Mixed cake flavors: Chocolate, marble and Red-Velvet
Head and horns: Constructed using rice-crispy treats.
Covered in Buttercream and Marshmallow Fondant
(Photo taken using iPod - low lighting)
Showing posts with label Custom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Custom. Show all posts
Saturday, November 23, 2013
RAWR! Dragon Cake
Well, long time no post. Here's the latest in cakery... This cake was designed for a Physics Class... does that make it a physics Dragon?
Mixed cake flavors: Chocolate, marble and Red-Velvet
Head and horns: Constructed using rice-crispy treats.
Covered in Buttercream and Marshmallow Fondant
Mixed cake flavors: Chocolate, marble and Red-Velvet
Head and horns: Constructed using rice-crispy treats.
Covered in Buttercream and Marshmallow Fondant
Saturday, March 9, 2013
On Grateful Dead and Golf
I have to admit, I know very little about music. As someone who listens exclusively to the CBC radio on her iPod (yeah, I'm that lame), I find myself stumped at music lyrics which most people can belt out or recognize instantly. This is not to say that I am not musically inclined, it is just that when it comes to 'the classics,' I am not as well versed in knowing the band or song title.
With that preamble complete, I will say that I was excited to be asked to make a birthday cake for a Grateful Dead fan. The concept of the band and their "Jerry Bears," with an album cover made my client super excited. It was decided that a painting of an album cover (below) and the Bears surrounding the cake would make a super exciting treat for the Band Fan Birthday Boy.
The cake was created, rainbow (tie-dye) vanilla cake with white fondant covering. The design included one hand-painted topper (removable so you don't need to eat all that colour), and the dancing bears around the sides. The top of the cake was painted in Americolor gel colouring diluted with water. Some people have asked in the past how I paint... I don't use vodka as some do, but instead find that water, with a little white colour gel, works great!
Of course, everything I do is free-handed. This cake was a 9-inch round with MMF, which some know as being a pain to paint on... some bleeding and sugar melting was inevitable.
I think the best part of this cake, other than the amazing art which I was super happy to pull off, because let's face it.... often cake decorators try to take on projects that challenge them and that may or may not work in their execution, was the fact that I worked with a buddy (that was a run-on sentence! Fun to write, horrid to read, and I refuse to fix it! My inner English Major is screaming in silent protest). No, My friend came to help me to build a cake of her own, and to keep me company. Her husband's 37th birthday was today (yay!), and as a treat, I showed her how to create her own personalized cake. Since the birthday boy in this case is a golf aficionado, we decided to make a cute little golf cake...
Now, that's not too bad for someone who has never worked with fondant in her life. I had the cake prepped in advanced (dirty iced and good to go), and she iced, covered and decorated the cake all by herself.... well, with a little help, but it was mostly superficial! Super happy birthday to my friend! I hope you have a fabulous trip in Florida! What a great place to celebrate!
Okay, time's up! See you soon!
With that preamble complete, I will say that I was excited to be asked to make a birthday cake for a Grateful Dead fan. The concept of the band and their "Jerry Bears," with an album cover made my client super excited. It was decided that a painting of an album cover (below) and the Bears surrounding the cake would make a super exciting treat for the Band Fan Birthday Boy.
The cake was created, rainbow (tie-dye) vanilla cake with white fondant covering. The design included one hand-painted topper (removable so you don't need to eat all that colour), and the dancing bears around the sides. The top of the cake was painted in Americolor gel colouring diluted with water. Some people have asked in the past how I paint... I don't use vodka as some do, but instead find that water, with a little white colour gel, works great!
Of course, everything I do is free-handed. This cake was a 9-inch round with MMF, which some know as being a pain to paint on... some bleeding and sugar melting was inevitable.
I think the best part of this cake, other than the amazing art which I was super happy to pull off, because let's face it.... often cake decorators try to take on projects that challenge them and that may or may not work in their execution, was the fact that I worked with a buddy (that was a run-on sentence! Fun to write, horrid to read, and I refuse to fix it! My inner English Major is screaming in silent protest). No, My friend came to help me to build a cake of her own, and to keep me company. Her husband's 37th birthday was today (yay!), and as a treat, I showed her how to create her own personalized cake. Since the birthday boy in this case is a golf aficionado, we decided to make a cute little golf cake...
Now, that's not too bad for someone who has never worked with fondant in her life. I had the cake prepped in advanced (dirty iced and good to go), and she iced, covered and decorated the cake all by herself.... well, with a little help, but it was mostly superficial! Super happy birthday to my friend! I hope you have a fabulous trip in Florida! What a great place to celebrate!
Okay, time's up! See you soon!
Monday, August 13, 2012
Tutorial: Butterfly Cake Topper
Hey! Me again!
