Spooooky Halloween...mwahahaha!!!

Ok, I know it's only early September, but I just got a message from my friends Rob & Sara requesting Halloween cupcakes for their kids' party. This marks the second year in a row and I'm SO EXCITED! I was just checking out the new ideas for Halloween on Pinterest today!

Their kids are adorable and they love "spooky" cupcakes in kid flavors - meaning I get to do funfetti! Who doesn't love funfetti cake? It just makes you happy.

In celebration of last year, and preparation for this year, I thought you might appreciate a look back at the creepy creations of Halloween 2012.

Bloodshot eyeballs and bats and spiders and dismembered witch fingers oh my! Let's take a closer look at the witch fingers because they were pretty cool.

Complete with oozing, red, sparkly blood...these had to be the spookiest treats on the block!

What to do to top these for 2013? Oh the options! Check these out:

• Pudding Filled Dirt Cupcakes from Inside BruCrew Life
• Vampire Bite Cupcakes from B for Bel
• Pumpkin Cupcakes from Whisk Kid

I also found these really cute ghost cupcakes using marshmallow frosting from The Frosted Cake Shop on flickr, but the page wasn't found. Don't you hate when that happens?

At any rate, this Halloween is going to be just as good as - if not better than - 2012.

Thanks for the opportunity, Rob & Sara!

But Grandma Used Tapioca!

We're having the in-law's over for dinner tonight. It only seems right, seeing as this is the first time Dan's using the smoker that they got for him last Christmas. I'm excited to see how the ribs turn out!

Dan sent me up to the local grocery store to pick up some potatoes to make a side dish. It just so happened that the grocery store had a pretty large selection of fresh peaches right next to the potatoes (or maybe an aisle over - I may have been distracted from my primary task). The peaches looked so good and I hadn't had a peach in a long time, so my thought process went something like this:

• I want a peach
• Dan's parents are coming over
• Naturally, they would expect to have dessert when they come to our house for dinner
• They would like a peach pie
• I'll make a peach pie

There are two things that I need to get off of my conscience right now:

• Dan's parents like desserts about as much as he does (meaning they eat it to be polite)
• I've never made a peach pie

Three minutes later, I had 8 peaches and 2 potatoes in my bag.

After I got home, I mixed up a pie crust, helped Dan stare at the smoker, clean up the yard, finish staining our new fence and stare at the smoker again. Around 3:00, I decided it was time to tackle my first peach pie.

I can make apple pie. I make good apple pie. I thought you made a peach pie the same way you made an apple pie, but I forgot the right baking temperature - Mommy! I called her at camp, knowing she wouldn't have any of her pie recipes with her, and expected her to answer all of my peach pie questions.

She told me that peach pie was SIMILAR to apple pie, but you really need to up the thickening ingredient and Grandma always used tapioca and hers were the best! There's no doubt that my grandmother's pies were the best. The woman could look at an oven and a perfectly baked pie would pop out, but I don't like tapioca. I told my mom I didn't like tapioca, to which she responded, "but Grandma ALWAYS used tapioca" and - paraphrasing here - "if you don't like it, look it up online yourself!"

So I did. And three tablespoons of corn starch later, I sent her this picture:

After all, the in-laws probably expect cupcakes!

And 50 minutes later, at 400 degrees:

Now I love my grandmother more than anything. I'd be lucky to be half the woman she was. But as much as I love my grandma, I don't need her tapioca!

I know, I know...such a rebel!

UPDATE: Dan - yes, DAN - has told me three times tonight how much he liked my peach pie! And I quote, "You knocked it out of the park, babe!"

My Mommy's So Talented!!!

Way back in my original post, Welcome to Bake My Dream Come True, I mentioned that my mom was a huge influence in my baking obsession. She and I have baked almost anything you can think of together for what seems like my entire life.

This weekend, we had planned to bake for my niece's 13th birthday together, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it home. I felt terrible leaving her to prep for the party alone, but she's a trooper!

I can't tell you how many times people have recommended the high-heel cupcakes to me. You've probably seen them all over Pinterest. I've been waiting for the perfect occasion and Mom and I had decided that Bug's birthday was just that occasion. Even though I wasn't there to help, my mom went ahead and took the challenge head on! After all, our Bug has always been the fashionista niece and I'm sure nothing less would do for her ;)

Check out the result:

Personally, I think these are much better than the ones I've seen online. Great job, Mom!

