A very Golden Birthday

Hello readers,

      So today was a very special day because it was my boyfriend's 22nd birthday.. and since he is turning 22 on the 22nd, it will be his GOLDEN birthday! I think I was more excited than he was when I told him, nevertheless, I knew I had to make him a very special birthday cake. Since he absolutely looooves chocolate, it was easy to decide what flavor of cake to make (chocolate fudge, duh!) but I wasn't sure how I was going to decorate it. 

      After thinking about it long and hard, I thought it'd be great to bring back his roots, and celebrate his heritage as he turns 22. I incorporated his Jamaican culture onto it. Blake has a tattoo of the 'lion of judah' on his chest, so I thought it'd be fun to try and make a lion out of fondant! Here is the result..

Happy Birthday Blake!

my little 'lion of judah'

      He loved the cake, but the only problem I had with it was that the fondant was too thin when I placed it over the cake, so there were a lot of bubbles and bumps, not as smooth as I wanted it to be. I also had a little balancing problem with the lion because it was top heavy. Next time, I think I need to use some lollipop sticks or toothpicks for extra support, in order for my fondant figure to stand up better. Other than that the cake was a hit and really fun to make!

      Well that's it for today, and in light of this cake being Jamaican themed, my little quote that I will leave with you today is from Bob Marley...

  
{Don't worry about a thing, cause every little thing is gonna be alright.. with cupcakes!}

Irresistibly yours,

Venithda 

Will you be my valentine?

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

       I don't want to sound too sappy but what a cute holiday for everyone who is in love and wants to show the world their love. I'm still not sure why there's a holiday for it (because LOVE should be celebrated everyday) but for baker's like me, this is the perfect time to bake red velvet cupcakes and garnish them with lots of little heart sprinkles. 

       I am a hopeless romantic, and each year, I make a batch of Blake's favorite cupcakes (chocolate fudge) and decorated them with love. This valentine's day, I took advantage of using fondant for all the love little pieces that I added for decoration. In previous years, I worked more with melted chocolate or sprinkles to create hearts etc. But since I have become more used to kneading, shaping, and creating objects with fondant, there was no question that I wouldn't use fondant on these.

      I went a little crazy and made fondant hearts, kissy lips, love letters, X's & O's, mini valentine's and sprinkled conversation hearts around the plate. Blake loved them! And I was very proud of myself, check them out below and let me know what you think!

Happy Valentine's Day!

      You know that saying, {A way to a man's heart, is through his stomach.} It's true. Trust me, bake up some cupcakes and surprise your sweetie, and he'll be in love forever.

Irresistibly yours, 

Venithda