Spring Birthdays and Linda's Bridal Shower!

Spring is here!  Well, as spring-like as we can get here in Chicago.  The past month literally had an identity crisis and given us all 4 seasons in four weeks.  On those days that dipped slightly below average or poured cats and dogs, I was able to create these sweet treats to bloom my mood :)

First up are these lovely spring floral cupcakes for Eumi.  These mocha cupcake are filled and topped with coconut whipped cream.  The richness of the chocolate and coffee is complimented by the delicate finish of the coconut.  The aroma warms you, and the royal icing flowers brings out a smile.

TIP: Royal icing flowers can be made ahead of time and stored in air-tight containers for whenever you want to make a treat bloom.  I usually pipe a variation of colors and flower types to give me options.








Next in line are these cupcakes for Bahra.  She wanted to surprise her sister for her 30th birthday with 30 of these yummy goodness.  Bahra had tasted one of Eumi's cupcakes (above), and wanted to share them with her sister in Atlanta.  Yes, these babies got on a plane and crossed state lines :)

Half of these were milk chocolate cake filled with yummy coconut whipped cream, and adorned with more of the fluffy goodness.  To keep with the spring theme, I finished them with a dash of nonpareils and mini yellow drop flowers.  The remaining half were rich dark chocolate cake filled with raspberry preserve.  The tartness of the preserve balanced the decadence of the cake.  Airy peaks of whipped cream floated on top with a gentle helping of red heart sprinkles for the sisterly love.

 Last, but not least, is this lovely cake for my baby sister who getting married this weekend!  If you have been following my blog, you have seen one of the other cakes I've made for Linda.  I have always enjoyed designing and creating cakes for her, but this one was special... it was her bridal shower, after all.  Almost every cake I've made her in the past have been intricate fondant designs.  I wanted this one to be simple, elegant, uplifting, and beautiful as she is.  Oh, and of course purple!  She loves purple :)


This 8 inch tall x 8 inch round beauty is stacked tall of moist white cake filled with layers of fresh mango and whipped cream.  The assembled cake was then covered in a light ombre of purple to offset the rich colors of the edible butterflies.  To create the ombre effect, I tinted coconut whipped icing (pretty popular the past month) and piped on bands of colors using a icing tip.  I started and the bottom of the cake with the darkest and worked my way to the top, each band becoming a lighter shade.  The top of the cake matched the last band of color I piped around the sides.

TIP: To create the shades of purple, I tinted the half of the whipped icing the darkest shade I wanted.  After piping on a band of the darkest shade, I then added some of the white whipped icing to the remaining purple to lighten it.  Continue until you get to the top of the cake and you got all the various shades of purple without all the extra bowls!






Once all the various shades were on the cake, I smoothed out the bands of color in gentle horizontal strokes with my 15in angled spatula.  This blends the bands of colors seamlessly and creates the trendy ombre effect!  Once the sides were done, I smoothed out the top of the cake and prepped for the butterflies.  The butterflies are edible and are printed on wafer paper.  They were hand cut and folded down the center for life-like dimension.  I then dipped the center of the butterflies in purple candy melt.  This step helped to prevent the butterflies from becoming soggy or limp once attached to the whipped icing.  The butterflies were then attached to cake in a sweeping gradation to compliment the ombre cake.  The cake was then finished with a candy drizzle heart I made.  Congrats sis!