Happy Anniversary to Angel & Tyler!

Happy Anniversary Angel and Tyler!  I got the honor of making this special groovy looking cake for the lovely couple!  I made a Vegan Strawberry Shortcake with a strawberry filling, covered in Vegan Buttercream.  I piped all the designs with different color buttercream using a star tip in a wavy pattern.  It was a fun cake to make and it was totally yummy to eat to too!!  Happy Anniversary love birds, here's to many many more years of love and happiness!!  

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary to my Parents!

Happy 30th Wedding Anniversary Mommy and Daddy!!  My mom doesn't like to eat cake, so I decided to make a fake cake so they can still at least have something to take pictures with to commemorate this special celebration!  The 30th Wedding Anniversary is the Pearl anniversary, so I make pearls that bordered the tiers of the cake.  I lined the top tier with a smaller string of pearls to make it look more delicate than having the larger size pearls.  I made flowers and leaves out of fondant and painted the leaves and pearls in the middle of the larger flowers with pearl luster dust.  I used a floral impression mat to make the texture of the cake as well.  For the lace, I was really excited to use an icing called Sugar Veil.  It allows me to make flexible icing decorations!  I used a lace impression mat for the lace designs as well.  I figured this would make a very elegant and fancy cake that my mom would enjoy, without all the calories! =P  My dad will appreciate the work I put into this as well, so I hope this will wow them!

For the real cake, I made them a flan since its one of my mom's favorite dessert.  I made the flan from scratch and sliced up peaches, kiwi, strawberries, and placed black berries on top in a decorative manor.  I made a test flan last week just to make sure that I was able to make this for the main event, and I was very pleased on how it came out!!  I think the hardest part is melting the sugar to make the caramel.  I think you just have to let the sugar melt on it's own and not stir too much.  Then make sure the caramel is completely cooled before pouring the egg mixture into the dish.  This way the caramel won't crack, and if the caramel isn't spread out evening on the pan, no worries, it will even out when it bakes!  It's like magic!! This flan is quite yummy, special thanks to my friend Katherine's mom for giving me this amazing recipe!

I want to take this time to wish my parents a wonderful happy anniversary!  Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today.  It's a cliché but it's true!  I'm thankful that they raised me the way I am, and that they taught me to always put family first.  I'm so grateful for everything they've done for me, all the sacrifices they've made and all the hard work they've done to make sure Jennifer and I are happy and well.  Happy Anniversary Mommy and Daddy, I wish you another 30+ years of love and happiness!

50th Wedding Anniversary!

Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to the Buckley's! The 50th Wedding Anniversary is known as the Golden Anniversary, so for their cupcakes, I made pink hearts with flower vines embossing that is filled in with gold luster dust. The cupcakes are red velvet and pumpkin cupcakes with buttercream frosting.

Here are a couple poems I found that I wanted to share with the lovely couple!

A Golden Couple Half a century ago, they say,
A wonderful marriage began that day.
Two beautiful people joined as one,
And worked together to make living fun. We celebrate now those fifty years;
We raise our glass and give three cheers:
To partners in life in both work and play,
It’s our pleasure to share your golden day. Happy 50th Anniversary! By Karl Fuchs

Fifty Years Fifty years is quite a while
For most good things to last;
But you’re still together and still in love;
You must share a wonderful past. We celebrate you this wonderful day,
And hope that your bond keeps on growing;
You’re a pair we should study and do what you say,
'Cause your secret is well worth the knowing! By Karl and Joanna Fuchs

Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary!

Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary BaMe (dad and mom in Vietnamese). It was such an honor to be asked by my in-laws to make them a cake for this very special occasion! Khoa's dad's favorite cake is carrot cake, so the bottom tier is carrot cake with whipped cream cheese filling, and Khoa's mom likes something that's not too sweet so French Vanilla with Bavarian cream filling was the perfect blend. The cake is covered in buttercream frosting, and the flowers are made out of fondant. Some of the flowers had edible pearls in the centers while others had non-edible stamens in them for variety. I also made feathers out of parchment paper to add a more couture look! The cakes were bordered with glittery fuchsia colored ribbon as well because fuchsia is my Khoa's mom's favorite color.
BaMe first met on a boat back on April 30th, 1975 when they were on their way to America from Viet Nam. It truly was love at first sight! Fast forward 41 years later to today, July 2, 2011, and now we celebrate their 35th Wedding Anniversary!! They had a big celebration at one of their favorite restaurants the Emerald Bay in Santa Ana where all their close friends and family gathers to party the night away. Co Muoi did a great job DJ-ing and hosting the celebration! My mother in law had her ao dai (tradition Vietnamese dress) custom made and it turned out absolutely stunning and beautiful on her! We all had a wonderful time celebrating their marriage, and it was truly an inspiring event. We have lots of AMAZING musical performances including a super impression Vietnamese singing from our beautiful cousin Linh and a very soulful and heartfelt song by Bao (Chi Tu), and my awesome husband Khoa sang the best he's ever sung while my brother in law An did a really great job on the guitar as always! BaMe really deserved a great big night to celebrate because they've done so much for their kids, family, friends and loved ones. Just being there and celebrating their marriage was a truly inspiring night and if I sure hope to follow in their footsteps! I wish BaMe 35+ more years of love and happiness!

Here's a sweet poem I found by Karl & Joanna Fuchs:

Loving Pair It takes two special people,
To make a loving pair.
There’s a joy just being around you,
A feeling we love to share. We send anniversary wishes to you,
For years of joy and pleasure.
May each year keep getting better,
With memories to treasure.

Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary BaMe!!!

Khoackie's 1st Anniversary!!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY KHOA, my love, my Khoabit, my one and only babycakes!! <3 Khoa and I have now been husband and wife for a year and counting and what better way to celebrate than with close family, friends, and of course, cupcakes! I made Pina Colada Cupcakes with crushed pineapples, Coconut Swiss Meringue buttercream frosting (thanks chi hai for your faith in me!!!) filled with a coconut filling. We figured these would be the best choice for the celebration because it's tropical, just like our hawaiian wedding theme, and it's not as sweet in flavor for the adults to enjoy! The decorations are also made of fondant with some silver luster dust. I was so busy planning for this even that I completely forgot to take me usual pictures before the party, so these were the only pictures I managed to get before the cupcakes were all devoured! At least I'm happy to know that people loved them! Thank you everyone for sharing this special day with us and for all of your support and celebration! <3

Happy Anniversary Khoa, I love you more than words can describe. You light up my life and soul and you bring me such happiness. I am truly a lucky girl to have you as my husband, best friend, and soul mate. What did one light bulb say to the other? I love you a whole watt!! =) The Lovely Love Theorem states to love someone is madness, to be loved by someone is a gift, loving someone who loves you is a duty, but being loved by someone whom you love is life! Thank you honey for giving me the best life ever! I love you forever and a half!!! <3

Designer Cupcakes

Happy Anniversary An and Linda! My brother-in-law, An, wanted to do something special for his girlfriend Linda for their 4 year anniversary, and so he thought it would be great to make some designer bags and stuff since she loves to shop with class! So I made apple cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, topped with fondant decorated designer bags, clutches, and heels. The three brands I chose to make were Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Gucci, and I had the help of my wonderful assistant, who is also my sister Jennifer, in giving me information on how the different styles should look! She also did a fantastic job making the clutches, flowers, and painting of the logos. These cupcakes were a great deal of fun to make and will surely satisfy any fashionista's sweet tooth! My sister's boyfriend suggested I charge big money for these cupcakes since they're designer cupcakes...that's not such a bad idea don't you think? haha! Anyways, these are expensive tasting cupcakes that for sure won't put a hole in your wallet! Enjoy your anniversary guys! Congrats!

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AN!!!