Family Tree

For my grandmother (aka Mima) to celebrate her 94th birthday.  All the chocolate cupcakes are her children and her grandchildren.  The vanilla cupcakes represent her great grandchildren and the lowest cupcake (bearing name Trent) is her great great grandchild who celebrated his first Christmas.  I had to think of what my grandmother loves and her family has to be her biggest love so here the idea was born.  My Dad created the beautiful tree the same day I spoke to him of the idea.  24 children/grandchildren total.  Amazing legacy!!

Baker's Dozens!!

My biggest order to date (until tomorrow!).  I just baked and decorated 5 dozen holiday cupcakes for Abbey Lane School in Levittown and tomorrow will be baking and decorating 6 dozen for other customers!  I am thoroughly enjoying the work cause so far feels like more fun than work.  I prep like crazy and Bobby entertains the kids for a chunk of time and it's been working out great.  Just had to add this shot to the blog cause I am pretty proud of how Babycakes is starting to take shape.  My hands are tired so gotta give my legs some walking out in the brisk December air, enjoy the house lights with the dog.  Goodnight!!

A Sign of things to come?

The fondant is too fresh (yes, there is such a thing) and so heavy, the clocks and numbers aren't upright like I had imagined.  I know I can make it better but if no orders come in for them, I will remember to make the fondant clocks and numbers way ahead of time (no pun intended!).  Another confession, I really meant to set the time on these to 11:55 and instead reversed the hands to make it only 11:00 PM!  Oh well, the last hour before midnight on New Year's Eve is usually the most interesting!  I hope the recipients of these delish babycakes will enjoy them regardless of the time!!

2010 Coming Soon........

Completed an order last night and afterwards had the New Year on my mind. Came up with a little design which I will bake on Tuesday for a sample batch that's headed for Island Trees! I hope it comes out as good as it looks on paper!

The holidays are my favorite time of year and with my kids growing, I know how special it will be for them looking forward to fun delicious treats at home. These are my samples for two schools that I'll be delivering to shortly and hoping for the orders to follow but honestly, the fun in baking and decorating these couldn't be described. I kept smiling the whole time and just know some teachers will be smiling in Levittown and Long Beach today!!

Not my favorite but so yummy, you may want more than one!

Credit to Karen Tack for her design but probably the most fun to make out of the holiday sample batch! Love these guys!!

First try makin these trees and had a problem getting them to fit into my boxes so only two are taller, had to trim my baby ice cream cones (that what's under that thick layer of green colored chocolate) to remedy that obstacle but think maybe colored lights for any future batches would look better. Learning as I go..........

Simple yet so inviting!! This is the kinda snow I LOVE!!!

These are for my good friend's daughter, Celia, who is turning 8 years old and an aspiring singer. I hope she feels like a star bringing these babies to school! She's a star to me!

My first time working with fondant. I made a big mess in my kitchen two nights ago in preparation for this batch and then tried again using my trustee kitchen aid mixer with dough hook for the homemade marshmellow fondant. Was a breeze and felt victorious!

Feliz Cumpleanos Daddy! Unfortunately, I wanted to make a more adult type of cupcake. Perhaps rum or tiramisu cake but this is plain vanilla cake. My Dad won't mind, he'll probably tell me it's the best cupcake ever but my aspirations got stunted when my son became ill and clung to me like a monkey for two days. I will be making the trip to Queens to celebrate this great milestone birthday without Chase (my son) or Bobby (my hubby). Lindsey & I will go and have to save a couple of these for the guys.
I am on the polka dot kick for the last couple of batches and I like the simple little touch that makes it look just a notch above average.
Happy Birthday to one of the greatest men ever.

For my wonderful neighbors next door who will be hosting Thanksgiving and are so generous and kind. I know these pumpkin spice, cream cheese topped babycakes will be gobbled up! I did get lazy with toppers but they still look good. Happy Thanksgiving and THANKS for stopping by!

I am thankful for simplicity.

Oh it's Thanksgiving Eve and makes me remember the baking I did when I lived in Pennsylvania. I learned how to make pumpkin rolls and home made pies for the very first time. Everyone I worked with was eager to help out the "New Yorker." I was impressed that they grew their own produce and canned them!! I had never heard of that but we all laughed it off because I was the "New Yorker" fresh out of college and barely able to prepare a variety of meals for myself. The bake off always set the mood for lots of laughing, the appetite for good eating and of course the warmth of having loved ones with you. I wasn't always able to be with my biological family when I was living there but my memories of those times stand out as some of the best times ever.

This Thanksgiving, I will be spending with my husband and kids and driving over to Brooklyn. My husband's parents and sister still live in the home he grew up in and we will be there this year. I am baking pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and using store bought autumn leaves as toppers. Feels lazy but had some orders to fulfill and wasn't able to get the chocolate leaves done. Making an extra batch and surprising my neighbor who so generously gifted my daughter with a pretty play crib the other night. She is hosting Thanksgiving at her house (next door) and I'm sure the extra cupcakes I give her family will be gobbled right up!

This season gets me all sentimental and nostalgic. I hope that tonight's mini bake off here at home will kickstart the 2009 holidays with the same warmth of holidays past.

Go Love!!

My girlfriend Michele just got engaged! I was so blown away by the news that I baked up a quick batch of simple chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and adorned them with these adorable pennants I've been dying to use! I'll be delivering them to her office tomorrow. Go LOVE!!

Where are the bugs?

I made these creepy critter cupcakes for my nephew and they impressed my Dad. He saw my blog and asked why these had not been added. His 75th birthday is next week, perhaps I shall bake him a batch of these? I think not! I have something original and elegant in mind.....

Sleep Over!!

Pajama Party Anyone? These are not my original but boy did I enjoy making them!! These are credited to Karen Tack, a decorating pro. I love that all her ideas a edible, no toothpicks or cardboard inserts to hold anything together....a little candy cupcake combo is better to bite into!

The Original and Favorite Babycake

My right hand needs to be praised. My daughter lines cupcake pans like no other and would love to do much more than that if I allowed her to! This blog is named after her, my very own BABYCAKE.

New Kid on the Block

Alexa Update: She is home and healthy and even giving her Mom and Dad some 3-4 hour stretches of rest while she is in a sweet slumber. My neighbors had a baby girl and I baked them cupcakes, just to be neighborly and turned out to be a sweet blessing for the new parents to treat the hard working staff at the hospital with since little Alexa was still at the hospital after Mom got discharged. Thank goodness all is well!

Happy Meal

I always ask people what their favorite meal is. If you know me, baking hasn't always been my passion but eating has! Well, my favorite meal is by far the best comfort food I know, a cheeseburger and steak fries. I credit this trick to Bakerella, a baking genius. I tried and succeeded. Not incredibly satisfied with the way the "fries" turned out but my first try at rolling cookie dough and found it challenging. My sample batches went to Abbey Lane School here in my hometown and to hubby's sanitation garage in Brooklyn. Both were homeruns!

I can safely say these were HAPPY meals!!

Cookie or Cupcake?

Made these for my hubby's garage. He's a sanitation worker and they are also expert tasters for all my new ideas or experimentations. Cookie or Cupcake? I say Cupcake trumps Cookie but these were a version for both loves.