I'm so proud :)

Jello Frosting???

Some of my favorite recipes on Pinterest are for frosting. That's where I found These Peas are Hollow's Swiss Meringue Buttercream base recipe for the peanut butter version that my sister-in-law eats by the spoonful...YUM! (For the peanut butter version, I replace the melted chips with peanut butter.)

I look for occasions to try new frosting recipes whenever I can, so when my darling mini-me niece said, "Aunt Lacy, I want cupcakes" while we were at my mom's, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try the kid-friendly Jello frosting from Coleen's Recipes. We used strawberry banana Jello on a white cupcake with strawberry jam filling.

Jello Frosting

The frosting was super light and airy; it felt like the pastry bag was empty while piping it onto the cupcake, but, as you can see in the photo, it stood up nice and tall!

That's about where the appeal ended for me. It really did taste like Jello. Light, airy, Jello fluff. As a 30-year-old aunt, I wasn't a fan of the taste at all. It didn't set well either. Since we are in a humid climate, I tried to store the cupcakes we didn't send home with the kids in the refrigerator. The next day, it was just an unappetizing, gummy blob on top of the cupcake.

From a 5-year-old perspective, the frosting was awesome! The twins ate the frosting off of two cupcakes each and then wanted to take as many as they could home to share with their friends.

Final verdicts? 1) I'm old. 2) I'm not going to make it again. 3) It really did look pretty! 4) I love my nieces and nephews.

Are you following Lace of Cakes on Pinterest? Which recipe do you think I should try next?

Thank You, Aunt Carmella

When we lose someone special, it's hard. I don't like to cry, so I'll do everything I can to push back the tears. Big girls don't cry, right? I try to focus on the good memories, especially the ones that make me laugh. Examples: When my cousin Mike passed, I kept thinking "ribbit-crunch" (When I was little, I accidentally said "froggy" instead of "foggy" while riding in the backseat of his car.) and when Gram passed, I kept thinking about how she was so concerned about getting a new dress and new shoes for our wedding which was just three weeks later.

We recently lost Dan's Aunt Carmella. She was a lady in every sense of the word - not the boring kind, but the feisty kind! She was always involved with everything we did as a family. She made biscotti for my bridal shower. She made my brother-in-law's favorite cookies for their couple's shower. She even kept all three of her brothers in line - and that's saying something!

When I first started taking cake classes, Aunt Carmella was all excited because she had taken classes, too. She said she would be my first employee whenever I decided to open my little shop. She would make all of the Italian cookies that I didn't know how to make and I would handle the cakes and cupcakes. The next time I was at my mother-in-law's, she handed me Aunt Carmella's old decorating kit with a note that said "I hope you can use these."

I had so many of my own tools already that I didn't need to even open the box, so I put it in the cupboard, note and all.

The family met at my in-law's after Aunt Carmella passed. While we were there, Dan's cousin Carol's husband pulled me aside and let me know that Carol's birthday was that week. Carol was very close to Aunt Carmella, so obviously they wouldn't be celebrating her birthday on her actual birthday while she was mourning the loss of one of her closest friends, but her husband didn't want to forget about her. He asked me if I would bake her a small cake that he could pick up that weekend as a surprise. I couldn't say no to that.

I knew Carol's favorite cake was almond with strawberry filling, but while I was thinking about how I might decorate it, I was at a loss. Then I thought about Aunt Carmella's decorating kit and I knew that she would want me to use her tools for the first time on Carol's cake. That made the cake design so much easier - after all, we both took the classes, so why not go classic Wilton?

Simple, classic. Just like Aunt Carmella :) Miss you so much!

Jungle Baby!

I love taking Fridays off. I love sitting on the couch in my big, purple, fuzzy robe with a cup of Island Coconut coffee with Coconut Cream creamer watching Challenge on Food Network after successfully paying bills and realizing that life's really not bad at all.

Translation: I'm procrastinating. There are 8 dozen cupcakes to be made today for my future sister-in-law's bridal shower tomorrow and I still haven't made my grocery list.

On a positive note, this gives me some much needed time to tell you about my friend's baby shower!

