Please, please, please eat the daisies

Finally, after months and months of Hot Wheels and Superman parties, a little girl party – with a flower theme! I love my son, Graham and all of his rambunctious friends, but I’m not as crazy about their stuff (though to be fair, Graham does enjoy wearing a tutu and being a “super princess”). I decided to make her an apron, found the daisy fabric and fell in love. It was so sweet and springy - perfect for Naomi's 4th birthday!

Tony & Monina's wedding

Tony & Monina got married last summer at Cornerstone Gardens in Sonoma. The place, the weather, the couple - all gorgeous!! The design of the cake was inspired by their invite (which I regrettably don't have a picture of - ugg the lovely bride just sent to me!). The cake was lemony filled with homemade boysenberry jam.

Ode to peep

Bunny peeps are pretty perfect as is, but with a little adornment they're irresistible!

Max's birthday monkey

This is a shameless rip-off of a Martha Stewart cake for Max's first birthday. Max, already a good host, sent all of his friends & family home with a palm tree cookie favor. I just got this cute photo of Max with his cake, so I had to add it!

Healthy cake?

I'm not sure if I would go that far, but maybe healthier than most? I was asked to make a cake without refined sugar (gasp!) and I was up for the challenge. I have
heard Splenda does not yield great results, so I tried agave nectar instead. Agave is not low calorie, but it is low on the glycemic index. It is a bit sweeter than sugar, but does not have any unappealing chemically aftertaste. So...I took my favorite chocolate cake recipe and replaced the sugar with about 2/3 the amount agave nectar and reduced the liquid by a 1/4 cup. Tah-dah! I was truly surprised at how well it turned out. For filling & frosting, I made a simple ganache with a 72% chocolate, so it was fairly low on the sugar side as well. A very successful experiment!