Chocolate Caramel Mousse Birthday Cake

After trying this cake at my son's first birthday party, a very good friend requested this cake for her own birthday. Of course I wanted to surprise her with this cake and gave it to her a week early so she could share it with her boyfriend and his family. She was so excited to get this cake and said that everyone else was going to get a small piece but the rest of the cake was hers.

Homemade Strawberry Poptarts

After I saw this recipe posted on one of my favorite blogs, I had to try it out. They turned out great, taste-wide. As for the looks, it was a little bit of a disaster. I had a horrible time rolling out half the dough and cutting it freehand into 9 rectangles and then rolling the other half and cutting another 9 rectangles to fit nicely on top of the first 9 rectangles. It was frustrating, needless to say.

Then one Valentine's Day, I decided to make heart-shaped poptarts. After using the heart-shaped cutters, I realized that solved my problem of cutting freehand rectangles and making sure the tops and the bottoms matched. What a brilliant idea! Now I can make more than 9, which is a great thing, since this tops my husband's favorites list. Now I just need to improve the sealing of the poptarts so they don't leak the filling out because that is the best part, according to my husband.

This last time I made it, I rolled the dough as thin as I could, per my husband's request, and made more strawberry filling. I was able to make about 2 dozen Poptarts. They still didn't last long, though.

Cupcake Sampler

I had a potential client interested in me providing their wedding cake and cupcakes. So I baked up several different varieties for her and her fiance to try.

I made vanilla cupcakes with brown sugar buttercream,

 and pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting,

and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting,

and chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream,

and finally, apple spice cupcakes with salted caramel buttercream, as well as a few apple spice cupcakes with brown sugar buttercream.

They loved the cupcakes, especially the apple spice cupcakes with the salted caramel buttercream, and had to decide which ones they wanted for their wedding. Needless to say, I'm thrilled that I have the honor of making their wedding cake and cupcakes.

1st Birthday Cake, Smash Cake, and Cupcakes

My first order was for a very dear friend whose son is a couple weeks younger than my son. She asked me to make a cake for her son's party, as well as his smash cake. 

We decided to make a 9" cake for the adults, a 4" smash cake for her son, and cupcakes for the kids. 

The theme of the birthday party was a summer picnic and decorated with primary colors bunting. So my friend requested the cakes be decorated with bunting.

The 9" cake was a gluten- and dairy-free chocolate cake with a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

The 4" smash cake was a gluten- and dairy-free vanilla cake with a vanilla swiss meringue buttercream. The cupcakes were both the chocolate and vanilla.

Everyone loved the chocolate cake, saying that it was really good, especially since it was a gluten- and dairy-free cake. There were a few people who said they didn't want any cake and ended up eating a piece because they had to try it, and there were others who went back for a second piece.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been making these since I was in high school and so it is the only recipe I know by heart. It was the first thing I ever baked for my husband and it is still one of his favorites.

It is my one of my go-to recipes when I need to bake something at the last minute because who doesn't love a good chocolate chip cookie.

Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

My husband loves Cinnabon, but the closest one is over two hours away. So I do the only thing I can do and make cinnamon rolls from scratch and top it with lots of cream cheese frosting.

Ice Cream Sundaes in a Box

As a party favor for my son's birthday, I thought it would be fun to send everyone home with the makings of an ice cream sundae so they could end their 4th of July celebration with something fun and sweet. 

So I made salted caramel sauce and hot fudge sauce, added sprinkles, gummy bears, mini peanut butter cups, and M&M's, and put everything in cute little packaging and into a homemade box. My favorite sundae is simply a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a drizzle of the caramel sauce, yum!