You remember Dan's best friend and his wife from "A Dinner Party Before Vegas." She was the one that LOVED peanut butter and chocolate.

Last weekend, 50 of her closest friends got together to congratulate her and "ooh" and "aah" over all of the cute baby clothes and the other stuff that's completely foreign to me - not being a mother myself - but is apparently necessary to have with a new baby. (Side note: Sitting at a table with "the wives," all of whom have kids, I learned a lot - especially that I'm not quite ready for kids. But that's ok, because there are lots out there to spoil and give back to their parents!)

My friend had chosen a jungle animal sports theme for the baby's room - ADORABLE! - and her mother-in-law asked me for 6 dozen cupcakes in that same theme for the shower. If you know my husband's family, you know this means giraffes, but since I'm not fully assimilated yet, it also means lions and zebras and elephants and monkeys.

With my friend's permission, this is how it turned out:

Pretty Pretty Pregnant Lady!

Didn't her mother-in-law do a great job with the decorations? And that's only the dessert table. Each of the other tables had a stuffed animal, a zebra plant, an African violet and a mini football or baseball. The whole room was completely decked out and 100% jungle sports themed, just like the nursery.

Speaking of mother-in-laws outdoing themselves, mine dove right in and helped me decorate the cupcakes!

Look at her go!

She added green grass frosting to every last one of the white almond strawberry cupcakes. After she was done, she decided that she had so much fun that she wanted to go out and get her own set of tips! I was thrilled! So I sent her home with a set of extra tips that I had on hand. I think that works out perfectly...especially for the next time I need some help ;)

I'm assuming, at this point, that you'd like to see a close-up of the cupcakes and you're probably curious about the other flavors - like why on earth would I do white almond strawberry when my friend is just crazy about peanut butter and chocolate. No fear! There were plenty of peanut butter and chocolate cupcakes! And traditional red velvet and cream cheese cupcakes.

So cute!

:A note on the peanut butter frosting - it's the best frosting recipe ever! For my mother-in-law's birthday a couple weeks ago, I tried to make swiss meringue chocolate buttercream and it was AMAZING! I found the base recipe over at These Peas are Hollow via Pinterest (naturally). The only note I'd add to her recipe is to add the melted chocolate last. For the peanut butter version that I used for the shower, I tried to use the Reese's peanut butter chips, but ultimately ended up just using peanut butter because I couldn't get them to melt the right way - besides, nothing tastes like peanut butter quite like peanut butter.

Challenge is over now, so I guess it's time to get ready and get to the grocery store to get started on the next shower. I hope those turn out as well as the baby shower. Wish me luck!

Cable Car Cupcakes

Hello again! It's been a crazy few weeks. Needless to say, I've not been baking my dream come true. Between work, work, work and a little more work, I haven't had the energy for any me time.

Two weeks ago, two of my co-workers and I went to San Francisco for Marketo Summit 2013 to dive into the world of marketing automation. Direct flights were limited and connecting flights had some super-long delays, so we took a 7:00 am direct flight on Sunday morning. There's nothing quite like getting up at 4:30 in the morning on a weekend, but on the plus side, we were able to spend a full day checking out the city - Union Square, Fisherman's Wharf, cable cars, cable cars and cable cars.

After the conference on our last day, we still had the afternoon to kill before our flight the following morning. We decided that we'd rent some bikes and ride to the Golden Gate Bridge, hit Ghirardelli Square (mmm...chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone...) and take the cable car back to the hotel one last time.

All three of us hopped up on the running board of the cable car and were ready to head back to the hotel when I heard someone behind me growl, "What are you doin' lookin' at my cupcake?"

I turned around and saw the cable car driver standing there with a coconut-topped confection. He looked at me and repeated, "What are YOU doin' lookin' at my cupcake?"

I just took it in stride and said, "Dude, it looks incredible!"

Which apparently in San Francisco cable car speak means "grab the girl off the car and take her into the office," because that's exactly what happened next while my stunned friends just watched. (Thanks ladies!)

Once in the office, the driver turns around, points to a bakery box from Kara's Cupcakes on the counter and says "take one!"

I love cupcakes and I had seen two Kara's Cupcakes locations in the city, so I knew they were legit and took three - after all, I had two friends with me. Two friends who have much more willpower than I do when it comes to junk food. One friend accepted while the other politely declined, but as it turns out the friend that accepted didn't like coconut.

