Jessicakes

Ruffle Flower Purse

2012-02-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Alyssa!!

One of my sweetest friends had a birthday last week!! If I'm able to make a friend a cake...I JUMP at the chance!! Life is so busy, unfortunately, so I can't get to all my friends every birthday...but if I could make all my sweet friends a cake, I would! The funny thing though was that this was the second cake I attempted to make for her! :) The first one was going to be a 6" tall cake with a 4" cake stacked on top. It was going to have a gray and turquoise chevron pattern around it with a funky flower on the top tier. But, it ended up being a disaster so she didn't get a cake until 4 days later! :( - and it wasn't the original! I was so bummed she couldn't have a cake for her actual b-day, but for some reason, it just was not supposed to happen. I had family come into town that weekend, my husband and I had a sweet date planned that I couldn't pass up, and then had some serious modeling chocolate mishaps...it just wasn't meant to be...as much as I tried and labored...it didn't happen!

It made me think of Proverbs 16:9: "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." I had her first cake all planned out and it was going to be great!! :) But, it wasn't what the Lord wanted me to do that weekend! I guess that's why I'm glad I don't have a business and the cakes I make are usually unexpected! :) - I can make it work into my schedule..and if it doesn't work out, I can do it another time or not at all! :) So, a few days ago, I got out the flour, sugar, fondant and buttercream and got to work on another one! And I'm glad I did...I really thought this turned out cute! - and so did Alyssa! And, that's all that matters! :)

This was my first zipper!! :) I was so excited to try it! I used a real zipper to create a mold in some modeling chocolate. I rolled out a thick piece of modeling chocolate. I sprayed the new, clean zipper with some Pam spray, then laid it into the modeling chocolate nice and evenly. I pulled it out to leave the impression behind. I let the chocolate set up overnight so it was nice and hard. I rolled a rope of fondant mixed with Tylose and laid it over the mold which I had dusted with some cornstarch. I turned it over and gently pulled out the fondant and voila'! - a zipper!! I let it harden for a day or so then painted it with the silver luster dust. I hand cut out the zipper pull and let it sit to dry, then also colored it with luster dust. It looked great to me! - for my first attempt! :) I was happy!!

Here is a picture of the front and the back together so you can see it was all random! :)

I carved the cake down from 3 stacked layers of 6" round cake filled with buttercream. I crumb coated it in buttercream then laid the fondant on it. Because the base tapers in quite a bit (which is sort of hard to see in the pics) I had extra fondant. So, I gathered the extra fondant and created a seam in the front and in the back and used my scissors to cut that excess off (which I knew I'd be covering anyway in flower petals). I added the top ruffle edge and black extruded rope at the base of that ruffle. I then began adding the rolled out "petals" from outside to inside. The flower in the center (which consisted of 5 circle layers frilled and stacked on each other) was the last finishing touch. After all the "petals" were in place I took my black gel color, mixed it with a little vodka and began painting the edges of all the ruffles. It was NOT as clean as I would have liked...it was really hard to do an even layer of paint all the way around!!! But, my husband actually liked how it wasn't even and "funky" he said! :) I guess if I would have wanted it to be really even, I could have extruded some really thin ropes of black fondant and put them on the edges of the petals. That would have taken much longer, but would have made it look like piping.

I guess the lesson on this one was that even though you might have plans of your own, the Lord might have other plans...and they are always better! :)

One more quick random thing! Photo editing!! I live in Oregon and it can be pretty dark and rainy here. I took these pics in the morning, but there wasn't much natural light and I didn't love the color of the back ground I had available. SO, enter photo editing software!!! I use a simple Photoshop Elements to help enhance my photos. Here's the before and after...the original photo and after edits.

I wanted a softer back ground and a more "clear"/brighter picture. So, I boosted the light levels, darkened up the shadows a bit to give it more contrast. I then selected everything but the cake itself and created a new "background" layer. I changed the hue of that layer as well as the saturation and got a softer more Tiffany blue that I thought worked better with the cake. Voila'! - a much better photo! :) I hope that helps...you can do that at home too!

Thanks for looking!!!

It's Easy...

2012-01-23T07:20:00.000-08:00

I just posted the Little Purse Tutorial yesterday based on a cake demo I did at a women's retreat last weekend (read this post). My cousin Jamie was there and apparently took some video of me. I guess I kept saying, "See it's easy!" after I would do something simple and would hear the "Ooooh's and Ahhhh's" in the crowd. She just saw my post and sent this video to me and told me I HAD to put it on my blog for all to see! - silly girl!

So, I thought I'd share it so you can see me in action...if only for a few seconds! - 26 seconds to be exact! :) I was putting on the flap of the purse in this video.

Now, after seeing the tutorial from yesterday's post...it IS easy, right?! :)

Little Cake Purse Tutorial - How to make a purse cake

2012-01-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I received a phone call from my mother-in-law's sweet friend Karin. She was organizing a women's retreat and wanted to know if I'd come down and do a cake demo after lunch and talk about my journey into the world of cakes. The theme of the retreat was Faith: A journey from mediocrity to maturity. So, it tied into the theme of the day and would give the ladies something fun...like half-time entertainment! :) I was flattered she thought of me and was excited to do it...although, a bit hesitant because I had never done anything like it before! She had been so impressed that I've chosen to use my talent as a blessing to others instead of trying to turn it into a business for profit. So, that's what I talked about. How I started off thinking I'd make this into a business, but how the Lord has really worked on my heart that this talent, for this season of life, is meant to bless others! - and that's it! He has definitely blessed me for being obedient and I have SO enjoyed helping others with their cake journey and have SOOOOO enjoyed blessing those I love with fun, beautiful cakes!! He is gracious and always blesses us for choosing to follow His ways...even though the world is constantly trying to tell us otherwise! :)

So, last Saturday, a cake buddy and sweet friend of mine (Deborah) and I, headed south to Reedsport (about 3.5 hours away on the Oregon Coast) for the retreat. I was going to show how to make a little purse cake. As I was prepping for the retreat, I took some pictures and decided I would do a tutorial for all of you on my blog!! :) Yeah! :) The SUPER unfortunate thing was I didn't get a final picture of my cake!!! I took one, but it was no where to be found when I got home to go through the pictures! :( It was incredibly cute!!! So, I re-created it Friday evening (before all the craziness with my daughter began) and have a final picture for you! - although...it didn't turn out as cute as the original! :) Oh well!!

So, here's what I'm going to show you how to make:
This little cake is made out of 3 thin 6" round cakes, stacked with two layers of filling in between. You could make this any size you'd like following these basic steps.

Step 1:
Stack and fill your cake - mine was approx. 3" thick/tall. Put it in the fridge/freezer until it firms up so you can carve it. The little swirl on top there is a simple syrup.

Step 2:
Cut off the bottom edge as straight as possible. Cut off a top edge as straight as possible. The top edge should be slightly smaller than the bottom. The right side of this pic is my top edge...see it's a bit smaller than the bottom.

Step 3:
Stand it up on it's bottom and check for straightness.
Check the side as well as the front. Continue to trim to make sure it stands nice and straight.

Step 4:
Start trimming down the front and back so it looks tapered...like the purse is closed.
Make sure both sides are the same! :)

Step 5:
Begin carving the sides in to create the gap of fabric when the purse would be closed. Create a little "V" shape on the sides of the purse with a small knife.

