BabyQ Cupcakes {Sacramento and Santa Rosa Maternity & Newborn Photographer}

Hello Sweet Readers! I know, it has been far too long since you have heard from me. I have baked, and I will show you some of it in the weeks to come, but regrettably, I didn't even get pictures of it all! Life has been busy and, as some of you know, my other part time job as a photographer takes up much of my baking time these days. However, my family will never do without, and I am still taking some orders here and there, so hopefully I can post more regularly. Thanks for being patient :)

So, here are some of the very yummy red velvet and cookies and cream cupcakes that I made for a baby shower last month. You can see more of the pictures here.  I made the toppers also, out of fondant, to match the theme of the party. They were sooo good! The cookies and cream are one of my favorites to date.

If you are interested, you can see the rest of the maternity shoot here.

I love the little duckies. So cute!

 

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a wonderful Holiday weekend!!

Las Vegas Cupcakery | Retro Bakery | A Review

On our trip to Las Vegas a few weeks ago, I knew I had to stop by Retro Bakery. Since I started blogging, I have loved following them and their flavors always looked so yummy! I was rather surprised they were about 25 minutes from the Strip, but I have to say, it was worth it! The cupcakes were delicious! The bakery was cute, and the gals working there were very nice. I didn't get to meet the owners (see the photo of their adorable canvas below), but when I mentioned I came all the way from California, I was able to snag one of the Hop Scotch cupcakes that I was dying for!

So what did we get to try? Well, I wanted to try salted caramel crunch REALLY badly, but it was out and so was the milk and cookies :( But the other one on my list to try..probably first on my list was the Hop Scotch, which is a "Vanilla cake topped with vanilla buttercream dipped in butterscotch ganache" and their best selling cupcake. We also tried Mint Chocolate Chip, Maple Bacon and Sprinkled doughnut.

This is how we shared them. As a family of four, we each chose a cupcake and then got two pieces of our choice. Then we got to try the rest. The best? Definitely the Hopscotch. Ohh myyy goodness, it was good! The cake was moist and flavorful and the combo of the amazing buttercream and the ganache was just out of this world.

The second best to me was the Mint chocolate chip. Again, the cake was moist (as were they all...and that is a hugggeee thing for me). The buttercream was refreshing and just the right amount of mint. The maple bacon was good, but not crazy good. I like the idea and have always wanted to try such a cupcake. Inside, there was a sweet center with maple flavoring, which was good. The buttercream topped with the bacon bits was also flavorful and yummy. The only thing that didn't thrill me was the bits of bacon in the cupcake. Just didn't work for me, but I'm sure it can work for some.

The sprinkled doughnut was yummy. I love the idea and it really tasted like a doughnut. The sprinkles were fun for the kids and the ganache under it was perfect, but as you know, I love me my buttercream and there wasn't any on this one, so it came in fourth for me.

I am so glad I got to try  Retro Bakery on our trip. Definitely make it a stop if you are in Vegas and treat yourself to some wonderfully moist and flavorful cupcakes!

MSC: Chai Tea Mini Cupcakes

Hello Sweet Readers! This month's Martha Stewart cupcake is the Chai Tea mini cupcake from the book. As you all know by now, I am a big frosting fan. Do you see these? Just a glaze. The cupcakes were flavored well; I liked the spices used that mimicked Chai Tea. However, even undercooking them per the instructions, some were too dry and even with the glaze were a tad lack-luster. Others gave them better reviews, but that's just frosting-loving me. As my husband says, "cupcakes are mere frosting conduits". This is not always the case for me, but it's generally true!

Hope you are having a great week so far!

Spring is Poppin' Up Good Things!

 Happy Spring, Sweet Readers! I wanted to share my latest (in what has unfortunately become a rare experience these days) baking adventure. You have seen these here many many times in many forms, but I just loved the color of these little cupcake truffles (AKA cake pops). They are red velvet with some yummy vanilla cream cheese frosting. I just love the way the pink and purple go so well with the jewel tone sprinkles. They make me smile. Hope they do the same for you!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hello Sweet Readers! We are going green in preparation for St. Patty's day! Here is one special Pistachio Irish Cream cupcake with a wee bit of green food coloring that I made for this special day last year. I topped it with green and white swirl vanilla buttercream, a fondant shamrock, and a fondant pot filled with coconut cream "gold" and gold sugar. I wanted to share this even though I didn't get a chance to bake them again this year..it was just too fun to resist!

