Wedding #2

This is my second wedding cake (I don't count the princess one only because I helped with it. It wasn't my customer). Thank heavens for my clay extruder because I don't know how I would have done this cake without it. This was another order where the bride knew exactly what she wanted. I wasn't quite sure how the teal would look with sunflowers but everything seemed to come together pretty nicely. They did a great job decorating for the reception and the cake went perfect with it. One thing I did learn-my white cake is way easier to do square with than my chocolate. I really like doing the wedding cakes. It's fun to be a part of someones big day and I like meeting all the people.

Orange and Sailor Moon

The girl this cake was for loves the color orange (obviously). That was the easy part of this cake and was the main request. If possible, I was to add Sailor Moon or Musical decor which turned out to be super difficult. I know zilch when it comes to Japanese animation and musicals. I threw around so many ideas. I originally was just going to print out some Sailor Moon pix but I couldn't make it look right in my head with the orange theme. So finally I decided on the little starry night design with a moon. Not exactly "Sailor Moon" but I hope it worked for the birthday girl. I am loving the diamonds. I think that's one of the coolest designs on cakes. And the big 16 on the top was way easier than I thought it would be.

70th Birthday

Another friend of mine at work asked last minute if I could make a cake for her mother turning 70. It was a Hawaiian-themed birthday and she wanted something very simple (yeah for simple!). Now, I know there probably aren't any plumeria's that look like this in Hawaii but I think they're pretty. :) I did a lot better on my writing this time because I found a font on Word and just tried to copy it. Hey, if it works, it works. Oh, and this was my first order for a lemon cake which is one of my favorite flavor's. Delish!

My Son's 1st Birthday

I've been wanting to try a tilted cake forever but I haven't wanted to chance it on a paying customers cake so I thought I'd try it for my own sons birthday and it was way easier than I thought it would be. One reason is because I didn't have to worry about keeping it straight. This was one of my more simpler cakes and it's one of my fave's. I've realized that simple can go a long way. Oh, and we tried a new flavor...chocolate cake with a cookies and cream filling. Yummo! Happy birthday my little love!

Blue and Sliver Graduation Cake

Super fun cake and I love these colors! This was for a brother and sister (twins) graduating high school and the only requirement was that it was square and had the school colors. I was so excited because I've wanted to do the diamond pattern forever and this was the perfect opportunity. I thought it came together nicely and the picture does a great job of hiding the uneven areas. :( These square cakes are so much harder but they turn out so cool. Making cakes can be a lot of work and sometimes I wonder as I'm making it if it's worth it but once it's complete and I get a great reaction like this customer gave me, it's absolutely worth it!

Chocolate Cake Recipe

I tested a handful of chocolate cake recipes and none compared to this one. The only downfall to it is it's so moist, it's hard to decorate. You'll have a hard time trimming it if it isn't frozen. It calls for coffee but I switched that out for prepared hot chocolate. The chocolate taste is pretty strong so if you like it more mild, just use water.

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
2 C white sugar
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 C prepared hot chocolate (should not be hot-you can even just add in aprox. 3T hot chocolate powder and then 1 C water)
1 C buttermilk (I never have this on hand so I make it-put 1T distilled white vinegar in measuring cup and then fill with milk until you reach 1 C)
1/2 C Veg Oil
1 tsp vanilla extract (pure vanilla-not imitation-can buy it the cheapest at Costco)

Oven 350. Grease 2-8 or 9 inch round cake pans.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, soda, powder, and salt.

Add eggs, hot chocolate, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium. Pour into prepared pans.

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick clean. Cool on wire rack.

This cake is my most ordered and usually paired with the cream cheese frosting (scroll down to the Easter cake for the recipe) but it would also go well with just plain or chocolate butter cream, chocolate mousse, or even ganache

Team Scaredy Cats and the Princess Bubble Yum Cake

Yes my friends, this is a wedding cake. A friend of mine asked me a couple months ago if I'd help her with a giant scary cake in May. I of course said yes (how scary could it be?) and she recently sent me a picture of the cake we were to replicate and I really didn't think I could help because it seemed way beyond what I was capable of. Well, both of us along with her sister in-law spent the week putting together this cake. It was a challenge and we really didn't like it as we were decorating but it grew on us and I'm pretty proud of us. We called ourselves the 3 scaredy cats because we don't consider ourselves professionals but we took on a difficult cake. My friend also mentioned at one time that the cake looked like the bubble yum bubble gum so that's what I've entitled it. Also, this cake was huge! the bottom tier was 22" by 8" high! And no, none of it's real (thankfully). I had a blast ladies! Thanks for the experience!

Blue and Brown Graduation Cake

I was so excited to do this cake and the order was actually from one of my students. :) It was so cute because she sent me a drawing of exactly what she wanted. We made some slight modifications but I think we captured her vision. I think the colors are awesome and I love the cap! I don't think I could have done it without my air compressor. It painted the top black because it would have been impossible to dye gum paste that dark. My square cakes are getting better but man, they are so much harder!

More than meets the eye...

This cake order is one of the funniest I have gotten. The request was for a transformer cake, specifically the Bumblebee Transformer. Obviously I assume it is for a 3 year old boy but then I'm told it is for a 29 year old female! A group of adults getting together for a children's party. I think that is so cool! To go with the woman cake, it of course had to be all chocolate-chocolate cake with ganache and some peanut butter Twix. Sounds so delicious!

May is Booked

Okay, so I have this problem where I can't say no to making a cake mostly because I really want to do it but I am wearing myself really thin for May. Along with my little cake hobby, I have a part time job and I'm chasing after 2 boys all day (3 if you count my husband). If you desperately want/need a cake this month, I will gladly make it but I will need to charge extra for the lack of sleep I will be getting. :) I will probably set up a calendar on the side bar just so you can see what my availability is. Hope you all know how much I appreciate the business and the referrals. I am having so much fun with this!

Brown and Pink Baby Shower

I love doing pink and brown together! This was a fun cake and I was excited to practice with the party bow because I haven't gotten a lot of opportunities to make it. I've definitely improved and this bow came out bigger than I anticipated but I thought it made the cake really fun and cute. I also pearlized the whole cake which is my new favorite thing to do. It's so easy and makes the cake look totally different. The only issue I had with this cake was the fondant being too soft. I didn't know that was really possible until this cake but it made it more difficult to cover which made it not as clean as I like. The learning never stops.