March Wedding for 400 anyone?

Congratulations Clint and Amy!

So it had taken me a couple of weeks to recover and write this post, but here it is--the wedding cake for 400 people!

Some fun facts about the cake:

• Flavor: Vanilla Cream Cake with Strawberry Filling and Vanilla Buttercream
• Servings: 420
• Assembled cakes weighed as much as a 10 year old
• 35 lbs of buttercream were used
• 18 total sheets of cake were used.
• The largest tier was 16 inches square and fed 122 people

The bride and groom tried something different for the serving of the cake.  The wedding party helped cut the cakes and then served it to the guests.  I thought this was a great idea and the wedding party really got into it.  Everyone was served in just a few minutes and there was plenty of cake to go around.  I even caught a few guests wrapping up extra pieces and stuffing them in their purses--the cake was worth stealing!

The groom's cake was a breeze compared to the bride's cakes.  The University of Kentucky cake was the same flavor per the bride's request.

Phew!  These cake took days in preparation but I am so happy with the way they turned out.  And I would have never been able to do it without the help of Sara who kept me sane, even at 5 o'clock in the morning the day of.  There will be a new post soon with more cakes to come, but this one (hopefully) will be the biggest of the year!

As always, happy baking!

February Cakes :: Take 2

February was a busy month for cakes--so busy I forgot to take pictures of them all!  But there are still many to see....

First, the "Two Peas in a Pod" was made for Miss Colleen's Baby Bash: 

And check out the beautiful mother-to-be!  Kid you now she was wearing non-pregnant lady skinny jeans and a regular top.  Aaaand she is 6+ months pregnant....with twins!  Unbelievable!

Second was another baby shower cake with a butterfly theme!  Also, a variation on the ever so popular "Bum Cake":

Then there were rose cupcakes assembled last minute that turned out remarkably well--love them!  Both the cake and buttercream was champagne flavored.  The flavor was such a hit, I used it for the last cake--the engagement party.

This last cake was made for an engagement party this past weekend.  In preparation for the inclement weather Nashville expected, I moved the baking to the basement and decorated the cake as tornado sirens went off and hail was coming down.  The decorating never stops!  The colors were made to match the colors of the event and here it is:

So that's it for now--as always, happy baking!

February Cakes :: Take 1

February is a busy month for cakes.  Fortunately I have a baking buddy that doesn't make fun of me given innumerable opportunities to.  You see, I can get super jazzed about a fondant fish....I can also get super psycho if the buttercream isn't thick enough.  So it goes without saying that Sara's patience and kindness is much appreciated.

We have made several cakes so far this month.  The first of which is the fishing cake:

Next up is a karate cake, designed by Sara:

And finally, one of my favorite cakes ever--Lightening McQueen:

This cake went off without a hitch and I think I have figured out the key to successful cake baking--80's music.  This all makes perfect sense seeing as my first cake was the 80s themed cake!

Several cakes are yet to come this month so stay tuned.  And as always...happy baking!

Stay Calm and Bake On!

New year--no time to stop!  January has been such a fun month and it's time to catch up on the cake-happenings.

First of all, how cute is this little bug?!? 

Miss Evelyn May

Miss Evelyn May turned one this year and I had the honor of making her very first birthday cake.  While I think the picture above is way cuter than the actual cake--this is what the cake looked like before:

This is one of my all time favorite cakes.  Pink and brown are some of my favorite colors and strawberry is one of my favorite flavors.  Couldn't ask for a better combo.

Next up are pea-pod cupcakes for a twin baby shower.  I helped a friend with these and I think they turned out great!  The strawberry and blueberry cake she made (one boy/one girl) was AMAZING!  I am going to be using those recipes for some cakes in February.

Next up are some quick carrot cake cupcakes for a sweet friend's birthday.  <3 them:

Miss Whitney

And we're down to the final two! I love getting requests for unique cakes.  Sometimes I really have to think about how to make an idea come together.  Perfect example, "Hey! Can you make me a rhino cake that incorporates Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu?"

Sure!

Black Belt Rhino

Or how about, "Hey! Can you make me a baby shower cake that is green, blue, and cream with plaid, buttons, and a dinosaur?"

Sure!

That pretty much sums up the month of January!  Lots of wonderful things are on the books for February so keep a lookout.  And as always....

Happy Baking!

Week 49 :: Cake Catch-up!

These past couple of weeks have been crazy with cake baking!  While exhausting I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  Here is quite a long re-cap of the cakes I have missed posting and some ideas/tips.

Happy Birthday Andres!

Double-yay for couponing and new cakes pans! I found a coupon in the paper this week for 50% off a full-priced item at Michaels (these coupons circulate almost every week).  I haven't bought many shaped pans (I usually carve the shapes), so I thought this would be a good opportunity to add to the collection for less than $7.  My friend Andres is a soccer fan and perfect circles are very difficult to carve so I thought the soccer ball pan would be perfect for several projects.

