Okay, so I know I’m not the only one who isn’t quite ready for Christmas.  If you’re still getting your goodies and sweets together, I have one last DIY project for you today.  It’s incredibly easy and quick but with impressive results.  I did this project from start to finish {including photos and clean up} during nap time on Sunday.  So when I say quick, I mean quick!   Ice cream cones get a coating of shimmering, sanding sugar and… Voilà!  Sparkling Christmas Trees! An elegant decoration for your holiday cakes and cupcakes.  Or simply arrange numerous trees on a cake stand or elegant serving tray for a festive centerpiece.

Here’s what you’ll do….

Sparkling Christmas Tree Toppers

Tools:
Ice Cream Cones (various sizes)
Candy Melts (white)
Sparkling Sugar / Sanding Sugar / Sugar Pearls

Instructions:

1. Melt white candy coating in microwave as directed on package.  Stir until smooth.
2. Dip ice cream cone into melted candy.  {I found it easiest to roll the cone on its side since my bowl was not deep enough to dip straight down.}  Let excess candy drip off.
3. Sprinkle with sanding sugar, sugar pearls or sprinkles of choice.  {I found it easiest to place the cone onto two fingers to hold, so as to not leave any finger marks}.  Sprinkle, sprinkle, sprinkle until all areas of the cone are covered.
4. Set onto parchment or wax paper until hard.  This is a good time to touch up any areas you missed.  They firm up nice and quick and will actually be quite solid once set.  Place on top of a cake or cupcake for super easy decoration!

TIP: Sprinkle the cone over a bowl so that your extra sprinkles go back into the bowl, so you can reuse.  If you use waffle cones, be sure to break a little bit off to even out the bottom, so that the cone will stand up on its own, before coating.

Whether they top off your delectable homemade goodies, pretty up some store bought sweets or provide a Christmas activity for the kiddos… I hope you enjoy these ice cream cone Sparkling Christmas Trees! Up next, the conclusion of our 12 Cakes of Christmas series.  Cake #10 coming soon!

Carrie Sellman is the Founder & Editor of The Cake Blog. Her work has been published in BRIDES Magazine, The Bride and Bloom, on DIYnetwork.com, TLC’s Parentables and more. Read more about Carrie on her bio page.

Thumpetty Thump Thump!  With a corncob pipe and a button nose, and two eyes made out of…. chocolate chips?  No wait, that’s not how the song goes.  But that’s how this pint-size snowman is bringing a big dose of merry today!  Our Christmas cake inspiration continues The 7th Cake of Christmas.  A jolly DIY cake from Miso Bakes!  This adorable little guy is much smaller than he appears.  Made from 4″ and 6″ rounds, this Mini Merry Snowman would be a great activity to share with your little ones.  He’s made of cake but the children know how he came to life one day….

Mini Merry Snowman

Here’s what you’ll need:

Four 4-inch Cake Layers
Four 6-inch Cake Layers
Bag of Coconut
Chocolate Chips
Two Skewers
Mitten Cookie Cutter
Sugarpaste / Fondant (orange, brown and red)
Six dowels
Royal Icing and Additional Embellishments {optional}

Here’s what you’ll do a few days before:

1. Cover skewers with brown sugarpaste.  Leave an inch at the top uncovered for the mittens.
2. Roll out red sugarpaste thick. Cut out a pair of gloves or mittens with cookie cutter.  Slide on to skewer.  Leave out to dry.  {Optional: use white royal icing to pipe on fun details like stripes, snowflakes and dots.}
3. Roll orange sugarpaste into the shape of a carrot. Slide in a toothpick so it can be attached to the face.  Leave out to dry.
4. Bake cakes.
5. Make icing.

