Reviving childhood treats.

Sunday was my dear sister-in-law's birthday. My mother-in-law had told me about this cherry cake they got Rachel every year from a local bakery. That is until things started to go south, and Laurie said the cake began to taste like a boxed mix. So that was the end of Rachel's cherry cake. 

I wanted to revive her childhood cherry tradition-- I also wanted to practice the cherry cake because I had a sneaking suspicion she was going to ask for that for her wedding cake. I get to pull double duty as baker-bridesmaid in May. So I figured it wouldn't hurt to start now. 

Laurie also said Rachel's birthday cakes had traditionally been Valentine themed, considering the close proximity to V-day. With love on the brain, it was only natural to do the cake in her wedding colors-- pink and gray. 

The cake was frosted in a simple vanilla buttercream. It was light and delicate, and seemed to absorb some of the cherry flavor in the cake, which was really delicious.  The gray ruffles were made of modeling chocolate-- it's so much tastier than fondant.

The cake inside was just as pretty pink and so delicious. I am not a fruity cake lover, so honestly I was skeptical of this cake. But it was incredible! And I'm pretty sure it made the list for the nuptials. 

Stay Sweet!

Pretty Peacock

One of my former co-workers sent me a picture on Thursday of a very intricate jumbo peacock cupcake for her mother's birthday.  Admittedly, this thing was so intricate, I thought she was joking for a second.  Regardless, I (of course) told her "no problem! see you Sunday!"

The longer I stared at the photo, the less intimidating it became, and I finally figured out the logistics of this.  Despite wanting to charge punitive damages for the emotional distress {bad lawyer quip}, it actually was far less daunting.  It turned out so beautiful, and Sandy's mom said it was the prettiest cake she had ever seen.  {blushing a little!}

It was just a simple white cake in the jumbo mold. Instead of fondant, the peacock is covered in modeling chocolate for a better taste.  The tail feathers are also made of modeling chocolate.  Although the pictures don't display it, the feathers are painted with a gold luster dust.

Stay Sweet!

Oh What Fun! Dylan is One!

 

 

Yesterday I had the pleasure of making a host of sweets for a sweet little one-year-old's very first birthday.  My friend Samantha had an all out party planned for her little girl Dylan and needed plenty of pink treats to go with.  She sent a photo of a two-tiered pink cake with ribbons and spirals galore.  The cake resembled a present adorned with ribbons and bows, and matched the theme "Oh What Fun" so well.

 

 

The bottom tier was a 9-inch vanilla cake; the top, a giant chocolate cupcake.  Instead of fondant, since this was a child's birthday and most don't like the taste, the cakes were covered in modeling chocolate.

But for sweet Dylan's party, even a fun cake like this wasn't enough... obviously, matching cut-out cookies was a must!.

Finally, a first birthday wouldn't be complete without a smash cake!  We kept it simple and just used a rose-style frosting--in bright pink of course.

 and from the photos, it looked like little Dylan enjoyed her first smash!

 

Stay Sweet!

Football Puns

Today we had a special 50th birthday cake for a Miami Dolphins fan. I wanted a football field style cake and a cheeky little play on the 50-yard line. 

Ann chose the Razz flavor, which is a vanilla cake with a raspberry filling and a chocolate buttercream frosting. This cake had a combination of chocolate and vanilla buttercream, because chocolate wouldn't have gotten the right color green. So the crumb coat was chocolate and the grass was a traditional vanilla buttercream. 

If we get a picture back of the inside, we will definitely update with a shot!!

Stay sweet!

Mason's Mustache Bash!

I was fortunate enough to have been given the opportunity to make a two-tiered cake and a smash cake for a sweet little boy's first birthday party today.  The theme was "mommy's little man," complete with mustaches, bowties, and suspenders. 

Mason's mamma gave me a couple of inspiration photos, the invitation, and the colors: navy blue, lime green, and light blue.  She wanted chevron on the bowtie of the party cake and on the sides of the smash cake.

The insides of the cake matched the theme as well.  The top tier was a blue velvet and the bottom tier was a traditional "white cake"... but green!

The smash cake was a-whole-nother animal in itself.  Chevron is a notoriously difficult pattern for cakes.  It's hard to get the clean, crisp lines, and one mistake can ruin the whole thing.  Which is why it is traditionally done in fondant.  But, the whole point of a smash cake is to make a mess.  You can't make a mess with fondant!  So I spent all this time researching how to achieve a crisp chevron...with buttercream...on the sides of a round cake.  There were no answers.  And then, it just hit me... I could just use the petal method and offset the colors.  It was so beautifully simple, and the result was incredible.

 

 and of course, mommy's little man needed his own little buttercream mustache so he could really make a mess of things!

The cakes-- and the party-- were a success!