Boy do I have a tale of cake to tell you.
You see, for the last couple years I have been working on some huge projects.
Finally, I can start to tell you about some of them.
One extra sweet tale has to do with cake cake cake!
One of my nearest and dearest friends, Rosie Alyea of Sweetapolita, wrote a bake book you can see right here, that was just released.
It's a beautiful treasure trove filled with inspiring pages.
Here's a snippet below 🖤
We're all so excited about it around here.
The details that take place behind the scenes of writing a book are incredibly mind blowing.
One reason I know this is because I was a recipe tester for The Sweetapolita Bakebook.
What?!
Yep, it's true.
I baked and caked for months.
SO muuuuuch cake.
The thing is, Rosie's recipes aren't just beautiful, they are so delicious.
Delicious in ways I can't describe.
Her cakes are moist and fluffy, buttery and not too sweet.
They taste like cakes I had never tasted.
Fairy cake galore.
She made a cake lover outta me!
I can't begin to explain the amount of recipes I tested for her, or how many hours I baked for.
Baking is intense work, especially at that level.
But I'll tell you, it was a wonderful experience that I shall treasure.
I made cakes and sweets and cookies and candy popcorns and so much more.
Candy pizzas!
Disco gold cherries!
And the lightest fluffiest cake, over and over.
Scrumptious, just, wow.
Make any of Rosie's cake recipes, I guarantee you will be floored at the cake quality.
Oh oh, and what about the cheesecake?!
And homemade toffee, only one of the components of a 6 layer cake.
There was succulent red velvet cake…
Oh and buttermilk cake that would blow your mind.
Moist and smelled like a faraway dream.
I did not necessarily frost everything book quality, but it was testing recipes more than decorating.
Perfect and mouth watering.
I don't have photos of everything I made.
Or even great photos because some of the baking was done after hours.
And eaten in twilight hours.
Like this layered campfire cake.
Let's not forget the dreamy vanilla cake…
Marshmallow frosting made from scratch that is beyond words.
Candy coating for popcorn.
Sweets boiling over.
Cake everywhere.
Cake on every counter, even on the washing machine.
Cake chilling.
Frosting being piped.
Packing up cake in the middle of the night to send home with friends.
Making melt in your mouth meringues.
Dipping them in white chocolate and sprinkles.
Then eating way too many.
It was a wild ride, this baking adventure, I'll tell you.
But delicious doesn't even begin to describe how good it all was.
I fed every cashier at my local grocery store and had them begging me for more.
SO now, the good news is…..
The book is out!!
YAY!
And now you can make Rosie's astounding recipes yourself.
The inside pages of The Sweetapolita Bakebook will inspire you majorly.
It is a journey through whimsy and beautiful edibles.
Yummmm!
Congrats my beautiful Rosie friend!!!
It's a masterpiece!
The cherry on the cake is that I have a copy to give away, hoooray!!
Leave a comment saying what your favorite sweet is.
You'll be entered into the drawing, I'll draw a name in a couple of days.
And the winner of the bakebook isssss!!!
#12
Hooray, you won, please e-mail me your snail mail address!
Sorry I took so long to come back with a winner.
Alas, my monitor blew up and I had to get a new one etc. etc.
xoxo
Love, Vanessa
ps: I don't think I've ever been quoted in a book.
But this is a hilarious way to be quoted, isn't it?
Haha!
I would have to say that red velvet cake is my ultimate weakness. However, I would gladly eat any of the beautiful cakes from your pictures! I don’t know what it is about a pretty cake that makes me want to eat it instead of frame it. The book looks amazing! Did you supply any of the photography in the book?
Marshmallow frosting from scratch sounds amazing as do white chocolate covered meringues. Love the photos.
Wow, such a beautiful book ……. those cakes are too die for !!!
Marshmallow, is my hands down, without a doubt, can’t be beat, best sweet treat ever ….. Yum, Yum, Yum !!!!
