Sweets by Dez

Sewing Machine Cake

2011-12-11T09:59:00.000-06:00

I created this cake for my husband's lovely grandmother. The cake topper was created out of fondant and designed after an old Singer sewing machine. I included a butterfly on the cake as well because her signature trademark fashion accessory is a butterfly pin on her shoulder. The cake itself was chocoholic chocolate covered in vanilla buttercream.

Happy 1st Birthday

2011-12-08T11:25:00.000-06:00

My little boy celebrated his first birthday last weekend. Man... has the time flown by. For his party we decided to have a Sock Monkey theme in honor of one of his favorite toys.

Here is the cupcake tower I made for the party.

Manly Cupcake Finalists Announced

2011-11-26T17:00:00.002-06:00

Well...I made one of the 3 finalists. Thanks to everyone who voted for my cupcake for the people's choice. My cupcake was the C & C Cakery choice....here's what they said:
"Mr. C and I grumbled over this decision all week long. There were so many cupcakes we wanted to try - Mr. C will hate me forever if I don't eventually bake up that Yosemite Sam recipe - but there was one that did stand slightly above the rest. The Doc Holiday's decor was impressive, but beneath that lay a pretty tasty looking recipe. We're rum people in this house, and that huckleberry frosting is super bright (especially during the dank Vancouver winter we've been having). Plus, I've got two words for you: Val Kilmer."
Check out all of the finalists here: www.cccakery.com

The winner will be announced at the end of the month. The next step is a taste test between the three finalists. C & C Cakery will be baking up all three recipes this weekend.

Keep your fingers crossed...

2011 Manly Cupcake Contest Entry

2011-11-19T20:43:00.003-06:00

I know that "Manly" and "Cupcake" are two words that don't really go together but...I have decided to enter into the 2nd Annual Manly Cupcake Contest put on by C&C Cakery in Vancouver. (http://www.cccakery.com/p/manly-cupcake-contest.html) It is for a good cause which is Men's Health Awareness. Here is an awesome Men's Charity, The Movember Foundation (http://www.movember.com/). Check it out, give a donation, and maybe even rock a mustache to show your support. (Ladies ignore that last part)

The theme for the contest is "Mos in the Movies"...basically a manly man. After much consideration and brainstorming, my mind kept going to one character in particular from one of my favorite movies...Tombstone. No, its not Wyatt Earp but it's his friend Doc Holiday. Val Kilmer played Doc in that movie. He has really been the best Doc that I have seen so far. I love his phrase in the movie, "I'm your Huckleberry." Doc was also known for his drinking, smoking, gambling, gun slinging, bar fights, and good ol' fashion trouble (that's a lot of testosterone to put into a cupcake). So, I decided to make a Vanilla Cupcake drizzled with Rum topped with a Huckleberry Buttercream. Add a hat, mustache, tin cup, and a gun belt...and *POOF*...you have a Doc Holiday Cupcake.

Please vote for my Cupcake: Voting begins on the 21st of November and ends on the 25th at 11:59pm PST. Go to the C&C Cakery blog's homepage and vote for my Doc Holiday Cupcake. http://www.cccakery.com/. The cupcake with the most votes will be The People's Choice.

Here's My Manly Cupcake Entry:

Here is the Recipe:

Vanilla and Rum Cupcake:

3 cups of Cake Flour

1 2/3 cups of Sugar

3 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder

1 tsp of Salt

1 1/3 cups of Milk

2/3 cups of Shortening

4 oz of Sour Cream

1 1/2 tbsp of Vanilla

5 Egg Whites

2 tbs Rum (Type and Brand is your choice)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare cupcake pans.

1. Sift dry ingredients together.

2. Add everything but egg whites and sour cream and mix until combined. Beat for 1-2 minutes. Add egg whites and sour cream, beat for another 1-2 minutes.

3. Pour into cupcake pans and bake for 22-24 min.

4. Place on wire rack to cool.

5. Once cool, poke holes in the top of the cupcake with a fork or toothpick and drizzle with rum.

Note: This will be a firmer cupcake since it will be drizzled with rum.

Huckleberry Buttercream (Recipe Adapted from Cake Central http://cakecentral.com/recipes/crusting-buttercream-icing-viva-method/)

5 oz Huckleberry Preserves or Jam (might be difficult to find. Order online or substitute blueberry instead).

2 lbs Sifted Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup Butter, softened

1 1/2 cups Shortening

2 tbsp clear vanilla extract

1/3 cup Water

1/4 tsp Almond Extract

1. Mix all ingredients together except Huckleberry preservatives/jam for 4-5 min.

2. Scrap bowl, mix again for 30 sec.

3. Add Huckleberry preservatives/jam, mix until incorporated.

4. Pipe onto cupcakes.

Note: Add more or less of fruit preserves to your liking.