Have a great St. Patty's day! Oh, and don't forget to check out the post below if you are interested in winning a free photo session with me. The drawing will take place Friday, March 18th, so get your entries in soon!

New Website and Giveaway for You! {Sacramento Photographer}

I am thrilled to announce that my new website is launching today! I can't wait for you all to see it and I hope that it answers questions, gives you inspiration, and motivates you to get those cherished images captured!

This is so exciting for me and I want to share my excitement with you! So I am offering a giveaway as a special incentive for you to head on over to my website and check it out! I'd love to know what you think! What am I offering you a chance to win? A free session with me!

And what do you have to do to enter this giveaway? First, please head on over to my new website (you can also access the website through the "website" tab above, or through the "info" section on my Facebook business page) and take a look around. There is lots of information for those of you who have been wondering what Lisa Smiley Photography is all about. There are examples of my work, tidbits about me and my philosophy and inspiration, and other fun goodies to share. Head over and browse on through it! Then, click on the link to my Facebook business page and become a "liker", leaving me a comment that you either are a new fan or a continuing fan. If you would like to leave some love, feel free! Lastly, go to my photography blog, and leave some love, telling me that you have checked out my website, "liked" me on Facebook, and what you would use your winning session with me for. Do you want to capture your family? Your child alone and in the beauty of Spring? You as a couple? You are also welcomed to tell me what you liked most about the website. That's it! I will do a random drawing next week, so don't delay! Get your entry in soon! Only entries that have complied with the details above will be counted in the random drawing.

Thanks for your time and support! I can't wait to hear from you!


*The free session is valued at $150. If you win and you would like a newborn session or a session with more than four people, the $150 will be credited toward your session! The free session giveaway is for the session fee only. The session must take place before April 30, 2011. You may win if you are not in the Sacramento and surrounding areas, but you must be willing to travel to within 30 miles of  Sacramento by April 30, 2011.

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

Hello Sweet Readers! I hope you all had a fabulous Valentine's Day!

For those of you who read "Wine Spectator", you may recognize this chocolate tart from the most recent issue. It was featured as one of a few decadent chocolate desserts for this month. How was it? OK. Why just OK? Well, to begin with, the recipe was WAY off. The crust made way to much and the filling made not only 3 times the size of the tart pan, but took about 4 times longer to cook...and that was just a third of it in the pan. I am sure they will be getting comments to the editor about this one. It was tasty in the end, but not really worth the frustration and effort that resulted from the inadequate recipe. So, it's pretty, but definitely wait for the new recipe they will undoubtedly be sending out!

Chocolate Praline Cake

Hello Sweet Readers!
I went to a dental appointment last week and my hygienist recommended this cake. It's a chocolate praline cake. Sounded great so I gave it a whirl. It was tasty, but as a frosting gal, the addition of just a bit of sweetened whipped cream just didn't do it for me. Now, if you want to just eat the cake for breakfast, by all means, this is your go to, but for a die hard like myself, bring on the thick frosting...even over the pralines! I know some of you are stronger than I and can actually eat a cake without buttercream of some sort. More power to you - you would love this one, I'm sure! Happy Baking!

Happy Birthday, Son!

Hello Sweet Readers! No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth.  I haven't been baking much at all, but will be in the near future, so stay tuned!

I did get to bake last week, though.  It was my son's 10th birthday last Friday and I made him this dark chocolate three layer birthday cake. He has a loose theme from "How to Train Your Dragon", so I asked him to draw Toothless so I could attempt a hand cut out of the dragon with chocolate fondant. He was very pleased. It's rough, but he's a 10 year old who is easy to please in this way.

The cake was filled with raspberry puree sauce and delicious ganache. It was enjoyed by all. Personally, I could have had it a bit moister, but then, I am the one who is just a tad picky about my desserts.

Thanks for stopping by!