Pink and Lace

It’s been another long stretch of time since we’ve posted, but admittedly, we’ve been quite busy with kids – Cathy’s full time job of being a wonderful mother and my full time job of working with kids for my day job!  We’ve had the opportunity to squeeze some cake time in there, so we’ll be updated the blog slowly but surely. :)

We had the pleasure of doing a wedding cake for two dear friends of ours.  The bride, Sarah, is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet.  She is a girly girl to the max, and had such a beautiful shabby chic-inspired wedding complete with mason jars, succulent favors, and flowers in beautiful shades of pink.

When Sarah came to us, she had different visions for her cake, so after lots of sketching and discussing, we nailed it down to a simple lace design (to coordinate with her beautiful wedding dress) complete with bold pink flowers to add some pops of color.  We also made vanilla cupcakes, some decorated with blush pink nonpareils and others decorated with a fondant medallion with a subtle lace imprint.

During the cake-making process, we were a little stumped of how we could achieve the lace look effectively without using special lace cutters or molds.  Thankfully, we had the help of a friend (Dani!) to help us create the lace look.  We couldn’t have done it without her!

Sarah and Austin, thank you SO much for picking us to do your wedding cake!  We love you guys!  Also, photo credit goes to the wonderful and amazing Cathy Breslow!

detail

If you look closely, you can see the lace imprint in the fondant medallions. It added a small touch of sophistication to the cupcakes.

Cupcakes for a Rockstar

Our dear friend’s son was celebrating his 8th birthday, and Cathy was asked to make the cupcakes!  I (Cortney) had the pleasure of being able to see the final product and simply eat the cupcakes (clearly, the hardest part, right?).

No stamp? No problem! Cathy had the brilliant idea of using a potato!

The gumpaste guitar was made especially for the birthday boy!

Happy birthday, Elijah!

Gender Reveal Cupcakes

Lots of people have used cakes to share the gender of their baby, but Steffie and Joe wanted to do it using cupcakes, so that each individual person can experience the surprise!

Steffie opted for a classic chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream.  She wanted rainbow sprinkles on the top.  After receiving the exciting news of the gender of the baby, I filled the cupcakes with a colored buttercream.  Blue for boy, pink for girl.

Take a bite and discover…that it’s a BOY!

It’s a boy!

I wasn’t sure which liners to use, because I didn’t want to hint toward one gender…so I just chose plain white. =)

All packed and ready to go! I tied the box with some blue AND pink baker’s twine so that the guests didn’t have a hint as to what gender the baby could be!

Congratulations, Steffie and Joe!  Can’t wait to meet your baby boy!

Summer Tropics

It’s summer here in the Bay Area, and we’ve been getting beautiful weather!  Although the weather here can be a little finicky, the week that I worked on this cake was HOT!  I did a fun 1st Birthday cake for a friend’s daughter.

The theme was Hawaiian, which made me super excited!  I absolutely love Hawaii, and I can’t wait for the day I get to go back.  I remember warm breezes, bright flowers, Hawaiian music (which I streamed to get me in the mood), and of course…the food.  Oh, the food.

My friend Kiyoko requested that her daughter’s cake have colorful flowers on it.  I had an idea of what to do, but not really a concrete idea.  I Googled tropical color palette, and found a beautiful palette to work with.  I went back and forth between making it really “kiddie” or keeping it more simple.  I decided to do the latter.  Even for kids’ birthdays, I like simple, clean designs.  I wholeheartedly agree with the old adage that less is indeed more.

This cake was made with moist yellow butter cake and filled with a rich dark chocolate truffle filling.

Close-up

She also requested a dozen matching cupcakes for the kids at the party.  I added mini flowers and two-toned leaves to the cupcakes to make it a perfect set of sweets!

Yellow butter cake topped with chocolate truffle frosting

Happy 1st birthday, little Ava!

<3, Cortney

Aaron + Corie

Last summer I had the opportunity to make cupcakes for some dear friends’ wedding.  The bride, Corie, just happens to come from one of the most beautiful families that I know.  Corie is one of nine children and they are such an example of kindness and love, the kind of kids you hope your own children will turn out like one day. It was such an honor for my husband Paul, who was officiating the ceremony, and I to share in this special family’s joyous occasion.  The bride and groom asked me to make almond cupcakes with vanilla frosting, while a family friend provided a lovely chocolate option. They turned out beautifully, with just a hint of almond flavor, perfect for a summer evening.

My son Elliot enjoyed every bite as you can tell from his cheeky grin!

Thank you Corie and Aaron for letting my family be a part of your beautiful day!

-Cathy

Wedding photo credit: Robert and Karina Gillette

Katy + Josh

Since this is a new blog, we’re posting some older photos — the ones that make us smile and show people who we are.

Katy is a woman of beauty and class.  When she asked me to do the desserts for her wedding, I said yes without hesitation.  Knowing her taste, and after hearing what the wedding was going to be like, I knew I HAD to do this wedding!  Her request for delicious cupcakes in delicate gold cupcake liners, and a small cutting cake just showed us how beautiful simplicity is.

Her wedding was in the beautiful Marin Headlands Center of the Arts in an old wartime bunker.  The old rustic building was the perfect backdrop for our lovely little desserts.

All photo credit goes to the amazing Shannon Leith.  I highly recommend you check out her blog!  She is quite talented!

The florist gave me loose flowers so that I could arrange the topper. I couldn’t resist these beautiful red ranunculus.

I know what you must be thinking.  “WHERE is that cake stand from?!”  The beautiful jadeite milk glass stand is from Mosser Glass Inc. and comes in different sizes and colors.

Lots and lots of cupcakes in red velvet and chocolate adorned the table.

The beautiful couple on their special day!

Although this wedding was early last year, it’s definitely one that will stick in my memory.  The setting, the food, the people…everything about it was great, and I was honored to be part of it.

Oh, and I must make this plug.  Katy is the creative mind behind Sonitchka.  For those of you who don’t know, Sonitchka was created to raise awareness and funds for Open Arms Ukraine, an organization that works with Ukranian orphans.  Please check both of them out and see how you can be part of changing the lives of these kids!

Button and Bows

We’re ladies who like pretty things, and buttons and bows fall right into that category.  A couple years ago, we made cupcakes for a Mother’s Day party and topped them with pretty little bows and shimmery sugar buttons.

Add different textures to the buttons to make them unique.

A dainty little bow makes all the difference. Roll it thin and assemble it just right to give it that realistic look.

Lots of bow cupcakes packed and ready for delivery!

For some great ideas on different kinds of bows to use, check out some examples of different ribbons and bows on Martha Stewart’s website!  We sort of adore her.