christmas break...

after a crazy year of leaving my beloved hawaii, and moving back to cali, landing a great job (which allows me to still enjoy my life away from work), getting a new place in irvine and keeping up with my quickly growing business venture... 2010 has proved to be a very life changing year for me.

i decided to take a much needed break from the cakes for a few weeks... well, actually more like just until the new year :). i personally want to thank all my family, friends and clients for ALL YOUR LOVE and SUPPORT through this first year of my fast growing cake business. i know there are many cake designers out there that you can choose from, or many that consistently try to compete with me... but your support means the world to me and inspires me to continue making sweet treats with lots of love and perfectly made to share in your special events and moments in life.

thank you from the bottom of my heart!

have a very merry christmas and a happy and prosperous new year!

with much love,
narleen kristel

congratulations rob...

12.11.10
chocolate fudge with vanilla buttercream

after 3 grueling years of nursing school, rob successfully graduated from cal state l.a.'s nursing program! ordered by his mom, rob's cake was decorated in the school's colors of black and gold and has a stars and stripes theme... and not to mention the cutie patootie diploma and shooting stars! :) it was funny because when i delivered the cake to the grad party at cpk in west covina, there was a guy at the table that kept yelling... "cake boss! cake boss!" hahaha... :) rob loved the cake... and his mom didn't even cut it! she took the whole thing home! hahaha :) i was quite proud and amused at the same time.

happy 30th birthday...

12.10.10
confetti cake with vanilla buttercream

making laurie's cake, was great practice for this cake! also covered in buttercream only, this cake was ordered by my friend andrew for his wife's 30th birthday. the couple are also not fans of fondant, so they asked for their cake to be made in a purple buttercream with a star theme. i also used luster dust to make the stars shine with a shimmery silver :) andrew told me his wife LOVED it! yay! :)

andes mint chocolate petites...

12.09.10
andes mint chocolate petites
chocolate fudge cupcakes with andes chocolate bits and
topped with a mint chocolate buttercream & andes mint bits

so, as part of christmas tradition here at work, we have a christmas gift exchange party and we were asked to bring sweets and treats for the event. i once made an andes petite cupcake that i was not particularly happy with... so i decided to make some adjustments to my recipe and try different additions to my buttercream... and YES! it was a success! :) one of my co-workers casey, said his friend owns a bakery that makes all these fancy cupcakes with fancy-smancy french names... and my cupcakes are waaaay better! :) he got a hug and totally made my day! :)

thank you laurie...

12.08.10
orange chocolate with a citrus orange infused buttercream

so... this was my first attempt at making a completely covered in buttercream cake (no fondant, other than the flowers). i have never done this before... i mean, sure, the cake is always covered in buttercream under the fondant... but it's a bit of a challenge to make a cake completely covered in buttercream and to make it look as smooth as fondant. i must say, i was quite pleased with the outcome. laurie was thrilled (since she's not a fan of fondant) and it was made in her favorite flavor and colors of teal & black. :) this was my little way of showing appreciation to my assistant on her very last day on the job (she's graduating!) congrats laurie, and thank you for being such an awesome assistant! i will miss you dearly!

michelle's debut...

12.04.10

chocolate covered strawberry
with fudge chocolate buttercream

this fall themed double tiered cake was ordered by my client, michelle's 18th birthday debut celebration. It's not as evident in the picture, but I used a new technique of adding luster dust and edible glitter to the leaves to give them a pearl and glittery shine. fun stuff!

dulce de leche petites...

11.25.10
dulce de leche petite cupcakes
with caramel buttercream

these wonderfully splendid petite cupcakes were ordered by my friend joanne, for her daughter justine who is simply in LOVE with them :) a perfect addition to their thanksgiving dinner!

barney birthday for xavier...

11.14.10

chocolate fudge with vanilla buttercream

this barney cake was ordered by my client laurel for her nephew, xavier's birthday. apparently xavier LOVES barney... and so i created a bright and fun birthday cake for the birthday boy. barney is entirely made out of fondant. i have to admit, i was a little apprehensive about molding the barney out of fondant. i don't have much practice in molding characters... but i think he came out not too shabby! :) laurel said xavier was all smiles and loved it so much... he grabbed barney and ate him while all the adults ate the cake! hahaha... happy birthday xavier!

rockstar...

11.13.10

strawberry supreme with chocolate fudge buttercream

this cake was ordered by my old elementary school friend valerie, who i probably haven't seen in over 15 years! (thanks facebook for reuniting me with many of my old childhood friends!) valerie had seen my cakes on my facebook page and asked me to create a small, simple cake for her boyfriend's birthday. he loves rock music, so we decided to make him a rockstar cake! it's kind of hard to see clearly in the picture, but i used a metallic shimmer on the rock styled font on top of the cake which was cool. val said the cake was a hit! :)

i love lucy...

