Ladies Night Out Expo

A few months ago, a friend of mine organized a "Ladies Night Out" Expo.  It was a chance for woman who have their own business to get the word out there about their products!  It was the ultimate girl's night out!  There were people selling Hand Bags, Jewelry, Crafts, Pampered Chef . . . stuff like that ;)  There were snacks, raffles, etc., and plenty of socializing and networking!  It was such a great experience and I'm so glad I was asked to be a part of it with my little Cupcake business!  I didn't take many pictures, and I haven't put the pictures up yet even though this was months ago!

Here is a picture of my samples (Mini White Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream, Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Buttercream, Mini Chocolate Cupcakes dipped in Chocolate Ganache with Chocolate Buttercream, and Mini Key Lime Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Buttercream):

And here is a picture of my "Display" Cupcakes:

Laura's Bridal Shower

All the kids in our family are good friends with the Crane girls.  Well, Laura will be getting married soon, and they asked me to do the cupcakes for her Shower!  Her favorite of my Cupcakes is Lemon Cream, and then for the second flavor, they decided to do Triple Chocolate (can't go wrong with Chocolate!).

I added a little glittery fondant flower to the top of the cupcakes - A little yellow pearl in the center of the flowers on the lemon and little gold dragees to the center of the flowers on the chocolate.  This really made them gorgeous!  Unfortunately, the flower fondant punch I wanted was not in stock when I went to get it, so I used the only one I have, which really isn't my favorite.  Turned out okay though ;)

The photography isn't the best, but here you go!

Out Of This World!

A coworker placed an order for Cupcakes for her Sister-In-Law's Baby Shower.  She told me it was a boy and that they were doing it "Outer Space" themed.

At first I was like . . . How do I do cupcakes that look cute and "baby"ish, but also Outer Spacey . . .  Well, I think I figured it out okay, and these ended up being ABSOLUTELY some of the most fun cupcakes I've made!!!

I don't do a lot with fondant, but I did some simple things and it seemed to work out really well.  Check them out!

Happy Birthday To ME! ♥

I'm constantly making new creations with friends and family in mind, and I decided that for my own Birthday, I would make something with ME in mind!  I really love berries.  I love the way you bite into a fresh, plump blackberry and it explodes with delicious juicyness!  Its to die for!  So I made myself a little Birthday gift to share at my Birthday Dinner with all my good friends and family:

Blackberry Bliss - White Cupcake filled with Blackberry Preserves, topped with Blackberry Buttercream, drizzled with Blackberry Puree, and adorned with a Blackberry!

Gluten Free = Delicious!!!

A good friend of mine, Lindsey, is Gluten Free.  She lives by herself, so she doesn't bake a lot because the food will spoil before she can eat it all!  So every once in a while, I will bake her some GF cupcakes for a special occassion and split the batch between her and a couple other GF families I know.  I never actually tried the GF cupcakes to see how they tasted.  I was sure they would taste icky or strange and I wouldn't like them!  So blindly, I've been making these, crossing my fingers that they taste good!

So Lindsey is in her last Semester at UNR getting her Masters in Speech Pathology.  She had two REALLY BIG exams that she was just sure she failed.  She was so so SO nervous before she took them, and then afterwards she didn't feel confident in her work at all.  All of us encouraged her, "I'm sure you passed!  Even if you passed with a low score, I'm sure you passed, and thats all that matters!  And if you didn't pass, you have more time to study and you have a chance to take the tests again!"

Well . . . Her mom called me one day and said that she had just talked to Lindsey on the phone (her parents live in Southern California) and found out that she passed both exams!  She really wanted to do something special for Lindsey, but she couldn't do anything too wonderful from that far away, so she asked if I could do cupcakes or something for her.

I called all our friends and arranged to go to dinner that night and "invited" Lindsey to come.  I made her a GF Chocolate Cake "from her parents", congratulating her on passing.

We all had a wonderful dinner and celebrated her passing her exams and the stress being over, and then, dessert time came . . . OH NO!  Everyone is taking pieces of the cake . . . I don't want to be rude- I guess I'll have to try it!  It can't possibly be good . . .

AMAZING.

One of the most moist, rich, decadent Chocolate Cakes I've tasted.  EVER.  So I don't know why GF gets such a bad rap.  This was delicious!

I will definitely add this to my list of frequently made cakes.  No one would ever know the difference, and GF people can have it and not worry!

Heart Shaped Gluten Free Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Ganache Filling, Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream, topped with more Ganache and Fresh Strawberries and Blackberries.

I'm "Nuts" For My "Honey"

At the last second I decided to add another Valentine's Day flavor.  There was too much chocolate goin' on!  This one is a Honey Cupcake with Honey Almond Buttercream, a drizzle of Honey, and a cute little "Heart" made of Honey Roasted Almonds ♥♥♥

Valentine's Day Trio

I made this trio of Valentine's Day Flavors for the awesome staff at Sparks Florist!  My sister works there and they work the absolute hardest for Valentine's Day, so she decided to bring them a treat to get them through that weekend!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry (Chocolate Cupcake, Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream), Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Buttercream, and Cordial Cherry (Chocolate Cherry Cupcake with a Cherry Cordial Filling, Maraschino Cherry Buttercream, Chocolate Ganache, and a Maraschino Cherry).

