Being a Child of the 60’s, not as in Woodstock, but more like Sally Draper but with non-smoking, non-drinking, loving, supportive parents that actually liked their kids, these were my earliest baking recollections with my mom: Dream Whip. Dolloped on top of a boxed gingerbread cake. My feet tucked under my knees on the kitchen chair watching her transform dense, brown holiday loaves filled with yellow and green cubed sticky stuff into baked jewelry. The candied cherry halves on top… [Read More]
The great thing about making cake decorations with fondant is making extra for cupcakes. In this case, I made a St. Patrick’s Day checkerboard cake a few days ago so I made additional fondant decorations for a batch of cupcakes. Let’s start with making the cupcakes. In baking the checkerboard cake, I had some left over green and white batter so when I was ready to bake the cupcakes a few days later, I was able to use it and… [Read More]
For weeks I’ve been daydreaming about creating a St. Patrick’s Day cake with bright, vivid colors and dimensional decorations. Of course, rainbows, shamrocks and Leprechaun’s gold had to be included in the decorating theme of the cake. And like any dreamer that follows the rainbow’s end, guests will find a surprise inside the cake! I received some really nice emails from readers (thank you!) who enjoyed reading my thought process as I began this St. Patrick’s Day design that… [Read More]
Wishing everyone a fun Valentine’s Day today. What will I do when my pink week is over? I’ve loved it all – the color combinations, the sprinkles, the hearts and flowers… …sending little Valentine gifts out to baking buddies and thinking of them while I tied the ribbon on the packages. Today isn’t just Valentine’s Day but my big brother’s birthday as well. I always enjoyed the spill-over effect of this growing up as it made Valentine’s Day a little… [Read More]
As a Wilton brand Ambassador, I’m most fortunate to be able to try new products and create projects with existing ones. For Valentine’s Day, I was sent Wilton’s Decorator’s Icings in pouches accompanied with sprinkles. Remembering when my guys were little and to my room-mom days, I would have gladly welcomed the ease of ready made tinted icings since decorating cupcakes for the class party was usually done late the night before. One thing you can do to save time… [Read More]
I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. Ours was, as both boys were home and were able to stay a few days but today they’ve flown the coop again. I never get used to that but before they left they got out all the Christmas decorations and put the garlands up on the banister while I was out shopping. It was a perfect surprise! It’s a big job to get the greens and lights up on our curvy staircase so I… [Read More]
While I was making the USC cupcakes I had to open my college box and see what was in there since I haven’t opened it up in a couple decades. I loved seeing dozens and dozens of handwritten letters from my friends. What a gift! There were letters detailing how they spent their summer vacations and hopes for the next school year. Lots of love letters from various gentlemen which were fun to read. Nothing will make you feel younger… [Read More]
This week the countdown begins to what hopefully will be a great game against the “other team that will not be named on my blog”, but they are our crosstown rivals from Westwood and have a teddy bear for their mascot, at least that’s the effigy that was tied to a stake and burned in the pep rally bonfire on campus a couple nights before the game! HA! It was a great rally with all the players in attendance and… [Read More]
I’m very excited to present my ”Fabulous Fondant” Wilton Cake Decorating Give-Way! I’ve been planning it for a very long time and hand choosing each wonderful product for one very lucky reader of Pink Martinis and Pearls. This fabulous fondant friend of my blog will win everything needed to get started to create fabulous cupcake toppers with embellishments. Thank you Wilton! If you haven’t worked with rolled fondant to decorate treats such as cakes, cookies or cupcakes you’ve been missing… [Read More]
If you read my post Wilton Sea Life Fondant and Gum Paste – Post Part 1 from a few days ago you know I’m loving finding a new creativity in decorating cupcakes using fondant shapes made from Wilton’s Sea Life silicone mold. In Part 1, I introduced you to this mold and shared with you a DIY tutorial on how to make the cupcake toppers you see below. In this post, I’ll share with how I decorated the cupcakes and… [Read More]
Bridal Shower Gifts and Wrapping Ideas
Make-Ahead Frozen Buttercream Cake Decorations
Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year Decorated Almond Cookies
Pretty Pink Petal Cake – A Wilton Cake Decorating Technique
Carlo’s Bakery Cannolis and Lobster Tail Pastries
Colonial Williamsburg Sweet Potato Muffins
The Espresso Martini
“The Best Ever – Blue Ribbon Winning – Chocolate Layer Cake – In All The Land”!
