5 years and 9 months ago I got the most shocking news any person could get. I saw a positive sign (or maybe it was a smiley face?) on my  pregnancy test ;D Somewhere deep down inside I knew what this meant but wrapping my head around the fact that in 9 months time i would give birth to a human being was something all together different. Needless to say, 9 months goes by a lot quicker then one would imagine. Well, 9 months and 2 weeks. She was a stubborn one from the get go My daughter came into this world at exactly 10 am at the Rockyview Hospital in Calgary, Alberta. I remember the exact time cause I was in labour for 19.5 hours before the doctors had to brake my water and she wasted no time in coming out after that. She looked nothing like me. Not a single feature could i see that resembled my face whatsoever. Chinese eyes, chinese nose, dark chinese hair, and even a dark complexion. (My husband is Chinese therefore making my babies scrambled eggs!) This could not be my child! Gasp! My mother was there and she said she could see something of me in her but all I saw was a Chinese baby. Not until I managed to get some sleep did I see her in a whole new light. She had my eyes! Yes, she had my eyes!! I was sure the more she grew the more she’d start to look like me. I had hoped at least ;D

 

I never thought to make a cake until her 2nd Birthday. This first cake I ever attempted to make was in the form of a penguin. She had started watching Happy Feet and I figured what better cake then a penguin? I had never made a cake before. I didn’t even bake. It was a learning curve, that’s all i can say about that. Her 4th birthday cake was something all together different. It was the first time I used PVC pipe in a cake and this was definitely a learning curve! Her cake was in the shape of Rapunzel’s tower and it ended up being 32″ high by the time i finished. I didn’t know how i would make her 5th birthday cake any more eye popping and more triumphant then the last one. My daughter is a drama queen, hence the nickname “drAmelie”, and she could not make up her mind for what kind of party she really wanted to have. First it was the little mermaid, then Barbie, then princess and finally flowers. She said lots of flowers. I said done! We went with a Garden Theme Party and did  as many flowers and butterflies as I could muster around the house and the cake.

I had found a picture of this cake on Cake Central and I thought it would be perfect for Amelie’s birthday. I tweaked it here and there to make it more suitable for her and the end result was beyond perfect The kids each got their own worms in dirt gift cups to take home. These were just filled with chocolate pudding topped with Oreo crumbs and candy worms.

The cake itself was a 2 tier chocolate cake with the top tear a Vanilla Buttercream Filling and I made the bottom with a Lemon Curd Filling.

The party had 14 kids all under the age of 6 and the youngest 6 months. Needless to say it was loud, busy and too much fun! All the kids played together and pretty much kept to themselves apart from the odd one running upstairs to use the bathroom or to steal a handful of chips. We even managed to get a little wrestling competition started amongst some of the boys….and of course Amelie!

Amelie turned 5 this May. We celebrated the only way I knew how. With great company, great food and a great cake This was all done for my daughter. My sweet Amelie. The look on her face when she sees her cake makes my job all worth it. The late nights, the lack of sleep, the experimenting and the constant mess in my kitchen. My kids are why I do what I do and why I love doing it . xoxoxoxo

All photography by Red Diesel Photography.

So as (no pun intended), soon as I thought about making this cake, Sir Mix A lot popped into my head and every time I look at these photos I sing the song in my head. You all know it…

Some 20 months ago I walked into my first Zumba class at the Triwood Community Centre in Calgary. I had no idea what to expect and frankly, I was terrified! I do not have a dance bone in my body. I know how to mosh in a mosh pit, I’ve gone latin dancing back in my youth but nothing prepared me for this new experience. Trying to get my feet to move at the same time as my hands, to watch the others in front of me and try desperately to move my hips like them, to move to the beat…wow, I must have been drunk cause I swear that I must have peed myself from sheer laughter that first class! Needless to say, I went back. And back again. I started getting the steps, I started to think (at least in my head) that I must surely look like the instructor or at least the girls in the front row ( you know who you are:) ) I fell in love with going, there was a point last year where I went at least 5 days a week, sometimes 6 if I could. I was addicted. I’m sure the whole addiction was due to the fact that classes were fun. The people that attended were wonderful and the instructor was ass-mazing (sorry but I had to). I was inspired to keep at it, to regain some form of youth and energy that I had before having kids. I wanted my body back and let me say, I’ve gotten pretty damn close. All thanks to attending Zumba classes and the amazing instructor that has helped shape so many of our lives. So thank you, Michelle Neufeldt, for simply being you:)

A few months ago she had sent me a picture of a Zumba ass cake someone had sent her and told me that it would be a pretty ass-mazing ( sorry, had to do it again) cake to make. i knew I would have to replicate it and at least try to make it better.  So I decided that it would be ass-mazing (tee hee hee), to surprise her with it after one of her Zumba classes. I made sure the other instructors would be in on the surprise as I could not pull it off by myself. So we schemed and surprised the hell out of not only her, but all others that were there. It was priceless and she was genuinely surprised. I’m sure those were tears of joy?!?!?

I was beyond thrilled to get to make this cake. Any chance I get to make something different and unique I will jump at that chance. And this cake tops it by far! Here’s a look at the process and thanks to my wonderful husband (Red Diesel Photography) once again for capturing the moment:)

Unless you’re a “Jersey Shore” fan you probably have no idea what this cake is all about. I know, I know, why would anyone want a cake like this? A very good friend of mine who was celebrating her 30th birthday was a huge “Jersey Shore” fan. She called me and all she said was “fried pickles”. Huh? Google here i come….I had no idea what she was talking about. The one thing that came up on the search engine was the video of Snooki eating, you guessed it, FRIED PICKLES! How fitting to make a cake like this! Needles to say, she ate it for breakfast. In true Jersey Shore style:)

Aaden’s 2nd Birthday was a true test of my skills. I found this cake in a book i grabbed from the library and as soon as i saw it i knew it would be perfect for Aaden. I loved making this cake. It was a challenge as this was the first 3D cake i was making. Good thing for instructions:)

The third cake i made for a friend of my moms whom she used to work with in Cochrane. This was also a first for me and very last minute. I found this recipe for a Apple-Cinnamon cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream and i knew i had to make it. It sounded delicious and it tasted even better! The design i came up with after going back through my Wilton books and found the technique called “cornelli lace”. I thought it would look pretty along with a bow and i loved the final outcome.

 

My daughters birthday was fast approaching and i knew i had to make something spectacular. LIke i said, it’s in my nature to always try to outdo myself. She had mentioned she wanted a “Tangled” theme. So many ways i could have gone with this cake. I decided to take things in a whole new direction. Once again, a first for me. Good thing i had my husband to help me with the construction of this beast. I ended up attaching PVC pipe to a cake board to make sure this thing would stay up and be able to hold a 6″ cake on top. The roof of the cake was RK (Rice Krispie) treats as well as the entire tower. The top of the tower and the bottom were Vanilla cake filled with Strawberry Buttercream. I look back at this cake and it makes me smile:) Amelie loved it and all the kids loved watching it get cut. I cried a little cause i knew how much time it had taken me to make this beast but in the end I have to “Let them eat cake!”

I also had a request for a 8th Birthday party that was taking place at a Rock Climbing establishment here in Calgary. I figured why not make a rock climbing wall? I had baked 2 different size cakes and put them together to create the wall part of the cake. My husband was the one who actually came up with the idea of making the “rock pattern” and i’m glad i listened;)

I have made many friends over the last 20 years living in Calgary but this was a special cake i made for a very close friends baby shower from my first few years in this country. I got the inspiration from our childhood stories about Storks and where babies came from.