Phillies Fan!

Sports fans love cake! In fact in this order it was a mutual love of a couple. They chose to recreate Citizens Bank Park for their wedding cake.

As with all of the cakes we recreate we started with research and pulled every possible picture of the Park to use for reference.

We use any edible material to make they cake look as authentic as possible. For example the fans in the stands are nothing more than cupcake sprinkles.

Because it is a wedding cake we had to have a bride and groom on there to!

Wedding cakes can say a whole lot more about a couple than just a ceremonial to do. Why not incorporated you and your fiance into the cake. A single piece that anyone who knows you as a couple can say "that is so them". A wedding cake is to be placed on display for all to see and admire, before cutting and eating. Maybe a traditional white cake with a few gum paste flowers is your ideal wedding cake. Or maybe you want to personalize it just a little to make it your own one of a kind cake.

This cake is just that a more traditional style with a little bit of history incorporated into the design. The coral color is the color chosen for the bridesmaids dresses and if you look close at the gum paste flowers on top, they include the history. It is subtle but effective. This couple had been high school sweethearts that had been disconnected. and through facebook were able to rekindle their relationship almost 16 years later.

You can also go for the non-traditional cake. This cake is derived from the one thing an online dating server had placed in common with this couple. They had both liked the movie "The Dark Crystal". It was the only thing that popped up as a match for them, and they took a chance that turned out to be a great relationship. For their wedding cake they had to incorporated the movie and did it through their wedding cake.

This is a wedding cake for a themed wedding. The couple enjoyed the Lord of the Rings movies and incorporated it into their wedding cake as well their decorations. This cake was cut by the bride and groom with a replica sword from the movie! How could that not be remembered!

This wedding cake was created for a couple who are avid Dr. Who fans. The landscape of the cake is taken from a Scottish hillside representing their heritage, and of course you have the Tardis with little gum paste figures of the bride and groom popping out.

This couple wanted their wedding cake to look like a barrel filled with their favorite beverages. Instead of cutting into this cake they pulled one of the beverages out and each bit into it. They also were able to save one of the bottles for their anniversary cake.

This wedding cake was for a couple who enjoy sea life and especially sharks. They incorporated this into all of their decarations including live tetra's for table centerpiece's.

When it is time for you to design your wedding cake will you choose a traditional or nontraditional style. Either way make the design yours and one of a kind. It will allow you to always think back and say that was our cake. Knowing it had spcific things that personalized it to you as a couple!

A first birthday is always a big deal. As parents we appreciate this along with every other parent. It is one year of parenthood and a reminder of how fast time seems to go by. Our son is 8 and I honestly can say it seemed like yesterday that he required Megan and I for his every need. Now he is growing into a very self sufficient young man. This is just a reminder for us to treasure each day of his childhood while we can. Before long he will be leaving for college and we will be stunned, with memories of his first words, first steps, learning to ride a bike, etc. All seeming like they happened yesterday. Then we become the embarrassing parents that struggle to let go.

I love every part of a first birthday. The innocence and curiosity behind the child's eyes as they are unsure of what to do with the excitement, presents, and of course the cake! It is always fun to watch a 1 year old eye a cake in front of them, with a puzzled look thinking of what it is and what it does. Some children may dig right in, Eddie needed a little motivation. I remember placing his hand in the icing and of course every child at that age will eventually place that hand in their mouth. After that the cake doesn't stand a chance.

When we create a first birthday cake for a proud parent. We create a personal cake for their child at no additional charge! Something the child will notice and appreciate. How does a 1 year old appreciate a cake? You make it into something that is familiar to them. We also make sure that there is a second smaller cake for the child to mash, poke, play, and eat! This eases the party guests to enjoy a piece of cake knowing that a hand hasn't mashed into it.

First Birthdays are great! The birthday boy or girl need help to accomplish all of the party activities from opening presents to eating the wonderful food. Savor every moment of this time because not to long in the future, they will need help less and less.

Building Cars out of cake!

I have always been fascinated by cars, trucks, planes, trains, pretty much every mode of transportation. When we were challenged with creating a car cake for the first time I struggled to get it to look presentable. It was average and very much cakelike (at first sight it was obviously cake).

I started to look at why my result was the way it was and began to make corrections to my process. The next cake came out a little better.

 

I have come up with a system that put me in the right direction to creating car cakes that look like models of the car i was trying to replicate.

 

It starts with research! I get as many reference photos as I can get my hands on, I find manufacturer blueprints, and I even purchase a replica model of the car I am trying to create.

 This proved to work. We have taken this process to every sculpted cake we create and we have seen our work become more and more like the item we are trying to recreate.

