Waddle it Be? - Gender Reveal Party

This weekend I finally got to reveal a secret I had the privilege of keeping for two weeks now! Another one of my friends is pregnant and asked me to do the honor of making the special cake that would reveal if she was having a boy or girl! Gender reveal parties are definitely a new trend I have seen over the last year as a fun way to get friends and family together and share in the excitement of a baby that is on the way! You may remember last year I got to bake two cakes for a twins gender reveal party!

Jennifer texted me at 15 weeks pregnant saying "I have an envelope in my purse for you that contains the gender of our baby". The next day I drove over to her house, received the secret envelope with the ultrasound and we started planning her gender reveal party! She had come across the theme "Waddle it Be?" from a blog and we both thought that idea was super cute and one that was very unique!

Jennifer's vision for the party was to keep things very neutral in color with yellow and white being the primary focus and adding pops of green! Of course there had to be a dessert table!

I absolutely love what she came up with for the polka dot baby garland backdrop and the dessert table.

She made all of the gorgeous flower arrangements and even hand cut the felt flower embellishments on the vases and wrapped them in twine.

Before it was time to cut the cake and reveal the gender of the baby, guests could munch on lemon squares...

bags of popcorn...

and cake balls that had been tinted both blue and pink inside to keep everyone in suspense.

The secret cake...will it be blue or will it be pink inside?

I have seen so many cute cakes lately with "cake bunting" on top and thought that would be a super cute and simple way to decorate the cake for the big reveal.

Guests were also invited to place their best guess and best wishes in a jar before the big reveal!

Here's the glowing mama to be Jennifer with our friend Andrea, who also helped with a lot of the party decorations and food.

Here's Jennifer and me just before it was time to cut the cake.

The proud parents...Brian and Jennifer! Oh and by the way Brian already knows the gender...apparently he peaked at the ultrasound!

Time to cut the cake....Jennifer was convinced it was a boy!

Love that look of excitement on her face...

Such a happy and SHOCKED mama! It's a GIRL!

There was so much excitement and screaming when the piece of cake was revealed! There are currently 9 boys and only 1 girl grandchild on Jennifer's side of the family so everyone was so excited to know another little girl was on the way!

Jennifer sharing a hug with her mom!

The happy parents!

The ultrasound is finally revealed to Jennifer!

All the guests at the party were encouraged to dress in their best guess...blue or pink. Blue was definitely the majority vote...but they were so very wrong!

Here's the pink group....smaller but smarter!

Congratulations Brian & Jennifer I am so happy for you both and so honored that you allowed me to know the sex of your baby before you! You are going to be amazing parents!

Owl Cake Pops

Today I'm excited to share with you my latest adventures in cake pops! How cute are these little Owls? Ever since I ordered my copy of Bakerella's Cake Pops book when it first came out I have been dying for an excuse to make these adorable little creatures! Well lucky for me I finally got the chance this past weekend.

My college roommate, Laurie gave birth to a sweet baby boy Max two weeks ago and I sent her these along with some cute little baby outfits! She had shown me some owl fabric they picked out for Max's bedding and immediately I knew these owl pops would be the perfect treat once he was born!

I couldn't help myself and made some blue and brown cake balls to send too!

After wrapping them in about 10 pounds of bubble wrap I shipped them off and hopped for the best! I heard from Laurie today and she received the owls and they were still recognizable...thank you Mr./Mrs. Postman for the safe delivery!

Congratulations Laurie on your new little bundle of joy! Can't wait to meet him soon!

M&M Birthday

Welcome to what I'm going to officially call "Baby Week" here on the blog! This week is going to be filled with fun sweets that I have recently made or will be making later this week to celebrate: twin babies 1st birthday, a baby's birth, and a gender reveal party!

First up we have an "M&M" themed 1st birthday party for two of the cutest twin boys ever...Mack & Miles! How fitting is the M&M theme? If you're a long time follower of CIS then you probably remember I have made quite a few cakes and pops for these boys in the past....here, here and here. I was so excited when their mom and my great friend Kelly asked me to make the goodies for their 1st bday!