Step 6:
Add a crumb coat of ganache or buttercream. Get it nice and smooth. Then put it in the fridge to firm up over night or a few hours.

Step 7:
Trim your board. Prep the ganache covered cake for covering in fondant by spritzing it with water or water mixed with a little corn syrup.

Step 8:
Roll out your fondant 1/8" - 3/8" thick. Drape over your cake (I have mine sitting up on a little tin so I can get a clean cut on the bottom edge) and start smoothing. Gather the excess fondant on each corner and pinch it (see pic below).

Step 9:
Use a pair of small sharp scissors to trim off the excess fondant as close to the cake as possible without cutting into the cake! :) With warm fingers massage those seams together to make sure they are closed and smooth. You can even use a tiny bit of crisco on your finger tips to help smooth it down. Trim off a little more fondant if it's not laying flat on the cake like the pic below. Don't worry about your seams because you'll be putting on piping later that will hide them. Just make sure you're cutting right on the corners so when you put your piping on it will be hidden! :)
Grab your fondant smoothers and go to town getting the fondant nice and smooth. Use a VERY slightly dampened paper towel or smooth towel to wipe off any excess cornstarch, or rub a very light coating of crisco on the cake to make it a bit more satin-like and to get the cornstarch off.

Step 10:
Use a piece of blank 4x6 photo paper (or a 4x6 piece of card stock) and round the edge off on one side to create a template for the flap. Roll out some fondant and put the photo paper on it, then cut around it. Spritz the back of the fondant with the water/corn syrup solution and lay over your cake making sure it's nice and centered. Use the Wilton fondant embosser wheel for that (click here). Just run it around the edges of your flap and voila!
Front view (above)
Back view (below)
Step 11:
Add the piping in whatever color you'd like. You can either roll fondant ropes by hand or use an clay/fondant extruder. I use this one (click here - I got mine at Michael's) because I can hold it in one hand and position the extruded rope right on my cake with the other hand. If you use a bigger kind, extrude the rope on your counter then apply it on your cake. Cover all seams with your piping and you'll have a really clean looking little purse! :)
Time to decorate it! Use my bow tutorial to create a sweet little bow or create a flower for the front like on this cake.
For the handle, I rolled a rope out and wrapped it around a glass to make it nice and round. I cut the bottom off so it would be square and let it dry over night. I then added just a smidgen of melted chocolate to the bottom of the handle and set it on the cake. I also used melted chocolate to attach the bow.
The little sparrow bird on the bottom is hand painted. I use a picture I found on line for inspiration. I grabbed my black Wilton gel color and mixed a little vodka with it to thin it down. I then used a tiny paint brush and painted away like it was canvas. You could also use your embosser tool to create a quilted look, or paint zebra stripes, giraffe print, etc etc etc! Be creative and go wild!!!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and will be inspired to make your own! :)

Blessings!

A BEAUTIFUL Fantasy Flower Tutorial

2012-01-22T09:10:00.001-08:00

How amazing is this?!!!!????!!! I LOVED it the moment I saw it! :)

My sweet friend Deborah created this fantasy flower with frosting/icing sheets. You can pick these sheets up now at Michael's or online. I'm amazed at the time she spent putting together a tutorial for it, so I had to share with all of you!!

Click HERE to link to her blog and read how you can make your own fantasy flower!!

Enjoy!

A NEW winner announced!

2012-01-21T18:15:00.001-08:00

I'm sorry but this morning I was a zombie on 3 hours of sleep! I wanted to get a person named for my little followers giveaway, but wasn't thinking straight. My sweet baby girl had a febrile seizure at 11pm last night. We found her in bed seizing with a high temp and called 911. The paramedics showed up and couldn't get her to stop right away, so I got to ride to the hospital with her. She didn't stop until we were 7 min. from the hospital and then was out of it! I was in the ER with her until 3:30 this morning! It's crazy how sometimes our perspective changes in an instant! It was the scariest thing my husband and I have been through. But, knowing the Lord had totally protected her...had allowed us to still be awake...had surrounded us with grace...had held her in His mighty hands, we have come out of it with just a memory now. She's completely great now! - has a double ear infection (hence the high fever), but is on meds and doing great! Anyhoooooo, that was the reason I wasn't careful this morning and need to pick a new winner. So sorry!!

The person I had selected as a winner this morning (by the number generator) was not a follower of this blog and I really wanted this to bless one of my followers for blessing me with your presence on here. SO, I did a new random number generator and made sure that person is a follower and went by the rules! :)

The winner of the $25 Amazon Gift Card is:

Vinae

Congratulations Vinae! I'll email you so we can get you your Amazon Gift Card!

Blessings to all!! Thanks again for supporting this blog and for all the great ideas for future posts/info! :)

Bow Tutorial

2012-01-15T15:59:00.001-08:00

I love this little bow! It's SO simple to make and simple in its style. All you need is a little template and a little modeling chocolate and you can make your own!!

Here's what you need:

When using a small amount of modeling chocolate, I like to roll it out on wax paper. It keeps me from having to use crisco or cornstarch.

And you're done! I love how little it is!

Have fun playing with the size. Copy that template and size it for whatever cake you need. Just use a little melted chocolate on the back of the bow to attach it to a cake.

Enjoy!

A prize for my followers

2012-01-15T14:53:00.001-08:00

AHHHH-MAZING!!!!

That's how I feel about all of you faithful followers!!! Despite my few months of being absent, we crossed over the 500 follower mark!!! WOW! I am so blessed by all of you and your sweet emails of encouragement and excitement whenever I post something new. Thank you for sharing the cakes you've made, your successes and failures and tips that have been helpful to me! I LOVE it! God has blessed me beyond what I could have asked for or imagined three years ago when I made my first fondant cake!! Who would have thunk it!?? :)

So, to thank you all, I'm doing a giveaway!!!! On Saturday I'm going to give one of my followers a $25 Amazon Gift Card. Here's what you have to do to enter:

1. Be a follower of this blog (not just a "follow by email" follower)
2. Post a comment below about something you'd love to see on this blog in the future
3. Post a link back to this blog on your facebook page or blog or website and make sure you put the link in your comments so I can see it too! :)

The chance to participate ends Friday, January 20th, 2012 at midnight. I'll do a random number generator on Saturday and post the winner!!

Hot Air Balloon Cake - Up Up and Away!

2011-11-13T10:52:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy to share this beautiful baby shower with you!! My sweet cousin, Ashley, is having her third baby, but first baby girl!! We are SO excited for her!! She is the most amazing woman!! She's ALL girl, yet puts on her boots and goes hunting with her husband! She took her two boys (2 and 4) deep into the forest, 7 months prego, until midnight, to help her husband and family haul in a HUGE buck! I wouldn't be caught dead doing that...let alone 7 months prego with two sweet boys! :) She ROCKS! She adores her husband, loves her kiddos, is up for anything, and is SUCH a blessing to all who know her!! Ashley...you inspire me! We love you loads!! :) This sweet baby girl is SO blessed to have a mama like you! - what an amazing example you already are to her!!

My INCREDIBLY talented sister in law, Kim Harris, designed this insanely cute invitation for her baby shower. Kim is an awesome graphic designer who chooses to stay home and be an amazing mommy! She OOOZES talent, and chooses to use it to bless others in the sweetest ways!! She designed this invitation...impressive isn't it!???!!!

