Casino Cake

This summer I have been taking a fondant class to further advance my cake skills. This cake was the second cake that we made in class. It is a casino slot machine themed cake and I think it came out pretty cool.

My 50th Post!!! Neveah's 1st Birthday!!

Wow! I cannot believe that over a year ago, I had this idea to start this blog and now I am on my 50th post!! I have been baking!! I am also very happy that my little "business" has really taken off and so many people have asked me to share in their special celebrations. It is a good feeling and so nice to know that everyone appreciates my cake skills.

Anyway, Helen asked me to make a cake, smash cake, and cupcakes in a Minnie Mouse theme, for her cousin's daughter, Neveah's First Birthday! This little one is adorable and I was so happy to be a part of her milestone Birthday. It also makes me content to think when she looks back at pictures of this day, she'll have memories of the cake! Both cakes were made from red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting. The main cake was covered in fondant and the smash cake was just frosting so that Neveah could dig into it more easily. The cupcakes were Devil's Food cake chocolate with buttercream frosting. I was really happy with the way everything came out. My only regret was that I was not able to go and take pictures of the set-up but Helen took some great shots. She also made some incredible centerpieces (Javier and I keep telling her we need to go into business together! Party planning, cakes, and photography, a one-stop party shop!) Anyway, I am glad that I was able to contribute to Neveah's Happy Day!

Happy First Birthday, Neveah!!!

The cupcake stands really made it all look so cute!

The cutie birthday girl!!

She looks happy! Is that all for me!!!??

Yup it is ALL for me!!

Helen's amazing centerpieces!!!

Christina's Cooking Birthday Cake

A couple of weeks ago, my niece's uncle Jose, asked me to make a birthday cake for his girlfriend, Christina. He wanted a cooking themed cake because she loves to cook and bake (sounds like my kind of gal!) It was a small cake but I found little elements of the kitchen to add to it. The cake was a vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. All elements on top are made from fondant. I hope she enjoyed it!

Happy Birthday, Christina!

Belen's Baptism Cupcakes

This weekend was full of baking! One of my baking ventures was for Lili's adorable daughter Belen. She was being baptized and wanted a little something sweet to celebrate Belen's special day. She ordered lemon cupcakes with pink frosting and fondant cut-outs similar to some previous baptism cupcakes I had made. I made a vanilla/lemon buttercream frosting to compliment the cake. I tried a recipe using cream cheese instead of milk and wow it was fantastic! I unfortunately had a few extra, which are being devoured daily by me and Javier. They came out really pretty and girly. Lili was thoughtful and took many cute pictures of Belen with the cupcakes. Ready for your heart to swoon from these pics? Here you go . . .

Javier's picture of the cupcakes on my new vintage cake stand.
Belen, the little cutie pie.

The adorable cupcake stand with Belen :)

Is your heart swooning yet?

How about now? Cupcakes and babies make a good combination of cuteness.

The happy family! (Cute headband btw, Lili!)

Awwwww!!!! So pretty!!

The Dr. Jesse Lozano Graduation Cake

Our good friend, Jesse, just graduated from UCR with his PhD in Mechanical Engineering. He has been in school the entire time I have known him and the entire time Javier has known him! For over 12 years, Jesse has been at UCR for his Bachelor's, Master's, and his PhD. Now that he is done, we are all so proud of his amazing accomplishment. I can barely stand going to school right now for my Master's but to think he finished with never taking a break is just outstanding to me.


This past weekend Jesse's wife, Helen, held a big party to celebrate Jesse's PhD. It looked great! Everything was blue and gold, even down to the shirts she had printed for the occasion. It was really well done and fun. I made a cake for Jesse. I wanted this cake to represent all the things that Jesse took part in during his time at UCR. He was a part of so many organizations, projects, clubs, studied abroad, it was just so much to take into account and make into a cake, so I tried to take little elements of his education and make them into cake. I also decided to focus mostly on his traveling since that was a bit easier to come up with symbols to make out of fondant. I also had my first experience sculpting a figure out of fondant since I wanted to make a mini-Jesse. I was happy that it came out well and even looked a little like him. One other element besides fondant that I added to the cake was frame made out of chocolate that help edible images of Jesse. Everyone seemed to like those a lot and the kids were the first to devour them. The cake itself was also a learning experience since every level had a flavor and frosting I had never made before. The bottom layer was a lemon cake with raspberry buttercream. The middle layer was a banana cake with chocolate ganache, whipped cream, and fresh banana filling. The top layer was a carrot cake and cream cheese frosting. All of them came out well, (I tried to taste them all at the party but did not want look too gluttonous having three pieces of cake!). The cake was a hit and everyone was very proud of Jesse. It was a great night to celebrate!

Congratulations Dr. Jesse Lozano!!!!!!

Front View
Rear View

Jesse's close-up.

And even closer . . .

All of us and little Alize.

All the little ones wanted that cake!!

Jesse at his graduation.

Getting hooded.

EVERYONE came to the graduation. That was pretty special.

Happy Birthday, Arturo!! The Godfather Cake.

Helen helped plan a big birthday party for her godfather, Arturo. So what better way to celebrate than a Godfather themed party! And from here grew the vision. She asked me to make a Godfather cake. I was like "Sure!" and then she said for 100 people! Whoa! This would be my biggest cake yet. I was down for the challenge. She let me know way in advance so I had plenty of time to plan it out and figure out the techniques I would use. The cake is all red velvet with cream cheese frosting. It is all covered in fondant. All elements are made out of fondant or some sort of edible material. The roses are made from gumpaste, the orange is fondant filled with rice krispie treats, the horse head was molded chocolate, and the cannoli was a real cannoli I bought at Claro's Italian Market. The headboard it made of gumpaste and trimmed with gold luster dusted piping along with the writing. The gun and cigar are fondant. It took me about two days to make, but I was really surprised how nicely everything came together with no problems. Everyone loved the cake at the party and it was a nice feeling to get so many compliments about something I created. I can't wait for the next party!

Happy Birthday, Arturo!

Putting the roses on and other finishing touches.

Arturo and his wife cutting the cake.

He enjoyed my fondant gun :)

The family wore these awesome shirts to get in the spirit. Helen thinks of everything!! She needs to be an event planner!

Helen and I and a carefully placed can of beer.

Javier and Jesse.

The mafia!

Jungle Themed Cake

I am currently taking an advanced fondant class and we are making three 3-tiered cakes. This is the first one: a jungle themed cake that could be for a baby shower or child's birthday. The first week we made the animals and the second week we constructed the cake. It came out adorable. I hope to make one in the future for someone!