who wants a 1986 grandma cake?

SO last class we learned BASKETWEAVE icing techniques. Uh....ok. Not my favorite.

My cake looks pretty rough. The icing was stale and totally overused by the time I got it done.
thanks to amanda for the pic of this hideous creation!

Next class I have to bring a huge batch of royal icing, so I am anticipating fun things, hopefully not daisies though. Damn you daisies!!!! *shakes fist*

Billy graduates NEXT WEEK. I feel like this year has flown by,...it's so bizarre. I am attending his graduation ceremony/reception thing at VFS on Thursday, Im sure there will be some entertaining things to happen.

well hello there,

well...what do we have here?..

Meet my new best friend... I just got him out of the box and he helped me make these:

and I love him so. His delightful pumpkin coloring, his shiny metal bowl, his EASY to clean-ness.
I hope to keep him around for many years! <3

first EVER bakers market!

So my venture into 'cupcakery' went pretty well! The baker's market was really cute and it was cool to talk to the other vendors and meet them (AND try their stuff!! mm).


I made just over 80 cupcakes, took me about 8 hours start to finish, hand decorating each one nearly killed me. BUT I did it. The only problem? I should have made WAY MORE.


Yes, I SOLD OUT awkwardly early into the day, but hey, learning curve right?

It was my first time so, meh. I was really surprised they went so fast, and really happy about it, I was totally all "Debbie Downer" thinking that I would have to lug like, 60 cupcakes home with me, because who would want to buy cupcakes from some random girl with cute cake boxes? Turns out, people like my cupcakes, like my cute cake boxes and really liked my logo! Yay!



My table partner/cake school acquaintance/new facebook friend Maureen did really well too, she also sold out! I did a trade and swapped one of mine for one of her red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting..OMG.


I received visits from Dean, Katherine and Lars, whom all made a purchase too! Thanks guys, i heart u.

www.weddingthings.com was the host of the bakers market, it's owned by Connie.
Connie hooks you UP. For real. AMAZING stuff. Im obsessed with stationary and cards, I almost passed out at the amazing little cards and favors. Kinda made me want to get married again.
(To the same guy of course..ha)

some more pics!

Baking like whoa.

getting ready for this!

Cake School!

This is one of my cakes! I enrolled in cake decorating classes on a whim one day in the summer, and I had my first class last week. It was great, The class is full of people in their 20's and 30's, so no grandmas wanting to make those ugly doll cakes I have nightmares about, you know the kind

Anyways, We have only just started. but we ended the class last week with learning how to construct a rose. HARD.... RIDICULOUSLY HARD. I failed at this, but I know it will take a long time to master it. A girl in my class is holding a bakers market next month, Im considering maybe renting a table, but I'd like to split it with somebody! So Im looking!

Also...HUGE NEWS......I just ordered a kitchen aid mixer!!!! (GIRLISH SHRIEK!!!!!)
I wanted a red one ideally, but I found a display model on amazon.com and it is orange! So cute! I heart!!! It was a STEAL. They cost about $499 plus taxes and shipping on the kitchen aid site, and I got this one for $223.00 and that includes shipping to Point Roberts. I guess I better tell Billy's mom that it will be showing up sometime next week at her door! SO EXCITING. I have wanted one of these FOR-EVERRRR, and have been pricing them out since August, so needless to say I am doing a happy dance when I think about it's loveliness gracing my kitchen.

I will try and update more as I go through the course, it's early on, so not much to tell.
I have to bring in an 8" iced cake and 8 cupcakes to class on Sunday, as well as 3 containers of different consistency buttercream icings AND my class tool kit. Did I mention that I take a bus, skytrain and have to walk 3 blocks to my class? Yeah. Going to be a challenge for sure.

In other news, not much has been going on, Billy is almost done school, which is crazy to me. I like the friends he has made at school and I hope they continue to stay in contact if they all end up leaving Vancouver, I think he is part of a really good class.

We have gotten hooked on Mad Men as of lately, such a good show. We spent a few sundays watching back to back eposides and catching up. I also learned that my mom watches the show religiously, had no idea. I love the clothes and the furniture. We are going to be characters from it for Halloween, Im going to be Joan and Billy is going to be Roger Sterling

Im looking around for a red wig. Not dying my hair :P

I loooooove halloween and I love fall in general! So excited! Hope we find a fun event this year.

PacMan Cookies!

An oldy, but a project that I am still so proud of! I hand-formed my own seashell cookie cutter into a pacman ghost for these ones!

I'm feeling a baking project coming on, and Lars's birthday party just happens to be around the corner....I'm playing with fondant now! Should be interesting! *hope I don't crash and burn with this one!!! now that I have announced it via le internets!!*

WOW...uh...I'm a bit late. AWKWARRRRD...

So I lied to you all when I said "COMING SOON". Bet you didn't think SOON was equivalent to OVER A MONTH. Sorry. I have no good excuse, only the fact that it is still summer, and I have either been:

a.) Out, doin stuff
or
b.) playing too much bejewelled.

ANYWAYS.

"Irish Carbomb" aka Bailey's and Guiness CUPCAKES!!
These were so fun, we went to a beer themed birthday party (the host brews his own and it was just overall fantastic, his hefewiezen (sp.?) was something you'd stab somebody for, it was THAT GOOD.



I basically adapted this recipe here but omitted the whiskey and changed it up a little by actually adding a can of guinness to the cupcake batter itself instead of the traditional wet ingredients.

The frosting I followed to a tee. I didnt use the chocolate ganache filling because I thought they would be sweet enough on their own. Yes.




Ahh. All done. If I had more time I would have searched for my decorating bag and star tip to frost them all pretty-like, but I was un-organized (gasp!) and therefore had to resort to using a knife and doing it up old school.

I didnt write the recipe out because I linked to it if you so desire to make these :)