Beth Bakes

Showering KelDel

2010-08-08T12:19:00.004-04:00

Kelly's getting married! We've all come a long way from our MPG days but we'll always be Mad Phat Girlies. ;) I was super honored to do the cake for her bridal shower on August 7 -

Cake was vanilla with raspberry buttercream filling, crumb coated in vanilla buttercream and covered with fondant. Topper was hot pink roses and alstramaria!

Cupcakes were chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting, made by my wonderful friend Jess, and topped with hot pink "K" fondant toppers that I hand stamped and cut before going on vacation.

The shower was beautiful, as was the bride-to-be. Love you Kel - congrats!!

Destination: Memory Lane

2010-01-24T10:14:00.010-05:00

This weekend's second cake, also for a bridal shower, came as a referral from a SO very special friend Sherilyn...

Vanilla cake, filled and crumbcoated with vanilla buttercream, covered and decorated with fondant. Purple is one of the wedding colors and daisies are a favorite flower of the bride, whose monogram is L.G.

***
The delivery location of this cake is a really awesome local restaurant, a place where my high school friends and I would go to do karaoke before we were legally old enough to drink scorpion bowls. We celebrated birthdays and held post-prom parties there. Lots of great memories, which had me walkin' down that funny, sentimental Lane...

Disney World for Spring Break. Don't adjust your monitors - blown out (non-digital) photos and jean overalls were staples of the late 90's!

Our high school gym. As far as I know, the walls are still cobalt & mustard. Erm. I mean "navy & gold." That looks navy & gold to you, right?

Senior Prom. No one will be identified to protect the innocent...

Have fun trying to find yours truly!

Dawn's goin' to the chapel

2010-01-23T13:21:00.010-05:00

Today I made a special bridal shower cake for a very special bride...

This s'mores cake was chocolate fudge cake with marshmallow frosting and graham cracker filling, covered and decorated with fondant.

Dawn and I got to know each other in one of the most beautiful places in the world, Atlantis on Paradise Island in the Bahamas!

Congratulations, Dawn - may you and Scott have a lifetime of love, laughter, free beer and water slides!

Sixty-FORE!

2009-12-06T16:26:00.007-05:00

This weekend the best guy in my life, my dad, had a birthday. In honor of his favorite pasttime -

I've taken a lesson or two because he loves it so much, but I don't have much patience. The driving range is kickass though! Very zen.

The cake was chocolate with raspberry filling, chocolate frosting, covered and decorated with fondant.

Here's to many more Papa B Birthdays because I don't know what I'd do without him (to fix my lawnmower and make me laugh until my stomach hurts).

If the Red Sox are the Idiots...

2009-11-30T21:57:00.010-05:00

Then this cake for my cousin Derek's 33rd birthday is just perfect! ;)

We celebrated with King Derek on Thanksgiving, which happened to be his actual day this year. The cake was chocolate with cookies & cream filling, chocolate frosting and covered/decorated with fondant.

The godbaby (18 mos.) was a big fan!

Bathtime & Bibs

2009-09-14T17:28:00.005-04:00

This baby shower cake was for Kerry's surprise work shower -

Rubber duckies for bathtime!

Bib for dinnertime!

The parents-to-be don't know the sex of the baby yet, so pink and blue are both represented on this chocolate fudge cake with sugary vanilla frosting!

39

2009-09-14T17:19:00.005-04:00

That's how many years these guys have been married -

Aren't they cute at Becca and Mike's wedding?

In honor of Mom & Dad's 39th wedding anniversary, I made them try out one of my newest flavor combinations. The Pina Colada Cake has coconut cake filled with pineapple and cherries with coconut buttercream and crumbcoated with the same. Then covered and decorated with rolled fondant.

Hot, Hot, HOT

2009-08-19T22:14:00.008-04:00

That's how the weather's been around here lately... Lesson learned: If the dew point is above 62%, do not decorate cakes of ANY kind without airconditioning.

Last weekend I got to celebrate the 1st birthday of a very special little boy, Benjamin Henri, son of my pretty friend Michele! The party, like Ben's nursery, was jungle-themed.

The cake was three tiers, all crumbcoated in vanilla frosting and covered/decorated in fondant. Top two tiers were chocolate, middle with a strawberry filling, and bottom tier was vanilla. A little smash cake was also made for the birthday boy.

Ben got some help blowing out the candle from Mom & Dad -

And despite the scorching temps, dessert was enjoyed by all!

A very hearty Thank You! to my lovey, Kim, for her assistance in icing, rolling and general ledge talking.

Every Heart Beats True

2009-07-08T21:57:00.013-04:00

...for my red, white & blue trifle!

