Gourmet Specialty's

Junior

2012-02-23T05:10:00.001-08:00

This was for a little neighbor boy celebrating his 4th Birthday. It features a 15 x 17 sheet cake; half carrot with cream cheese and half chocolate with fudge filling.

Diego and pal was done as a buttercream transfer. You outline your art in black buttercream on wax paper and chill completely. While the outline is chilling, mix all the necessary colors needed for the fill-in. Put each color buttercream in a small pastry bag with a small round tip. Carefully fill in your outline and chill overnight.

Base-coat your cake with white buttercream. Then airbrushed clouds in the sky and green for grass to give depth to the finished design. Chill the cake again at this point to allow the airbrush color to dry. When ready carefully lay the buttercream picture on the cake and peel off the wax paper, add the celebration message. Happy Birthday little man!!!

Bob

2012-02-23T05:10:00.000-08:00

This cake also features buttercream transfer of the Corvette logo. Bob was celebrating his 60th Birthday.

The 15 x 17 sheet was half Banana cake and half Chocolate cake with Chocolate Mousse inside both flavors. The cake was covered in buttercream and I airbrushed the side with the checkered flag pattern and the edge was done in a single side shell pattern.

Donna turn 90

2012-02-22T13:08:00.000-08:00

This cake was for a very loved mother who was having a big birthday...

The cake was a 15 x 17 White sheet cake with Raspberry Compote. The base frosting is buttercream and the accents are fondant and gumpaste. All the adult children went to church with their mother and asked the congregation to stay after the service to have cake and coffee in celebration of their mother. Many happy returns Donna!

35th Anniversary

2012-02-19T15:22:00.000-08:00

That would be February 18, 1977 when a young couple said "I DO"

The couple; my husband and myself. We celebrated this past Saturday. I read about this cake and decided to give it a try. First, you will need to bake three 8" layer cakes in one flavor and one 8" layer in another flavor. Split each of the three cakes in half. Using a thin layer of buttercream glue three thin layers to create two finished cakes, each three layers high. Carve the bottom of the heart by creating a well with a pointed bottom. The top is a little tricker as you need to create an island in the center with a small point. Next take the single flavor layer and make the "cake ball" mixture and put this in each side of the carved out cakes. Next put the top of the heart on top of the pointed bottom.

I covered the exterior of the cake with white buttercream and combed the surface and finished with a shell broader.

This is a picture of the cake after we cut into it. They say the best way to a man heart is thru his stomach...eat up honey :)

Pansy

2012-02-19T14:54:00.001-08:00

Gumpaste Pansy: The first photo shows all the tools I use.

First I cut two of the smallest petals, two of the medium petals and one of the heart shape petal. I insert my wire at the base of each of the five petals and thin the edges creating a soft ruffle. I then insert the wire into styrofoam and allow all the petals to dry completely.

The next step: I cut two large leaf petals and three small leaves. Again I insert wire and thin the edges. I add the veins to the leaves using a silicon mold and then dry the leaves on foam rubber to give then a natural shape.

I colors used to create this pansy, were violet and moss green. I dust the flower petals close to the center. The leaves are completely covered in the moss green petal dust.

After taping all the flower petals together I add spike lines from the center of the two small petals and the one heart petal. This is done using airbrush coloring and a fine paint brush. When the lines are dry I add a small center in bright yellow and attach the leaves.

My Blue Wedding

2012-01-25T08:16:00.000-08:00

The modern day wedding is done around a theme. This bride choose to represent her favorite color blue.

The cake featured four tiers in a Hexagon shape. The flowers were gumpaste Delphinium (there are very few flowers that are a true blue color) and were wired into gumpaste ivy. The complete cake is buttercream and trimmed all the edges in blue for a unique display.

Leaves and Lattes

2012-01-20T06:48:00.000-08:00

Fall makes a beautiful season for a wedding. As with Spring, Fall has very define colors.

This was a last minute wedding cake for a small group of 50. It features three round tiers in buttercream with gumpaste fall leaves. The lattes is made of pistallage. I first roll out the pistallage and then place it into the mold, using my roller, pressing with medium pressure, roll over the prepared paste to imprint the design. Next using a pallet knife I gentle cut away the excess and carefully remove the piece from the mold. I dried them on a flat surface for several days. They were then inserted into the sides of the cake.

The flowers were fall mums also made of gumpaste with a few sprigs of gumpaste heather.

Golf

2012-01-19T12:48:00.000-08:00

Golfing is a major summertime sport for local residence in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

This was for a man who played everyday. The little figure was made of Mexican paste. The cake was done in buttercream with a grass tip for the edge trim and field markers. Blue pipping gel was used to create the water hazard and crushed cookies were used for the sand trap.

Flowers

2012-01-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

Gumpaste: Gardenia's, Gerber Daisy, Morning Glory's and Poppy's

20 years

2012-01-17T09:11:00.000-08:00

If you have been flowing this post, I started this blog with gumpaste flowers and have added several additional post featuring them.

I spend the best part of my day, five days a week, making flowers. I love all flowers and having the tools and talent to create these sugar flowers brings me much joy. I left the work force 20 years ago. As of January 8, 2012, I have been in the pastry business 20 years. I love my JOB!!!!

Sugar cookies

2011-12-31T15:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas time is cookie time. This year I made cookie bouquets for clients and family.

I found large santa boots at a local holiday supply store and purchased them back in September.

First I make a sugar cookie dough and allow it to rest overnight. The next day I roll out the dough and cut the necessary shapes. Allow the freshly baked cookie to completely cool before trying to work with it.

I personal frost the back side of the cookie as it is the flattest surface and gives me the desired finish.

Some cookies are frosted with a "cookie frosting" and some are frosted with standard cookie frosting. The difference is the "cookie frosting" is very thin. Once the frosting as set or crusted you can then add all the details.

The house was turned into Santa's Workshop.

The large circles became Santa's head, the trees were trimmed and the holly leaves were inserted in a group. The remaining cookies were candy cane, Santa's boot and a candle holder (not pictured?) I use a shredded color paper to cover the styrofoam block that hold the cookies in place.

The final picture is the finished cookie bouquet.

Kathy and Joe

2011-11-28T13:59:00.001-08:00

A former pastor and his wife are very dear friends and they recently celebrated their Golden Anniversary as a couple.

There sons arranged a wonderful intimate dinner party with 2 of the bridal party in attendance.

