National Cake Day and a Giveaway!

Today is National Cake Day! This is one of my favorite days of the year! So in honor of today, here's a quick cake recipe for you! 

Before I got comfortable baking from scratch, I used cake mixes and my sister and I couldn't figure out the best way to make our cakes taste different. So, with the help of my cousin and fellow baker, we figured out that following the directions on the box and adding an extra egg to the number of eggs your mix requires + a pack of Jello Instant Pudding Mix made a difference :)! So for example, if your cake mix asks for 3 eggs, use 4. Add chocolate pudding mix to a chocolate cake, vanilla to vanilla, etc- the possibilities are endless :o) OR you could be creative and add pistachio instant pudding to white cake mix. You get the idea!

With that said, thinking of what to take with you to thanksgiving dinner? Try this! Not only is this thoughtful, but also delicious! AND very cost effective (I'm talking $10 +effort)! Go ahead! Thank me later! :o)

  

Also, I realize that I hardly ever post the smaller, simpler cakes we make. So, in honor of National Cake day, here are a few photos of cakes I made this week:

This cake was made for Jeff's wife's birthday :) It's a white cake with chocolate buttercream.

I made this cake for my sister-in-law's office thanksgiving potluck. It's a red velvet cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

                                Here's the cake an hour later- BEFORE the potluck started. :) yum yum!

Lastly, in honor of National Cake day, send me pictures of the cake you tried to info@bimsflavors.com. This Sunday (12/1/13), 2 submissions will be chosen at random to win a free dozen cupcakes from BimsFlavors!

Have a great day everyone! And email me or comment here and let me know how yours turned out!



Calabash and Kolanut Traditional Wedding Cake

This past summer (and I say 'past' because the warmth of summer feels like AGES ago) we made a few traditional wedding cakes.

 

I love making traditional wedding cakes (OK I confess I love all things cake) but I especially love when clients ask for something I've never done before. It gets the creative juices flowing in my head. This type of cake is pretty common in Nigeria but a first for me.

In Traditional Nigerian igbo weddings, the bride gets a cup/glass of palm wine from her father, and presents it to her husband as a way of showing her family that this is the man she has agreed to marry.

                       This traditional wedding cake depicts palm wine flowing from a calabash/gourd. Next to it   are kolanuts on a saucer and traditional bracelets.

The main cake is french vanilla with fresh strawberries and cream filling and a white chocolate frosting. The gourd is fresh strawberry cake filled with fresh strawberry buttercream.

Our handmade fondant kolanuts make their debut again :)

To learn more about traditional weddings, click here. You can also click here for pictures of nigerian traditional weddings.

Congratulations to all our 2013 brides!

Matters Magazine!

A few weeks ago we sat down with Karen Duncan, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Matters Magazine to talk about Bims for their Chef's Choice Food Issue. It was such an amazing interview! Talking with Karen was so much fun, she made us feel so comfortable and, although she was interviewing us, we learned so much from her! I have to tell you that you learn the best by listening to other people's experiences.

Thank you Karen!

We sent Matters Magazine pictures of some cakes we'd done and they chose Sophie's Mess Cake! How exciting! This cake was made for Sophie's Mess Party. For details about this party, click here!

We are so honored to be featured in this month's Matter's magazine Food Issue: Chef's Dish! Read more at www.mattersmagazine.com

Bee-Themed Baby Shower

We created this cake for a bee-themed baby shower recently. 

This adorable cake topper features a fondant baby dressed in a cute bee costume laying on a gold blanket.

Accompanying the cake were 20 sugar cookies matching the color theme.

We also made 2 dozen mini cupcakes topped with mini sugar bees.

The cupcake minis were red velvet with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream

The cake was a strawberry shortcake. Our strawberry shortcake is a vanilla cake filled with layers of fresh, organic sliced strawberries and a whipped vanilla buttercream filling and drizzled with an organic strawberry jam.

Adding cookies as favors in your color scheme are a great way to make your event stand out!

Congratulations to the mommy-to-be!

Have a sweet day!

*Special thanks to Azul for assisting with this beautiful topper!*

Icing Smiles

This week's post will be a little different from the usual. I would like to talk about an organization I love: Icing Smiles. Icing Smiles is a non profit organization that provides celebration cakes and other treats to families impacted by the illness of a child. Their goal is to create a custom cake for the ill child, or their sibling, that provides a temporary escape from worry and creates a positive memory during a difficult time.

BimsFlavors has partnered with this amazing organization by signing up to be a Sugar Angel and we are looking forward to 'Baking a Difference''! We look forward to baking a smile for the families involved with this organization!

I found out about Icing Smiles about a year ago. I would say I discovered this organization by accident but I don't believe in accidents or coincidences. I also believe that to whom much is given, much is expected. I work in cancer research by day and create the cakes and treats you see on this blog when I'm not 'researching' and I couldn't figure out a way to merge both of my worlds. Enter Icing Smiles. As I read through the Icing Smiles website, I was overcome with emotion. Simple things like a birthday are luxuries to families who are battling illness. Imagine that.

