Janice's Bridal Shower

Megan's best friend Janice is getting married next month - and as one of the MOH's, Megan was in charge of bringing a butterfly themed cake. Janice chose orange and hot pink as her color scheme - so I used edible orange and pink wafer paper butterflies purchased from Fancy Flours (one of my not-so-secret baking supply obsessions) for a realistic take on her theme. They shipped and arrived incredibly quick - after cutting them out, I coated them with clear piping gel and dried them in egg cartons so they were more life-like. Just to add some sparkle, I brushed pearl dust onto the wings before attaching them to the cake. :)

The hot pink roses are real (thanks Safeway!) - I didn't have time to make them out of gumpaste. I used a circle of acetate on the top tier so the flowers wouldn't affect the taste of the icing and arranged the roses by sticking the stems into a ball of fondant to keep them in place.

The cake is a devil's food cake with a chocolate fudge filling and swiss-meringue buttercream icing...mmm... thank goodness for uneven tops...the boys and I enjoyed the scraps! :)

Here are a few views - I tried my best to make this cake viewable from every angle.

Spongebob and Friends at the Beach

I was given creative license to do a Spongebob and Friends cake - as long as there was a beach involved. :) Well, how could I pass that up?

The cakes were Devil's Food cake with a strawberry gourmet filling and whipped cream frosting - double layered 3/4 sheet and a 5" smash cake to match.

For the frosting, I ended up using Pastry Pride since I didn't know how long the cake would be unrefrigerated - it was really yummy! Go non-dairy product! The Pastry Pride colored beautifully with gel paste - I had planned to airbrush the scene, but since it's going to be my first time airbrushing, I thought it'd be best to wait on it and practice.

The sand is made from mixing raw sugar, light brown sugar and some gold sparkle dust - for depth and texture.

Smash Cake Front View

Smash Cake Side View

Sweet Trey always taking a photo with my latest creations!

View from the top

I made the characters out of fondant and gumpaste - I was to get into modelling chocolate, but for now, this is my go-to modelling medium. I used rice krispie treats for the wave for stability not only for the wave, but to help Spongebob and Gary surf upright! I also used very thin blocks of rice krispie treats to stabilize the characters - I'm not used to working with such light frosting - I was worried the figures would sink.

The initial plan was to have Mr. Krabs in the water floating with his head above water and one claw - calling to the Lifeguard Lobster Guy who's attention is otherwise occupied by a bikini-clad Sandy Cheeks Squirrel. I had also hoped to have Plankton building a sand castle on the side. In the end, I ran out of time but as I looked at the cake, I thought it would be way too busy had they been added. Speaking of Sandy, I had wanted to try blowing sugar for her breathing helmet - but in the images I used for reference, some of them she wasn't wearing it when she was in her bathing suit - so I left it off.

All in all, it was a super fun cake to make - and I enjoyed creating the characters and making them come to life.

Back Angle of Squidward burying Patrick in the sand

Front Angle of Squidward burying Patrick in the sand

Side Angle of Squidward burying Patrick in the sand

Sandy Cheeks and Lifeguard relaxing under the sun

Spongebob and Gary surfing

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Marvel and DC...together...that's right.

It's Domi's birthday! He's requested Batman and Spiderman. * sigh * Give him a break - he's only turning 3. He'll learn! hee hee! Marvel and DC Comics - there's been crossovers before, right?

Bart and I decided on Hulk, Spidey, Iron Man, Batman...and I threw in Superman! Can't have Batman representing all on his own! :) Each character has two poses...









And his smash cake was a huge Batman! :) Looks like it was well enjoyed...




For the adults, I made some delicious Red Velvet with Cream Cheese frosting...to die for!



The perfect birthday photo!



Trey usually insists on taking a photo with the party cakes before we deliver...no exception this day! :)

Honey...I Blew Up the Ferrero Rocher

It was Tram's sister birthday - Tram decided to surprise her with her favorite candy...as a cake! The huge sculpted Ferrero Rocher cake was only supposed to feed 10-15...the cake ended up a lot larger than intended...like 3 times the size!!! Yikes!

I made a triple hazelnut cake (Frangelico, toasted hazelnuts, and chocolate hazelnut oil) - with chocolate hazelnut filling and a Nutella Cream frosting. Before I covered the cake, I threw on some finely chopped toasted hazelnuts - to create a detail to mimic the candy. It was covered in chocolate fondant and sprayed with edible gold luster and detailed with brushed on gold luster dust. I hand painted the label - and DH made the wrapper.

That week was crazy - my grandmother went into the hospital - so my time management went tot he wayside...the wrapper was supposed to be painted with gold detail and made from foam core, the cake was supposed to be covered in gumpaste so I could get a greater detail in the "foil wrap" effect...but all in all, it worked out well!

Tram is sending me photos of the cross section and some photos of guests enjoying the cake :) So...more photos to post soon!

Coach Purse Sculpted Cake

Francis is the BEST husband ever!

Not only did he buy his wife Jane a Coach purse for Christmas...but for her birthday - he got her another one!!! Well...a cake that looks like one anyway. :)




I made a black and silver Sabrina Op Art Coach purse - it was a lot of work...but a ton of fun!

The cake was a mocha chocolate cake with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream. The original plan was to have the handles stand up - but they needed a few more days to dry for that - oh well. Lesson learned.

I made the "C"s using a paintbrush and some silver luster dust. The ornaments, logo, and emblem are made from fondant - and handpainted. I am most proud of the beading on the three tags. It took forever - but what a payoff! The realism made all the difference.




I only wish I had an airbrush machine - someday... someday... Travis finally sees the importance of the tool to make these cakes just that much better.

I'll post photos of the party soon - Happy Birthday Jane! :)

Shot of the Top

Shot of the back

Compost Cupcakes?!?

That's right!

Our friend and co-worker Jose has taken a job with a new department. :( Sad for us...a very good move for him...congratulations!!!

He's going to be teaching the importance of composting and how to compost to kids and families - so I decided to make him some compost cupcakes. They are made of dark chocolate cake and a chocolate swiss-meringue buttercream topped with crushed oreos. The worms are shaped and molded/detailed out of tinted gumpaste.

The Immaculate Collection

Movin' on up...to the - well - to a VP position at the Community Health Partnership! Congrats!!!

We had a going away party for her and if you know Mai, then you'd know that a stiletto heel would be the perfect "walking" cake. The cake design is from Confetti Cakes (one of my idols - Elisa Strauss) - and fit the pink and black theme perfectly.

The shoe is made from gum paste with intricate stitching detail and hand painted zebra print - the shoe box is the cake - three layers on the bottom and one layer as the lid. The tissue paper is gum paste as well with some petal dust for glamour.

Mai's real name is Immaculate - so how appropriate to make the shoe from "The Immaculate Collection" - with her leaving the County - it was the Final Closeout Sale.