Thanks for offering a chance to win such a beauty
Kerry
kerry_james@verizon.net
That looks like so much fun! My favorite sweet is cake…or cookies…or whoopie pies….
And I love marshmallow frosting! I’d love to win. Thanks for the chance.
Cheers
Dana
What a lovely giveaway, Lady V. With the wonderful spring weather, it is a perfect time to bake more cakes. My all time favorite sweet has to be whoopie pies made by Amish ladies that come to a local farmer’s market. Heavenly.
Oh my goodness. EVERYTHING looks OVER-THE-TOP amazing 🙂 like one big life-celebration! and I love cake 🙂 I’m going to order some books.. one for me and a few for gifts. You take gorgeous photos.. hope your day is full of wonder and joy. (I just noticed the part about the give-away… oh thank you for the chance! 🙂
Tamara <3
oh, this book was made for me. Cake is literally my favorite dessert. Congrats to your friend and her book. Now, are you going to be sick at the sight of cake for a while? 😉
I have a sweet tooth and one of the items that I can not resist are milk chocolate buttercream frosted brownies.
YUM!!! Oh me oh my what sweetness, all!!! I just made white mountain frosting for a cake at Easter….with lemon curd filling…..and now I want to make more! tee hee! You are a wonderful person and such a lovely friend, indeed!! Congratulations to your friend on such a beautiful book, as well!! What an inspiration, indeed!!! : )
I love chocolate cake!: )
Mmmm! If I had to choose it would be cheese cake.
I just love Italian Cream cake.
Sweetapolita looks fabulous!
My favourite sweet ~ cheesecake ~ always
Thank you for the chance to win this beautiful book Vanessa.
Based on your photos, a beautifully decorated cake is my favorite sweet. But that’s based on the power of suggestion. Every sweet is my favorite sweet.
I love cake! My favorite are old fashioned, brandy soaked fruit cakes. The fruit cakes around these days are not fruit cakes! They are impostors! But to be honest, any cake would do. Especially if I can put a big slice in a bowl and pour milk over it. My family laughs at me, but it is oh so good that way. Especially chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Oh my. I’m getting a sugar rush just thinking about!
Ooooh! Those look amazing and I’m in the need for inspiration as I have a girly tea party coming up soon. Plans are in the works, so this could give me some grand ideas. The campfire layer cake is something I wouldn’t be able to stop at just one piece — that made my mouth water seeing the picture — I can’t imagine the decadent taste. My favorite cake flavors are ones that involve lemon…well…and anything with caramel. Oh lawd, how I LOVE the taste of caramel. Way more than chocolate.
Sooo The Aliens did it!!! LoL!!! All these cakes look sooo good and I would love a piece of everything!!! Sweetapolita indeed!!!
The cake with the toffee bits looks simular to one, my dear grandma Robbie used to make! It was scrumptious and I don’t have the recipe, I need to call my mom for it asap!
Love that Miles!!! Have a nice week V. <3
What DELICIOUSLY BEAUTIFUL photos of sweets – made my mouth water. Lemon anything is my favorite with the white chocolate meringues next. Let me say that I look @ your site every nite before I go to bed so I can dream about your lovely ideas and pics. You are truly an inspiration, Miss V.
EAT CAKE!!!! What a wonderful time to check on YOU again Vanessa! I just became a GRANDMA March 28th!!! I haven’t gotten to hold my ISABELLA MIA yet because I came down with a Coughing BUG the day after! I think it has FLOWN away finally and I get to see and hold my MIA this week!!! I am soOOOooOOooOOO happy! EAT CAKE! If everyone would EAT CAKE!!! especially your Rosie test cakes it would be a better world!!! It’s Funny, I was just admiring your lil cake painting I have and here I am, my mouth watering for all this YUMMINESS!!!and hoping to win Rosie’s Cake book! such a SWEET name! I LOVE a simple chocolate cake, especially on a picnic or birthday!!
with chocolate icing!!! hehe
Hands down CAKE!!!! It has always been my favorite. I can pass up endless amounts of candy, even… *gasp*…. ice cream but… cake?! Get outta my way!
