Win this beautiful Silver & Diamond Live, Love, Hope Necklace!

This week I was fortunate enough to take part in City of Hope's, Let Them Eat Cake, Wedding Cake Competition.

City of Hope is a leader in Cancer Research and Treatment. So it's only appropriate that one of the prizes I received was this beautiful Sterling Silver and Diamond Live, Love, & Hope Necklace. The necklace was designed in memory of Roberta Z. Kanfer. They call it "Bobbye's Dream". You can read about her story on City of Hope's Website HERE.

To help celebrate, I thought it would be appropriate to give away one of my prizes and I chose this necklace.

The pendant is .925 sterling silver with a disc laser engraved with Live, Love, Hope. The diamond ribbon has .05 ctw of HI-I1 genuine white diamonds. It is on an 18" sterling silver cable chain.

The contest is taking place on Truly Custom Cakery's Facebook page. Just visit this link to comment on the photo. If you are unable to comment, you will need to "like" the page first.

If you would like to donate to City of Hope, just visit this link. With donations of $100.00 or more, you will receive your very own Live, Love, Hope Necklace.

God Bless and Good Luck!

A Busy Weekend in Cake!

Last weekend was incredibly busy. It was one of those weekends where I had so much to do and was so unbelievably worn out and tired that all I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep...

Thankfully, all the orders went out successfully, I got fabulous feedback from my clients, and made it to and from the competition on Monday without incident. It might have been crazy, but it was successful. So I can't complain.

My favorite cake of the weekend was this Dandelion Bridal Shower Cake. The cake was designed to match the invitations. I wasn't sure going in how it would turn out. But once it was finished, I was absolutely thrilled. It has such a flowing romantic feel to it. Who'd have ever thought a dandelion weed could be so pretty!

I also had a Birthday Cake due for 5 year old Tommy. He is a huge fan of Phineas & Ferb as is my family. In fact, when Tommy's Dad came to pick up the cake, we were chatting about watching this cartoon. Turns out my husband isn't the only one who turns it on at night AFTER the kids are tucked in bed. ha ha ha ha ha Gotta love it!

Mom purchased the figurines from Disney and dropped them off to me so I could put them on top of the cake. It turned out so bright and fun. I just love it!

On Saturday morning I delivered a Wedding Cake for Purposeful Events. This was my 2nd Wedding Cake for this wedding planner and both cakes went over so well that I got rave reviews which is very exciting for me. I'll post a better picture later when I get a copy from the photographer. There was a fresh flower topper added to the cake after delivery so I don't have the photo of the cake in it's finished state. This is a simpler wedding cake in buttercream with brown swiss dots and a brown satin ribbon.

The Wedding Planner called me on Monday morning and told me it was so good they couldn't stop eating it. She said they were joking around asking if I put Crack in my cakes. She totally cracked me up. No crack, lol. Just moist, yummy, and homemade with love!

For pricing information on wedding cakes, visit my website HERE.

Truly Custom Cakery Takes the Cake!

The 2011 Competition took place on Monday, April 11, 2011 at the Lowes Philadelphia Hotel and benefited City of Hope; a leader in Cancer Research and Treatment.

There were 40 entries in the 7th Annual Event and included Pastry Chef's from across the area. The theme this year was Historical Romances - Love in Any Age.

Once I knew the theme, I just had to choose a direction and design for my cake. I did some research on the most romantic couples in history and decided on Romeo & Juliet. Once I figured that out, I went through SEVERAL revisions of my design. There were frustrating moments as well as moments of inspiration that had me bursting with excitement and possibilities.

I researched architecture, the foliage of Italy, the clothing of the era, the writing style, and styles of cake that would best convey my vision. I also spent a lot of time pouring over the cake photos from The Oklahoma Sugar Arts Show to see what the masters considered a worthy competition cake. This may have been my first competition, but I really wanted my cake to be on par with the masterpieces created by the top sugar artists in the nation.

It was finally decided that the cake had to have a variety of mediums, needed to show mastery of several different techniques, and it needed to have a LOT of detail. When it was all said and done, I had spent about 2 months doing research as well as prepping detail pieces for my cake, planning, making custom molds, and sculpting.

About a week before the competition, I spent some time creating a new dark chocolate cake recipe and deciding on my flavors of cake to serve the judges and the attendees.

I chose a 2 layer cake. Dark Chocolate Cake & White Almond Sour Cream Cake separated by homemade Raspberry Filling and iced in Chocolate Buttercream. The Dark Chocolate Cake, Raspberry Filling, & the Chocolate Icing are all scratch recipes that I created myself. So it meant a LOT to me that they won!

The design is a table with a cup of coffee and a napkin and a very old, bound manuscript of Romeo & Juliet open to the balcony scene. The idea is that the story is being read and is coming to life in the form of a cake and bursting out of the book. So without boring you with any more details, here are my photos of the cake and some from the event.
















I want to add a special note here that my husband, Matt played a HUGE role in my success. He built and stained my custom table. He prepared the framework for the cake so that I could build a tree into the garden tier. And he helped at home A LOT so that I could focus on filling orders and getting ready for the competition. AND THEN, as if that wasn't enough, he helped me on the day of the event by loading, driving, unloading, and serving cake. After it was all done, he helped me get it all home safe and sound and then gave me a back rub. He is an amazing husband and I'm so very proud to have him!


I took this picture from the hallway during the judging when we weren't allowed in the room. The judges did not know who the cakes belonged to so the judging was based completely on taste and talent. It was really nerve wracking to sit out in the hallway and watch. After the event ended a couple of the judges came up to me to congratulate me and tell me that they had judged my cake. It was a very surreal experience and one I'm not sure has totally sunk in yet.