For my cakes, I like to add small details which add height and sparkle, so my Sugar Butterflies have become a hit! Here's a tutorial on how to make your own Sugar Butterflies:
As in all my tutorials, I try to keep the materials simple. In the tutorial I use a ball tool and a foam mat to ruffle the edges of my butterfly; you can skip this step and just do a flat butterfly! As always, work with what you have! You can substitute the ball tool for a toothpick and roll the edges of the toothpick on the butterfly's wings.....
What you need:
Step 1:
Roll out the gumpaste. You will want it to be fairly thin, maybe 2mm thick or so. Using your favorite butterfly cutter, cut out the shape of the butterfly.
Step 2:
Using a ball tool, thin out the edges of your butterfly's wings to give the wings that whimsical look. I try to spread the butterfly's wings, and leave the body thick. This will be important when you dowel your butterfly.
As you can see, the spread butterfly is larger than the cutter. This is important! Your butterfly should be wider and longer than the original cut out for when you have to put the backing on him.
Step 3:
Now, take your thin dowel and lay it down the center of the butterfly's body on the underside. Allow the butterflies to dry in this way (Overnight, or 8hours)
Step 4:
When your butterfly is nice and hard, carefully remove him and put it upside down. Roll our another butterfly to be the backing. To secure him, simply add a little water to the backside of your butterfly, then apply. Again, allow time to dry. I try to make sure the 'head' of the butterfly is sealed well, and make sure the dowel does not poke through the top of the piece. By creating a dome on the top, the stick will have something more to keep it in place.
Antenna: At this time, you can choose to place antenna into the butterfly. Simply use a floral stamen (optional, found at a craft store) in the top between the two layers. When it dries, they will be secure.
Step 5:
Now for the sun part: DECORATING! Taking your gel paste food color, water it down, and paint the edges and body of the butterfly. Keep in mind that the as the butterfly dries, the shininess of the 'paint' will dull. No worries!
Step 6:
Depending on your pattern, you can paint the inside any way you wish. For this one, I decided to make a Monarch butterfly, so I painted the 'cell' veins through the body. Once the black is done, allow time to dry (10 min?).
Step 7:
Now, when the black color is dry (this is tacky, as you can see), paint in the color. You can choose to fill all the cells, or just one or two for a stained-glass look. The Flower Garden Cake had purple gumpaste with a few cells painted.
Step 8:
Add a contrasting colour to the edges of the butterfly....
Blend the colors together with a clean, lightly dampened paintbrush. You can add in the darker black if you wish by swishing it with the paintbrush.
Step 9:
Allow time for the fully coloured butterfly to dry. If you wish, you can paint the stick the colour of the cake (for instance, I have painted them black/white before). You can even add stripes or polka-dots to the stick to give them character.
For my cakes, I like to add small details which add height and sparkle, so my Sugar Butterflies have become a hit! Here's a tutorial on how to make your own Sugar Butterflies:
As in all my tutorials, I try to keep the materials simple. In the tutorial I use a ball tool and a foam mat to ruffle the edges of my butterfly; you can skip this step and just do a flat butterfly! As always, work with what you have! You can substitute the ball tool for a toothpick and roll the edges of the toothpick on the butterfly's wings.....
What you need:
- Sugarpaste/Gumpaste
- Butterfly Cookie Cutter
- Rolling Pin
- Ball tool (optional)
- Foam Mat (optional)
- Dowel
- Food Color (gel kind like Americolor)
- Water
- Paintbrush
Step 1:
Roll out the gumpaste. You will want it to be fairly thin, maybe 2mm thick or so. Using your favorite butterfly cutter, cut out the shape of the butterfly.
Step 2:
Using a ball tool, thin out the edges of your butterfly's wings to give the wings that whimsical look. I try to spread the butterfly's wings, and leave the body thick. This will be important when you dowel your butterfly.
As you can see, the spread butterfly is larger than the cutter. This is important! Your butterfly should be wider and longer than the original cut out for when you have to put the backing on him.
Step 3:
Now, take your thin dowel and lay it down the center of the butterfly's body on the underside. Allow the butterflies to dry in this way (Overnight, or 8hours)
Step 4:
When your butterfly is nice and hard, carefully remove him and put it upside down. Roll our another butterfly to be the backing. To secure him, simply add a little water to the backside of your butterfly, then apply. Again, allow time to dry. I try to make sure the 'head' of the butterfly is sealed well, and make sure the dowel does not poke through the top of the piece. By creating a dome on the top, the stick will have something more to keep it in place.
Antenna: At this time, you can choose to place antenna into the butterfly. Simply use a floral stamen (optional, found at a craft store) in the top between the two layers. When it dries, they will be secure.