The cake featured a 12" square of Spice cake with a sour cream buttercream filling and a 7" square of Almond cake with fresh raspberry compote. The frosting was buttercream with gold dragees. The fall flowers were gumpaste, and included a tiger lilly, burgundy carnations, lotus pod, wheat and pinecones. The fall leaves all around were also gumpaste.

What a lovely evening at an historical inn, good food, drink and visitation was enjoyed by all. Congratulations Joseph and Kathy!

Olivia

2011-11-28T09:40:00.001-08:00

Baby Olivia is due in January of 2012. Her Mom, Aunt and Grandma our over the moon about her arrival. (I am sure dad is too)

The bassinet is all cake. I used a large oval and baked two 3" high layers which were each split three times for filling. The bottom was Chocolate cake with white chocolate mousse and the top was banana with banana custard. The hood of the bassinet was made of royal frosting, and the baby was mexican paste and dressed in fondant

Air Soft

2011-11-28T09:16:00.001-08:00

This sheet cake was for a young man who was receiving his first Air Soft Gun.

The gun was made of mexican paste and then dusted with grey petal dust. The cake is a 13x9x2 and was airbrushed in a camo motif with very small leaves for a true fall affect.

Italian Cooking

2011-11-02T04:35:00.000-07:00

This is a birthday cake for a man who loves to cook Italian food.

It is a long loaf pan, Almond cake with Raspberry compote filling. I covered the cake in fondant and then hand marked the woodgrain in the sides. Next it was airbrushed a rich brown. The top and cabinet doors were added next in white fondant and scored with their pattern.

All the items were hand molded fondant. The spaghetti is long lines of fondant piled in the pot and then I made the "water' out of a very small amount of isomalt. The pan of sauce and meatballs are done by rolling small balls of brown fondant and rolling them in red piping gel, too cute.

Halloween

2011-10-30T16:14:00.000-07:00

What a fun holiday!!! I found a spooky tree at a local hobby shop and decided to make some cookies to hang from it. This is a tradition my parents did when I was a child. They did several different trees through the year for corresponding holiday treats.

I baked a 4" sugar cookie with a whole for hanging. I frosted them with smooth frosting and then piped on the gauze for the mummy and added sugar eyes. The spider web is first frosted then while the frosting is still wet, you pipe several circles and using a toothpick pull the lines out from the center making the web pattern. The spider cookie is frosted and then I added a fondant spider.

The cookies are hung on the tree using twist-ties bent in an S shape to make the cookies easy to get off the tree.

Fall

2011-10-21T08:18:00.000-07:00

I love the fall in the Northeast. The air is crisp and the trees are beautiful. This is a simple birthday cake for two who share the date.

It is a 10" Dark Chocolate Mayonnaise cake with peanut butter mousse. It features gumpaste fall leaves and fondant pumpkins.

Spiderman

2011-09-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

Our eldest grandson turned 5 on Sept. 15. He loves Spiderman.

This cake design was taken from a poster I found on Google.

I used a 13x9 cake, three layers high and one-half of the large egg pan for his head.

I created inserts for the 13x9 pan, so when the cake was cut, his inside would be blue and red checkerboard. The blue was colored white cake and the red was red velvet. Fresh Raspberry compote was used as filling between the three layers.

I first carved the shape, crumb coated it and chilled it several hours. I then covered the cake in blue and red fondant. Again chilling several hours. I then cut out the spider for his back and rolled approximately 6 strings of fondant at a time. By the time I had rolled out the 6th string the first one was stiff enough to handle easily. It took considerable time to put the web on his suit.

Our grandson was so excited. We all had a great time watching him celebrate with his favorite super hero. Happy Birthday Asher!!!

New Kid

2011-09-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

What a fun baby shower theme!! This cake is from 2012 Wilton yearbook. I molded the body of each baby in beige chocolate clay using the brownie silicone baking mold. The head is also beige chocolate clay wrapped around a malted milk ball. The chocolate was then left to dry and set up overnight. The next day each baby was dressed head to toe with fondant.

The blocks are a chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut butter mousse. They were base-coated in white buttercream and then trimmed in fondant.

The new mom was just thrilled with the end result.

Cookies

2011-09-29T08:04:00.000-07:00

Cookies for special occasion or just because you want something sweet. I offer cookies in 45 varieties. They may be purchase by the dozen or assorted trays.

Caramel cups, Almond Crescents, Pecan Tassies, Pizzelles, Peaches, Walnut Rugula, Fudge Puddles, Rich Chocolate Rum, Fig Newton, Rolo, Sarah Bernhardt, Chocolate covered Cherries, Pecan Supreme, Almond Crunch, Crunchy Jumbles, Chocolate Marshmallow, Cream Wafers, Coconut Thumbprint, Cinnamon Rings, Peanut Butter Blossoms, Madeline, Tri- Colored Marzipan, Lemon Cream Apricot Wraps, Pineapple Supremes, Moravian, Spritz, Lady Locks, Key Lime, Pistachio-Chocolate Pinwheels, Buckeyes, Lemon Nutmeg Shortbread, Almond Fingers, Lotus Blossoms, Strawberries, Cranberry-Raspberry Pinwheels, Raspberry Linzer Hearts, After 8's, Butter-Potato Chip, Eggnog, Chinese Chews, Orange-Almond, Cranberry-Ginger Shortbread, Mint Kisses.

I also offer hand-painted and airbrushed sugar cookies.

Lotus Blossom

2011-09-29T05:43:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, a cooking program was featuring this cookie; however, they could not tell the viewer how they were made as they were entered into a cookie contest and the submitter would not tell how they were done. After a lot of bloggers kept asking the women who submitted the cookies to share, she asked her mother to at least let her take a picture of the irons that are used to make the cookies.

I carried the picture for a few months looking for the irons to make these. I eventually found a highly skilled craftsman to fabricate them for me. He did a wonderful job and they work beautifully.

The small cake in the middle is the one that Prince William of England requested for his wedding. With all the buzz here in the states about the Royal Wedding, I really wanted to taste this dessert. I contacted a fellow cake decorator in England and she said it was a very common dessert for high tea. She sent me the recipe and a special ingredient that we do not have in the states. It was so much fun making, quite easy to make, and so decadent to the taste. I finished off the cake with a chocolate clay rose.

It was a big hit with the ladies in my book club.

Damasks print

2011-09-26T07:10:00.000-07:00

This cake was a "day before pick-up" order.

