5/4/12

As always, I have amazing couples. They’re friendly, outgoing and of course, have amazing style.  Boo and Michael kept that going strong as seen by their BEAUTIFUL wedding (check out Boo’s amazing Oscar de la Renta dress!).  Here are the photos from the entire wedding, shot by True Photography Weddings!

4/23/12

Our baby turned three, so it was time to party. In the past, hubby and I opted for a taco cart and a keg since she wouldn’t really remember those parties anyway. This year we decided to make it a little more kid friendly-taco cart, growlers, lemonade bar (with optional vodka) and a dessert table! The kids loved the dessert table Hope you enjoy the pics!

And a HUGE thanks to the following:

Photography: Chris Wojdak

Cake: Hey There, Cupcake

Cupcakes: Pubcakes

Macarons: Claire DuBois

Cake Pops and Marshmallows: ME!

3/24/12

If you haven’t heard of PubCakes, or worse, haven’t tried them yet, you’re missing out on one the most spectacular creations from the baking world. Misty Birchall (one of my best friends ever!)  has taken craft beer and perfectly paired them with amazing favors to create beer cupcakes. Yep, beer cupcakes.

She has been operating in a shared storefront with Treehouse Coffee Co.(Which has some of the best coffee I’ve had in my life!) but is growing incredibly fast, so a new space is needed. Her ultimate goal is to open a bar that serves craft beer and a huge assortment of beer desserts. She’s made so many amazing desserts including beer that can’t be shared with the world because the space she’s in is simply too small.

Recently Misty was selected to be  on Cupcake Wars, which was a super exciting and amazing opportunity for her.  (If you want to check out her audition video, with a little cameo from yours truly, check it out here.) The episode she was cast on was to celebrate the 100th year celebration for the Girl Scouts. You can see where this is going. Misty and Kaitlin decided to stick to their guns and stay true to their product. As some of you know, alcohol bakes out, so what’s left is flavor-NO ALCOHOL. This is true with butterscotch and even flavoring extracts. What ended up happening is that she was eliminated in the first round based soley on the usage of beer, even though other cupcakes received far inferior comments  for flavor and execution. The critique of her cupcake was actually quite good.

Instead of accepting defeat, Misty used this opportunity to kick start a pledge drive. Her goal is to raise $50,000 by May 31st in order to open her new storefront, complete with beer. What’s amazing is that every donation gets a return. For example if you donate $20, you get a $25 gift certificate to be used at the new storefront. If she doesn’t raise the money in time, you get a refund on your donation-but that won’t happen if we have anything to say about it!

Mosey on over to her pledge site and check it out. If you can donate anything, please do and if not, spread the word. We all know how hard it is to raise the money to see your dreams come true, and Misty is doing it and kicking butt along the way.

01/02/12

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Whatever you ended up doing for your New Year’s Eve, I hope it was memorable! My hubby and I curled up while the two year old slept, and watched “My Idiot Brother”. Cute movie! A great one to end 2011 and start 2012 with.

With the arrival of a new year means the arrival of a few new things with Cake Ball Love. All very exciting and all delicious!

1-This year the flavor selections will be a bit more unconventional than they were, and all flavors will be available year round (unless dependent on seasonal ingredients). Stay tuned for flavors like Spicy Dulce De Leche and Honey Pistachio! There may be a Pink Champagne in the mix too.

2-I’m REALLY excited for this addition. In 2011, I was so lucky to meet Alejandra Morin of The Marshmallow Studio. She is the first and only  person I’ve met who makes marshmallow pops, and they are AWESOME. She can make any custom creation you can think of. Alejandra inspired me to delve into making homemade gourmet  marshmallows, so much that I’m adding them to my line of products offered. They’ll be available neat (just the marshmallow) or dipped in chocolate. And of course, they will be available as pops.

Aside from those two changes, I’m still charging forward with one goal in mind…to be happy. Because at the end of the day, that’s all I want to be

Have an amazing 2012!

-Pam

12/30/11

I hope your holidays were full of fun and love and I hope you have a wonderful and safe New Year!

In writing this post, I initially wanted to do a little recap of my 2011 year. Then I came across an article in my local newspaper that listed cake pops as one of the worst food trends of 2011. All it really did was ask a handful of local food professionals and one stated “I am not a fan of the cake pop. Cake suffers when you smash it like a piece of Wonder Bread, poke it with a stick, and coat it with a heavy sugar icing. Visual appeal is important — they look cute all bunched together in a bouquet — but taste is more important I think.” —Tina Luu, pastry chef, food lecturer at the Art Institute of California San Diego.

I know not everyone will love cake pops, and they are entirely within their rights. I will always respect your right to your opinion. What bothered me about this is that she was indicating that people who were making cake pops were defaming cake for the sake of a trend and were merely making visually appealing products without the consideration of taste. Then after reading the comments and thinking about past people who have expressed a disdain for cake pops, I noticed it was primarily pastry chefs who were expressing this opinion. Most were insinuating that most cake poppers were not, in fact, bakers.

Over this past year, I’ve spent countless hours perfecting recipes, combining numerous flavors, and researching high quality ingredients. I’ve poured my heart and soul into my creations and lost so much sleep for the sake of my art. I have oven burns on my hands and arms. Since I can’t go to pastry school, the internet, You Tube and great friends are my instructors. So for someone to dismiss what I do…all I can say is that I’ll rise above and thank you for pushing me harder to be better.

If you’re a cake baller and you’re proud, let it be known! Happy New Year and here’s to a prosperous 2012. Let’s make it a big one!

Xoxo,
Pam

P.S. if you’re interested in the article, read it here.