My poor friend caught the attention of the driver for not eating her cupcake right away; after a couple clever comments back and forth, the driver took her cupcake and gave it to a toddler on the other side of the car - super cute! This, of course, got everyone on the front half of the car talking to each other and, the next thing I knew, they all knew we were from Ohio and we met the Asian family with the toddler and started trading restaurant suggestions with a business traveler from Norway and his friend from Chicago...all because of a cupcake and an outgoing driver.

Do you want to meet my cable car driver friend? Of course you do!

And the moral of this story? Nothing brings people together like a cupcake - especially if you're friend doesn't like coconut ;)

Pinterest Experiment: Soft, Silky Legs in a Bottle

There was a mini-Pinterest marathon in our house tonight. It started with haluski for dinner, followed by whipping up some coconut oil body butter and then Soft, Silky Legs in a Bottle.

My husband's family is renting a beach house for my brother-in-law's wedding this July. This means that I will be at the beach for a week with two of my gorgeously tan sisters-in-law. As the redhead in the family, Rose McGowan fair with lots of freckles and prone to lobster-ing immediately in the sun, I'm trying anything I can to get my skin ready to keep up with the olive-skinned crowd.

So when I came across a recipe for DIY Skin Smoother for Silky Soft Legs from One Good Thing by Jillee on Pinterest - and the caption said something about "Ready for summer legs" - I had to try it.

In making this skin smoother, I used the last of my olive oil. This is a sin in our Italian household. Dan (aka "my husband") was irritated when he found out. "Olive oil is for cooking, not for skin stuff."

Anyway...

I didn't have any lemon juice, but I did have some lime juice hiding on the refrigerator door. I'm not sure how old it is, or if it's even real lime juice, but I used it anyway.

Although Jillee doesn't have time for baths, I make time. So off I went to the tub with my Tupperware container full of Jillee's sugar scrub. Following her directions, I soaked, I scrubbed, I shaved and then I scrubbed and shaved again.

WOW! I don't think my legs have ever been so smooth. I'm sparing you photos in this post because 1) I'm not keen on posting photos of my white legs and 2) you can't feel how smooth my skin is in a photo. I came downstairs and popped my leg up on the couch next to Dan and asked him if he still thought olive oil was just for cooking.

"Not in our family."

Win!

March of Dimes - Bake for Babies

We're getting very close to the 2013 March of Dimes March for Babies! This is my favorite charity by far because, without their research, I wouldn't have my adorable niece and nephew.

Five years ago, my nephew kicked my niece's placenta (from the his own placenta) and her fluid started draining to the point that the doctors had to take them early. They were 26 weeks into the required 38-40 weeks. (This is my understanding of what happened. My sister-in-law can recite the technical story with aplomb.)

My twins came into the world the length of a pen with footprints the size of small fingernail clippers, weighing under 2 pounds each.

Needless to say, both of them remained in the NICU for quite some time. My nephew came home for the first time when he was 6 months old and the size of a normal newborn. A normal newborn with adorable huge cheeks!

My niece stayed in the hospital much longer. We actually lost my beautiful little girl for 5 minutes before God gave her back to us. Fortunately, she was home with her brother for their first birthday. Mom and I made them each a stand-up teddy bear cake - one pink and one blue.

Today, my twins are amazing 5-year-old kids who love to torment my brother (which I love), served as a perfect flower girl and "ring bear race car," and have beaten all of the odds against them.

I know that our story wouldn't have been so inspirational if it weren't for the tireless research backed by the March of Dimes and the dedication of their volunteers and those who walk in support of their cause. I've walked or donated every year since they were born. My brother and his family actually served as our local March of Dimes Ambassador Family a couple years ago because of the hope that my niece and nephew represent to those who are going through similar situations.

Last year, my sister-in-law partnered with another preemie Mom to take their fundraising to a new level. They rented out a local fire hall, organized local crafters and vendors, and put on a craft sale in support of the March of Dimes.

Remember that about this time last year, I also did my first wedding cake and was completely wrapped up in the excitement of my new hobby. (I'm still excited about my hobby!) I told my sister-in-law that I wanted to have my own cupcake table with all of my sales for the day going to the March of Dimes. So I took a day off of work, baked about 10-12 dozen cupcakes and packaged them for sale with the help of my mom and one of my older nieces.

