Mark Your Calendars!

Okay, so first things first, we have a tentative opening date!  Mark your calendars! If everything goes right and the health department gives us the go ahead in time, our Grand Opening will be on Friday, August 26 and Saturday, August 27!!!!!  We hope to have a large crowd both days, so tell everyone you know and plan to come by and pick up something sweet! 

We have made quite a bit of progress in the last few weeks.  A lot of running around and check writing.  Quite a few changes have come about inside the shop.  As you can see in the following pictures, the colors have changed.  The yellow and red walls are a thing of the past!

The kitchen floors have been buffed and waxed.  Can I just say, they were disgusting!  Now they are all shiny and looking almost new.  The new molding goes in tomorrow and then we will begin moving in the kitchen equipment and fixtures this weekend.  The ceiling in the dining area has been dusted and painted and all those little light fixtures that were blue and red have been painted black.  Quite an improvement!

Unfortunately, we still have the red and blue floors. Yikes!  No worries, a new floor is on it's way.  We will move all the equipment into the kitchen and then the new floors in the dining area will be installed in a couple weeks, probably while I am on vacation.  Picture a dark wood floor.  Can you see it?  After the floors go in, we will just have the counter area to finish up and then we can set up the coffee bar and bring in the tables and chairs.

Our viewing window is going to be a great place for the kiddos.  I plan to have my prep table under that window so they can watch cakes being decorated, cupcakes being iced and other items being prepared. 

Because we just couldn't wait, we hung a few pictures on the wall.  We had some of our photos blown up and printed on canvas for the big brown wall.  They are 30 x 30 and I really love them.  The coffee bar will sit just underneath.

The plaza has installed the hanging sign outside our door!  We are pretty official now.  Just waiting on our big sign - hopefully it will be up in the next couple weeks.  Our menu boards are in the works and some vinyl lettering for the windows will go up in the next week.  We have to commit to some store hours soon, as they will be posted on our door. Yikes!

I have baked about 84 cinnamon rolls in the last two weeks but haven't done much else.  We were out of town for a bit and July seems to be a slow month.  Guess it's the heat!  The flamingo cupcakes were for a party that my girls had with their friends.  I found the flamingos at the dollar store.  They were actually drink stirrers but made great cupcake picks and the cupcakes matched their party ware.

These cupcakes were for a birthday swim party.  The picks were handmade - flip flops, surf boards, sunscreen, beach balls, the sun, and a beach umbrella.  A few were personalized for Grace, the birthday girl.  Lots of bright summer colors!

If you would like to receive the details for the grand opening by email, just send us an email with "Grand Opening" in the subject line to icingcafe@att.net.  Or, you can just check back here periodically for more information!

Beth is out of town this week and I will be on vacation the second week in August.  When I get back, school will start and we will hopefully open the following week.  It's happening! 

Amy

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!