The Manly Cupcake Contest Prize Sponsor's Include:

Kriskrop Memories- One dozen cupcake toppers
The Lunch Box Project - A set of Cupcake Cards
Cake Wrecks - A personalized copy of Cake Wrecks and a pin pack
Vanilla Food Company - 1lb of Madagascar vanilla beans for the Grand Prize winner, and a quarter pound for the two runners up
Bella Cupcake Couture - one pack of Cupcake Wrappers for each of our Finalists
Drama Llama - a handmade woven and mustachioed pouch
Freaky Fleece - a drawstring Mustache bag
Petite Pastries - a handmade cupcake charm
Miss Kitty Creations - a special edition Tuxedo Cupcake Charm
Scoop-n-Save - A Manly Movember Prize pack, including sprinkles, disco dust, cupcake liners, cookie cutter, and chocolate molds
Whodini Handmade - A mustachioed vinyl wallet

Cute Little Apple Pies-Update

2011-11-10T23:21:00.002-06:00

Created these super cute apple pies in jam jars for my friend Nycia Emerson(http://inspiredeventsbynycia.blogspot.com/ She is a fabulous wedding/event planner and interior designer in the Austin area.

She is being featured on KXAN this Saturday, Nov. 12 at 8:20. Nycia will be creating a holiday inspired table setting. These cute little apple pies will be used as place setting cards. I am excited to see how they will be incorporated into her design. I am sure it will be spectacular...she is very creative. Hope ya'll will watch it this weekend.

Update:
Nycia and her team did a wonderful job with the table. The pies looked nice with all of her decorations. The paint splotch name tags were a great addition to the mini-pies. Here is a link to the video:
http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/thanksgiving-decorations-on-a-budget

Trick AND Treat

2011-10-31T14:02:00.001-05:00

Here are some Dirty Band-Aid Cupcakes. "Mmmmm" and "Ewwww"
Have a Happy Halloween Everyone.....Bwaahhahaha :)

Cupcake Princess

2011-10-29T20:18:00.000-05:00

I made a Cupcake Princess Cake for my friend's little girl, Gabbi. I cannot believe that she is already 2! This cake was super girlie, pink, and decked out with lots of cute cupcakes. It was a strawberry and vanilla striped cake covered in butter cream and fondant accents. Topped it off with a giant crowned cupcake.

Chocolate Sea Shells

2011-10-20T23:11:00.000-05:00

Chocolate sea shells are perfect for guests to snack on at a beach front wedding reception.

Fall is Here...

2011-10-19T11:10:00.000-05:00

I love...love...love... fall flavors. Apples, pears, and pumpkins are all in-season and make baking delicious and fun. Here is a Pumpkin Walnut Spice Cake topped with a Maple Walnut Glaze. Perfect for a chilly day.

Welcome Home 36th ID...

2011-09-19T13:56:00.000-05:00

To all of my 36th ID Friends....Welcome Home!!! Here are some mini cupcakes I made for a Soldier's Welcome Home party.

"Dear God...Why did you make potholes?"

2011-09-18T07:21:00.000-05:00

There is nothing more satisfying than working hard on something...Here is the cake I made for one of my really good friend's 30th birthday bash.

Then there is nothng worse than seeing all of your hard work disappear in a second. This is the cake after traveling down the road that I have now renamed..."Cake Killer."

My heart sank as I heard the cake fall over...Luckily we were able to find a replacement at a near by bakery so we had something for the birthday girl. :)

Cupcakes with some Pink Flare....

2011-09-04T23:45:00.000-05:00

Here is a picture of one of my chocoholic chocolate cupcakes (one of my most popular flavors) with a little bit of pink flare. What girl doesn't love a fun animal print...right?

Bake-a-Wish

2011-08-24T11:56:00.001-05:00

Just delivered my first Bake A Wish Cake for a little girl's birthday. She likes dolls, so I created a paper doll cake. Bake A Wish is a non-profit organization that gives birthday cakes to those kids that normally might not get one. It's great to be able to do this because every kid deserves to feel special on their birthday. If interested in learning more about the organization check out their site...www.bakeawishaustin.org.

Cars 2 Theme Cake

2011-07-29T19:55:00.003-05:00

Here is a cake I made for a little boy's 6th birthday. It has three tiers (4 in, 6 in, and 10 in rounds) of chocoholic chocolate and buttercream with fondant accents. The cars are the matchbox sized cars (provided by his Mom).

I tried to incorporate both movies in this cake. The bottom tier is of Radiator Springs (for those who are familiar with the movies) and the medium tier has the silhouettes of the difference places they travel in the second film.

The top tier is a "winners circle" for Lightening McQueen. I also incorporated the 6 and child's name on this tier. Over all I think this cake was super fun but it was very detailed which took quite a bit longer than I expected.

Cupcakes Anyone...?

2011-07-15T12:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some monogramed cupcakes I made to welcome home a new baby boy. These are chocoholic chocolate filled with chocolate mousse and topped with buttercream and sprinkles. Of course the new baby was to young to enjoy them...but everyone else loved them ;)

Happy July 4th!!

2011-07-05T06:39:00.000-05:00

Hope everyone had a Happy Independence Day!!! Here is my July 4th Cake...Lemon with Cream Cheese Icing and Fondant Stars. My niece loves lemon so I went with that flavor this year.

Jungle Cake

2011-06-29T08:43:00.000-05:00

Here is the cake I created for a Baby Shower. It was Jungle themed of course...so I made the cake with lots of animals. My favorite are the swimming alligators on the bottom and the elephant on the top tier. This cake was super fun to make.