150 Wedding Cupcakes and a 2-Tier Wedding Cake- Black and White Theme

My cousin Derrick married his lovely bride Rebecca last month, and last weekend was their reception at my parents' house. I was blessed by the happy couple, by being asked to make the cupcakes for the reception!  So I got to play with several flavors of cupcake and flavor combinations.

Due to this experience, I've decided I like making cupcakes much better than cakes! Much less precision is required, and you can make several varieties all at the same time (ok, call me lazy, I'm totally fine with it :) )!  So 150 large cupcakes, 75 bite-sized cupcakes and a two-tier cake later - here are the flavor combos I came up with!

S'mores (including graham cracker crust, chocolate cupcake and toasted marshmallow topping)

German Chocolate

Chocolate with Caramel

Chocolate with Raspberry

Chocolate with Bavarian Cream

Chocolate with Chocolate Buttercream

White with Raspberry

White with Vanilla Buttercream

White with Chocolate Buttercream

White with Toasted Meringue

Coconut with Coconut Buttercream and Toasted Coconut flakes

Lemon with Lemon curd filling and Lemon Buttercream

Lemon with Raspberry

 Pictured Above: German Chocolate, Chocolate Chocolate and White with Chocolate

Pictured Above: S'mores, Chocolate Caramel

Pictured Above: Mini Chocolate and Vanilla, and Large Chocolate and Vanilla

Pictured Above: White with Vanilla Buttercream and White with Raspberry

Pictured Above: Lemon with Raspberry

 

Pictured Above: White with Vanilla and Toasted Coconut (bottom)

Pictured Above: S'mores! These were definitely my favorite!

Pictured above: Chocolate with Caramel

Last but not least- the cake! It was a simple 2-tier cake. The top tier was carrot cake with cream cheese buttercream, and the bottom tier was chocolate WASC cake with chocolate buttercream and bavarian cream filling.  Accents were black and white royal icing and silver dragees.

Happy Marriage to the happy couple! Love you both!

PS- here is the recipe I used for the Cream Cheese Buttercream:

Cream Cheese Buttercream

Ingredients:
1 8oz pkg Cream Cheese (I prefer whipped, but regular is fine too)
1 stick butter (softened)
1 Cup vegetable shortening
8 Cups powdered sugar
3 tsp pure vanilla (I use homemade vanilla- I would use less than 3 tsp vanilla in this recipe if you are using store-bought extract)
2-3 Tbsp heavy whipping cream or milk

Instructions:
In an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese, butter and shortening until smooth.  Next add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Next add in the vanilla then the heavy whipping cream (or milk) 1 Tbsp at a time, adding more or less (if necessary) to produce the desired consistency.

Enjoy!!

Navy and Silver Wedding Cake

It was such a joy making this cake for a wonderful couple! Their colors were Navy Blue and Silver- they wanted their cake topped with gorgeous blue roses from Ecuador, and a two-heart topper.  This photo doesn't do the roses justice, but you get the idea!

The Happy Couple! Congratulations to you both!!

The bottom layer was dark chocolate WASC cake with chocolate filling and chocolate buttercream. The base of the layer was lined with navy blue ribbon, and the details were hand-piped royal icing dots accented with silver dragees.*

The middle layer was a white almond sour cream cake with a raspberry filling and vanilla buttercream. The base of the layer was lined with navy blue ribbon, and the details were hand-piped royal icing scrolling accented with silver dragees.

The top layer flavor was a repeat of the bottom layer, and the details included navy blue ribbon, hand-piped royal icing dots accented with silver dragees.

The chocolate buttercream I used was my take on the Wilton Buttercream recipe- it held up great in the 90+ degree heat!

Crusting Chocolate Buttercream:

Quantities used were to cover a 16" square cake and an 8" square cake- split recipe as needed.

 

2 1/2 C Vegetable Shortening
1 1/2 C (3 sticks) Butter
3 C Cocoa powder
4 teaspoons vanilla
16 C Confectioner Sugar
1/2 C Heavy Whipping Cream or Whole Milk

1/2 - 3/4 C Water (depending on the consistency you're trying to achieve)

1) In a stand mixer (you can use a hand mixer, but it can get difficult with large quantities) Blend the shortening and butter together.

2) Slowly add in the cocoa powder and vanilla.

3) Mix in the Confectioner (powdered) Sugar alternately with the whipping cream/milk and water until you achieve the desired consistency.

4) Use immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

*Dragees were used for decoration only.

Ambulance Cake

Our niece was turning 3, and wanted an Ambulance cake for her Ambulance-themed birthday party!  So I made a 3-layer Dark Chocolate cake with a Bavarian Cream filling and Vanilla Buttercream icing- all covered in fondant.  Excuse the sad photos- I couldn't find my camera so had to resort to my cell phone camera.

 

Ambulance pre-party- notice the Lego carnage on the table :)

Inside the cake after the birthday girl sliced into it!

Birthday Girl posing with her cake and her big sister:) She was the envy of the park with her custom cake!

Retirement Cake

This is a Chocolate WASC cake with Bavarian Cream filling and a chocolate buttercream icing under rolled fondant.  The parole agent this was made for loves Hershey's chocolate bars, so I made a modified replica in cake-form.  The cake was gobbled up quickly and there were requests for more :) (PS- the candy-bar wrapper was 'torn' open exposing the yummy chocolate buttercream 'candy')

Gone Fishin' with my Tackle Box

Last year my cousin's son- Lil' D wanted a fishing cake. I made a (albeit crude) lake fishing cake with a dad and his son fishing on the back of a boat. This year, his request was another fishing cake. Realizing that fake people made out of marzipan or gum paste aren't quite my strong suit, I decided to go with a sculpted-ish cake- a Tackle Box! D got a Tackle Box for Christmas this year and he was SO excited, so I was inspired and decided to make an edible version (except for the bobbers and fish hooks) :)

This is a Chocolate WASC cake with a Chocolate Buttercream icing and a Chocolate Mousse filling. The fondant is homemade Marshmallow Fondant with Butter Vanilla flavoring. This was my first attempt at making homemade fondant, and I was very happy with the results.