And my other amazing cousin took all the pics. Jamie Zanotti rocks the camera! - Check out her site here. She also posted all the beautiful party pics on her blog...check out the full party here...the details are worth jumping over there for! - go, now! :) - and then come back and keep reading!!! :)

I was going to just make some cupcakes for the shower, but once I saw the invitation, I HAD to design a cake to go with the scenery!! I am so inspired by great design...and here's what I came up with...
The main change we made was putting the "banner" at the top of the cake. We wanted it to have the same graphics as all the other text instead of me hand writing it. Looking back, I think I would have just printed it on edible images and put it on the cake.

Other than that, I was super happy with how it turned out! It blended beautifully with Kim's table design. Check out some of these pics of the table and other decor she created/designed.
She made these using lanterns and covered them in paper - genius!!!!!

Here's some close ups of the cake...

I designed a template for the stripes (see below), laid them out on crisco covered wax paper, then flipped it up onto the cake. Just like I did on Maddie's Cake. I love that technique!!
All the decorations were made with modeling chocolate. I'm a HUGE fan of it! :)

Here's the template I created. I designed this using my Autocad. I measured out the circumference and height of the cake, then made everything to scale so I could cut the pieces out and use them as templates. Planning has EVERYTHING to do with success. This way I was able to figure out how big/wide the stripes needed to be in order to go all the way around the cake...and look like they all blend. It worked beautifully!!!

I took these pics at home before Kim picked up the cake. Shows the whole cake just like the template.
Here's what's inside:
The cake was 6 layers of chocolate cake with vanilla SMBC. The top tier was a rice crispy cake with chocolate ganache filling. I figured that'd be fun for those gluten-free friends! :) The crumb coat was dark chocolate ganache on both tiers. The fondant was marshmallow fondant mixed with a little modeling chocolate to give it some stability and add some yummy flavor. I actually wrapped the fondant on the bottom tier instead of laying it over the top (traditionally). I did this because it was over 7" tall and I was afraid I'd have issues with ripples at the bottom! :) - although, I realized later my stripes would have covered that! ;) Oh well, it worked beautifully. The little seam was pretty much hidden by the tallest point on the stripes and one of the big balloons. You could hardly see it unless you really looked for it. I love having the modeling chocolate in the fondant when I wrap cakes because you can heat the seams with your fingers and almost melt that seam together so it virtually disappears!!!

Now, a little "lesson learned" on this one! It's amazing that I still have yet to make a cake without issues!!!!!!!! Just shows you cake is never perfect!! :) The ganache separated on me...it completely broke and I could NOT get it back together!! That had never happened before, but I know why it happened!! Silly me!!! After I melted the chocolate just a bit, and heated my cream and poured the cream over the chocolate, I tried stirring/mixing it with my spatula!!! WHAT WAS I THINKING!!!!!!!! - well, that's it...I wasn't! I totally didn't even think anything would happen and that's what I had in my hand at the time...I'm SO lazy!! Anyhoo...it came together pretty good, then all of a sudden, it got really wet! - and started getting all weird looking. It wouldn't stick to the spatula, the cake, anything...it was WEIRD! I struggled with it for 2 hours before just slapping it on the cake the best I could and getting it in the fridge. I then had to spend another hour scraping the chocolate down to get it smooth. When I used a warm spatula on the chilled ganache it started separating again...but when I scraped it with a cold bench scraper, it worked great! So, lesson learned...use a wisk to incorporate your ganache EVERY time, and if it does seize, scrape the ganache to smooth it...don't use heat.

Now, I tried looking all over for a few ways to save the ganache, and tried a few techniques, but nothing really worked. It would come back together, but as it cooled, it'd start breaking again!! It was SO weird!! Here are a few links I tried...I was probably doing something wrong, but you could try these links if your ganache breaks!!!
ehow (I didn't try this, but this makes the most sense if you have a temp gauge)
cutoutandkeep (I tried this and it didn't work after it started cooling)

I'm just thankful I was able to finish the cake! :) God is good and always helps me through it, even at the last hour!!! Thank you Ashley for having a baby girl!! Thank you Kim for your amazing design and all the work you did on this shower!! Thank you Jamie for hosting at your log house ;) and for the memorable pics!! You girls are amazing and I am so thankful to be apart of your lives...forever! - because we're family!!! I'm SO thankful for marrying into the Harris clan...God is SO good and has blessed me far beyond what I could have imagined with all of you!! Praise you Jesus for all my blessings!!!!

Fun new stuff...coming soooon! :)

2011-10-10T20:32:00.001-07:00

Hi bloggers!!!
I have some super secret insider information for you all...some exciting news I just got the approval to share!! Wanna hear it??? :)

Cake Central is going to be completely re-making their website after the New Year...sometime around the first of the year. It's going to be set up to support videos and will become a HUGE database of tutorials, how-tos, videos, blogs, etc etc etc!!! It's going to be a one-stop shop for everything cake decorating and will trump anything youtube has going on!!

A few of you out there have requested several more tutorial videos from me showing the techniques I use to put on horizontal designs, how to fill a cake, how to frost a cake with the Aussie method and more. I'm soo sorry I've kept you waiting...that was never my intention! But, I can assure you, the wait is almost over! :)

Cake Central has asked me to take part in the new video section of their website. I'm going to be shooting 8-9 videos in which I'll be showing some of the techniques I mentioned above as well as some other secret stuff I can't tell you about now!! ;) It's so fun, very exciting and will hopefully help lots of you newbies out there make even more beautiful cakes!! I'm just so happy to be able to help more people than I could have reached from this little blog...now it'll be on Cake Central! Praise Jesus! :) :) Yippie! :)

So, be looking for the new face of Cake Central during the first part of next year. I'll post some links when everything goes live. Thanks for hang'n in there with me! I can't wait to show you what I've been working on.

Blessings!!!!!!!!!

It's that time of year...

2011-10-01T09:30:00.000-07:00

...to stock up on BLACK Wilton candy melts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I wish I knew why Wilton only produces black candy melts ONE time a year!! I LOVE using modeling chocolate for most of my decorations and it's always such a process to make black modeling chocolate or black fondant!! SO, this is the time of year (and only this time of year) when you go down to your local Micheal's or Joann's and stock up on your black melts!!! Don't forget!! Pick up several bags so you have plenty throughout the year!!!

A really important note:
These bags are different sized than the regular bags!! - only 10oz (not 14 oz)! SO, you have to use a different ratio of corn syrup when making modeling chocolate with the black bags. You want to use just less than 2 oz. (1.9 oz) per 10 oz bag. SO, don't forget!! :)

If you weigh out 14 oz (like a typical bag), you'll use 2.3 oz of corn syrup.

Happy shopping!! :)

Thank you!

2011-09-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

WOW, I am SO blessed by all my followers! I just wanted to say thank you!! I just realized we crossed over the 400 mark! ;) Thank you for all the emails, the encouragement and for letting me know what you find helpful!! I have so many ideas for more videos, tutorials, and designs that I'm so excited to share! Sorry I'm a little slow getting things up and done at times, family reigns supreme over here and when I can, I'll post new and fun things!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone! You make my day every day with your sweet words and emails! I have the best followers ever!!!

Many rich blessings upon you and your families!

The Castle Cake

2011-09-18T18:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kendra!!!!

