Wow it's been two years!

I decided to close the retail store. I was losing my joy of baking and decorating. Since the cottage laws were passed in our county I've joined the bandwagon. I can now slow down and concentrate on learning new techniques. I still love to bake and try new recipes. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with diabetes so I can't indulge in sweets like I'm used to but that's what I have my family for. While I figure out how to upload from my tablet to this blog, you can visit my website to look at my cakes. www.onceuponacake.net

blogspot not letting me post :-(

Angel Food Cake

No, I haven't given up on pies, but after another pie-saster I decided to go back to cake. And, yes, it was a cake I had done twice before. I guess I needed a boost in my confidence. What is it about me and pies? I have NO IDEA! But the Angel Food cake came out perfectly divine! I made some fresh whip cream and served it with fresh berries. The cake was practically

gone in less than 5 minutes! I love the fact that it's fat free (NOT sugar free) and I love the pure whiteness of the cake. Topped with whip cream it is oh so delicious! I'm going to try a Chocolate Angel Food cake next, then I'll attempt another pie. To be fair I make a mean pumpkin pie, apple pie and thanks to my efforts a cherry pie. It's the cream ones I have a problem with. For now, though, I'm going to finish the last piece of Angel Food cake.

Baking can soothe the soul

With a *hurt* heart (as my girls used to say when they were sad) I write this post. My father died (I hate the term passed away, I don't why) on June 13, 2013. It did not come as a surprise as he had heart problems, but it still gave me a deeply hurt heart. I will always remember the summer days when he would get my sister and me up at 6 am in the morning to go to Coney Island beach. We would have it all to ourselves at that time. He would walk looking for *treasure* in the sand and my sister and I would sit by the edge and wet our feet. By noon time we were heading back home as the beach was getting crowded. To this day I remember the quiet and the calm and the delight of feeling we were on our own private beach. To this day that is the way I like to go to the beach; get there early and leave by 11 or 12 noon, have lunch then take a nap. Thank you daddy for giving me (and now my girls) this love of the ocean with all its wonder and always making us wear sunscreen.

---------------------------------------------------------- I went shopping and founds some organic , fresh dark cherries. I'm not a big cherry pie fan having only had the kind made with canned cherry filling. My son in law loves pie, especially cherry so I decided to make a pie. Big difference!! It was very tasty, slightly tart and oh so delicious. Ten minutes there was only one slice left which I shouted, "Save it for Sym!" (My other son in law). I have to work on my lattice, but this is about taste, not looks....for now. Next pie will be BANANA CREAM!

So it's been a while!

It's almost been a year since I posted. My other daughter just got married last month. I've been slowly recovering from an illness. The worst! So much drama in my life in the past few months. My oldest was breaking out in a severe rash and in pain. Many tests later we discover she has Celiac disease! It's very rare that one of the symptoms is a rash, but yes she is the rare one! (Next time listen to mommy who told you for months to lay off gluten) So now I am making gluten free items. Fast forward a few months: not only do I have a dairy allergy but now a gluten allergy as well. Don't get me wrong that doesn't stop me from sampling any new recipes we come up with (like our new flavor Marco's Mango Tango) and I allow myself a cupcake now and then. So with all that how do I chilax? Is that the correct spelling? lol I BAKE!!! Right now I'm heavily into making pies. I'm committed to making one a week. I'll post a picture later of the Chocolate Cream Pie I'm making today. Yes, it has a gluten free crust. My allergy is not as bad as my daughter's or other people I know who even touching it can have a severe reaction. So I count my blessings. Timer's going off! Until next time! Happy Baking PS: so here is the pic of the pie. The picture is dark..sorry! Did not have enough whipping cream to make whip cream to cover the whole pie. The household is rushing me because they want to eat it!

Buttemilk Pie and Biscuits

Okay, so I love to bake. No big secret. We bake every day all day at the shop to keep up with cupcake demand not to mention our custom cakes. So on my day off what do I do at home? BAKE SOME MORE. Yeterday I made a mostly organic buttermilk pie and this morning made biscuits. First time my biscuits came outnice and fluffy not rock hard. So, I love baking, but not cooking. When I'm not at the bakery I'm thinking of what I can bake a home or day dreaming about new cupcake flavors. If I'm not baking the I'm looking at baking sites or cake design sites. When you love what you and you eat what you love its a good thing.

Organic Pound Cake

I made an organic pound cake and it is delicious! From flour, sugar, butter and cream it was all organic. I love cake and eating it organic was even better! :-) The ingredients were twice as much, so for now we will make organic upon request. Ahhhhh, cake. It's a wonderful thing no matter how you slice it.

Day Two

Okay, so I didn't start with Day 1. The shame, the shame! I can't help eating cupcakes. Yesterday I had a classic vanilla with chocolate icing and a PB&J. Today the same thing! Today is my day off and my daughter wanted a PB&J cupcake. So I said, "We can stop by the shop and make a couple." Sigh. I love cake. It's my favorite food! I'll try and resist tomorrow, but I don't know. Is it worth resisting?

