tanya & joe's wedding...

11.19.11
top and bottom tiers: southern red velvet
with cream cheese buttercream
middle tier: ferrero rocher - chocolate fudge
with nutella buttercream

so here it is... tanya and joe's cherry blossom themed wedding cake! and let me tell you, this cake weighed a ton! it was my first square shaped wedding cake and i gotta admit, not too shabby for my first shot at it. it was quite an adventure though getting to the reception... i drove from irvine to LA (almost hollywood) with this cake and a full sheet serving cake in the back of my CRV... in bad, and i mean bad traffic. i think i was going 20-25 mph from norwalk to LA...then a sudden slam on my breaks nearly caused me to have a heart attack! needless to say, the cake made it safely and i got lots of compliments from the newlyweds' family and friends :) even better, was i got a chance to see all my LA "kidz" as i call them... i was actually referred to the bride by her sister, larissa, who was in a debut court i taught over 5 years ago. it was so nice to see all the kids from the debut, how they've grown, and what they've all been up to since i last saw them. good night, good fun, good cake! :) congratulations tanya and joe!

giants groom's cake...

11.18.11
orange velvet with cream cheese buttercream

yeah, you read that right... orange velvet. okay, so there's a story behind this cake. months ago, i met with the bride-to-be, tanya regarding her wedding cake order... then she mentioned, she wanted to order a groom's cake for her groom in a san francisco giants theme. she joked about her fiance's crazy obsession with the giants, his matching tattoo... and the fact that if you were to cut joe, he'd probably bleed "orange." that's when the light bulb came on above my head... i said, "so you wanted red velvet right?" and tanya answered, "yes, that's his favorite flavor." then i recommended, "why not make it an orange velvet?" tanya's eyes widened as she answered, "YES!!!" so the rest is history. she left the design up to me... so i created a baseball hat with the notorious "SF" logo as well as carved out letters freehand to match the GIANTS lettering. i loved how the 2-tone of the orange atop the white made it really look very baseball themed and you can't go wrong with the black and orange stripes. joe loved the cake so much, he refused to cut it and at the wedding, several pictures were taken with the happy groom kissing his SF cake! :) congratulations tanya and joe!

koa's ninja birthday...

11.04.11
southern red velvet with vanilla bean buttercream

koa's ninja birthday cake was ordered by my good friend melanie, who i have to say is one of my best and supportive clients. she always thinks of me when it comes to celebrations, so i just wanted to give a special shoutout to her! :) koa's mom wanted a ninja theme... so i created a very simple design with a ninja face, the japanese red sun, and his name "KOA" was carved freehand out of fondant. pretty cool huh? happy birthday koa!

chanel inspired...

10.30.11
southern red velvet with vanilla bean buttercream
ferrero rocher filled with nutella buttercream

i know right? HELLA ADORABLE! these cupcakes were ordered by my elementary/junior high/high school friend, antoinette, in honor of her birthday. she's such a fashionista, so it's fitting that she requested these fancy cupcakes! i really loved how they turned out, but more so, it was so nice to see my old friend after more than 10 years! that's the best part of my cakes... it gives me the chance to reunite with old friends through my baking :) happy birthday antoinette!

happy halloween...

11.28.11
double chocolate with vanilla bean buttercream
and topped with crushed oreo cookies

spooooooky! these are my graveyard cupcakes. i make these every halloween for my annual halloween party. i love how the crushed oreo cookies look like dirt... edible dirt that is :)

handy manny birthday...

check out manny! so cute! :)

10.23.11
southern red velvet with cream cheese buttercream

handy manny birthday cupcakes for ryan! ryan's father is a returning client (who ordered the previous yo gabba gabba cake). he had a request to create 3D and 2D handy manny toppers for his son's birthday cupcakes. i also made the cupcake stand which i thought just made the cupcakes pop out even more. i'm pretty darn proud of the "manny" character which i completed sculpted out of fondant. sooo cute yah? this was a fun one!

uncle pete and auntie lina's wedding...

09.18.11
chocolate covered strawberry
with chocolate fudge buttercream

this petite little wedding cake was specially made for my uncle pete and auntie lina's wedding. after over 47 years of civil marriage, they finally tied the knot officially in the catholic church and had such a beautiful little reception where all family and friends gathered. it was such a nice afternoon and even more was the lovely look of happiness on their faces when they saw their cake and cut it as they fed each other :) i like sugar edible flowers... BUT i love fresh flowers and just love the look they create when topped and decorated around a cake. pretty pretty cake and it was honor to share my love of decorating cakes for their special day! congrats uncle pete and auntie lina!

yo gabba gabba!!!