Here’s what you’ll do the day of:

1. Stack, fill and cover the 6-inch layers in white icing.  Repeat for the 4-inch layers.
2. Carefully cover the icing with shredded coconut.
3. Insert dowels into the 6-inch cake and stack 4-inch cake on top.
4. Roll out sugarpaste about 18″ long.  Cut into a strip for the scarf.  Use only one red strip for a solid scarf.  Or add a smaller strip of white (on top of the red) for a striped scarf.  Wrap around ‘neck’ of snowman. {Optional: add small red berries and green holly leaves for an extra touch}.
5. Insert carrot nose.
6. Use chocolate chips to create eyes, mouth and buttons.
7. Insert arms last or after transportation.

If you want to be a rock-star mom, prep several of these cakes and let your little ones assemble their own snowman.  Kids of all ages would enjoy covering the snowman in coconut and adding the eyes, nose, arms and scarf.  Older children would enjoy piping the mitten details as well.  What a fun alternative to the traditional gingerbread house!  And in the end, you’ll have your own hillside of snowmen.

A huge thank you to Miso at Miso Bakes for creating such a fun tutorial for us!  Hope you enjoy creating her super cute, Mini Merry Snowman with your family and friends!

It’s week two of our holiday cake series, The 12 Cakes of Christmas!  We’re featuring festive and wintry cakes from talented cake artists across the country.  And this week, it’s is all about the snow.  Five new, inspiring designs… some are elegant, some are playful, some come with instructions!  And all of them come with snow!!  Cake #6 is up and it’s an incredible, wintry delight!

The beauty of freshly fallen snow is captured in this pristine and purely elegant design, created by Allison Kelleher, owner of AK Cake Design in Portland.  The subtle glimmer of a snowflake, the bright glow off the fluffy blanket of white.  This incredible Winter White Cake will have you singing… Let it snow!  Let it snow!  Let it snow!!

Allison shared a few thoughts about her Winter White design:

“I wanted it to be light and airy – reminiscent of snow but not actually mimicking it. The white blossoms are subtly shaded to add a little more depth and movement. And the red ribbon breaks up the white a bit – also making the cake more festive for the holiday season.”

During the few years we lived in the north, I was never a huge fan of the snowy winters…. the shoveling, the ice, the cold.  But this, this is snow I can love!  The beauty of white glittering snow blanketing the ground… in the form of an elegant cake.  Whether you love the snow or you’re a Winter wimp like me, I think we all can agree that this cake is spectacular!

A special thanks to Allison of AK Cake Design for sharing her Winter White Cake with us today.  It would steal the show at any winter event!  The white snowy goodness continues on tomorrow with cake #7 and through the remainder of the week!  Let it Snow, Snow, Snow!!

Vendors & Credits:
Cake:  AK Cake Design
Be a Fan:  AK Cake on Facebook
Photography:  Melissa Tomeoni of soulmatesphoto.com

We’re wrapping up the first week of Christmas cake inspiration with a stunning design that would be fit for any winter event.  Gold, navy and white creates an elegant and warm color palette, not to mention eye catching.  It’s not exactly 5 GOLDEN RINGS, but this 5-tier golden beauty by Sharon Wee Creations is our 5th Cake of Christmas.  And it’s incredible!!  Prepare to swoon over this richly romantic Gold & Navy Winter Wedding Cake…

Sharon shared a few thoughts with us about her inspiration for this design:

“The design was inspired by the bride’s colour palette and the flowers cascading down the font was based on the fabric flowers from her dress. I loved how even though there were different patterns on all the tiers, it all just came together and matched so well.”

I could not agree with Sharon more!  Ever since I laid eyes on this cake, I’ve been dreaming of a gold and navy Christmas!  Such an elegant and modern color palette that would be fitting for any time of year but especially winter and around the holidays.  And this cake is simply divine!

Special thanks to Sharon for sharing her incredible Gold & Navy Winter Wedding Cake with us today!  It spectacular!!  I hope you are enjoying our 12 Cakes of Christmas series… the merriment continues next week with cakes 6 through 10!  Some are elegant, some are playful and some come with instructions!!

Oh!  And if you haven’t already entered, Sunday is the last day to enter our Crate and Barrel Giveaway!!  One lucky reader will take win $150 to Crate and Barrel! Enter, enter, enter! {HERE} Our winner will be announced on Monday.  Happy Friday everyone!

