Stay a while and have a cookie...

It's May.  May of 2012, to be precise.  That means Diablo III comes out in just a few more days!  The fiance and I have plans to hunker down for at least 48 straight hours and play the crap out of that game.  Witch Doctor?  Yes, pleeeease...

Which leads me to this post about a Diablo III cookie platter I created a couple weeks back.

Here are the focal cookies.  These things were big, about 6 inches worth of yum.  Tyrael is there on the left with the D-man himself on the right.

Here's the full platter in all its glory!  Soulstones at the top, quote cookies in the mid and logo cookies at the bottom.

Lots and lots of icing, lots and lots of fun!

Playing Catch-Up!

Sorry for the lack of updates!  A LOT has happened this year so far.  At the end of February, my boyfriend and I suddenly found ourselves unemployed.  So I have been visiting family, trying to sort out my life, and baking all along the way!

I have just a few belated Valentine's Day pictures that I neglected to post.  It's never too late for roses and hearts, right?

February was also the annual 'That Takes the Cake!' competition here in Austin.  I entered my re-created Alice in Wonderland cake balls for judging.  The boyfriend was so very proud of me for winning 1st place in my division, despite me emphasizing the fact that there was only one other entry in my division, hehe.  The whole experience was eye-opening!  I saw hundreds of beautifully-crafted, edible works of art up close and personal.  It made me want to push myself to broaden my skills and - yes - to actually make a cake next time!  At least I have a year to practice! :P

 Me with my lil' entry!

Won the raffle for a huge stack of Fat Daddio cake pans!  Did I mention that I'm going to start making cakes? :P

Professionally photographed! <3

So, somewhere between the excitement of the cake competition and the shock of getting laid off, I've decided to put my resume and portfolio out there to see if I can get a position with a local bakery.  I would love the opportunity to work with my hands and bring joy to people through edible art.  It's quite a large technical switch from what I wanted to do in the video game industry, but I know that my background in design, sculpting and color theory will translate well into pastry art.  I'm keeping my fingers and my apron strings crossed!

Oh, Ohhh it's Magic!

If you're in Austin and haven't visited Tenth Planet Games & Comics then drop whatever you're doing, get in your car and go claw at the glass till they let you in.  It'll be worth it!

 

  See?  Isn't that a nifty logo?  Lil' d20 flyin' off of there like a comet 'n everything!  

 

Trevor told me that Tenth Planet would be hosting a Pre-Release party for the upcoming Magic the Gathering card game expansion.

The new expansion is called 'Dark Ascension', and it is full of zombies and vampires and humans being bred for the purpose of feeding said vampires.  Awesome.

So, I got to work and did what I do best: I made cookies.  200 cookies, to be precise!

The spells on Magic cards use lands - or mana - as a resource.  So I put each land on a cookie.  Plains, Island, Swamp, Mountain and Forest.

 

And then, I put them in a box and took them to the store.

And then, Trevor put them in a fancier box!  And that is the story of the Magic: The Gathering cookies!

Now, seriously, get thee to Tenth Planet.  :D

Forever Alone...

I present to you for your viewing enjoyment, the ugliest cookie I have ever created:

YEP!  It's the "forever alone" guy.  If you don't get it, you can either read about it on Know Your Meme or spend about 5 minutes on IMGUR.  IMO, the second option is way more fun and could possibly end up being more offensive!  Hooray for the internets.

Fortunately, I will be selling these - get this - just in time for Valentine's Day.  That's right, if you're in Austin then you can buy them for yourself, your ex, or maybe for that guy you permanently friend-zoned last month.  It comes wrapped in its own sad little bag, tied with a single, solitary ribbon.  E-mail me if you do want!

Mmm, sweet, delicious cookie tears...

Cutie Mark Cookies!

Okay, so, seriously you guys.  This show.  If you haven't watched it yet, you're missing out.  My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is a relatively new animated series created by Lauren Faust, who also worked on gems like 'Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends' and 'The Powerpuff Girls'.  This series is a throwback to every single thing I loved about the cartoons I grew up with on Cartoon Network.  Yes, I'm 26.  No, I'm not ashamed to admit that I friggin' love ponies.

