Ahoy Scallywags!

Last Saturday, I had the pleasure of making a cake for a special boy's 1st pirate birthday - Joaquin aka Wacky.  It was such a great party, with lots of fun-hearty games (for both children and adults), piratey-licious food, and arrrsome decorations!  My family and I had a jolly good time!

So, what cake did I create for this special day?  Well, a pirate ship of course!  Liz (Wacky's Mum) contacted me via FB a while back asking if I could make Wacky's 1st birthday cake.  She knew she wanted a pirate ship, but left me in full control of the design (which I thought was really nice and trusting of her).  I also made two dozen cupcakes as our gift to the birthday boy.

Now, before I reveal the pics, I have to say how much I enjoyed making this cake.  Definitely learnt so much in the process (which I heart).  And (as per usual) I ran outta time (even after eliminating sleep) so I had to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.  With that said, I was (and am) still very proud of the final outcome!   Here are the pics for you all to enjoy...

 Click to see more pics after the break...

Red velvet

One flavour combo I absolutely adore is red velvet with cream cheese frosting!  Ahhh, sooo yummehhh!  Last week my friend ordered  some cupcakes for her partner's birthday.  She was curious to try red velvet (since hearing other people rave about it) but she wasn't entirely sold on the cream cheese frosting idea.  So, she ordered half with cream cheese and half with buttercream.  Let me tell you, she texted me that night telling me how much she loved the red velvet with cream cheese!  Here's her actual text (that I still have saved):
Hey jackie its Mia...Red Velvet cupcakes with creamcheese frosting was Devine :)...I Love, love, love...I'm in love with these cupcakes.  You are the best baker in the world.  Thank you from me & the whole family who were in love with the cupcakes:)...Great touch to T's bday
*blush* Thanks Mia for the lovely words!  I'm glad you all had a great night!

Let me tell you, she didn't wait that long 'til she ordered her next batch (which she's picking up now actually, hehe).  She sent me another text saying how she was "craving" them cupcakes.  :-)

Now for the show part of show and tell...here are those yummy red velvet cupcakes!  Enjoy (and try not to lick your screen).

I really love how the chocolate toppers turned out!  So abstract, so Pollock-ish :-)

Here's a close up for you all

Yum!

Hope you enjoyed this velvety post guys!  See you again tomorrow for the big week finale!  Arrr!  (That's a hint about what's in store for you tomorrow btw, hehe).

xo

Ribbony madness solution!

Hey guys!  Today will be short and sweet...well, not sweet as in cake, but sweet as in cool.  Over quite some time now I have accumulated a lot of ribbon.  I have a bin to put them in, but often when I need to look for a particular ribbon, I have to rummage through everything before I can find it.  I almost always end up in quite a tangle.  Here's what I mean...

It's been this way since the last ribbony madness post I made here.  I realised (finally) that this was getting too crazy for me.  I definitely needed to find a more practical solution to this (growing) concern.  Then I remembered one of the cool storage solutions I saw online over at Mrs. Jones' blog that I thought would be perfectly practical for me (and cheap-as).   Like Mrs. Jones, I wanted to use what I already had, to omit any extra spending.  Honestly, you can find so many storage solutions in your home!  Just look around!  My absolute favourite are egg cartons!  But more on that another day...

After cutting out small pieces of cardboard (using my twins' nappy boxes) I started paper-clipping and rolling the off-cuts ribbons I had.  This is probably the only time-consuming part, but oh-so-worth-it!  Check out this space now -

Close up

Top view

Pretty cool, right?  I absolutely love it!  Now, searching for the right ribbon doesn't have to be such a chore any more.  I especially love how I can see all the pretty colours in one little container.

And for a before and after pic, just 'cause I can...

Ahhh!  Love!

What cheap and clever storage solutions have you come up with lately?  I would love to see them, so send me a link in the comments section below.

Thanks for stopping by guys!  Come back tomorrow for cupcakes!!!

xo

Graduation

Good morning peeps!  Last week I had the pleasure of making a cake for a special lady who graduated from University.  Her sister was actually the one behind it all.  Moka had contacted me about a month ago regarding a cake she wanted to surprise her sister with.  She sent me a pic of the cake she had in mind and upon seeing the graduation cap I couldn't be more excited!