Sometimes a client will call me in the morning and want to pick a cake up the next day, this was just the case. This type of order can be done if the client allows me to choose the design, as the art work take considerable time. I, as a rule, always make additional flowers when preparing for a wedding in case I should break one or two when wiring the arrangement. This practice helps me to have flowers available for last minute orders, such as this.

The cake features buttercream in a pale blue with the damasks in dark blue. This is done by base-coating the buttercream and chilling the cake until set. Then with room temp buttercream in the opposing color, lay the stencil against the side of the cake and in a single swipe, spread the dark color on, and gently remove the stencil.

I then finished the design with shell borders, the birthday message and white gumpaste roses.

Just Desserts

2011-09-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

This table of cakes was for a wedding, in which, the couple wanted "just dessert"

Each cake was a different flavor and the also requested very basic designs. Flavors were Lemon with lemon custard, White with fresh raspberry compote, Chocolate with fudge, Spice with walnut custard and the Steelers logo was to honor the groom and the flavor was Red Velvet with cheesecake filling.

At the reception all the cakes were displayed on a single table and they were set upon individual pedestals.

Hokie

2011-09-09T16:24:00.001-07:00

This cake was ordered for the groom the be served at the rehearsal dinner. The bride sent me several pictures of this cake from the internet. The original design is not mine.

The cake was chocolate with fudge filling covered in chocolate buttercream then dark chocolate fondant.

Virginia Tech's mascot is the Hokie (turkey) he is made of the dark chocolate fondant as well. All the trim is orange fondant.

I apologize for the quality of the picture, my husband took the picture with his blackberry and then emailed it to me, so its not real clear. I forgot the camera ( I do that a lot).

Ashley

2011-08-28T14:17:00.001-07:00

I offer cakes in round, square, heart, oval, hexagon, paisley, teardrop, triangle and petal shapes.

This cake features a 12" 9"and 6" in Almond with a Fresh Strawberry compote. The 12" and 6" cakes were covered in white fondant and the 9" was covered in a medium blue fondant.

The 12" and 6" tiers where draped in a paisley pattern then hand painted in deeper shades of blue as well as piped in white and painted in silver accents. The 9" center cake was first painted with the paisley markers then filled in with a number of blue shades to create a very striking print. Again this layer was piped in white and over painted with silver.

This cake will feed 100 quests. However, this wedding had 300 in attendance, so the bride opted to make up the additional servings in sheet cakes. She ordered a full sheet and a half sheet cake in Chocolate cake with the Peanut Butter Mousse as well as a half sheet cake in Almond with Fresh Strawberry compote. This gave equal amounts of cake for her two flavors.

Her flowers are the Dendrobium Orchid in vivid purple and mini white Calla Lily.

Heidi

2011-08-28T14:03:00.000-07:00

Intwined Hearts.

This bride also chose a square design in buttercream with piped hearts for her pattern.

The cake is a 16" Almond cake with Fresh Raspberry compote, a 12" Chocolate Peanut Butter cake with Peanut Butter Mousse, and a 8" Italian Cream with Vanilla Custard.

Her colors are tangerine and guava. Her flowers are navelino mini gerberas, robina pink lily, Virginia white alstroemeria and green button mums.

Cassie

2011-08-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Aubergine, black and silver are the colors for this wedding and striking they are!!!

When deep colors are used they really pop on the over all design of the cake.

This cake features a 16" square Almond cake with Fudge filling, a 10" layer of Dark Chocolate cake with Fresh Raspberry compote filling and a 7" layer of Pistachio cake with Pistachio custard. It serves 150 guest. The brides flower choice is the Calla Lilly in aubergine with a silver throat (the flowers process was listed in a previous post).

Jake

2011-08-24T11:50:00.000-07:00

The Ole' Ball n Chain.....

This was for a grooms cake which was served at the rehearsal dinner. The grooms cake is a long standing tradition in Europe and has now become popular in the USA.

The cake is generally something to do with a hobby or sport of the groom, in this case the mother of the groom placed the order and she requested a ball-n-chain. She loves her new daughter-in-law but she thought this would be funny...

The cake was to serve 50 guest. It is red velvet with cheesecake filling. I used four 10" layers of cake and carved the ball. It was then covered in a thin layer of buttercream and chilled overnight. The morning of the party, I covered the ball in white fondant and distressed the outside to look damaged and used. The finish was airbrushed in black. The chain and cuff where made of gumpaste over a period of several weeks.

Brandi

2011-08-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Square wedding cakes are very poplar this year. I will have several others in the coming weeks.

The cake is covered in white fondant and features a very pale green filagree, lace and dot patterns. The flowers were very striking, watermelon gerber daisies, white roses and green orchids.

As fondant is the high end of price point a lot of brides make the centerpiece cake for 100 serving and have sheet cakes for the additional servings.

Jessica

2011-08-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Hexagon was the chosen shape for this wedding cake.

It featured buttercream frosting with green hydrangea and dark blue piped filagree on every other panel.

Ladies Golf Outing

2011-08-24T07:02:00.000-07:00

A local country club hosts an annual Ladies Golf Outing. At the completions of play the ladies have a sit-down dinner to award prizes. For the centerpiece of each table a cake is placed.

These are 6" cakes serving 8. Each cake features a different flavor as well as a different golf theme. All the cakes are covered in buttercream and the decorations are fondant. Not shown in the pictures where the flags on each hole (I place them on the cakes at each table so that they do not bounce around during the delivery.)

My favorite is the lady trying to blow the ball into the hole, I put the flag on that cake in her hand lying on the ground.

Cinnamon Rolls

2011-08-21T04:40:00.000-07:00

I also make cheesecakes, cookies, cream puff, danish and pies..... Just about anything sweet.... Grab a cup of coffee!!!

Button Mum

2011-08-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

The button mum starts with the same "eye" center as for a gerber daisy.

Once the center is dried I start layering on petals.

The daisy cutters are used for this flower as well. Starting with the smallest cutter layer two rows of petals the same size and curl them around the dried center. Next cut three rows of petal (the same size) for the next size cutter and finally, two from the largest size for the third layer of petal. The cutters come in four different sizes depending on who large the final flower should be will determine the three cutters used.

The finished flower should be the size of a quarter. Button mums come in a variety of colors, I make them all white and airbrushed the desired color as needed.

These will be airbrushed green for a upcoming wedding cake.

Nicholas

2011-08-04T17:50:00.000-07:00

This young man was turning 13. He was having friends over for a camp fire and his mother requested a bon fire cake.