Step 5:
Now for the sun part: DECORATING! Taking your gel paste food color, water it down, and paint the edges and body of the butterfly. Keep in mind that the as the butterfly dries, the shininess of the 'paint' will dull. No worries!
Step 6:
Depending on your pattern, you can paint the inside any way you wish. For this one, I decided to make a Monarch butterfly, so I painted the 'cell' veins through the body. Once the black is done, allow time to dry (10 min?).
Step 7:
Now, when the black color is dry (this is tacky, as you can see), paint in the color. You can choose to fill all the cells, or just one or two for a stained-glass look. The Flower Garden Cake had purple gumpaste with a few cells painted.
Step 8:
Add a contrasting colour to the edges of the butterfly....
Blend the colors together with a clean, lightly dampened paintbrush. You can add in the darker black if you wish by swishing it with the paintbrush.
Step 9:
Allow time for the fully coloured butterfly to dry. If you wish, you can paint the stick the colour of the cake (for instance, I have painted them black/white before). You can even add stripes or polka-dots to the stick to give them character.
Here are the to I used on Linda's Pink Wedding Cake.
Now You too can make Butterflies! HURRAY!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Towwwww Mater!
I had the most amazing day yesterday. It included a four hour car ride one way, and a midnight 4 for hour car drive back... but the between.. PRICELESS! Actually, the ride back was pretty sweet too!
This is the reason for the trip!
My nephew Aiden was celebrating his 3rd birthday.
I have not seen my niece and nephew in four months, so I definitely needed to drive to Thunder Bay to visit. The problem is that I have another cake project due this weekend, so I didn't have a lot of time to spare. So, SURPRISE! I took a day trip down there (8 hour round trip) to go to the birthday party. What would a party be without cookies?
I made special Tow Mater cookies from Disney's Cars movies; Aiden LOVES Mater. In fact, most of his present were 'Cars' related. It was a super surprise for them. I walked in the door and Abby, my niece, JUMPED ME! We had cake which dyed our mouths blue, ate hot-dogs and played! Here's Abby with her tooth-fairy costume (her future career aspiration).
Even my cousin Kathrine enjoys the cookies.
Okay... so like I said, big project, three cakes, major work to be done! It's time for me to stop being lazy and get some work done. For some reason, I never post as much in the Summer... guess the heat combined with the prospect of swimming! Hehee, I'm a fish in the summer.
I have not seen my niece and nephew in four months, so I definitely needed to drive to Thunder Bay to visit. The problem is that I have another cake project due this weekend, so I didn't have a lot of time to spare. So, SURPRISE! I took a day trip down there (8 hour round trip) to go to the birthday party. What would a party be without cookies?
I made special Tow Mater cookies from Disney's Cars movies; Aiden LOVES Mater. In fact, most of his present were 'Cars' related. It was a super surprise for them. I walked in the door and Abby, my niece, JUMPED ME! We had cake which dyed our mouths blue, ate hot-dogs and played! Here's Abby with her tooth-fairy costume (her future career aspiration).
And of course, Cookies for everyone~
Vivian and Brooklyn (Abby and Aiden's friends) munch away on their cookies!
Even my cousin Kathrine enjoys the cookies.
Okay... so like I said, big project, three cakes, major work to be done! It's time for me to stop being lazy and get some work done. For some reason, I never post as much in the Summer... guess the heat combined with the prospect of swimming! Hehee, I'm a fish in the summer.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Stacked Book Cake Tutorial
Okay, this one has a lot of images!
I have been meaning to do a book cake tutorial for a while, so I am very glad that I got another chance to make one. One of my friends at our local Confederation College asked me to make the grads a cake. How could I refuse? We decided that the stacked book cake would be ideal! Let's see:
So, what do you do to make the stacked book cake?
First, start by baking your favorite flavor of cake in a rectangular pan. If you only have a square, you can simply cut one side a little to make it into a rectangle. These books had to feed a lot of mouths, so I'm using a 12x9 pan.
Cut the cake, fill it, then dirty-ice it. Place in the fridge, and let settle up.
Next, begin by rolling out white fondant. I like to use MMF.
Measure the width and height, then, using a pizza cutter, cut it out to the right size.
Next, put book page lines in it using the pizza cutter and a light touch. You don't want to go through the fondant, so make sure that you press only hard enough to make lines. Don't worry if they are perfectly straight.
Now, remove the cake from the fridge and ice again. Put the fondant on the sides of the cake first, then the front. You only need to cover three sides white, the back will be the book's spine. I like to add a little water to help the 'pages' stick to each other. Use your fondant smoother or a smooth surface to flatten the fondant.
Now, measure out the book's top and roll out enough fondant to cover the top/spine of the book. I like to use a small tape measure to be sure it will cover the whole cake.
