| Decorate This!

Treasure Chest Cake

After a short hiatus to take handle some things in my personal life - I'm back in caking action :)

I made this treasure chest cake for my friend George's daughter's 5th birthday party, and it was SO much fun to make. It's pretty much the first 3-D, non-standard shaped cake I've made, and definitely challenged me a bit to think outside of the box.

The lid was made out of rice krispie treats; the box portion was yellow cake filled with chocolate buttercream. I covered the whole thing with dark chocolate fondant, and created the pearl strands, coins, and chest embellishments out of fondant and gumpaste. And of course - what's a treasure chest without a little beach element - the cake was surrounded by graham cracker crumb "sand". I'm absolutely thrilled with the result!

Happy 5th birthday Zoe!!

National S'mores Day!

Hi all. Me again. I know it's been over a month since I last posted, but life took some unexpected twists and turns (isn't life good at doing things like that?). However - I'm pretty much back, and looking forward to sharing more sugar with all of you!

Did you know that today is National S'mores Day?? Head on over to the Sugar Turntable to check out the recipes for s'mores pops and peanut butter crunch s'mores bars - no campfire required! Or, if you have a little bit more time on your hands, check out the recipe for my amazing s'mores cupcakes.

Giveaway: Plate to Pixel Book Winner!

Thanks to all who entered the Plate to Pixel Book giveaway! I'm happy to announce that the winner is .... Lisa!

Lisa, please contact me at kristen@queenbeecakery.com by end of day tomorrow (7/8) to claim your prize!

Giveaway: Plate to Pixel Book!

After working hard to finish up a cake, it can be tempting to just snap a few quick photos of your work and call it a day. However - photos DO tell a thousand (or more) words, and it's smart and satisfying to be able to capture your hard work in beautiful, enticing photographs. The amazing Helene Dujardin of Tartelette recently came out with her first book - Plate to Pixel. This wonderful book is packed full of advice and tricks of the trade on food styling and photography, which is accessible for even the beginning photographer. This is truly one of of my favorite new books!

How would you like to win a copy, to help you in your pursuit of gorgeous, enticing photos?

All you have to do to enter is:

Follow my blog (just click that Follow button to the right!)
Leave a comment on this post, with a link to a blog that has photographs that you admire.

And that's it! Deadline to enter is Wednesday, July 6, 2011 at 8 pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random* and announced sometime Thursday.

Good luck!!!

This giveaway is open only to legal residents of the 50 states of the U.S. (and the District of Columbia).

Description from amazon.com: Tips and techniques for making food look good—before it tastes good!

Food photography is on the rise, with the millions of food bloggers around the word as well as foodies who document their meals or small business owners who are interested in cutting costs by styling and photographing their own menu items, and this book should serve as your first course in food photography. Discover how the food stylist exercises unique techniques to make the food look attractive in the finished product. You’ll get a taste of the visual know-how that is required to translate the perceptions of taste, aroma, and appeal into a stunning, lavish finished photograph.

Takes you through the art and techniques of appetizing food photography for everyone from foodies to food bloggers to small business owners looking to photograph their food themselves
Whets your appetite with delicious advice on food styling, lighting, arrangement, and more
Author is a successful food blogger who has become a well-known resource for fellow bloggers who are struggling with capturing appetizing images of their creations

So, have the cheese say, "Cheese!" with this invaluable resource on appetizing food photography.

Audrey & Winson's Wedding

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of attending my friend Audrey's wedding at the gorgeous Brooklyn Botanic Garden in Brooklyn, NY. Audrey and Winson are pretty much the cutest couple ever - and I couldn't be happier for them!!

The Botanic Garden is amazing - I can't wait to go back and spend the day walking around. From a garden filled with flowers from Shakespeare's novels to amazing rose gardens, there was far too much to see in the hour or so that we had to walk around. Just a few shots of some of the beautiful flowers in bloom ...

For their wedding favors, I made red velvet cake pops, dipped in white chocolate and a milk chocolate drizzle. Packaged in colors to coordinate with their wedding color scheme, the cake pops added an elegant touch to each table setting.