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Sunday, January 31, 2010

My First Baby Shower

Today was my first ever event that I have baked for. I was beyond excited, even though I had just been down and out with the stomach bug, but not even that would keep me from baking the bee hive cake, 4 dozen cupcakes, and surprising the mom-to-"bee" with flower cake pops! The theme was Winnie the Pooh, so I created a Bee Hive cake with flowers and bumble bees and matching cupcakes. It was so exciting to hear everyone rave about my creations. I can't wait to do it again!!!











"Sandy you did an awesome job=). The cake and cupcakes were beautiful and delicious. Everyone loved the idea of cake pop flowers to take home. I had several people comment on the fondant and how good it was. I hope you get a few jobs from the shower. I know my BFF wants to use you for her grand daughters cake in August. Thank you for everything =)" Karen

Friday, January 29, 2010

Treats for Furry Friends

Peanut Butter Dog Bones
I am a baker at heart and I love my animals! Anytime I am in the kitchen, my 4 dogs think I am making something for them. I have decided to add dog treats to my list of baked goods at Firehouse Sweets because even our furry friends deserve a special, homemade treat!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Cupcake Menu


The newest additions to Firehouse Sweets are my cakes and cupcakes. I have created a cupcake menu below to choose from. Most of the cupcake flavors can be turned into cakes!

Birthday Cake
White cake baked with sprinkles topped with colored vanilla butter cream and sprinkles

Carammm...ello
Chocolate cake with caramel butter cream and chocolate ganache

Chocolate, Chocolate Chip Overload
Chocolate cake baked with chocolate chips with chocolate butter cream and mini chocolate chips

Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Chocolate cake with strawberry butter cream and chocolate ganache

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
Chocolate cake with peanut butter butter cream and half a Reese's Cup

Cookies 'n' Cream
Chocolate cake with vanilla butter cream topped with Oreo crumbles

Hot Fudge Sundae
Chocolate cake with marshmallow frosting topped with chocolate ganache and a maraschino cherry

Peanut Butter Cup
Peanut butter cake with chocolate butter cream and half a Reese's Cup

Peppermint Patty
Chocolate cake with white or green mint butter cream sprinkled with mint chips

Rabbit Food
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (nuts optional)

Snowballs
White cake with coconut butter cream sprinkled with coconut

Traditional
Yellow cake with chocolate butter cream

Upside-down Strawberry Shortcake
Strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting

Velvety Red
Red Velvet cake with cream cheese frosting topped with nuts (optional)

Want S'more?
Yellow graham cracker cake and Chocolate cake with marshmallow topped with a marshmallow and chocolate ganache

Wedding Cake
White cake with vanilla butter cream

Cupcakes come in Regular sized or Mini-sized.

Contact me at firehousesweets@gmail.com for pricing information.

Bee Hive



I was asked to create a Bee Hive cake for a baby shower. I was given pictures to use for ideas and went with it. I decided to create a trial cake to make sure what was in my head could be created with cake. I used 4 layers of chocolate cake (one 6", two 8", and one 9"). I then frosted it with vanilla butter cream and pale yellow marshmallow fondant. The cake was decorated with a little door, flowers and a bee to top it off. Along the way I came across some frustrations. I only have one counter large enough to roll out fondant and have the space for decorating. What I forgot about was that my dishwasher was running while trying to roll fondant and decorate. You might be thinking "how did you not know it was running?" Well, my dishwasher is brand new and pretty quiet, and I was so into the decorating that it didn't even cross my mind.

To make a long story short, fondant and heat don't mix well at all, and the heat was coming up through the counter the entire time making many issues. I finally realized towards the end that the dishwasher was running because steam was coming out of it! OOPS!!! Lesson learned! Needless to say, its not a perfect cake, but it served its purpose and was gone in no time by my co-workers. I will definitely revamp for next time! The pictures also came out dark, which I didn't realize until it was too late!




Monday, January 18, 2010

My First Fondant Experience


Well I finally jumped on the cake and fondant bandwagon and gave it a try! I was given a recipe for Marshmallow Fondant from a friend and fellow baker, so I figured I might as well. I made a homemade pound cake with homemade buttercream and chose to make this first cake with a baby shower theme. My love of pink and green came out along with my favorite, the polka dot! It took a few trials of rolling out the fondant, but it worked like a charm and was easier than I thought it would be. I was pretty impressed with myself! I learned not to roll it too thin and that a little gel coloring goes a long way, but the bright colors worked well. Thank goodness my co-workers love to eat my goodies because I was able to come home with a clean cake plate!

Monday, January 4, 2010

The Giant Cupcake


2010 is among us, and it's time to make cakes! The Christmas season of Cake Balls went extremely well, so now the baking begins for birthdays, showers, and other parties. I started with the giant cupcake. I was so excited to make this cake, I didn't care if it was eaten, I just wanted to make it! It turned out adorable and tastes good too! It is the perfect cake for a birthday, the cupcake lover, or anyone who just loves cake!