Melted Snowman S'Mores... Mmmmmm

 

Last night I tried making Marshmallows for the first time. I'll share photos of the actual "marshmallow's" later. But in keeping with tradition, I had to try making snowmen out of marshmallows BUT I wanted them to be REALLY tasty.

So I took some graham crackers, split them in 1/2, and cut off the sharp corners. Then I dipped them in milk chocolate. After they cooled, I made homemade marshmallows, and piped the marshmallow onto the prepared graham cracker. Once they set up for a bit, I got my royal icing together and decorated them. And of course, I'm a fan of glitter, so I made them sparkle with a little rainbow disco dust. (totally optional, but for me, it's a sickness! lol).

 

 I'll put together a tutorial later. And let me tell you, I'll NEVER be able to stomach a standard s'more ever again. My husband LOVES these and my 6 year old ate one for breakfast! ha ha ha (Shhhh... don't tell)

 

 Happy Baking, Caking, and Decorating!

The long road to inspiration...

I'm often asked where I get the ideas for my cakes. And sometimes I can give you a very specific answer. Like, the client was very clear, they told me what to do, I followed instructions, and there you have it. Other times, the route to inspiration is anything but direct.

This past spring one of my display cakes was being transported to a show, when the box that held it was picked up by a very disagreeable gust of wind, carried several feet, and thrown to the ground, where it was smashed into an unrecognizable mess. This was a very stressful moment for the caterer that was transporting my displays. (No worries, I didn't yell at him.)

The display cake before the wind took it on a wild ride.

It is moments like these that have a way of forcing your hand. There were no plans for an additional display cake. Over the past 2 months, I'd made six! As far as I was concerned, I was all set. But... ummm... yea, things happen. The smashed cake was the biggest display cake I had. It showed a variety of techniques and well... I figured if I had to remake it, I might as well take it a step further. The whole idea of a display cake is to show potential clients what is possible. For me, it's not about creating a cake that I can copy in the future. I just want them to see what their options are. And with very little time until the next show, I was a little stressed.

And I was quickly reminded that I often do my best work when I'm under the gun. I don't know why. It makes no rational sense... And yet, I was so pleased with the resulting cake, that I was happy the original cake was smashed. In fact, I decided that I no longer liked the original cake. Go figure!

Isn't it pretty!?! I really love it. It's so very romantic and soft looking.

A little later... I had the opportunity to make a baby shower cake for a client's daughter to match the theme of the baby's bedroom.

Isn't it cute!

Fast Forward to this fall... The same client saw that pretty display cake that I had to make under the gun this past spring. Seeing how they love all things super girlie and feminine and of course PINK, she wanted that cake used as the inspiration for the Christening Cake.

So, I was able to adjust the design down a bit to make the perfect Christening Cake for Janel's precious baby girl. I added a little more pink into the mix than the original cake had and we removed a few of the more mature elements. And Voila!




Isn't it interesting how cakes are born? Inspiration comes from all around, and you never know what will inspire you to create something new. Sometimes, even a disaster can result in something amazing.

Happy Baking, Caking, and Decorating!

Popular Prints for a Trendy Cake!

Animal print cakes are all the rage right now and Zebra Stripes are probably THE MOST popular of all the prints chosen. There is something striking, crisp, and bold about those stripes. No matter what color background they appear on, they always seem to look good! And I've certainly done my share of zebra stripes.

This weekend it was a Sweet 16 in Teal, Black, & White. The Birthday Girl is a Soccer Fanatic so we also worked in a custom topper that coordinated amazingly well (black and white).

I thought this would be a good time to show you how many different looks can be achieved with zebra stripes. These are some of the cakes I've done! Enjoy!

Manly Cakes....

So what kind of cake do you get for your man? Well, you could do just about anything. The sky's the limit. And sometimes, I think you should reach for the sky. Because those cakes can be so very cool!


This was one of my favorites. Not because I'm a huge fan of the subject matter, but because it was challenging, fun, and required the use of several different cake decorating mediums.


I hope you enjoy. EVERYTHING on this cake is edible. The bottles are poured sugar, the ice is poured sugar, the pretzels, peanuts, bottle caps, and can opener are all sugar paste, and the bucket itself is White Almond Sour Cream Cake with Lemon Curd Filling.

And here are some other "manly" cakes for you to enjoy!

Feeling like a kid again...

Sometimes when working on a cake, I have so much fun it's like being a kid again. Which isn't a real far stretch because my husband says I never really grew up. he he I really LOVE letting it all hang out and having fun with my kids. So this cake was a very enjoyable project. The two little guys in the back seat are twin boys, the cakes recipients that were celebrating their 1st Birthday. Of course you can guess the theme of the party! And what child (big or little) doesn't love all those amazing books written by Dr. Seuss.


This was a moist vanilla cake with buttercream filling.

Cakes, Cakes, and more.... ummm.... Cakes...

Apologies are in order once again. I just don't know how some of you find the time to keep up with all this social media. I really do need a clone... and my clone will do nothing but paperwork, customer service, and social media! HA! I've also heard another word for clone is "intern".... but I digress... he he he

Have a cake shop can be a LOT of fun. It's artistically stimulating, a great outlet for creativity, and offers occasional ego boosts which are essential to female happiness. So, I won't complain about how busy I've been. I'll just play catch up once again and beg your forgiveness if you've come to visit several times over the past few weeks and thought to yourself, "the pretzels still?!!!!".

Cake 1:

This is a Birthday Cake for a gardener. Apparently his efforts are continually undermined by a little brown critter (aka groundhog). His chosen method for dealing with the little offender seems to be a planned attack with a broom in hand. Not sure what he intends to do if he gets close enough. But either way, it makes a cute diorama.



Cake 2:

A five tier buttercream wedding cake delivered to the Four Season's Hotel in Philadelphia. This was 5 tiers of blueberry pound cake with lemon curd filling. Can you say HEAVY??? It was a monster. But a very pretty one! The florist provided lots of fresh flowers for us to add on site. It took almost an hour to get all the flowers trimmed and arranged "just so", but I'm really pleased with the end result. And so was the bride! In fact, I was thrilled to hear that several of the guests requested a 2nd slice of cake. That in and of itself is a wonderful compliment that I was very happy to receive. Congratulations to Meg & Frank!

Cake 3:

My oldest and dearest friend requested this cake for her Mother-in-law's 60th Birthday. Faye is a huge fan of yellow roses so, Kathy requested yellow roses with a white background. I really enjoyed making these roses. Some have a little hint of pink on them, some are more peach and yellow, and some were just plain yellow. I added a little border around the bottom of each tier to pull the yellow down. But I have to say, my favorite part of this cake is the rose topper. I really do like it.

This was pound cake with buttercream filling and blueberry pound with lemon curd filling. Kathy's husband would much rather eat a steak than cake any day. So when he said he really liked the blueberry pound, I almost fell over! Finally! ha ha


Cake 4:

Another buttercream wedding cake. Only this time we mixed it up a bit by changing the color and the texture of the icing on 2 of the tiers. It adds an element of interest and really makes the cake "pop". The flowers were added on site. The toppers were made custom for the bride and groom. This cake was 3 different flavors to give the guests a variety as it was more of a buffet style reception. Congratulations Ashely & Matt!


Happy Baking, Caking, and Decorating!