Choo-Choo! 2nd Birthday Train Cake!

It was a super busy week! My two girls started preschool at our church, Oak Grove UMC, my husband bought a truck (to replace his lost in an accident last week), and I had 3 orders for this weekend! One Ruffle cake, a black forest cake, and a 2nd birthday train cake. I didn't take a photo of the Ruffle cake because I have made it before. The black forest cake was covered in Ghirardelli chocolate shavings, so I did not take photos of it either because it was generically decorated. The train cake, however, was completely new! Here are a few photos.

Pink & Green Baby Shower Dessert Table

It has taken a while to post this because of Hurricane Irene. Here are photos of the dessert table from last weekend. The theme was pink & green. Except for the cake squares in the center, all other desserts were made by Storybook Bakery.

Personalized baby bucket from Kurlz & Swirls held the chocolate covered oreo party favors. Mommy-to-be got to keep the bucket.

Right side of the table.

Left side of the table.

Center of table.

Cake was banana with cream cheese frosting.

Whoopie pies!

Dipped strawberries in Ghiradelli chocolate.

Cream puffs with fresh whipped cream.

Cupcakes were Strawberry Buttercream and Chocolate Fudge with Chocolate Buttercream. Cupcake wrappers from Bella Cupcake Couture.

My mother-in-law, Kellie, snapped a quick photo of me with the table!

I had a great time putting this table together. I developed a love of all desserts during pastry school, and enjoy when I get the opportunity to do an array of sweets, rather than only cakes. I can't wait until my next dessert table!

Proposal in the Cake Gallery!

I mentioned the proposal that happened in the Cake Gallery while I happened to be volunteering for the Icing Smiles table during the convention. I have pictures!

We made the poor couple stand there for a few moments so we could all get pictures. They were very accommodating. Congratulations to them both!

Here is a close up of the engagement cake with a sugar engagement ring. I don't know who made it, but I assume it was someone around Charlotte.

Here is another shot, this time without the horse's head in the way!

ICES 2011!

Since the convention was put together by both North Carolina and South Carolina, ICES had 2 show cakes this year! One was of Charlotte. They did a great replica of the buildings, even with correct heights, Bank of America being the tallest, followed by Duke Energy, Vue, Hearst, and so on.. There was a race track going around the city with cars that actually moved around it. The cars were not set up when I took this picture.

Below is the second show cake that definitely shows everything North Carolina is known for..

My husband's favorite.. We have "House Divided: NC State & UNC" flags and decorations in our home because my husband is for NC State and I, of course, am for UNC.

Full car shot. It had a radio that played throughout the day.

My favorite.. Cheerwine! I definitely missed the heck out of some Cheerwine while we lived in California. I had family that was kind enough to bring me some when they came to visit!

That is all for now. I will post more later! I had a wonderful time and cannot wait to do it all over again next year. I was so sad to see it end. Hopefully I will see you all next year in Reno!

Closed for the Convention!

We are CLOSED today through Sunday for the ICES (International Cake Exploration Society) annual cake convention in Charlotte, NC! We are making a short stop on the way, as I type. If you would like to place an order for next weekend, there is still space available. The weekend of the 20-21 is not available, and there is only room for one more order on the 27th. During the next few days, however, return emails and calls may be delayed. Email or the Contact Us page on our site is the best way to reach us. Hope everyone has a great weekend. See you next week!

Baby Gender Reveal Cake -- UPDATE!

A month or so ago I made my first baby gender reveal cake. I got a call from a wonderful woman whose daughter is expecting and was about to have her ultrasound. They chose a design and flavors, then when the day came for the ultrasound, I got a call from the technician who performed the ultrasound telling me to make the filling BLUE!

Then I got to work! I had the cakes prepped and uncolored frosting made ahead of time. I only had about 4 hours to color, fill, frost, and decorate the cake before they came to pick it up. The reveal party was that evening. They didn't want to wait any longer then they had to--I don't blame them! The cake was finished on time and picked up. Here is what the cake looked like:

A couple weeks later, they sent me an email letting me know how it went and included pictures! Here are a few of them:

Here is a photo of their table set-up.

Here is the mother-to-be with her revealing slice! Funny how her lei is the same color.. Could her intuition have told her what it would be?

 The cake after it was cut.

I had a blast making this cake! I hope to do many more in the future. I have also recently seen gender reveal cupcakes with revealing filling used inside them. It was exciting knowing the gender before my clients did and I was careful not to have any blue on my uniform or hands when they came to pick it up. Didn't want to give anything away! I look forward to the next one!

Last Minute Orders!

We have had a large increase of last minute orders over the past few weeks. Most of these orders have given us less than 3 days to fulfill, and that doesn't include time to fill out the paperwork or take payment. We have had to, unfortunately, turn down orders that we would have loved to fulfill, due to short notice. We hate to do that! Not only does it sadden us by having to refuse orders, but it also forces you to go somewhere that may not be your first choice, or worse, leaves you without a cake!

So if you have an event coming up: birthday party, baby or bridal shower, anniversary, or any other special occasion, give us a call at 757-436-1249, or shoot us an email at admin@storybookbakery.com as soon as possible to get your event in our calendar! An ideal time to place your order is 2 weeks prior to your event. Get your order in, and off your To-Do list!

We look forward to hearing from you, and better yet -- creating your fantastic cake!

Police Academy, Military Birthday, & A Raffle!

The first half of the week was super busy! We had a graduation cake for a recruit of the Virginia Beach Police Department's 51st class from the Police Academy. Here is his celebration cake!

Also this week was the birthday of a Senior Chief working at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. His office wanted to surprise him with a cake! This is the second cake we have done for this hospital. We hope to do more!

Last thing on our list this week was a set of Sweet Boxes for a raffle at a local event. The two boxes contained a 6-inch cake and a dozen cupcakes, as well as a gift certificate. Here are the boxes all wrapped up and ready to go. Below are pictures of the cake and cupcakes. Congratulations to the winner! We hope to get pictures or video of the raffle soon.

Icing Smiles!

I have been meaning to post this for over a month! Shortly after we opened for business, we became a baking partner for the inspiring organization called Icing Smiles. In June, we became the state sponsor for Virginia.

If you haven't heard of it yet, Icing Smiles provides custom cakes to children with critical illnesses and their siblings. Their services are available all across the US, and even in some other countries. It is growing quickly and is finding support all throughout the cake community, with both professionals and amateur decorators.

Storybook Bakery is proud to be a part of this wonderful organization and encourage anyone who is interested in becoming a baking partner, hosting a fundraiser, or making a donation to visit their website at http://www.icingsmiles.org/. Or visit them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/icingsmiles.

If you or anyone you know are a parent to a brave critically ill child and/or sibling, visit the Icing Smiles website for information on eligibility and how to request a cake. The best advertising for an organization like this is us, so spread the word, and ultimately, spread the Icing Smiles!

Mermaid Cake & Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

This Mermaid cake was made for a lucky little girl's 2nd birthday! Here are a few photos of all sides of the cake, as well as close-ups of the mermaids.

We also tried out a new flavor combo, Strawberry Lemonade, for a relative's Going Away party this week. One of our cousins is deploying with a medical team to the Middle East soon. We wish her safe travels!

Lemon cupcakes filled and frosted with fresh strawberry buttercream. Yum!