Tartlets Pastry and Cake Design

Baby Bubble

2011-06-08T19:50:00.000-07:00

As you know Tartlets is closed while I am on maternity leave so I am not writing to show you any new cakes but I thought I would share with you my best creation ever, Samuel! He's 4 months old and the apple of my eye. We will start taking orders for 2012 in December, just a little reminder. Until Next Time, Nina

Big News!

2010-12-13T09:53:00.001-08:00

This year has truly been great, very busy and filled with tons of fun and beautiful cakes! I have met so many wonderful couples I feel blessed having had the chance to be small part of their big day. This year has not only been big for business it has also been an eventful year for me personally as my husband and I are expecting our first child! Needless to say we are overjoyed and can't wait for the arrival of our little one. Since this new little baby will take up a lot of mommy's time I have decided not to take any orders for the 2011 season. As a business owner I am really lucky to be able to get a year off and I will cherish every moment of it although I feel sentimental as I wrap up this year with my last 2 weddings this week before I officially go on maternity leave. Tartlets will be back in full swing for the 2012 season and people can book their 2012 weddings as early November/December 2011.

Here are some of my top pics for 2011, enjoy and see you in 2012!

Happy Holidays,

Nina

New Cake Decorating Class Dates!

2010-09-10T16:06:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Well it has been a busy summer here at Tartlets with what seemed like a never ending wedding season. With a little room to breathe, we were able to post some new dates for our cake decorating classes. Click on this link, http://www.tartlets.ca/classes.php

May Parties!

2010-05-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

A hard working mother celebrated her birthday with family and friends. Her family says she's a superwoman juggling it all. She's a mother, wife, friend and career woman. Her husband had us make his wife as a superhero. Very cute!

This pink and white little cutie was made for a wedding shower. The maid of honour had planned a 'high tea' for her friend so this girly, pink floral cake with a tea cup on top really suited the theme of the party.

Until Next Time,

Nina

3 Birthdays, 3 cakes, 1 Party!

2010-04-27T14:23:00.000-07:00

I got a phone call from Tamara, who wanted to do something special for her husband and 2 sons. The 3 men in this family all share the same birthday-week. Since they pretty much always have joint birthday parties Tamara wanted to at least give them one birthday cake each. So, her husband can't go anywhere without his blackberry and his love for Italian shoes and fancy watches is somewhat extreme. I decided to make an emergency kit and fill it with his favourite things.
One son is a dentist and a huge hockey fan, so for his cake I made his favourite player in need of his services.
The other son is a biologist that studies mushrooms. Well, not much more to say about that cake as it is self explanatory.
The idea was that when the birthday boys walked into their party they immediately would know which cake was theirs.
I love this idea and think they were all funny but I do like the mushroom cake especially. I don't know what it is, but it's just so cute.

Until Next Time,

Nina

We're featured on Wedding Magazine!

2010-04-26T13:19:00.000-07:00

Check it out!

http://ellabellaphotographic.com/blog/2010/04/26/tartlets-yes-cake-dreams-really-do-come-true/

/Nina

They are not too big, are they?!

2010-04-19T16:18:00.000-07:00

If you have not seen the pictures of Heidi Montag after her insanely sad plastic surgery....don't. Just look at the cake we did last week and you'll get the idea of what she looks like. We make cakes in all shapes, forms and sizes so when we are asked to make a boob cake, we do. This cake in particular was a joke to my client's friend as she tends to have wardrobe malfunctions when they go swimming. We covered the "x-rated" area for the under 18's out there. It was all in good fun and my client was very happy with it. I also want to put it out there that Tartlets support a healthy body image for young girls and recognize the body proportions in the cake we made as abnormal and unhealthy.

It feels weird to put any of the other cakes we did last week next to this one as it is all cute cakes for little kids...so I wont. I'll tell you guys about them another time.

Until Then,

Nina

The season has started!

2010-04-11T19:50:00.001-07:00

I can not believe how fast time is going, Easter is over and we are now into the wedding and party season already! Khaditja and Amin got married on April 3rd and celebrated with a grand reception. We created this gold and ivory wedding cake for their special day. This cake is my favourite wedding cake so far this year.

Harvey recently retired from Hyland Extracting , the company celebrated his years of service with a bash. We wish Harvey a lovely retirement fishing.

Congratulations to all our brides, grooms, birthday girls and boys!

Until next time,

Nina

Olympic hangover

2010-03-10T13:01:00.000-08:00

The olympics were so amazing! The street of the city turned into this huge street party and it was so much fun to be apart of. I am sad it is over but excited for the fun new baking we have to do this spring.

We have added a new flavour to the menu and it is the traditional American Red Velvet Cake. We may have beaten the Americans in hockey but this cake may be hard to beat... The cake is so yummy and currently my favourite one! THey also come as cupcakes for those cupcake lovers out there.

