Every child deserves to be treated like a prince or a princess sometime, especially on their birthday! Donya, our celebrant's mother, wanted to do just that for her little princess Ariana who turned one last weekend.  It's amazing how time flies. Last year, we also created their party table for Donya's baby shower in preparation for Ariana's arrival, and now she is one!

 The focal point of the table was the celebrant's monogram set within a princess mirror-frame, and surrounded by pastel tulle fabric swags. Our "Royal Princess" table was decorated with regal accessories and graphics of tiaras, carriages, castles, cake stands with hanging crystal ornaments, glass jars and servers embellished with rhinestones and ribbon. Mint, peach and gold were the colors of the day. To frame the table, we attached a peach tulle skirt on the table bottom, and a mint-colored fabric backdrop. The desserts were a selection of Persian sweets ordered by our clients.

Thanks to Donya for providing some of the photos! Check them out:
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The lovely 2-layer cake had ruffles in the bottom, a jeweled-ribbon on the second layer, and a tiara on top.  

​Princess Mirror Frame with Ariana's Monogram, Tulle Fabric Swags, and the Welcome Sign 

Princess Carriages Adorned with Ruffled Ribbons, Flowers, and Beads Were Positioned On Both Sides of the Cake

The Word "ONE" in Gold Glitter with a Small Tulle Tiara Affixed in the Center

Princess-themed Graphic Labels in Mint, Peach and Gold 

Flags with the same graphics and colors

Food labels in Peach, White and Gold

Cake Stands with Hanging Crystal Ornaments and Glass Jars Wrapped in Tulle Ribbon, and Rhinestones

Hosting a princess or prince party? Contact Angel at angel-events@comcast.net

Are you planning an Oscar's viewing party this coming Sunday, February 28th for the 88th Annual Academy Awards? You and  your guests will surely need some sweet treats to enjoy as you watch the Red Carpet event. We have rounded up some great Oscar-worthy recipes that you may want to serve. Free printable Oscar party invitations also included below:

 Ingredients:
-1 dozen unfrosted cupcakes
-Vanilla frosting
-Gold and clear sprinkles
-3-4 pre-made pie crusts
-Egg whites from 2-3 large eggs
-1 can of edible gold color mist

Instructions:
Roll out the pre-made pie crust and cut out the statuette shapes using the free downloadable stencil found below. Using a pastry brush, brush each shape with egg whites and sprinkle with clear sprinkles. Bake for 12 minutes at 350 degrees F. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Using edible gold color mist, spray the pieces and set them aside to dry. Ice the top of the cupcakes with your favorite frosting and immediately dip the tops into gold sprinkles. Then, insert the bottom of the Oscar statuette into the top of each cupcake. 

Click on the file below to download the Oscar statuette stencil:

Serves 12 Mini(s)

​Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cup finely ground graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons white sugar

Mixture:
8 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons Godiva White Chocolate Liqueur
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped

Chocolate Tuxedo Glaze:
12.25 ounces good quality dark chocolate (65% cocoa solids)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Instructions:

Crust:
1. In a blender or food processer pulse wafers until finely and evenly ground. Pour melted butter to the crumble and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Alternatively, use a potato masher and your hands to crumble and knead in butter and sugar.
2. Press crumble into bottoms. Place in refrigerator until ready for use.
Mixture:
1. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, 1/3 cup of sugar and liqueur.
2. Whip cream and fold into cream cheese mixture.
3. Spread into pan.
4. Transfer to refrigerator while chocolate is being prepped.
Chocolate Tuxedo Glaze:
1. Combine chopped chocolate and vegetable oil in a bowl set over pan containing 1.5 inches of simmering water. Do not place directly on water.
2. Once melted set aside to cool for two minutes.
3. Transfer to a ramekin or small glass for easy handling.
Bow and buttons:
1. Place melted chocolate in a pastry bag and use tip #1 to pipe buttons and bow. Alternatively, use a regular plastic bag and cut a very small hole.
Assembling the Tuxedo:
1. Place your mini cheese cakes on top of a cooling rack that is resting over a bowl. This will help you catch the excess chocolate that drips off for re-use.
2. Using a dough scraper as a guide place it down the middle, without touching the top of the cheesecake, now rotate it to the rigt so it is at a 45 degree angle. At this point you can lightly rest the dough scraper on the top. Pour chocolate over the cheesecake. Return dough scraper to the middle and rotate it to the left and do the same thing.
3. Gently pipe on buttons with your tip.
4. If you have a steady hand, then continue doing the bow. If not pour your melted chocolate on to a flat surface (I use the backside of jelly sheet) spread with a spatula to a 1/8 of an inch thickness. Let it rest for five minutes or until it sets to pliable consistency, but not so hard that it cracks as you work with it.
5. Once set, using a sharp knife cut out small triangles. (Going tip down to cut rather than straight down will keep the chocolate from cracking). Gently place your triangles on with either a pin or skewer. Pipe a small circle in the middle of the two triangles to finish.