Sharon Wee Creations:
Website:  sharonwee.com.au
Be a Fan:  Sharon Wee on Facebook
Tweet:  Sharon Wee on Twitter

Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy, is bringing cupcake merriment to all!  Enjoy!

Happy December! It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas at my house. The tree is up and decorated, Christmas songs are playing all day and my holiday baking “to do” list is about a mile long. To kick off the baking I thought it would be fun to combine my favorite seasonal drink, hot chocolate, with the always popular peppermint candy to create a festive cupcake. I am thrilled with how delicious and adorable these Hot Chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream turned out and hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

These cupcakes are your basic chocolate recipe with the addition of a prepared cup of Hot Chocolate mixed in. The magic happens when you add the peppermint buttercream on top. The combination of chocolate and peppermint is absolutely perfect together, not to mention it gives you some fresh breath!

To add some extra cuteness on top, garnish with homemade peppermint bark, which is a staple sweet in my house each Christmas. The bark is super easy to make and you will have plenty left over after topping the cupcakes! So you can certainly package up the bark and give away as gifts. If you don’t want to hassle with the extra step of making the bark, you can easily buy some already made at the store.

You should definitely add these cupcakes to your holiday baking list! Your friends are sure to go crazy if you show up to a party with a batch of these! I guarantee I will be making them several more times before the month of December is over!

Hot chocolate Cupcakes with Peppermint Buttercream
(makes 20 cupcakes)

For the cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 packet Hot Chocolate mixed with 3/4 cup warm milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In bowl of stand mixer combine dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients: eggs, hot chocolate/milk mixture, vegetable oil and vanilla.
4. Beat on medium speed until well combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
5. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
6. Bake for 16 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
7. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
8. Once cupcakes are completely cool frost with Peppermint Buttercream and garnish with Peppermint Bark.

For the icing:
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
6 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 – 1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter until creamy.
2. Gradually add in confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
3. Add milk until you reach desired consistency.
4. Add peppermint extract and mix well.
5. Place icing in piping bag fitted with a large round tip and frost cupcakes.
6. Garnish cupcakes with Peppermint Bark and white nonpareils (optional).

Peppermint Bark:
12 oz Chocolate Bark
12 oz Vanilla Bark
20 mini candy canes, crushed
1/2 tsp peppermint extract

1. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.
2. Melt chocolate bark in microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Continue to microwave at 15 second intervals until melted. Pour melted chocolate onto prepared baking sheet and spread evently with a spatula. Let chocolate harden for about 30 minutes.
3. Melt vanilla bark in microwave safe bowl for 1 minute. Continue to microwave at 15 second intervals until melted.
4. Add peppermint extract to melted vanilla and stir. Pour melted vanilla overtop of hardened chocolate and spread evenly with a spatula.
5. Sprinkle crushed candy canes ontop of candy bark.
6. Allow bark to harden for about 30 minutes before breaking into pieces. Garnish cupcakes.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Lauren Kapeluck Lauren is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.

It’s that time of year again…!!  By now, most of us have recovered from our Thanksgiving turkey coma and the craziness of Black Friday.  Today, we’ll spend Cyber Monday surfing the web for steals and deals.  The holiday season has officially begun!  And as our little Christmas present to all of you, Half Baked is thrilled to announce our 3rd Annual Crate and Barrel Giveaway!!

Crate and Barrel is my ABSOLUTE favorite store, so I’m way excited about sharing this with you!  One lucky Half Baked reader will win a $150 gift card to spend on anything their heart desires….  the hardest part will be choosing how to spend your prize!

Will you bundle up in style with these white cable knit Sweater Vases or add a cozy textured throw to your couch?  Will you add a touch of felt to your holiday decorations with these adorable Felt Bird Ornaments or felt appliquéd pillow?