Two brothers shared their birthday party but got one cake each to make them feel extra special. Parham, a cool 12 year old who loves snowboarding got a theme to match his hobby and his little brother, a musical little 1 year old got a cake with himslef surrounded by his favourite musical toys. Tartlets wish these cool little dudes a huge Happy Birthday!

Until Next Time,

Nina

Nightmare before SuperBowl : )

2010-02-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you guys have seen Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas but if you have not seen it..See it! It's a masterpiece. No one can create more interesting looking characters than him. When the movie first came out I went to see it with my Grandpa in the theatres, I'll never forget it, it was such a magical movie.
Taylor, turned 16 this weekend and loves the movie just like me. Her mom, Janice, wanted me to make a special cake for Taylor and the image you see was the result of it. Taylor was super happy and I was so happy to have been a small part of her big day.

It was Superbowl weekend and what better cakes to order than a bucket of chicken and a can of beer?! Funny enough, non of these 2 cakes were for a super bowl party, they were not even going to the same client, even though they seem like made for each other. 2 Lucky guys got surprised by these cakes at their birthday parties. I wonder how surprised one of them got when he realized his beloved fried chicken tasted like chocolate!

Also want to say Congrats to The New Orleans Saint's for winning the Super Bowl tonight!

Until Next time,

Nina

Winter Parties!

2010-02-01T20:48:00.000-08:00

It may be cold outside but that does not stop people from celebrating. The image of the couple floating in the air filled of happiness and love is such a cute way to portray people's love for each other. This image was perfectly suited for my clients who brought in a print for us to replicate into a cake for their wedding day. I think this was am amazing wedding cake, cute and sweet.

Quinn turned 30 and wanted to have a pretty winter cake to add some 'pazass' to her party. Judging by the 'thank you' card we got in the mail it was a hit with the birthday girl and her guests!

Next week we lots of fun stuff going on and we'll tell you all about it soon.

Until Then,

Nina

Who's Who

2010-01-30T12:24:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,
This year is kicking off with a bang. Brides and Grooms are pouring into the bakery for their consultations and coming with great ideas. So far, 2010 Wedding cakes look to be the most interesting yet.
Bridal Style Magazine has hit the shelves featuring Nina in their Who's Who of the wedding industry. Be sure to pick one up to see the latest trends in Wedding styling and get some great ideas.
Stay tuned as next week has a few really fun creative cakes on the books...

Wedding Fair 2010

2010-01-16T12:17:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came by our booth at last weekend's Wedding Fair held at the Westin Bayshore. We were taken by surprise this year as we were the only cake makers at this year's fair. Last year there were five others! This meant we were extra busy answering everyone's questions as booking consultations. Thanks to everyone who came out and we will see you at your consultation soon!

Tartlets

Don't miss out Brides and Grooms

2010-01-07T22:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Brides and Grooms to be of 2010! Don't miss out on our once a year Wedding Cake discount. Book your 2010 consultation by January 10th and recieve 10% of your 2010 Wedding Cake. Also, join us at the Wedding Fair this weekend at the Westin Bayshore to see cakes like this and much more (http://www.weddingfair.ca/).

Olympic Village is done!

2009-12-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Well...it has been a long process but the end result is pure satisfaction. Finally finished the Olympic Village Cake, we can now turn to the holidays in anticipation of relaxation. As you can see, this is easily the biggest cake we have made. A cake board measuring 6x4 feet and weighing in at close to 350 pounds, this mass of icing and cake was also our biggest challenge. The builders of the village, Metrocan construction, commissioned this cake for their holiday Party as a surprise to their employees for a job well done. At delivery, the Metrocan guys and gals confirmed that the real deal was equally as challenging and rewarding. The whole team at Tartlets contributed to this project with Sean, Dalana and Nina contributing close to 100 man hours on the cake!

Check out the website for more pics!

Happy Holidays and we look forward to sharing more adventures soon!

Tartlets

2009-11-28T18:50:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Things are busy at our little bakery this week where we are working on a scaled replica of the Vancouver Olympic Village. It is very comsuming so we wanted to make sure you all are aware of our 3rd annual Holiday Baking nights before we dive back into the carving buildings.

The Details:

Have fun and get your holiday baking done. This is your ultimate cookie exchange where you go home with 6 dozen assorted holiday treats.

Thursday December 3rd, 2009, 6 pm- 9 pm
Tuesday December 15th, 2009, 6 pm- 9 pm
Thursday December 17th, 2009, 6 pm- 9 pm

$69/person

Give us a call if you want to join us!

Tartlets

Happy Anniversary Vancouver Opera!

2009-11-11T23:38:00.000-08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you.....(drum roll)....The Opera Cake!!

