Sugar succulents workshop

Succulents keep growing in popularity and don't show any sign of slowing down. Join us for a 2 day workshop on how to create a vibrant and professional looking succulent arrangement. Class size is limited to 4 people to allow for plenty of focused instruction.

Course outline:

4 varieties of succulents
eucalyptus leaves
accent buds
working with gumpaste and petal dusts
assembling pieces
arranging the flowers

Course fee includes:

All supplies, including cutters, gum paste tools and wires. You'll take home a similar arrangement as the photo shown. We will also provide a light lunch and beverages. Please bring an apron and pen to take notes. 

Price: $400

Time: Saturday, June 24, 10am-3pm

          Sunday, June 25, 1pm-4pm

How to pay for class: 

Please email info@cocopalomadesserts.com to sign up. The class can be paid by credit card over the phone. (We're working on an online system-hope to have it soon)

All sales are final. We do not offer a refund on classes. We will refund the class if the class is canceled. Class size is limited to 4 students.

Christmas Cupcakes

Oh, and I'm finally done designing and photographing our holiday treats! It's amazing how much time and effort goes into just creating the mock ups for the photos. From the initial sketches to the final photo, there's a lot fiddling around until it looks just right. Should I be saying this? Is it supposed to look effortless?
We'll be taking orders on the cupcakes until December 20.  The minimum order is 2 dozen with 1 dozen per flavor. The cost is $45/dozen. Thank you!

Christmas Cakes

This year I decided to create a few Christmas cake designs.  I would say that next year for sure I'll make an effort to create all my holiday designs in July so I'm not stressing out about being ready for the holidays! (or Halloween and Thanksgiving!) These cakes are 8" round and iced in buttercream with different designs to choose from. The offered flavors are chocolate with caramel buttercream, gingerbread beer with brown sugar buttercream or vanilla cake with brown sugar buttercream.
These would make wonderful client gifts or a lovely centerpiece for your holiday party. We do offer delivery for a fee depending on distance. The 2 cakes on the right are $100 each and the bottom left is $60. Last day to order is December 20.

Hanukkah Holiday Pop Up Shop December 5, 11am-3pm

I've never opened the bakery to the public as a pop-up shop, but my chocolatier tenant and I decided it would be fun to have a little holiday shop.  Hanukkah starts December 6, and as there aren't really too many options in Austin for Hanukkah-themed treats, we will have cupcakes and chocolates for purchase. Serena of Serena Lissy Chocolates is going to have beautiful and declicious artisan chocolates, and I'll have these cute Hanukkah cupcakes in assorted flavors.

We will be open from 11am-3pm at 8711 Burnet Rd Suite A9, 78757. To ensure availability, please pre-order. The cupcakes are priced as such: 6 for $22.50 or 12 for $45. The chocolates are 6 for $15 or 12 for $30. Please contact us at 512.419.1582 or info(at)cocopalomadesserts(dot)com.
Any custom cupcake flavors must be preordered by Thursday. A minimum of 2 dozen per flavor.  Available flavors on Saturday will be chocolate and vanilla. We look forward to seeing you then!

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Cakes

The pecan praline pumpkin cakes are back! These delicious pumpkin-y scrummy cakes beat out a gloopy grocery store pie any day. Why not treat your guests or host with a scratch-made pumpkin spice cake layered with cream cheese icing and homemade pecan pralines* iced in Swiss meringue buttercream? Oh, and that cute design on top? They're going to love it. And it's even better the next day for breakfast. You can tell yourself it's healthy because it has pumpkin in it.
Orders must be placed by 11/23 Monday morning at 10am. Cakes can be picked up Wednesday 10am-4pm at the bakery. Cost: $60 and serves 12-16
Please contact us at 512.419.1582 or email info(at)cocopalomadesserts.com
*We can leave out the pecan praline if you have nut allergy concerns.

Graduation Cake Inspiration

In addition to May weddings, we get a lot of requests for graduation cakes. Between high school graduations in early June and college graduations for the numerous Austin area schools, we get pretty busy. Sometimes people want a traditional style cake to represent their school colors or scholarly pursuits. The real fun comes when people order cakes to represent the grad's personality or interests. 

The Texas Tech cake is actually a high school graduation cake for a girl going to TX Tech. The UT cake is a popular option for a simple and straightforward design. All you need to do is change the colors and logo to make it work for another school.

I created this design for someone who might want a trendier design. Again, this could work well in any school colors. The advantage of a style like this and the ones above, is that they are a relatively economical choice and can be scaled to accommodate a smaller group.