Last weekend my family and I had the privilege to spend a few hours with the amazing Jamie Zanotti of JAZ Photography out of Eugene, OR. She is not only an incredible photographer, but she LOVES Jesus with her whole heart, adores people and capturing their memories, is an amazing wife and a beautiful example of a mom, and she is my husband's cousin! :) BONUS! - she's family! :) She took us downtown last weekend to capture some sweet family memories! I'm dying to see the pics, but will have to wait a few more days!! ;)

The reason I bring all that up is because this weekend, my daughter and I headed south to Eugene to Jamie's daughter's 7th birthday party!! - and my gift to her was a castle cake! :) Perfect for a sweet little princess having a Renaissance Themed party! Here is Jamie's post on the cake (click here).
There were two different little staircases on the cake. One seen here (above) facing the front, and a little staircase just like it in the back of the cake. The staircases were my favorite part of the cake!!! - and Jamie's too! I actually had planned to make them out of rice crispy treats, but after spending an hour on them, I decided that wasn't going to work...it was a bit too lumpy and not quite "perfect" enough...despite crumb coating it in buttercream and everything. So, my husband ate those and I sat there thinking how else I could make them! - then it hit me (thank you Jesus!) - I had some white modeling chocolate that would work beautifully!! So, I rolled it out about an inch thick, laid my stair template on it and cut them out with a sharp exacto knife...and voila', perfect little stairs! Note to self for the future!

Also, I had another issue with fading gel colors! URGH! I tinted the buttercream for the flowers on the ivy a pretty fuchsia color and piped the flowers on there. Unfortunately I didn't get pics of the cake in Portland because I was SO late and just wanted to get there. On the way down, sitting in the sun, all the flowers faded to a gray! :( Such a bummer!! It's just like Maddie's Cake when the fondant faded. Seriously...someone needs to invent something to fix that...so frustrating!!! :)

I used a good amount of styrofoam on this cake because they were expecting only about 25 people (mostly kids) for the party...and I wanted a grand cake! ;) The base of the cake was a 10" square cake with alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream. The second layer was a 7" styrofoam tier. The third tier was a 4" round cake with alternating layers of vanilla and chocolate cake with strawberry buttercream. The fourth/top tier was a 2-1/2"x6"h styrofoam tube. All the tall castle keeps were styrofoam foam (I ordered everything from Dallas Foam). The four at the base of the cake were 2"round x 6"high and the remaining three were 1-3/4" x 6" high (perfect for fitting the sugar cones). I have ordered lots of styrofoam from Dallas Foam and highly recommend them. They can do anything! - custom sizes you name it...it's SUCH a time saver! I think each castle keep was $1.50 or something...which was a huge time/cost savings! In order to apply the fondant to styrofoam, I rubbed Crisco all over the surface of the styrofoam, cut a rectangle of fondant that would wrap around it, then laid the styrofoam "tube" on the edge and rolled it up. It worked beautifully!
The turrets were another element of the castle I really loved! Although, again, it took some trial and error...and lots of time (each one took me about 30 min to make), they really made the cake! I tried several other designs before settling on this one. I wanted it to be roof-like, but not cottagy-like (if that's a word)! :) So, I used sugar cones because I liked the thin cone look (and it made it easy). I wrapped them in strips of modeling chocolate and cut the design in each layer with an exacto knife. I took some pics of the process...scroll down for a little tutorial to make your own.
For the tops of the walls, I wanted the traditional castle tops with the cutouts, but I wanted it slightly more feminine and not so rectangular. So, I used the cutter on the far left seen here. It's by FMM and called "Straight Frill Cutters, Set 3". I love this set...I've used it on several other projects too including my scalloped cake.

Details details details - they make beautiful cakes stunning! - and I sooo wished I could have had the time to add more!! The rocks were black and gray fondant swirled together and torn off and just slightly rolled in my hands. The water was blue fondant I painted over with some shades of blue and brown gel colors mixed with vodka to get the water look. The cobblestone pathway at the front and side entrances were lots of random shaped white balls rolled and flattened together. No impression mats used here! :) - although I had borrowed some...they just didn't fit the scale of the project. Thanks anyway Deborah! :)
Again, there were SO many more elements I wanted to add to this cake, but my sweet baby girl got a doozy of a fever and didn't want me to put her down for two days...so, a lot had to be eliminated from the scope of the project. I don't know what I would have done if Jamie was an actual paying client! - it confirmed that a cake business is NOT for me right now! :) I had planned to put the castle on a cliff, flower boxes under the windows, a draw bridge, some sign posts, etc etc. Lots of plans, not a lot of time! Fortunately my sweet cousin didn't mind one bit and understands the unexpected nature of kids and their sicknesses! :)

It is amazing how we can have our days planned out, or our cake projects planned out (our entire lives planned out for that matter), but it is the Lord who directs our steps! I kept thinking of Proverbs 16:9 and how relevant it is to me every day! I am SUCH a planner!! - and it seems every time I make a cake, something happens unexpectedly that calls for a new course of action...especially being a mom...nothing is predictable! So, I offered up this cake and all the details and plans I had for it and knew that no matter what, it would be a blessing to my sweet cousin and I needed to be with my baby for those two days...just loving on her, holding her and singing to her...not wishing things were different, because I can't control that...I can only control my attitude about the here and now. And, what's funny is that after all was said and done, the cake didn't need a big cliff, a draw bridge, some cool little sign posts and flower boxes. I got to spend the time I would have been making those things with my kids (or sleeping!)...and that's the plans the Lord had for me this week! God is always gracious and there were MANY times I saw His loving hands upon my heart and upon this cake throughout the week! Thank you Jesus for your goodness...and for pulling me through!! ;)

Let's get to the "How to's"!
How to make turrets for a castle cake! - The Jessicakes way!

Step 1 & 2: Flip the sugar cone onto some modeling chocolate and trace around it to create a base for the turret. Smooth the edges a bit so it's nice and even.
You can use water or some gumtex glue to get everything to stick. To make the glue, take about a 1/4 tsp of gum-tex (or Tylose powder), mix it with 2 Tbsp of warm water and let it sit in the fridge overnight. It won't dissolve right away...it'll look clumpy, but don't worry. In the morning it looks great! It works beautifully to give you extra hold when water isn't quite strong enough.

Step 3: Cut out 8-10 strips of modeling chocolate 6"wide by 1/2" high. I used my pasta machine and put it on number 4.

Step 4 & 5: Add some water/glue to the first strip and wrap it around the base of the cone trimming cleanly in the back. I pinched the top edge a bit against the cone to secure the strip.

Step 6: Use a sharp edge ( I used the exacto knife) to cut little slits in the first layer. As I pressed in, I lifted up slightly to bring that bottom edge out and up a bit...just slightly. You don't want to make the slits exactly the same distance apart...you want them to be a bit natural and uneven. Well, at least I did! :)

Steps 7-8: Continue layering the strips, cutting them cleanly in the back. Make sure to add the slit detail to each layer before adding the next one.

Step 9: To get the top finished, I cut out a small circle and quartered it. I then folded the cut edges together to form a little cone and placed it on top.

