Its a Boy

My client requested a cake for her first grand-baby.  A little BOY!  

I cut 2" squares of 50/50 paste and allowed them to dry several days.  The ones with the holes are to allow the support to be hidden.  Once all the squares were dry, they were assembled with royal frosting.  I then cut ribbon strips of fondant in pale blue to trim the blocks.

These are the blocks for the top of the cake.  I used the funky alphabet cutters for the lettering.

The finished cake in the refrigerator (incase I forgot the camera)  The overall cake was frosted in buttercream and all the trimmings are fondant in two shades of blue. 

The bottom tier was a 12" French Vanilla cake with fresh raspberry compote.  The top tier was devils food chocolate with a fudge filling.

 

I remembered the camera :)

Tisket a Tasket

Our community has an Ice Cream shoppe that is the highlight of our summers.  The shoppe was owned by a family for several generations, then last fall it was sold.  I had done business with the original owner, whom allowed me to get product.

I made a visit to the shoppe when it opened just before Easter and inquired if the new owner would honor the agreement I had with the previous owner.  To my delight, they were more than happy to help.  I requested items for their next order cycle and the new owner gave me the items I requested for FREE.  I was so surprised...I decided to make an Easter cake for them.

This is a 10" checkerboard cake (pink and purple color of white cake)  The fondant was rolled with a basket-weave pattern, then airbrushed and distressed.  The handle is chocolate clay, the dogwood blossom are gumpaste, the grass is wafer paper and jelly beans finished off the design.

Small business helping one another :)

Sugar Cookie Baskets

This cutter is a Julia Usher design.   Her cookies are beautifully detailed.  I had to give it a try. I was very pleased with the outcome.  

These two were cutters I had.  The flowers on all of these cookies are made of fondant which dries but does not become so hard that you could not bite through.  

Peeps sugar cookies

I just love 3-D sugar cookie cutters.

These bunnies are put together with royal frosting.  Dried overnight then I coated the entire cookie with a very thin pale colored royal frosting and while its wet I sprinkled ultra fine granulated sugar.  Their tails are royal frosting and shaved coconut.

These two sugar cookies are frosted with cookie frosting and then trimmed in royal frosting.  I then shrink wrap them for shipping.

Easter Treats

I was able to make a trip to see the grandchildren for Easter this year.

Reese's pre-school class was celebrating with a treat exchange, she asked for sugar cookies bunnies and eggs.  I was delighted to make her special treats.

Luck of the Irish sugar cookies

Mini postcard images.  Great size for tea.

I used the image wafer paper to decorate these St. Pat cookies

Jelly Bean Tree

Well... this is a little off topic.  While baking toward the end of March I began working on a Jelly Bean Tree. (see the chocolate cake cooling)

Each Easter my dad would cut several small limbs from the woods.  He would wire them together and paint the limbs white.  We would then stick jelly beans on the limbs for a table decoration during the  holiday.  

I found this lovely little tree at JoAnn Fabrics during Halloween  (it was black).  After several layers of white paint it was ready for Jelly Beans.  

Well... this is the only picture I have, I totally did not take one of the house decorated for Easter, :(  Next Year :)

Jailynn's 3rd Birthday

Jailynn is 3!!!

  Her birthday cake is a 12x17 Chocolate sheet cake with fudge filling.  

The characters are cut from a coloring page printed on icing images and placed on fondant.  The little red flowers were gumpaste.  The background is airbrushed and the border trim is a shell tip.

SAP

Chromaflo Technologies Corp was launching a massive new software system and a former co-worker, from many years ago, requested I bake a cake to celebrate her new bosses birthday.

The computer was molded chocolate with the companies new logo.

The saying on the side of the cake, Have a Happy Birthday, not a SAPpy Birthday.  The cake is an 8" marble cake with an orange custard filling.  Trimmed in navy blue using a large shell tip.  

Easter Postcards

Sugar cookies.  The postcards are wafer images purchased from Fancy Flours.

The images were cut apart and applied to wet royal frosted cookies.

Once dry I then put a thin layer of clear piping gel on the picture and sprinkled ultra fine sugar over it.

  The edges were then trimmed out with several different tips and colors.

Clara

First Birthday

This cake is a 13x9 sheet decorated to match the invitation sent for Clara's celebration.

A few days in advance the penguins were made of 50/50 paste.  I just love how CUTE they are with those little hats.

The birthday message was printed on icing image paper to again match the invitation.  I cut the snow flakes from rice paper and image paper, for different texture.  The cake was finished with a shell border.  

This is the "smash" cake. All the embellishments are done on image paper.  

I place these little cakes in a cake pop box for delivery.  

 Happy 1st Birthday Clara!

I just love those penguins! 

U.S. Marine Corp

Service to our country is a proud choice made by very dedicated citizens.  Both my husband and myself served as Marines from 1975-1979.  My father served during the Korean conflict 1954-1956

This cake was in celebration of a Marines birthday, Matt,  who served during the Korean conflict, and each time he and my dad are together, they reminisce. 

Once a Marine ALWAYS a Marine.

This pile of goo, is cake mixed with a mashed banana and buttercream, ie cake ball...

 As the sheet cake was half chocolate and half banana cake, I took the additional batter and baked it marble style.   

Once cooled I made the cake ball batter and divided it into two balls for sculpting.  

 The United State Marine Corp mascot is,  Chesty the Bulldog.  I did two views of the dog, as I went along, this one is from the chin.

This view is straight on.  I used one ball for the main shape of the head and the second ball was used to create the ears and features on the face.

I chilled the sculpted cake and then covered it in white fondant.  Using my hands and a dresden tool, the dog was given definition and character.  

Once I was happy with his features, I hand painted the details.  The red lining of the lip is added after the paint dried and then the teeth.  

To finish his look I added the Drill Instructor cover (hat) with emblem.

Then the all important spike collar.  

Chesty was placed on the upper left corner of the cake with the Marine Corp Emblem.  The cake birthday message was added and the trim was done using a rose tip filled with red and blue buttercream. 

"Semper Fidelis"

Sunflower 2

A more life-like Sunflower requires several size petal cutter.  The large six star cutter is manufactured, the three copper cutters I made.  The silicone veiner was purchased on line.

You will need a lot of these petals as the break easily when attaching to the center.   I cut and vein each petal and dry it on foam to give each a slight curve.

Let the petals dry overnight.

In this picture, the flower was dried several hours so that I could show you, I took a small ball of yellow paste and placed it in the center of the Cel-shape cup and stuck the petal points into the soft paste.

This is the top view of the first row of petals.

The center of this sunflower was done freehand.  Allow the rows of petals (as many as you would like for a fully open bloom) to completely dry.  Make a good size ball of brown gumpaste (very soft) and GENTLY push it in the center of the petals.  To create the texture I used my very first gumpaste tool, it called a Kemper Tool, and you basically stipple the brown paste just as you would when stenciling with paint.  This technique allows the center to be as large as you would like. 

These sunflowers are stored at this point for a May 2014 wedding cake.  I will add the final dusting of color at that time.

Sunflowers 1

 

This sunflower version is more of an artistic flower.  Rolled out yellow paste and cut it with a small leaf cutter.  I thinned the edges with a large ball tool.

 Using the large Cel-stick, I rolled one petal at a time around the pointed end.

I made approximately 15 petals for the first layer.  Then 12 petals for the inner layer.  The center was made by using a mold which can be purchased from Scott Clark Wolley.  The center is made in advance and dried on a wire.

At this stage the flower was dried overnight.  

This is a great close up of the detail of the center. I dust the insides of each petal with a darker yellow to give definition.  

 Use a large daisy cutter to make the calyx.