Vancouver Opera celebrated their Golden Anniversary this past Friday and we were lucky enough to take part of the festivities as well as making them a cake. When I think of the Opera I cannot help but to think of voluptuous singers, glitz and glamour and of course grand fashion. Maybe I am just stuck in the past, way before my time, but I just love fashion from the Marie Antoinette era. I can watch costume movies all day and be in my happy place. Considering my strange love for unpractical and old fashion it was only natural for me to merge my two loves together, my other love being cake of course. I have also always wanted to make a cake that was all gold and it is a bit strange, come to think of it, that I have not done it before. Anyways, I can not tell you how much fun this cake was! The ladies (dolls) as they are referred to at the bakery took forever to make but it was so worth it!

Enjoy and I'll talk to you soon,

Nina

Nina's Fall Favorites

2009-11-04T20:32:00.000-08:00

We had so much fun making Mrs. Snowman, she stood almost 2 feet tall! It was a bit of a challenge to have 3 round cakes stacked on top of each other but that's what made it fun. We do many "regular" cakes so anything sculpted is always nice to challenge ourselves and grow as designers.

Dark colours such as chocolate brown are wonderful in designed cakes especially when a light colour is used to highlight a pattern or design. There's not much more to say about this cake other than it's one of my favourites.

The last cake is a very happy cake! When I designed it for my client I knew that we were taking a risk. These colours can clash together or look just amazing; it depends on the shade and intensity of the design. I assigned this cake to, Dalana and she gave me a funny look when she saw my drawing . Trusting the vision, she did an amazing job and it turned out perfect! I am lucky to have such a great girl working with me.

Until Next Time,

Nina

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T10:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been a while since my last post...So much has happened and I have so much to tell you about! From now on I will give you a mix of stories from this past summer as well as stories that just happened.

That brings me to this weeks Halloween cake. A scary Hello Kitty is like people not liking cake, just plain crazy! Instead we made her like a cute witch out of gumpaste and modeling chocolate. The cake had just the perfect scary level for this little 3 year old who loved the cake she so generously shared with her Auntie Amanda.

In September we started our full day cake decorating classes, it was so much fun and all the students made really beautiful cakes. I was truly impressed. The next class is coming up on November 8th, I'll show the students creations next week.

Until next time, Nina

OPA!

2009-07-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

We are in the middle of a very busy wedding season. It seems the big trend this year is the swiss dots with ribbon and flowers. Simple but very pretty. Here are 3 of today's weddings! I like them all, the white cakes are actually the same design but done in different colors. The orange, pink and white cake was based off of my mod designed cake I did earlier in the year in blue and brown. The color choice for this wedding was very bold and made the outdoor reception at The Hart House (one of my favourite venues in Vancouver) look incredible. I would have never thought of putting orange and bright pink together for my wedding colors but I have to say that it really worked well and everything looked sooo great!!

When I met the bride that ordered the white and green cake, Helen, I realized she was Greek from the moment she said her last name. Any one that knows me knows that i LOVE Greece and have been there numerous times. I love the food, the people, the hot weather, the history, well everything! So, I of course had to ask her about it... It turns out that her Uncle owns a hotel I stayed at some 10 years ago on Creete! How funny is that?! The world is sometimes so small. Anyways, I hope that Helen and her husband to be, actually they are now married and probably just starting their first dinner as husband and wife right now as I am typing, gets to go back to Greece soon and enjoy all it has to offer!

The white and pink cake is just so cute, nothing more to say about it other than that it's a cutie pie!

Congratulations to all the brides and grooms!!

Until Next time,

Nina

Breakfast Television Cake!

2009-06-30T14:44:00.001-07:00

Greg Harper, live eye host, from Breakfast Television and his crew met me very, very early this morning at the kitchen. We talked about wedding cakes and Greg made his very own Canada Day cake. The star of the live eye was the cake we had created for BT's hosts and crew. We made the hosts, tv screens, cameras and the table out of modeling chocolate. We really wanted this cake to be fun and very colorful to match the atmosphere of BT. We airbrushed the cake tiers and placed each tier off centre and only made the bottom tier straight and flat to make it appear informal and fun. This cake will also be featured this Thursday and Friday on BT if they have not eaten it yet of course : ). Tune in to watch on CityTv from 6am-10am, channel 13.

We have this mornings show recorded so we will try and upload it as soon as we get a chance for all of you who missed it.

Until Next time,

Nina

Summer Solstice!

2009-06-23T22:21:00.000-07:00

So the lightest day of the year just past this weekend and while people from all over the world celebrated Tartlets was busy banging out cakes.

Marilyn turned 60 and her son wanted to surprise her with a cake designed after her favourite hobby, golf. Marilyn and her son, Ryan, loved the cake and I was so happy to be a small part of their celebration.

We also made a cake to replicate the English Stonehenge. We airbrushed some gold onto it to make it look like the sun was setting. You cannot see it that well in this picture but I assure you it looked great. If you have not seen photos of the sun setting on the English Stonehenge at summer solstice, google it, it's so beautiful!

That's it for now!

See you next week,

Nina

I could not choose only 2 cakes to feature....