The cake is a 10" the flames are gumpaste cut from various cutters and dried on a curve. When completely dry, they were airbrushed with yellow, red and orange. The logs are fondant as well as the little man. The mini marshmallows are often used in making cocoa. Using uncooked spaghetti I pierced two mini marshmallows and then using a candle lighter, I toasted them. I used a bottle cap as a bowl for the additional marshmallows.

Around the bon fire using the grass tip I piped small patches of grass and added chocolate candy stones.

80

2011-08-04T17:45:00.000-07:00

This order was for a big birthday, however, the guest of honor did not want a fuss.

The client requested no name on the cake. They chose white cake with fresh raspberry compote to serve 30 guest (10")

The letters were cut of blue fondant as well as the ribbed circles in blue and brown.

Tom

2011-08-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

The was for a man retiring and looking forward to a lot of time on our local water ways. A private boat club often orders cakes for its memberships private parties. This cake was 9" and featured mexican paste sail boats. The rope and life saver were made of fondant. Happy Retirement Tom!

Pink Robina Lilly

2011-08-04T17:15:00.000-07:00

First start with the stamen. Using green gumpaste, roll a small ball down 2" of a 26 g wire, leaving a ball at the base and insert 5 black stamen. Leave this to dry overnight. The next day roll three or four very small balls of paste, squeeze them together and dip the long stamen in glue and push into the center of the small balls to attach them. I then airbrush the center with a darker green to give it depth.

Using the cutters pictured, choose two sizes. Cut three of the smaller size from white paste and press into veiner and insert a 26 g wire. When all three are complete place then into the throat of a Styrofoam lilly form to dry. Next cut three larger petals and repeat the process. Leave all to dry overnight. The next day, thin petal dust with gin or vodka to make an edible paint. Leaving a white strip at the base of each petal, paint the remainder of the petal the desired color. Leave to dry several hours.

I then apply dry petal dust over the paint to give depth to the petals. Tape the three smaller petals around the prepared stamen. Next tape the three larger petals between the three small petals. The finished flower will have a white star.

Alstroemeria

2011-08-04T15:44:00.000-07:00

The Alstroemeria is a very common flower used in bridal bouquets.

I first start with the stamen. This bride requires the Virginia White variety. The stamen are manufactured white with a very small brown dot on the head of each thread. I tape 5 threads to a 26 g wire per flower.

Next I cut three petals from white gumpaste using the smaller Alstroemeria petal cutter as pictured in second picture. Dry the petals several hours, then paint small dashes on each petal, air dry for 30 minutes then tape to prepared stamen. Cut the final three petals, per flower, from white gumpaste using the larger petal cutter. Thin the edges using a ball tool and dry over flower form to bend petals out. Dry the large petals overnight then tape to prepare stamen and dash petals, your Alstroemeria is now complete.

50th Anniversary

2011-08-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

50 years of marriage is a very special celebration for a couple.

The cake was a 12" and 7" oval shape with elements of the original cake design as well as the bridal bouquet. The swan is made of pastillage, the orchids and stephanotis were made of gumpaste. Congratulations Diane and Lee, many happy returns!

Alyssa

2011-07-13T12:22:00.000-07:00

Lady bug....This cake is carved from 3-10" cakes and one half small ball cake. The bug is covered in fondant and air brushed bright red. (When deep colors are needed in a large piece of fondant. The color make the fondant hard to work with, it is always better to cover the cake and then airbrush the color on.) The antler were made of mexican paste and dried a few days. The spots, eyes, split, and mouth were all fondant. The grass is buttercream piped through a grass tip.

Carley

2011-07-13T12:16:00.000-07:00

This young women graduated from a local high school and is going on to WMU on an ice skating scholarship. This is a full sheet cake serving 100 guests. The graduation cap is molded chocolate and the skates are pastillage. The banner on the front face of the cake was printed with edible ink on a frosting sheet.

Judy's mom

2011-07-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

The client ordered a two tier cake for the 80th birthday of her mother. Mom's favorite flower is the Gardenia and her occupation was as a nurse. The nursing items were made of mexican paste and the flowers were gumpaste.

Lexi

2011-07-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

This was for a very intimate wedding. The cake, a 10" and 6" was for 35 guest and features Lilly of the Valley. The ribbons on around the tiers and the bow are fondant dusted in champagne luster dust.

Buttercream

2011-06-19T04:29:00.000-07:00

These cupcakes were for a bridal shower. They are hummingbird cake and cream cheese filling.

The bride requested spring colors and flowers. The top of each cupcake (75 in all) featured a piped buttercream flower, rose, daisy or daffodil. The shower was held at a golf course (guess what the men were doing :) The room had a wall of windows and the cupcakes were displayed on a tall tower in front of the window which over looked the course.

Moth Orchid

2011-06-17T11:44:00.000-07:00

The moth orchid begins with a very small ball of gumpaste attached to a 32 gauge wire which is cured for 24 hours.

Then using the cutter in the photo, cut one throat of the orchid. I then thin out the ears, split the tongue and curl the tails. The dried center is inserted and the whole piece is then placed in the white styrofoam tube pictured and let it dry overnight.

When dry, I dust the throat with yellow petal dust and add the stamen (which is a small ball of gumpaste that is indented. While these are still most, I paint all the features of the throat. Allow this to set while cutting two large round petals.

Thin and vein the petals with a ball tool. Insert a 32 gauge wire and wrap to the throat with floral tape. I let the flower dry at this stage overnight so as to not cause damage while adding the last three petals.

The final step the this flower is cutting the three petal back, again thinning and veining as with the previous two large petals. Add some gum-glue and attach to the finished center, making sure the petals are set in the PEACE symbol so that they fall between the finished center petals.

Gardenia

2011-06-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

Like roses, the gardenia starts out with the same bud. A small piece of gumpaste pinched on one side and wrapped around itself. A 32 gauge wire is inserted for the stem and this bud will cure for 48 hours before adding the petals.

Three petals are wrapped around the bud then five petals are added to the base. I then place the flower on an open air rack, the five petals will fall open. I generally dry the flower 3 days before adding the calyx and wrapping the wire in floral tape.

Vintage Cake Plate

2011-06-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Weddings are unique to each couple. I met with this bride's mother on several occasion as the bride lived out of state.

It was very important that the cake be presented on a Great-Grandmother's cake plate. The overall design was petit as the bride wanted the cake to be clean and simple.

