more Halloween!

Ah Halloween...so many fun things to do with Halloween. I had a blast working on pops last year since it was my first Halloween doing them, but I've had even more fun this year now that I know what I'm doing!

I re-created my witch-I like her better than last years b/c she looks a little more fun and less cranky!

Frankie you've already seen in a previous post, but have you met his wife?

I love the way she came out and how sassy she looks with her red lips ;)

Now my vampire, he really didn't change much from last years, but he's still cute none-the-less. :)

This is more than likely the last post of the Hallween ones, unless I happen to come up with something else new and interesting!

Keep watching though because I will be coming out with a few surprises for November!

Baby Shower

I love babies. I love baby showers. I LOVE creating baby shower cake pops/treats for baby showers!

I was contacted by a very neat gentleman who was soon to be a daddy! Instead of giving out the standard cigar or bubblegum cigars, he wanted to give out cake pops! How fun is that??

So, he ordered a variety of baby boy heads, baby rattles, and then wanted to know if I could make the baby feet from my baby shower cupcakes and put them on a cake pop! I hadn't even thought about doing that to tell you the truth, but "boy" I'll be doing these again! I thought they turned out adorable! Plus, each cake pop was colored on the inside, blue for boy!

Spiderman cake!

I was asked to make a Spiderman cake for a wonderful boy turning 4. I was very excited about making this cake. However, I was not pleased with my results. This is one of the few cakes I have made that I can say that. It just didn't come out the way I wanted it to sadly. However, the momma and the son were thrilled with it, so really, I need to give myself a bit of a break.

I think I just had it pictured in my head alot different, and I think had I covered the whole cake in fondant instead of frosting, it might have resembled more of the image in my head. But enough whining and complaining, lol. As I said, the momma and son loved it and that's all that really matters!

LEGO cake!

I got the opportunity to make a LEGO themed cake this weekend! It was so much fun!

I made this adorable sign out of paper and used frosting to attach sprinkles to give it the "Lego" look!
And here is the Lego boy!

Top view of the finished cake! I used rice krispie treats to make the blocks...next time though I think I'll do something different b/c I don't like how lumpy the blocks came out.

But overall I was happy with the outcome of the cake and I hope the mom and birthday boy were too!

PUMPKIN bread!

Ah, fall season is officially here! Woot Woot! And with fall comes all things PUMPKIN! I have been wanting EVERYTHING pumpkin:

Pumpkin pie bites, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, pumpkin spice frozen yogurt from Red Mango and now...

PUMPKIN BREAD!

And this was seriously the easiest and best recipe EVER!

So freaking moist on the inside and just the right crispy on the outside...ah!

The recipe made 2 medium sized loafs and my husband is already crying for more! I think we ate through the first loaf in the first day!

Ultimate Pumpkin Bread (adapted from Streaming Gourmet blog)
Yields 2 Medium Loaves

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, really soft, half melted really
3 large eggs
1 16 oz can of pure pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F and spray two medium loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the flour, spices, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the wire whisk attached, dump in the sugar. Take the butter and put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds, so that it is half melted. Dump it into the sugar. Add the eggs. Cream these three ingredients together on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until fluffy. Add the pumpkin and combine well.
4. In three batches, add the dry ingredients and mix gently until each batch is just incorporated. Scrape the sides between each batch.
5. Pour half of the batter into a one of the prepared pans. Fold the pecans into the remaining batter and then pour it into the other prepared pan. Bake side-by-side for about one hour or until an inserted knife comes out clean the top is golden.

Everyone should try this bread! Seriously AH-MAZING!