2009-06-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

...so this blog entry is a long one..

Gordon Smith is one of BC's finest artists and we had the honor of making a special cake for his 90th birthday. We took one of his paintings, printed it onto edible paper with edible ink then divided it into three sections. The bottom section is on the bottom tier of the cake, the middle section is on the middle tier and so on. The cake had a minimalistic design so that Gordon's artwork would be the focus point rather than an accent to something else. I hope you like it!

Shannon wanted a different and special cake for her mothers birthday. I have to say that I just love this cake, it's cute and a little crazy! I had a lot of freedom while designing this cake which made it even more fun.

Another client, Dawn, planned a birthday party for her man and to make the party a little sweeter she had me make a rugby ball with his favourite team's logo on it. The cake itself was lemon, raspberry and vanilla, a special request by Dawn.

Last but definitely not least...

This cake is just larger than life, no other words are needed to introduce this beauty.

Until Next week,

Nina

Let me know your opinion please.

2009-05-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

An outdoor wedding in the sunshine at The Hart House truly made me feel like summer is here. This couple had a citrus theme for their decor. I love when people get mini tarts and petite four style desserts for their weddings. It looks nice, tastes great and it's still cool and unique. Let's face it, cupcakes was cool and unique 5 years ago, there I said it out loud. Mini tarts and petite four's are in! Take a look at the photo and you let me know if you agree or not.

Maria and Scott, another couple who wed this weekend, had decorated their ballroom in a very romantic and grand way. There was candles, chandeliers, red roses and rose pedals everywhere. Truly a romantic princess wedding! I would have loved to see what that room looked like when all those candles were lit. Must have been beautiful.

We also made the desserts for The Kay Meek Centre where Juno award winning Chantal Kreviazuk's performed this Saturday. There was an appy and oyster reception before the show and a dessert and champagne reception after. I went last year when Jann Arden performed and it was great so I am sure it was equally as good of a party this time!

Eat some cake this week!

until next time,

Nina

Who needs cutlery when your finger is around?!

2009-05-25T12:12:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd upload some pictures of my niece, Anika. Since she likes dark chocolate best she developed this very sophisticated way to scoop up dark chocolate ganache from the top of the cake. This girl knows what she's doing!

Nina

Gambling on the weather?

2009-05-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

It's the end of the long weekend and I just got back from a wedding delivery to Swan-e-set Golf and Country Club. The rain started on my way out there while the temperature dropped rapidly to a chilling 13 degrees! I really hope the bride and groom got some nice pictures despite the horrific weather. Their wedding set up was elegant with whites and golds. Ghazal, the bride, had chosen a classy mat gold, no sparkly Christmas gold in sight! The cake design we came up with was very simple but elegant, I really liked this cake. There's no doubt in my mind that their wedding will be fabulous even though they did not win the weather lottery this weekend. However, I cannot help but to feel bad about it as I think everyone deserves the best day of their life to be 'picture perfect'.

The couple who did win the weather lottery this weekend got a whooping 24 degrees, sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. Robert and Jeffrey got married up on Grouse Mountain and held their reception at the Altitude's Bistro, Grouse Mountains fine dining restaurant. It was so nice to ride up the gondola in the sunshine, Vancouver is such a beautiful city once the grey clouds and rain disappear. Robert and Jeffrey chose a 3 tiered cassis and white chocolate cake, one of my favourite combos! The design was minimalistic and modern which worked perfectly with the over all decor of the reception.

Congratulations to all the grooms and the bride too of course :-)

Until Next Time,

Nina

First time I've ever eaten a dogbone!

2009-04-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ana, a little girl who's a foodie and a dog lover. As she walks into my shop and explains that she watches all the food network cake challenges and cake shows out there, I could not help but to think that she was the coolest kid ever! She looked at our cake gallery and told me she likes the cake with the butterflies but that it may be a little too girly for her, again, what a cool kid. She wanted to exchange the butterflies for dog bones and put a little dog on top of the cake instead of the heart the original cake had on top. She, looks at me and says; - It's girly but not too girly, just how I want it. I go; - Great, that's what we'll do but what about a happy birthday message on the cake, do you want that? She replies after a silent pause for her to really think this one through; -well, only if it works with the look, if not, I don't want it as it could ruin it, I'll let you decide.
I was floored by this little girl, if there's something I think can ruin a cake it's the happy birthday message as it a lot of the times wont work with the design. That a 6-8 year old already had that good of an eye for design was incredible to me. And all this time she made it clear she had a specific budget that her mom had given her and that she does not want to go over it. Her mom came in with her but let her do all the talking. This is one independent cool girl in the making! Needless to say we loved making her cake for her.

Meanwhile, Erin and Marty got married in Burnaby. To tie in their personalities and decor, the choose a blueberry cream cake decorated in a simplistic but elegant fashion.

Congratulations to Erin and Marty!