I think it comes from when I was very little and we went to visit my great grandma, “little grandma” we called her as she couldn’t have been over 4′ tall. She wasn’t alive long in my life but I will never forget a huge banana cake she baked, all for me. It was as big as I was and smelled so divine! I sat in the back seat of the station wagon with it still warm on my lap knowing that it was all mine and made with love from my great grandma! I ate that beauty for days! Banana cake with vanilla butter cream frosting is still my favorite. *sigh*
I have followed Rosie’s blog for years….her cakes are amazing!!! As for my favorite sweet….it’s a newly found love…
peanut butter cake (or cupcake) with rich butter cream frosting and bacon crumbled on the top. TO DIE FOR!!! Be still my heart…there is nothing better than the sweet and savory combination of cake with bacon!!!!
You had a secret life!!! I’m blown away!! How did you keep that sweet fun a secret for so long?!! Each thing looks more yummy than the last! I’m intrigued by the toffee.
My favorite dessert is good old southern Chocolate Meringue pie. Everyone else’s answers are surprising me!
This post is making me soooo hungry! And I love cake – chocolate cake, angel food cake, carrot cake, red velvet cake (oh my favorite!), not to forget banana cake, strawberry flavored cake, and orange cake. But I gotta tell ya – if there’s a peanut butter pie, all bets are off! lol
Cake-cream cheese pound cake, red velvet, strawberry, chocolate with cream cheese frosting. Looks like I have to add this book to my cookbook collection 🙂
Wow! What a wonderful book. My favourite sweet would be meringue based…but I’m more than willing to be converted to more cake! Blessings.
Looks wonderful! My favorite is my Grandmother’s gingerbread cake with fresh whipped cream!
What a wonderful post to see before breakfast. I’m hungry for cake! They are beautiful and I’m drooling. My favorite is vanilla with caramel, or caramel with vanilla.
Carrot cake with cream cheese frosting! It is just 7:30 AM and now i want cake after looking at all these delicious cakes you have been baking!!
Your (test) cake creations are so beautiful, Vanessa — I can very well believe that everyone around you was more than happy to be test eaters! 🙂
I am not sure if it’s okay to take part in your giveaway as I am from Germany. If the postage is too high, just disregard this post, but please accept my CONGRATS on having been such a busy baker bee! (And, in your case, it’s not the aliens who did it.) 😉
Lots of greetings from Munich,
Birgit
tiramisu is my ultimate favorite, but vanilla cake with coconut flakes on vanilla frosting will do nicely 🙂
Pie of any kind I even requested stawberry pie for my birthday when I was a child.
Lisa
Angel cake is definitely my favorite…..especially served with strawberries. It’s so light and fluffy, and I just can’t stop eating it!
That Layered Campfire Cake looks like it would be my new favorite! My favorite sweets are Chocolate Chip Cookies, my mom’s chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and tiramisu…it is too hard to pick just one!
Wow! Those cakes, etc., are soooo beautiful! I would love to own a copy of this book! Thanks for your sweet giveaway. My favorite cake is Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake — I make it for my family up here in Rhode Island!
Vanessa, what an honor to be a part of this journey. Congratulations? My favorite of all times is apricot fried pies. I also love any kind of cake and pie too.
I follow Sweetapolita and she is amazing.
Oh my! You know, you’re absolutely destroying my Weight Watchers resolve, lol! My favorite sweet…now THAT’S a hard one. There are so many…
A good, heavy, thoroughly soaked rum cake.
Pumpkin creme brulee.
Good truffles (Vosges is a favorite).
Trifle made with biscotti and strawberries and fresh pastry creme.
Tiramisu.
