Champagne & Raspberry Cupcakes

It's Valentine's Week, do you know what you are getting your sweetie this year? With only a few days left, there's still time to bake to impress! I've got the perfect treat that's sweet and pink. It features a bottle of bubbly and some fresh raspberries! So forget that box of chocolates or dozen roses this year, put on your apron and whip up a batch of these Champagne & Raspberry Cupcakes.

The recipe and all the details are featured over on Half Baked! I used Korbel Sweet Rose Champagne which paired well with the fresh raspberries. I hope you all enjoy these cupcakes and share them with the ones you love.

Wishing you all a sweet week!

XOXO

Ombre Red Velvet Cupcakes

Valentine's Day is quickly approaching and I've got the perfect sweet for you to share with your loved ones this year! Decorated with ruffles in shades of pink to red, these are a fancy version of your typical Red Velvet Cupcakes. I've also swapped out the traditional cream cheese icing for a white chocolate buttercream which I think you are going to LOVE! These are absolutely delicious and a must make for your sweetie!

I have been dying to try the ombre technique ever since I came across these stunning cakes over at Half Baked last year. I knew February would be the perfect month to have some fun with various shades of icing and my piping tips!

Although the various shades and layer upon layer of icing may appear a bit intimidating these cupcakes really are super easy to make! I'm sharing the recipe and all the tools & tips you will need to recreate this decorating technique over at Half Baked!

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Have you ever decorated something sweet with the ombre technique...I'd love to hear all about it!

XOXO

Tutorial: How to make Fondant Owl Cupcake Toppers

Owls seem to be popping up everywhere these days in party decor for baby showers and kids birthday parties. One of my friend's has even chosen an owl print for her soon to be baby boy's crib bedding. There are so many fun interpretations I have seen around the web for owl cookies, cakes, cake pops and invitations in an array of colors from pinks/greens, blue/browns, and even shades of purple. I just love how cute these little creatures are when recreated with sugar! So this weekend I finally got a chance to put my own spin on the owl theme when asked to make some baby shower cupcakes. Using the baby shower invite as inspiration I decided to make some fondant owl cupcake toppers that I think turned out absolutely adorable!

You too can make these fondant owls in a matter of minutes with a few shades of colored fondant and some different shaped cutters. Let me show you how with this step-by-step photo tutorial!

First you will need to tint fondant to your desired colors. This shower was for a baby girl so pink was my dominant color. Feel free to switch things up with blues, greens, purples, etc.

Here's the breakdown on the colors for my owls:

Dark Pink = owl body
Light Pink = wings
Orange = feet & nose
White = eyes & circular base for fondant topper
Black = eyes

You will need to following tools:
-2 5/8" round cutter (mine is from this set)
-set of 3 round cutters: small, medium, large
-leaf cutter
-Wilton round tip #12
-Wilton curved tip #81
-rolling pin
-offset spatula
-small cup of water
-paint brush

A few notes:
-Once you have rolled out the fondant and cut out the shapes I find it is easiest to use an offset spatula to slide underneath the shapes and lift them up when moving to create the owl shape.
-If you are making a large quantity of owls it is easier to set up an assembly line and make all of the same shapes first then move on to the next shape, rather than making each owl individually. Once you have all your shapes made then go back and assemble all the pieces.
-As you start to assemble you may notice that your fondant has started to harden and dry some, if this happens then use a small paint brush and dip in a cup of water and gently apply water on the pieces you need to assemble. Using a dab of water will help all pieces of the owl stick together and harden together.

Roll out some white fondant and cut a circle using the 2 5/8" cutter.

This circle will be the base of your fondant topper that you will place the owl on top of.

Roll out some Dark Pink fondant and cut with the large circle cutter.

This shape is the base of your owl body.

Take the medium circle cutter and cut out a small notch from the top of the circle.

This creates a curved shape for the head of the owl and the pointy ears.

Place the body of the owl on top of the white fondant circle.

Roll out some light pink fondant and use the leaf cutter to make the wings.

Place the wings on the sides of the owl body. It's starting to take shape!

Roll out some white fondant and using the small round cutter make the owl eyes.

Roll out some black fondant and using tip #12 make the inside of the owl eyes.

Your owl can now see! Only a few more steps...

Roll out some orange fondant and use the small round cutter to make a circle. Cut the circle in half with the offset spatula to create the feet.

Place the feet underneath the owl's body with the curved side touching the belly. Cut a small triangle nose from the orange fondant using the offset spatula.

One more step...feathers! Grab tip #81.

