My Blue Wedding

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

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

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

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

20 years

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

 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 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

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

 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.