What you get at your cake tasting...

So you've scheduled a cake tasting with Monkey & Me Sweets! What should you expect? We have always felt its better to know what to expect than to guess. We have tried cupcakes, and plain cakes with the icings and fondant on the side. However we felt they were not true to what you would expect on your event day. The reason is cake reacts differently when standing by itself, not iced or covered in fondant. Cake tastes differently as a cupcake versus a layered cake, and a layered cake tastes differently than a non layered cake.

Why is this important? When you meet for a tasting you are deciding what you expect the cake to taste like on your event day. So tasting a cupcake is not going to be the same texture and flavor as a iced layer cake. We have made every effort to resolve this.

When you meet with Monkey & Me Sweets you walk into our bakery presented with two six inch layered cakes. The flavors are your choice of course! One of the two cakes will include everything that could possible be on your event cake. For example if you are meeting with us for a 3-D cake it will have butter cream, fondant, modeling chocolate, and possibly more depending on your request. and the other will be a layered cake iced with butter cream.

You will also see an assortment of fillings, and flavored butter creams that compliment the flavor of cakes you chose to try. These are for fillings flavors and depending on design of your cake can be added.

We provide water to rinse your palette after trying each cake. Yes coffee does go better with cake but it will not give you a true idea of the flavors you are trying. This is not desert after a meal, this is choosing the correct flavor for your event.

We often add a design consult to a tasting, this will help us understand your vision and make your order personal and one of a kind to you. This means you should be prepared to help us understand your vision. Pictures, ideas, colors, etc. We will sketch out a rough drawing of your cake for immediate feedback and to make sure we are on the same page. We also will make every effort to stay within your budget, but be reasonable you cannot expect a $2000 cake for $500.

When your appointment comes to an end you will have the option to book us with a 50% deposit, or if we need to create a more elaborate drawing you can save your date on our schedule for a fee which is applied 100% to your order. This is important as many events are planned a year or more in advance. You should always book your cake at least 6-8 months prior to your event! If you plan on booking with less than 6 months to the event, you may find many bakeries are booked and you will have to settle for whatever you can find.

We also box up whatever cake and fillings are left over so you may get the opinion of others who could not join in your tasting.

This week is a very special one as it will change the lives of many couples. Valentines day falls on this Thursday and is the holiday as everyone knows, of love. Some will show that their feelings run deeper than friends, others will strengthen their bond as a couple. Many will make a stronger commitment and propose marriage. The married couples will strengthen their promise to one another. It is a day that should be celebrated frequently, even daily. I love the whole idea of Valentines day. You can express your feelings to a friend or relative, and of course that special someone in your life. It is something that can be expected or a surprise. It is love as a "noun" and a "verb" all in one. It is beautiful!

Let your feelings shine this Thursday and everyday after.

We have done a few cakes not necessarily for valentines day or even couples who were engaged or married on the 14th of February. They are however are heart themed.

The first is one many may not be familiar with. It was one of the first cakes we ever created. It was a valentines cake filled with our own candies. Yes this was for valentines day!

This was a wedding cake with a heart design, entirely edible as you would expect from Monkey & Me Sweets!

This Wedding cake had subtle heart accents on it.

This cake was for a wedding in a garden in which we had the tree growing through the cake come to a heart at the top. This story is for a future blog.

We often get asked which cake we created is our absolute favorite. I honestly cannot say we can pick any one cake that we like above the rest. We do research for every cake and get so involved that we treat each one as its very own masterpiece. We love being challenged and enjoy making ideas into reality.

This cake was for a 9 year old birthday party. It was for a little girl and we were given a list of things to be incorporated into the cake. The list was activities this little girl enjoyed like reading, painting, dancing, listening to music, etc. We also needed to include tie dye, and panda bears.

We wanted to make this cake fun! So we decided to do a floating tiered caked with tie dye spots. We also decided to create 9 panda bears each doing one of the activities this little girl enjoyed. We placed the bears here and there on the cake, from the ballerina dancing on the edge to the painter bear making a mess of the top of the cake. We had a bear focused on drawing, and another chilling out listening to music. A silly bear making a goofy face, and a panda reading intently.

The nice thing about a cake like this is that mom can save the figures and treat them as keepsakes, or let the kids eat them.

We find the cakes that stand out for us are the ones that are challenging and have meaning. This cake was both, with a simple solution.

Cupcakes for all occasions...

We have always supported our friends in the armed forces. We have have family that is retired, and currently serving. We know the worries and sacrifices military families accept as a part of their day to day lives. We also know the pride those families take when talking about their soldiers, as they should. When we get a client looking to get a cake for their enlisted loved one we are thrilled to except the challenge!