11.06.10

ferrero rocher cake

chocolate fudge with nutella buttercream

my client ordered this cake for his friend's birthday. the celebrant is a big "i love lucy" fan, so it was perfectly fitting to make a cake in the theme of his favorite classic tv show. the hardest part of this cake was the "i love lucy" text on top of the cake. i had to print out a picture of the text and mold and carve out a replica out of fondant. came out great and was pleased with all the compliments i received by everyone at the party when i delivered the cake.

let's go golfing...

11.06.10

golf themed cake pops

red velvet and cream cheese buttercream cake

dipped in white chocolate

this was ordered by my client stanley, for his friend's birthday party. stanley wanted a golf themed type of cake pop and so i decided to add fondant to each lollipop stick and molded the fondant to form a golf tee! lastly, i added in some green grass and a "happy birthday alan" flag to complete the golf theme. very cute! the client loved it! :)

girl's nite out...

11.06.10

kona pie

kona coffee cake with oreo chunks

and kona coffee buttercream

this zebra print themed cake was ordered by my friend laurel on the occasion of 3 of her best friends' birthdays. she and her girls had a girls' nite out and celebrated with this sexy cake :)

kent's taylor guitar...

10.23.10
peanut butter cup
chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter buttercream

okay, okay... i gotta say, i'm pretty proud of my 1st ever guitar cake! this cake was ordered by my co-worker sherry in honor of her hubby's birthday. she sent me a picture of his actual taylor acoustic guitar which i re-created in cake! :) if you can see... i also hand painted the lighter portion of the guitar to make it look like wood grain... and then mixed different shades of brown fondant to create a wood grain for the pick guard and side of the guitar. the strings were hand rolled fondant as well... which was probably the most challenging part of the whole cake... (rolling LOOOOONG and super thin strings of fondant ain't easy let me tell yah!) and lastly, the neck and fret of the guitar was made out of rice krispies and all the tuners are the headstock were also made out of fondant... completely by hand! seeing sherry's expression when she saw the cake was priceless... she was so happy, she was jumping up and down which made me incredibly proud and happy as well :) happy birthday kent!

i dig being 1!

10.23.10
marbled fudge with chocolate fudge buttercream

this cute little construction themed cake was ordered by my friend laurel for her godson's 1st birthday. the theme of the party was "i dig being 1":) i was stoked when i found these cute little chocolate rocks which looked like real rocks for the cake. i also make the caution tape all out of fondant and used edible ink to write in "happy birthday christian."

renee's favorite things...

10.16.10

kona pie
double layered chocolate fudge and kona coffee cake
with oreo cookie bits and kona coffee buttercream

this cake was ordered by my former student, lorean, on the occasion of her sister's 30th birthday. renee is a huge eat.pray.love fan... so i recreated the cover of the book. i have to admit i'm pretty proud of the "love" portion of the cake. i mixed different colors of fondant to make it look like real flower petals :)
renee is also a teacher, so i created the bottom tier to have a classroom theme. i purposely made the "happy birthday" lettering look like chalk writing on a chalkboard with a cute "r" written incorrectly :) i have to upload another picture of the back of the cake which had more cute little crayons and an apple.
lastly, renee is also a huge music fan, especially of reggae... therefore there's a record on top of the cake which reads, "the dirty thirty chapter" and rasta colored beads around both cakes in red, green, yellow and black. such a fun cake which i was pretty happy and proud of! happy birthday renee!

sock monkey...

10.11.10

chocolate fudge with vanilla buttercream

mini cake: vanilla bean with vanilla buttercream

my good friend faye ordered these cute lil sock monkey themed cakes for her son, nico's 1st birthday. it was modeled after my previous lots-o cake, except with bright red and chocolate fondant. the mini cake was a lil addition just for baby nico to dive into!

ferrero rocher cupcakes...

10.10.10

ferrero rocher cupcakes

chocolate fudge cupcakes with nutella buttercream

and topped with crushed hazelnuts

this is one of my faves... made a batch for the rob's birthday and angelo's welcome home party. they were an absolute hit!

baby cupcakes for des' baby boy shower...

10.03.10

chocolate covered strawberry petite cupcakes

with chocolate fudge buttercream

and

strawberry shortcake petite cupcakes

with cream cheese buttercream

these petite cupcakes were ordered by my godsister, desiree on the occasion of her baby shower for her 1st baby. i made little decorations made out of fondant for some of the cupcakes which read, "baby" and "boy." sooooo cute! congrats des and justin!

happy birthday kai...

10.02.10

chocolate fudge cake

with vanilla buttercream

laurel, a friend of mine from way back in elementary school, ordered this cute lil cake for her niece, kai. i haven't seen toy story 3, so i was unsure of who lots-o was... and so i needed to research some pictures of him for this cake. kai was turning 3, so she needed a fun and bright pink & purple theme to go with her favorite lots-o! :) her smile makes it all worth it!

macadamia and pecan tarts...

macadamia and pecan tarts

so these babies are getting to be a bit popular! i don't blame them cuz they are quite yummo... c'mon how can you resist this little bite sized goodness all rolled up in a lil tart? believe me... they are to die for... especially when they just get out of the oven. (i usually need to bake a couple more cuz even i can't resist :)

pumpkin crunch tarts...