Now, sure, as simple as it may seem, it was actually quite a challenge for me because I was working with chocolate, as opposed to fondant.  Chocolate is a bit more temperamental and tricky to work with.  Once it's melted you don't have much time to play with before it goes rock solid again.  Then cutting it to shape, now that's what I found most challenging.  I used a sharp knife that was run under boiling hot water, dried, then cut.  But sometimes it can still cause the chocolate to break, so you really want to work at a sluggish pace (which was very hard to do when there's a deadline involved).  Anyway, after what felt like hours, I finally got it right.  

This cake is a chocoholics dream!  Rich chocolate cake filled and frosted with chocolate ganache and topped with even more chocolate!  Talk about chocolate overload, huh?  I'm sure they didn't mind it at all.

Well, without further ado, here is my very first graduation cap!  Enjoy!

To see more pics click after the jump...

NZ Proud!

Good morning everyone!  How was your weekend?  Hope it was productive and fun!  Mine was both, but I forgot to also add TIRING!  On Saturday was my son's soccer prizegiving, followed by Wacky's 1st pirate birthday party, then a spectacular All Blacks win against France (that my lucky brother got to watch LIVE at Eden Park - sooo jealous),

Daniel Carter
Image source: NZ Herald online, Photo: Getty Images

topped with the Warriors' victory over the Storm that put them in the grand finals (which will be against Manly in Sydney)!!

Warriors centre Lewis Brown as the final hooter blew.
Image source: NZ herald online, Photo: Getty Images

Wow, and that's just one day!  All I can say is I am very proud to be a NZer right now.  :-)

But, what about (yesterday) Sunday?  Well, more rugby for me and my family of course.  We managed to catch Manu Samoa win against Fiji, and Argentina's nail-biting win again Scotland!  My son Javaughn was sooo thrilled his adopted country Argentina won 13-12.

Image source: NZ herald online, Photo: Mark Mitchell

But, of course, even though I missed the game, I have to mention how proud I am of Ireland's charging win against Russia yesterday, too.  Ireland is one of my fave's in the RWC ever since their win over Australia.  They're definitely one to watch out for.

Image source: NZ herald online, Photo: Alan Gibson

Wow, I have to say, I am going to miss the RWC when it's over.  But, until that day comes, I will live in and savour the moment.

Before I go, here's something sweet from me to you for breakfast...

Cinnamon swirls baking in the oven...

Ahhh!  Fresh from the oven, and drizzled with a delectable vanilla bean icing...just lovely.

Have a sugary Monday guys!  See you all again tomorrow for even more sugar!

xo

Birthday for two

Last weekend we held a small family gathering over at my parents place to celebrate two birthdays - my little brother's and I!  It was a lovely day.  Lots of delicious food to eat with plenty of laughs with the fam bam.  And of course, there was cake!  But not only that, we also had cupcakes!  Even better!

My dear sister-in-law Gaile (who unfortunately was sick to attend the gathering) made my brother's birthday cupcakes as well as my birthday cake.  I loved it!  Sooo pretty and cool.  It was also nice not having to make my own cake (which honestly I didn't really mind too much because I would really be making it for the family anyway).  Here are some shots I took for you all to see.

My beautiful birthday cake

My bro's cupcakes

Pretty cool, huh?  It was super delicious, too!  Thanks again Gaile!  Hope you're feeling better now.

Now, I wanted to give my bro something small and special.  I decided to make him something small and sweet.  With my sister-in-law (his wife) Ruthie's suggestions, I decided to go for the Starbucks coffee!  I've been wanting to do a mug cake, so this was perfect!  Click to see after the break...

What an egg!

Hey guys, I thought that title would make ya look :-D  I'm not actually referring to anyone, just so you know.  What I am referring to is literally an egg - or eggs.  I have made the switch guys!  Ever since taking part in this year's SPCA Cupcake Day, I have made the decision to switch to ONLY SPCA approved uncaged eggs.  Yep, no more caged eggs for me!  My cakes and other sweet creations will now ONLY be made with uncaged eggs.  Yes, it does cost a little more, but it's something I consider good investment.  But don't be fooled by fancy packaging with the words FREE RANGE and ORGANIC.  The only one you should really trust are the ones with the actual SPCA blue tick of approval - "your guarantee of humane farming".

If you would like to learn more about this, visit rnzspca.org.nz, or click here.

If you haven't made the switch already then I would really like to encourage you to do so (soon).  Sure, this world will never be perfect, but we can all do our part to help make a difference, however small it may be.  A little food for thought to get your Thursday started...

xo