Today’s cake is so ridiculously adorable, prepare to be smitten!  It includes all of the little details you expect in a cake… like nuts and bolts and gears and metallics!  It’s a charming cross between the oh-so-popular steampunk trend and good old robot fun.  Created for a man who enjoys building robots out of scrap metal, this birthday cake features all aspects of his hobby.  From ‘metal sheets’ of fondant and hand-shaped gears to the incredible robot topper.  Just wait until you see this little guy!  He’s holding a mini-mini cupcake and he’s going to steal your heart!  Join me in oohing and awing over another spectacular creation by Yeni Monroy and her team at Dream Day Cakes®!  It’s a fabulously modern Robot Birthday Cake.

Fred from Dream Day Cakes shared a few thoughts with us about this design:

For her husband’s (Alberto) birthday, one of our favorite clients wanted to create a special cake.  Alberto loves building robots out of scrap junk, and she thought a cake highlighting his hobby would hit the spot.

Yeni created a two tiered topsy-turvy cake with a gear/pipe style.  One of my favorite parts of this cake is the fondant “wood” base.  It’s one of my favorite things she does and I thought it contrasted with the metals perfectly.  Of course, I’m very biased. =)

The gears were all hand-shaped, as well as the robot, name, etc.  The cake itself had different patterns and shades, simulating a metallic siding or paneling.

Of course, the robot needed that small splash of color in his birthday cupcake. =)

For real, look at this charming robot topper!  He’s offering you a cupcake and his smile is completely infectious!  I absolutely LOVE him!

From top to bottom, this cake is phenomenal!  With every photo, I see something new and fabulous to love.  Seriously, go back and look at the photos again!  Yeni’s cakes are so meticulous and her attention to detail is amazing.  Not to mention incredibly creative.  The more you look, the more you’ll love this cake!

A huge thanks to Yeni and Fred at Dream Day Cakes® for sharing this charming Robot Birthday Cake with us today!   Happy Friday everyone!!

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Cake:  Dream Day Cakes®

Our cupcake contributor, Lauren of Crave. Indulge. Satisfy., is here with a decadent new recipe….

Calling all chocolate chip cookie lovers!  Or should I say cookie dough lovers?  I’d like to introduce you to the ultimate cupcake to satisfy both a chocolate and cookie craving all in one bite!  These Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes have just become the new favorite cupcake at our house and I hope you will enjoy them just as much!  It’s chocolate cake, filled with cookie dough, covered in cookie dough frosting, topped with chocolate chips and a mini cookie dough cookie on top!  Do you think there is enough cookie dough involved?  Oh my goodness these are so yummy, I ate three in one day!

These cupcakes start out with a simple and super moist chocolate cake recipe.  The recipe is so easy you don’t even need to use a mixer, just whisk all the ingredients together by hand.  Next comes the fun part…we are going to fill the center of the cupcakes with cookie dough.  It’s going to be a little surprise inside once you take a bite!  The best part, is that the cookie dough doesn’t contain any raw eggs, so feel free to snack on it all you want as you fill the cupcakes.  To hollow out the center of the cupcakes you can use a cupcake corer or apple corer, either one will do the trick.  Then grab a melon baller and scoop some cookie dough into the center of each cupcake.  If you don’t have a melon baller, just grab some dough and roll it into a ball with your hands.

To make the cookie dough frosting I thought the logical place to start was with the basic ingredients used to make chocolate chip cookies.  So looking at the back of the bag of Nestle Toll House morsels I started combining the butter, sugars, flour and vanilla in a bowl, omitting the eggs, salt and baking soda.  I then added in some confectioner’s sugar and milk to create a fluffy frosting.  This icing flavor is truly an exact replica of cookie dough.  My fingers kept sneaking back in the mixing bowl to sample, it was just that good!