The biggest surprise for me was that I won best tasting. It truly was the icing on my cake last night! Thanks so much to City of Hope, Mark Kingsdorf, Harry Giordano, my husband Matt, and my dear friend Suzy. I feel very blessed!

LET THEM EAT CAKE!


For more photos of the event, cakes from other competitors, and info on the prizes, visit us on facebook!

Ladybugs and Bows Baby Shower Cake.

It's a little late but here it is, the baby shower cake from the weekend. It was a huge hit and I just LOVE LOVE LOVE good feedback from my customers.


If you look closely at the edge of the blanket, it's got a lacy look to it. I actually used a scrapbooking tool to do that edge. It's a tricky process. Tried it first with SugarVeil but that stuff is pretty hard to get "just right". I ended up throwing away almost an entire bag of product after repeated failed attempts. Must be missing something. But haven't given up entirely.

This blanket is a mix of fondant and gumpaste rolled VERY VERY thin. Then I take the scrapbooking tool and run it along the edge and punch the pattern. It is slow going and can be a little frustrating but overall... the effect is well worth it.

Have a Super Sweet Day!

Perfectly Pink & Precious Baby Shoes

I love cute stuff! And these shoes are so super cute. They'll top a baby shower cake I'm assembling this weekend.

Several people on facebook have asked how I made them so I thought I'd show you. This is the pattern I used. I cut the tabs off of the pattern as they aren't necessary for gumpaste shoes. If making two shoes, cut one of the patterns with the lettering side up. For the other shoe, flip the pattern over.

For the texture on the shoes, I used a scrap booking embossing tool. These are pretty cool because you get a 2 sided design.



I glued my pieces together using a little bit of gum glue (Tylose Powder mixed with water). The embellishments were made of white gum paste and then painted. I used a pearl airbrush paint for the flower and black airbrush liquid for the snap on the shoe strap.

Happy Creating!

Saturday Morning Pancake Fun

A blog crossed my path yesterday that made me oh and ah with delight! Of course that's not a rarity but this particular blog is different. It's not a subject matter you see everyday. Most of the blogs that strike my fancy involve cakes, cookies, cupcakes, parties, and baking in general. And most have something to do with making baked goods look fabulous as well as taste fabulous.

On this particular blog, the writer is making breakfast look fabulous. And not just ANY breakfast either. My boys FAVORITE breakfast. Pancakes! http://www.JimsPancakes.com is a mind blowing inspirational experience. And for those of you that like to do a little something special for your kids for their weekend breakfast. Prepare yourselves. I see a mess in your near future!

Here are just a few of Jim's photos. My absolute favorite is his caterpillar. I mean really! A colorful, 3 dimensional, and absolutely ADORABLE breakfast treat to place in front of your little one.


Then again... maybe the beehive is my favorite.

But the T-Rex... Really? AMAZING!!!

Okay... I can't pick a favorite. And should I have to? They are all inspiring and amazing! And inspired we were! My husband decided to make the kids pancakes for breakfast this morning. And of course I had to pull up Jim's blog and show him. His response... "Okay, I need colored batter!" Now that's what I'm talking about.

I do cakes, my husband does breakfast. And today, HE did breakfast proud. My kids loved it. Here are his creations. I'm so proud! ha ha
He started with a bicycle to get the feel. He learned quickly that lumps in the pancake batter are your enemy.


Next he tried colored creations. My kids are super into monster trucks. And they are pretty easy to draw. He learned here that you have to move REALLY fast. Or have the heat REALLY low. You can see the progression between takes 1., 2., and 3.


Braden got the monster trucks. Normally, I have to cut up their pancakes. Today, I wasn't allowed to go near his pancakes. He ate them whole. Monster trucks hanging off of his fork like a flag, syrup dripping down his face, and savoring every moment!



Garrick got a stunt plane with his name trailing behind it. I took his picture but he growled at me. He's not nearly as interested in being photographed as his brother. So you'll have to imagine him with bedhead in his jammies eating his plane.

Zoo Theme Birthday Cake

This cake is for two girls who are celebrating their 5th and 7th Birthday's with a Zoo Party. Mom even arranged for The Zoo to come out to the party with some animals. When I arrived to deliver the cake I was amazed at the transformation that went on in the family home to give it a sort of "safari" feel.

In the photo above the lion has a yellow bow. My husband kindly reminded me that lion's are guys. So I had to remove the bow. DUH! I got a good laugh out of it anyway. And so did he at my expense!


The girls had asked that the primary colors in their cake be pink and purple. They also asked to have a monkey and elephant on the top of the cake. We went with the Mad Hatter/Topsy Turvy (Turvey) design to add whimsy to the cake. They were thrilled with the result.

The bottom tier of this cake is a pink vanilla cake with cookies and cream filling and the top tier is marble with chocolate chip filling.

Happy Birthday to Aani and Haila.

Skateboarding Birthday Cake

I know I'm going to date myself with this post but the words that kept going through my head while working on the graffiti for this cake were things like RADICAL, DUDE, FAR OUT, RIGHT ON etc... I hate to consciously resist my urges and for the most part stick with what I found online. Thanks to the internet, this boy likely won't question what is written on his cake.



This is a chocolate chip cake with chocolate icing. Covered in fondant, airbrushed, and embellished. The boy is gum paste, as is the skateboard. The railing is made up of skewers painted with a mix of silver and black airbrush color.

Overall, I'm very happy. My 5 year old thinks it's the coolest cake I've ever made. My 8 year old says it's not... he likes the monster trucks better. ha ha

Anyway... Happy Birthday to Anthony!