Things are getting spooky around here!
I love this time of year so much. Our house is basically a slew of non-stop rotating decorations and baking projects for the next three months.
I’m kicking off this year’s holiday season with a super cute Halloween setup. I like to switch up decorating themes every year or so, and this year I opted for a chic, feminine look as opposed to the usual scary ghosts and zombies.
This party is centered around what else—cake! A lot of cake. We’re talking eight cakes to be exact (because why have just one?).
I wanted people to have two main cakes to choose from, as well as having something special for each person. So we had a pink monster cake and large white pumpkin cake to slice and serve at the party, then each guest was given their own mini pumpkin cake to take home (or eat at the same time—no judgements here).
This monster cake was so fun—I wanted him to be a cute-scary monster, but not as scary as the traditional Frankenstein. The inside was devil’s food cake (of course!) with pistachio buttercream. You could say this cake was…to DIE for.
Sidenote: I have another upcoming blog post to show some behind-the-scenes for how the monster cake was made—stay tuned!
Let me just say, I am obsessed with these mini pumpkin cakes—I may have made a few extra for myself for “testing purposes” (because what kind of host would I be if I didn’t sample the cakes ahead of time?). And how cute do they look on my new Draper James plates? So adorable!
Most of the party decor is from Martha Stewart (of course!). I love the gold and black combo—so chic—as well as how unique some of these pieces are (how cute are the bats on the wall!).
Finally, for my costume, I was planning to be the Bride of Frankenstein, but wanted to utilize something I already had (instead of buying a pre-made costume that I would only wear once), so the dress I recently got from the new Gal Meets Glam line was perfect!
Photos by Abby Murphy Photo.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved baking. I love baking treats and eating dessert. Every holiday memory is laced with family baking memories, and some of my favorite family heirlooms are passed down hand-written recipe cards.
So I’ve always been a baker, but it wasn’t until I was in grad school and looking for a way to procrastinate rather than work on my thesis (guilty!), that I decided to dabble in cake decorating. I can vividly remember seeing the photo of a Christmas cake in a magazine and thinking “oh that looks super easy, I can definitely do that”.
Guys, it was bad. I mean BAD.
To this day, when I look at the photo it still makes me bust out laughing. It’s basically the epitome of the ever-popular cake fail photos.
Multiple friends have asked me why I didn’t stop halfway through—because it was very clear from the beginning that it wasn’t going to turn out like the photo—but the truth is, I loved it! I knew it was a disaster but it was one of the most fun things I had ever done, so I finished it. And then my love for baking slowly started growing into a love for cake decorating.
For the next several years, I was just a hobby baker and cake decorator—baking for friends, family, co-workers. But I continued to teach myself as much as I could, took classes whenever I had time, and it slowly evolved to part-time dessert catering gigs and working part-time at a bakery in DC. Then when I moved to Charleston several years ago, I decided it was finally time to make it a profession, and my cake business was officially created.
I can’t wait to share my cakes with you! 🙂
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