CrossWorld says goodbye to their Bala Cynwyd location with a big cake...

My father has worked for CrossWorld for almost 20 years. Back when he first started working there, the name was "UFM International" (Unevangelized Field Missions). The mission has decided it is in their best interest to move the home office from Bala Cynwyd, PA to Kansas City, Missouri. This week they had several days of festivities as a sort of "send off". The event culminated today with a service followed by cake and ice cream.

Now... since my father works there, you know they can't have a sheet cake! I was asked to make a cake replica of the Guest House, which is basically a Mansion. Believe me when I tell you this building has some great architectural detail and a lot of roof lines!

Here are some photos. I don't have a lot of time to post now but will post more later when my father (the Bobarazzi) loads his photographs (he is a professional photographer on the side). I'll also post photos of the process so you can see this cake in stages. For now, here is a photo of the building and the cake.





Happy Caking!

A Simply Stunning Wedding Cake for a Simply Stunning Bride!

Congratulations to the happy couple! Monica asked for an ivory cake with silver ribbon, pearls, and a little bling. She asked that it be streamlined and elegant.

The topper and orchids were provided by the bride so you'll see the cake before and after these items were added. What you can't see in the photos is all the shimmer on this cake. I used nearly an entire jar of edible glitter and the whole cake shimmers. It looked so pretty! It actually makes me sad that the sparkle didn't come through in the photographs. Oh well...









I wasn't sure about ivory and silver combination. BUT I actually love it! See... sometimes the cake designer DOESN'T know it all!

An elegant wedding cake with simple, clean lines.

Such a romantic and pretty wedding cake. The color swatches she gave me match the blue and fuchsia flowers. She also asked for white roses. The bride LOVES flowers so she asked that it have lots of flowers. I used a riser between the 2nd and 3rd tiers so I could put a ring of roses around the cake. It worked out beautifully as it was just tall enough to accommodate the size of the larger flowers.

Believe it or not, this picture is the UNFINISHED cake. It also has a topper, a 16" high stand, and a fountain. I'll add the FINISHED photo shortly.

Kiss Rock Band Cake

Here is a cake I did for a client. It's chocolate cake with peanut butter cup filling in the bottom tier and White Almond Sour Cream Cake with Raspberry filling on top.



Since I'm more of an Easy Listening/Country Music/Contemporary Christian kind of gal... I don't know much at all about KISS. So, this cake required a little research.

While searching the internet for information on Gene Simmons and Kiss, I used the image search on Google. My 5 year old just happened to walk into the room while I was researching and was totally wigged out by the images on the screen. I couldn't help but laugh as he tried to hide behind me. He kept telling me to tell the people I can't do the cake because it scared him so much.

Anyway... when he saw the finished figure, I got the same response. He hid behind me. My older son had a much more subdued but similar reaction. Personally, I think it turned out really well. Guess my kids aren't very good critics...

A couple simply elegant wedding cakes

Here are a couple of wedding cakes that are elegant and yet very simply done. Great option for your wedding if you want to save money. Use fresh flowers or the cake topper of your choice with a simple ribbon on the bottom of your tiers.

A super busy week in cake! From Graduations to Dragons...

I finally finished this weeks cakes! The first cake I'm showing you was done for a friend's son. She is a pastry chef and makes YUMMY treats but she doesn't do the kind of sculpting and detail work I do. So... she decided to order her son's cake so she could try one of my creations first hand. This is a chocolate cake with peanut butter cup filling. You can check out Stefanie's desserts at Decadent Desserts by Stefanie. I recommend the Rocher!! YUMMY!




The second cake was done for a graduation. This client requested stacked books with a graduation cap and the graduate wearing his future college's t-shirt. I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Although... this is one HEAVY cake!!! White Almond Sour Cream cake with raspberry filling and yellow cake with chocolate ganache.



This final cake was done for a client who originally called Charm City Cakes for a quote. And to my surprise, Charm City Cakes told her to call ME!!! I was so excited to get a referral from CCC that I sent them a big old box of Holiday Crunch! Anyway... the client asked for a blue dragon with black accents and a crystal ball. The crystal ball is made of sugar and resulted in 3 blisters on the palms of my hands! OUCH! This cake is 100% edible! Vanilla cake with buttercream filling. I'm very pleased with the results of this guy. I was a little nervous starting out as I was afraid it would just look like a big lizard... that is until I realized that a dragon IS a big lizard! Enjoy!

