Just Pictures This Week . . .

So, mostly this post is going to consist of pictures that we have taken over the last few weeks.  One of the most exciting pictures . . .

You can now drive into the Dierberg's Plaza and see this sign in our window.  Of course, it is really crooked in this picture.  If you know me, you know that that bothers me immensely!  But, I am happy to report that Bill and Beth went up there and fixed it up.  So, when you drive by, it will be all nice and neat.  It's the little things!

This was last weekend's project.  A wedding cupcake tower.  This is the tallest thing that I have ever made.  It was equivalent to a seven tier cake.  The tower held about 150 cupcakes and a small cake on top for the bride and groom.  There were an additional 150 cupcakes in the kitchen for the 300 guests that attended the wedding. 

This is the before picture of my cinnamon rolls.  They don't look like much here, except the swirl is pretty impressive.  Lots of cinnamon, brown sugar and butter in that swirl.  But once they are baked and a layer of icing is poured over them while they are still warm . . .

they become something really special!  Ooey gooey cinnamon sugar goodness!  Hoping to have these available everyday.  We are also thinking we may make several batches and freeze them.  You would then be able to pick them up, place them in your refrigerator overnight and bake them in your own oven the next morning.  I am thinking they would be great to have for Christmas morning, or any morning really!

This was a Spongebob and Patrick cake full of crabby patties for twin boys. 

This little cake sat atop a cupcake tower for a first birthday party with a luau theme.  The cupcakes below went on each tier of the tower. 

This was a little cake for a baptism.  The little cake was surrounded by the cupcakes below.

Baseball cupcakes for a birthday party.  The "dirt" was buttercream icing rolled in brown sugar.  A little "grass" was piped on top and a cake pop, decorated like a baseball, was placed in the grass.

The request for this cake was, "he wants a cake of the Rocky Mountains with a mountain lion on it."  So, this is what I came up with.  Maybe not as impressive as the Rocky Mountains, but a mountain nontheless.  And, a tiny mountain lion making it's way out onto the road, purchased at a local craft store.

Things are starting to move forward inside the shop.  We went and washed the windows last week and used tape to map out the front end of the store.  Seeing where the counter, coffee bar, tables, pictures, etc. made it feel like things are really coming together. 

We picked out paint colors and booked a lot of appointments.  Floors will be buffed, the space will be cleaned, we will get an official phone number, electric will be run, venting will be installed, floors will be installed, a new window will be put in place, new trim will be installed, pictures will be made and menu boards created.  Lots to do and most of it will happen over the next couple weeks!

It's Official . . .

Our new address is 5688 Telegraph Rd.  We are setting up shop in Telegraph Plaza.  The lease is signed, our deposit has been paid and shortly there will be a "coming soon" sign in our window!  So exciting!  Still no definite date for opening - that will come once all of our permits have been obtained and we see how fast, or slow, the work is completed.

In the meantime, I have been on a fondant kick.  Those of you who know me, know that I have sworn off fondant for years and have made almost all of my cakes exclusively with buttercream.  I only used fondant for an occasional embellishment.  Covering a whole cake in fondant was unheard of!!! 

Well, I've been watching a lot of "Fabulous Cakes" on TLC and felt the need to experiment.  I didn't want to use the bad tasting stuff that I have had experience with in the past, so my fondant is made of marshmallows and powdered sugar. I think it tastes like Circus Peanuts and it looks great! 

This was my first attempt at a fully covered fondant cake.  I loved this cake!  It was for a family that was relocating to Texas.  Their friends were throwing a going away party and wanted something special. 

This is my second attempt. A graduation/birthday cake.  The black "ribbon", roses and leaves were also made from fondant.  The top piece was made from gumpaste.

This cake was for a teacher luncheon.  It is all buttercream, except the flowers (gumpaste).  In pictures, all of the cakes are smooth and pretty, but I must say, the fondant cakes feel much sturdier when transporting and seemed to leave less mess behind, fewer dishes to wash!  I guess it is just personal preference! 

On that note, a couple new cupcake flavors came about in the last couple weeks.

"Hostess" - like Cupcakes

  Chocolate cake with a marshmallow creme filling, topped with chocolate ganache and a little swirl of creme.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

White cake filled with soft caramel, topped with caramel buttercream, soft caramel and sea salt.

Cookies 'N' Cream Cupcake

White cake swirled with Oreos, topped with cookies 'n' cream buttercream and a mini Oreo

The salted caramel is my favorite, and Beth's, too!  We are thinking we will probably offer white or chocolate cake for this one.  The white is really good but a chocolate salted caramel cupcake might just be heaven! 

We are completely booked with special orders for June.  Sorry to those of you that I had to turn away, our weekends filled up fast!  If you know you will need sweets for your upcoming event, please place your order as soon as possible!  July, August and September are filling up fast.

Beth is gone on vacation this week and I will be on vacation August 6 - 14.  We will not be taking custom orders the week that I am gone but hope to have the shop opened by then so that you will still be able to walk-in and pick up treats.

More updates soon!

It's A Few Weeks Later And . . .

We are extremely close to signing the lease for the space!!!!  We are just finalizing a few details and should have possession by next week!  Can't wait because that is when the fun begins.   Cleaning, painting, replacing the floor and moving in!  Garages at both houses are filling up quickly with our purchases for the shop.  In the past week we became the proud owners of indoor and outdoor furniture for the dining areas.  We now have a counter for our register and a coffee bar.  We found a million little things too - whisks, floor mats, condiment baskets, pans, a door, a water sink, a mop bucket and more!

First communions, end of school year parties, graduations and weddings were a big part of the past few weeks for us.  This first picture was for a first communion.  A custom cupcake tower with a small cake on top and 24 cupcakes to fill up the bottom two tiers.

This was a wedding cake that traveled to a winery about an hour away.  Scary!!!  Highway driving was fine but the winding roads, hills and the gravel road at the end were a bit treacherous.

This was a cookie bouquet that was used as a gift for a little girl who made her first communion a week ago.

And, another cookie bouquet for some special teachers!

A baseball cake for a baseball themed party at my work.  Our department was in charge of desserts for the entire lab for the day.  Everyone took the theme and ran with it!  We had a number of cakes, cookies, cake pops, peanuts, cracker jacks, popcorn, candy, soda, ice cream, bubble gum, and I can't even remember what else!  We decorated the room with hats, gloves, baseballs, hand-made signs (awesome Laura) that were made to look like people sitting in bleachers.  We even had baseball tattoos for people to wear, and baseball themed music playing in the background throughout the day.  It looked amazing and there was more than plenty to share!

Hopefully we will be able to say that we have possession of our space in our next post!  Check back in a week or two for updates.  We are still trying to decide when we will be open, what our hours will be and what days we will be closed.  If you would like to comment on this - please do!  We would love to hear what would be best for our future customers.  You can leave a comment at the end of this post or comment on facebook.  Thanks!