And then we have Yoda. Most of the detailed custom graduation cakes we do are ordered quite a bit in advance to allow for some design time. It's a really wonderful process because I get to work with the parents, who are brimming with pride over their children's accomplishments. 
Whether you make a cake yourself, pick up a cake from the grocery store, or order a custom cake, everyone will have a great time celebrating this milestone event in a loved one's life.
We've got some fun personalized graduation cakes coming up this spring that I can't wait to share with you!

Mother's Day Cake Tutorial

Although there is no doubt that there are loads of wonderful things to buy your mom for Mother's Day, nothing is more heartfelt than a homemade gift. Ok, I do admit I enjoy the pedicure gift certificate I get every year, but it's the cards from my kids I'll keep forever. I designed a cake that is hopefully simple enough for the novice cake decorator to recreate or use as a starting point for another project. I tend to do my own thing and strongly encourage others to follow their own design instincts. By the way, this cake would also work well for a  birthday, baby shower, or bridal shower.
I haven't done an online tutorial before, so please be patient with me (and let me know if there are questions or elements you think might be missing).

I started with a 6" round cake, which would serve about 10-12 people depending on the height of the cake. It goes without saying that you should make your mom's favorite flavor. I covered the cake in white fondant, but you could easily recreate this design with a smooth coating of white buttercream. Just make sure the buttercream is chilled when putting the pieces on. This cake design won't take more than 1 hour of active time to complete, including time to mix your fondant colors. You will need to let the flowers dry a couple of hours.

Tools
Every tool I used can be purchased at a cake decorating shop. I'm not sure if big box craft stores have them, but you can order them online. Tools: round cutters (3/4 -1.5 inches), ball tool, frilling needle, 2 different carnation cutters, lace cutter and small rolling pin. Not shown are the foam pad, Tappits, plastic half circle molds in small, medium and large, small knife, and my favorite tool ever - the ribbon cutter. I like to give people some creative freedom, so by all means use any colors you like for the fondant. I would use a green, though, for the leaves and stems. Also, try to keep all your colors the same value so it looks cohesive. 

Design elements
Let's start with the carnations. I did 2 large ones and one smaller one. Each flower is made up of 3 pieces. After you cut it out, lightly flatten the edges with the ball tool on the foam board. I then used the needle tool to frill the edges (bottom left). I placed the first one in the circle mold and then folded the other 2 to fit in, using a little water to stick them to the first piece. Use the needle tool to gently lift up the edges so they don't fall flat.

The red flower is simply 3 nesting circles in different sizes. The larger flower starts in the large mold tray and is cut from the 1.5 inch cutter. These flowers can all be made from fondant and will need a few hours to set. Gumpaste can be used as well. When the red flowers are set, just use a drop of royal icing or water to stick them in place. Roll out a small green flat circle to fit in as the center. You can go around it with the end of a paintbrush to indent it as shown in the first photo.

Ah, my ribbon cutter. Or as we call it at the bakery sometimes - the rolly thingy. If you don't have this tool, run out and get it ASAP! If you don't have one, you can still make the banner. It just won't be as fun and quick. You'll need to roll out a piece of fondant to about 8 3/4 inches long. Cut it into a 1/2 inch wide strip. Tuck the ends to make it look like a folded banner. Cut the ends at an angle. You'll need to nudge it up to curve it. Be gentle so you don't indent the fondant. I left it on an 8" cake board to dry for a little so it wouldn't lose it's shape when I placed it on the cake, but not too dry so that the ends don't drape down a bit.

Making the leaves is super simple. I used the lace cutter without the center hole to punch out about 24-25 of the teardrop shapes. They are tiny, so use the needle tool to gently push them out. Also be sure to roll out the fondant very thinly. It's easier to place these once they've set a little.

Finishing the design
Gently lift the banner and place it on the cake, making sure the very top edge of the banner is at the central point of the cake. You can mark the cake's center if you don't want to eye it. Roll out green fondant in thin coils. I use one hand and a fondant smoother in the other as I roll on the table to keep it even. You can use the photo as a guide for where to place the green stems and leaves. Use a slightly wet tiny brush to adhere them in place. For the flowers, I used a small dab of royal icing to stick them in place. The pink flowers are made up of assorted size balls I rolled from light pink fondant, also stuck down with water. Again, feel free to use whatever color scheme you like.  As for the banner, I don't really have a reason for choosing "mother". You could easily write "mom" or a friend's name for a birthday cake. I used Tappits, but if you don't have a set, feel free to write with edible pens. 
Remember, this cake is for your mom. It doesn't need to be perfect - it just needs to be from you!

Wedding Cake Trends for 2015

There are so many articles and blogposts about upcoming wedding trends in design, decor, flowers and dresses - but what about the cake? The wedding cake can be thought of as a blank slate ready to be designed to the client's taste or a platform for artists to get creative. The Cake Blog has been showcasing cakes for the past 8 days created by cake designers all around North America.

