Author Cassie Stevens
Visit Mrs. Stevens Bakery on Facebook if interested in a custom cake for your special occasion.
Wesson’s Elmo 1st Birthday Cake
Tag Archives: Birthday
Dora Cake
Author: Cassie Stevens
Visit Mrs. Stevens Bakery on Facebook if you are interested in a custom cake for your special occasion
Autumn’s Dora the Explorer 2nd Birthday Cake
Totoro Cake
Author Cassie Stevens
Visit Mrs. Stevens Bakery on Facebook if you are interested in a custom cake for your special occasion
Cora’s My Neighbor Totoro 2nd Birthday Cake
Valentines Day Fondant Cakes
Author: Cassie Stevens
I love how a good idea can consume me and keep me busy for days. I am a very creative, artsy kind of person and lately my outlet has been cakes. I am learning how to use all my new fondant tools, so practice makes perfect. This cake I wanted to try fondant flowers on for size. They say you are your own worst critic, and I can see all the flaws and how it could be better but these are the first three flowers I have ever made and they were cake worthy, so I had to use them.
Now, I know the petals still look a little thick, but I’ll get there. I think I did pretty good! 🙂
This is a red velvet cake on top and a chocolate devils food cake on the bottom with a marshmallow fondant shell and buttercream icing. Very delicious! So naturally I posted it up on my Facebook page to show it off. My Aunt seen it and wanted to send a cake just like it to her step-daughter Tiffany who has a Valentines Birthday (how cool is that).
I gratefully accepted the opportunity and looked forward to learning how I would ship a cake Via mail through a few states without ruining my work. So I made another cake just like it (a little different).
They both were very fun to make. This one went very fast though (because I knew what I was doing already).
So I boxed it up in a cake box, then reinforced it the best I could so it wouldn’t move.
The cake board was hot glued in place in the box and the cake itself was stuck with icing onto the cake board. Then this box was closed up and placed inside of another box and cushioned with about a billion tied up plastic shopping bags to cushion the box inside.
There was a note:
Awww……how nice!
I loved it simple and perfect.
I shipped the cake 2 day USPS as fragile and it arrived in perfect condition she said and of course she loved it. Tiffany told my Aunt that she was throwing out all the other cakes she got for her birthday and keeping this one. It was the best! YAY! Sucess ❤ it!
Nailed it! Now, I have some experience shipping cakes. I can’t wait to open my bakery!
Shabby Chic Princess Party Treats
This Saturday we celebrated my oldest daughter’s 4th birthday. I had way too many ideas, thanks to Pinterest. I asked Monkey what she wanted as a theme for her party and, of course, my girly-girl said, “Princesses!” As I am not a fan of all the marketing concerning Disney princesses (I like them. I like the movies. I just don’t like all the STUFF.) I decided to make it a Shabby Chic Princess Party. Say that ten times fast. We had pink and white polka dot straws, a fabric tied banner with pink fabric with white dots, roses with a light blue background, pink tulle, and pink balloons. I found shabby chic napkins and cups, and pink plates online. The birthday girl wore a green Tinkerbell dress that her GiGi (what we call her Grandma) and Pop Pop found at the Disney Store. It was the perfect amount of Disney, and not overloaded.
I made most of the sweets myself, aside from the delicious cupcakes, star of the show. Those were made by the talented Lindsey from Cupcakes and Such. More about those later.
My favorite part of my dessert bar items were the chocolate dipped (and drizzled) pretzel rods… or Fairy Godmother Wands. 🙂
This is how I made my chocolate to dip and drizzle over marshmallows, popcorn, and pretzels:
I used almond bark as my base. And I used gel food coloring in pink and purple. Because almond bark, like other chocolates, seizes up when you add water-based colorants (gel is water based), I added about a teaspoon of coconut oil after adding my color to bring it back to a more workable consistency. This gave my chocolate a slight coconutty flavor that was very tasty! I kind of wanted it to harden up a little bit because the almond bark chocolate on it’s own (before adding color) was too thin for me to do what I wanted with it. Trial and error here…
You can also use Wilton’s Candy Melts, that come in all sorts of colors. But, you know me; I use what I have.
My process:
1. Melt almond bark in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between until it is all melted. Use a tall jar for dipping pretzel rods.
2. Add gel food coloring a little at a time. If it starts to seize up, add coconut oil as needed, 1 tsp at a time – it doesn’t take much, to return it to a smooth texture.
3. Use your colored chocolate to dip or drizzle. When I dipped things, I used my big bucket of organic popcorn kernels to prop them up while they dried. When I drizzled things, I did it on a piece of parchment paper for easy clean up.
Sprinkles add texture and fun to these treats, so go for it! Magical!
Both kids and adults had a blast at Monkey’s party! The dessert bar was a big hit, and I had fun making it, with a little help from the birthday girl.
And those cupcakes? They were chocolate chip cup cake with pink butter-cream frosting, adorned with white and dark chocolate tiaras, sprinkled with edible silver glitter. Yeah, they were as awesome as they sound.
My little princess is 4! I can’t believe it. It feels like yesterday that I was laboring through the night, knowing that she would be in my arms soon. See my post on my other blog to read more about why I am the woman I am, thanks to having this beautiful little girl in my life. I am so thankful for her.
So tell me, do you do big birthday parties or do you have a cozy family affair? Lots of homemade treats or order pizza. What’s your favorite way to party?
Pen Pals and Cookin' Gals 