The Box itself and lid were both made of fondant-covered cake. The shelves of the box were made out of cardboard covered in fondant, then gumpaste was used to make the individual compartments (I ran out of fondant :( ). The gummy worms and Swedish fish were not homemade unfortunately!  My hubby delivered the cake and decorated with the gummies, hooks and bobbers because I was out of town for the weekend.

I was very happy with the results of this cake- I found that the time it is taking me to complete a fondant-covered cake is diminishing and is much less frustrating. I also found that using my own fondant was much easier than any store bought (even FondX!)

Homemade Marshmallow Fondant (MMF) Recipe- Adapted from the MMF recipe of Tippystclair 
I started with my homemade marshmallow recipe- Found Here
2 lbs Powdered Sugar
1/2 C Water
2 tsp Any Extract / Flavoring (Almond, Vanilla, Chocolate, Peppermint- the sky is the limit)

Instructions:
1a) Complete the marshmallow recipe above, but do not allow the marshmallows to set and cool
1b) If you want to use already made marshmallows, put the marshmallows in a glass bowl and add a couple of Tbsp of water (as indicated in Tippystclair's recipe above) and follow her instructions.
2) Stir in half the bag of powdered sugar; Pour the remaining powdered sugar on a very clean counter.
3) Pour the marshmallow mixture on your powdered sugar pile.
4) Add flavor to your marshmallow mixture.
5) Knead the remaining sugar into the dough, keeping your hands covered in powdered sugar (DO NOT use oil, lard or shortening to avoid sticking), .
6) You will reach a point where you think that no more sugar can be incorporated, but keep going and add in little bits of the remaining water.
7) You know that the fondant is ready when you have a smooth, elastic ball.
8) If the dough breaks when stretched, add a bit more water.
9) Double wrap the fondant when it is not being used.
10) If your dough is too stiff (e.g. after refrigeration), place it in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds on defrost.


Thanks for looking!!!

R2-D2 Groom's Cake (and a Wedding Cake)

I was recently asked by a couple of dear friends to create a wedding cake and a grooms cake- I was so thrilled and honored to be asked to do make these cakes!  The Wedding cake was a funfetti (top tier & bottom tier) and white cake (middle tier) with buttercream frosting and bavarian cream filling, and fondant covering. 

The Grooms cake was a surprise- R2-D2 for the Star Wars lover! It was a Chocolate WASC cake filled with chocolate mousse and iced with chocolate buttercream, then topped with fondant.  The accents were painted on, and the feet and legs were pure fondant.

First Wedding Cake

I made my first wedding cake 2 weeks ago... it was really fun, but also really stressful. The bride was very laid-back, but I wanted to make sure it was absolutely perfect for her special day!

I made a 4-tier cake: 12", 10", 8" and 6". The 12", 8" and 6" cakes were all a Chocolate WASC, filled with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Mousse (without the vanilla bean- I make my own vanilla so it already has the vanilla bean seeds in it), and iced using a Crusting Buttercream that was perfect for the Viva Paper Towel smoothing method.  I'm still working on getting my icing smooth, so I'm trying different techniques along the way to see what works best for me!

The 10" tier was a regular WASC and had a strawberry jam filling (from Trader Joe's) and the same Crusting Buttercream recipe as the other tiers.

This is the 12" tier with its initial crumb coat.

This is the top tier- used a shell border with lavender dot accents. A lavender mesh ribbon was used to accent the cake on the bottom border of each layer.

This is the cake as I was assembling it at the church kitchen- it was a hot day and there was no way I could transport the whole thing assembled- let alone carry it, lol!

 

Annnddd the final product with the cake topper and flowers.In the end, she was happy and that meant the world to me.  Congratulations Barbara! Many happy years of love and prosperity to you both :) Thank you for asking me to be a part of such a special day- it was a true honor!

Baby Shower Cakes

These are the cakes I made for my Aunt and Uncle's Baby Shower.  The cake on the left is a Cherry filled Cherry Chip Cake (using the WASC recipe with Cherry Chip box mix) with Chocolate Cherry Ganache frosting and filing. The design is a communicator badge from Star Trek Deep Space Nine (DS9). 

The cake on the right is a 6-layer WASC cake with a Vanilla Cream Cheese icing and filling with fresh strawberries between each layer and covered with vanilla flavored Fondant. The design is a Hunny Pot in the theme of Winnie the Pooh.

The Chocolate Cherry Ganache Recipe

Ingredients:

2 C Heavy Whipping Cream

16 oz coarsely chopped dark chocolate

5 drops concentrated Cherry flavored extract

Steps:

1) Microwave the whipping cream a large microwave-safe bowl for 3 minutes (bowl should be twice the volume of the cream to avoid boiling over).

2) While whipping cream is in the microwave, coarsely chop chocolate and place in a large food processor or blender.

3) Pour the heated whipping cream over the chocolate and allow it to sit for 2 minutes. At the end of the 2 minutes, add in the concentrated extract then pulse or blend the mixture until there are no chunks of chocolate left.

4) Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature (about 2 hours). Pour over cake for a thin icing, or blend for about 5 minutes with a hand mixer for a thicker frosting. 

5) If the icing does not thicken enough to use as a frosting after 5 minutes of mixing, place in the fridge for about 20 minutes. When you take the bowl out of the fridge, mix for 2-3 minutes until the frosting is fluffy and spreadable.