I was one of the designers asked to design a cake featuring a new trend for 2015. I have been blown away by all the gorgeous cakes shown so far by talented designers. Not one cake even looks remotely like the other which mean there's something for everyone in regards to taste and style. Here's my cake:

I like how Carrie called it "relaxed bohemian"! I was inspired by succulents and watercolor invitations. You can read more about the cake and the thought process here at The Cake Blog. While you're there, make sure to check out the other cakes from the Wedding Cake Trend Preview. I'm looking forward to seeing the last cake on Friday!


Photography: Kristen Kilpatrick Photography
Cake stand: Sarah's Stands

A Pleasant Surprise

I was pleasantly surprised last week when I received an email from Martha Stewart Weddings that Coco Paloma Desserts has been chosen as one of the top 63 Pastry Pros in the US! I'm not entirely sure how I achieved this honor, but I won't complain. 

Actually, I have been pretty fortunate this year to have had some press exposure not only in Martha Stewart Real Weddings, but also in Martha Stewart Weddings and Tribeza in Austin. Thank you for the coverage!

Valentine's Day cake

It's been a really, really, reeeeeally long time since I lasted posted. Sorry about that! Let's make up with this darling folk art-inspired Valentine's Day cake. It's a perfect treat to share with your sweetheart or family on Valentine's Day.
The cakes are available for pick up February 14 and should be ordered by February 11 to guarantee availability. This year's flavor is chocolate cake with dark chocolate sea salt caramel ganache. Yes, it's as delicious as it sounds! We can do a complimentary inscription on top. The cost is $75 and realistically serves about 10. Great for breakfast, too!

Harry Potter Birthday Party

Instead of just showing a cake today, I thought I would share some photos from my older daughter's Harry Potter themed birthday party. In the past 2 years she's become quite a fan and really wanted a Harry Potter birthday. She's read all the books (we read the last one together) and seen all the movies, so we had a lot to work from in terms of ideas. I got a little too into it also and found myself using my free time making decorations and invitations for the party. It's not just that I printed the invitations - I HAD to find the real HP font. On a last minute whim, I thought about adding the feather. Now if only I had a reliable source for trained owls to deliver the invitations...

 Our front door for the day! Hooray for rolls of masking paper from the hardware store. And for my husband for spending the afternoon coloring in the brick pattern for Platform 9 3/4.

We turned the dining room into the Great Hall. I'm glad I started on these banner a few weeks in advance! The banners are made from Canson papers, while the logos are printed and cut out. My daughter's friend had a Hogwarts banner, so thankfully I didn't have to recreate it.

Witches, wizards and 7 years olds love candy! I turned the entry console into Honeydukes. I made up the labels for the frogs and jars in Adobe Illustrator. I did go a little overboard on the sweets - jelly beans, homemade chocolate frogs, cake, broomstick cookies in addition to having the kids decorate cookies and dip pretzel rods in chocolate to make wands. Did I mention the gummy spiders and brains at the potions lab?

I felt a little nutty collecting jars over the past 6 months, but it was worth it when it came time to make the potions lab. I found the labels online here. Most of the jars are filled with colored water while the "Wartcap Powder" is just old hot chocolate powder from last year.

This is a blog about cakes, after all, and I wouldn't want you to feel cheated. Here you go!

8 inch pumpkin cakes for the fall!

Yummy, spicy, nutty. And pumpkin-y! We are taking orders now for our latest 8" cake -to-go: organic pumpkin cake filled with homemade pecan praline cream cheese icing. If it smells like heaven in the bakery when we make them, you can only imagine how delicious they are to eat! 
The pumpkin cake would be a wonderful dessert to bring to a dinner party or school Halloween carnival cake walk. Or pre-order for your Thanksgiving meal!
These plump and moist pumpkin cakes will be available only until the day before Thanksgiving. The cake is $40 and is available for pick up Wednesday-Saturdays.

Mario Cake, Woodland Cake, Cowgirl Cake and Treasure Chest Cake

We've had a busy summer here making creative cakes for kids, big and little. When the weddings slow down, the kids' birthday cake business takes over. Here are just a sampling of some of the fun cakes from this summer:

 Cute cowgirl theme cake.

 

Mario! He's surrounded by mini cupcake icons.

Pirate chest filled with gold.

Super cute woodland theme cake with cuddly creatures.

Making a Yoda Cake

last month we made a Yoda cake as a surprise for a groom. Sometimes it gets hectic in the bakery, but I did manage to take some process photos. 

 Yoda's body. Looks like a formless lump! This part is all cake.

Yoda's head. In order to get as much detail as possible, I made the head out of rice cereal treats and carved it into the general shape. I then sculpted with white modeling chocolate. Once it dried over night, I covered it with fondant.