• Omit the white chocolate liqueur for a non-alcoholic version.
• If you don’t like cheesecake, use a cake recipe instead (although your prep time will increase considerably).

Brownies
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 oz semi-sweet chocolate
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Frosting
1/2 cup butter
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-2 tablespoons milk

Decorating
Miniature marshmallows (10.5 oz. bag will be enough)
Popsicle sticks
Red sanding sugar or red sugar crystals
Popcorn bag cookie cutter*
Decorating bag and #10 tip, optional
6 inch cake boards
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• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Line a 12 X 18 inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. You can rub the pan with the end of a stick of butter and then the paper will attach and stay in place.
• In a small bowl, mix flour and baking powder together with a wire whisk and set aside.
• Melt butter and chocolate together in a saucepan on medium heat. Stir frequently making sure the chocolate does not stick to the bottom.
• When melted, remove from heat and add sugar. Stir well until thoroughly combined.
• In another small bowl add eggs and whisk gently. Then add vanilla to the eggs and pour into the chocolate mixture.
• Fold eggs gently at first to incorporate and then continue stirring until the eggs completely disappear.
• Add the flour and baking soda. Again, stirring together slowly at first and then more quickly to make sure everything is blended.
• Spread the batter evenly in the pan. The batter will be thick.
• Bake for about 12 minutes. Remove and cool completely.
• Once cool, use a five-inch popcorn bag-shaped cookie cutter to make 10 popcorn bags. Alternate the direction of the cutter and you can get 2 rows of five bags.
• Remove the brownie bag shapes from the pan by using the cutter to carefully squeeze and lift. (You can also use a spatula.)
• Transfer the brownie to a small cake board to serve individually. Release the brownie onto the board by spreading open the sides of the cutter.
• Once on the cake board, you can stack all the brownies and cover in plastic wrap until ready to decorate. You can also trim the cake boards to the same shape as the bag with scissors.
• Make your frosting.
• Cream the butter and vanilla in a mixer. Add the sugar slowly and mix until thoroughly combined. Add milk if necessary to make the frosting consistency more creamy.
• Fill a decorating bag, fitted with a #10 tip. You can also use a plastic resealable bag with corner snipped off. Pipe the outline of the popcorn bag shape and then the inside. You can then spread the frosting on evenly with a knife or even use one of the popsicle sticks. Place two clean popsicle sticks gently on the surface of the frosting. They should be placed at the bottom of the bag with frosting visible on either side of each stick.
• Sprinkle red sanding sugar over the bottom part of the brownie until you can’t see the frosting underneath. Carefully remove the sticks to reveal a red and white striped bag. Place miniature marshmallows in varying directions on the top of the brownie for popcorn. Gently press them into the frosting to secure.
• Repeat with remaining brownies and enjoy!

* Popcorn bag cookie cutter found at Copper Gifts. You can also cut brownies into rectangles and decorate the same way. The bottom 2/3 of the brownie will be the bag and the remaining top third for the popcorn.

Aren't these cookies adorable? You can get them from here

Aren't these Oscar invitations adorable? Just download the file below, then print, trim, and distribute to your guests!

More details can be found here ​

Hello Bay Area! 

Are you feeling the thrill and excitement of Super Bowl 50 yet? Last Saturday, the week-long celebration kicked-off with the opening of the Super Bowl City at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco last Saturday, Jan. 30. 

To join the festivities, we created a party table designed to pay tribute to our very own National Football League teams based here in the Bay Area- the San Francisco 49ers and the Oakland Raiders. 

The centerpiece of the party table is the Super Bowl 50 logo. Since we are highlighting our hometown teams, the table is decorated with labels and buntings in San Francisco 49ers' and Oakland Raiders' team logos and team colors. As for accessories, we placed pieces associated with foot ball like goal posts, footballs, and helmets around the table. The table cover is a football field with its graphic markings.
 
For food, it is best to serve easy-to-pick-up items like hamburger sliders, pulled pork sandwiches, chicken wings, hot dog on sticks. For a more filling alternative, serve a BBQ sundae in mason jars filled with layers of beans, chicken, and corn. For snacks, chips & dip and popcorn are always sure wins.

For dessert, we have brownies shaped like footballs with white chocolate for its markings, football doughnuts from Krispy Kreme, and lime butter cream-frosted cupcakes to represent grass with foot ball helmets as toppers. We especially love the cute pom pom cake pops dipped in white chocolate with red and white coconut flakes. To make the coconut flakes red, we simply added a few drops of red food coloring on the coconut flakes.  

Enjoy Super Bowl 50!