.ode to chocolate cake day.

Yes! That's right! It's the day we've all been waiting for: NATIONAL CHOCOLATE CAKE DAY!!! It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. After all, it's a day devoted to the celebration and enjoyment of one of lifes best guilty pleasures: chocolate cake!

Since everyone observes this very special holiday in their own way, the way you choose to celebrate may vary: indulging in an entire sheet cake for breakfast... and lunch... and dinner, hanging pieces of cake around the house to help set a festive mood, face painting with chocolate frosting, making chocolate cake baskets and doing a chocolate cake hunt in the yard, filling socks with morsels of chocolate cakey goodness and hanging them by the fire...

*Sigh* Such wonderful memories... Okay. I'm kidding. We have never celebrated National Chocolate Cake day. In fact, I didn't even know about until two nights ago when I was looking up "food holidays" for funzies. Just because we haven't enjoyed an festivities in the past, however, doesn't mean we won't enjoy this little known (and slightly random) holiday this year. Maybe a chocolate buttermilk sheet cake is in order...

.mario cupcakes.

 

Okay. These have got to be the coolest cupcakes ever made... or at least the coolest ones I've ever made! Ha, ha! I have seen this idea done before, and thought I would give it a whirl! I used fondant to create all the designs by hand. It was a long process (3.5 hours!), but I love the end result!

I am quite impressed with my Mario especially. I was worried no one would know who it was supposed to be, but I think he is recognizable and delicious! My one regret: using a new recipe for the cupcakes. They turned out tasting more like muffins to me... Oh, well. At least they look mah-velous!

.sunflowers in january.

I made these cupcakes for a girl who works with my sister-in-law, Jenny. It was her birthday and Jenny wanted to take a cake or cupcakes to work for her. I had been dying to try these little sunflower cupcakes out, so I jumped at the opportunity! I don't mean to toot my own horn, but I think they turned out rather well, don't you? ^_^

 

.the dora/robot/strawberry shortcake... er... cake.

My sister-in-law asked if I would make a cake for my cute little niece, Milli's, third birthday. Of course, being the self-taught cake student I am, I jumped at the chance to "practice" some more. Milli wanted a Dora/Robot/Strawberry Shortcake cake so I made this quirky little creation:

It was quite delectable (chocolate cake with cherry filling) and was super fun to make!

.firefighter birthday cake.

For my dad's 46th birthday, I decided to make him a "3-D" firefighter helmet cake since he's, you guessed it, a firefighter! This one posed some interesting challenges, but it turned out pretty well. At any rate, it was tasty which is the most important thing when it comes to cakes, right?

.ladybug cakes.

For Livi's first birthday party, I planned a "Ladybug Luncheon." Of course I had to have a ladybug cake and I thought, "Why buy when I can create?" So, I set about my planning to make not one, but two ladybug cakes: one to share and one for Livi to destroy, of course.

I ended up making a 12 inch, triple layer, hand-carved, fondant covered cake for all of our birthday guests and a little ladybug cake with non-dairy frosting for Livi. It took a long time (especially coloring and kneading the fondant), but it was so worth it! Check 'em out!

 

(Notice the alternating chocolate and red velvet layers. Yummy!)

.happy birthday, livi.

Wow! I can't believe my little one is... one! This is the cake I made for Livi's first birthday. Her party isn't for another week, so of course I had to make a cake for the big day in addition to the cake for her party. So, here it is! This is the first cake I've made with fondant and I think it looks quite cute. It tasted pretty good, too!