Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label birthday. Show all posts

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Busy, Busy, Busy...

So, a couple of weeks ago, I had a REALLY busy week. I had to make cookies for the troops and get them sent off (see previous post), a birthday cake for a co-worker, a last minute order for a birthday cake, and a 60th anniversary cake. Thankfully, they were all due on different days, so I at least got a little bit of sleep during the week.

Take a peek on what I was so feverishly working...

*Co-worker cake will remain picture-less, as the content of the cake is pretty disgusting (per his request).*

Lollipop Birthday Cake for Megan

Megan really wanted a turquoise lollipop cake for her birthday - vanilla cake (from scratch, of course) with traditional buttercream icing. Lollipops are made of fondant and sugar cookies with royal icing decorations.



60th Wedding Anniversary Cake

August 27th, 2008 was my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. How incredible?!! My grandmother asked my mom if I would mind doing the cake. Ummm...of course not! I'd be honored!

My grandmother's idea of cake making and decorating is a box cake mix with buttercream icing. Nothing wrong with that. Even though her cakes are boxed, they taste amazing. Probably because they are baked with so much love. :-) Well, my idea of caking is a little different. I have discovered the yummy goodness of scratch cakes (courtesy of Confetti Cakes - THANK YOU ELISA STRAUSS!).

Not really caring much about the particulars of the cake, my grandmother left the design up to me (yesssssss!). Her only request was that the design be pink and white (YESSSSSSSSSS!). I got straight to work thinking of a beautiful design to celebrate 60 years of marriage. After discussing it with my mom, we decided that soft pink calla lilies with white icing would be stunning.

So, a few weeks ahead of time, I made my gumpaste lilies. They were shaping up nicely and I could not wait to see the finished product.

Finally! It's the week of and I bake enough cakes for a three tiered masterpiece. Bottom tier - chocolate. Middle tier - chocolate and vanilla. Top tier - chocolate. All with cookies and cream filling. Yummm!

Since it's their diamond anniversary, I decided a nice diamond pattern on the side of the cake would be appropriate. And the little, silver dragees give the cake a nice shimmer. I wanted a little bit more drama than just the regular ol' stacked tiered cake, so I set out looking for a tier separator (but not one that would make it look too "Wal-Mart"). After much searching, I had the brilliant idea to use a hurricane globe that I had hanging in my living room (smart, huh?). I stuffed some complementary fabric in the globe and set out for the 3 hour drive to NC.

My nerves were shot by the time we arrived in NC. Transporting a cake 3 hours can be quite taxing. I had worked so hard on this cake and I wanted it to be perfect.

Once we finally arrived a the restaurant, I got straight to work on assembling this masterpiece. It took me about 45 minutes to get it all set up. My hands were shaking the entire time. Overall, I think it turned out quite nicely (especially for a 3 hour trek up the interstate). What do you think?




Saturday, August 16, 2008

Cakefolio

Alright, kids. I've gotten a couple of requests to post some pics of the cakes I have done. So, here it goes...

This was my first fondant covered cake (obviously). I HATED it, but that was the assignment. Being the good, little student that I am, I followed instructions.





Second fondant covered cake. I was a rebel this time and completely deviated from the assignment. Not too shabby considering I had NO CLUE what I was doing!



Cute idea, poor execution. I was really busy the week I made these flower pot cakes. Considering the time constraints, I was relatively pleased with myself. I learned a great deal while doing these, so I think I'll have a better turnout with the next ones.




Towards the end of my cake classes, I became a rebel. I didn't like any of the assignments, so I came up with my own designs. I really enjoyed making this cake. I'm not crazy about the flower colors, but I had some extra icing lying around, so I chose to use that instead of making a new batch. I think the butterfly is my favorite part of this cake.



My very first cake order! I was given free reign on the design. I was pretty pleased with it.




My second cake order! This was for a baby shower. The theme was "Whimsical Jungle" and the colors were brown and sage green. Again, I had free reign on the design. This was my "Plan B" cake. The original design was much more complex, but would not have been very stable for travel (over an hour away). I still have the sketch of the original design though. Maybe I'll get to do it someday.


This is my favorite cake to date. Not only was is super yummy, it was pretty freakin' awesome, too! I did this cake for my stepmother's 50th birthday. She loves hummingbirds and likes to garden, so I had my dad take a picture of the whiskey barrel in their front yard so I could replicate it. It's not an exact replica, but it's pretty close (I think). Everyone at the party didn't even realize it was a cake. Ha ha!



This cake was a complete DISASTER from start to finish! I hated this cake. It was my first attempt at Topsy Turvy. At least all the guests enjoyed it. They said it tasted great.


Last minute mini cakes that I did for Girls' Night. Cute, huh?




I did this cake as a sample for someone. I hated the way it turned out, so I just took it to work and let the guys in the shop eat it.


I had some left over cake after a cake tasting, so I tried some new techniques. I really like how this one turned out. I took it up to the FBO when I was finished with it. I got lots of compliments on this one.



My latest experiment: Petits Fours. Since this was my first attempt at them, I was pretty pleased with how they turned out. I took a bunch to the office, some to the FBO and some to the prop shop. Everyone loved them.



In the next few weeks, I've got several cakes to do. Be on the look out for...

Cookies for the Troops
60th Anniversary Cake - pink calla lilies (for my grandparents)
Megan's Birthday Cake - lollipops
Super secret birthday cake for my mom - it's going to be amazing (if I can pull it off ;-) )