She chose buttercream with a swiss dot pattern and fondant ribbon at the base of each cake. The cake featured, 9" dark chocolate cake with coconut mounds filling, the 7" layer was devils food chocolate with Bailey Irish Cream filling and the 4" top tier was carrot without filling. Six gumpaste petit Calla Lilies were used to accent the design. It served 75 guest.

Petit Sweets

2011-06-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

These are chocolate cake pops dipped in lavender ganache and piped with royal frosting with an edible pearl.

Strawberry cookies are a flavored cookie dough. Each half is scooped out while still warm. They are then filled with a strawberry buttercream and a almond. Two halfs are then pressed together. The cookie is then sprayed with Strawberry extract and water to wet the cookie, then rolled in sugar. A plastic leaf is added for final presentation.

The strawberry cookies added to the overall package which was being giving as a sweet treat gift.

Sailing

2011-05-29T17:35:00.001-07:00

Chad enjoys sailing.

The water was carved of a 6" white cake and a 3"x 5" mini sheet cake the boat was carved from a 13 x 9 x 2.

First I covered the water in blue fondant and airbrushed various shades of blue and added royal frosting for the waves.

The boat was also covered in fondant and trimmed out with black. The sail is pastillage and the birthday wishes were painted on.

Tara and Adam

2011-05-29T17:14:00.000-07:00

Love is in the air and at the beach.

Today was a bridal shower for a young couple. The groom-to-be was on vacation and drew a message of "Tara will you marry me" in the sand. He then took a picture of his art work and framed the picture. While out with friend one night, he gave her the gift wrapped framed picture. When she opened the pictured he was holding the ring.

Therefore, the inspiration for this cake. The sand is made of ameritti cookies, dried lady finger cookies and brown sugar. The board was covered in royal frosting to give the cookies something to stick to. All the sea shells are gumpaste dusted in various luster dust. The sea fence is pastillage. The cake is covered in fondant, airbrushed and then hand painted. The beach chairs are pastillage, uncooked spaghetti and mexican paste was used to make the fabric for the seat. The heart in the sand was airbrushed on after the royal frosting holding the sand had dried. Congratulations to the happy couple!

Jim

2011-05-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

A round of golf is great enjoyment to a group of friends and the men were having steaks on the grill and a birthday cake to celebrate an 80+ birthday of one of the men.

This is a 10" Almond cake with raspberry compote. The buttercream is airbrushed on the sides and a grass tip was used for the borders. The water hazard is piping gel. The sand trap is ground amaretti cookies. The golf bag is mexican paste and the clubs are uncooked spaghetti with mexican paste club heads. The clubs shafts were then painted with silver luster dust. The golf ball is an edible pearl.

Black and White

2011-05-26T06:16:00.001-07:00

This wedding cake was very emotional for me. As I met this young women mother 25 years ago while working in an environmental laboratory. I was the office manager and her mother was the human resource director. While eating lunch one day we were talking about my growing up in the catering industry and she asked me to make a cake for an upcoming birthday. Well here we are 25 years later. I bake full time and her little girl who is now 23 is getting married.

The first picture shows the plastic gumpaste flower and leaf cutters as well as three filagree cutters and a number of shapes that I made from cookie cutter tin, all to create the shapes needed. The second picture is a number of the pieces cut from mexican paste. I let them dry approximately one hour to make them easier to apply to the buttercream.

The last picture is the finished cake at the reception. It featured chocolate cake with fresh raspberry compote, white cake with strawberry mousse and chocolate peanut butter cake with peanut butter mousse. The flowers are gumpaste white poppies with a black eye.

On a personal note: This reception was one of my top 5 favorites. I cannot express just how breath taking the room was. The flowers that filled this room were nothing short of amazing. The food was excellent and everyone truly enjoyed the day.

25 years ago that very first cake, made me realize my purpose, my joy, my passion to create. I left the work force and remolded my kitchen into an industrial kitchen (you will see parts of the kitchen in the background of other pictures).

This family has three daughters, the oldest daughter was married 2 years ago (I did her cake as well. ) The youngest daughter is in her Masters program. This wedding was the middle daughter.

I have done almost all of the birthday, graduation and special event cakes for this family. My art is a GIFT and I express my thanks by creating cakes.

I am truly thankful to my first customers.

Joe's Paw

2011-05-26T05:10:00.000-07:00

This is the grooms cake from the above wedding cake. It features a pina colada cake with pineapple compote and toasted coconut.

The bride explains: "Now I am told that the way to tell a Clemson paw print from any other paw print is that the Clemson one has the little indent in the bottom right of the biggest part of the paw. SO... that would be something that would be important. I learned that early on in our relationship and was told to never forget it!"

I was very glad she pointed this out as I took the mark as a copier flaw, oops!! I hope we did the paw proud.

Pooh

2011-05-17T06:57:00.000-07:00

Winnie-the-Pooh. I made this little guy out of mexican paste and then the order was cancelled. He technically is not finished. I will add honey to his pot and a few bees. The cake design was to have Pooh leaning against a tree (the cake) eating honey. I will store him away for another time.

Buttercream Roses

2011-05-17T06:45:00.000-07:00

Its graduation. A small celebration for a college graduate. 13x9 Almond cake with raspberry compote.

I recently had client who said "I didn't know you knew how to make flower in frosting". I had to giggle as every baker learns to make the buttercream flowers first. The gumpaste flowers are much more difficult to create and take years to perfect; therefore I thought I feature a cake with buttercream flowers

Pretty in Pink

2011-05-17T06:08:00.000-07:00

18"- White cake/Raspberry compote filling. 14" - Red Velvet cake/cheesecake filling. 11" - White cake/ Bailey Irish Cream filling. 7" Atomic cake (a layer of banana cake with banana custard, a layer of white cake with fresh strawberry compote and a layer of chocolate cake with fudge. I call it atomic as this flavor will blow your mind ) This cake will serve 225 guests, and features buttercream filagree in pink and black, as well as gumpaste roses.

Texting

2011-05-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

No the spelling is not wrong!!!

I met a group of five women several years ago when they were planning a bridal shower. They have all become repeat clients.

One of the ladies ordered a birthday cake for another and said the other women was always on her phone texting so could we write Happy Birthday Sue as you see pictured. They all had a good laugh, and a great evening out with Sue.

At the Movies

2011-05-17T05:56:00.001-07:00

Several months ago I did a circus cake for this family and now another child was celebrating a birthday. It was being held at our local movie theatre. The cake is a 13x9 and the popcorn, movie reel, tickets and action board were all made of mexican paste. I airbrushed the edges for dramatic effect.