Until Next time,

Nina

Pretty, Girly, Pretty and more Girly!

2009-04-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

I grew up watching sleeping beauty, it was not my favourite Disney story but is was definitely high on the list. It was therefor a little special and so much fun to make sleeping beauty! I loved the bed frame Dalana made, it really was amazing. We were all so happy with how this cake turned out I am hoping we get to make another one like it soon.

This stunning beauty of a wedding cake was Dalana's first real wedding cake she made at Tartlets. She even delivered it too! I've said it before but I'll say it again; I am so lucky to have her.

See you soon,

Nina

Go Canucks Go Grandpa!

2009-03-03T18:54:00.000-08:00

As most other Vancouverites, Errol, is a huge Canuck fan! When Errol had his birthday this past weekend his favourite team played a vital role in the celebrations. We turned a yummy dark and white chocolate cake into a hockey jersey. As it turns out it was a hit with the boys.
We also celebrated Michael's 80th Birthday by incorporating his favourite things, golf and skiing, into a cake. The inside was a blueberry cream cake, it's one of my personal favorites!

Until next week,

Nina

Bug's and Art

2009-02-22T10:35:00.000-08:00

This week my good friend Sean Coggins had his art show opening in Gastown. It coincidentally fell on Charles Darwin's birthday which he decided to celebrate during the opening. Sean's art ; ' Black metal makes white noise" is a collection of Black Metal inspired paintings. It's sutler and very beautiful. Go have a look at Access Galley, Gastown. Charles Darwin as we all know collected beetles to study, so in his honour we replicated one particular bug that has been the subject of controversy regarding his theory of evolution. This particular beetle burnt Darwin's tongue by spraying him with an acrid fluid. Darwin needed to free his hand briefly and therefor kept the beetle between his teeth. It was appropriate and funny to serve this bug on Darwin's birthday. However, this bug was yummy and no one's tongue's got burnt.
Sean and Jesse came to the bakery so we could make this giant bug together. They were alot of fun to work with! The top photo is of the boys and the cake.
Jesse was a huge part of the show as he, also an artist, helped make the show the success it was.
Until Next week,

Nina

More Celebrations!

2009-02-11T22:46:00.000-08:00

Another weekend has past and more people tied the knot and began their 'happily ever afters'. Derek and Marcela hosted an intimate gathering of family and friends to celebrate their love at Bridges restaurant on Granville Island. Marcela picked a blueberry cream cake to serve her guests and Derek got his special gluten free raspberry chocolate cake. Both cakes are amazingly yummy, some of my personal favourites for sure! The cakes were fun with deep colorful designs.

Robert turned 1 a couple of weeks ago and I've meant to post his cake on the blog since then, now was the perfect opportunity. Roberts Mom wanted a cute/elegant/clean and a bit modern cake design for her little boy, I think this cake really was all of those things. A true beauty.

I welcome Derek and Marcela to married bliss and congratulate Robert on his first very memorable birthday.

See you next time,

Nina

Did Halloween come very early this year?

2009-02-02T22:22:00.000-08:00

No, not really but you could have thought so in our kitchen last week as we made our scariest cake yet, The Hulk. I remember the nights as a little girl when I was lucky enough to catch a few minutes of the hulk on TV. I was never allowed to watch an entire episode as I'd get too scared before bed but the few minutes I sneaked in was always awesome! Looking back at images for my research I realized that Louis Ferrigno really wasn't all that scary looking, by today's standards anyways. Kids today get desensitized at an early age by PlayStation war games and movies such as the latest hulk. Now, he was scary looking in every sense of the word! All this made me feel old..haha Either way, since the kids today have no idea who Louis Ferrigno is and also have a higher standard of scariness my hulk cake was based on the latest movie starring Edward Norton. The cake is just as scary if not scarier than the actual character!

We also made a cake with a characher as far from scary as you can come, Hello Kitty. She's a sweet little kitty and a staple character for kids all over the world. I think she's the cutest and I truly hope I get to do more cakes with her in the future. She is made out of ricekrispies and icing.

I'll end on a sweet note, Eat some cake this week and feel happy!

Until Next week,

Nina

Wedding Fair 2009

2009-01-22T18:17:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

When I got back from holidays early this January I had to forget about what jet lag is all about and focus on one thing, The Wedding Fair!
Thousands of brides come through the doors over one weekend in January, it's a really fun but hectic weekend! We had a very different booth design this year than last year. It turned out great, we went for a white clean almost art gallery look, focusing what was important, the cakes. The white design really made the cakes 'pop' and speak for themselves.
My favourite cake is this blue/brown 60-ies mod inspired cake. I made one similar to this before as I also wrote about in an earlier blog entry. I got so inspired by that cake that I wanted to make more cakes in this theme. I think this is the nicest cake I have ever done, I still keep it in the kitchen so I can look at it all day! Don't worry, the cake is fake and made for show purposes, it's not a rotten cake sitting on my counter in other words...

