Cupcake Cake

Happy September! This month, I will be putting in some frequent flyer miles to travel to Hawaii and New York (maybe I'll score some orders during my visits! how cool would that be?) This unfortunately means I had to turn away a few cake orders...but come October, I will be back on the grind and anticipating the Holiday orders, so if you're interested, let me know right away so I can reserve that day for you. 

Early last month, I finally had the privilege of doing a wedding cake order for a couple that I had just met. Amber Mason and Erica Weathersbee tied the knot on August 6, 2011 but I've been working on their order for a good four months. I hosted a Great American Bake Sale during Long Beach's Art Walk back in February where Amber happened to pass through. She lived around the area, noticed my table of CUPCAKES, and inquired about a wedding cake. It was definitely a right-place-at-the-right-time moment! From then on our communication consisted mostly of emails before finally meeting up for a (cup)cake tasting and consultation. Amber's bubbly mother also attended and had a lot of input on the design of the cake. Our productive meeting offered ideas for the cake sketches. 

This was the first design I came up with. They requested for a tiered topsy-turvy cupcake cake and their colors were Red, Black, and a Light Grey. I incorporated the colored ribbons to symbolize Amber and Erica while adding a touches of feminine/masculine. The cherry on top was added for its color...Red needed to be somewhere else to create that balance. Amber loved it! The only revision she had was to add a third tier to increase the number of servings. This was the final concept.

 

For the (cup)cake tasting, six different flavors were requested: Vanilla, Chocolate, Lemon Sponge, Strawberry Grand Marnier (orange liquer), Red velvet, and S'mores. Out of the six, there were three chosen for the cupcakes: Chocolate, Strawberry Grand Marnier, and S'mores...she liked the Red Velvet for the cake. Because Grand Marnier is a high end liqueur, I went with a more cost effective substitute, Cointreau...still providing the orange liquor flavor.

Booze and Berries for cupcakes = DELICIOUS!

Stiff Peaks for the Marshmallow Frosting...one of the most time consuming, yet favorite frosting to make.

Besides eating them, the funnest part of a s'more cupcake is using the torch!

The CUPCAKE for the "Cupcake" Cake...with a cherry on top :)

The final product

The cupcake display. I wrapped and arranged those boxes to create different levels of display.

Close up shot of the chocolate cupcakes.

The cake table

The restaurant's painted wall added a colorful backdrop.

The reception was at Yamashiro Restaurant in the Hollywood Hills. It was definitely one of the most beautiful places I've delivered a cake thus far. I just had to snap some pictures of the breathtaking view.

Yamashiro Restaurant

1999 Sycamore Avenue

Hollywood, CA 90068

323-464-5125

http://www.yamashirorestaurant.com/                                                                                                                                                        

The happy couple cutting the cake!

Congratulations to Amber and Erica...I support you and your marriage, and I wish you all the blessings on your new journey together as wife and wife. 

~Abs of Cakes~

Great American Bake Sale

Valentine's Season came early for myself and my friend Christine Ver from Feed My Sole Blog.  Food is very important to us and what we do, so we decided to partner up to organize a Great American Bake Sale early this month to spread some of our love and help end childhood hunger in America so that no kid goes hungry. With the help of my friend David Leonard from the Treasure Box, we were able to get a vendor spot during Long Beach's First Friday Artwalk. Together we were able to raise funds and bake a difference. Here are some photos of the event taken by June Nichole Photography...

An Abs of Cakes and Feed My Sole Collabo

Cheescake Bites and our business cards

Greeting guests.

I worked behind the table as Christine worked the front...we made a great team!

Visitors were happy to support a good cause :)

Showing off the yummy treats to my friend Josh.

I didn't forget about my fellow dog owners, I made some doggie treats with some fun messages.

The day before our Great American Bake Sale was Chinese New Year, so I was inspired to make a cake in honor of the Year of the Rabbit to raffle off. I hope it brings good fortune to the lucky winner!

My Chinese New Year Cake and Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes

Thanks June for all the lovely photos!

Christine and I had a lot of fun...Check out the story from her point of view here.

Congratulations to Alyssa for winning the lucky cake!!

We would like to give a special THANKS to our friend April Arrozal for playing "cashier" that night!

Our first Great American Bake Sale was a success because of all our friends that helped us out and all those that contributed to this important cause. We'd like to acknowledge these very important people:

DAVID LEONARD [www.thetreasurebox.org] - vendor spot hookup 
LONG BEACH FIRST FRIDAYS [www.firstfridayslongbeach.com] - venue
JUNE NICHOLE CRUZ [www.junenicholephoto.com] - photographs
RONALD LODEVICO JR. [www.stayloded.com] - truck for transportation 
APRIL ARROZAL - cashier and money handler

I was on such a roll with our first bake sale, that I agreed to do another one the next week during Long Beach's Second Saturday Artwalk. Christine had work, so I did this one solo, but made new fun friends that helped me that day. Our friend Patrick Santa Ana (whose birthday is Feb. 13...HAPPY BIRTHDAY) owns a retail shop called ELEV8, and invited me to join their vendor booth along with Hearts & Things and Lok'd Jewelry by Gadgiz Galore. I had a blast!

The table set up.

Our vendor booth with ELEV8 in the back.

My S'mores cupcakes were a big hit and so fun to make!

Visitors checking out the table.

Hearts & Things by Jr. Luat

I love this guy's story on how he started making these cute pins and keychains...you can support him here!

Lok'd Jewelry by Gadgiz Galore

I can't thank these guys enough for their help! It was a pleasure being surrounded by other creative individuals that love their craft! Hopefully I'll get to work with them again next month. I had so much fun and was truly inspired by them....THANK YOU!

Now that I've got a couple of Great American Bake Sales under my belt, I look forward to raising more funds for children all across America. 

~Abs of Cakes~

Baking a Difference

NEARLY 1 IN 4 CHILDREN IN AMERICA STRUGGLE WITH HUNGER. THAT'S ALMOST 17 MILLION KIDS.

Abs of Cakes along with Feed My Sole will be teaming up with Share Our Strength to host a Great American Bake Sale to help end childhood hunger in America. We plan on selling a variety of yummy treats at First Fridays Long Beach to raise funds for this important cause, so please join us.....

Who: Abs of Cakes & Feed My Sole

What: GREAT AMERICAN BAKE SALE

When: Friday, February 4, 2011 (6-10pm)

Where: Expo in Bixby Knolls First Fridays

4321 Atlantic Ave. Long Beach 

Why: End Childhood Hunger in America

 

           

Hope to see you there!!

~Abs of Cakes~