Petit Sweets

2011-05-17T05:36:00.001-07:00

These little gems where for a 50 Birthday party. The client was throwing her own birthday celebration all around the theme of "Ding Dong this Witch is not DEAD". She requested sweets that party goers could grab and go (instead of the traditional piece of cake) So I made witches hats of mexican paste to set atop a mini dark chocolate cupcake filled with fudge. The hat was held on by green buttercream. The witches fingers are almond cookies with an almond fingernail. After the cookies were baked I used a very thin flesh colored almond sugar wash to represent the skin and a tint of red for the finger nail.
The spiders were sugar cookies with a black crystal sugar and a red chocolate diamond on their back.

I also had two other petit sweets (my computer deleted them as I tried to upload.. there was an error with the file???)

Well they were very cute if I say so myself. One was a cake ball shaped as the witches broom and the other was a mini cheesecake which featured a black sugarveil spider-web. All 250 mini treats were placed in a coffin at the party.

Calla Lilly

2011-04-19T11:58:00.000-07:00

Calla lilly grow in a multitude of colors. This is Aubergine.

First you make a narrow tube of gumpaste with a 32 gauge wire inserted for the stem. This must dry completely. I then add the pollen with colored sugartex (most calla lilly stamen are the same color as the flower). I then cut the flower petal and wrap it around the stamen.

When the flower is completely dry, I then dust it with the petal dust inside and out. Note the finished flower is a rich deep color. Finally, I wrap the wire in floral tape. This bride is using a silver accent in her theme, therefore, the throats of these flowers are silver.

Matt and Bri

2011-04-19T11:00:00.001-07:00

Wedding season 2011 has begun.

This cake features buttercream with fondant ribbon at the base of each tier and gumpaste rose petals.

The couples monogram was supplied by the bride and is highlighted by three gumpaste roses.

As the couple choose sheet cakes for cost effectiveness, only the top two tiers of the display cake are edible. This is a great way to help cut cost, yet give the appearance of a full size cake.

The weather may have been very VERY rainy, but the sun was shinning on the happy couple, friends and family. "Congratulation"

Cole

2011-04-19T10:39:00.000-07:00

Birthday cakes come in all shapes, this was for a young mans bowling birthday party. This cake features a 1/4 sheet that has been airbrushed in brite blue. The bowling pins, ball, alley and stars are fondant. The cake is covered in buttercream and is white with vanilla custard. It serves 20-25 guests.

65th Anniversary

2011-03-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

I recently purchase some new cake pans in unique shapes, triangle (seen here), comma and teardrop. This will give my clients more options for their cake design. Now I offer, the three shapes above as well as round, square, heart, petal, rectangle, and diamond.

This cake was in celebration of a 65th wedding anniversary. The sides of the cake featured buttercream stenciling and filigree. The flowers were blue and green hydrangeas. The bow was dusted in luster dust with edible glitter representing 65th anniversary "diamond".

Stargazer Lilly

2011-03-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

The four pictures here show the process of creating the Stargazer Lilly.

In the first photo I have taken a small piece of gumpaste and rolled it down a 32 gauge wire that I have bent slightly. I then make three very small balls to attach to the end finishing the pistil.

Then I took six 32 gauge wires and six small pieces of brown gumpaste to mold the stamen and while the paste is soft, I dip it in sugar tex to create the pollen of the flower.

Once the Pistil is dry it gets its color from petal dust and is all taped together along with the stamen, creating the center of the lilly.

The six white gumpaste flower petals are cut and dusted before setting in a curved tube to allow the petals to hold this shape. Once the petals have rested an hour or so, they are now firm enough to hold shape and yet soft enough to tape together and bend into final shape for the finished flower. Small spots are added as the last step.

Hello Kitty

2011-03-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

A long time customer requested a cake for several birthday being celebrated at once and featuring Hello Kitty. The 8" cake was Chocolate with a peanut butter mousse filling. As winter has been quite long in the North East, this just said spring to me....

Super Bowl XLV

2011-02-05T08:29:00.000-08:00

This years Super Bowl is Pittsburgh v. Green Bay. This cake is for a half-time party of Pittsburgh fans. It features a White cake with fresh strawberry compote. As the teams colors are black and yellow. I airbrushed the black over the white buttercream and then trimmed it in black and yellow food coloring, so their guest won't have stained teeth; however, their tongues will be colored for a few hours, showing there true team spirt. HERE WE GO STEELERS!!!

Jon

2011-02-05T08:22:00.000-08:00

My husband is an avid golfer. For his birthday I did an ice cream cake trimmed in whip-cream with a fondant golf bag and clubs. I used edible pearls for the golfballs and the writing is done with piping gel. Happy Birthday Honey!!

To the Death of Sue's Youth

2011-02-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

This lovely lady was turning 50. Her husband placed the order after seeing this coffin cake a few years ago at another birthday. As this was to serve only 10, the coffin is chocolate cake and the under-skirting is styrofoam with a fondant ruffle. The mini white calla lilly are made of gumpaste as well as the 49.

Rick

2011-02-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

This is a standard size birthday cake. It is 8" and serves 12 people. This was Chocolate cake with a Chocolate mousse filling. It features chocolate buttercream piping and blue airbrush accents.

This particular cake does not have any additional art work, per the clients request; however, most birthday cake have a theme and edible art work is applied.

Holiday cookies

2011-02-05T07:31:00.000-08:00

Holiday cookies of 2010. The gingerbread men are hand piped and the sugar cookies are airbrushed. I offer approximately 45 different kinds of cookies. Most are ordered for weddings and Christmas; however, I do have a few clients who want to be called when certain cookies are ordered, so that they may get a dozen of their favorite.

Under the Big Top

2011-01-01T16:21:00.000-08:00

A first birthday is a big occasion and this family celebrated in a BIG way.

The cake was 4-7" round cakes for the big tent. The top was made of pastillage several weeks in advance. The second tier was a 12" round and the football shape was special order

cut styrofoam. The bottom was covered in buttercream and airbrushed with clouds, the train cars were made of gumpaste. The animals, clowns and ringmaster were brownie pops covered in fondant (cover of Wilton 2010) The Big Top was covered in fondant.

Nice in Ice

2011-01-01T16:11:00.000-08:00

This unique wedding design was chosen by a couple who were married in December and used the ice and snow as their theme.

It features several layers of cake ranging from 4",6",7" and 8" square in a reverse pattern giving a narrow bottom and wide top.

