'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

from Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Grooms Cake

"This day I will marry my friend: The one I laugh with, dream with, live for, love."


I made this grooms cake years ago for my brother in law.  It was the first cake I made to tell a story and it is still one of my favorite projects. 
This cake is all about the fun things this couple love to do together.

Notice the love birds in the tree and the text book on top of the fort.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Baby Cakes

When I think about making a cake for a baby shower, I don't think of storks, miniature babies, or pastel colors.  I think about the expectant, or new mother.  What does she like to do?  What would she wear?  Cake making is especially fun for me when I get to surprise people with a cake they didn't even know that they wanted.  I made two cakes for baby showers this spring and they were both somewhat non-traditional, namely, no tiny babies or pregnant bellies.  Does anyone really want to eat a baby or a belly? 
I was able to match the invitations here.
Alivia is my brand new niece.    I chose this quilted/sewing look with buttons because Maja, my sister, loves to sew.  Maja has Celiac disease and I thought it would be nice to make a cake that she could eat so everything was gluten free.  It was a chocolate chip brownie swirl cake with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream frosting.  She loved it.


I also made a cake to celebrate the birth of a friends first baby.  This was a coconut cream cake with chocolate ganache filling and vanilla swiss meringue buttercream frosting.  The flowers are made from gum paste and the butterfly's semi-translucent wings are made from gelatin.



Thursday, May 26, 2011

Tiger Attack


 When my son, Will, was 2 years old we told him that we were having a baby. He was so excited and he thought of the perfect name. Tiger Attack. That's right. Tiger Attack. He thought it would be so funny if we were at the park or in a store and we could shout Tiger Attack! Tiger Attack! No doubt he imagined screaming, panicked people and thought it would be the funniest joke ever. Well, Will didn't get the brother that he wanted. He got a sister and we named her Lorien.

Now Will is 11 years old and he finally has a brother. Naturally, when we found out we were having a boy, we remembered how much Will had wanted a brother named Tiger Attack. We seriously considered the name but it the end, I was unable to name my child what could be a gruesome tragedy and so we chose something traditional and safe.

Ethan Archer Hall is now 14 months old. There was really only one kind of cake I could have made for his 1st birthday. It was perfect.


Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Fairy Cakes


This year I started making fairy cakes. Lorien (nine in February) wanted to be a flower fairy. I made gum paste flowers and a tiny little fairy Lorien sitting on a rock.
We made cupcakes to match her fairy cake for her friends to eat and we saved the actual cake for family.

Mandy requested an animal fairy cake.
The little Mandy fairy is sitting in the nest taking care of the eggs while the mother bird is away. She is even helping one of the birds to hatch.
Mandy loved her cake and it was a big hit at her party. It was especially fun for her because (having Celiac) she had never had a fancy cake before. She chose chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. My gluten free chocolate cake is so good! You can't tell it is gluten free - no gritty aftertaste.

 Arielle, my 7 year old, just celebrated her birthday with a bug fairy cake. She had originally wanted a water fairy cake but after spending the afternoon at Uncle Jon's finding snails in the backyard she decided she just had to be a bug fairy. She was so excited to see her little snail friend by her side. I had fun thinking of little creepy crawly creatures I could put on the cake. There are ants, worms, rolly polly potato bugs, snails, lady bugs, a butterfly and a dragonfly.
This was a chocolate blackout cake with oreo filling and chocolate swiss meringue buttercream frosting.

Now I can imagine all sorts of fairy cakes. What about a candy fairy for a little girl with a big sweet tooth? Or a garden fairy. A berry fairy? A snow fairy would be beautiful . . .

Friday, May 20, 2011

Wedding Cakes

This 5 tier wedding cake was covered with chocolate rolled fondant and all of the decorations were made with chocolate plastic.  I made this cake for my sister who loves chocolate and just wanted something a little different for her wedding.



I made this demo wedding cake to practice hand making gum paste flowers.  I really enjoyed working on this cake because I didn't have to try to meet any expectations.