Will you be the ultimate hostess and plan a fabulous Holiday Open House?  Or treat the kids to a fun fondue party?  Perhaps you could toast the New Year with sparkly new cocktail glasses and sassy accessories like a metallic table runner and glittery coasters!

Will you deck the halls with silver embroidered Snowflake Stockings or a bejeweled Partridge Pillow?

Or will you save up and splurge on something almost as good as gold…. COPPER!  Could you imagine treating yourself to this Kitchenaid® Copper Stand Mixer?!?  Granted, your winnings would not buy this bad boy outright, but would make a great contribution to the purchase!  Or you could go for some Mauviel® Copper Cookware or a Copper Roaster!

**** Winner Update.  This giveaway is now closed. Our lucky winner is… Katie who said “Love everything in the splurge on copper set!.” on November 28th, 2011 at 9:10 am.  Congratulations Katie!  Wishing you much joy as your splurge on some Crate and Barrel copper goodies!  Please contact me before Friday, December 16th to claim your prize.  Enjoy! ****

Thanks to all those who entered!  Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from Half Baked!

You may remember back in September when things got kind of quiet on the blog… and I mentioned my daughter’s 1st birthday was coming up.  Our sweet little Sadie turned one, right in the middle of our move to Florida.  I debated for months whether or not we could swing a birthday party amidst all of the chaos.  But a child only has one 1st birthday!  And that is definitely something to celebrate!

Sadie absolutely loves everything soft, furry and fluffy. So I decided to embrace this and build a theme around her very favorite stuffed animal.  Her little lamb.  The colors were whites, creams, light caramel and chocolate brown with lots of fluffy, furry, wooly textures.  That meant anything and everything lamb related like wool, yarn, felt and fleece with a touch of burlap thrown in. I wanted it to look and feel cuddly soft with lots of different textures for her to touch.  Just like her little lamb.  Together with good friends, we celebrated this special day with a modern update of an old classic…. Sadie Had a Little Lamb!

I designed the little lamb invitation to look polished but playful.  The lamb’s swirly coat was actually inspired by a wool rug from Crate and Barrel.  The back of the invite featured a repeating ‘wool locks’ pattern with the text “Sadie Had a Little Lamb”.

I went a bit over the top with the party décor, crafting in every spare moment during the months prior.  Oodles of yarn was used in the making of this party!   Yarn balls decorated everything from the dessert table to the present table.   Small yarn pom poms hung from the ceiling in both the food area and the living room while larger yarn pom ‘flowers’ rested in little white vases.  Sadie’s presents were wrapped with furry fleece ribbon and tied with a yarn pom. Yarn wrapped letters spelling ‘Sadie’ marked the present table. And yes, a little bit of yarn even wrapped the cakes. Yarn, yarn, everywhere!

The little lamb theme took over the dessert table.  All of the sweets were in the neutral color scheme and appropriate for a Fall.  Paper cones adorned with little lamb tags and displayed with a white picket fence were filled with white cheddar popcorn.  Fluffy white cotton candy was served up in mini martini glasses as were cinnamon pinwheel cookies (an old Sellman family recipe).  Of course, I designed the cakes.  One for the centerpiece of the table and a small little smash cake for the birthday girl.  Additional desserts included caramel apples, powdered sugar and cinnamon donut holes and caramel apple cake shooters (recipe HERE).

We enjoyed food hot off the grill, courtesy of my husband.  He felt like such a dad that day!  We had tables and chairs set up outside so the kids could run (or crawl) and play.   While the kiddos enjoyed their sugar high, the grown ups enjoyed some adult beverages.  Even the wine bottles got into the Little Lamb spirit, all dressed up in their matching wool sweater ‘sleeves’.

Adorable custom sugar cookies with puffy sheep and mix-n-match patterns were created by Sandy at Firefly Confections.    These cute little guys were gone quick!  They were SO good!

The birthday girl had her very own smash cake to dig into.  Talk about my favorite cake moment ever!  My sweet little Sadie having her first taste of cake… her hands and face were covered in icing but she loved it!  Sara at Bugaboo Bliss made the most adorable custom bib and matching headband using all of the fabrics and colors from the party.  By the end, it was covered in cake too!