Layers of angel food cake, vanilla pudding and fresh berries, topped with Cool Whip and a "festive" American flag. This thing went FAST!

I had a wonderful 4th of July weekend with family and friends, good food and fun fireworks. I hope you all did too!

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-21T19:03:00.008-04:00

Once again, this Father's Day it rained. All my BBQs are cursed. :( Thankfully, the dads in my life (my father, left, and godfather camped out in the basement below) didn't seem to mind. :)

For dessert, I decided to experiment a little, and I "created" Reeses Peanut Butter Cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream and a little Reeses on top!

Family and peanut butter just make everything better.

“There's nothing better than good sex. But bad sex? A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is better than bad sex.”

2009-06-21T12:58:00.012-04:00

That Billy Joel is a wise, wise man. ;)

So anyway... This is Jess!

Jess and I met at work about three years ago, bonded over some mutual life experiences and are now fast friends. (Our doggies are also fast friends of course!)

For her 28th birthday, I made a little GF (gluten-free) cake. 6" square, raspberry with strawberry raspberry jam and peanut butter filling! Crumbcoated in the PB buttercream then covered and decorated in fondant. When cut, this cake actually looked like a big PB&J sandwich. (Sorry for the lack of inside pics...) It tasted yummy too - you couldn't even tell it was GF!

I know Jess wasn't looking forward to turning 28, but I also know that this year has wonderful things in store for her!

Pretty Pretty Princess

2009-05-26T21:54:00.006-04:00

That's actually one of Keely's many nicknames, but it's also what this cake reminds me of -

My mom turned 28 (again!) today, which is impressive since I will be 28 in about 3 weeks. ;) Her cake was 10" white with strawberries and cream filling, vanilla buttercream rosettes and PINK SPRINKLES. The sprinkles were my favorite part!

The granddog was ready to take a chomp. (She did go counter surfing later and got a beard full of pink frosting. I was So Not Pleased. And I'm sure most of you are So Not Surprised.)

Happy Birthday, Ma!

Godbaby!

2009-05-24T20:19:00.008-04:00

Jacob Thomas is ONE year old! It's almost impossible for me to believe. For his super special birthday party, his loving Auntie B made him his own smash cake -

He was awesome, digging in with both fists and flinging frosting around like a champ. Thomas the Tank got a little taste too.

Cake was 6" chocolate with chocolate frosting and fondant details -

JT, here's to a lifetime of the kind of happiness only cake on your face can bring. xoxo

Fuchsia & Navy

2009-05-18T17:53:00.018-04:00

These were the shower colors for the cake I did on Sunday. Love!

The blushing bride is a friend of my friend Jess, so it really was a special pleasure to do this cake.

The cake itself was white, filled and crumbcoated with vanilla buttercream, then covered in white fondant.

Jess and I worked together closely on the details, and she even made ALL the accompanying cupcakes! We agreed on an alternating color scheme - navy ribbon and fuchsia flowers for the cake and fuchsia liners with navy monogram accents for the cupcakes!

The flower topper was dark pink peonies, white and light pink campanula and dark pink waxflower. It was so dreamy and romantic, and perfectly paired with the more straightlaced navy. The navy monogram accents were made from stamped fondant and hand cut - quite a process but I was very pleased with the results.

The shower was held in the beautiful home of a family friend, and I'm told a wonderful time was had by all.

Here's the bride, enjoying one of Jess's cupcakes!

Like Mother...

2009-05-11T22:47:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was Mother's Day, so happy happy to those of you who have spawned. In honor of my own mother and grandmother, I made the following -

6" square white cake with strawberries & cream filling, vanilla buttercream and a topping of fresh flowers. Purple tulips and white peonies - which I beyond love! This was also my first attempt at fresh flowers on a cake, which made me nervous, but I did some research and was very pleased with this outcome. I will definitely be using flowers again!

I had brunch at my house, mostly so I could set the table all pretty and use my waffle maker. I never turn down the chance to use my waffle maker!

I definitely inherited my sweet tooth from these two. Mom and Nana, my favorite ladies, each went home with half the leftover cake. ;)

Baking for the cause

2009-04-21T12:34:00.004-04:00

Meet Erin and her furbaby Hillary.

Erin is a wonderful friend and all-around ecotastic girl. She hates cancer as much as I do, and in an effort to help me kick some cancer ass, she is hosting an e-bake sale & auction on her awesome blog, I Walk in this World. So stop by, bid on some treats, kick a little butt, rock my world - but be sure to stay, because Erin is definitely a daily must-read.

Oh, and I'm baking to help!