There were a few cupcakes on that table that made me really proud:

Chocolate cayenne with spiced pecans, caramel and chocolate ganache

Chocolate Moose

White Puppy Cupcake

But my favorite cupcake of the entire event was the one that I created specifically for Team Handful of Hope:

Lemon Blueberry Handful of Hope Cupcake w/ Chocolate Sneaker

We raised over $200 in cupcakes alone for the March of Dimes that day. In a blizzard. In a town of less than 100 people. I would call that a resounding success and I would do it again in a heartbeat to support this cause and to support my twins.

How Did I Get Myself Into This?

This weekend marks the one year anniversary of the reason I got into baking in the first place.

My sister's best friend was planning her wedding for March 10, 2012 and asked my mom to bake her wedding cake. (I told you in the beginning that my mom was good!) Mom had done my sister's cake a couple years before - it was gorgeous - and K really liked the simplicity of the design and, of course, the taste.

My big sister's wedding cake!

Simple, elegant, perfect. White cake, strawberry filling, buttercream frosting, yum.

Anyway, wedding cakes stress Mom out. Big time. So K asked if I would make hers since I helped Mom with my sister's. I thought it sounded like fun, so I said YES! Panicked for a second and then signed up for the Wilton Method Courses. (Can you tell how much value I put on these classes yet?)

After 4 courses and a lot of practice - including a New Year's wedding cake for my lovely cousin (again, another post waiting to happen) - I was ready to go! I baked and crumb coated three of the five layers at my house in Ohio, took a day and a half vacation, packed up all of my gear and headed to my mom's in Pennsylvania. OK - so I packed up most of what I needed, but I realized I had forgotten the royal blue buttercream roses about a half hour down the road and had to turn around and go back.

I didn't want to complete the cake at home and drive with the final product in the back of my SUV for 2 hours, especially since the bridge to my mom's house was closed and I had to take the back roads of Appalachia to get there.

I finally got to Mom's and she helped me bake and crumb coat the last two layers that night and decorate all five the next day. I didn't put the roses on the cake or even stack it right away because I had to take those same back roads to the reception hall. (Those roads are REALLY fun when you aren't holding your breath because someone's wedding cake is in the back and your REALLY don't want it to fall apart.) With 5 layers of wedding cake, a box of buttercream roses and an emergency cake repair and finishing kit, at 25mph, we finally made it to the hall and got it all together - just in time to take those same roads home at 65mph so we could get ready and make it to the wedding.

I have to say, I love how it turned out!

P&K's Wedding Cake

I apologize for the quality of the photo; fortunately, I have a much better phone now.

I was really proud of this cake! And I'm very grateful to K for giving me the kick in the butt to find a hobby that I love that also allows me to contribute to special occasions for my friends and family.

Happy Anniversary P&K!!!

"Owl" Be a Year Old Today!

After our last adventure in chocolate peanut butter strawberry goodness, I promised you some pink luster dust. DELIVERED.

My friend's daughter had her first birthday on February 16 - three days before my not-so-first birthday. As her mommy hosts a fabulous blog over at Project Mommy, you know this was going to be a very posh first birthday. And what are all the cool kids doing? Owls.

This was actually my second venture into the feathered realm for the diapered crowd (my first was a really cute baby boy baby shower - but that's a completely different post). I have to admit that, even though I'm extremely frightened of birds, this was  a lot of fun! Just check it out:

Aren't those the cutest? I love the baking cups - not too big, not too small, just right for a first birthday. I found them TJ Maxx of all places. They're by some Australian company, Le Petite Gateau, that apparently doesn't have broad distribution in the U.S.

Translation: I couldn't find any more on Amazon :(

I also love going girly with my cupcake decorations. As soon as my friend asked me to bake for her daughter, I was out looking for pink sugar pearls and darker pink luster dust. The luster dust really made the simple vanilla buttercream POP! I wish you could see how much they sparkled in the photo, but oh well.

I'm not sure when I'll be baking for an occasion again, but there are so many good stories and so many pretty cakes to share! I promise to post again soon!

