We had the opportunity to provide cupcakes for a customer who owns a Neapolitan Mastiff.  What fun, we thought, to make a caricature of his dog for the top of one of his birthday cupcakes.  Kim, being daring and adventurous, took the challenge.  The little guy came out very cute!  His owner likes black and red, so we put a red blanket under this little guy.  What do you think?  The photo doesn't do this little creature justice. He was so adorable in person.  Here's a picture of the cupcake dog next to a photo of the real deal:

We love making fun cupcake toppers like this one!  

This past Monday we were reviewing a few new cupcake recipes we stumbled across, and found two for Key Lime Pie Cupcakes.  Kim and Nancy, in a fit of inspiration and craziness, decided to do a Bobby Flay style "throw-down"  and each would bake a different recipe and we would let YOU, our customers, decide which one was better.  So tomorrow we will have Key Lime Pie Cupcakes for sampling and secret voting.  The winning recipe will become a regular here at the cupcakery. Who will win, Kim or Nancy?

I told you a few days ago about the baby dolls and tea cups we were making for a special occasion order. We also made a little farmer boy holding a toy tractor for that same event.  He was sitting in the grass wearing a blue "denim" outfit and a red bandanna, and his bare feet with little toes sticking up.  Baking is fun and brings me joy, but it's the decorating that allows the creative side to shine.  Kim and I put the cupcakes together yesterday morning, and they were so adorable.  Here's a picture of the little boy and his tractor.  It's a little blurry, so please excuse the photography.  I think you'll be able to see just how cute this little boy was.  

The girly cupcakes were adorable as well. We used a lavender shade of buttercream frosting as a base for the baby dolls and tea cups, then sprinkled more edible sparkle dust and shimmering silver hearts.   The picture below makes the lavender look blue.  It's just my silly camera.  Trust me, it was a beautiful lavender. :)

Kim and I spent the morning (after baking, of course) making little tea cups filled with hot cocoa, tea pots, and little baby dolls out of fondant.  Kim also made a purse that is simply lovely.  These little creations will sit atop the cupcakes of three little girls who will be spending time with their grandma.  I loved making these little rag dolls.  The hair is floppy, and each little doll is holding a flower.  Here's a photo of the collection as they air dry.  They still need feet, and the little blonde girl got eyebrow food paint on her hair, so I'll have to trim that.  They have sparkle on them, so that should tame down as they dry.   I'll post a photo of the actual cupcakes in a few days. 

Wow!  Has it really been six months since we signed the lease on our unit here in the Hwy 200 Plaza?  Amazing how time simply flies.  The time between signing the lease last August, and opening our doors in October was filled with lots of hard work.  Blood, sweat and tears to be exact.  It was worth it.  When we opened the doors of the cupcakery to the public on October 20th we really didn't know what to expect.  How many cupcakes should we bake each day?  What flavors will be the most popular?  All these crazy questions were running through our minds.  The really fun part is that as we answer old questions, new ones pop up.  

It brings us such satisfaction to see the delighted faces of our customers as they try to choose a cupcake flavor.  We love making their special day even more special with a yummy and cute cupcake.  Today we got to make a dinosaur cupcake for a little boy who is turning three.  We made 3 dinosaurs in preparation of the special day, but all three wouldn't fit on one cupcake!  We ended up putting a red and blue dinosaur on the cupcake and then piped grass around them.  The larger yellow dino just wouldn't fit.  We'll save him for another day.  Next week we get to make four special girly cupcakes for a grandma and her three granddaughters.  She wants over the top cute, and we're going to do our best to deliver.  I'll tell you about it next week.  This job is so much fun!