09.17.11

southern red velvet
with cream cheese buttercream

yo gabba gabbaaaaa! simple and fun and cute! this cake was ordered by my client tracie for her nephew's 2nd birthday. based on the tv show (which i must confess, i am not familiar with, but only heard of) three characters are topped on top of one another to create this playful cake. i love the expression of the face on top. hehehe fun! when the father came to pick up the cake, he was overjoyed and emailed me thereafter saying,

"Hi Narleen, This is David, Tracie's cousin. I wanted to let you know that your cake was a HIT! Everyone enjoyed it and thought it was fabulous. Most importantly my son loved it dearly. Thank you for going the extra mile to make it perfect like the characters, I compared your cake and the sample cake and it was no comparison. Please advise where I can add you on Facebook....I have another project for you. Let's talk soon!"

yay!!! another satisfied customer! oh yeah! :) words of kindness such as these, make it all worth it!

lowena and ferdie's wedding...

09.10.11
top tier: chocolate covered strawberry
with milk chocolate buttercream
middle tier: mango madness
with a fresh mango vanilla whipped cream
bottom tier: kona pie - double layered kona coffee with oreo chunks
and chocolate fudge with a kona coffee buttercream

it was my pleasure to create this special wedding cake for my good friend lowena and her newlywed hubby, ferdie. the bride, who is not a fan of fondant, challenged me to create a "whipped style" of buttercream to cover the cake. not too shabby for my first try.... (she loved it by the way!) also created were hand carved love birds which i molded out of fondant and placed on the top tier of the cake. i know, it's hard to see... but as soon as i upload my pictures from my good camera, i'll post... (sorry, this is a picture taken from my cell phone!) hehehe... the cakes were finished with fresh flowers and teal ribbon which matched the overall theme of the couple's wedding :) i got mad props during and after the wedding by her guests! woot woot! :)

watermelon birthday...

08.27.11
southern red velvet with cream cheese buttercream
sugar cookies with royal icing

what a cute theme for abigail's 2nd birthday! a watermelon picnic theme!!! abigail looked simply adorable in her watermelon outfit... and she even had watermelon themed vans!!! omg, i need a pair of those. okay, sorry.. back to the cake & cookies ;) hehehe.... so the cake was made to look like a cut watermelon. i loved the little sign with abigail's name in a fun and playful font... (that was hard to carve out, but definitely worth it!) for this order... i actually got my chance to create cookies which her mother requested. thanks to my love, john for helping me with those. he and i used a recipe that he helped me with and what a great turnout! aren't they just adorable? the tags were created by abigail's auntie joanne... who love working with. her graphic designs are just so awesome... that if you ever need something designed, you should definitely hire her! :) thanks joanne! and lastly, that picture with the birthday girl, abigail and mommy... goodness, what a cutie! happy birthday abigail!

the very hungry caterpillar...

08.26.11
lemon chiffon with french vanilla buttercream

okay... by far, one of my funnest and cutest cakes!!! this cake was themed after the children's book, "the very hungry caterpillar." my co-worker dessa, who works in the registrar's office of CUI ordered this cake for a baby shower she was hosting. if you're familiar with the book, the very hungry caterpiller eats his way through all kinds of foods, hence the "holes" in each of the fruits and foods i decorated around the cake. I also had fun with fondant with this cake... mixing colors into each other to create a marbled effect which is clearly displayed in the pictures of the book. the reaction on dessa's face was priceless when she saw the cake... she immediately hugged me :) just wanna throw a shout-out to my bestie joce, for helping me create all the little marbles around the cake and for always helping me! yay! i love this cake!

paul frank for sydney taylor...

08.20.11
banana spice with chocolate fudge buttercream

okay, so for this cake, i literally carved the cake out to match the shape of paul frank's monkey face :) cute yeah? this cake was ordered by my friend aimee, who is a fellow event planner. her niece was celebrating her birthday and ordered this black, red and baby blue! it was fun to make and wasn't as hard to carve and cover in fondant as i had expected. yay! also ordered, were cupcakes and babycakes. i'll post those pictures later...i pinky promise! :)

newly added item... "baebycakes!"