A Dinner Party Before Vegas

I finally get to post again! As I mentioned before, my job takes priority over my baking. It also takes priority over my blogging. So now you know why it's been so long between posts, but I promise I'll make up for it.

One of my husband's best friends and his wife invited us over for a dinner party last Saturday. It's always so great to see them! Although I'm not sure what it is, but when we make plans with this couple, I end up having to fly to Las Vegas for work the next day. It happened with their wedding (talk about a nasty next-morning flight!) and it happened this time. Regardless, we love hanging out with them!

Our hostess for the night happens to be pregnant. Super exciting! So when she asked me to bring "something chocolate," I said "yes, ma'am!" I've learned from my sister, sisters-in-law, cousins and other friends that have had children that, when a pregnant woman asks for something, she gets it. No question.

I was actually thrilled to be able to bake again. It feels like it's been so long, although I know it really probably hasn't been that long. I started by stalking her Pinterest boards - after all, if she wants chocolate, she's probably pinning chocolate. In this case, she definitely was. Chocolate and peanut butter. Lots of it. All different ways. It's safe to say I had my inspiration. Lots of it.

Our dinner was the Saturday before Valentine's Day, so I was feeling a little festive as well. I had pinned a chocolate covered strawberry cupcake that looked really good - lots of oozy chocolate ganache over a chocolate covered strawberry on top of a chocolate cupcake with strawberry frosting. Let's call this inspiration #2.

The result?

Chocolate Peanut Butter Strawberry Goodness

I just replaced the strawberry frosting with this awesome peanut butter buttercream and some homemade Reese's cup filling (also found on Pinterest). I tried to douse the strawberry in chocolate ganache, but that turned into a big mess. The hubs suggested a drizzle. That worked out much better.

I wanted to be conscious of the ingredients I was feeding to our pregnant friend, so I decided to make the cake from scratch as opposed to using my favorite Pillsbury cake mix (always the one with the pudding). I found the recipe in 500 Cupcakes: The Only Cupcake Compendium You'll Ever Need. I forget which recipe, but it had 2 sticks of butter and 4 tsp of cocoa powder, so you know it was good. 

Honestly, I still like a boxed cake mix better than a cake from scratch. Cake mixes seem to hold their moisture. I haven't figured out how to keep a from-scratch cake moist for more than a couple hours. (I'm open to tips if you have any ;)) Maybe it's just me, though. Everyone else who ate my from-scratch chocolate-peanut-butter-strawberry-goodness cupcake loved it. I'll keep trying.

What's next? Here's a hint: Pink pearl dust!

Welcome to Bake My Dream Come True!

Guess what! I bake.

Are you shocked? With a title like "Bake My Dream Come True," the possibilities are truly endless, right?

Actually, while I do bake - I love to bake! - I have a feeling that the meaning of this title may end up going beyond the oven. After all, every dream needs time to come together, rise, heat up and come to a sweet conclusion.

So why start this blog? Well, I bake. A lot. My grandmothers baked. My mom bakes. I have a natural inclination to bake. Like my mom, I've taken all of the Wilton Method Cake Decorating classes. Unlike my mom, I'll bake for family, friends, friends of friends...you name it!

Final Project from Wilton Course 3

When I first started the classes with one of my good friends who is always up for a new challenge, I kept my baking close to home: birthday cakes for the in-laws, dropping test batches off at the neighbors (did I mention my husband doesn't eat sweets?), etc. That seemed to be received pretty well and before I knew it, my mother-in-law's friends were asking her for my business website.

BUSINESS WEBSITE!?! I have a full-time job, thank you. I also have a dog. In the house. Where I bake. I'm sure that's some kind of health code violation.

So as long as I keep baking in my comfort zone, for the people who know I have a dog in my house and understand that I have a full-time job that takes first priority, we're good.

Which leads us to the blog. What better option for my mother-in-law to show off her super-talented, favorite daughter-in-law (favorite is short-lived, my brother-in-law is marrying an incredible woman this summer)? It also gives me an opportunity to share what goes into the creative process behind my projects and hopefully pass on some of the excitement that I feel when I take on a new challenge - baking or otherwise.

Coming up in the short term:

• Owl-themed first birthday for my friend's daughter
• Shabby chic bridal shower for my future sister-in-law

Can you see the Pinspiration yet ;)