What I've been up to...

It seems like every week 'blog' is on my to-do list, and it never seems to get done!  So I thought I'd just picture dump in one blog post and be done with it :)  Here we go:

Pretty springtime cupcakes for a wedding shower.  Double chocolate cupcakes with a raspberry filling...one of my favorite combos!  Topped with a dainty chocolate flower.  

Canucks hockey puck cake...fairly simple, but so fun and vibrant!

I love getting orders for boy cakes...seems like I do a lot of girly cakes, so it's fun to go out of the box sometimes :)  

Vanilla latte cupcakes for my little sis' birthday...um, yum. Recipe here. I used my regular vanilla buttercream and added some super strong coffee to it.

Mother's Day 'high heeled shoe' cupcakes to honor my wonderful mothers.  So blessed to have them in my life.  Lovely Pinterest inspiration for this idea...a cupcake with a Milano cookie inserted in as the 'sole' of the shoe and a Pirouette cookie as the 'heel'.  Not only are they cute, but the cookies are delicious too :)  Cupcakes and cookies...doesn't get much better than that.

Beesting cake.  Recipe from our church cookbook from one talented lady :)  I didn't use to be a huge coconut fan, but this cake has converted me.  It's my best.

Monster cake pops for 2 cute little boys' birthdays!  Love their little characters.  The eyes were ones you can get in a little package at Michaels or Safeway and made my life so much easier...no fiddling with chocolate or edible pens needed! 

And a cake for a mother-in-law's 60th? birthday!  2 tiered and decorated with royal icing flowers in blue and purple.  Vanilla cake with strawberry preserves and devil's food cake with a pastry cream filling, topped with a vanilla buttercream.  

Thanks for looking!  Have you been creating anything fun in the kitchen lately?
Rianne
PS...check back soon for a post with my girl's birthday party--lots of girly fun!

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Rainbow 'round me

As my sweet niece Lucy's 2nd birthday approached, my sister and I started talking cake ideas.  When she mentioned 'maybe something with rainbows?', I jumped on it.  I've been wanting to do a rainbow cake for a while now, and was excited to have the chance to finally do it!  Since the birthday girl had 2 birthday parties, we went for some fun rainbow cupcakes for the family party.  I just loved how it all turned out--I think it was one of my favorite cakes to date.  Bright, cheerful and happy... just like the birthday girl!  

All photos courtesy of my sister of Alyssa Brown Photography

Vanilla cake with vanilla buttercream, topped with a rainbow of Starburst jellybeans 

with marshmallow clouds!

Love this picture...rainbow themes are the best--so many options for bright, colorful candy and decorations! We found some cute colorful napkins, plates, and striped straws at Target that were perfect.

And my favorite part...the rainbow reveal inside!  Love the bright rainbow layers. 

Rainbow cupcakes...vanilla buttercream with candy tape rainbows and marshmallow clouds.

The sweet birthday girl!

Tie-dye rainbow colors inside the cupcakes!

Thanks for reading!  Have a sweet week,
Rianne

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Jace is 1!

Seriously, how can you resist that little grin?!
Picture courtesy of talented Auntie Julia :)

My sweet little dude is 1.  How one year has passed already is beyond me...there should definitely be a pause button in life.  Jace has brought such joy into our lives...he has us all wrapped around his little finger with his giggles, easy-going personality and love for life.  He loves to play crazy with his daddy, be carted around by his big sister, and enjoy the (occasional) cuddle with Mommy.

Party table! 

His first birthday was a perfect excuse to bake and play in the kitchen :)    I went off some guitar fabric he has in his room and decorated with teal and black with guitars and music notes made with royal icing.

The cake, topped with a chocolate cupcake for the birthday boy! 

I've been wanting to do an ombre cake for a while, so I made a layered cake--one blue ombre, vanilla cake, and the bottom my favorite chocolate cake.

Since it's been forever that I decorated sugar cookies, I made some for everyone to take home as party favors.  

Party favors

I'd say he loved his first taste of cake...just maybe? ;)

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Spiderman!

My sister and I have this great trade...she takes family pictures for us a couple times a year, and I make her kids' birthday cakes. It's a win-win...I'm the worst photographer and making cakes is not her favorite thing :) I'm pretty sure I get the better end of the deal, though!

