trying out a new recipe...

This week I used a family friend's birthday as a way to try out a new recipe for a cake. I made a white cake recipe and added the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Instead of a traditional buttercream, I used a whipped cream frosting made of heavy whipping cream, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, clear vanilla extract, and a little bit of powdered sugar. It was a 2 layer cake and I used pureed strawberries with sugar to soak the layers and then put the whipped cream in between. Everyone really liked it--it kind of tasted like a good strawberry shortcake with some lemon undertones. Would be great for a summer birthday too because it turned out very light with the whipped cream frosting. Definitely a repeat.

I LOVE the Penguins' throwback jerseys

And so does my sister, Charelle. So for her 25th birthday, she requested a round cake with the emblem on it. The Pens ought to lose the black, gold and white modern jerseys and use these again-because they are WAY cooler. This was a 3 layer marble cake with white buttercream icing and fondant decorations with some minor piping. Since the Steelers' season is done, we might as well start cheering on the Pens; the way they've been playing, they need the support anyway!

I don't understand the attraction of "Dancing With the Stars"....

...but it's my Grandma's favorite show. It was between a Singin' in the Rain cake and this one. And she loved the idea of the silhouettes of the dancers around the side. I liked the idea of modeling the colors of the icing on the opening of the show with the clouds and the pink and purple. It's a 2 layer yellow/white cake combo which makes the cake rich but light in my opinion. In between the layers is white buttercream icing with a layer of pureed strawberries with a bit sugar soaked into the cake. Everyone LOVED the addition of the strawberries! The disco ball was actually a Christmas ornament. It worked out perfectly and required a lot less work than the idea I had of cutting up an old CD and hot-gluing it to a foam ball. That would have been some hard core crafting fun, though!

Six-Pack Super Bowl for the Steelers!!

I made these two cakes for a Super Bowl party at the IUP Management Information Systems department. The Terrible Towel cake is a 2 layer white cake with white buttercream and the towel is a fondant sheet with food coloring drawings and fondant decorations. The crashing helmets cake is a 2 layer chocolate fudge cake with green colored buttercream and fondant and piped decorations. Go Steelers!!!

Who doesn't love old-school Nintendo?

So it's a week before my little cousin's 11th birthday party...my aunt emails to place a cake order and says that she wants cupcakes and to do whatever I want. I want to make them special, that's for sure, and I don't like boring cupcakes with a swirl of icing. Especially for an 11-year old's birthday party. So I start scouring the internet for cool ideas, and this is what I found. Super Mario Bros.! I couldn't resist...and I'd be willing to bet that Super Mario Bros. music is running through your head (if you're not humming it aloud right now). These cupcakes are dedicated to the talented Nick Luckett of www.4colorrebellion.com :)

A 50th birthday cake, Steelers-style!

This is the first cake I attempted with fondant decorations. It is a 50th birthday cake for my uncle, and he is a huge Steelers fan. It's an appropriate 1st cake venture to match the title of my blog!
The cake is a 2 tier (2 layers each tier) white cake with white buttercream icing. All of the decorations were made out of store bought fondant that I colored.

Welcome to my Blog!

Welcome, and thanks for viewing my blog! I have recently turned my love for baking and art into the beginnings of a new career: specialty cake decorating. I have started doing at least one cake about every week, and I am very lucky to have an understanding husband to help me watch my two small children.
The pictures that you see are the product of a lot of time spent watching Food Network and teaching myself some of the basic techniques of cake decorating. Each cake I design I try to attempt a new technique, and I will hopefully be able to take some professional baking classes in the near future. For now, this blog will suit as my "cake portfolio."
At this point, I am trying out some new recipes and flavor combinations, and I continue to have my cakes seen and tasted by a lot of people in my area. My intention within the next couple of years is to open a specialty bakery in the Pittsburgh area. Until then, enjoy the pictures and feel free to contact me at steelcitycakes@gmail.com.