Strawberry Shortcake Themed Cake!

I made this cake for my daughter's  Strawberry Shortcake themed first birthday party! 

 

I might have sketched out about 15 different cake designs and looked up a gazillion cakes for inspiration! LOL!

 

I actually didn't know what I would do after the 15th sketch and I remembered what a wise (and hot- might I add :o)) woman once told me!

 

When I was planning my wedding, I was looking up cake ideas and none of them were 'it' for me. My sister told me "YOUR cake hasn't been made yet. That's why it isn't yours". She was right, I started to use the same attitude when I came up sketches and designs for others.

 

 

 

So for this, I ''free styled'' - and hoped for the best! (Only because my daughter is not a client and she's too young to say ''how dare you free style my cake" LOL)- I mean, what's the worst that could happen right?

 

I hope she sees this cake when she's older and says "good job free styling mom!"

*fingers crossed!*

 

 

Flavors included green and pink French vanilla (with a polka dot interior- I will post how I got this at a later date) and red velvet!

 

 

The topper is courtesy of JellyCakeDesigns (on Etsy)

 

Picture by Fola Lawal Photography 

 

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!



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!

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!

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!

Sam's Katy Perry/Candyland Pool Party Cake

Natasha contacted us to create a cake for Sam's 5th birthday party. The pool party was Katy Perry/Candyland themed and Natasha sent us some pictures of the dress Katy Perry wore in the California Girls video for inspiration. We made the dress a longer version of the dress in the video to have more cake for everyone!

If you recall, we created this Sleeping beauty princess cake for Sam's 4th birthday last year (how time flies!) and received this wonderful review from Natasha on her blog!

We also received a great review here last week. Thank you Natasha!

The cake was all pink velvet with white chocolate frosting.

The details on the dress include an ice cream cone and several hand-crafted candies.  I want to use this opportunity to thank my sister for her assistance with the details! :)

 

We also made 2 dozen chocolate mini cupcakes! Natasha asked for colorful, sparkly toppings for the cupcakes.

Happy Birthday Sam!!

For more details on the party, visit Natasha's blog for alllll the fun details!

Zebra Birthday Cake and more from BimsFlavors

It's birthday season (Isn't it always? :o))!! Sometimes you just want a simple round cake to feed a few people.. Maybe you're having a get together or just a simple dinner. Today's post will feature a few simple cakes we've made in the past few weeks.

Bambie's friends ordered a cake for her for her birthday get-together (hint hint to all my good friends lol..my birthday is coming up---in 6 months lol).

                 They ordered a Zebra-themed red velvet cake with french vanilla swiss meringue filling.

They wanted something 'girly'. Funny enough I'm not a girl's-girl -not a tom boy either- but I'm somewhere in the middle. BUT I have to say that after having a daughter and baking cakes, I'm getting in touch with my inner girl :)

Uche celebrated the big 3-0 and had a small dinner with a few friends. She decided to surprise her sister Buife (who turned 25 a few weeks before) with a cake as well at the dinner. (hint hint again to my sisters lol).

Both cakes were red velvet (see a trend here?). Uche's cake had a vanilla filling with white chocolate ganache and Buife's was the same with chocolate ganache.

Happy Birthday ladies!

Fairytale Books Cake

We loved working with Wren's parents to design her first birthday cake. They knew what they wanted which always makes the process smoother :o)

Wren's parents came up with the original idea. We went through a few sketches before we decided on this design.

When we first designed the cake, the leaning book was supposed to be on the left (see sketch above) but somehow, in reality, it looked better and more "stable" on the right.



The flavors were red velvet with french vanilla swiss meringue buttercream and french vanilla pound cake with french vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

For the fairytale books theme, Wren's parents chose Alice in Wonderland, Black Beauty and The Secret Garden". I have to say making this cake took me back to my childhood.

We also incorporated different elements from each book around the cake. For The Secret Garden we had "buttercream grass" and flowers, for Black Beauty we had a fondant horse (not pictured).

Wren's name was written on a bookmark.

For Alice in Wonderland, we had "Alice with a twist" made out of fondant . She had an afro and her outfit, while similar to the original, was ankara print. We also had other items from the story such as the cheshire cat, pocket watch, the caterpillar with the hookah bottle, smiling flowers and a teapot.

Happy Birthday Wren!

Butterflies and ladybugs! :o)

Back in August, we were asked by Kim to make a 2-tier cake for her daughter Kayla's 1st birthday. The theme was butterflies and ladybugs :) She sent us an inspiration picture to work from.

We loved making this cake because we got to add little fun, playful butterflies, ladybugs and flowers around the cake!

One of my favorite parts of this cake was the smiling butterfly fondant topper!

The bottom tier of this cake was red velvet with cream cheese filling and the top tier was a chocolate cake with raspberry filling.

We were also asked to make a small butterfly-shaped smash cake for Kayla.

The flavor of the smash cake was pink velvet with banana cream and white chocolate ganache.

Happy Birthday Kayla!