Baby On The Way!

It's baby shower season! That means I'm knee deep in fondant pacifiers, baby shoes, onesies, flowers, and babies(also made out of fondant, there are no babies in my kitchen).  While the thought of having children is enough to send me into full blown hyperventilation, for the mummy-to-be's I bake for, nothing is more exciting. So, I try to create beautiful and unique designs for their baby shower treats- this week for an upcoming baby girl, and next week a follow-up post for a baby boy on the way! Because it's such a special occasion, I think it's really important to go all out -for this order we combined a delicate and beautiful 6" cake with 'too-cute-to-eat' cupcakes to create a showstopping cake tier for the event(eventually).

This fondant flower turned out to be the bane of my existence...

The second it hit room temperature(which admittedly is nearly 30 degrees
right now) it started to droop open and crack...cue heart attack.

So while this fondant cherub was snoozing an emergency fix plan was hatched.

Step 1) distract with large assortment of delicious cupcakes

Step 2) mmm...cupcakes

Step 3) Have a small mental breakdown as flower topper
opens even further.

...so go back to looking at cupcakes

Just for a few minutes...

...they do have to be arranged properly....

Step 4) Take really nice picture of topper in preparation for it falling apart.
Cry a little bit.

Step 5) In moment of genius, wrap fondant tube underneath petals and
hide with shimmery leaf band.

Step 5) Admire self's handywork and assure self that this was your
plan all along.

Step 6) Realize the cake actually looks better this way and celebrate!

Hulk Smash!

Check out these Peanut Butter Fudge Cupcakes for  birthday boy nicknamed 'Hulk'! These brown sugar peanut butter cakes are filled with chocolate chips, topped with peanut butter cream cheese icing and drizzled with dark chocolate ganache glaze. In this case, they were then topped with big green fists of fury...you know, the usual.

"Happy Hulk B-Day"

"The Incredible John"

A hulk version of the birthday boy

Hulk smash & Ganache

Recent Adventures

Oh hello! It's been a while...Really, I haven't posted in nearly two weeks. Things have been crazy over here in the MeowCakes kitchen, so you'll have to excuse my absence- I'll try to do better, I promise! Lately, the orders have been literally piling in. It has to be one of the most satisfying feelings in the world to send out a batch of cupcakes or a cake and subsequently get a thrilled phone call from happy customers wanting more right away. It's not only a confidence boost, it reminds me that the reason I love doing this is because what I make is literally happiness in a box. Not in a crazy, eat-your-emotions-get-fat-and-eat-more way, I'm talking about the smiles and the love that happen when someone receives cupcakes with an inside joke decoration theme as a gift. Or when a pile of rough and tumble football jocks screech to a halt mid-practice to gawk at a giant team cupcake made for their fundraiser. Or when the phone is passed to a seven-year-old girl who carefully explains exactly how her special birthday cupcakes should look, because she's been drawing pictures of them for weeks.These are the things that I'm thinking about as I curl up with my coffee and my business plan, and it makes me incredible excited for what's to come!

On that note, here's some recent creations:

Possibly the best thing to happen in the last two weeks:
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cookie Dough Cheesecake Frosting!

These are the definition of 'moresome' 

I raffled off this adorable little owl cake using Facebook shares as draw entry.
It was such a success, I'll be doing another one every month!

Hoot!

The football looks a little warped in the picture, but
this lemon-raspberry giant cupcake was a touchdown
for the Chilliwack Huskers!

Giant Cupcakes = Everyone's new favourite thing.

Melting Flowers & Mental Breakdowns

I love making wedding cupcakes. They're a chance to go all out and create something beautiful, which I really enjoy....unfortunately when your kitchen is five bazillion degrees it makes the 'beautiful' part a little more difficult. I was prepared for this though and planned to bake early in the morning, let the kitchen cool down with the oven off, and decorate later. As they say though, the best laid plans go to waste- or as I prefer to rephrase it, "the universe hates me." Of course I slept through my alarms and didn't start baking til 10am. And of course I got called into work an evening shift at the bar. Cut to me, piping buttercream roses at one in the morning on my living room floor(which was STILL too warm for them to turn out perfectly) and trying not to fall asleep against the couch. All's well that ends well though, and everything turned out in the end for these floral themed wedding cupcakes!

I love making these roses....except when my kitchen is 35 degrees and I have about
5 minutes  of piping time before the icing has to go back in the fridge...

Fondant is the old faithful in summer heat

And it just looks so nice :)

Such a pretty addition to Marble Cupcakes

Tiffany Blue Roses and silver pearls for Mochaccino Cupcakes!

I love the height on these, so pretty!

Yellow floral accents for Chocolate Cheesecake Cupcakes!

These little flowers are so easy and so cute!

Raspberry Almond Cupcakes topped with Sugar-Toasted Almonds and
a little extra bling

One of my fave flavour combos!

Classic bridal cupcake- the vanilla peace rose!

These silver-gilded roses are hiding tasty rainbow sprinkle cakes!

Last but not least, Lemon Drop Hydrangeas!