In this order we were creating a cake for a Marine that had just finished boot camp, and was stopping home for a few days before getting deployed. The idea behind the cake was the Marine Seal. We tossed around a few ideas and decided to create a 3-d seal resting on the American Flag. Like all of our cakes we wanted to make it entirely edible. We constructed the eagle and anchor entirely out of chocolate. The world, and Flag were cake. We carved and modeled the cake into shape and covered it with fondant. And what is a marine cake without the always faithful, always loyal Semper Fidelis.

 I feel that we all owe our armed forces for our freedoms we enjoy every day! While we sit safely at home watching television, or reading a good book somebody has a family member putting themselves in harms way so we can enjoy our freedoms. This should never be taken lightly. Whenever I see a soldier in uniform regardless of which branch, I make it a point to shake their hand and thank them for their service! It is the least I can do. When was the last time you walked up to a uniformed soldier and thanked them for their service?

Monkey & Me Sweets Custom Cakes and Candies Launches Online Store for Hand Made Edible Treats.

Consumers can now select from a variety of new home made treats at www.monkeyandmesweets.com

Lancaster, PA February 4, 2013. Today Monkey & Me Sweets announced the launch of its e-commerce site at www.monkeyandmesweets.com. On this website, consumers can browse and purchase from a range of home made Fudge, Cookies, Candies, Chocolate covered pretzels, and Monkey Bites (cake bites).

"As Monkey & Me Sweets continues to grow its brand and customer base, we believe it is important to offer our home made shippable products to the public at large. We have prided ourselves on the high standards and quality of our custom cakes and want to offer customers who live outside our delivery radius a product of the same standard." Scott Smith Owner/Cake Decorator

When a customer accesses the site, available confections are easily found by the category of the treat. To ensure the freshness of the order, all products will be made when the order is placed and then shipped on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. This ensures the confection will arrive at its freshest.

The www.monkeyandmesweets.com site also offers a wide selection of do-it-yourself products used by Monkey & Me Sweets in creating their  home made goodies. Items ranging from chocolate and flavorings to cake fillings and paper products are easily available in one place.






About Monkey & Me Sweets
Monkey & Me Sweets custom cakes and candies is a Central Pennsylvania bakery known for its out of the ordinary cake creations. By putting its clients at the center of everything it makes, Monkey & Me Sweets creates innovative cakes and confections that is personal and special to each person. For more information about Monkey & Me Sweets, please visit www.monkeyandmesweets.com

Valentine's day is just around the corner. We try to come up with a way to create a magical moment for someone special. It may be sweets, cards, jewelry, or a thought out gift. Hollywood has given us the illusion of love being a feeling, and in many cases it is for at least a short time. Love can also be an action, I have found that love, the feeling lasts when practicing love, the action. What I mean is if you rely strictly on love as a feeling it fades away. If you are persistent with actions that show love, then love as a feeling never diminishes.

This brings me to Jaki and Rodney.

We had received an email inquiring about a grooms cake. The bride to be was looking for us to create a cake for her fiance, to represent someone he held dear in his heart. Unfortunately this person was unable to be at their wedding. She went on to tell us the cake is a representation of his late father. His father was passionate about cars, particularly 57 Cheverolet's. She also said how her fiance lost his father at a young age, and how it would be nice for him to be remembered on such an important day in their lives.

I had completely related to this young man as I  had lost my mother when I was only three years old. I understand how hard it can be for a kid in that situation and how I felt on my own wedding day. I wanted to make sure we helped this project become a reality!

Jaki was on top of things! She managed to get us all the information we needed to create the cake she wanted. The design was a cake replica of his fathers car. She explained his father had two, a black and a red 57 Chevy. She also didn't have a preference as to which we wanted to recreate. So we decided with her approval on red (black is a tough color to get to and often will stain your lips and teeth, so for a wedding we usually suggest against it).  We took it from there.

 We delivered the cake to the Eden Resorts in Lancaster, PA. We waited patiently outside the reception room for the exact moment we were to unveil this surprise to her husband and the rest of the guests. The time came and Megan and myself holding either side of the cake carried it to the center of the reception and presented it to Rodney. The expression on his face was everything we had hoped for! He examined the cake from front to back and side to side and was speechless. We gracefully placed the cake on its designated table, congratulated the bride and groom and made our way out.

We received another email a few weeks later thanking us, but truly it was our honor to be part of such a magical moment! This is a fine example of how much effort Jaki had made to come up with a gift that meant so much more than an object. She showed interest, dedication, and knowledge of what was very important to the man she married. She showed love, and a memory that will be sure to never be forgotten! Congrats Jaki and Rodney!