I could go on – and you can see why I need WW, ha! So glad I popped in this morning, and must add your garden photos a couple of posts back are just gorgeous (as is the guardian of the garden). 🙂
Hugs,
~ C
Oh my that books looks beautiful!
My fav sweet overall is penny candies but if I am baking it would have to be cup cakes with lots of frosting!
Kristy
So many to choose from but my favorite is probably lemon cake with buttercream frosting!
cake and cupcakes are mine favorite weaknesses!
all of these look delicious!
My mouth is watering!
I have too many favorites! German Chocolate cake is a must, but then I adore New York Cheesecake, but not with the graham cracker crust but the real deal, with the melt-in-your-mouth flaky, buttery, flour crust, which does not take away from the flavor of the cheesecake like the graham cracker crust does. I like to taste my cake and eat it too!
And of course, the pure, dark, decadent, chocolate cake, with the extreme chocolate frosting (typically deemed a Death by Chocolate cake).
I have never been one to make a cake out of a box!
So, this book would be right up my alley.
I also adore the cupcakes with the fluffy frosting filling inside, posy cream, I think is what it is called.
What fun you must have had baking those cakes!
Count me in for sure!
Now this is a cookbook I must have. Please, please pick me.
How fun to bake cakes and taste. Yummmmm!
Carrot Cake, Carrot Cake, Carrot Cake – I’m a sucker for those marzipan carrots floating in a sea of sweet cream cheese. Then there’s pie (all varieties)…and ‘pure’ ice cream is not far behind. I pine.
DANG! Those all looked so amazing. I would have to say that the campfire cake intrigued me the most. (at first I wrote “intrigued me the moist” haha!) These photos make me want to get bakin’ that’s fo sho! Thanks for the sweet pick-me-up!
Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering!! What beautiful pictures. The buttermilk cake has to be great. Love carrot cake.
M J
The vanilla would be my favorite, looks so good. I would love to try the buttermilk also, but I have to say Angel food cake is my all time favorite !!
Oh how exciting for you Vanessa!… those cakes and everything look so delish!… and congratulations to your friend Rosie!… and sweet Miles carrying in your mail!… the goodies all look so pretty, but I am really drooling over the layered campfire cake!… much love, xoxo… Julie Marie
WOWZA!!! What an exciting and (literal) sweetness-filled post!!!! Congrats to your friend, and what a gorgeous cookbook!!! (I checked out the preview on Amazon.) Quite amusing to think of how you’ve been so consumed by cake-making, -frosting, -decorating, -sprinkling, -tasting, -giving-away, etc. for so long now, and had to keep it a secret — I bet you’ve been about to burst, and to show us all these beautiful photos! They are STUH-NING, Vanessa, and I do actually think they’re “book quality”! Not sure if you meant for us to name our favorite sweets from the cookbook or in general, so I’ll do both: I’d go with that rainbow cake, the dessert pizza, and those cupcakes with the gold stars and disco gold cherries on top, which look AMAZING!!! And in general, I love cake and cupcakes (especially chocolate) with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, lemon or lime cake with poked holes so a sweet citrus-and-powdered-sugar drizzle can ooze in, seven-layer bars, good ol’ chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, dark chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups and Double Stuf Oreos (just to name a couple of my favorite commercial goodies!), and … one of my all-time top faves from childhood … fried biscuit donuts with copious amounts of Hershey’s “perfect” chocolate frosting (I like a little donut with my frosting!). I started having the biggest chocolate craving yesterday, and this post just sent me over the top (thanks a lot — heehee), so methinks I’ll have to whip up something yummy today! Thanks for such a delectable, eye candy kinda post!!
Oooo I am forever drooling over Sweetapolita creations, they always look so beautiful. My new favourite sweet is rainbow cake, pretty and yummy, what’s not to love. 😉
Just ordered my copy and can’t wait. I LOVE cake so this should be so much fun
I have a wicked sweet tooth so it is tough to name one sweet. But if pressed I would have to say cookies. There are SO many different kinds, flavors, and textures that I want to try them all.
