Let them eat cake!

Let them eat cake!!  Words spoken by a young and naive Marie Antoinette.  However, if I were give the choice between ice cream and cake, I'll always go for cake.  Maybe this is why I decided to start baking in the first place.  I have since found that baking is somewhat of a stress reliever.  I absolutely love being able to think up and execute a design.  I've never been one for being creative or artistic.  I wish I was one of the lucky ones.  However, when I am able to make a cake and decorate it the way I had imagined, it gives me that small glimmer of hope that there is a creative bone in my body.  Ha!

As my journey continues, you will see several cakes that I have done over the past two years.  These entries may not be long, but can speak volumes with my pictures. 

Here was my first stab at fondant and making a 6-layered cake.  Miss P chose a My Little Pony themed birthday party when she turned 4 and 5.  Whenever I planned the party I came across a rainbow cake that I just knew would be perfect for the party. 

 

The party was outdoors which caused my fondant to melt.  I'm not a big fan of fondant.  It's sticky and usually doesn't taste well.  I do make marshmallow fondant so that it doesn't have a totally bland taste.  Mr. B isn't fond of fondant at all!!  He prefers my butter cream to any other type of icing.  You should have seen Miss P's eyes light up whenever I cut into this cake for her.  She was beyond happy.  Below are the cupcakes that accompanied the party! 

Whenever she turned 5 she requested another My Little Pony party.  I was actually a little relieved because I already had a leg up on decorations!!  Whenever I asked her what kind of cake she wanted she chose another rainbow cake.  I decided against fondant this time and decorated solely with butter cream. 

 

One rainbow cake complete with ponies and all the cutie marks.  Miss P said that this cake was the best cake ever.  Believe it or not I happen to enjoy making rainbow cakes.  I have many requests for them.  They may be tedious and time consuming, but it's a task I love to do.  

The Journey Continues...

What's that popular saying???  You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.  Well I feel that this also applies to my cake making process.  You all saw the first attempt at baking for one of my girls.  My icing job wasn't the best and I had no idea what a cake leveler was.  As a matter of fact, I didn't even get my first cake leveler until 4 months later.  How on earth did I survive those 4 months without it?  It has become a major staple in my endeavor. 

My next attempt at baking for my girls came in the form of a two-tier hexagon cake for Miss A.  She wanted a Barbie themed party for her 6th birthday.  On to Pinterest I went and found a few ideas for cakes.  However, since I was just starting out I didn't think I was quite ready to tackle fondant.  I opted to do a zebra cake with pink buttercream icing. 

Obviously I still had not mastered the art of smoothing out the icing.  Oh and did I mention that I didn't have a cake leveler?!?  Notice the two different shades of pink???  Yep, it was my bright idea to use a different kind of pink for the bottom tier.  I was thinking along the lines of Julia Roberts a la Steel Magnolias and her two shades of pink for the wedding (blush and bashful).  However, it turned out more like bright pink and not quite as bright pink.  Ha!  Live and learn.  The beauty of this cake was that Miss A could have cared less what it looked like.  She loved that it was pink and decorated with Barbie.  She told me repeatedly, "Mommy I just love my cake!!".  It could have looked like a pile of goo, but the fact that I made it for her is what made it that much more special. 

40 cupcakes iced and ready to go!!

 

 

Miss P wants a Barbie party this year (that's what she told me a few months ago).  Maybe I'll revisit the cake and see how I would do with 2 more years of experience.  And in the words of Rachael Ray, Until next time....I'll see ya when I see ya!

 

 



AMP'd Up Desserts is born...

Well it's official.  I have decided to take my hobby to the next level and start a business.  I've been dabbling for a couple years now, but I am starting to gain more clients as the years go on.  I've never been one that's big on writing, but I figured a blog would be a great way to expose my business to those who aren't on Facebook. 

My journey....

I started this whole endeavor a little over 2 years ago. When Miss M was turning 1, I told myself that I could make her birthday cake cheaper than it would have cost me to buy it.  Cheaper and better tasting!!  Pinterest and Wilton have become my BFFs in this whole ordeal!!  Since it was my first time, there was lots of trial and error.  Despite the failed icing (1st attempt) and messy layer cake, I enjoyed every single minute of it.  Miss M could have cared less what her cake tasted like.  She dug in and was the happiest birthday baby!!



My cakes have definitely improved from this first attempt, but I will always remember where I started. 

Where did the name come from???  Well I'm a mom first and since the inspiration to even start baking came from my girls, it would only be natural that the name would be inspired by my girls.  Miss A, Miss M and Miss P are the AMP in AMP'd.  They are the reason I started baking and they are my drive to make this a success. 

Thanks for checking it out!!