Cherry Cordial (AKA: The Best Cupcake Ever Baked)

Chocolate Cherry Cupcake with a Cherry Cordial Filling, Maraschino Cherry Buttercream, Dipped in Chocolate Ganache, and topped with a Maraschino Cherry. SOOOO GOOD!!! Possible the greatest cupcake ever baked.  Just sayin' . . .

I ♥ Pomegranate!!!

Pomegranate Buttercream on a Spice Cupcake - Next time I think I'll put it on a Vanilla or French Vanilla Cupcake- But it was delicious nevertheless...

Pineapple Apricot

Moist Pineapple Cupcake with Pineapple Apricot Buttercream (Amazing!) and topped with a little bit of Pineapple Ice Cream Topping ;)

Yer Killin' Me Smalls! S'More Cupake

Everyone remembers that part of The Sandlot where they offer him a S'More and he is like, S'More of what?  And the kid offering says, "Yer Killin' Me Smalls!"  That is a classic line from a classic movie that I always think of when eating S'Mores!  Takes me back to when I was a little kid watching The Sandlot.  So I named my S'More cupcake after that hilarious line!

Its a Chocolate Cupcake covered in Chocolate Ganache, rolled in Crushed Graham Cracker Crumbs, topped with Marshmallow Buttercream and garnished with a Graham Cracker drizzled in Chocolate!

Chocolate!

These were just fun with the colorful Chocolate Nonpareils on top of Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream ;)

White Chocolate Rasberry

Cute!  White Chocolate Cupcake with White Chocolate Rasberry Buttercream.

Red Velvet Peppermint

Red Velvet Cupcake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Buttercream and topped with crushed Candy Cane.

It's PayDay!

My good friend Ryan loves PayDay candy bars.  For his birthday I decided to turn that candy into a cupcake!  Its a White Cupcake with a hint of Salted Caramel, Caramel Peanut Butter Nougat filling, Vanilla Buttercream, topped with a Caramel Drizzle and Salted Peanuts.

Roy Rogers

My brother's friend Andy orders a Roy Rogers every time we go out.  So for his birthday I made Roy Rogers Cupcakes- Cherry Coca Cola Cupcakes with Cherry Coca Cola Buttercream, and topped with a Cherry!

Cranberry Orange Spice

Orange Spice Cupcakes with fresh Orange Zest and Cranberry Orange Cream Cheese Buttercream topped with a sprinkle of fresh Orange Zest.

Chocolate Pumpkin

Chocolate Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Buttercream and a drizzle of chocolate!

Reese's!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Peanut Butter Buttercream, topped with a Reese's Piece!

Blood Red Velvet

Happy Halloween!  Here are my Red Velvet Cupcakes with a "Blood" drizzle ;)

Caramel Butter Pecan Cheesecake

Spiced Butter Pecan Cupcakes with Caramel Cheesecake Buttercream, and topped with a Caramel Drizzle and Glazed Pecan

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cheesecake Spice Buttercream

How delicious is Pumpkin Cheesecake?  I always wait for the time of year when all the good restaurants start carrying their seasonal Pumpkin Cheesecake.  Here is my twist on that seasonal favorite!

Caramel Apple

The perfect fall treat in Cupcake form!!!

Caramel Apple Cupcake with Caramel Cream Cheese Buttercream, topped off with a Caramel Drizzle and Peanuts!

Lauri's Baby Shower

We had a Baby Shower at work for our good friend, Lauri.  She decided not to find out what sex the baby was, so we just did fun baby colors instead of a specific theme.  It turned out beautifully!  Sadly, I didn't get to attend because I had an appointment, so I just set up and took off, but I heard it was definitely enjoyed by the Mommy To Be!!!

I did the cupcakes and made a diaper cake!  Here are the pictures I took:

Strawberry Banana

A velvety Strawberry Banana Cucpake with Strawberry Banana Cream Cheese Icing. Topped with a Banana Chip and a quartered Strawberry.

Piña Colada

♪♫If you like Piña Coladas . . .♫♪

I did these for a Luau!  I thought they went over pretty well!

A moist Pineapple Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream covered in Toasted Coconut and, of course, topped with a Maraschino Cherry!

Dark Chocolate Covered Strawberry

Dark Chocolate Cupcake, Chocolate Ganache, Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream, topped with a quartered Chocolate Covered Strawberry.  Super Romantic!!!

Awesomefetti

You read right!  Not FUNfetti, AWESOMEFETTI!!!  Funfetti with style ;)  I did these for a friend's birthday and they were a riot!  Truly awesome to make, too ;)

Red Velvet

My boss' son got married last summer and they chose me (yippi!) to do their cupcakes for the wedding!  I didn't attend the wedding or set the cupcakes up at the wedding, but I took a little snapshot of the finished product before it made its way there!

My thought was, how perfect are these for a wedding?  They look rich, and truly velvety.  They look regal with their gold papers and decorations!  I hope they made that bride and her guests really happy!

Fan Photos of Berry Devilish

I brought these cupcakes to a jewelry party and someone took pictures of them on their camera (mine is crap) and posted them to my "Fan Photos" on Facebook.  Here they are: