Guest Post: Mother's Day Dessert - Meyer Lemon Tart

Mother's Day is right around the corner - less than a week and a half away!  What will you be doing this year for the special women in your life?

My mom loves anything lemon, and for Mother's Day, I'll be making her this amazing Meyer lemon tart.  Meyer lemons are thought to be a cross between a regular lemon and a mandarin orange, and are sweeter, milder, and less acidic than regular lemons.  The mild, sweet juice creates a delightful flavor in this light, spring dessert.

Head on over to Pure Joy Events to check out the first part of my guest post this month - the recipe for the creamy, Meyer lemon tart filling.

Happy Birthday (Angry Birds style!)

Today is Matthew's 5th birthday - and him and all of his friends will be celebrating with a pretty awesome Angry Bird's themed cake!

The cake itself is chocolate with chocolate ganache filling, covered with dark chocolate fondant.  All of the angry birds, pigs, slingshot and other props are made from gumpaste and fondant.

Happy Birthday Matthew - I hope your day is awesome!!!

Cupcake Decorating 101

My blog has been a little bit quiet lately - which means that I've been spending lots of time in the kitchen!  This past weekend, I was particularly busy getting ready for my first decorating class - cupcake decorating techniques!  The class started off with a baking demonstration and a discussion about baking techniques and tools.  During the second half of the class, everyone piped lots and lots of buttercream, and decorated their cupcakes with a variety of embellishments, including sprinkles and decorative sugars and fondant and paper toppers.

We all had a great time, and I am seriously impressed by everyone's cupcake decorating skills!  I can't wait to see what you all create next :)

Guest Post: French Macaron Tutorial

I am absolutely thrilled to be the new resident baking and treat decorating guest blogger on the Pure Joy Events blog!  Christine, the amazing woman behind Pure Joy Events, plans some seriously awesome children's parties. Her blog is a wonderful source for ideas and tutorials - definitely one you do not want to miss.

Today, I share Part I of a two part series on French Macarons.  Head over to the Pure Joy Events blog to check it out!

Pinwheel Party Preview

I love this whimsical cake!  Pink pinwheels adorn a simple cake covered with white fondant.  This cake would be the perfect addition to any party or celebration.

Chocolate cupcakes in a pinwheel wrapper

Smore's pops!

French macarons with lemon marscarpone filling

More pictures to come soon - thanks so much for stopping by!