Time to share another recipe!!! YUMMY Chocolate Buttercream!

I don't share many recipes because of the business but sometimes... I have to share! Here's a great chocolate buttercream recipe. This is the recipe I used for the Chocolate and Lavendar cake in the previous post.

Since my family has been eating it by the spoonful, I'd say it's a real winner! Now... if you want to really enjoy a treat, bake a chocolate cake and fill it with the peanut butter cup version OR bake a banana cake and ice it with the chocolate icing.

Happy Baking! Oh... by the way, there are NO calories here! (**wink**)

Perfect Crusting Chocolate Buttercream

Have tried several chocolate buttercream recipes and haven't been sold on any of them... Maybe because I'm not a big fan of buttercream in general... anyway, had to make a last minute cake with chocolate buttercream filling and icing... so I just started throwing things in the mixer. It turned out beautifully and my family is now eating the icing by the spoonful. Add 1/2 cup of peanut butter and you have an amazing chocolate peanut butter icing or filling... If using as a filling, chop up some peanut butter cups and sprinkle on top of the filling once you've put it on the cake and it's beyond belief!

INGREDIENTS:
6 sticks or 3 cups of salted butter (softened)
3 tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder (special dark for a darker frosting)
1 bag of Ghiradelli 60% cacao dark chocolate chips (melted)
2lbs (1 bag) of confectioner’s sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix butter, milk, vanilla, and cocoa powder in your mixer until thoroughly combined and smooth.

2. Melt your chocolate chips in the microwave on 30 second intervals stirring between heating. Then pour into the mixer a little at a time mixing as you go.

3. After the chocolate has been added to the other ingredients and you have a smooth consistency, add in the confectioner’s sugar. I just drape a dish towel over my kitchen aid and pour in the whole bag. Then turn it on low and let it go for a couple of minutes. If it is a little too thick, add another tablespoon of milk.

4. Let it sit at room temp for a couple of hours and ice your cake! Also great as a filling.


FOR DARKER CHOCOLATE... Use the Hershey's special dark cocoa powder or add 3 drops of black food color and about a teaspoon of brown. You'll get a nice dark chocolate color.

FOR CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER FILLING… add 1/2 cup of peanut butter to your butter mixture before adding your powdered sugar.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP FILLING… sprinkle chopped peanut butter cup between the layers after you spread your filling. NOTE: I don't recommend mixing the peanut butter cups into your filling will just break them down into nothing and you won't even recognize they are there...

An elegant Birthday Cake...

A client wanted a cake for her mom's Birthday. Nothing too special just wanted it from Truly Custom Cakery so I had to squeeze in her order. I just love happy repeat customers! This is a YUMMY combination! Banana Cake with Chocolate buttercream filling and icing. I did a little tweaking to my buttercream recipe and it turned out amazing!!! My son keeps asking for spoonfuls of the stuff!



Anyway, she requested chocolate icing and lavender accents. This is what I came up with. I'm really pleased with how pretty and elegant it turned out.

Happy Birthday Memom!

A contemporary Sweet 16...

The Topsy Turvey Cake, also known as a Mad Hatter or Whimsical cake might be a lot of work but the end result really is very cool. These cakes are designed to look like they are about to topple over but in reality the topsy effect is an optical illusion. These are level cakes stacked on top of each other. With the right support system, they are very stable cakes.



Made for a client in Huntingdon Valley, this one was requested in lime green, black, purple, and white with zebra stripes, dots, and stars bursting from the cake. It's definitely fun and has a contemporary spin.

Hawaiian Luau Party Cake

Here's a fun and tropical party cake for a little girl. Roslyn turns 6 this weekend and they are celebrating with a Luau Party. The cake was inspired by the plates and napkins purchased for the party.



Happy Birthday Roslyn!!!

Romantic Rose Cupcake Tree

This is for a bridal shower. It goes with the cupcakes in the previous post. Just love how romantic the whole thing turned out. My instructions were to make this cupcake tree similar to the princess cupcake tree in my portfolio only with different shades of pink roses and white accents. And to make it feminine and romantic.

Congratulations to the Bride to be!

A Romantic Sneak Peak...

Here's a sneak peak into this weekend's projects. I just love how these turned out. they have a very feminine, romantic, and beautiful feel to them. The flavors are strawberry and vanilla. These will go in a cupcake tree with a coordinating 6" top cake.