My latest cake was really cute, yes, I liked it! HB Abbey!

Note the similarity in style of writing between the cake above and this one.

Nothing like a box waiting to be opened. Look inside!

The Writing on the Cake.

The dilemna now is whether I should be block printing or practicing my calligraphy for the cakes. My birthday cakes have been coming out much better than the original ones lately. Though, the cake recipe itself and the frosting is basically the same, my handwriting or rather cake writing has become much much better. But, lately I've been printing on cakes and I don't know if I just started doing it because I wanted to try to change it up a little or if the icing that I've created for the cake writing is a little more liquid and less of the chunkier thicker frosting that I was originally using that would blob a little bit on output. Plus, I've found a great decorating device that I will share as a tip...squeezeable ketchup bottles that you can find in any kitchen supply store. It's no big secret really, it's been used by decorators and for plating for years but I finally broke down and stopped using my decorator tips to do the cake writing because I kept getting spurts of frosting that would create a blob of frosting in the middle of a letter just like those old Papermate pens that I used to use in school, the kind that would make a really great, medium point type line when you wrote with it but also ended up all over your hands after you had done your homework. Ah, the good old days...when you actually had to write with a pen and looseleaf paper rather than doing it on your laptop. Ah, but I digress...just take a look for yourself at one of my original cakes and then one I did recently and tell me whether you think the writing should be block print or script. I think the pretty script is the way to go. Which means for me, practice, practice, practice....

Script writing back in the day.

Block print is a little bit plain in my opinion though I love this cake style.

Okay. I think I get it. The original cake writing was really much better. I looked at the cake again and although I really loved the cake itself, the mini bones along the sides were just an adorable little touch to the cake. That was extra treats but well worth it because it looked just so cute.

I'm thinking of a new recipe for cake now. It's called, the flourless birthday cake and it is an alternative to a wheat flour cake. It would be essentially the same cake only with soy flour. For those dogs with allergies to wheat, this would be perfect.

Rain

Ugh, my joints are hurting and so are Katie's. The rain is the worst for me because I get really bad joint pain. It used to be just one knee, now it's not my knees, it's my fingers. They get really achey and tight when it rains and my shoulder, the right one will just throb. I can bake and roll out treat dough but it just really slows me down. Ah boy, is it time to hire someone to help me? No, I'm really just a one woman show here. Other than my brother, the PR/web guy, I'm just doing a little bit here and there. I've got another cake to do early this week and one at the end of the week too. It's nice to get regular cake orders because it does keep me busy on my days off from work. Now if it would only just stop raining, I could be a little bit more productive.

Sad about the pet food scare.

I was watching the news and saw that there's more problems with processed foods for pets. Ugh. I could see it coming because we are just relying so much on others to make our lives easier and for what? Why can't you just make your pet something to eat when you cook too? Really, like Christie Shaver is doing with her company, one should really just cook and eat healthy. So what's my problem? I've got a slow metabolism and less time than I'd like to exercise. But I try to eat healthy and keep Katie's snacks healthy. Since I use organic ingredients in the treats, I feel much better that Katie is not being subjected to too many chemicals in her diet. The same goes for my cake recipe. I stick with as many organic ingredients as I possibly can and then the rest of the stuff is either low fat or no fat and all natural.

I just wanted to say that I'm really happy to be able to do what I do. I love baking and I love dogs. Is what I do a little over the top? You bet. I'm happy to be the one to be able to make these celebrations possible for all dogs everywhere.

It's a piece of cake.

The fact is that I like putting treats on top but then I can't write anything on the cake. Oh it is such an artistic dilemna to just want to decorate but also to have that blank canvas to write on. I like them both. I think Katie could care less as long as she can eat her frosting first and the save the cake for last. She still does that. It's cute.

It's like a proud parent or something...

I love this cake so much I wanted to share the edges with you. Notice the flower and leaf border around the edge of the cake? This was made from mini chicken snaps and minty kisses. I also did a dot border around the top of the cake. It was just an added detail but I did like the effect it had of highlighting the writing on the cake. Unfortunately, the "d" and the "a" decided that they should kiss and so the letters ran into each other before I could allow it to set and dry. I always need help with blocking out my letters. I always think I am going to run out of room and then have to start all over when I'm writing the word "birthday." That's why I like writing "barkday" because it's shorter. Not by much, but it's enough to keep the word from causing much angst when I am writing it on the cake.