08.05.11
"baebycakes"
chocolate fudge with vanilla bean and chocolate fudge buttercream filling

so... there seems to be a lil craze over these french "macarons" from such places as lette and instead of making the actual french macarons, i decided to play off the same idea and add these new babies to my menu! most people know them as "whoopie pies" but i gotta admit... that name just sounds too awkward (and unappetizing) for a sweet treat... therefore, i decided to call them, "baebycakes." The "bae" comes from my actual nickname, short for baby, since i am the youngest of my family. this was my first try at making them... i woke up at 6:30 am (and had to be at work by 8:00 am) but i just had this urgency to try to make them. i then brought them into the office and my co-workers gobbled them all up before noon! :) it looks like they're a winner... and a definite new addition to the cakes by narleen kristel menu!

rocky road cupcakes!

08.04.11
rocky road cupcakes
double chocolate chip with marshmallows
chocolate fudge buttercream topped with crushed roasted salted almonds

so while i was completing an order for a client, my boyfriend john (who has an incredible sweet tooth) got all excited to play with the extra leftover batter. he and i created a spin on my rocky road cake... but he introduced the idea of pushing in marshmallows into the top of the cupcake when the cupcakes came out of the oven. it was actually a very good idea as they had a nice melt to them without getting completely melted into the batter. you can see also in the bottom left hand picture how the chocolate chips melted nicely into the cupcake... mmmm yummo! thanks john paul, my love, for the great marshmallow idea! :)

alicia's favorite things...

05.15.11
chocolate covered strawberry with fudge chocolate buttercream

the cute story about this cake is that it was ordered by alicia's boyfriend, derek, on the occasion of alicia's graduation from nursing school. just last year, alicia ordered a cake for derek's graduation from college as well. :) both were a surprise... so it was an honor to complete the circle for the couple :) the theme of this cake, was "alicia's favorite things". the bottom cake is covered in tiffany blue, alicia's favorite color. there is a chess piece and an apple on the left of the cake in honor of "twilight" & "breaking dawn". there are mickey ears, a diploma and a grad cap as well... and of course, a stethoscope and nurse's cap, since she graduated from nursing school. however, the topper is a 3-tiered cake of r2d2, which alicia happens to be obsessed with :) it was my first shot at creating one and i think i didn't do too bad :) his arms are made of rice krispies, but the entire body of r2d2 was made in my signature chocolate covered strawberry which is one of alicia's favorite flavors. such a joy to make...and even more happy to see her reaction! yay! congrats alicia!

maribel and adrian's wedding...

05.14.11
left: mango madness cupcakes with a mango infused buttercream
right: chocolate fudge cupcakes with a fudge chocolate buttercream

wedding cake
vanilla bean cake filled with fresh strawberries and vanilla bean buttercream

this collection was ordered by the bride, maribel, for her renewal of vows wedding reception. i thought it was a very elegant way of displaying cupcakes and a petite cake perfectly made for the bride and groom.

minnie birthday for caitlyn...

c'mon... ain't this just the cutest thing? :)

04.17.11

southern red velvet with cream cheese buttercream

okay, okay... you gotta admit, this is a cutie! i was asked to create a minnie cake in the theme colors of dark pink and carribean blue and here's what i came up with! i loved the minnie ears... i wish i could have kept a sample for myself! :)

ladybug baby shower for faith amina luna...

04.02.11

chocolate fudge with chocolate fudge buttercream

soooo cute... this cute little baby shower ladybug themed cake was ordered by my friend, laurel for her friend's baby shower... she requested a ladybug themed cake and to use brown/lavender as theme colors and this is what i came up with. cute yeah? i gotta admit... i lovvve the ladybugs and the little trails of flowers and polka dots :) very adorable!

cakepops!!!

each pop had a each guest's name and table assignment... oh yes, and aira and dave's laker themed logo!

03.26.11

red velvet cakepops

dipped in vanilla lavender chocolate

210 cakepops created for aira and dave's laker themed wedding. i also created the buckets and tags for each guest. these served as the table cards/table assignments for each of their guests. it was so fun to see guests having fun eating the pops and enjoying them as they entered the ballroom! fun :) fun :) fun :)!!!

baby shower for baby girl, eliana...

02.05.11

mocha delight

double layered chocolate fudge and kona coffee cake

with mocha buttercream

this cake was ordered by my old high school friend, crisanta for her soon-to-be baby girl, eliana. this is the first time i made baby slippers out of fondant... cute yah?