The other big cake we had featured this year is one my employee, Dalana, did. It is truly stunning and her piping skills are insane! She used a picture of a woman's hand covered in Indian henna, she let the image inspire her and this is the result. I'm lucky to have someone so talented on my staff!

The last image is an image from the wedding fair that shows our booth.

I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who visited us at the fair, Thank You!

Also, check us out at www.vancouverslop.com, there's a pretty long and amazing feature on us there!

Until next time,

Nina

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

2008-12-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

It's snowing like crazy out there and I'm loving it! We're busy making Christmas treats, cakes and of course decorated gingerbread cookies. We've managed to squeeze in a few cakes as well. Right now is also the time when we are gearing up for the big wedding show in early January, which means that we're making show cakes to put on display. Needless to say we're working non-stop in order to get everything done before our Christmas Holiday. We're not letting you get a sneak peek of the show cakes yet though, you'll have to wait a little longer...

One cake we did this week was a Japanese stuffed animal character, I'm unsure of his name. This time he got stuffed with chocolate banana cake, Yum! I must say he's a very cute little guy.

Until Next Time,

Nina

Gingerbread Factory!

2008-12-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

It's that time of the year again! Chestnuts are roasting, marshmallows are toasting and Tartlets has turned into a gingerbread cookie factory! Most of Delany's Coffee shops are now carrying our decorated little treats. They come in a snowflake, a tree and the classic gingerbread man design, hurry to Delany's to try them!

Mitra celebrated her 30th Birthday in style at the upscale Pan Pacific Hotel, Vancouver. To match her taste we made a simplistic but cute cake. Inside was a strawberry and vanilla mousse, yum!

Also, there's a fairly new Vancouver based food blog I've started reading, http://www.vancouverslop.com/ . It's a dream come true for serious foodies that want reviews of local restaurants without the fancy-pancy language and terminology; they say it like it is. Vancouverslop writes about 'Whole in the wall kind of places' as well as high class restaurants. Anyways, it's a refreshing way to read about restaurants in your neighbourhood. Check it out today!

Until next time,

Nina

60's Week at Tartlets

2008-11-30T19:55:00.000-08:00

Lately I have been watching a TV-show called 'MadMen', it takes place in an ad agency in the early 60's. MadMen has won awards for it's incredible set design so it's no wonder it's been inspiring me lately. A couple of weeks ago, when I was deeply into season 2, I received a phone call from Shannon. She was planning a birthday party for her 1 year old daughter. Shannon and her baby girl came into the shop for a consult a couple of days later. Funny enough she told me she wanted a 60's Mod theme for her daughters birthday cake. I can only wonder if Shannon secretly had been marathon watching MadMen as I had..

Either way, I was thrilled as I was already planning on making a 60's (madmen) inspired design for a show cake.

I came up with 3 designs and this is the one she picked. The top tier was a lemon cake and the bottom was chocolate raspberry/strawberry.

I have to say I love this cake, it's fun and different.

Until next time,

Nina

2008-11-25T20:52:00.001-08:00

This past week we welcomed Dalana to Tartlets. She's a talented and artistic aspiring chef, we're very happy to have her on our team.

Charlie and Caitlin turned 4 last week and we made a cake with their favourite things, Belle and Lightning McQueen. The cake itself was chocolate, strawberry and raspberry, classical combination!

Our fabulous Christmas Tarts are now available at Delany's Coffee Shops!

Since moving to Canada I discovered that Minced Meat Tart filling often was not made from scratch in bakeries. I know, a shocking discovery! As everything we do at Tartlets, these little treats are made in house from scratch with only 100% natural ingredients. They are truly delicious.

Go to Delany's to try for yourself!

Until Next time,

Nina

Who likes beer and chocolate?

2008-11-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

I use beer in cooking quite often and have been known to have a couple of pints of liquid gold from time to time. Do I love it? Not really, I'm more of a wine gal to be honest. I have however discovered a new way to appreciate beer in cake making. I had so much fun starting with a rectangular chocolate cake and slowly but surely carving it into its 'bottely' shape. I want to make more cakes like that! I was happy with the way it turned out and so was my client when he picked it up Friday afternoon. Yeay, happiness all around! The week did not end there though.

We've also been a busy gearing up for the Forget me knot wedding show that took place this past Sunday. It's a show based on the North Shore for North Shore businesses. It was fun and I was able to meet a lot of interesting people. We sampled mini cupcakes in 3 flavours; Chocolate Cinnamon (my personal favourite), Cream cheese-Passion fruit and White chocolate. Even though I know I make a really good product that I am proud of, I always get a little nervous when people eat my desserts right in front of me . I know it's silly but you can never know what people's pallets are like. Anyways, the cupcakes were a huge success!

I want to Thank everyone who visited us at the show. It was great to meet you all.

