Austin Children Shelter Fashion for Compassion

 

It's easy to forget how fortunate so many of us are to have grown up in safe and loving households. I hope my kids realize one day how lucky they are to have loving protective parents. Unfortunately, there are many children in Austin who are not so fortunate to have that security. The Austin Children's Shelter provides a safe place for those children and helps them recover from any trauma they might have been through. 

I was more than happy to offer our services for the Austin Children's Shelter Fashion for Compassion fundraiser recently held at Saks Fifth Avenue. Our table set up was less about fashion and more about the making of it. The main display is a dress form made from cereal treat and fondant. The mini cupcakes (ancho cinnamon ganache!) were topped with white chocolate buttons and jewels. They were each dusted with a metallic luster dust. 

I didn't stay to attend the fashion show, but I was told they raised over $100k to benefit the shelter!

Folk Art Inspired Wedding

I love it when a bride comes to me not only with a unique vision for her wedding style, but who also wants a special cake to carry out the vision. Emily is one such bride I worked with, who not only was creative, but also a pleasure to work with. She decided on a Scandinavian folk art style for her invites, with blues and gold as her main color palette. There were other accent colors used throughout the venue (you can see some green and hot pink flags behind the cake). 
Once I get some more photos from the photographer, I'll post a link so you can see more of the wedding decor. I had a great time designing the cake and was thrilled to see the vision come through.

Austin Bake Sale for Japan

I'm excited about an upcoming event that is raising funds for AmeriCare's effort in Japan. A few Austin food bloggers have organized a city wide bake sale called the Austin Bakesale for Japan. Although we won't be sitting at the sale itself, our yummy treats will be for sale at the downtown location (Woof Gang bakery on 1204 N.Lamar). I'm thinking green tea marble pound cake. More locations and times are shown here: http://austinbakes.wordpress.com/
Find a location convenient to you and buy a treat from one of Austin's many talented home and professional bakers! Calories don't count if they're going to a good cause, right?

Castle Cakes

Cakes that are buildings are some of my favorites. Maybe it's the former architecture student in me, or maybe I'm just obsessed with detail, but I love to recreate buildings, both real and imagined. I spent a lot of time playing with Lego and Playmobil castle sets as a kid, so I am always eager to make a castle cake. 
We've done princess castles a couple of times, but last weekend we finally had a chance to go a little darker and do a medieval knight's castle. Working on the castle was educational - I finally learned the difference between a rampart and a parapet. Now I know.

Black and white cake designs

A black and white color motif is always a classic. It works well with a variety of styles - modern, traditional, playful - and always looks crisp and clean. The cakes above are some examples of b/w cakes we did in the past year.
You can add flowers to tone down the stark contrast, like the square cake with orchids. Or a pretty poppy flower to break the vertical lines on the cake on the bottom left. The wedding cakes on top were both inspired by the wedding invitation designs. We used the damask and scrollwork as a starting point for the designs.
Look for some fabulous new cakes to come in the next few months!

Valentine's Day Lovebird Mini Cake

Valentine's Day is almost here, and we've got the cutest little cake for you to share with your sweetie! What could be cuter than two bashful lovebirds? The cake is available in two flavors: chocolate with a sea salt caramel milk chocolate ganache or almond cake with strawberry buttercream and fresh strawberries. 
The cakes are available for pick up February 11, 12 and 14 and are $25 each. They are about 3.5 inches tall and 4 inches wide at the base. Orders must be placed by Thursday, February 10. Please call 512.419.1582 or email info@cocopalomadesserts.com for more information or to place an order.

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.