Archive for December, 2011

Merry (Belated) Christmas!

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

THANK YOU to my faithful readers who’ve been keeping up with my blog even when I haven’t been posting regularly these past two weeks. You know the holiday season’s super hectic and I’m sort of glad it’s over. This year’s been the BUSIEST YET CALMEST holiday season for me EVER! I’ve had more orders this year than the past two Christmases combined but the KEY is to stay organized, be well-stocked with ingredients and to ASK FOR HELP from others.

Amongst 1000 cookie orders last week, I also got to make my very first Christmas cake! It was a penguin-themed cake and all I could think of when putting this together was an embarrassing conversation I had while walking home in grade 4. In elementary school we had to write and present speeches of the topic of our choice at the end of the year. The person with the best speech in the class would then be a representative at school competition. There was definitely a rivalry between classes and the topics each chose. While walking home one afternoon, a girl (Janice W – yup! I still remember her name) from the rival class and I were talking about speeches. She told me her classmates were doing their speeches on world hunger, poverty, disease, slavery etc… and when she asked me what my speech was about… I said…



“… penguins”


Ha ha… funny girl. The sad thing was, I was serious! :)

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Engaged

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

HA! Not me. But the wonderful boyfriend who surprised his girlfriend (soon-to-be fiancee) with these cutesy under the sea themed cupcakes. I think I’m getting better at these sea creatures. I’ve lost count on how many times people have ordered this… at LEAST 5? Angry Birds and these fishies are tied for #1 for MOST REQUESTED DESIGN! :)



So my friend planned this huge surprise party and he was going to propose to his girlfriend there and asked me to make these cupcakes for them. Quite creative and unique for a proposal party!


These were my favourite of the bunch.


And of course, being the SUPPORTIVE friend that I am said…
“She better say YES cause these cupcakes are non-refundable”…

SHE SAID YES! :D (so I’m guessing a wedding cake will be coming soon… :P )

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My Very First CARS Cake

Monday, December 19th, 2011

It’s been a long time coming but I got to make a CARS cake this past weekend. This seems like a very obsessive craze amongst the 2 to 5-year-old age range (for boys) and I should know that because Zach and Aiden love them which makes US fall victim of everything CARS-related when we go to Wal-Mart, Toys R Us, the Disney Store and anywhere they sell McQueen/Mater toys/clothes/dishes/cups/towels/underwear. Actually, Aiden is still in the ELMO phase and based on Zach’s timeline, Aiden should be fully converted in about 6 months or so.


See how all the checkerboard squares fit EXACTLY on the cake board? That just drove me nuts with excitement. I’m such a nerd and I fully embrace it and I just love it when things work out… like 1.5″ squares x 8 = 12″ cake board. HAPPY ME!


I was a little intimidated to sculpt McQueen + Mater because every detail had to be just right or they will look like their messed-up, less-than-famous, drugged-up twin brother and we wouldn’t want that to happen now, would we? The pressure’s on! :) I took my sweet time to do McQueen, making sure every little indent in his metal body reflected his true self. I had multiple tabs opened on my browser with his photos from different angles… everything had to be perfect! I was quite happy with how he turned out. Not 100% though, unfortunately as I’m not happy with how one part came out and I can’t stop thinking/looking at it. I’m not going to tell you which part it is because then YOU’LL be fixated on it :P




Taking the confidence I acquired from sculpting McQueen, I then went on to Mater. I loovoveoveove how he turned out! He’s so darn cute for a tow truck! It took me an hour to put all the details on and from his cute little button nose to the side mirrors as ears, I love everything about this guy. I especially love his crooked teeth–they’re so endearing! I just want to give him a hug, but I know I can’t. And probably shouldn’t. Maybe I’ll give him a mental hug! My brother has been giving out mental hugs as Christmas presents ever since I could remember… at least that’s better than nothing! *HUG!* :D




I also custom designed tags for his cupcake/cookie favour giveaways. I love matchy matchy stuff. All the cupcakes were dairy-free chocolate cake with vanilla frosting topped with a flag with a #2 in it and a wheel with a #2 in it. Oh! And it was covered in glitter as well… Jenn style! :)



I’m quite happy with my first attempt at this beloved childrens’ movie. I have a few more of these lined up so stay tuned! More characters coming your way :)
Happy Monday! ;)

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Posted in "Firsts", Birthdays, Boys will be Boys, Cakes, Cupcakes, Just for Kids, Tiered Cakes | 1 Comment »

Holiday Cookie Collection 2011

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

This post is extremely late and I do apologize! As you have noticed, I haven’t been posting as regularly as before because of my super busy schedule. I just finished a CARS-themed two-tier cake for a two-year-old’s birthday and matching cupcake and cookie favours to go along with it (and it’s 4:30am!!). I have also been busy baking tons of holiday cookies because Christmas is right around the corner! If you are not connected to my Facebook page, click the link on the sidebar to see the entire holiday cookie collection and pricing. The last day to place your order is this Wednesday!