And you're done! Does it look like a Christmas tree??! :) LOL! :)

Now, there is a "lesson learned" with these! I made these several days ahead of time and had them sitting on a cookie sheet with some plastic wrap draped over them...not sealing them tightly. When I went to attach them to the cake, two of them had started splitting in the back!! YIKES! See below:

They were cracking along the cones seam. As the cone and fondant dried out it created the weak spot in the seam...when I moved it around, it cracked. SO, next time, either don't make them so far ahead, or put them in a plastic bag where they can be sealed tightly to keep the moisture in.

I guess that's it! :) I hope you all found some helpful tips for when you try to make your own castle cake!! :)

Blessings!

Fun (and free) inspiration

2011-09-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

I've had questions in the past about some of the unique shapes you might see that show up on my cakes and where I get those cutters/templates from. A great place to find inspiration as well as fun templates for cake making is Two Peas in a Bucket. It's an amazing scrapbook site that has oodles of inspiration. They also have 85 free digital kits you can download onto your computer to create your own digital scrapbooks...or templates for fondant and cake designs.

Here's what you need to do to find the free stuff!
1. Log in to two peas in a bucket (create your user name)
2. Click on the top bar that says "Digital", then on that pull down menu click on "Digital Shopping", then on that pull down menu, click, "Digital Kits".
3. It should bring up around 5000 digital kits. In order to get to the free ones, go over to the right pull down menu where you can sort the digital kits and click to sort by "Price - Low to High" and all the Free stuff will come up first.

Have fun downloading!!!! :)

Good bye Mudcake...I've found another!

2011-09-10T15:38:00.000-07:00

Happy Saturday everyone!! We just had our family pics taken this morning downtown Portland!! I can't wait to see them! My sweet baby girl decided she was D.O.N.E after about an hour and half of walking, posing and being held! :) It was funny because we could NOT get her to do anything...she wanted down on the ground SO bad! - I get it! But, we got lots of pics, so hopefully they'll be a keeper in there!! :)

So sorry I've been a bad blogger lately! :) With last minute vacations, school starting, and my sweet husband gone 11 hours a day again, I'm back to figuring out a new routine with three!! I'm getting back on my feet slowly but surely and am SUPER excited to show you the latest cake I'm working on!! :) - a castle cake for a sweet princess!! :) - but that's next week - stay tuned! Hopefully if time allows I'll get lots of good progress pics this week to be able to share!

Onto the mudcake! - A few weeks ago a couple wonderful ladies came over and brought some yummy chocolate cakes for me to try out. Since they were coming, I thought I'd bake up a new mudcake recipe I've been wanting to try to compare with their cakes and my regular mudcake I use all the time. I have to say, the mudcake is my new favorite dense, yummy, fudgy chocolate cake!! :) So, good bye old mudcake recipe...hello to the new one!! Here it is:

From Best Recipes - "Chocolate Mud Cake"
250g butter, chopped
200g dark chocolate
2 cups sugar
1-1/3 cups of strong coffee/espresso
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder (use good stuff!)
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Method:
Add first four ingredients into a saucepan and heat on low until melted and sugar is dissolved
Allow to cool for 10 minutes
Sift all flours together and add to cooled liquid, beating gently until incorporated
Add eggs and beat gently until incorporated well.
Pour mixture into greased cake tins and bake at 350 degrees for appropriate time! :) - depending upon pan size. My half sheet pan took 25 minutes and my 6" tins (filled 2/3 full) took 30 minutes. Every oven is different, so when it begins to crack on top, check it with a toothpick...when it comes out clean with just a few moist crumbs, it's done!
ENJOY! - it's actually better the 3rd day...I think the flavors gel together...so, it's okay to leave out! - in fact, it's encouraged! :)

New and Improved Mudcake Recipe!

Happy Birthday Emery!

2011-08-27T16:34:00.001-07:00

Today I had the privilege of creating some cupcakes for a sweet big sister!!! Emery turned 4 years old today and wow, she was such a beautiful princess in her big white gown!! Here mama and aunt made a sweet tea party for her to celebrate her special day!! This is one of those parties however that reminded me how blessed I am to be in a season of life with many many good things going on, and how I need to be more thankful for that...because not everyone is walking that simple road right now.

Everyday we embark on a journey without knowing what tomorrow will bring. Sometimes the Lord has for us hard climbs in life to endure...to strengthen us, to give us empathy for others, to show us what is really important in life, to show His strength and love is sufficient for today, and always to draw us closer to Him.

The "M" family has been called to endure a great climb. Emery's little sister is going through chemo for leukemia...and today, because of a fever, her and her daddy were in the hospital missing her big sister's party. Life may not always seem fair...and it's not supposed to be. But what is amazing is how the light of Jesus shines through this family in good times and in bad. The Lord's great love and strength are always enough to carry us through today...and they are a living testimony to that! My hope is when those challenges come (because they will), the Lord will fill me with unspeakable grace and peace...that He will use me, like He is using the "M" family, to shine His goodness and joy...because He is good...no matter what we go through!

The party was simple, but I wanted Emery to have something beautiful to look at and yummy to eat! Her mama wanted lemon cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, black covers on the cupcakes, pink frosting and white flowers on top...how I did that was up to me! :) I love creative freedom! :) hehe!! I made Emery and her little sister their own special flower pot cupcake because it was Emery's day and because I wanted her little sister to feel so important and special too. Her sister will be enjoying her cupcake in the next day or two when she gets home! :)
The party was perfectly sweet! Happy Birthday Emery!

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cupcakes AND MORE!!

2011-08-27T15:51:00.000-07:00

WOW, where has the summer gone!!??? I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! - naughty girl! :) Now that we're having a great dose of good weather, it seems summer is coming to a close and school is right around the corner! I don't know how I feel about that. Having a predictable schedule again suits me wonderfully, but losing my husband and daughter to another school year makes me want to cry! But alas...there's always cupcakes to put a smile on my face...and hopefully yours too!! :)

I made some cupcakes for a sweet friend who was hosting a bridal shower for her daughter's upcoming wedding. She is SO excited and so was I to share some yummy cupcakes with her! She requested one batch of the cupcakes to be gluten-free! I'd never made gluten-free cupcakes, so this was a fun new adventure for me! - and I was really happy with how they turned out!!!
Gluten-free Chocolate Cupcakes
Sift together:
1 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
1 cup cocoa powder (I use Pernigotti)
1.5 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
2 cups sugar
1 tsp salt

In a separate bowl mix together:
3/4 cup oil
2 eggs + 2 whites (added two whites for structure because I don't add xantham gum)
1 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl mix together:
1 cup hot coffee + 4 oz dark chocolate until chocolate melts

Add hot coffee/chocolate liquid to egg/oil mixture and stir till combined. Add liquid ingredients to flour ingredients and whisk until combined. Pour into muffin tins - makes 2 dozen plus. Bake 350 degrees for 15 min or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from tins to cool on rack.

The original recipe called for 1 tsp xantham gum, only two eggs (total) and no melted chocolate. I don't own xantham gum and probably won't unless I'm making a lot of gluten-free things because it's pretty spendy. So, I added the two eggs whites and the melted chocolate to help with structure. I don't know how large of a cake layer this will bake...I've only made the cupcakes with it and the texture was PERFECT!! Very light, moist, cake like...not gummy at all!

