New Website!

I'm so excited to announce the new version of the website! It's been in the works a long time, but the wait was worth it. The new site showcases many new cakes as well as a spanking new design! A special thanks to my husband, David, for his mad web skills and the many weekends he sacrificed to get the job done. In addition, I'd like to thank Jen, my former design intern, for beautiful design. 
But... there's always a but, right? We're having trouble getting it working correctly in IE 6 and 7, so please bear with us until we get it right. Newest versions of IE, Safari and Firefox are fine. 

2011 Best of Weddings from the Knot

It's great to start the new year with a such a wonderful piece of news! Brides sent in their reviews and voted Coco Paloma Desserts Best of Weddings 2011 from the Knot. It's an honor to be selected, and we'll be sure to use our title for good and not evil. No abuses of power - promise!

 

Art Cake

This cake is definitely in my top 5 favorite cakes we've made! Kati, a friend of a friend, wanted to order a special cake for a dear friend of hers who was retiring as an Austin Museum of Art (AMOA) docent, where she had been over 10 years. Rather than just showing any art, Kati selected pieces that they had curated over the years at AMOA and had significance for the docents who would be at the farewell party. What made the cake really special, though, was the figure of Michaela strategically standing in front of the nude painting. The joke is that she would stand in such a way in order to placate the pruder teachers when she was giving school tours.

All the art on the cake is handpainted - no cheesy photo prints here! Kati, who actually has an art degree, wanted to help out with the painting. I'm glad she did because this cake required so much attention to detail, that the 4 hours she put in really helped. You might recognize some of the artists, but here is a link to the exhibition page for the following artists: Lichtenstein, Gee's Bend quilt, Oldenburg, Warhol, Christo, Hodges, Bates, Goldsworthy, and Arenz. I may have forgotten one or two.
From what I hear, the cake was a huge hit!
 

Austin Kidbits

I just saw that Austin Kidbits posted a little write up about our holiday treats! Since we don't have photos on the website (we're launching a new look very soon!) I'm going to post them here on the blog. 

The Present Cake

The present cake is a 6" square and serves about 15-18 people. It's a great centerpiece for a holiday party table or intimate Christmas Eve dinner party. It is $100 ($90 with Kidbits discount).

Santa Set

Ornament Set

Winter Set

Cookies! These adorable decorated cookies, which have been featured in the Austin-American Statesman, make wonderful gifts for adults and children alike. They come in sets of 3 and are $9 per set, or $8.10 when you mention Austin Kidbits. Oh, and did we mention that these are the most amazing sugar cookies ever? 

We do need 48 hours for the cakes and 24 hours for the cookies. We accept credit cards as well as cash. You can also order the cookies a la carte for parties with a minimum order of 30.

Happy holidays!

Cheerful wedding cake

 

Since we are officially done with weddings for 2010, I wanted to show you one of my favorite wedding cakes from this year. It's simple, sweet and elegant. The bride and I had to work on the design over long distance since she lives in Minneapolis. 
Her style for the wedding was relaxed with a little vintage chic thrown in. It was at Mercury Hall, which I just love. You can see the whole table set up with the clapboard background.  The gerber daisies and leaves were made out of sugar paste.
I think our collaboration was a success and hope you like it, too!
Photo is by Magic Spoon Productions.

Dr. Who and Alice in Wonderland cakes weekend

Last weekend I had a nice break from wedding cakes and had a blast making these 2 childrens' birthday cakes. The first was for a 9 year old Dr. Who fan. Fortunately I was sitting at my computer when his mom called, otherwise I wouldn't have known what a tardis looks like. The last time I saw Dr. Who was in 1988 when the long curly-haired guy played the lead. I think the cake cost more than their special effects budget. I added a dalek (again, thank you google) to give it some color contrast.
I had no problem getting all the details of the Alice in Wonderland cake, though. I enjoyed reading the book and watching the Disney movie when I was a kid. I recently read an abbreviated version of the original to my 6 yr old. Hopefully when she's older we'll read the whole text together. This cake was for a 4 year old, so I wanted to keep the design straightforward and lighthearted. Although I generally like Tim Burton movies, I was not a fan of his Alice in Wonderland, so I opted for the Disney look. I also think it's more appropriate for a little girl, anyway. The teapot is cake, too, although the handle, spout, dormouse and lid are gumpaste.
Have a happy Thanksgiving! We're closed this week, so it's all about baking pies for me. Can't wait!

The Knot Austin Guide

I'm going to make this a quick post since I'm wiped out from a cold. A few months ago I was asked by the Knot if I'd like to be the featured wedding cake designer in their Insider's Guide to Austin. A couple of the wonderful ladies from the NY office were on hand and were a pleasure to meet. I had a great time and am glad to see that I came across as somewhat coherent and focused! (Not too many "ums" and "uhs")
Here's a link to the video: http://wedding.theknot.com/local-wedding-vendors/austin-weddings.aspx?MsdVisit=1
Scroll down halfway and you'll see it. And yes - they REALLY loved the cake samples! After the shoot was over, the videographers and Knot ladies ate up the rest.