09.29.10

pumpkin crunch tarts

so this is my newest creation... my good friend lowena taught me how to make this yummy pumpkin crunch dessert which i looooove to make during thanksgiving and so i thought.. hmmm, what if i made pumpkin crunch into a tart... mmmmm! this was so fantastic! i topped it off with some freshly whipped cream and a dash of cinnamon... just in time for fall! yay!

happy 65th birthday...

09.26.10
top tier: mango chiffon with fresh mango filling
bottom tier: chocolate covered strawberry
with chocolate fudge buttercream

made for my aunt's 65th birthday... this pretty little dainty cake had sakura flowers which i literally created each by hand. she likes the color maroon/burgundy which is why i made the flowers in that color rather than pink.

a princess' 1st birthday...

09.18.10

princess birthday party

pretty princess cake... looks like a pillow :)

chocolate covered strawberry

with chocolate fudge buttercream

chocolate covered strawberry

with chocolate fudge buttercream cupcakes

and

dulce de leche cupcakes

with caramel buttercream

cupcake stand made by narleen kristel

cupcake toppers made by joi designs

cakepops by narleen kristel

southern red velvet with vanilla buttercream

and dipped in pink and lavender chocolate

this princess collection was made for my client, joana's baby girl's 1st birthday. thanks to a referral by my old high school friend joanne of joi designs, we collaborated on this project. i made all the cake, cupcakes, cakepops and cupcake stand... joi designs made the cute little cupcake toppers. it was nice to catch up with joanne and plan some future projects! :)

my mad hatter birthday cake...

09.11.10

top tier mad hatter hat: chocolate covered orange

with a vanilla orange buttercream

mid & bottom tier: chocolate covered strawberry

with chocolate fudge buttercream

this was my first topsy turvy cake! i took a shot at it for my 33rd mad hatter birthday themed party. i also made the little teacup out of fondant... and also loved the little wire decor at the top of the cake, which is an idea i always admired from ace of cakes' cakes. not too bad huh? :) i think this cake was so fun and playful!

happy 40th birthday...

09.11.10

chocolate fudge cake with vanilla buttercream

this cake was made for my client and long time friend, faye. she had ordered this cake for her friend who was turning 40. i loved how the sage green and brown colors came out on this cake. also the double polka dots are just such a fun design.

a cake tasting...

08.29.10

my 1st cake tasting

andes chocolate petites with mint chocolate buttercream

and topped with an andes mint

ferrero rocher cupcakes

chocolate fudge cupcakes with nutella buttercream

and topped with hazelnuts

peanut butter cup cupcakes

chocolate fudge cupcakes with peanut butter buttercream

and topped with mini pb cups

top tier: kona pie with kona coffee buttercream

middle tier: southern red velvet with vanilla buttercream

bottom tier: chocolate covered strawberry with a chocolate buttercream

so i decided to have my first cake tasting back at my family home in west covina, california. i prepared a series of my most popular, new and favorite flavors of cakes, cupcakes and cakepops and more. it was a beautiful sunday afternoon and i had a little over 20 guests who came and enjoyed some sweet treats.

cakepops...

08.15.10

southern red velvet cakepops

with cream cheese buttercream and

dipped in baby blue and milk chocolate

my 1st try at making cakepops... these little bits of goodness consist of a scoop of southern red velvet cake with cream cheese buttercream and dipped in baby blue and milk chocolate. very, very cute and perfect for parties!

happy 70th birthday mom...

07.31.10

top tier: ferrero rocher with nutella buttercream

2nd tier: chocolate covered strawberry with fudge chocolate buttercream

3rd tier: kona pie with kona coffee buttercream

bottom tier: chocolate covered strawberry with fudge chocolate buttercream

this cake was made for my mom's 70th birthday. yellow and black&white damask were the theme colors of her party. It was the first 4 tiered cake that i made... my mom loved it... especially since the chocolate covered strawberry is her absolute favorite flavor! :)

star wars...

07.25.10

ferrero rocher

chocolate fudge cake with a nutella buttercream

this cake was ordered for my client, renee, on the occasion of her best friend, debbie's bachelorette/bachelor party. as you can see, it was a star wars themed cake... with chubakah as groom and princess leia as the bride! :)

charlotte's baby shower...

baby shower nature theme...

momma bird is looking after her nest of baby blue and pink eggs...

mini-cake: vanilla bean and toasted almond
with almond buttercream

is it a girl?

or is it a boy? :)

baby pink cupcakes: vanilla bean with vanilla buttercream
and a toasted coconut nest
baby blue cupcakes: chocolate fudge with vanilla buttercream
and a toasted coconut nest
all eggs were handmade with fondant

mommy-to-be charlotte wants to be surprised when baby is born, hence the baby blue and baby pink. i have to admit, i was very happy with how dainty and precious the momma bird turned out. i literally hand painted the fondant and mixed the colors to give it a feathered effect. all eggs, birdie and cherry blossom tree were completely handmade with fondant.