I just love this description on their website:

Memories have magical powers.  Long after the cake is gone, the memories linger-- memories of the kindness of a stranger, of the art of the design, of the sweet smells of a special treat, of the smiles and laughs, of a normal childhood experience so often stolen from these children.  These memories are why we say, "It is so much more than a cake."

I truly believe that it's so much more than a cake.

So how can you help? You can help by clicking over to their website and making a donation to help bring a smile to a child.

To read more about this amazing organization and its founder Tracey Quisenberry and to read real stories about these families, take a look at Tracey's blog at www.icingsmiles.org/blog

 

You too can make a difference!

Have a sweet day and be blessed!

Sofi's Lavender cupcake tower

We made cupcakes for Sofi's Lavendar and ivory themed Christening.

The cake was topped with a fondant striped 'S' for 'Sofi' (but ofcourse you already knew that) :o)

Cupcake flavors included vanilla, chocolate and red velvet

The frosting was all vanilla buttercream in the color scheme

Have a great week!

 

Sophie's Mess Party

In my next life, I would like Natasha to be my mommy. Why? Because she knows how to throw a kiddie party like no other! 

Natasha's daughter Sophie turned 3 last week and the theme was a Mess. Yes, you heard right...a Mess party! What is every kid's dream? to make a mess everywhere. :o) Why not?!

Natasha sent us this cake for inspiration. It was made by Cake Lava (Hawaii). The thing about making a mess cake is that you have to make a 'neat' mess....a mess that's not ugly....and also an edible mess (how many times have I said 'mess'? lol). OK I digress.

If you recall, we made this  Sleeping Beauty cake for Sophie's older sister Sam. We also made this Katy Perry inspired cake for Sam's Candyland pool party. Do you see what I mean when I say the girl can throw a party? 

The cake was blue velvet with a french vanilla bean filling. Sophie's favorite color is blue :o)

The 'mess' was made using strips of fondant, oreos, and tinted white chocolate. We also drizzled it with blue syrup. I mean, why not?

                                           The cake board was 'adorned' with colorful sprinkles.

Natasha gave us a WONDERFUL REVIEW  on her blog. See it here along with pictures of this awesome party! You might get some ideas of your own!

Happy Birthday Sophie!

Orange and gold Traditional Engagement cake

We've done some engagement cakes in the past and we always have fun doing them!

This past weekend we had the pleasure of creating a suitcase cake for Saidat and Habeeb's traditional engagement celebration.

We worked with Yetunde of The Upper Room Events on this event. Yetunde and I have missed several  opportunities to work together in the past until this past weekend and I must say that she [and her team] know how to put together an event like no other! I look forward to working with her on more events, both professionally and personally!

Ofcourse it helps trememndously when the bride you're working with knows what she wants. For some reason or another I never physically met Saidat (the wonders of technology) but from speaking with her numerous times, one could tell that she is just such a sweet person. She knew exactly what she wanted BUT was also open to suggestions!

She sent us ideas for inspiration and then we went through an initial sketch and added and removed a few things. One of the added items was the gold rings that adorn the bottom tier of the cake.

Special thanks to Joanne for working with us on this gorgeous topper!

Saidat sent us a picture of their outfits to match this beautiful topper. The bride and groom are seen here sitting on a draped stool.

                                                Both cakes were vanilla with caramel filling!

Last night, I got a text from Saidat that warmed my heart. She said "Hey Oby! Loved my cake...you captured us to the T....even down to my necklace...Job well done!!!"

I also got one from Yetunde saying: "Hey Oby...Thank you sooooo much... The cake was delish.. And it looked wonderful!"

Thank you ladies!

Congratulations to Saidat and Habeeb! 

Nori's cute as a button birthday party

Last weekend we made cupcakes, cookies and cake pops for Nori's first birthday!

The theme for the day was 'Cute as a Button'!

How adorable!

Each cookie, cupcake and cake pop was decorated with colorful vanilla fondant button cutouts!

Cupcake and cake pop Flavors included strawberries and lemon with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

Happy Birthday baby Nori!

Kola Nut Themed Birthday Cake

We were asked by Ogechi to design and create a kola nut themed cake for her dad's birthday. If you're not familiar with the Kolanut, it's the fruit of the kola tree. It has a bitter flavor and contains caffeine. It is chewed in many West African countries- individually or in a group setting. It is often used ceremonially, presented to chiefs or presented to guests.

For more information on the kola nut, click here .

Everything on the cake is edible. The kolanuts were handcrafted out of fondant. Same for the basket.
 

The cake was vanilla pound cake with vanilla filling.

Feel free to browse this site for more traditional themed cakes.

Have a sweet week!