So if your pantry isn’t already stocked full of chocolate chips like mine is, then hurry out and grab a bag because you are going to want to make these immediately!  This is such a fun recipe that your kids would absolutely have a blast helping you with!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes
recipe by Lauren Kapeluck
(makes 28 cupcakes)

For the Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
2. In large bowl combine all dry ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.  Whisk until well combined.
3. Add oil and sour cream and mix together with whisk.
4. Gradually add water and continue to whisk.
5. Add vanilla and eggs and whisk until combined.
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter.
7. Bake for 16 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Let cupcakes cool in pans for 5 minutes, then remove to wire racks to finish cooling.
9. Once cupcakes are completely cool, hollow out the center of your cupcakes using a Cupcake Corer or Apple Corer.
10. Fill centers will Cookie Dough and frost with Cookie Dough Icing.  Garnish with chocolate chips and a mini Cookie Dough cookie.

For the Cookie Dough filling:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1. In bowl of stand mixer beat butter, sugar and vanilla until creamy.
2. Gradually add in flour and sweetened condensed milk and mix until well combined.
3. Stir in chocolate chips.
4. If dough seems too sticky, put in refrigerator to set up for about 30 minutes before filling cupcakes.
5. Fill center of cupcakes with Cookie Dough.  I used a melon baller to get a consistent size ball for each cupcake.
6. Roll out the left over cookie dough using a rolling pin and cut out mini cookies using a small circle cutter.  Chill the dough cookies until they are firm and then use to decorate the tops of the cupcakes.

For the Icing:

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup milk

1. In bowl of stand mixer cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar together for 1-2 minutes until creamy.
2. Gradually add in flour and confectioner’s sugar mixing well and scraping down sides of bowl.
3. Add milk as needed to reach desired consistency.
4. Mix in vanilla.
5. Continue to mix icing for 3-4 minutes.
6. Place icing in piping bag fitted with large round tip and swirl on top of cupcakes.
7. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips on top if desired.

I hope you all enjoy these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes!  I highly recommend adding a scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream on top of these cupcakes!  You know, just in case there isn’t enough cookie dough already!

	Lauren Kapeluck Lauren is a monthly contributor for The Cake Blog. She is a self-taught baker and lover of all things sugar. Read more about Lauren on her bio page.

We talk about inspiration from day to day, because well…. this blog is meant to inspire you!  One of my favorite things is actually seeing the inspiration behind a beautiful cake design.  And I know you love it too!  So what happens when a talented cake designer is inspired by a photo?  A lovely photo capturing just a peek of a bride’s shoes and the delicate lace detailing around the bottom of her dress?  Well, you get today’s featured cake!  Yes, that’s right…. It’s time for another fabulous Dress to Cake post!  With hand cut lace, raw-silk-like texturing and a vibrant sugar peony, today’s cake is an absolute stunner!  Join me as we go from dress to cake with this Vintage Lace design, created by Shevi of Little Wish Cakes in Western Australia.

I just had to start with the side by side images of the inspiration photo and the cake detailing.   Incredibly gorgeous, right?  Now, it’s time for you to see the whole cake!

Shevi from Little Wish Cakes shares the inspiration for her design:

“I look for inspiration everywhere.  Shoes, material, coasters, place mats etc.   I see cake designs in everything possible.   While browsing through some really glamorous wedding dress pictures on the internet, I came across this one picture of the bottom part of the brides dress and I was so excited when I saw the lace trim on it.  Which I immediately thought would be amazing on a cake.  But easier said than done.   I had the idea now to make it work in cake.  I based the whole cake and colour scheme on that one picture. ”

More from Shevi about her design:

“The pink peony flower was to match the detail on the shoes and the charcoal ribbon to match the stone the bride is standing on.  The whole cake to match the dress.   I also brushed the cake with rough brush strokes of shimmer to give a raw silk effect.

As you will notice, the lace on the dress has a see through effect, which I wanted to replicate on the cake.   Every single bit of lace was individually cut.  The little circles were individually attached to the “C” scroll and NOT to the cake (which was very tedious and fragile to work with) but this achieved the pretty lace effect I was after.”

I love how Shevi recreates the lace in such a subtle and elegant way.  Her cake is tailored and polished but with the same vintage feel as the dress.   The end result is simply spectacular!

A huge thank you to Shevi of Little Wish Cakes for sharing her Vintage Lace Cake with us today!  You have us inspired!

VENDORS & CREDITS:
Cake: Little Wish Cakes
Photography (dress and shoes): Kristen Weaver
Custom “C” Scroll: Bisk-Art