Ivy

                                    


Ivy adds a very nice element to a sugar flower bouquet.  The green makes the flower colors pop, and the vines add a draping extension to the finished bouquet.

Ivy cutters can be purchased from the web and come in different shapes which also allow for a varied texture in your finished bouquet.  As natural ivy grows in a variety of green colors, you really can't make a mistake when dusting or painting.

Today I am working on a small english (solid green) spring ivy and a painted variegated ivy.   Simply cut your ivy from rolled gumapste, insert a 32 gauge wire and allow it to dry.  Dust or paint the leaf and tape five leaves together in a straight line.  This way they are easy to store for future use.  When needed gently pull the leave out to the left and right and bend the main wire down the middle to give a natural shape.  The long extended end of wire can now be taped into the bouquet.

     

The painted ivy gives a nice deep color with a variegated leaf.  When both types of ivy are present in a sugar bouquet.

CASH Baseball

A sixteenth birthday!!!

The baseball cap was baked in half a ball pan.  

Its covered in grey fondant which was scored with a straight line, then I used a rolling dot wheel to create the stitching on the cap and bill (which is just a piece of fondant).  The C is fondant and the Eagle was printed on icing images using iprint (I scanned the real caps embroidered Eagle).

  

The jersey was baked in a 15"x 17 "sheet pan.  Both cakes were French Vanilla with vanilla custard filling.

I cut a slight indent in the sides of the shirt and took the extra cake to make the sleves.  I hallowed out the neck a bit to create the inside collar.  

The neck is the first piece of fondant applied and cut to fit.  Next the entire surface is covered in black fondant then the layering of elements completes the design.

Happy Birthday Cole

Second Marriage

A dear friend ordered this cake for her daughter.

Hunter green and shades of violet were the colors of the day.  The cake was for 10 guest.  It was an 8" White cake and seedless Raspberry compote.  Frosted in buttercream.  Shell boarders and swags.  The flowers were done with a small rose tip and string piping finished off the top edge.

The top surface was done in cornelli lace with a No.2 round tip.

Margaret

Margaret finished her studies in Theatre Arts and the family was celebrating!!

12 servings of Pina Colada cake with pineapple-coconut filling.  The 8" cake was covered in buttercream and airbrushed green, as her class colors were white and green.  The confetti was the party theme and are made of fondant.  A large star tip was used to pipe the shell boarder at the base and top edge.

Reunion Picnic Basket

This picnic basket is French vanilla cake and fresh Strawberry filling.  The basket was baked in a 10" oval pan and is frosted in buttercream that was piped on using the #48 Marpol Korean tip.  The borders are done with a medium size star tip.  

The lid, the closures, the handles and the checker tablecloth are done in fondant.  The letting is done with the Funky Alphabet. 

Relief Flowers

Silicon flower molds are sold by many vendors.   These were purchased from Esty vendors.  

They are easy to use and make a great, quick flower for your cakes.  You simple work a ball of fondant or gumpaste between your fingers until it is nicely pliable and press it into the mold, making sure all corners are filled with the medium.

Use a plate knife gently pressed against the mold to clean off any additional medium.  You will now need to place the filled mold into the refrigerator for approximately five minutes.  Remove the mold from the refrigerator and gently pull the medium while bending the edge of the mold.  At this point I leave them to dry.  

  

I general mold in white or off white so that I can then color the shade I need for the cake I need to complete.  Coloring can be accomplished with petal or luster dust.   You can paint with gel color and lemon extract (these are painted with a non-toxic dust as they will be used on a display cookies.)  

Grooms cake

Grooms cakes have become popular over the past two decades.  Some brides have a grooms cake on the cookie table, the day of the wedding, while others are used as dessert at the rehearsal dinner.

This cake was a representation of the groom, whom is a mushroom farmer.  It was chocolate cheese cakes covered in chocolate ganache.  The mushrooms were done the night before and made of meringue.  At the rehearsal location I assembled the mushroom and dusted them with cocoa powder.  The cake was finished off with fresh raspberry and vine trimmings.  

The picture was difficult to get as the room lighting was hazy.

Calla Lilly

This design was very simple and I was very pleased with the final outcome.

The square cake was accomplished with an 18" 14", 12" 10" cakes. The 10" top is Gluten Free. Therefore, it was set on top of a Parchment square cut 12 to cover the entire surface, making sure the bride would not become ill on her wedding day.   All White cake with fresh strawberries.  This cake is decorated in white buttercream and I used a palette knife to wave the side walls.  A large round tip was used for the top and bottom pearl edges.  

The white Calla Lilly's were done on 12" - 18 gauge wire.  This flower is light in nature and normally done on 26 gauge wire; however, I wanted to curl the wire yet support the flower on the end.

Taylor Graduation

Taylor is the granddaughter of a long time client.  The cake was unusual in that both tiers were the same size so as not to look like a wedding cake.  

The bottom tier was 10" Devils food with a fudge filling and the top tier was French vanilla with raspberry compote.  The cap was devils food as well. The mortarboard is fondant and letters are the funky alphabet cutter from the UK.

  The cake was frosted in buttercream  and trimmed out with deep blue star-tip shell and rose-tip yellow flags.  The tiers were separated with three inch legs and the legs were wrapped in gumpaste ivy as this young lady it headed to college.

Grand Design

I was brought a cake picture about 15 years ago.  The bride loved the spacing but she changed everything else about the design.  This picture was found in a magazine at the time.  I'm not sure where the picture went or the magazine that it came from, but I never forgot the basic look and recreated the memory for a bridal show.

I first started by cutting out 1,500 -  3" circles from gumpaste which I dried completely.    The 20", 18", 16", 12", 10" and 8" dummy layers were covered in fondant.  A  No.2 round tip was used to pipe the royal frosting swags.  Gold dargees were added to the points of the swags.  Three hydrangea were placed at the top.

This cake was a show stopper.  I received many, many questions and complements.  The local newspaper was at this event talking with the future brides and this cake made the article.

Two by Two

Twins hold a special place in my heart as I have twin sons.

These babies were celebrated in a big way.  75 guest in attendance.  The cakes were white  with fresh strawberries and chocolate with buttercream.  The cakes were baked in Fat Daddio cake pans, comma shape.  They were stacked like a wedding cake with the proper interior supports.  The cake was covered in pale blue buttercream and featured a shell boarder in deep blue with white buttercream piped waves over top of the blue.

The boat on the top was also cake that was carved into shape.  It was covered in fondant and scored with a blade tool to give the wood grain pattern.   The two by two animals were made of fondant and supported with dried spaghetti, as the cake chilled.  The animals where assembled at the final location of the shower.