I topped these chocolate cupcakes with a yummy mocha buttercream! Use melted chocolate and espresso in your buttercream! - not sure on the quantities...I just add enough until I get the flavor I like! :) Make it bold!! :)

I also made my yummmmmmy coconut cupcakes (click here for the recipe) filled with white chocolate coconut custard. Here's the recipe for the coconut custard:
Ingredients
(adapted from Aarti Party's "Come'ere Puddin' Pie")
2 cups whole milk
3 yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Qty 2 - 3.5oz bars of Lindts White Coconut (I found mine at Target)
Pinch of salt

Directions:
In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the milk, yolks and extracts. Stir in the sugar, cornstarch, chocolate and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 1 minute, then immediately remove from heat. Mixture should be very thick! Poor into a bowl and cover the surface of the custard with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for 3 hours, until set. Scoop it into a piping bag and squirt it into a hollowed out cupcake as filling! ;) YUM! Top it with white chocolate coconut swiss meringue buttercream (make a batch of vanilla Swiss-meringue buttercream and add 1/2 cup of the left over custard - or however much custard you want to flavor it). If you make these cupcakes, I promise you will have more friends! :) :)

And the most yummiest of carrot cakes filled with a no-bake cheesecake filling and topped with cream cheese swiss-meringue buttercream. You can find the recipe for this one on this post (click here) Divine! :)

Happy baking!! - ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR SUMMER!!!

Maddie's Fashion Birthday Cake

2011-07-23T22:07:00.000-07:00

I have a sweet friend...her name is Summer. She is a little ray of sunshine like her name! :) - and she's my cake buddy. We've only made cakes together a couple of times, but we spend LOTS of time sharing ideas, tips, techniques, dreams and future plans together. She is SO incredibly smart in all things baking and writes the "Bakeology" articles for Cake Central magazine!! Her user name on Cake Central is Summerki...so you can see her work! She's got some serious talent! :) If you haven't checked her articles out, you should...you'll see how smart she is - and you'll learn something new I promise!! :)

Summer's daughter, Maddie, turned 7 today and we had talked a while back about trading cakes for our kid's birthdays. This way, instead of spending sleepless nights working on a cake, we can just decorate for the party and make other yummy treats! - and actually enjoy the day! :) So, today we did! I made her daughter a birthday cake, and she's going to make one for my baby girl in October! It was SO fun!!Another thing about my sweet friend is that they throw THE BEST birthday parties!! They do costumes, decorate the entire house, make tons of treats, goody bags, set out the entire dessert table, etc etc etc!! - it's incredible!! Her family gets on board and helps sew things, decorate things, etc etc etc! - you get the idea...it's amazing! - Truly amazing! The theme for Maddie's party was "Maddie's Fashion Fairytale". The whole house was decorated like a run way fashion cat walk and called "Stone House of Fashion". There was a literal run way, mannequins dressed to the hilt, Paris icons, ribbon wrapped columns, paper topiaries and flag banners everywhere...it was beautiful! Summer's mother-in-law made all the girls their own little t-shirt dress to model on the catwalk. It was SUPER cute! Here's my girl with her "serious model face" taking a stroll! :) She was crack'n me up!!! It took her a bit to warm up to "modeling", but once she put her serious face on and got a few people saying, "Wow, she's good!" I couldn't get her to get off the cat walk! It was hilarious! :)
The other thing Summer designed was the cake. I take NO credit for this sweet cake except actually making it! :) So it was a team effort! She sent me a sketch and I drew it up in my Autocad program...here is the drawing.
I also created the template for the bottom tier using photo paper. That worked really well because it didn't stick! A new idea I had that I will be using again. Instead of card stock, use photo paper to make templates.

I ended up making that bow about 6 times! I was trying to make it like Planet Cake where it sits up instead of laying flat! I just could NOT get it to sit right and had to keep remaking it. Finally I gave up and just laid it flat. What I didn't realize would happen is the batting I was using to fluff up the bow ended up leaving tons of marks behind when I took the batting out of the bow. So, I ended up making a new one and taking it back to the party to replace the other one! Yes, I'm weird...WAY to driven to perfection!! Oh well...it DID look better! :) - and that's what counts! :) Here's the final version!

Now, onto techniques and how to's!! There were definitely a few learning experiences with this cake (isn't there always) because there were several new things I hadn't done before!

The first thing that was new for me was the quilting effect on the top tier. It's a common technique, but I just had never done it! :) I tried just using my 60/30 triangle from my drafting days but it didn't work because it was straight plastic and wouldn't curve to the cake. So, I went looking for my card stock to make a template and realized I was out! AH! - What to do!??? Then it hit me...photo paper! It has that nice glossy side that doesn't stick and it was the perfect height - 6"! So, I used that for both the quilting guide and the template for the bottom tier. I love how "bad" things that happen can turn out for good! God is so gracious!!
I also measured down on the angled part of the photo paper the width of each of my stripes and cut into the photo paper with an exacto knife. This way when I laid the paper up onto the cake and pressed on it slightly, that little cut in the photo paper left a tiny mark on the cake to guide me for the next line. It worked perfectly! I then used the Wilton quilting tool (seen here) to make the impressions along the photo paper. The black balls are little black edible sprinkle beads you can buy at Micheal's.

Onto the bottom tier:
I created a template again, using photo paper. Here's the template I used:
I then used the fettuccine cutter on my pasta maker to cut out strips of modeling chocolate so I had lots of little stripes exactly the same size. I measured around my cake half way (ended up being about 13") and cut out two pieces of wax paper 6"h x 13" w. I greased them up lightly with Crisco so my stripes would stick on it and began laying out my pattern. Once I was done, I used my template to cut out the design, then flipped the wax paper over onto my cake and peeled it off. That's my "trade secret" for doing horizontal type stripes. Use wax paper greased with crisco to hold it on until you get it up onto the cake...then peel off the wax paper! - don't tell anyone...that's my little secret! :) hehe :)

Now, the little black ropes gave me a bit of a head ache at first...until I had another brilliant idea...again, thank you Lord! :) I used an extruder gun for the black rope and tried twisting it and getting my loops up on the cake as I went. But I couldn't keep them all the same size!! So, after the third attempt, I sat back and stared at it until the idea hit me...use pins!
At the top of every loop, I stuck a pin in the cake. That way, when I looped around with the extruder gun, the fondant rested on the loop until I could come back and press it into the cake. And, that way, all the loops were the same height! Brilliant! - it worked SO good!! I was SUPER happy!

All in all I was really happy with the cake!! It fit in perfectly with the decor and was so yummy! The top tier was vanilla cake with raspberry SMBC. The bottom tier was red velvet with vanilla buttercream. I tried a new fondant (Pettinice/Bakels) It's what the Aussie's use! :) I really liked it! Reminded me a bit of marshmallow fondant, but easier to use. And, it's less expensive than Satin Ice. So, I'll be buying that one now if I need store bought stuff - which isn't very often! :)

OH, one other thing I forgot to mention is the pink fondant I used!! - HUGE new learning lesson! Pink gel colors fade!! I colored the fondant pink (see this first picture above with the pins in it), and by the time it got to the party and set out for a bit, it faded to a peachy-pink (see the pic below). It faded a good 3-4 shades of pink and what was left was much less pink and more fleshy in color...it was really weird!! Summer said she had that happen to her too and was shocked!! I guess if you don't want the pink to fade, you have to air brush it! - but I don't have an airbrush machine! So, if you know of another way to keep pink gel colored fondant from fading (besides working with it in the dark or keeping it in a box), write me a comment...I'd LOVE to know! - for future! :)

Thanks everyone for looking!! Sleep tight! :)

An Aussie Smoooooothing Technique! - LOVE IT!