Place the curve side of the tip down into the belly of the owl so it make a "U" shape. Gently press the tip into the fondant and make some feathers. I did a row of 2, a row of 3 and another row of 2.

HOORAY! The owl is now complete!

So what do you think...pretty close replica to the invite?

Allow the fondant toppers to harden overnight and then place on top of your iced cupcakes! These owls can be made days in advance of your party as well if you don't want to be overwhelmed making decorations and baking all at the same time. If you do decide to make them in advance be sure NOT to put them in a tupperware container as the fondant will tend to soften and melt and all your hard work will be ruined.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful! If you decide to make your own fondant owls I'd love to see them so email me pictures or post on the CIS Facebook page.

Have a great week!

Pink Zebra Cake

Today is my neighbor Carley's 12th birthday! She wanted a cake with pink zebra stripes...

a peace sign & a smiley face. She says she always writes her name and then adds a smiley face at the end!

Schools out for the summer and she was heading to the lake this weekend to celebrate her birthday with family and friends! I'm sure there was lots of jet skiing and tubing! Fun times!

Zebra stripe cakes are always so fun to make. There is really no rhyme or reason to them you just roll out some fondant and use a wheel cutter to make all the stripes.

Happy Birthday Carley! Hope it was an awesome day!

Pink Piggies

It is really May already? Where have the days gone...my baking list is a mile long with recipes I want to try or new cake decorating techniques to practice, but my posts seem to be getting fewer and farther in between these days. I truly do apologize for my lack of updates to CIS lately, but April was one hectic month for me and May is turning out to be that way as well! I can assure you all I am still here and still baking up a storm but I am just not able to find enough time to dedicate to getting posts together these days! So please bare with me through this chaotic time and continue to check back for some new sugar inspiration!

This past weekend was the 13th Annual Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. If you have been following my blog for a while then you know I run marathons and also just recently designed a product for runners called RACEDAY books. So this past weekend I "hightailed it" (that was the theme of the marathon this year) north and headed to Cincy to sell my books at the marathon expo and also run the half marathon.

Of course this also gave me an excuse to bake some cute pink little piggy cookies to pass out to people who visited my booth! It was an awesome yet very exhausting weekend! I sold a ton of RACEDAY books, met lots of runners from all over the US, ran a half marathon in the rain, and stepped foot in 5 states in less than 24 hours yesterday (KY, OH, GA, FL, AL) from running the race (KY & OH) to flying from state to state (OH to GA to FL) and then driving home (AL).

This coming weekend is going to be just as crazy...because the time has come to make this cake. Wish me luck on my largest cake baking adventure yet!

Minnie Mouse Birthday Cake

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend! I had the opportunity to make a cake for a Minnie Mouse themed birthday party for a little girl named Emma who was turning three! To accompany the cake I made some mouse ear cupcakes with pink polka dot ribbons. This was definitely a sweet pink cake for sweet little girl.



This weekend I'll be switching gears and making a birthday cake for another 3 year old, only this time a boy and with a yellow construction theme! Be sure to check back next week for pics of the cake!

Sneak Peak

Happy December 1st! I'm so excited for the smell of peppermint, glittery ornaments, Christmas carols and oh so much holiday baking! Tonight Randolph and I started off December by going to pick out our Christmas tree from the same lot we have gone to the past three years. Oh how I love the smell of fresh evergreen trees! The tree is standing 8 feet tall in the corner of our living room, but will probably be bare for a few days until we can get down all the lights and decorations from the attic this weekend!

I'm planning to kick off my holiday baking tomorrow, so until then I wanted to share with you all a sneak peak photo from a recent baby shower I hosted. My cousin Suzi is having her first baby, a little girl due on Christmas Eve, I'm so excited for her! The picture you see above gives away a few clues about the shower...there was pink & gray and sugar cookies! I'm sorry, that is all I can share with you for now. You see there is a reason why this secret must be kept just a little while longer! I have submitted photos from the shower to the amazingly talented Amy Atlas the queen of dessert tables and she is going to feature this event on her blog! Amy truly is an inspiration to so many in the entertaining & dessert world, her work is one of a kind and her creativity is endless! Unfortunately I don't know when she will feature this shower, but to even be considered for recognition on her site is truly an honor. So I will sit back and wait patiently until the photos are posted for all to see! I really am happy with how all the details came together for Suzi's shower, and can't wait to share more photos and details with you all here!

If your curiosity is getting the best of you, feel free to leave me a comment with what you think the theme of the shower was or what other desserts were featured! I may or may not answer with a Yes or a No! But this could be a fun little game while we wait!