October 13, 2015

You are my Sunshine.......

So I'm asked to make this cake for a baby shower. My BFF's daughter in law's sister is expecting her 1st little bundle of joy.  The theme....."You are my Sunshine"......I thought the theme was such a cute idea until I couldn't get the song out of my head the whole time I was working on this cake, LOL.


It's obvious that the theme dictated the direction of this cake.  I had to make a big bright sun shining down on a little darling baby sleeping on a bed of clouds. All details are made from fondant with the exception of the baby which is made out of gum paste.


The 9x13" slab is lemon cake filled with lemon curd and white chocolate mousse.  I made this slab extra high with 2 layers of filling so I'd be able to decorate the sides of the cake with pretty flowers blooming in yellow, pink and blue.........



White fluffy clouds border the top edge of the cake
 

And of course "you are my sunshine......" to top it off
 
 

 



Milan's 1st Birthday

On October 1st a special little boy turned ONE!  Milan's mom contacted me to make a couple of cakes, one for his actual birthday and one for a big family and friends party on the 3rd of October.  She was a bit undecided in which direction to take as Milan loves Mickey and also loves the Muppet Babies. So I suggested that since she was having 2 cakes we could do both themes.  She decided that the cake for his actual birthday was going to be Mickey.  Just a small 8" cake but she loved when I did a previous cake in a checker board reveal, so I made this Mickey cake in a chocolate and vanilla checker board with 2D Mickey on top.


Mickey and the # 1 were done in fondant layers, a great technique taught by Corrie from Corrie Cakes.


The layering of fondant pieces, almost like a puzzle, gives the character depth and a 2 dimensional look.  I also added some shading with edible dusts to bring the character to life.


Here is a the character I made next to the picture of Mickey that I used for the character. I hadn't quite finished with the shading yet, but I think it turned out pretty close.


I finished off this cake with "Milan" front and center and with Mickey heads bordering the top edge and circles to border the bottom.


Milan's mom sent me this picture of the checker board reveal.  They were thrilled with the cake and couldn't wait to see the cake for the party.

So the party was held on the 3rd of October and we decided to do the theme of Muppet Babies.  They requested a slab cake with Muppet Babies on top. I decided to go the same route on designing the Muppet Babies cakes by making them 2D in layers of fondant.


This 12" square cake was done in vanilla cake filled with chocolate cream.  The fun blocking of colours made for a nice back drop for Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Elmo which are sitting in diapers next to a big # 1 and Milan set to look like playing blocks. The cake is surrounded by white fondant and colourful ABC's and 123's and a cheerful "Happy Birthday"




A closer look at the 3 Muppet babies. The layering and shading brought these 3 little guys to life. I also used small scissors and made little cuts all over the characters to give a fur like appearance.


Here is a picture of the characters I made next to the picture I chose to use.  My characters in this picture still did not have the diapers showing and I had not done any of the dusting yet but they did turn out cute.


Happy 1st Birthday Milan!








On the 27th of September a sweet little boy turned ONE! His name is Noah, and what better way to celebrate his birthday, a Noah's Arc cake.
 
I was contacted to make a Noah's Arc cake, now I've already have done this theme many times before but I was sent a picture of a cake which was designed by a very talented cake artist.  I don't know the cake designer's name but thank you for the inspiration for this cake.
 

This 2 1/2 tiered cake was done in vanilla and chocolate batters in a Zebra print on the inside and filled with vanilla cream. Unfortunately I did not obtain a picture of the cake once it was cut to reveal the zebra print but I did receive a nice thank you note from Noah's mom letting me know that the cake was a big success and everyone loved it.
 

I love making fondant animals, it's so much fun to see them come to life.  We have giraffes, monkeys,


Ducks and elephants

 
Lion and lioness



and we can't forget the whales on the board, and though it's hard to see I also added a couple of shark fins near the back

 
Happy 1st Birthday Noah!

2 Milestones in 1 - 20th Sept 2015

These next 2 cakes were requested to help celebrate 2 momentous occasions. Narmeen contacted me to help her out with her parents 40th wedding anniversary cake and also her cousin's 30th birthday cake. She had specific ideas on both cakes.  The 40th anniversary was from a previous cake I had done which she liked with just a slight change.