Linzer Cookies

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We’re Not in Kansas Anymore!

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

So those of you connected to my Facebook page or my personal account may or may not have read that I had the honour and privilege of attending the finale taping of Bravo TV’s newest series, “WAY OFF BROADWAY”. It is a show that follows a group of individuals on all walks of life (librarian, dentist, child psychiatrist… ) as they pursue their passion of becoming a broadway star. My dear friend, Jon (you may have read about him in my Vanilla Scones post) auditioned and made it into cast and that’s how I got to attend the taping :)




I always, always wanted to make Wizard of Oz cupcakes for some strange reason but never found the chance to do so and the people to appreciate it. I asked Jon to pass my information on to the director, Sarina Condello and tA-da–she loved my work and wanted to order cupcakes from me. YAY! My WISH came true! :) (I have such small but heartfelt wishes)




These were made for their finale wrap party this past weekend and I had a BLAST making them! They’re so darn cute! There were more cupcake designs but I didn’t get a chance to photograph them (boo!). I was so inspired by the musical and wanted to incorporate the details of the set/costume design into the cupcakes as well. Attending a taping is SUPER exciting! This was my second time around and all the media attention and flashy lights made my heart race faster :) The first time I went to one at CBC and it was an improv show, much like Whose Line Is It Anyway, but it was starring Colin Mochrie called The Tinkerer. THE SHOW DIDN’T FLY.




The music was incredible. Jon’s acting gave me CHILLS (in a good way!) and it was hilarious from start to finish. If you look close enough, you may even see me texting on my phone and then realizing the camera was right in front of my face and me frantically shoving the phone in my bag and continue to watch the musical while keeping an eye on the camera. I even did a dorky head-tilt, side-wave too just to get the guy out of my face. EESH. Anyways, I can’t say much about the musical because I’m stepping over some fine lines here as I was informed by someone from the show butttttt…. you can catch all the action on Feb 10th on Bravo TV — check your local listings! It’s an 8-part series. WEEEeeE! Can’t wait.

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A Snowflake Wedding

Monday, December 12th, 2011

“One crazy weekend” would be the 3 words I’d choose to describe the past few days. Lots of orders, lots of new clients and of course, lots of fun! It has also occurred to me that I am extremely OCD and want demand things to be done a certain way. And when things don’t go my way… Jenny no happy! ;)



I rarely attend the weddings I cater so attending my good friend Trish’s wedding was a definite treat for me! The cake was pretty straightforward and simple — 3-tier white cake with navy blue ribbon and cascading snowflakes. The “something new” for me would be adding the Grecian pillars because the groom wanted the cake to be higher (and you know, it’s 20% his wedding too! ;) ). I have NEVER used pillars on a wedding cake before so I was really nervous about it. Will the cake collapse? Will the four pillars be strong enough to hold the top tier? Will our friendship be ruined because of this potentially ruined cake? So many worries!



Behind every cake is a story and when I look at the cakes I’ve made in the past, I don’t only see a whimsical design or matching colours–I remember the people and the memories that the sugarwork represents. When I look at this cake, I don’t think about all those long nights I stayed up to cut, emboss and paint each snowflake, how my hands and sometimes face were covered in glitter that matched Trish’s invites or even how MOST of snowflakes I made BROKE even before I could put them on the cake. Instead, I am reminded of the first time I met with Trish at Panorama Lounge, 51 floors above street level to discuss the vision for her dream cake. I remember the first time I met Avo, her then-fiance, now-husband, when the three of us sat down in the food court at Fairview mall to confirm the design and flavours of each tier. I couldn’t stop but marvel at how perfect they were for each other. Everything about their personality complemented each other so incredibly well. They were so cute and so in love.



This cake reminds me that true love exists.

Posted in Cakes, Weddings | 2 Comments »

Still Here

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

Just been reallllly busy! To summarize my week: went to BRAVO TV’s finale taping of WAY OFF BROADWAY (premiering on Feb 10th), had tons and tons of cookie orders go out, engagement cupcakes, Bravo’s Wizard of Oz cast party cupcakes, Minnie Mouse cupcakes + a wedding today.



Here’s TOTO on the infamous yellow brick road.

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One Crazy Weekend

Monday, December 5th, 2011

I LOVE MONDAYS! I know you’ve heard me say this before but I really do. Weekends are crazy busy for me with lots of orders so when Monday rolls around, I can finally BREATHE. I’ve been having a relaxing day today sculpting and replying to e-mails. Lots of fun cakes coming up soon :)

I did a cake on Friday for a young man named Brandon – it was his 16th birthday! He loves burgers, fries (McDs- who doesn’t?), strawberry swirl cheesecake, PS3 and his yorkie — PEPSI! So I put all of his favourite things on his birthday cake…









He’s also getting his G1 this year (hence the cars) and at the back of the cake, it says, “THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS”… from Sound of Music ;)

Posted in Birthdays, Boys will be Boys, Cakes | 1 Comment »