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?

aira & dave's laker themed wedding shower...

01.22.11

chocolate covered strawberry with chocolate fudge buttercream

covered in vanilla lavender buttercream

a laker themed wedding shower cake for aira & dave ordered by aira's matron of honor, liza... i created the text all out of fondant... covered only in buttercream :)

mickey mouse clubhouse for GeNo & NiCo!

01.09.11

double chocolate cake with chocolate ganache

my two ADORABLE nephews, NiCo & GeNo celebrated their 2nd & 3rd birthdays together... and this is the first time that my sister-in-law, beth and I designed and decorated a couple of cakes together. my sis also makes cakes in the everett, washington area and if only we lived closer, i'm sure we'd start a narciso business together! :) check out the lettering on the stars... i was pretty proud of my disney font that i free-handwrote with edible ink :)

i'm baaaaaaaaaaack! well, at least by special request :)

okay... so it's been awhile since i have blogged (soooo sorry! it's just been such a busy time with my full-time job as an event coordinator!) but here goes... i'm going to post a few cakes that i have created from december to wow... almost may? time sure does fly.

thanks to my faithful clientele... enjoy the next couple of posts...

sugar, spice & everything nice,

narleen kristel

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! :)