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!

Week 51 :: Holiday Cupcakes!

This week I was able to make three sets of cupcakes.  My dear friend Sara helped me create these wonderful treats and I was lucky to have her assistance.  

First, some holiday cupcakes for Reagan's (Sara's daughter) school party.  And the snowman cupcake was born!

Then there were Christmas Cupcakes for work....

...the Christmas Tree Cupcake, complete with golden stars, ornaments and presents.  Sara is truly a natural at decorating!

Lastly, were baby gender surprise cupcakes:

This was such a special job.  A sweet co-worker of mine is pregnant with twins and the next ultrasound was to reveal the gender!  The results are going to be kept secret and handed to the sister who is planning a reveal surprise--which involves cupcakes!  I made two boy and two girl cupcakes for the sister, so she will be the only one to know before Mom and Dad.  Externally the cupcakes are all the same, but filled with pink and blue buttercream--when Mom and Dad bite in to the cupcakes they will find out the gender of the little-ones-to-be!  SO very excited to see how this turns out!

Just one more week to go!  Eeek! 

In the mean time...Merry Christmas and 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!

Week 42 :: Mitzi's Sprinkle

Congratulations sweet friend!

A dear friend of mine is expecting Baby #2 and I had the honor of making the cake for her sprinkle!  Here is a picture of me and the mom-to-be, the beautiful Mitzi:

The hostess did such a beautiful job and it was such a wonderful day to celebrate Mitzi's new addition. 

The cake was strawberry/vanilla with green and pink fondant.  I made the feet several days before so that they had time to dry.  The "bum" is actually a second tier to the cake, carved into a tooshie.  The ruffles are white fondant strips.  Here is a close-up:

Happy baking!!

Week 41 :: Cars and Dragons...

Interesting combo, I know....but I am willing to try anything someone would like.  

Honestly, both cakes surpassed my expectations seeing as I know nothing about classic cars OR Dungeons and Dragons.  But, with a lot of help from friends and Google, here are the final products:

1950 Custom Chevrolet: 

The back is my favorite:

And the Dungeons and Dragons cake with custom dice and gold coins:

Happy baking!!

Week 37 :: Polka-Dots in Pink!

This week I made a cake for a little girl's first birthday!  What a milestone that she won't remember ;o)

I made a small smash cake to match the larger two-tier square cake.  The smash cake and bottom layer were birthday cake flavor and the top tier was strawberry.

This is actually my first square layered cake.  I thought that the crumb coating would be easier but it was more of a challenge than I thought!

Here's a little tutorial on how to make the fondant bow:

1.  First, mix about 1/2lb. fondant with about 1/2 tsp. stabilizer (or you can use gumpaste).  Let sit for 30 minutes.  I used CMC's fondant stabilizer.

2.  Roll out the fondant and cut into strips.  Note :: I LOVE the multi-wheel cutter my mother got me for my birthday.  BUT--it's not perfectly calibrated (and that's pretty standard).  It's pretty close, but you have to pay close attention if you want this ribbons to be equal.

3.  Fold and pinch like so. Make loops of several different sizes (about 6 of each size).

4.  Set ribbons on their side on a paper towel for faster drying. The will be ready to assemble the bow in a few hours.

5.  When the pieces are fry to the touch, gently layer them to make a bow as desired.  secure together with piping gel and additional pieces of fondant when needed.  VOILA!

 

Happy Baking!