winnie the pooh ~ inspirational wedding shoot

Over the summer we had the pleasure of participating in a super creative, fun inspired shoot with Plum Jam Photography.  The inspiration = Winnie the Pooh, which for us translated to bee hive shaped cakes, dripping with honey, a big chunk of honeycomb as a cake topper and cupcakes drenched in honey.  We have kids about the same age as Shannon and Jesse (the couple behind Plum Jam) and it was such a blast to be on site at the shoot (at the amazing Dana Powers Barn) with the little ones playing together.  The shoot was featured in the Wedding Standard's first edition e-zine.  You can view more pics of the entire shoot in the mag and also on Shannon & Jesse's site!

Him & Her Wedding Films | facesandalamode.com | bluebirdsalon.com |Lori Boe Floral Design | Stephanie James Couture  | Embellish Vintage Rentals  |Dana Powers Barn - | Picking Daisies | Sally Loo’s | Paper Sky |Plum Jam Photography

designed by flavor

I have 2 approaches to cake design...either the flavor dictates the look of the cake or I pack all the flavor inside the cake and finish it off with a specific pattern or texture.  I much prefer the first approach and have some examples below of cakes that are designed by flavor ~

vanilla bean creme brulee...vanilla bean cake and frosting, with a creme brulee filling, topped with caramelized sugar chunks.

vanilla almond pistachio...vanilla cake and frosting, filled with honey pistachio mascarpone mousse, topped with ground pistachios and almond slivers.

coffee toffee...chocolate espresso cake, filled with toffee mousse, wrapped in espresso frosting, topped with coffee toffee sauce and dark chocolate covered espresso beans.

tres leches...tres leches cake, filled with vanilla bean pastry cream and vanilla frosting, topped with fresh raspberries.

chocolate fudge...chocolate cake & frosting, filled with chocolate mousse, topped with dark chocolate sauce.

peppermint bark...vanilla cake & frosting, filled white chocolate mousse, topped with peppermint bark.

rocky road...chocolate cake & frosting, filled with chocolate & marshmallow mousse, topped with marshmallows, walnuts & chocolate sauce.

strawberry champagne...champagne cake, filled with chopped strawberries & vanilla pastry cream, wrapped in vanilla frosting, topped with strawberries.

smores...chocolate cake with graham cracker crust baked in each layer, with a fudgy chocolate filling, topped in toasted marshmallow meringue (with some additional marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs sprinkled throughout).

vanilla toffee...vanilla cake & frosting, filled and topped with toffee sauce

dark chocolate caramel...chocolate cake & frosting, filled with dark chocolate caramel mousse, drenched in salted caramel

cookies for breakfast (plus recipe)

Opal, "you know mom, lots of people have cookies & milk for breakfast!" 

Me, "oh really?  are you trying to tell me that you'd like to have cookies & milk for breakfast?"

Opal, "sure!!!"

So this morning, I made some breakfast cookies for my little girl...

...and she liked them, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you in case you feel like having cookies for breakfast too.

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

4 ounces butter (room temperature)

Ingredients:

1/2 dark brown sugar

1 large egg

1/4 honey

1/3 apple sauce

1 tsp vanilla

Dry ingredients ~

1 1/4 ground oats (I pulsed mine in food processor until the consistency was like flour)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/3 cup ground walnuts (they can also just be chopped, Opal just doesn't like "chunks" in her cookies unless it's chocolate)

1/4 whole oats

*  cream butter and brown sugar together

*  in a seperate bowl whisk egg, honey, applesauce, & vanilla together and then add to butter / sugar mixture and combine

*  in another bowl combine all dry ingredients and then add to "wet" mixture and stir until combined.

Scoop batter onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Will make 12 large cookies or 24 small cookies.

Bake at 325 for 7 minutes, rotate pan and bake for approx 5-7 more minutes.

goodbye holidays, until next year...

I intended to blog about this holiday photo shoot before Christmas arrived, but I got caught up in enjoying sweet times with my family and the time slipped by!  Today marks the end of the holiday season and the start of a brand new year.  These images seem like an approriate way to say goodbye to 2012 and dream about all the beautiful things ahead ~

View the entire shoot featured on Style Me Pretty.

Photography: Ryan Ray Photography / Design + Styling: Love & Splendor / Floral Design: Camilla Svensson Burns Couture Floral and Event Design / Catering: Trumpet Vine Catering / Cake + Desserts: Enjoy Cupcakes / Stationery + Calligraphy: Julie Song Ink / Tabletop Rentals: Casa de Perrin / Furniture Rentals: Found Vintage Rentals / Film Processing: Indie Film Lab

Christmas cupcakes

flavor board #42

I am completely smitten with the Christmas time of year, and it's even more magical with an imaginative & enthusiastic 5 year old daughter, who loves Christmas more than anything!  We always have lots of fun coming up with new Christmas cupcake flavors and the Peppermint cookie dough is my favorite!

Peppermint Cookie dough ~ chocolate cake, filled with crushed candy cane & dark chocolate chip cookie dough, topped with chocolate ganache and candy cane pieces

presents, peppermint cookied ough cupcakes, candy cane lip balm, candy canes!, red & white felt twists, painted antlers

"dutch still life" desserts for a Jen Huang workshop

Kevin and I had such a blast creating the below treats for Jen Huang's Fall Santa Barbara workshop.  Her direction challenged us to try some new looks and techniques.  Jen's words of inspiration were,  "Italian Renaissance, shimmering fruit and a very beautiful table arranged almost like a dutch still life, with fruits and plants and cheese and food etc... so the cakes will be in the midst of this still life."  Here's what we came up with...

The above images are by Jen Huang.  You can view the full shoot (with amazing floral by Kelly Kaufman Design, and gorgeous models with hair & make up by Jess Wilcox Hair and Makeup ) on Grey Likes Weddings.

pomegranates & pistachios (fuchsia & green)

Flavor board #41

outift, pomegranate pistachio chardonnay cupcakes, camera & owl, lamp shade, table setting, pink wall

I love the combination of bright fuchsia & earthy green and came up with the pomegranate & pistachio cupcake flavor, just so that I could see those beautiful colors together on a cupcake.  Luckily it was yummy in addition to being colorful. 

Chardonnay cake, filled with pistachio mascarpone mousse, topped with sweet cream cheese frosting, pomegranate seeds and raw pistachios

new product ~ cupcake pudding

It looks like bread pudding, but technically it's cupcake pudding!  Since our cupcakes are all cored and filled, we are left with an abundance of moist, yummy cupcake middles at the end of each baking shift, and we are now turing them into cupcake pudding cups.  They aren't quite as photogenic and descriptive as the cupcakes so you'll just have to come in and taste the deliciousness.  I overheard Keving attempting to describe them today and he said, "the texture is different, more like a gooey doughnut than a cupcake"...I think that sums it up.

Chocolate and vanilla cupcake puddings, both topped with salted cinnamon maple sauce & sea salt