There were M&M cookie favors, M&M cake pops, and a chocolate birthday cake decorated with M&Ms. I love how everything came together to create a vibrant and cheery party! When I walked into Kelly's house it seriously looked like an M&M factory! She had an M&M table cloth, a huge apothecary jar filled with M&Ms, mini glass jars filled with M&Ms for favors, rainbow streamers everywhere, wooden signs with M&Ms, even M&M rainbow colored plates and cups...and I'm sure I'm forgetting something. I am kicking myself for not having my camera with me, but hoping she will share some pics from the party! Oh and the cutest part of all, she had bought M&M onesies for the boys to wear. One would be a red M&M and the other a yellow M&M! Oh I bet they looked so stinkin cute!

Happy 1st Birthday Mack & Miles! Thanks Kelly for asking me to be part of your boys special day!

Up next...some super sweet cake pops for my friend who had a little boy, Max a little over a week ago. I'm loving all these "M" little boy names!

S'mores Cupcakes

Graham crackers, marshmallows & chocolate = one fabulous ooey gooey sandwich cookie! After spending a recent camping trip next to the fire roasting marshmallows and assembling S'mores I was inspired to turn one of my favorite cookies into a cupcake! Head on over to Half Baked for my S'mores Cupcake recipe and more photos of these camping inspired treats!

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!

Neapolitan Brownie Ice Cream Cake

Happy August! I can't believe summer is flying right on by and Fall will be here before we know it! This summer has been extremely hot and humid in Mobile, so I've found myself not wanting to turn on the oven and bake quite as often. Being able to open the freezer and find a sweet treat is what I'm all about these days.

Remember the Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe I shared with you a few days ago? Well sometimes when I eat ice cream I crave chocolate too, and cake and icing...so I decided to create a Neapolitan Brownie Ice Cream Cake just to cover all my cravings in one delicious bite!

The ice cream layer sandwiched in between two layers of chocolate is absolutely perfect. And the thin layer of strawberry buttercream adds a little extra sweetness to each bite of cake.

I cut a slice for me and a slice for you...but then I had to eat your slice because, well, it was melting and I'm addicted and it was just too darn good!

Chocolate, vanilla and strawberry not your favorite flavor combination...well the possibilities are truly endless when making an ice cream cake. You can swap out the brownie layers for your favorite cake instead.

Don't have an ice cream maker and don't want to make your own from scratch...go buy a half gallon of your favorite flavor and keeps things simple! Heck add a second layer of ice cream and feature two of your favorite flavors!

Don't want to dirty up your mixer to make the buttercream...why not ice the cake with a chocolate ganache or some whipped cream.

See what I mean, you can go a million ways with this idea! So play around with what works best for you and go create a fabulous ice cream cake masterpiece! I sure did have fun with this one, but I'm envisioning one with chocolate chips or Oreos next time around. Or maybe even a Snickers Ice cream bar cake...YUM!

Neapolitan Brownie Ice Cream Cake
(makes one 3-layer 8" cake)

-box of brownie mix
-Homeade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
-Strawberry Buttercream (recipe below)


1.Prepare brownie mix per package directions. Bake in two 8" cake pans. Allow brownie layers to completely cool before assembling cake.
2.Line an 8" cake pan with aluminum foil. Scoop ice cream into prepared pan. I used 8 scoops and spread flat with a spatula. Place a layer of foil on top of the ice cream and place pan in freezer to firm up for 2-3 hours prior to assembling cake.
3.Place one layer of brownie on cake plate for bottom layer. Remove ice cream layer from freezer and place on top of brownie layer. Add the second brownie layer on top of the ice cream layer. Tightly wrap cake in foil and place back in the freezer for 2 hours to firm up.
4.Remove frozen cake from freezer and frost with Strawberry Buttercream. You will need to work quickly when icing the cake as it tends to harden fast since the cake is frozen. Once the cake is completely frosted place back in the freezer until ready to serve.


Strawberry Buttercream
-2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
-5 cups confectioner's sugar
-1 tsp strawberry extract
-3 Tbsp milk

-Beat butter with stand mixer until creamy.
-Gradually add in confectioner's sugar, scraping sides of bowl as necessary.
-Add in strawberry extract and milk and mix until desired consistency.

So what flavors would make up your perfect Ice Cream Cake?