Every equine member of the My Little Pony universe sports a unique symbol, located near the rumpus region.  This is called a cutie mark, and one maaaagically appears whenever a pony discovers his or her own unique talent or finds something special that sets him or her apart from all the other ponies in Equestria.

And it just so happens that cutie marks look really...well, cute on cookies:

From left to right it's Rainbow Dash (big adventure!), Pinkie Pie (tons of fun!), Rarity (a beautiful heart!), Applejack (faithful and strong!), Fluttershy (sharing kindness!) and Twilight Sparkle (magic makes it all complete!).

While making these, I realized that I REALLY need to start using Royal Icing instead of Glaze Icing.  Even when using a #1 icing tip, I can't get the level of accuracy and fine detail that I want since the glaze spreads sooo much.  

So, I feel like I'm off to a decent start, but the next ones will be at least 20% cooler...

That's all for now!  Now, go watch some ponies.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas baking!

Just in case you were wondering, this is what 330 mini Christmas cookies look like! :P

And this is what they look like decorated.

Gotta have the edible glitter on there!

Teeny tiny, tasty snowmen.

My boyfriend, Stephen, did an awesome job on these trees.

And, of course, the obligatory cake ball post! Andes mints in dark chocolate cake, hugged with Belgian dark and white chocolate.


Here's wishing you an epic holiday season!

Twelve Kingdoms Cake Balls

About a month ago I received an e-mail from a friend. It contained a 3 page document detailing a cake ball tray that she wanted for her birthday. I was amazed at how much time she had taken to describe her vision - she'd included names, pictures, descriptions and all! Her excitement got me excited! Her order is based upon an anime called 'The Twelve Kingdoms'. Check out what we came up with!

The full order, 48 total. Half Mexican Vanilla in white and Death by Chocolate in dark.

The Chinese gates with their kingdom names written below.

The Kirin (Chinese Unicorns)

The Youma (Monsters)

Thanks, Jen, for letting me bring your vision to life! Hope you had a happy birthday! :)

Groom's Cake Balls

Wedding cake balls! And not just any wedding cake balls, these are based off of the groom's favorite comic book characters. From left to right is Turbulence, Iron Man and Gravnos. The coolest part? The groom is actually the creator and author of the characters, Turbulence and Gravnos! Check out his comic here!

Thanks to Chris and Amanda for letting me create some special treats for your special day <3

So I herd u liek Mudkipz!

A while, back my friend's girlfriend painted him a picture of a Mudkip (Pokemon) hugging a dinosaur. The painting is ADORABLE and he asked me to recreate it in fondant! So here's how they turned out:


D'awww ain't they adorable!!


So fun, so geeky. X3

10th Anniversary Cake Balls

And now, for something COMPLETELY custom-tailored!

A work colleague and good friend of mine asked me to create cake balls for his 10th wedding anniversary. He provided me with a list detailing something special that had happened during each year he'd been married to his wife, Amy. It was brilliant and very thoughtful!

Here's the breakdown for each ball:

2001 - Dolphin - My friend and his wife went to Hawaii for their honeymoon!
2002 - Primrose - Their first house was on Primrose Lane.
2003 - Two pink slips from Hewlett-Packard. As he explained it to me it was, "definitely something we both survived better by doing it together!" - which, I think, is very touching.
2004 - Texas - They moved to Austin, TX together.
2005 - Baby Rattle - Their first daughter, Maia, was born <3
2006 - Flag of Spain - Family vacation to Spain!
2007 - Bloody Rollerskate - My friend's wife was in Roller-Derby, and her name was Slay-At-Home Mom. I got SUCH a kick out of that! :D
2008 - Family trip to Arizona!
2009 - Second daughter, Fiona, was born <3
2010 - Building A-B-C blocks for Maia, since she started Kindergarten!
2011 - Two bushes and a bench to celebrate the completion of their home's landscaping!




The flavors were Mexican Vanilla cake in white chocolate and chocolate cake in dark chocolate.

I really enjoyed creating these for my friend, his wife and his two sweet girls. I hope they enjoy their treats!