Monkey Smash Cake

Smash Cake!
I have had the opportunity to make several smash cakes to help celebrate first birthdays. I enjoy baking for little ones...they truly enjoy the sugar! I have been to several blogs and websites throughout the past year tyring to find the perfect yellow cake recipe. I have found several that are good, but they always seem to be a little on the dry side or they don't bake well. Several blogs have boasted that they have found a great recipe for white birthday cake. I've tried dozens and not until yesterday did I finally find a recipe that makes a moist, but dense vanilla butter cake. The recipe actually came from my Grandma, who has been using it all these years to make cakes.

SUCCESS...the cake tasted great...the cake held its form great(which is very important for decorating)...and the monkey was pretty cute!

This monkey smash cake was a great success.  Not only are the decorations important, but I was confident that the taste of the cake was the best part!

Salted Caramel Cupcakes...
I wanted to make something different, but special to bring home for Christmas dessert this year. Salted Caramel was an easy choice. My husband has been drinking salted caramel mochas all holiday season. So, I decided to go with the crowd on this one and I was not disappointed.

The recipe I used is from a blog called Chef in Training.

Here is the finished product...late at night of course...after the nuggets are sleeping...

Egg Nog Cupcakes

Until this year, I had never tried eggnog...the sound of it always turned me away.  However, after trying a fa la la latte at Caribou coffee, I realized I might actually enjoy a little eggnog flavor. I found this recipe for eggnog cupcakes from Annies Eats http://www.annies-eats.com/  It is amazing...right down to the cinnamon dusting on top!

Vanilla Peppermint Buttercream

It's here...time to bake all of the delicious treats I have been pinning for months!

 This is a red velvet cupcake with vanilla peppermint buttercream frosting...I could have ate the frosting all by itself, but I am a frosting girl!

It's an Elmo Celebration!

How special!  I was able to create a cake and cupcake spread for my special little nephew Erik's 2nd birthday party.  They flew in all the way from California to celebrate. I actually got to join in the eating of these cupcakes!  YUM!!!

Here's some picts of my little nuggets eating some of those yummy red velvet Elmo cupcakes!

Barnyard Birthday!

This 1st Birthday theme involved barnyard animals.  I decided to go with sheep, chicks, cows, and pigs. Since it was for a little girl's first birthday party I chose to make the pig the theme of the smash cake, this way it could be pink. Maybe I just jumped at the opportunity to create a pink cake in this house of boys I live in!  I had a lot of fun making the little animals I hope they had fun celebrating today! I found the cute little animal inspiration at a blog called Adventures in savings...

 All the animals together in their box!

 Little chick...

 Moo cow...

 shy sheep...

 little piggie...

 Piggie smash cake...

Vanilla Latte Cupcakes...HEAVEN!

It's a special guy's birthday in my house tomorrow...and I'm not talking about my little nuggets for once! My husband celebrates his 33rd birthday (wow, that seems old!) The nuggets and I won't see him because he will be in Grand Rapids coaching a football game, so I wanted to send him with a little token of my love! This is where the cupcakes come into play! I wanted to make him something different so I searched for a recipe that would include something special. I found this recipe for Vanilla Latte Cupcakes at Annie's Eats. It was my first attempt at Swiss Meringue Buttercream. My husband loves his coffee and these cupcakes will not disappoint! The frosting is a combo of espresso flavor and vanilla flavor...yum!