Green Tea, Lychee and Strawberry cake

Good morning! Thursday is infinitely brighter with a Green Tea, Lychee and Strawberry cake.

The beauty of this cake lies in the fact that the colors are all-natural. Green from the green tea, brilliant red from the strawberries and a pale pinkish white from the lychees.

Let's slice the cake.

Red Velvet

Red Velvet naked cake with cream cheese frosting, fondant flowers and dark chocolate lace. I always equate red velvet with flamenco dancers... exotic and flamboyant.

Red Velvet cake viewed from the side. I've never wanted to do red velvet cakes because of the insane amount of food coloring needed to turn a chocolate cake red. But this one haunted my dreams for a week! Glad to get it out of my system. Now I see the appeal of this cake - it's lovely to look at and photographs extremely well!

Layers of luscious red chocolate cake sandwiched between rich cream cheese frosting. A feast for the eyes, a treat for the palate.

Citrus Cake

Lemon cake filled with tangy lemon curd, frosted with lemon buttercream and decorated with candied lemon and orange slices. The sunrise gave me inspiration for this cake.

Decorating with candied lemon and orange slices today. It's been a gloomy week for me so far. Hopefully this cheerful lemon cake will chase the darkness away.

Inside look at the Lemon cake. I decided to tint the cake layers too, to make it extra sunny and cheerful. 

London Fog Cake

London Fog, such a romantic name for a cake! It's a rich chocolate cake with Earl Gray Swiss meringue buttercream and salted caramel drip.

Inside look at the London Fog cake. There are chocolate chips in this Earl Gray infused chocolate cake.

Edgy Themed Wedding

The coupled wanted edge but still a bit elegant. 

It all starts with the sketches.

The you put in the work to bring their vision and the sketches alive.

Top tier:

Almond Mocha latte..moist sour cream pound cake filled with a velvety coffee mocha cream frosted with almond amaretto buttercream

2nd tier:

Our Red Velvet...Moist red velvet cake layered with a mellow cream cheese buttercream and brown butter caramel pecan filling, frosted with cream cheese buttercream.

3rd tier:

The Retro...An update on an American classic: moist yellow cake filled with milk chocolate mousse frosted with Madagascar vanilla buttercream.

Bottom tier:

Classic Wedding White...A classic white cake filled with fresh tart raspberries and a full bodied cream cheese buttercream and frosted with cream cheese buttercream.

Hermes Gift Box Birthday Cake

This Hermes gift box cake happens to be:

Raspberry Cream...rich white cake filled with a tart raspberry cream, frosted with a creamy vanilla buttercream. 

The designer medallions are lemon shortbread cookies.

This second cake is adorned with sugar flowers and trinkets.

Handbag Birthday Cake

This birthday cake handbag happens to be:

Orange Pistachio Cake...Light orange cake filled with both a crushed pistachio filling and orange curd, frosted with a creamy lemon buttercream.

Green Tea Chocolate Cake

Green tea and chocolate may seem like a strange combination,  but you really should try it. These 2 cakes are for clients who happen to attend a wedoing where this combination was one of the tiers.

The mushrooms are meringue. 

Chocolate ganache has been poured on.

Cookies and Cream

This is made with my vanilla cake recipe and crumbled Oreos.

The outide has both white and dark chocolate ganache to ice and poured on.

Modern Wedding Cake

White Almond Sour Cream 

White almond sour cream cake filled with cheesecake & raspberry puree for the top and bottom tiers and chocolate-cheesecake filling for the middle tier.

Movie Themed Cupcakes

S'mores, movie themed cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes (tinted green) sits on a graham cracker crust and topped with miniature marshmallows.

Let's get Naked

So it's 4th of July weekend and it's a hot one here in San Diego, so when I attend the barbecues I take something that's summertime friendly to end my meal. This is a naked cream cheese pound cake and cupcakes with a whipped cream frosting and adorned with fresh strawberries and kiwi.

My Gourmet Cupcake Box

Every so often I do gourmet 6 packs in my local are and this what I've done this week. Look below to see the flavors.

S'MORE - chocolate brownie cake topped with dark chocolate ganache, cookie bits and toasted marshmallow frosting.

ROCKY ROAD - macadamia nut brownie cake topped with a milk chocolate Swiss meringue buttercream and pieces of marshmallow and Turkish delight.

LEMON MERINGUE PIE - vanilla buttermilk cake filled with a tart lemon curd and topped with a ginger snap cookie and toasted marshmallow frosting.

FERRERO ROCHER - moist chocolate cake topped with a chocolate ganache, crushed hazelnuts and a Nutella, Swiss meringue buttercream.

Earl Grey Shortbread Cookie Sandwiches

Bring on morning tea!! Earl Grey Shortbread cookie sandwiches filled with tart lemon curd & topped with a little white chocolate drizzle. Loving!

I start with making my lemon curd click here for the recipe.

It's so good you could seriously eat it by the spoonful right out of the jar.

Shortbread recipe below:

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter

1/2 cup Confectioners Sugar

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1 bag Earl Grey Tea Leaves, 2 bags can be used for a stronger flavor

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350­°.

2. Cream butter and confectioners sugar in a large bowl or stand mixer.

3. Add in flour, salt, and tea leaves. continue to mix until a soft dough forms, mix will be dry and crumbly at first but will come together.

4. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until it's 1/4 inch thick.

5. Cut out cookies using a 2 in round cookie cutter.

6. Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20-22 minutes or until edges are a golden brown.

After the cookies have cooled add the lemon curd.

So simple and delicious!

2nd Birthday Cake

Alisa's 2nd birthday cake. The cake is layers of chocolate and vanilla cake filled with white chocolate ganache.

Pink and Green 1st Birthday Cake

Evelina's 1st birthday cake.

Top box:

Funky Monkey - Layers of banana & peanut butter cakes filled with layers of chocolate fudge, banana cheesecake, & peanut butter mousse.

Bottom box:

Goodies’n’Cream - Moist butter cake with a creamy filling loaded with Butterfinger and Heath toffee bits.

Alice in Wonderland Cake

Alisa"s 1st birthday cake is Alice and Wonderland theme.

Top tier:

Strawberry Lemonade - Strawberry & lemon cakes swirled together and filled with strawberry cheesecake & lemon curd.

Bottom tier:

Banana Split - Layers of banana, cherry, and chocolate cakes filled with chocolate fudge and banana crème.