2011-07-21T23:11:00.001-07:00

My sweet friend Deborah sent me this link to a wonderful Australian cake maker - Not Quite Nigella. There was a fabulous article on how to get smooth sides on their cakes. I just have to say the Australians have the most beautiful, flawless cakes I have ever seen!!! Like Planet Cake...Seriously!??? Are they for real!?!! I digress...

Well, this article used a variation of the upside down frosting method...but even better - and easier!! Instead of flipping their cakes (which can be a bit tricky with a big cake), they add a board on top to line everything up so your sides truly are straight!!! Brilliant!! You glob a whole bunch of frosting/ganache on top, add your board, press down/level, and make sure it's lined up with your bottom board. Then, add your crumb coat of frosting and and guide your bench scraper around to smooth the frosting down.

Click HERE for the article

Now, I was a little unsure about this technique for one reason...how do I get the board off the top without ruining the beautiful cake!!????? She doesn't mention it's a problem in the article...so, I thought I'd see for myself. I'm working on a cake for Saturday and had a 8" and 6" cake to try it on...the results?!
Beautiful!!!!! The lid popped right off!! I only had a small little spot to touch up where I put my palate knife in to lift the board off...it was SUPER fast! Amazing!! Totally straight sides...LOVED it! I might have to do another video! :) hehe

So, now you an use the upside down method, or this Aussie method!! I haven't tried this Aussie method with buttercream though...not sure if that top board would "pop" off as easily!? - if you do try it, make sure you chill the cake REAL good before trying to get the board off...and if you try it with buttercream, let me know how it works!!!

Night Night!!

Click HERE for step by step pics

Giant Cupcake Tutorial

2011-07-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kelly!!

One of my sweet friends is having her birthday today!!! So, I made her her very own cupcake!! I took it over and spent a few hours hang'n out with her and her 9 month old identical twin boys this morning! WOW, are they ever CUTE!! I keep telling my baby girl she needs to call dibs on one of them soon!! ;)
I was housebound yesterday because my brother and sister in law took their kids and my two oldest kids to Eugene to meet up with their grandparents, in our van! So, I didn't have a vehicle...my older two kids were gone and my husband was at church...hmmmm, what to do, what to do!? When the mice are away, the cat will play!! And, play I did!! I played "cake lady" for my wonderful friend Kelly!!Like my strawberry!? :) It's made of modeling chocolate. I formed it in my palm, then used a toothpick to make the little seed marks. Fun! :)

I've seen these giant cupcakes and honestly, I totally forgot you can buy a Wilton mold pan to make them...until today when Kelly said, "Oh, those pans are so cool!" Whoops!!! LOL!! - how dumb am I! See blog readers...I'm still learning too! :) So, instead of spending 6-7 hours making this, I could have spent 2! :) Oh well...gave me lots of time to pray over my friend and the new ministry her and her husband are starting! That is one fabulous thing about making cakes...lots of time to think...and pray - especially with no kiddos around! :)

I decided to do a tutorial on this sweet little cupcake...again, before I realized there was a pan! :) If you don't want to carve your own cupcake, buy this: Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan. They sell them at Micheal's too, so with your 50% off coupon you can get one for $10! - and save yourself some time. Although, as with any mold, you are limited to that specific size. If you'd like one bigger/smaller here are some step by step instructions to make your own.

Of course there were many trials along the way, and mainly because of the medium I was using. Let me explain...see below:

First off, here is a little list of the tools I used for this
The circle cutters were used for cutting the cake. The plastic scraper was used to smooth the buttercream along the sides of the cake/swirl. I needed something flexible. If you don't have a flexible scraper, you can fold up wax paper several times and use that over contours. In fact, I did that during the last coat on the swirl part. I used the piping bag filled with buttercream to help add more buttercream along the top/swirl area.

Let's talk the cupcake base. I made the cake in two pieces...the bottom "cup" part, and the top "swirl" part. Here's the bottom how-tos...see pic above.
I used a 6" board to cut two pieces of cake for the top and middle tier of the cup, and a 5" circle cutter for the bottom tier and to cut out a cake board for the base of the cake.

Yum, red velvet! - one of Kelly's favorites! I found an incredible recipe from the Pastry Queen's book...it's Y.U.M.M.Y!!! x's 100!! Click here for the recipe. I baked the cake in a half-sheet pan since I was going to be cutting out lots of different sized circles.

I stacked up my three tiers upside down, with buttercream in between the layers, then leveled it. I put it in the freezer at this point because the buttercream was super soft. After about 30 minutes I took it out of the freezer and carved into what looks like a flower pot! :) I turned it over and gave it a smooth crumb coat.I put it in the fridge again, and got out my modeling chocolate. I made sixteen 4.5" high chocolate sticks for the side of the cake. This is the part I would NOW completely change. I would NOT use modeling chocolate. It hardened up and would not stay stuck to the buttercream. I would use fondant at this point if I did it over again. The other thing about the modeling chocolate that ended up happening is because it was so firm, and the "sticks" stuck out from the cake, it tore the red modeling chocolate I had tried to put around the outside. So, use fondant! :)

I cut a circle of modeling chocolate for the top so it would look like a chocolate cupcake. I actually intended on having the swirl stay inside the cupcake like a real cupcake. I don't ever see frosting overlapping the base of a cupcake so I was trying to make it look realistic. However, it looked horrible seeing the tops of the sticks...I'll explain what I did about that later! :)

After I put the little chocolate sticks on, I rolled my red modeling chocolate out and tried wrapping it around the cake. Even as thin as I rolled it, it was so heavy that it pulled all the sticks off! So, I started over and decided to drape the modeling chocolate over the cake, and that's when it just tore as soon as it touched the chocolate sticks. URGH! So, the third time, I flipped the cake over, rolled the red modeling chocolate into a strip, rolled the strip up and put it on the cake a few inches at a time pressing it into the buttercream as I unrolled it. This worked because it didn't pull the sticks off and it adhered to the buttercream. Whew! - it wasn't as nice as I would have liked it, but after three attempts, this mama was done! D.O.N. Done! :) hehe

Now, the problem was when I flipped it back over, the top looked horrible. You could see the tops of the sticks and I just didn't like that look! So, I made a whole bunch of red modeling chocolate pearls and put a few layers of them along the top of the cake to hide it...as seen here:

But, I didn't really like the look of that after I stared at it for a few hours (yes, I am way TOO much of a perfectionist! - my husband always says, "It looks great...just stop!" hehe). So, I pulled them all off and decided to add another rope of "Buttercream"/fondant to stack my swirl cake on...the final product. Next time, I'll be making my little swirl a bit bigger than the top of the cup, so I won't have those issues again!

Onto the swirl:
I used my circle cutters to cut out three more circles 5", 3.5" and 2" in diameter. I stacked them with some buttecream and shaved/carved the corners off.

