VW Van!!

May 30, 2009

My principal, Chris, asked me to make a cake for his wife for their anniversary. What type of cakes do you consider when you think of anniversary? Flowers? Hearts? What about a VW van? Yeah, it was a first for me too.

Apparently, his wife has always wanted a VW van, so he thought he would get her one for their anniversary. I just hope she enjoyed her surprise.

I had a hard time carving the cake. I try my best now to waste cake when I carve it into shapes. I used two 9X13 cakes to make the van. I think I needed to use three. I had to trip the edges to add another level of height. But once I got the butter cream icing on the cake, the shape began to take hold. I make marshmallow fondant daisies to help "authenticate" the van.

I am very please with the way it turned out. The more I work with marshmallow fondant, the more comfortable I feel about it.

Strawberry Fever

May 30, 2009

I was asked to make a strawberry cake for a bridal shower. Heather's sister, Jackie, is getting married. Heather wasn't too picky about the design of the cake. She was only concerned with the taste. She wanted it to be strawberry with Strawberry icing. So I made strawberry cream cheese icing with strawberry cake, which happens to be my personal favorite. I used fresh strawberries as flower garnishes, mint leaves, and sliced kiwi around the border.

Thomas the Train Takes a Trip

May 29,2009
My assistant Principal, Lisa, has a son who is turning 3. Jackson is having is party at the Transportation Museum in Spencer, NC. I thought that was pretty cool! So I was asked to make a Thomas the train cake. I am so fortunate to have a mother who make our cakes growing up. Not only did we have awesome cakes, but she still has all of her cakes pans. So I borrowed her 3D train pan to make the train. I know that Thomas is a Tank engine and his body isn't exactly like the cake pan, but it was still pretty close. Next time I make this cake I think I'll put some supports underneath the train cake. Since it's a narrow cake it had pressure points where the cake had a tendency to lean. It's always a learning process.

Payton's Birthday

May 16, 2009

My parents' neighbors are close friends of ours, family really. Well, their granddaughter Payton turned eight and wanted a Littlest Pet Shop birthday cake. I had real optimistic hopes for the cake design. I had originally thought of carving the cake in the shape of a paw print. I also thought I would create the Littlest Pet Shop animals out of marshmallow fondant. But neither one happened. Once my aspirations were crushed I ran into a creative block. I didn't carve the cake, because I wanted to make sure there would be enough cake for everyone.

The cake had a large paw print on the top of the cake make out of marshmallow fondant. As a finishing touch, I used butter cream icing to make small paw prints around the sides. I made a quick trip to Wal-mart and bought toys to put on top of the cake. Luckily Payton had been wanting the animals I picked, so she was tickled just the same. Initially I wasn't too fond of this cake; but I am much happier about it now.

Butterfly Birthday

May 15, 2009

My coworker, Carol, has a daughter who loves butterflies. So for her birthday she asked me to make her a butterfly cake. Holly's favorite color is purple, so I decided to do pink and purple chocolate butterflies. I also used white marshmallow fondant daisies and pink wisteria-like flowers for the top.
When making the butterflies, I used Ziploc bags to hold the chocolate. They melted nicely in the bags, and I didn't have to use a pastry bag and tip. I just snipped the end of the Ziploc bag with scissors.

Every bride needs...flip flops?

May 13,2009
My cousin Susan's coworker Tracy is getting married. They are having a bridal shower for her at school. Since they were using bold, bright beach colors she asked me if I would make the cake. I loved the flip flops on top. They look just like the napkin Susan brought me. The flip flops were make of marshmallow fondant. Even with the simple design, the flip flop cake has inspired me to make a beach theme cake.

Time Keeps Tiki'n Away

May 13, 2009 Our school is getting reading for the End of Grade tests. As an act of compassion, our social committee provided us with a Luau of refreshments. They knew that we could use something to lift our spirits before testing started next week. I was asked to make a cake to help teachers with their "pre-testing blues". Although having an "EOG in flames" cake would make many teachers smile, I felt it wasn't an appropriate sentiment. Luckily, I found out the theme was tropical and decided to do a Tiki idol instead. I figured "Say Aloha to the EOG" was encouraging without being distructive.

The cake was constructed of 8 inch rounds cut in half and set on end. The cake was covered with chocolate butter cream. The eyes, nose, flowers, leaves, and mouth were made of marshmallow fondant.

The staff loved the cake. It was quickly "hacked" into shreds. Many people say they hate to cut cakes because they are so pretty.But personally I get my feelings hurt when it's not cut. I love to see a cake board that's licked clean. To me, it's a sign of success.

Going Buggy for Babies!

May 13, 2009

My sister's coworker, Danielle, is a having a baby girl. Her nursery theme is bugs, so they used it as the theme for the baby shower.

I made lady bugs, caterpillars, butterflies, and bumble bees out of marshmallow fondant.

I also sculpted a baby to sit on top of the cake wearing a pink diaper and a little pink blossom hat. Instead of using outside borders, I sporadically placed clumps of pink flowers along the edges to add another dimension.

The antennas of the bugs are actually flower stamens. What can I say, when it comes to cake decorating the Internet is a vast resource of information.

Margaret Turn's 90!

May 10, 2009

What better day to celebrate a 90th birthday than Mother's Day. My friend Alice's mother just turned 90. Her family threw her a beautiful party. I was fortunate enough to be asked to make the cake. Alice told me that when she and her siblings were growing up, her mother always had fresh flowers in the house. So I used that as my inspiration for her birthday cake.

I tried a new trick with this cake. I used my rubber stamps, that I use for scrap booking, to stamp the letters on the cake. I think it worked rather well. I left indentions then piped over top with icing. It gave me a chance to experiment with other "fonts".

I delivered the cake on Saturday afternoon, so I didn't get to place the flowers myself. I offered a couple of suggestions, and left the flowers. So I never got to see the finished cake. They promised to send pictures so I could see how it turned out.

Tractor Cake

May 8, 2009

Koen turned 1, so his mom Cristen asked me to make him a green tractor cake. Tractors are very serious business in my family. My dad has John Deere Tractors and my brother has a Ford. So when I make a tractor cake, I always make sure they specify which color tractor they want. I personally like the color John Deere green, but when you have to mix the colors by hand it can get a little aggravating.

Dinosaurs

May 4, 2009 Today is my cousin Jason's 5th birthday. He wanted a Thomas the train party, but he's had two already. So we were able to talk him into dinosaurs instead. He told me he wanted a blue and green dinosaur. I used my mom's standing panda pan and made his tail out of a mini wonder mold, stacked marshmallows, and butter cream icing. His claws and spikes were candy melts.

When it was time to cut the cake, I had to ask Jason if it was alright if I cut off his head. The tail wasn't cake and the belly had a heat core inside. He was excited to see the dino get decapitated.

It didn't take long for this reptile to become extinct.

New blossoms in the basket

May 2, 2009
My mom asked me to make a cake for my great-aunt Carolyn's birthday. She wanted a spring basket of flowers. So instead of making a basket of only roses, I thought I would try to add something else. I looked at some directions online to make carnations and asters. I didn't have all of the tips I needed, so I improvised. They didn't turn out quite like I had expected, but overall the basket was nice.