A Week of Birthdays!

This past week, I customized several birthday orders for both young children & young adults! I enjoyed working on them & they gave me great variety.

The first, was for my brother's 28th birthday! His favorite cake is chocolate & he loves strawberries as well, so I decided to make a 4" round chocolate cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting. Super delish! The strawberry cream cheese frosting complimented the chocolate cake so nicely & was devoured quickly!

On Friday morning, I had another order for my carrot cupcakes, made with whole wheat flour & unrefined sugar. They were for the 1st birthday of a little girl named, Teagen. Soo delicious & healthy! I always love adding extra freshly grated carrots & fuji apples, which add a nice hearty yet moist texture!

Friday evening, I customized cupcakes for the boyfriend of a girlfriend of mine. It was his 25th birthday & since he is a dj, I decided to make little records & headphones from fondant:) They requested my TARAmisu & Mexican Vanilla Bean. Super moist & flavorful!

On Saturday, I had an order for Under the Sea themed birthday cupcakes for a little girl's birthday party. She had her party at Pump it Up & everyone enjoyed the cupcakes thoroughly. They ordered four dozen standard cupcakes...Burgundy Velvet, Blondie, Chocolicious, & TARAmisu. They were so fun to customize! I made a little mermaid out of fondant for the birthday girl & some star fish, seaweed, seashells, a variety of fish, and a cute little octopus...my fav;)

As busy as I was, the week turned out to be a sensational one & I was very pleased with how well the orders turned out. Next week is Super Bowl Sunday! Don't forget to pre-order your Super Bowl cupcakes! What better way to celebrate & cheer on the Steelers or PACKERS than with customized football cupcakes?!

Before I close, we are just a couple days shy of entering the month of looooove, February! Oh, and can't forget my 26th birthday of course!:) I will be announcing the February flavor of the month this upcoming week so be sure to check back!

15% off ALL Valentine's day orders if ordered BEFORE February 7th! Surprise your hunny or loved ones with a dozen customized valentine's day cupcakes or cake!

Have a wonderful week!!!

XO
Tara

What a Rush!

Last week was incredibly busy! I had some really fun orders in addition to attending my good friend, Amy's bridal shower/bachelorette celebration. The orders consisted of both cupcakes & cakes with a lot of customization...my specialty! Baking is one thing, but being able to customize a cake or cupcakes for a special occasion is a completely different experience. It is more of an art form & I definitely think I get that creative side from my mom! She was an art major in college & is so ridiculously talented.

The first order I had was for a surprise birthday party thrown by Starry Eyed Music in Downtown San Diego at Syrah Wine Parlor. They ordered two dozen minis but with a request for their logo & various birthday decorations for the birthday girl. Since Starry Eyed Music's logo is in black, I decided to customize all of the decorations in black, white, & silver for a real classy, upscale look. That is the beauty of decorating! Just by using the right colors, you can make any cake or cupcake classy & elegant OR fun & loud...all depending on the colors & theme used. I especially love receving a mixture of children's orders & corporate or bridal shower orders, as it gives me a nice variety & balance.

Another order I received, was for really healthy carrot cupakes! It's been quite some time since I've received an order for my carrot cupcakes. I was especially thrilled to have a request for a healthier version...even though my cupcakes are already on the healthier side when compared to majority of other cupcake companies, as I refrain from using hydrogenated oils & all other trans fats. I also use less sugar in all of my frostings in order to not overpower the cupcakes or cakes.

For this particular order, they had requested unbleached, whole wheat flour & unrefined sugar. They also wanted me to use less sugar, so my cupcakes had that all-natural sweetness primarily from the crushed apples that I incorporated into the batter. I topped the cupcakes with a brown sugar mascarpone cream cheese frosting & garnished them with a shaving of fresh carrot. Soo delicious & creamy! I am so proud of this frosting, as it is my very own recipe! I don't believe anyone has attempted this frosting before:) Let me tell you, it is absolutely divine! One of my favs for sure!
A request was also made for a few of the cupcakes to be customized to fit the theme of the birthday party, "The Really Hungry Catepillar." I love, love, LOVE that book, still to this very day! Eric Carle sure knows how to engage not only children, but adults in his stories:)