Again, use your fondant smoother to flatten the top of the cake.
Trim any excess fondant with a pair of sharp scissors. Once it is smooth, dust off excess powdered sugar, and you can sponge the top if you want more of a textured look.
If you wanted, prior to rolling out the fondant, you can use a pattern maker to indent the fondant with some shape.... I like it to be slightly pocked.
And that's all!
Here are some examples:
Note that in the centers of the book there are round dowels. If you plan on stacking the cakes, you will need to be sure that each cake is on a cake board of its own, and that there are dowels enough to support the weight of the cake.
When stacking the cakes, be sure to distribute the weight evenly. If you plan on moving the cakes, you may wish to consider a middle, center post to hold all the cakes together. These cakes were made to be separated.
Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!
I have been meaning to do a book cake tutorial for a while, so I am very glad that I got another chance to make one. One of my friends at our local Confederation College asked me to make the grads a cake. How could I refuse? We decided that the stacked book cake would be ideal! Let's see:
So, what do you do to make the stacked book cake?
First, start by baking your favorite flavor of cake in a rectangular pan. If you only have a square, you can simply cut one side a little to make it into a rectangle. These books had to feed a lot of mouths, so I'm using a 12x9 pan.
Cut the cake, fill it, then dirty-ice it. Place in the fridge, and let settle up.
Next, begin by rolling out white fondant. I like to use MMF.
Measure the width and height, then, using a pizza cutter, cut it out to the right size.
Next, put book page lines in it using the pizza cutter and a light touch. You don't want to go through the fondant, so make sure that you press only hard enough to make lines. Don't worry if they are perfectly straight.
Now, remove the cake from the fridge and ice again. Put the fondant on the sides of the cake first, then the front. You only need to cover three sides white, the back will be the book's spine. I like to add a little water to help the 'pages' stick to each other. Use your fondant smoother or a smooth surface to flatten the fondant.
Now, measure out the book's top and roll out enough fondant to cover the top/spine of the book. I like to use a small tape measure to be sure it will cover the whole cake.
Again, use your fondant smoother to flatten the top of the cake.
Trim any excess fondant with a pair of sharp scissors. Once it is smooth, dust off excess powdered sugar, and you can sponge the top if you want more of a textured look.
If you wanted, prior to rolling out the fondant, you can use a pattern maker to indent the fondant with some shape.... I like it to be slightly pocked.
And that's all!
Here are some examples:
Note that in the centers of the book there are round dowels. If you plan on stacking the cakes, you will need to be sure that each cake is on a cake board of its own, and that there are dowels enough to support the weight of the cake.
When stacking the cakes, be sure to distribute the weight evenly. If you plan on moving the cakes, you may wish to consider a middle, center post to hold all the cakes together. These cakes were made to be separated.
Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoyed the tutorial!
Monday, June 4, 2012
A sweet "Thank You"
Things are heating up here in the Fort. Building season is in full swing, and so is work on the property. This week marked a very special milestone (other than official groundbreaking), we got a SAUNA!
One of our friends called me up last week, saying that her old sauna was in the way of her building project, and asked if we wanted it (on condition that it be moved ASAP!).
Today, the sauna was delivered after much fuss, and I could not be happier! To thank my friend, I did what I know best: I made cookies.
It is not as though money was an issue, but rather, generosity. I worked really hard to create cookies which showed exactly how grateful I was; the butterfly cookies are my favorite cookie, and the iris cookies were hand-cut (since I don't own the cutter).
After inspecting the work and asking a few questions (the sauna is going to be a temporary shed for the builders while they get things in order), Hubbie and I went out for a celebratory supper. It was very stressful working to get the sauna to our property, and it has been a long time coming to get an official start to our new home, but I hope this marks the beginning of a very wonderful adventure.... with a warm ending.
By the way, I want to paint the sauna Pink... just in case you were wondering :)
One of our friends called me up last week, saying that her old sauna was in the way of her building project, and asked if we wanted it (on condition that it be moved ASAP!).
Today, the sauna was delivered after much fuss, and I could not be happier! To thank my friend, I did what I know best: I made cookies.
It is not as though money was an issue, but rather, generosity. I worked really hard to create cookies which showed exactly how grateful I was; the butterfly cookies are my favorite cookie, and the iris cookies were hand-cut (since I don't own the cutter).
After inspecting the work and asking a few questions (the sauna is going to be a temporary shed for the builders while they get things in order), Hubbie and I went out for a celebratory supper. It was very stressful working to get the sauna to our property, and it has been a long time coming to get an official start to our new home, but I hope this marks the beginning of a very wonderful adventure.... with a warm ending.
By the way, I want to paint the sauna Pink... just in case you were wondering :)
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