It was white cake with fresh blueberry compote filling. The crystals and pearls were wired into gumpaste white roses. The top and bottom are adorned with appliques dusted with pearl dust and sugar crystals. Congratulations Pat and Deb

Second reception

2010-12-12T04:56:00.000-08:00

A couple had a destination wedding and the grooms family held a second reception for the couple a few months later for those that could not make the trip. ]

These four cakes were to feed 30 guest each. The first cake is a representation of the original wedding cake. It features buttercream with piped filagree and white gumpaste roses.

The basketball is a favorite sport of the groom is carrot pound cake carved (regular cake is far to tender to hold shape) and covered in textured fondant, airbrushed for shading and letters were also fondant.

The basket of fall flowers was for the bride and her sister, it featured buttercream with a fondant ribbon runner through the pattern, all flowers and fall leaves were gumpaste.

Finally the Missouri logo was for the couples college, again this is buttercream and the logo was made in advance to allow the fondant to dry.

Cookie Bouquet

2010-12-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

These jerseys represent the girls high school soccer team. It is the senior year for these players and this was ordered for their athletic banquet.

I used a sugar cookie dough cut in a shirt pattern. They are then frosted with a smooth drying frosting. I cut the numbers and shirt trim from fondant and piped on the names.

Congratulations ladies on a great season!

40 Birthday

2010-12-12T04:37:00.000-08:00

A lovely woman contacted me about a cake for her daughter's 40 Birthday Surprise party. She asked for it to serve 50 guest and to have a fall theme.

This cake features a 10" square, 7" round and 4"square. The square cakes feature a panel of fondant in a woodgrain to create a box, the round tier has painted grass symbolizing the end of summer.

The flowers were gumpaste tiger lilly, acorns, wheat, mums, cattails and leaves in all stages of fall. The party was a great success and I have gotten a few future orders from the guest for their upcoming events.

Amber

2010-10-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

I really love the clean line and edgy colors of this wedding cake. When using dark colors a little says a lot. This bride chose a square cake in fondant with grey and black ribbons. At the base of each tier I used a garland sliver trim (not edible) to help keep the cost workable. The crystals down the front were hand strung on jewelry wire so the bride could use them in her home after the big day. As you can see it is fall in the Northeast and this couple was celebrating under white tents on a beautiful fall day.

Christening of Owen

2010-10-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

Amanda (a bride in a previous post) was christening her first child. The cake for the celebration featured a paisley shape with a small round cake off set on the top. The calla lilies were gumpaste and the cross and pale blue draping were fondant.

Anniversary

2010-10-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

This was a last minute order for an anniversary cake with bright flowers. I used Orchids, Hibiscus, and Hydrangea flowers made of gumpaste. The bows, tails and curls are made of fondant. The cake is covered in buttercream with a fondant ribbon around the base of each tier.

Dora and Boots

2010-10-18T06:45:00.000-07:00

Twins celebrating their birthday each wanted Dora and Boots. One had a beach theme with cookie sand and seashells made of white chocolate dusted in luster dust. The second Dora and Boots was a picnic theme. Complete with a table cloth and foods made of marzipan.

King, Queen and Ace of Hearts

2010-10-18T06:37:00.000-07:00

A lovely bride and mother asked me to create a cake for the groom.

The brides mother found this cake in a magazine using candy roll to cut all the pieces from and real playing cards for the top. After a great deal of consideration, she decided she had to many other things to prepare for the wedding, so she asked me to recreate the cake.

Gourmet Specialty's prides itself on everything being edible. The ribbon and card suites are cut from fondant. The playing cards were scanned then printed on icing sheets and cut to fit on fondant. The silver balls are edible pearls painted in silver luster dust. They were very pleased with the outcome.

Summer sports

2010-10-18T06:36:00.001-07:00

Soccer anyone! This birthday cake features airbrushing, piping and fondant.

50 Anniversary

2010-10-18T06:32:00.000-07:00

Two tier cake featuring gold fondant embellishments and ribbon on buttercream. Elegance on a small scale.

Dr. J and Dr. Weily

2010-08-22T03:27:00.000-07:00

This cake was for a small appreciation dinner, thanking two doctors. One a Heart Surgeon the other a Foot Surgeon. The appendages are made of fondant. The cake was strawberry with fresh strawberry compote. Job well done gentlemen!!!

Tara

2010-08-14T06:49:00.000-07:00

Gumpaste Hydrangea flowers make up the centers of this wedding cake.

A total of 40 full heads and 63 small heads of flowers were created to cover 6" Styrofoam blocks in graduating sizes. One full head of Hydrangea requires 12 individual centers and 4 petals, the small head requires 9 centers and 4 petal, for a grand total of 1,047 individual centers and flowers. All four of the natural flower colors were incorporated into the final design.

The 16", 12" and 8" square cakes were white with a fresh raspberry compote atop white chocolate mousse. At the base of each tier was a navy blue fondant ribbon. The final design served 150 quest.

Reese's first Birthday

2010-08-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

My twin sons both welcomed a baby girl into their respective families last June and July and babies are turning one this summer.

London was in a previous post.

Reese's birthday was the end of July and as everyone calls her Reese Cup, her parents requested a cake looking like the candy bar.

The "cup" exposed is a chocolate peanut butter cake with a peanut butter mousse. It is covered in brown fondant and then airbrushed for shading. The exposed bite represented the peanut butter (but it was fondant).

The "package" cake was half Red Velvet and half Spice with a cheesecake filling. The whole thing was covered in orange fondant and airbrushed for depth. At birth Reese was 9 lbs. 2 oz., hence the net weight on the cake. The lettering was fondant and cut a few days prior to construction to allow for air drying. It was a great celebration of a sweet little girl.

Happy birthday Reese cup!!!

In the second picture the Titan's football was a birthday cake for my lovely daughter-in-law who is a cheerleader for the Tennessee Titans and was celebrating her birthday a few days after the baby. The football was white cake with raspberry compote, covered in brown fondant. All the stars, streamer, and logo were fondant made a few day in advance to allow for air drying.

Happy Birthday Stephanie!!!

Hattie

2010-08-11T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hattie is turning 90 years old and she loved peacocks.

This cake is an 8" cake covered in white fondant and features a fondant peacock. The sides where made to look like the "eye" part of the peacock feather.

Very Happy Birthday to a sweet lady.