Even though I’m a sweets girl, my favorite part of the dessert table was the little lamb canvas backdrop. Diana of djDecor created this lamb painting for the party and I absolutely fell in love with it!   I was so sad to take it down after the party that I decided to change Sadie’s bedroom to a little lamb theme.

By far the cutest felt detail had to be the sheep pillows that Sadie’s grandmother made, which matched the sheep décor so perfectly.  Thanks for helping, Grammy!  Garland made from small felt circles hung from the ceilings and also wrapped Sadie’s high chair.

With the help of a patient husband, Sadie’s grandmother, several talented friends and lots of coffee… somehow we managed to pull this off!  And I have to say that it’s my favorite party ever.  Not because of the decorations, or the theme, or the cake.  But because it celebrated the first year of my sweet Sadie’s life.  She is such a blessing and I could not be more grateful to have her in my life.  I only hope that she will tolerate having a crazy cake lady for a mother!

Thank you, thank you to the lovely ladies who helped me bring this party to life!  It was such a special day for our family.  I hope all of you like Sadie’s Little Lamb 1st Birthday Party as much as we did!

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Party Styling & Decor: Carrie Sellman of Half Baked
Invitation & Paper Goods: Half Baked on Etsy
Decorated Sugar Cookies: Firefly Confections
Painted Canvas: djDecor
Custom Bib & Headband: Bugaboo Bliss
Lamb Pillows: Sadie’s Grandmother {following this pattern}
Cake: Carrie Sellman of Half Baked

	Carrie Sellman is the Founder & Editor of The Cake Blog. Her work has been published in BRIDES Magazine, The Bride and Bloom, on DIYnetwork.com, TLC’s Parentables and more. Read more about Carrie on her bio page.

Today we’re turning up the spotlight on another wedding trend as it exists in the world of cake.  Succulents!  These sleek and sophisticated desert flowers are sprouting up everywhere, even on cakes. Naturally occurring in a variety of fresh tones, with a complex leaf structure that is both captivating and full of character, succulents add a contemporary floral touch to a cake design.  And whether they’re fresh succulents or hand crafted from sugar, no one knows how to work them into a design like the Sweet & Saucy Shop in Long Beach, California.  If you’re not already a fan of Sweet & Saucy, you will be now!  Prepare to get lost in their world of polished and modern Succulent Cakes!

This design steals my heart and most definitely warrants a close up… two great trends on one cake!  Chevrons and succulents!  Loving the grey and white with the little pop of green succulent.

Melody Brandon, owner of the Sweet & Saucy Shop, shares her thoughts about succulents on cakes:

“I do have to say that I love the succulent trend. Of course as all trends go, succulents on cakes can be over done and not original, but on the other hand I do see a lot of cakes that feature succulents that are amazing. I really love the idea of doing all gold or silver succulents instead of the typical green. I also like seeing various succulents being used rather than always the typical basic succulent style.”

I have to completely agree with Melody!  Whether fresh or sugar, green, gold or white… I’m loving succulents as an accent ‘flower’.  What do you think?

A huge thanks to Melody and the Sweet & Saucy Shop for the amazing cake inspiration!  They have a way with cake and dessert tables that tickles me pink!  Honestly, I could click through their wedding cake gallery and blog for hours.  Be sure to hop on over to the Sweet & Saucy Shop and see for yourself… but be prepared to stay awhile!

Vendors & Credits:
Cakes:  Sweet & Saucy Shop
Photography {Chevron & Succulent Cake}:   Meg Perotti
Photography {Fresh Succulent Cake}:  Jack Wittbold
Photography {White Succulent Cake}:  Max Wanger

I’ve been dying to share this shower with you for months!  You may remember that back in JUNE, I mentioned that my family was hosting a baby for my sister who was expecting her first child.  My sweet little niece, Addison, was born in July and is now almost four months old!  It’s about time for me to share this shower!  It debuted earlier today on Hostess with the Mostess (yay!) and I’m thrilled to share some additional images and details with you now.

