Favorites of the Month!

December is a month of celebrations and there have been tons of them for Cakes by Amber Love! I have been super busy all month with orders and projects - I've worked with a few new clients and some very faithful ones from the past! I also had my 5th Annual Cookie Exchange with a group of girls that I absolutely adore. This year we did a little switch up and included things other than just cookies so I made super cute Christmas shaped rice krispies!

Here's a highlight of some of my favorite cakes and treats that I have had the pleasure of creating lately:

This month also included an adorable pancake pop breakfast bar complete with every topping one could want on their morning pancakes!

Aren't they to die for?!

As the month is wrapping up I love looking back on all the fun things I've created and celebrations I've got to be a part of.  I think that's my favorite part of what I do - there are definitely those stressful scary moments that come up - but the finished product is always always worth it!  That first moment a client lays eyes on their order is the greatest feeling a baker can have!  They share their ideas and visions with you and you have the power to make that vision come to life!  It's truly an amazing feeling and I love love love it!  I can't wait to see what fun projects January has in store for me!

As always, I'll be sure to keep you guys updated!  Thanks for stopping by! :) 

Christmas is over already???

Good morning! I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas filled with tons of joy and love! There was so much hustle and bustle going on here, but it's finally calmed down. I'm super thankful that I have today off work because yesterday was exhausting. It's pouring outside so I'm trapped at home for a bit, which makes me feel like I should really use this time to take down my Christmas tree but I just don't wanna!!! It's so pretty! I've honestly spent hours and hours on end just sitting on the couch staring at it. I think I probably have around 200 ornaments on my tree and at least half of them are personalized and have meaning to me. I'm all about memories and being sentimental (I'm also a big cry baby...but shhh! Don't tell!) I think maybeeee I'll keep the tree up until this weekend - I do still have 2 more people that I need to celebrate Christmas with so technically Christmas isn't over yet. ;)

As I sit here and enjoy my tree for it's last few days I can't help but think about the new year that is quickly approaching us. I've got big plans for 2014 and I'm really excited to get started on them and watch it all come to life, but let's save that for another post! Today is about finishing up Christmas - tonight I will be making spinach stuffed shells and sangria for Christmas dinner with one of my best friends so I'm hoping this rain stops soon because I need to get to the store and buy the groceries! I think I might be craving brownies too - I'll have to add that to tonight's menu! Yummyyyy!

The movie My Best Friend's Wedding just came on... I see that slowing me down a little bit! Haha, gotta love days where you can be a little bit lazy! Happy Thursday everyone!

Recipe Remakes - Part 1

My love for being in the kitchen isn't just about baking - I REALLY love cooking food too! You can definitely consider me a serious Foodie. My cooking ranges from the tried and true family recipes that I will always love, to Saturday morning Food Network inspirations, to yummy things I've tried in restaurants that I recreate in my own kitchen.

This will be my first Recipe Remake post! How exciting! :)

Today's Remake: Chicken Kitchen's Deluxe Chop-Chop.

Now if you aren't from Miami you might not be familiar with the Chop-Chop phenomenon, but we have several places you can find them or variations of them - Chicken Kitchen, Pollo Tropical, Three Chefs and a Chicken, Chicken Grill, etc. As you can see they are all about the Chicken! A Chop-Chop is basically a bowl of rice (yellow, white, brown, or lo-carb aka lettuce!) with chopped up chicken breast and toppings (tomato, lettuce, black beans, cheese, and sauce). The sauce is a BIG part of this meal. There are a few different options - but there's really only one worth mentioning.... the curry mustard. OMG, it is SO good! It's really not a complete meal without it, ask anyone! Don't worry - today's recipe remake has the sauce, so I've got you covered!

Chicken Kitchen Deluxe Chop Chop -

- Chicken Breasts*
- Rice (I'm using yellow today!)
- Desired toppings (let's do lettuce and tomato - that makes it the Deluxe!)
- 2 tbsp mayo
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp curry powder
- Maybe 2 tbsp water (depends on how thick you want it)

1. Cook the chicken and the rice to your liking. I usually season my chicken with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper seasoning and just plop it in a hot pan with some olive oil in it. For the rice I like it a little mushy so I do 1 cup of rice to about 1 1/2 cups of water, little salt, and a spoonful of olive oil in the pot.

**Once the chicken is done let it rest for a few minutes before you cut into it so the juices can reabsorb and you don't end up with dry chicken.

2. Mix the mayo, mustard, and curry powdered - check the consistency and add water if you want it a little thinner. Set aside until ready to use.

3. Chop up your veggies and drain your beans if you are using any.

4. Place finished rice in the bottom of your bowl - I like to use a pasta bowl because it's a nice dome-like shape and that makes me happy - top with chicken and your veggies and then COVER in curry mustard sauce! Trust me, you won't regret that!

*Note: The amount of ingredients really just depends on how many people and how hungry you are! :)

It's really a simple dinner and it's so tasty! Also much cheaper than eating out and I usually have everything I need to make it on hand. Try experimenting with different rices and toppings! The possibilities are really endless! Chicken Kitchen serves it with half of a pita, which I like to do too when I think about it on the way home and have time to stop to grab them. It's also really good topped with fresh salsa! But the curry mustard is the classic topping for any Chop-Chop!

I hope you guys enjoyed my first Recipe Remake! Many more soon to come!

Ahhhh!!!!

What a crazy week it's been! I've got so many projects going on, and I almost don't know where to start! I've been busy Christmas shopping, baking, and just trying to get everything ready for the new year. Luckily so far it is all going pretty smoothly! I made a ton of fondant tonight so that should hold me over through my next few cake adventures. Other than some basic Christmas orders, I also have a Mickey Mouse 1st birthday cake in cute pastel baby boy colors and an anniversary for a public relations company. I don't think I have a night off of baking until after Christmas - but I wouldn't have it any other way! I love planning my orders and researching new techniques and test them out. Of course my absolute favorite part is the excitement on a client's face when they see their ideas come to life! Well, I just wanted to check in - I'm headed back into the kitchen to get a few more things done! xoxo :)

Hello, December!

Happy Mondayyy! I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday! Mine was great but left me completely exhausted after spending two days cooking it up in the kitchen. I love to cook as much as I love to bake so I went all out! Luckily I had a few days off afterwards so now I'm all rested up and ready to dive into Christmas EVERYTHING! My house looks like it's part of the North Pole and I love it! Last night I made my first batch of Christmas cupcakes and they came out adorable.

Check out this fun video of me making them:

How cute is that?! Gotta love a little Santa Baby action in the kitchen. ;)

Tonight I'm making chili for a few friends and having our Secret Santa name draw. I'm looking forward to it, which means I should probably get off the couch and get my stuff together instead of watching The Millionaire Matchmaker, but I can't help it, there's a marathon on and it's sucked me in! Super guilty pleasure! 0.o

I hope you all are having a great Monday!