Long time no write!

It's been a loooong while since I've blogged. Busy, busy, busy!

My baby is engaged so we are planning a wedding! Not ready to let go..NEVER!!!!!

We now have on menu about 20 different flavors of cupcakes, although we only offer 14-16 every day. Cakes are still our bread and butter (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA I love baking terms).

In the process of creating a new flavor which must include Mango according to my future son-in-law.

Any ideas please post! Until next time Happy CUPCAKE Eating!

Falling for Fall!

Can't believe the summer is almost gone! YAYYYY!!!! I know, I know lots of people love summer. Not me! (Although, I do LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the beach). Give me crisp, autumn weather or cold, winter weather. I even love rainstorms! Something about it gets the creative juices flowing.

Anyhoots, back to cakes. We have some wonderful fall flavors we offer in the summer: Pumpkin Pie Cake, Carrot Cake, Apple Cake, Butter Pecan, etc. There are so many combinations to try!

Stop by and see us and see what we come with for the cupcake case.

Have a crisp and wonderful fall!

Love feedback from my customers!

I love baking cakes, decorating cakes and most of all EATING cakes!

I also like feedback from my customers. We received two thank you cards from brides who loved their cakes and two emails from two other customers.

The cake above was for our bride Ally. There was a bit of drama when the venue we were working with decided to bad mouth us to all the brides we had coming up at their location (ummm, venue doesn't pay then tell brides we have low quality work and are always late lol) I was so bummed out that they did that to us. Well a few of the brides insisted we still do their cake.

That is totally awesome. So to all my customers I say Thank You for all your support, encouragement and feedback.

A special shout out to Chuck who always makes me laugh and to Fred who brings us lunch!

maria

Frog Prince

Isn't it cute? I have a special fondness for frog princes. Frogs in general. We had claw frogs as pets which are great, because they are underwater frogs and come up for air every few minutes. Our much loved claw frog was named FROGZILLA. She was adorable and huge!

When I would get sick, my husband would tell me a story about a frog prince (not the original frog prince story, but his own made up story). It always made me feel better.

When thinking of a name for my business, I immediately thought about the frog and how I loved Grimm's Fairytales tales, hence...ONCE UPON A CAKE and my frog prince logo.

Cake IS The Happy Ending!

ENTER to win a dozen cupcakes 4/16/11

Place your post here along with your email address or EMAIL ME and I'll post for you. Choose from the following flavors: VANILLA, LEMON, ALMOND, OR WHITE.

PICK UP ONLY. WINNER WILL BE NOTIFIED Thursday, April 14.

We like the vanilla. :-) Sonya P.

Tiffany: I love cupcakes because they are bite sized and you can mix and match the flavors and oh so yummy!I would like to try the Lemon flavored cupcakes!
Thanks
Tiffany
---------------------------------

ENTER to win a dozen cupcakes 4/9/11

Why do you love cupcakes? I love them because you don't need a plate or fork, although you do need a napkin.

Tell us why you like cupcakes and state your flavor if you win from the following choices:

VANILLA, LEMON, ALMOND, WHITE or CHOCOLATE.

Winner will be picked at random and notified via email on Thursday, April 7th.(SO PLEASE, leave me your email. If you do not have a google account, email me and I will enter you. PICKUP ONLY

Trends in Wedding Cakes

I love keeping up with trends in wedding cakes but I find most brides still want traditional cakes.

A lot of brides that meet with us want square cakes, with traditional designs such as dots or scrolls or plain sides with ribbon and flowers.

The cake above seems to be popular: square cakes, 1/4 turned with cascading flowers. Traditional with a slight twist (pun intended)!

This weekend we are doing our second topsy turvy cake. The first one we did was a "traditional" design with scrolls and ribbon and flowers. The one for this weekend is way untraditional!

Orange, green, blue and purple with peacock feathers and bright colored feathers!

Stay tuned for the result!

Time flies!

This is my daughter's high school graduation cake. She designed and sketched it herself. Can you imagine what she'll come up with for her wedding cake one day? YIKES!

The New Year has come in with a BANG! We scheduled a weekend getaway and BAM that's when Atlanta got hit with the storm. We caught the only flight back on Monday, then it took us three and half hours to get home! Perilous roads!

A few days later we find out my teen has a belly button hernia. What?! Yep! But, I bake and the smell of the almond cake filling the kitchen makes everything better!

I have lots of ideas for new cake flavor combos brewing in my mind, but I still hate to cook.

Congratulations Tiffany W!

You are the winner this week.

Please make sure to pick up your cake on Saturday between 10am-12pm.

M

Enter to win Free Cake for 11/20/10

Enter to win a free 8" cake for 11/20/10.

Choices in previous post. Pick up Saturday 11/20/10 betweeen 10-1pm.

If you don't have a google account to post, please email me and I will post for you. Winner to be picked Thursday evening and announced here on the blog. You will also be emailed.

M