For those of you who are loyal Half Baked readers, you might recall how excited I was about my little sister’s wedding.  Numerous inspiration boards, a bridal shower, photos from the actual day… well fast forward almost two years and my sister was becoming a mommy!  Of course we were going to throw her a shower!  It was a fun collaboration of efforts between four of us, all living in different cities.  My older sister, the two grandmothers-to-be and myself.  Planning everything from afar can be tricky but with countless phone calls, emails and photos exchanged, we somehow managed to pull it off.  Best of all, we were thrilled to celebrate Ashley and welcome Baby Bray with this Elephants on Parade Baby Shower.

After much discussion, we decided to base the theme on the baby bedding for the nursery.  It’s a fun and vibrant combination of elephants and polka dots.  We wanted the shower to be inspired by the nursery but with our own modern twist.  The color scheme was black and white with pops of pink.  We incorporated numerous different patterns with big dots, little swiss dots and stripes.  And of course – oodles of elephants!!

I designed the invitation and we went from there.  The elephants, with their long trunks and polka dot ears, are my rendition of the elephant on the crib bedding.  The back of the invite featured black and white polka dots with a pink stripe reading ‘Welcome Baby Bray’.  (My sister kept the baby’s first name, Addison, a secret until her birth.)

Guest arrived to a front porch lined with black, white and pink flag bunting and a welcome sign featuring the whimsical black elephants.  Little did they know, but those black elephants were on parade inside the house!  From the desserts to the presents and games, elephants everywhere!

Cupcakes were topped with charming fondant toppers by Brittany at Edible Details who recreated our elephant and polka dots perfectly!  Aren’t they just adorable?  My favorite picture from the whole shower is my sister holding a cupcake over her baby bump!  Only my sister would be willing to put up with me zooming in to get just the right picture!

My older sister, Jennifer, crafted a coordinating diaper cake which created a playful centerpiece for the living room along with much discussion about it’s fabulousness!  We had such a hard time getting a good picture of it but let’s just say that many of the guests thought it was a real cake!  Additional flag bunting wrapped the front table where guests dropped off their gifts while signing the baby book and grabbing a matching name tag.  A plush toy elephant and soft blocks, custom made by Little Sidekick in funky black and white fabrics, added an extra touch of decor and a gift for my niece to keep!

Of course, I designed the cake with it’s sassy cupcake liner flower. {A tutorial on how to make this flower is coming your way soon…}  Additional desserts included meringue cookies, cream puffs, mint truffles and cheesecake shooters (recipe here). Lime Tea Punch and lemon water was served to wash it all down.

To help balance the sugar rush, we served up portions of mixed nuts and white cheddar popcorn in paper cones.  Baby Addison’s Grandpa even got into the shower spirit and made custom stands for the popcorn cones.  Like I said, this was a team planning event!

It was such a great day, showering Ashley with love and well wishes as we welcomed her sweet baby girl.  A huge thank you to Jennifer, Sheila and Sunny for all of their help with this shower.  From the countless planning emails to the shopping, baking, sewing and crafting…  I think we make a pretty good team!

Thanks to Jenn at Hostess with the Mostess for featuring our Elephants on Parade Baby Shower!  You can see and read more about it in her post HERE.

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Party Styling:  Carrie Sellman of Half Baked
Invitation & Paper Goods:  Half Baked on Etsy
Fondant Cupcake Toppers:  Edible Details
Decorated Sugar Cookies:  The Cookie Jar
Diaper Cake:  Jennifer Niehoff
Plush Elephant & Baby Blocks:  Little Sidekick
Cake:  Carrie Sellman of Half Baked

	Carrie Sellman is the Founder & Editor of The Cake Blog. Her work has been published in BRIDES Magazine, The Bride and Bloom, on DIYnetwork.com, TLC’s Parentables and more. Read more about Carrie on her bio page.