Amanda

2010-08-11T09:13:00.000-07:00

Amanda is the granddaughter of a friend and when she announce she was getting married, grandma sent her to me, for her cake.

Amanda chose a square shape cake and wanted a few ribbon and bows as well as pink roses.

The location of the reception was one of the prettiest setting I had ever seen. The room was three walls of floor to ceiling glass which overlook a private golf course, and as you can see in the background everything was pink and white. (my personal favorite)

Daisy - Daisy

2010-08-11T08:59:00.000-07:00

This wedding cake was done for a lovely couple having a small affair. 45 total servings, 10", 8" and 5" cakes were covered in lemon yellow fondant with a fondant twist at the base of each tier and then covered in shasta daisy of three different sizes. Simple design with a pretty outcome.

Stencil Lilly

2010-08-11T04:59:00.000-07:00

I often look for cake inspiration in everyday items. I found these lilies on a box of tissues. I burned a stencil of the lilies and leaves.

A few day before the wedding, I covered the cake drum with fondant and stenciled the edges (this carries the design top to bottom). I then rolled fondant and stenciled the lilies and leaves, cut each one out and let it dry.

The morning of the wedding I covered the overall cake in fondant and painted the sides in stripes. I attached the dried fondant lilies and leaves with a little royal frosting and added a ribbon bow and streamers to the top lilly.

Ark baby shower

2010-08-11T04:49:00.000-07:00

I used a 16" and 11" cake layer and carved them into a paisley shape to represent the waves flood water decorated in buttercream. The Ark is also cake which is covered in fondant to represent wood. All the animals were fondant and set on the Ark which was then placed at the top of the waves. The new baby's room was decorated in an Ark theme so it was carried over to the baby shower.

White on white

2010-08-11T04:35:00.000-07:00

I often have brides who have found their dream wedding cake in a magazine and want me to recreate the design. A bride brought this design and then asked me to replace the disc with flowers which total changed the design. I replicated the cake as it was brought to me for a bridal show, and it created a stir!!!

As brides and their mothers approached my booth, they were surprised to find that the discs where in fact fondant, they explained as they entered the event across the room it looked like the cake had fabric on it. It featured six tiers, 22", 18", 16", 10", 8" and 6". The side were piped with drop strings with a dragees at the point of the strings. Serves 400 guests.

July 4

2010-08-11T04:28:00.000-07:00

A grandmother was having her family visit for the 4th of July and the grandchildren wanted a cake with a flag on it.

This is an 8" cake with a fondant American flag on the top (yes it has too many stripes- shame on me for not realizing this before. As a honorable discharged U.S. Marine, that is embarrassing) For the sides I used tri color fondant stars.

Happy Birthday America!!!

Grooms cake

2010-07-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

A frantic bride called me 2 weeks before her wedding and requested a groom's cake. Her wedding cake was being done by another baker and they did not have time to do the groom's cake. As the man was a mushroom farmer and loved raspberries. That is what I did. The cake was chocolate with a fresh raspberry compote. The mushrooms were made of meringue and dusted with cocoa, the raspberries, flowers and vines were gumpaste.

Christine

2010-07-21T05:32:00.000-07:00

This wedding was a few years ago. The couple requested a meeting with me at 10 pm to discuss the design of their wedding cake as they were in town to make wedding plans and after a long day of meetings, they met with me. The cake was for 300 - 18",16",12", and 8". It is buttercream with fondant scarfs and gumpaste gold roses. The couple was such a pleasure to work with and have become life long friends.

Scuba Chef

2010-07-21T05:18:00.000-07:00

Co-workers requested a cake for the Chef of a private club. For ideas the only info they could give me was he was the head Chef and he liked scuba diving. Therefore a scuba diver with frying pan and pancake turner was created from a 50/50 mixture of gumpaste and fondant. Happy B Day Chef. (He was tough, he did not like sweets and was not fond of birthday celebrations, so this was a total surprise to him.)

Happy 1st Birthday London

2010-06-02T08:22:00.000-07:00

Over the Memorial Day weekend, our family celebrated the first birthday of our second grandchild (her big brother Asher is coloring a chalk picture for her and her daddy wrote the message) . My daughter-in-law requested a cake that would feature the babies pink Chuck Taylor sneaker. The cake was white with a raspberry compote filling and covered in pale pink fondant, with darker pink ribbon and bow. The sneakers were hand sculpted of out of 50/50 fondant pastillage mixture.

Sara's Graduation

2010-06-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

Whether you are heading into the workforce or on to higher education, graduation is a celebration. This graduate loves the flute and drama. The flute and sheet music are printed on frosting paper, the drama masks are fondant painted with gold and sliver luster dust, The flowers are orange buttercream rose as her class colors were orange and black. She will be heading onto higher education for a degree in teaching. Congratulation Sara!!!

Chanelle

2010-05-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Bold color makes a bold statement. This wedding cake is a 16",10",7" topsy turvy style and features gumpaste hydrangeas and roses in a royal mauve color. The diamond pattern is very very thin fondant placed onto the buttercream with accents of black at the tier base and silver-dragees at each point of the diamonds.

Baby Shower "Girl"

2010-05-23T06:23:00.000-07:00

A long time client requested a baby shower cake without any writing, decorated with animals and to serve 40 quests. I used 10" and 7" cakes stacked hatbox style, airbrushed long green leaves on the sides of the top tier. Then piped remaining leaves in buttercream to give an overall jungle effect. The animals were hand sculpted of 50-50 fondant-gumpaste, and feature an Elephant, Zebra, Lion, Tiger, Giraffe and Monkey. To finish off the design I used gumpaste daisies in various sizes.

Zach's Cobra

2010-04-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

I have done a number of carved cakes, but this was a challenge. The order called for a snake sitting upright with fangs. I first baked the white cake in a sheet pan. I cut the cake in long stripes which were stacked up with raspberry compote in between the layers. I then chilled the cake for a few hours before carving all the corners off. Rolling a long strip of fondant I then put the chilled carved cake in the center and pulled the fondant up to the top, pinched off the excess and put the snake in the desired shape, then once again I chilled it for a few hours. While this second chill was occurring, I rolled very, very thin fondant and began marking the snake scales for his upper skin. I then applied the scales to the top of the snake. The next step was to paint it with a multitude of color layers giving depth to the snake skin. Lastly, I add eyes of edible pearls painted black, white fangs and pink tongue of fondant. To add to the overall design I added royal frosting grass, cookie crumb dirt and chocolate candy rock. Happy 10th Birthday Zach!!!