DELICIOUS Chocolate Chip Blondies (2-dozen) and as a bonus, they are Weight Watchers-friendly and only 3 Points per bar! They also freeze well and will make a yummy warm-weather frozen treat.

Bid early and bid often! The auction closes tomorrow at 5 PM!

What do you call rabbits that live in the North Pole?

2009-04-09T09:03:00.015-04:00

Cold.

*crickets*

Okay, that was in honor of my friend Bill, who loves crappy jokes.

This Easter I was tasked with - of course - desserts. Since my cousin's (way too pretty for him) girlfriend Jules told me she was bringing TWO chocolate pudding pies, I tried to stay away from chocolate. (I did sneak in oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but they don't count, right?)

I've been itching to do some cute cupcakes, and I couldn't decide on just one decorating theme. So what the hell - I did two. All cupcakes were yellow cake with buttercream frosting.

The first batch:
Covered with white fondant daisies. I made these little guys earlier in the week so they would harden in time. And then I demanded of everyone who came into the kitchen to tell me just how CUTE they were...

The second batch:

Peeps! Cupcakes and Peeps?! You got it. The idea came from one of the many baking blogs I follow. Buttercream was dusted with granulated sugar, then topped with a Peep. So easy! So fun! The question was, do you eat the Peep first, or try to get a little Peep with each bite? ;) (The answer? I tried both!)

Miz Keely was my trusty assistant for this special project -

And the godbaby (at 10.5 months old) got to have his first cuppie on Easter Sunday!

"You've been holding out on me, people. This is MUCH better than pureed peas."

Maura's havin' a baby ♥

2009-03-26T08:52:00.007-04:00

My pretty little coworker Maura (she has the most enviable, gorgeous red hair) is pregnant with her first - little Logan is due within the month. To celebrate, we are throwing her a "first floor shower" in the training room.

A couple of months ago, long before the surprise shower was planned, after my "cake class graduation," we joked that I would have to make her cake. Given the number of people who will be attending (and the state of my life at the moment), I didn't have time to make a big rockin' cake, but I did want to surprise her with a little something. After all, the girl sampled every single one of my concoctions on Tuesday mornings, after 4 straight months of Monday night classes.

My idea for this cake took many, many turns. In the end, it was a two-layer 8" square chocolate fudge cake with cookies and cream filling and whipped cream frosting, covered and decorated with fondant (my favorite). I was able to bake the cake and prepare the frosting on Tuesday. Decorating took place during the Idol results show on Thursday. (Poor Michael...)

Congratulations, Maura - may motherhood be all you hope for and more.

Congratulations, Kel & Mike Glass!

2009-02-13T13:18:00.016-05:00

My wonderful nutmegger friend Kelly got engaged back in January. Her boyfriend Mike (forever dubbed Mr. Glass since she moved to CT to be near him before any of us had even met him!) popped the question atop the Empire State Building in NYC, thereby making an honest woman out of her. ;)

Kel and I, along with the rest of our fearsome foursome Lisa and Michele, used to work together at an advertising agency in Boston. (Kel and I even started on the same day! We used to meet in the ladies room lounge to dish about everyone else. The "photographer," anyone? Wooden beds?) Since she moved eleventy billion years ago, she has come back up to MA to visit us (and, um, her family) but we have never made the trip down to see her. Until now!

What says "Happy Engagement!" more than Tiffany-blue? (The answer: Not much.)

This was my first fondant cake outside of cake class. (Hi Courtney! Hi Cheryl! Miss you guys!) I used a 6" pan, since only 4 of us would be eating it. White cake with strawberry buttercream. The week leading up to our CT mini road trip was kind of a disaster, so I baked on Wednesday night, frosted and made the bow on Thursday, tinted the fondant on Friday, and woke up early Saturday (thanks to Miz Keely) to finish the decorating. Clearly I'm going to have to come up with a better system!

The snowflake cake plate was a Christmas prezzie from my lovey, Kim, and came in really handy for the drive. A regular (rounded) plate would have wobbled too much, and as we (read: Cheryl) learned in cake class, you can't put fondant bows in airtight cake carriers!

Congrats again, Kel! Mad Phat Girliez 4-eva. ♥

Preheating the Blogging Oven

2009-02-13T13:04:00.003-05:00

So here I am, 4 Wilton decorating class certificates in my Crisco-greased hands and a wish to share my love of cake with the masses. My goal is to post each time I create a new cake, so we can all laugh at (and marvel over) my progress... So far I'm only doing cakes for my own amusement, for family and friends' special occasions, holidays and because my coworkers ask nicely. Maybe someday I'll bake for profit, but until then I'm just starting to flex my carved-from-fondant muscles.