 Here's the final Yoda. His ears were by far the trickiest part! The hands and feet were also made from fondant. As with any complex cake, a lot of time is spent figuring out how to construct the cake and what media to use. 

New 8 inch cakes to go!

Due to popular demand, we are now offering 8 inch cakes to go with 48 hours notice. Bring one of these cakes to a dinner party or casual birthday celebration and spread the love! Our year-round flavors include chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, white cake with vanilla bean French buttercream and bourbon pecan praline, just to name a few. 
In addition to our regular flavors, we will be offering a seasonal special. This month's cake is  a whimsical July 4th celebration cake with red, white and blue layers of vanilla cake filled with Swiss buttercream and fresh raspberries and blueberries. 

To order, please call us at 512.419.1582 or send an email to info@cocopalomadesserts.com. The cakes are available for pick up Wednesdays-Saturdays. Here is a menu of our flavors and prices. Each cake serves about 12-16 people. The July 4th cake is available for pick up until July 3.

Romantic Ruffles and Flowers

This is just too pretty to not share! Romantic ruffles and a garden assortment of peonies, roses and hydrangeas are a lovely way to start the summer season. My assistants Lexi and Sara did an amazing job with the ruffles! We all chipped on on the flower production, handmaking all those lovely flowers. Here's a close up of some of the flowers.

I think I'm finally happy with my roses. When I first started out, I thought roses would be the easiest of the flowers to make, but I soon learned it's easy to make but not easy to make look natural.
Have a safe and fun Memorial Day weekend!

More Cakes for Kids: Fancy Nancy and Angry Birds

We always have fun making kids cakes here at the shop! It gives us the opportunity to get really creative and crafty. These 2 cakes are relatively recent - I just haven't been so good about blogging lately. The Fancy Nancy cake was for 2 sisters with close birthdays. My daughters love the Fancy Nancy books, so I was eager to make this cake and bring the character to life.
The Angry Birds cake could really be for anyone. It seems like people of all ages play the game. This particular cake was for a 4 yr old girl, but it could easily be for a 40 yr old guy. My youngest daughter wants it for her wedding cake. We'll see what she thinks in 25 years.

Macaron Wedding Cake

We had the opportunity to collaborate with one of my favorite bakeries in Austin - the adorable La Patisserie. The bride wanted an elegant wedding cake with a macaron tower, but she wasn't sure how else to incorporate the macarons to add character to the cake. La Patisserie made the macarons, and we designed, made, and assembled the cake. After I sent her a couple of sketches, she decided on the tower with additional macarons skirting the perimeter of the cake.
The flavors of the macarons and cake were also complementary. The cake was our popular almond amaretto strawberry while the macarons were a variety of berry, vanilla and white chocolate flavors.
The color isn't great on the photo, but it looked perfect against the dark gray wall of the W Hotel ballroom. I've never been able to get a good photo there, though. Maybe there's too much gray. In any case, the bride was thrilled when she saw the cake. I'm sure as the popularity of macarons takes off, we'll be making more cakes in different colors and styles.

Sweet Valentine's Day Cookies for Your Sweetie

We have these adorable and tasty Valentine's Day cookies for a limited time. To satisfy all tastes, we have a modern chevron design in dark brown and dark pink or a light pink lace-inspired design. They are huge, which makes them perfect for sharing (or saving a piece for later!). 
Each cookie is $5. Please call or email at info@cocopalomadesserts(dot)com us to place your order. We'll have them available for pick up at the bakery on Saturday, February 11 and Tuesday, February 14.

More than just cakes!

In addition to our fun and delicious cakes, we will be offering dessert bar options. As pastry chefs, we felt like non-cake desserts were missing in our otherwise sweet and charmed lives. Little did I know that dessert tables are all the rage now. These would be a wonderful addition to a wedding or the centerpiece of a bar/bat mitzvah or shower. For every occasion, I'm sure there is a way to fit a dessert table into the mix.

The above pictures are from a French-inspired dessert display. Strawberry mousse parfaits with lemon curd and strawberry gelee add a touch of bright flavor to the traditional French pastries set up of eclairs and madeleines.

Here we have a more rustic set up with whoopie pies, lemon meringue mini tartlets and mini bourbon pecan tartlets. The 3oz dessert glasses are filled with coconut cream cake.

A few other dessert cups we are offering are a green tea mousse with apricot gelee and a chocolate pudding s'mores. Everything is lovingly made from scratch here in the bakery! We've had tremendous fun in testing and sampling the recipes. I hope to have the menu finalized soon. Although we're not designing the tables, we can consult with you on ideas for themes and flavors. 
Some of the photos here were taken by GinnyB Photography.