... and Happy Birthday Kietya!

This week I was asked to make another cheerleader cake for a girl's 13th birthday.  I remade this little girls head several times but I am happy with the way that it finally turned out.  I use star, heart, letter and square cutouts all the time.  They are inexpensive and super helpful in cake decorating and can be found here.

...and Happy Birthday Nikki! 

This cake was for another 13-year-old's birthday that happened to be the daughter of a dear friend I work with.  She had the party at the Brentwood Skate Center (so fun!) complete with pizza and cake.  I will be double that age next year but would it still be cool to have a party there?  I would require 80s themed attire and music, of course ;o)

Again, I used the awesome star and letter cutouts, but I also used pearly dust to create the gold effects (it is edible, as always).  I have found the easiest way to create cutouts like the dancer is to print the shape out, cut out of wax paper and trace with an exacto-knife into the fondant.  Is this the technical way to do it, you ask?  No idea--most of what I do is trial and error until I find something that works for me.  Often I find that when I try to do it "by-the-book" I either don't get it or it just doesn't work out.  On the other hand, sometime when I do it "by-the-book" I think "OH!  That is a whooooole lot easier and prettier."  In sum, if it doesn't work for you, just find another way to do it.  I honestly can't telly ou how many things I have redone or thrown out.

...and Happy Birthday Chloe!

Then there was a Sweet 16 Cake for Miss Chloe who loves make-up.  I researched some of her favorite products and made the decorations accordingly.  I tried a new trick with this cake as well--after I made the cake, assembled and dirty-iced it, I froze it.  When I was ready to decorate, I removed it from the freezer, gave the dirty ice another coat and then decorated while still frozen.  Well--don't do that.  Because the cake is so cold it causes the fondant to condensate and get really hard.  It all worked out OK in the end but I wouldn't do it again.

...and another Baby Shower!

The baby cake was a repeat request from an earlier week, but fun to try again.  The "box lid" is made out of rice crispies covered in buttercream and fondant.  I don't make a lit of things out of rice crispies; however, there are times when logistically you need something like this lid to hold it's shape with little support and it is perfect to use rice crispie treats!  the baby and all other decorations are made of fondant.

Phew....Happy Baking!

Week 48 :: Happy Birthday Liam!

Happy Birthday Liam!

 

 

This week was a busy cake week, but there was one cake in particular that was extra special.  My sweet friend Shay asked me to make her little one's FIRST birthday cake!  He is a unique little boy with what appears to be an affinity for yellow--bananas, giraffes, and his favorite dump truck which happens to have...you guessed it--yellow!  So after much brainstorming came the Giraffe-Driven-Banana-Hauling-Dump-Truck!

Happy Baking!!

Week 47 :: Potted Flowers Cake

I have been wanting to do this cake for a while now--and it almost turned into a disaster!  Even after all of this time I still have major issues sometimes.  I made a GF chocolate cake and wanted to try a new chocolate frosting--and while it was delicious, it was almost too creamy to hold the shape of the cake!  I had to finish decorating it in the fridge--no joke!  All-in-all it turned out well and I can't wait for an excuse to make one like it again.

I should have taken pictures during the process and posted directions but I was gabbing away with my grandmother who stayed up with me until 1am baking this cake.  Here are some tips if they help:

• Make three thick 6" layers.
• Use two layers to make the pot, fill and cover with frosting, and cover it in clay-colored fondant.
• Take the third layer, round it on top by carving.
• Put a little frosting on top of the "pot" and put the rounded layer on top.
• Cover the rounded layer in frosting to make it look like dirt.
• Cut two strips of clay fondant. One to make the rim of the pot and one for the base of the pot.
• Make flowers as desired and adhere them to the "dirt."

Happy Baking!

Week 46 :: Cheer Cake!

GO PANTHERS!

This week I made a cake/cupcake combo for a friend of mine.  She is a superstar Mom of a superstar daughter who is part of the Nolensville Cheerleaders.  Go black, white, and red!

I have used this cupcake tower twice now and it is awesome!  Paying $40+ for some cardboard seems a bit crazy, but it is awesome, reusable, and decorate-aable.  It is well worth it if you get a few uses out of it.  The stand on top holds up to a 5 lb. cake as well. Definitely something useful to have around.

Happy Baking!

Week 45 :: In the Jungle!!

What a fun cake to make!  One of my dear friends Jill asked me to make this for a little one's 1st Birthday.  I think it turned out wonderful.  I could have spent four more days on this cake because I was having so much fun.  I also made some matching cupcakes so the birthday boy didn't have to share :o)  The elephants are by far my favorite!  Well....the giraffes are pretty cute too, and will be making a reappearance in a couple of weeks!  Here are some close ups:

The flavors were just vanilla and chocolate with buttercream.  Little one's don't appreciate fancy flavors and there is something to be said or that! Here are the matching cupcakes:

And as always....Happy Baking!