The 2 tiered cake is done in vanilla cake with strawberry curd and white chocolate mousse filling. The bottom tier is covered in buttercream rosettes white the top tier is fondant with a blingy border (not edible).


The roses are made from gum paste and dusted with a deep red edible dust. The # 40 topper is also done in gum paste.

The 30th birthday cake was requested to be made to look like the gift the birthday boy was receiving from his parents.  A Mac book computer.  Though these Mac books are paper thin these days, the one I made had to be a tad thicker, lol, or you wouldn't have any cake.


The bottom part of the computer is the actual cake which was made in Shaad's favourite flavor, chocolate filled with a chocolate cream filling.  The top part of the computer, or screen, is cardboard covered in fondant and an actual screen shot I printed and added his name to.  The keyboard is also a print of an actual Mac keyboard.

The computer cake is surrounded by a few of Shaad's favourite items all made out of fondant.  A can of Coke Classic, his I-phone which also has a print of an actual I-phone, a TV remote and popcorn.

 
 



It was my first time make fondant popcorn, which proved to be fun but my hubby asked why I just didn't use real popcorn, it's edible....lol.....but that would take all the fun out of trying to make the fondant popcorn look as real as possible and have people guessing "is it real popcorn".

 
And of course we couldn't forget the Apple logo on the back of the screen which was made from fondant.







September wedding

I was asked to make a wedding cake for a wedding on the 19th of September 2015.  Ali, the bride, came to me through a friend for which I have made cakes for celebrations that Ali attended. I was thrilled that Ali trusted me with her special day.  Ali's September wedding was in pastels and lace which gave for a romantic setting.


This picture was taken at the venue where I did the final assembly of adding the top tier. The bottom tier is Chocolate Stout (Guinness) filled with white chocolate mousse and the top 2 tiers are pumpkin apple spice cake filled with caramel cream cheese.


prior to final assembly
 

The flowers are all done in gum paste and dusted in soft pastel edible dusts.  The lace was done with Cake Lace a product which I am in love with.  You get beautiful edible lace that is easy to work with and gives such a nice touch to any cake.

 
 


Wishes for a wonderful new life together!




October 6, 2015

Mary's milestone

Bringing me to almost being up to date is this cake I did for a good friend who celebrated her 50th Birthday.  I was asked to make her a cake and decided to go with a Louis Vitton handbag and shoe.

The handbag is all vanilla cake filled with strawberry & vanilla buttercream.  The shoe was made from gum paste and no particular designer.




Happy 50th Mary!

August 2015 Cakes

 
After getting back from our fabulous 2 week vacation in Italy, it was back to work.  1st up was a cake for a friend of Mel's who had been working for her Dad's company and now was pursuing something new.  She requested a cake to say "Thank you" to everyone she worked with.  She sent a picture of a hard hat with company logo and asked if I could replicate it for her farewell, I was more than thrilled to do this for her. A chocolate cake filled with white chocolate mousse.
 

 


This next cake for Mia's 1st Birthday is none other than a Minnie Mouse cake and Minnie Mouse cupcakes requested by Mia's grandmother. Cake and cupcakes are vanilla cake with strawberry puree and vanilla mousse filling.


 
 
 
The next cake was done for a little neighbor of mine who was turning 9 at the end of August. Her mom asked if I could make her a cake with a Barbie theme in her favourite colours of pink and purple.  So why not make an actual Barbie doll cake.


The Barbie is dressed for a party in pink and white. Her dress is all chocolate vegan cake. Barbie is standing on a purple covered 8" chocolate vegan cake.


 




September 30, 2015

Ruby's birthday gala


A friend of Melissa's asked for a cake to help celebrate a special birthday for her daughter Ruby the beginning of July 2015. It was a red carpet event with Ruby being the star.


The female figure was made with gum paste and fondant detailing, In a long black dress for the event and holding a bouquet of flowers.

 
Ruby chose to share the stage with 2 of her favourite icons;
 
 

Silver sugar pearls were used to create the sparkle
 
 
Shortly after this cake was made hubby and I along with friends were off to enjoy a week long Mediterranean cruise out of Rome and a second week long stay in Sulmona.  Sulmona is famous for the almond candy confetti that is typically given out at weddings. This beautiful picturesque city is located in Abruzzo Italy. 

There are more cakes which I will be posting as it was back to work shortly after returning in August 2015.  So keep checking for my next update.

Ciao for now!