Check out or Holiday Classes on our website, they are loads of fun. Why don't you join us?

Until next time,

Nina

A Spiderliscious Birthday!

2008-10-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my niece, Anika, turned two. To celebrate her and her love for spiders I created a spider in chocolate cake. It's a pretty easy design actually, the legs are made out of pocky sticks and the body is a dome of chocolate cake I covered in chocolate fondant. I was a little worried it'd look creepy so I added a happy face to lower the creepiness factor. It turned out cute and was a big hit.
Another little girl, Addison, turned four last weekend. Her mom and dad held a party for her at fun4kidz in Richmond. When we delivered the cake we realized we had arrived in kid-heaven! If I were a little kid I'd gone nuts in there. There were castles to climb on, swings to swing in, slides. Oh my god, the slides were amazing. If you're a mom/dad and want to through your kid an amazing party, look up fun4kidz in Richmond.
Anyways, Addison loves princesses, especially Belle and Cinderella. To satisfy Princess Addison's sweet tooth I made a Castle cake with vanilla and raspberry inside. Judging from the look on her face the cake was a success.
It's always fun doing cakes for kids, especially when you get to see their reaction when they see the cake. They never expect it and it's always a special moment.

Nina

A Thanksgiving loaded with Cakes

2008-10-15T19:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend with lots of Turkey and Pumpkin Pie but some people added another treat as well, a custom cake! I was super excited when I got an order for a Super Mario cake! It was a nostalgic day of cake making, that's for sure.

I received a phone call from Ontario for a 90th Birthday Cake, they had seen a wedding cake I had made earlier in the summer and wanted the same design.

Forget me Knot Wedding Show is happening in North Vancouver on November 9th. We will be there displaying our work and handing out cake!

Brides get in for free and family and friends for only $5.

Visit http://www.forgetmeknot.ca/ for more information.

See you next time,

Nina

And more cake...

2008-08-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Another busy week has come and gone. This past week we made a traditional French wedding dessert, a "Croque en bouche" (a tower of profiteroles covered in caramel and spun sugar). A not so traditional cake was made for Valerie. She choose a whimsical cake in white, blue and silver to impress her guests. Valerie's wedding was beautifully set at Furry Creek Golf Club. I love delivering to Furry Creek as the drive is unbelievably scenic!
Also, a local North Vancouver couple tied the knot in their backyard in front of family and friends. Micheal, the groom, is a fellow chef and also happens to work just down the street from me! Micheal's bride choose a traditional Swedish dessert , The Princess Cake. To make it match their wedding decor we customized the design accordingly. Again, the green, pink and brown trend stands strong! I loved it and thought it was super cute. We also fit in the time to make cakes for our corporate clients and a cupcake wedding too ! So you can see it's been a busy week. Time for me to take a minute or two to relax before the last weekend of August rolls around.

Until then,
Nina

Hot summer days!

2008-08-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

The week that just passed must have been the hottest week of the summer, we truly felt it in the kitchen! We had fans going at all times. It was a bit of a challenge working in such heat but we drank a lot of ice tea and managed to get everything done beautifully.
Kim and Brian had a very cool but elegant peacock theme and allowed me to run free with the design. I had a lot of fun making their cake and was happy really with the end result.
They also treated their guests to some individual desserts. It was such a nice variety of sweets that everyone must have been satisfied.
Diana and Kelvin enjoyed a festive banquet to celebrate their new marriage. The theme was peach! We made a peach and chocolate mousse cake served with a peach coulis for their guests to enjoy which was complemented with a show cake to OOhh and Ahh over!

See you next week, Nina

08/08/08 A lucky day!

2008-08-10T17:51:00.000-07:00

The week of August 8th has past. It was supposed to be the busiest wedding day of the year, I believe it!
I absolutely loved the design we came up with for Derek and Alberto, who tied the knot on a beach at 8pm on August 8th. It was all about the infinity symbol and we designed the cake to match the theme. The chocolate, mango and passion fruit cakes were put onto a sand colored cake board to form an 8, very appropriate. We tied in their invitation design by scanning and printing it in our edible ink printer, a nice touch I think. The infinity symbol was piped onto the cakes in dark chocolate and then highlighted in a bronze/gold sheer. The tones were earthy and natural. I loved it!
Tyler, our latest addition to the kitchen, assembled his first wedding cake this week for Christina from California. He did a fabulous job! A green trend seems to be born at Tartlets, it may be our most popular wedding color of the season, except white of course.

See you next week,

Nina

Circus, Cowboys, and Weddings!

2008-08-04T20:06:00.000-07:00

This week we were very busy baking cakes for birthdays and weddings. Nolan turned one. His Mom and Dad treated him with a circus themed cake in his honour.

A bride surprised her groom with a cake made after his favourite football team. Another bride had individually decorated cakes for each of her guests to enjoy. Lina, who also was married this weekend, chose a square cake decorated with ribbon and orchids.