Thanks for offering the giveaway. The book looks awesome.
You made them all look so gorgeous! My favorite this week is a Caramel Salted Cheesecake I made last weekend…divine!
Cake is a food group! Mr. Lovee is one lucky guy….
my favorite cakes are whole wheat spice cake with cooked caramel frosting….and Ina Garten’s lemon yogurt cake. I messed up and accidentally put the 1/3 c lemon juice in the cake instead of the syrup glaze and it actually made it better so I make it that way all the time. Mistakes aren’t really mistakes unless we make them so! ha ha ALIENS!
I would say my fave sweet is my Lemon Tart…it use to be called Lemon Merinque Pie but no one in my family ate the Merinque, so I left it off….now we puta dollop of fresh whipped cream on top✨ No cornstarch or condensed milk with this, it’s all eggs, sugar and butter…and lemon of course😄ðŸ‘
Wow! What a great job you did! I’m blown away by all these beautiful cakes (I’m hungry now). The book looks good enough to eat too. What a great quote! Ha-ha! As for my sweet tooth, deep dark chocolate has always been my personal favorite. But pineapple upside down cake is a very close second…
Right now I’m thinking you are pretty sweet to help a friend with test baking. I’m also thinking this is a pretty sweet deal. But my favorite sweet to eat….French pastry eaten in Paris with a heavenly cappuccino. But I’ll take cheesecake any day.
What a marvelous adventure you have had. It’s been such fun to see your photos this morning.
I love cake with melting ice cream!
If you haven’t already drawn, add me to the list! I’ll look first for a cake with lemon. Anything with lemon is a friend of mine. Then something that’s pretty in pink!
Your photos are great — and what a fun job. You must have been the most loved-woman ever, sharing your cakes! I see a purchase of this for my cake-baking massage therapist!
This is such a happy post! I love cake and browsing your pictures made me drool! 🙂 My favorite? Dark chocolate truffle cake – decadent and delicious! Thanks for giving a chance to participate in this fun giveaway. PS – your pictures are beautiful, I am a big fan of your work!
Oh.my.goodness. I would LOVE a copy of this book – I adore cakes and cupcakes (I have to agree with Jeanie above – lemon is my favorite)! And it looks like you had a ball baking all those beautiful cakes! Thanks for the chance to win a copy of the book (but even if I don’t win it, I will definitely be purchasing it – these cakes are too beautiful and look way too yummy to pass up!)
Oh my!! Do we have to just pick one favorite??? I can’t pick one.. I have to say ALL and let me tell ya, your blog post was just wat I needed (as usual!!!) I have been having such a sweet tooth lately!!!
xoxo
I’m a sucker for anything chocolate, but German Chocolate cake is probably my favorite!
Anything chocolate! But, chocolate cake is right up there!
Love the quote! So useful in so many situations.
Everything is so delicious looking!!!
I love me some cake!My favorite is tiramisu and carrot cake,but these cakes could change all that. Thanks for the give away!
Sponge toffee and Canadian beavertails 🙂 What a beautiful book!
Spice cakes – especially in the fall!
I love the quote! ALienS! As for cake. My favorite is ALWAYS going to be CHOCLOATE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING!
The pictures made me so hungry! What an incredible adventure 🙂 my Favorite sweet is homemade lemon desserts: cakes, pies, muffins…
Dangerous to have so much CAKE around. But a great excuse to have many friends over to eat cake.
yay for Deb! thanks for the chance to win ! Im heading to Amazon after this to order three copies.. 🙂 one for me and 2 for my girls!!
<3
Oooh, congratulations to my dear friend Deb Dunn, she will be sooo excited!… she and her beautiful daughter Kate both LOVE to bake!… xoxo… Julie Marie
How absolutely fabulous! I must get this book!