Mr. Joey turned 6 this year! He's such a fun, all-boy kid! He went between a couple different ideas, but settled on a Spiderman cake. Such a fun, simple cake to make but has a big impact.


Photo courtesy of Alyssa Brown Photography

Thanks for reading!
Rianne

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Monster mania!

Whew...back to the blogging world! I can't believe my little man is 7 weeks old already--life is slowly settling into a new 'normal' and we're loving it. I'm enjoying every minute of snuggles, grunts, and sweet smiles. I'm looking forward to getting back into making cakes, and with a couple in the works over the next couple months, I'm excited!

I have to share this cake from December...it was a perfect fit--a monster cake for one of our favorite little monsters! It was so fun to make, and pretty easy to do--give it a try if you have your own little monster! :)


The monster cake! All you need for this cake is a 'grass' decorating tip, green icing, cake pops dipped in green and some white icing and chocolate chips for the eyes...fairly simple, but super fun.


Happy 2nd birthday, little T! (thankfully we got some pictures before 2 cute little monsters swiped the side, sunk some eyeballs and tried to take off with the other eyeballs!)

Hope you're enjoying the week!
Sweetly,
Rianne

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Honoring the red, white and blue

With the new year here and the Christmas season behind us, I thought it was a good time to remember those who are sacrificing their lives for our country's freedom. It's easy to get caught up in the busyness of the holidays and not have time to think about those who are serving in the armed forces, both here and abroad. My younger brother, Reece, is a couple months into his deployment now, and we are thankful for God's protection over him so far. Please keep him and his fellow servicemen in your prayers, as well as his wife, Krissy.

Before Reece headed off to Afghanistan, we had a deployment party/send-off. We went with a patriotic theme, and decided to have a dessert bar...cake, cake pops, cookies, and all sorts of candy in red, white and blue!


I made a red velvet cake with a blueberry filling to fit with the color scheme. The bunting on the cake was an idea I had seen online...so fun!


Reece and Krissy


Cake pops were decorated in red, white and blue with ribbons to coordinate.




Candy buffet!

Thanks for reading!
Rianne

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Red Velvet Cheesecake

I love having occasions to bake cakes for...and my amazing mom's birthday was the perfect occasion! I had seen a recipe for this Red Velvet Cheesecake on a blog earlier, and was dying to make it. I mean, red velvet cake with a cheesecake filling and cream cheese frosting...how can you go wrong?! I posted the recipe below for those who want to try it as well!

That's a lot of candles...can you guess how many? ;)

All photos credited to the talented Alyssa Brown Photography!

My little taste-tester is never far away!

Look at those yummy layers!

My lovely parents with all 9 grandchildren...such a blessing!

This was such a delicious cake...I will definitely be making it again. Fluffy, velvety cake, rich, creamy cheesecake, and a light, smooth cream cheese frosting...it doesn't get much better than that!

Red Velvet Cheesecake

adapted from 17 and baking

Cheesecake
20 oz full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 tablespoon all purpose flour

I baked the cheesecake the day before. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Grease a 9″ springform pan, and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Switch to a wooden spoon and beat in the vanilla and salt. Add eggs one at a time, making sure they are combined but not overmixing. Add the sour cream. Stir in flour and gently mix just until combined.

Pour the batter into the greased pan. Bake until the cheesecake is just set in the middle, about 40 minutes. Run a knife around the sides and let the cheesecake cool completely. Press plastic wrap onto the surface of the cheesecake and refrigerate overnight.

Red Velvet
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
Red food coloring, as desired

I made the cake the day after I made the cheesecake, so it had rested overnight in the fridge and was sturdy enough to flip.

For the red velvet, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9″ pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a mixer, beat the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and vinegar until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and as much food coloring as you like. Beat until well combined, about two minutes.

Divide the batter between the two pans. Bake 25-30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans for five minutes, then run a knife around the edges. Invert them onto cooling racks and cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
12 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional--I preferred without)
3 cups sifted powdered sugar (sift, and then measure)

Beat the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer until very smooth and lump-free. Beat in the vanilla and almond extracts. Then stir in the powdered sugar a cup at a time until very smooth.

Assembling the cake.

Use a cake leveler or serrated knife to level the tops of the red velvet cakes. Put one of the layers, cut-side up and parchment paper removed, on a serving plate. Spread with a very small amount of frosting, just enough to cover the cake in a thin layer.