We also glittered mini tartlets for Delanys on Denman street to celebrate the annual Pride festival that took place in English Bay this past weekend. All in all, a busy week!

See you next week, Nina

Is lime/brown the new pink/brown?

2008-07-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

That is what I hear and I'm liking it! Jen and Matt surely would agree judging from their wedding decor of choice. They were married today in Jen's parents West Vancouver home. The garden was ready for the wedding ceremony of the little girl who once played in the sand-box. There is something quite magical about back-yard weddings, it truly adds to the emotional value of an already emotional packed day! I also was married in my family garden where many memories occured. It was very special to deliver the cake as it cued memories of my own wedding.

The home had been decorated in key lime, chocolate brown and cream colours. The cake was of course made to match. Inside the cake was a mango passion fruit custard to sooth everyones sweet tooth.

We congratulate Jen and Matt and welcome them into married life.

See you next week,

Nina

Tartlets is expanding!

2008-07-21T17:33:00.000-07:00

This week we are welcoming our new baker / Assisting cake decorator, Tyler. He's a young passionate and dedicated guy who we are very excited to call a member of our team. The wedding cakes this week were classic but colorful and as always cute.

The inside of the green wedding cake was a Swedish traditional cake, The Princess Cake. It is a layered cake with raspberry compote, vanilla custard and whipping cream all covered in a yummy layer of marzipan. Mango, Passion fruit and Vanilla was the beautiful blend of flavours inside the white and purple wedding cake, truly refreshing on a hot summer day.

Congratulations to all the brides and grooms who got married this past week from all of us at Tartlets. See you next week, Nina

Showers at Tartlets!

2008-07-13T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tartlets working bees have been busy this week with catering, Delany's orders, classes and of course, weddings. A cupcake tree was made for Anshu and Romia to indulge in while they enjoyed their first moments as a married couple with a lavish banquet. My personal favorite was the cassis icing on the mini cupcakes. It's different, sweet and a bit tangy at the same time. What could be better!? The 2nd wedding was a casual backyard affair with trays of mini tartlets, cheese cake and a summer classic, strawberry shortcake.
Sarah Pineda had a real surprise as she was taken to Tartlets Studio kitchen for a tart making class/bridal shower. Sarah's mom and sister spent some time to do up the kitchen and it looked amazing! Sarah's friends showed up and the party/class started. We had a ton of fun: drank drinks with fancy umbrellas, danced and made tarts. What a perfect way to end the week!
Pictures will be added from the class at a later time, sorry for the delay.
Until next week,
Nina

The Calm before the Storm

2008-07-06T09:56:00.000-07:00

This week was the last week of the summer where we did not have any creative or wedding cakes on the books. But it's time to hold on to your hats people cause the rest of the summer is going to be crazy and it is starting next week. Don't worry, even though no crazy cakes were made this week I'll still let you get a sneak peek into our kitchen. This 'cutsie' cake was for a wedding in May, inside was a juicy and refreshing lemon custard cake.

Our Tartlets are now to be found at Delany's Coffee houses across the city! We are very excited that people now can enjoy our treats with amazing coffee to boot. Delany's is located in Park Royal, Dundarave, Lynn Valley, Edgemont Village and Denman Street.

See you next week,
Nina

Do people eat cake in space?

2008-06-29T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, at least the cast and crew of Battlestar Galactica did Saturday night as they wrapped up filming season four with a big Party at the Vancouver Library. Tartlets was there among the sea of beautiful actors and actresses with desserts and cake of course. Luckily for me, Sean was excited about the idea of building an edible Viper, a space battle ship. One of the producers of the show supplied us with a toy model of the ship that helped us with the intricate details of the ship. Together we were able to make a ship that I think was nothing short of awesome! We set up a dessert table with tiered stands of mini tartlets and cheesecake. The cake that the ship was sitting on was a chocolate strawberry cake. Louis Gervais catered the event with his mouthwatering food, check out his website at www.louisgervais.com/

The other cool event we did this weekend was the art show of Gordon Smith at the West Vancouver Museum. Not only was it Gordon Smith's art show but also his birthday. I got to make treats for the reception and also his birthday cake!

See you next week,

Nina

SpongeBob and MadHatter Wedding

2008-06-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hello All,
The week started off with a little lesson in pop culture. Little did I know that Sponge Bobby, as I prefer to call him, has quite the following of young adults! Who knew?! The cake was made for Olivia who turned 20 this week. I hope you liked it Olivia. I had so much fun making the cake as my friend and talented artist Sean came in to help. It turns out Sean is a natural around sugar and will hopefully be making more cakes at Tartlets in the future. The wedding cake was made for John and Helen who tied the knot on saturday, welcome to married life guys! I think the wedding cake had the perfect balance of fun and cuteness to it. And really, who does'nt love cute and fun stuff.
See you next week,

Nina