It's a good thing I had extras when making this order because I was DYING to try them, and my mom & I devoured them entirely! Soo moist & light! I definitely encourage you all to give these a try! They are absolutely scrumptious in every possible way! Aaaaannndd, you don't feel so guilty after eating 2 or 3 of them;)

On Saturday, I catered two parties. The first was a bridal shower for Amy Wakabayashi, one of my very best friends! Amy is not much of a cake person but loooooves apple pie! I typically make her an apple pie on her birthday but decided I would make apple pie cupcakes! They were a hit & devoured quickly:)

In the afternoon, I catered an engagement party for a really sweet couple. They order three dozen  mini cupcakes (Chocolicious, Burgundy Velvet, & Taramisu). They requested their cupcakes to be customized with black, white, & silver decorations. They looked very elegant & were perfect for an engagement party!

On Sunday, I had a small order from a friend of mine, for a dozen, standard Burgundy Velvet. I decided to customize them for his girlfriend since they were a surprise birthday gift:) When I asked him how they liked them he responded with, "Let me put it this way, they were all I had for dinner." So, to sum it up...they tasted just as great as they looked!:)

Well, another busy weekend ahead of me! Lots of decorations to prep & shopping for ingredients to do! Until next time...

Let them eat cake!

A girlfriend of mine, ordered a Taro cake for her dad's birthday this past weekend. I decided to fill it with a coconut mousseline cream & topped it with a coconut cream cheese frosting that was soo creamy & light. I garnished the cake with shredded coconut & homemade sugared taro flakes! This wasn't the traditional taro cake that most people are use to eating, but rather the "cupcake corner taro" version, which is more on the vanilla side. It received great reviews & I even had a little extra batter to make a couple tester cupcakes for my family & I;) The cake turned out very moist & creamy! Not too rich & heavy, like how most gourmet cakes can get.



The day after, it was my maternal grandfather's 91st birthday! My family & I were so excited to celebrate with him. He was especially thrilled that we all came to visit with some yummy treats! My mom made a special request for a lemon cake...one of my specialties! :) I filled the cake with a lemon mousseline cream & topped it with a lemon buttercream made with fresh lemon juice & fresh lemon zest! The cake was absolutely fabulous! It was extremely moist & full of flavor! I candied the lemon twists as a garnish & the sides of the cake are covered in shredded coconut. Definitely put a lot of work into this cake lol, oh if you only knew;)






My grandfather is the most adorable man I know;) He took care of me growing up so he definitely deserved to have this special birthday cake:) He even asked me to make his birthday cake again....in 20 years! Lol, quite determined to live way past 100! Hey, it could happen!

This past weekend, I also had a couple orders for a bridal shower & baby shower. The bridal shower cupcakes (TARAmisu & Chocolicious with Mexican Vanilla Bean frosting) were customized with the colors of the wedding (black, olive green, & beige/tan) with "N" monograms & little fondant martini glasses which stood for the bride's first name & married name...Nadine Martini! I thought the cupcakes turned out great & I received great feedback:)





By the way, I have been playing around with my chocolate recipe & changed it up a bit! My mom (toughest cupcake critic) & I feel that it is so much tastier than ever before! Since I prefer to not share my recipes or secrets, I will just have to encourage you all to order my new & improved chocolicious cupcakes!

For the joint baby shower...the order was for TARAmisu & Mexican Vanilla Bean cupcakes. Since the mommies-to-be have decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise, the shower was a lady bug & bumble bee themed party! The decorations were adorable & I customized the cupcakes with fondant lady bugs & bumble bees to match the theme of the party!








Overall, it was a pretty jam-packed yet successful weekend for The Cupcake Corner! A lot of great feedback from all of my clients, family, & friends:) Another busy weekend ahead with another bridal shower, this time for my good friend, Amy! Also, an engagement party (both on Saturday)! On Sunday, a smaller order for birthday cupcakes. Looking forward to blogging about them!:)

Night all!

Tara