Take the cheesecake out of the fridge. Open up the springform pan and peel off the plastic wrap. The cake should be pretty sturdy. My cheesecake was still attached to the bottom of the springform pan. I simply used one hand to hold it, and gently flipped it over onto the red velvet. I lifted off the bottom of the springform pan and peeled off the parchment paper. Piece of cake.

My cheesecake was wider than the red velvet. I just gently sawed a knife around the edges and trimmed the excess.

Spread another very thin layer of frosting on the top of the cheesecake. Flip the remaining layer of red velvet, cut side down, on top. Peel off the parchment paper.

Use about a third of the cream cheese frosting to cover the whole cake with a crumb coat (frost the cake with as little frosting as possible, picking up all the red crumbs and sealing the cake). Refrigerate the cake for half an hour, or until the crumb coat is hardened.

Then frost the cake with the rest of the cream cheese frosting and decorate as desired.

Keep the cake in the fridge. It can stand at room temperature about half an hour before serving, if necessary.

Enjoy!! Thanks for reading!

Rianne

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Little princesses

With the huge Disney princess craze going on, princess cakes have been in high demand. They're pretty, easy to customize, and perfect for any girl! I thought I'd share a few of my favorites over the last couple years.

My most recent cake--the Tangled princess for a sweet friend of Ally's. I think this is one of my favorites...the colors, her pretty dress and her long hair. Love!

Princess Ariel (aside from the blond hair :) ) for a sweet neighbor friend. Love the versatility of the princess cakes!

Ally's 4th birthday cake...pink with ruffles, as requested :) I loved how this one turned out...simple and elegant!

Bright, happy princess! Perfect for any girly girl :)

And Princess Ariel is back! Pretty dress, yummy cake...can't get better than that!

Sleeping Beauty. This was for my niece's 5th birthday--we made it as a surprise for her, and seeing her face was 100% worth making this cake! :)

If you have a special occasion coming up, a delicious cake is the perfect way to celebrate! :) Contact me at rianne.kruyswijk@gmail.com for pricing and more info!

Thanks for reading!

-Rianne

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Tea party time...and a prayer request.

MIA...that's been me for the last 3 months. It's passed in a blur over here! Between being pregnant with baby #3 (and feeling tired/sick), getting an offer on our house, having a family reunion, packing, moving, and everything else in between, blogging has taken a backseat. But now that we're settled into our temporary home, I have a little more energy and I'm feeling a little more like myself. So I'm excited to share some of the things I've been up to in the last 3 months (although cake making has taken a bit of a back seat, too!).

First off I wanted to share Ally's 4th birthday party which was in June. Being the girly girl that she is, we went with a vintage tea party theme. I chose pink and green for the colors, and went from there. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea ;), but I love planning the girls' parties and spoiling them for a day! :)

Tea party invite

I made up custom printables for her party...just designed them in PSE and printed them onto cardstock--super easy!

Cake pops are always a hit at parties...so much easier to eat than a big piece of cake (especially when there's lot of other candies too! :) )

Tea cup sugar cookies!

I saw an idea for ice cream sandwich labels on Pinterest, and used the idea for juice boxes. So unnecessary, but so fun :)

And the whole table!

She requested a princess cake for her birthday again, so I couldn't refuse. She wanted the princess to have a pink dress with ruffles...I love how specific she was!

Princess cake...pink with ruffles as instructed ;)

I loved setting up this little table. I started off with a cute vintage table runner that I was lucky enough to get from my sister-in-laws wedding tables...then added some fresh cut flowers from our garden and a little place setting for each girl--cutest tea cups (thanks Karen!), a necklace and a vintage headband/flower I made up.

The girls' tea party table!

Individual place setting

It was a very fun, girly party with lots of giggling, tea sipping, crafts, games, dresses and laughs...perfect way to spend her special day.

All the girls...all of them are so special to Ally in their own way. So pretty in their favorite party dress!

And now for a prayer request:

My sweet three-year-old niece, Hadley, begins chemo (the first of 28 weeks) on Thursday for treatment of cancer in her kidneys. Please pray for a miracle...that she will be healed completely and quickly. Please pray for patience for her and her family, and the strength, trust, and perseverance her family will need to make it through this long journey. You can read her story and leave encouragement for the family at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/hadleylodder

Rianne

(PS...big thanks to my sis, Julia, for taking these beautiful pictures and helping out with the party...she's the best!)

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