream cheese frosting. I love this traditional southern recipe!

When I delivered the cake, all of my nerves and insecurities went away immidiately. I was greeted by several old friends that I haven't seen in years. Best of all... they each said the nicest things about my cakes! I truly felt honored to bake this cake for such a special occasion in Krisie's life.

Baby Harrison is almost here!

Life becomes so much more fun and exciting when your friends start having children... at least for me it did! Growing up, I was never really around babies. When Brian's sister had Jason, I was hooked. His contagious giggles and addiction to the word "what?" made me fall in love with children. Then our best friends Phil & Lauren had Raigain and Eric & Jennifer had Nolan. I just love all of these kids!

Phil & Lauren are having another baby... a little boy who is going to be named Harrison. He is going to be a lean, mean hunting machine! And if he is anything like him mom and dad, he is going to love CAKE! For Lauren's baby shower, I made a 2-layer Fluffy Lemon Cake with lemon curd filling and lemonade frosting. Delicious!

He's a Curious Little Monkey

I remember the night we had dinner with Eric & Jenn and they told us they were having a baby. I remember hearing the news while we were in Arkansas that Nolan was born. I remember the first time I held that sweet baby boy. Where does the time go?

Nolan's first birthday is already here. I know that he is such a blessing for our friends Eric & Jennifer. They threw him a special "Curious George" birthday party with their closest friends and family. I was so excited when Jenn told me the theme... I quickly began researching photos of that silly little monkey and the man with the yellow hat.


For Nolan, I made a special Banana Cake with banana pudding filling and homemade buttercream frosting. He had only eaten a few tastes of desserts in his first year, so this was his first real cake to dig into. I also made two Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes for the grown ups.

At first, he wasn't sure... but once he warmed up to the idea of consuming massive quantities of sugar without mommy stopping him, he enjoyed himself! I can't wait to make his second birthday cake!

Blues Clues Birthday Girl

Brian has a silly nickname for me... he likes to poke fun at my small "cup size" by calling me "Boobs." When our best friends, Phil & Lauren had their beautiful baby girl we tried to come up with a nickname that she could use for me while growing up. We felt that "Boobs" would be a little inappropriate for a 2 year old to call me in the middle of Wal-Mart, so we decided on "Aunt TaTa."

To this day, I still laugh everytime I walk in the room and she runs at me yelling "TaTa! TaTa!" I wonder how old she will be when that stops...


For Raigan's Blues Clues birthday party, I made Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream frosting and blue doggie paws. I also made two Chocolate Chip Cookie Cakes decorated with "birthday Blue."

It amazes me how much I love her. I am having so much fun watching her grow up... I can't wait to bake her 3rd birthday cake, 4th birthday cake, 5th birthday cake...

Baptisms & Baby Showers

I feel so honored that people invite me into their lives for such special occasions. A friend of mine recently baptised her baby girl, Hannah. She asked if I would bake a cake and cupcakes for the affair. I made Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting and a Vanilla Butter Cake with Raspberry Filling.

I was also asked to bake for a Noah's Ark-themed baby shower. I made Chocolate Cupcakes and Cake with homemade buttercream frosting. I wasn't there to see the mom-to-be's reaction to the cakes, but I truly hope she loved them!

Blueberry Cupcake Recipe - Cooking Light Magazine

Every month I can't wait for my next issue of Cooking Light Magazine. I have subscribed for almost 4 years now and I love all of their recipes. I found this recipe and fell in love. Lemon and Blueberry is one of my all-time favorite combos. Just thought I would share...

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups + 1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

10 Tbsp. granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 large egg

1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk

1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

1 tsp. lemon zest

1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, combine the melted butter and egg. Whisk in the buttermilk, milk and lemon zest. Add the buttermilk mixture to flour mixture in three additions, scraping the bowl after each. Fold the blueberries into the batter and pour into a lined cupcake tin. Bake for 25 minutes. Top with cream cheese frosting and fresh blueberries. Store covered in the refrigerator.

Join the Mickey Mouse Club!

Recently, a friend from work asked me to make cupcakes and a special cake for her daughter's Mickey Mouse themed birthday party. Her daughter, Jordan is just an adorable little thing, so I wanted to make some of my favorite recipes for her!

I made Banana Cupcakes with Fudge Frosting, Chocolate Cupcakes with Marshmallow Frosting, and a Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Everything turned out delicious and I just loved the red & black color scheme. So cute!

Sugar is sweet and so are you...

Roses are red, violets are blue. I love cupcakes and so do you. Here are some fun cupcakes and cakes that I have made recently. Enjoy!

Fist, the spring daisy cupcakes were made for a local women's organization dinner party. They were Lemon Cupcakes with Lemonade frosting. I made little fondant daisies to top them off.

Next, I made Homemade Funfetti Cupcakes with Buttercream frosting. I made the frosting two-toned using half pink and half white, then I topped the cakes with colorful sprinkles!

I was so happy to make these treats for an adorable little girl named Brylee. They were Vanilla Cupcakes with Pink Lemonade Frosting. I molded white chocolate butterflies to top the little cakes and hand-tied bows for a girly finish.

Finally, I made this Pink Lemonade birthday cake for my friend Lena. I used white chocolate to create the circle in the middle and piped her name with the pink lemonade frosting.

Strawberries & shortcake... what's not to love?

When I was growing up, I had Strawberry Shortcake wallpaper. She was my favorite character in whole world. Call me crazy, but I used to think I looked like her! Short... freckles... you get the picture. I guess it goes without saying that I was more than happy to make this cake for a 5th birthday party.

The actual cake is Strawberry (it's only fitting) and the frosting is cream cheese. I was shopping at Michael's Craft store one day and came accross this adorable little candle... which is now sitting atop the cake. I can't wait to create more fun cakes like this one!

Here comes baby J!

I am so excited because one of my college roomates is having a baby boy! She is such a sweet person and I know she is going to be an amazing mom. For her baby shower, I made Martha Stewart's Coconut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting. I topped them with sweetened flaked coconut and piped little blue "Js" on top for Baby Joyner.

I had so much fun hanging out with my favorite girls at the baby shower. I miss seeing them everyday! Cant wait for more bridal showers, baby showers and weddings in the near future!