I used my piping bag to add more buttercream to the edges of each layer to emphasize the swirl look. I used some wax paper folded up in several layers to smooth the curves out.
I then stuck it in the fridge to firm up. After about 30 min, I got it out, touched up/smoothed out the buttercream even more, rolled out my fondant and laid it over the cake. I realized because of the contours in the cake, air bubbles gathered in those insets and I had to use a needle at the base of each swirl to get the air out so it would sit tight against the buttercream and give me a nice contour.
One new thing I tried that I LOVED was to use a left over piece of fondant (from the scraps after I trimmed the cake) to smooth the cake. I kneaded it up, put it in my fingers, and used the fondant to smooth the fondant on the cake. It gave it this beautiful satiny look and took all the cornstarch off. LOVED it!

And, here's the final product again...with FOUR swirls, not three! I liked the fourth swirl better than the "pearls"...looked more realistic.
So, if you've got some time and want a truly "custom" giant cupcake, I hope these instructions will help you!! :) Thanks for looking!!!

Featured on The Cake Blog

2011-07-08T11:51:00.000-07:00

If you haven't visited Half Baked - The Cake Blog, you should!! It's a beautiful website full of wonderful inspiration, amazing cake pictures, fun and tasty treats and more!!!

I got an email from Carrie and she had seen my cake over at Style Me Pretty and asked if they could feature my cake! :) I was SO excited because I love their blog!!

Click HERE to check out my feature!

Thanks again Carrie for featuring my work!!

4th of July Cake

2011-07-04T14:47:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th of July!! What an awesome country we live in!! I'm soo thankful for our country (despite the yuckiness that goes on) for we are truly blessed to be free!! I am so thankful for the men and women who have fought for the freedom I enjoy!!

A friend of mine asked if I'd help her out with a cake for a very special fourth of July party she throws every year. Last year I did this cake for her (click here) and so this year, we wanted it to still be a fourth of July cake, but something more funky and fun for this party. The invitations had fireworks on them, so we wanted to incorporate them in some way. I decided to make them a little abstract...almost like a flower, but yet still "firework-ish". After 8-10 designs (I just couldn't decide), we finally agreed on this one just days ago! :)
The final cake looks pretty close to the design - whew!! ;) I was happy about that! Although, as you can see, there was one change. I eliminated the fireworks coming out of the top of the cake. Once the cake was put together and I stood back and thought it just looked a little cheeeeesy. I think because of the silver wire. There wasn't any other silver anywhere on the cake. So, I left it more simple...and I'm happy with it! :)

Here's the back. The cake will be in the center of their serving table, so it has to be viewed from all sides. So, I did a circular design that just waves all the way around with little fireworks and dots all around. The fireworks were something new for me. I ended up making over 50 because I kept breaking them and it took me a while to realize what worked and what didn't! :) They are made from the Wilton chocolate melts. I always want everything to taste sooo yummy and I can't stand the taste of royal icing, so I knew I wanted to try and make these out of chocolate. The problem was the temperature and that they are so fragile. What ended up working was to pipe them on wax paper that I covered in crisco. I then stuck them in the fridge for about an hour to firm up nice and hard. I then used along exacto knife to slide under the whole thing and pick it up. Worked beautifully with the crisco and right from the fridge. It was funny because after sitting out for only 15 min or so, they began breaking when I picked them up...so, back in the fridge they went!

All in all it was a fun cake! It was actually my biggest cake to date! The 10" tier was 6" tall and took me two tries to cover it in fondant! It was crumb coated in chocolate ganache, so I had to scrape off the chocolate, re-work the fondant and go again!! Whew! I'm just glad for decorations on that tier! :) All the red decorations (besides the fireworks) are modeling chocolate. The modeling chocolate makes it a dream to cut and place on the cake! I heart modeling chocolate!

The 6" tier was 5 layers of vanilla butter cake, sliced strawberries and vanilla bean Swiss-meringue buttercream. The 8" tier was the same as the 6". The big 10" tier was 4 layers of a dark chocolate cake with mocha Swiss-meringue buttercream and crumb coated in dark chocolate ganache. It's yuuuummmmy! But soft, so hopefully it'll stay upright at the party! :)

I hope you all have a wonderful fourth of July!!! Happy Independence day!!

Violin Cake

2011-06-28T14:41:00.000-07:00

This was a first for me...a musical instrument!! A violin - complete with the scroll, the bridge and hand painted curly-ques on the body. What a fun, and challenging cake!

My daughter and I have had the privilege of knowing an incredible woman we call Mrs. A this past year! - she was my daughter's kindergarten teacher. The amount of joy, grace, and love that shines through this woman's eyes is inspiring! She loves Jesus with her whole heart and it shows in how she loves people...and especially children! So, I've been looking forward to her birthday ALL year...but unfortunately it falls in the summer...so, I had to wait all year to make her this cake! I'm so glad it's finally here because it was SUCH a special treat to surprise her!

Mrs. A brought in a very old and very special violin to my daughter's class this past year, and let the children each take a turn playing it. What I didn't know at the time (but learned today) was it was her grandfather's. He took a special interest in Mrs. A when she was growing up and fixed up his violin and gave it to her when she graduated the 8th grade. So, it has a very special place in her heart. That's what gave me inspiration for this cake...because Mrs. A is VERY dear to my daughter's heart!

Everything is edible except the strings. I was going to use wire, but I couldn't keep the wire totally straight. I found this yarn in a craft drawer and thought it would be perfect...and it was. If I was going to do a guitar or any stringed instrument again, I would use a metallic/pewter looking string. It was easy to use and so light weight that I was able to get it nice and tight without ruining the fondant. I didn't really plan for where it would go, so that was a "lessons learned". Next time, I need to "pre drill" the holes and figure out a method for attaching the strings! :) Oh well, by the grace of God, it all worked out!

The scroll/neck part was the absolute hardest thing I've had to figure out to date! I ended up having to re-do it several times because it's all one piece. It has so many features and contours that I couldn't quite figure out how to do it! I ended up taking some modeling chocolate and forming it as a base/resting place for the neck. I formed it to the "empty space" of the neck so I'd have something to help keep the shape of the neck as I molded it. I laid one thick piece of fondant on top of it, rolled up the top edge to get the scroll effect, cut the sides to fit the shape of my template and let it dry. After it was slightly dried, I took it off of the modeling chocolate form and it worked beautifully! Although, I didn't get it as smooth as I would have liked because I had to cut into the fondant when it was so thick...but, next time it'll be even better! :)

Here is a picture I found online that I used for my templates. I scaled it to the size I wanted and cut all the parts out from this in order to cut my fondant to the right size/shapes.

And, here we are delivering the cake and surprising Mrs. A!! The kids were so excited to go to her house and see where she lived! :) I remembered that as a kid...when you'd see your teacher away from school and realize they were a real person...with a life and family! :) So funny!!!

One thing I just have to mention...I was reading this morning during my quiet time about keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and not on ourselves, and how having this mindset brings us peace and joy. Not to get all spiritual on you all :) but experiencing this first hand today as we totally blessed another person reminded me that the joy that fills my heart by doing something kind for another is truly amazing and overflowing! Whenever you do something outside yourself to bless another, to truly bless them, you are blessed in return. It's the way we were wired! Sometimes it can be so easy to be down/depressed because of the world we live in and the stresses all around us. But when we stop looking inward, and start serving and looking outward, we find joy, peace and fullness like we could never know if we didn't take our eyes off ourselves. So, I encourage everyone...especially if you feel depressed, lonely or sad...look outside yourself and find someone to love on today...to truly bless - because you will be blessed in return and that sadness will leave you as you impact the lives of others! :)

Enjoy your week!! Thanks for looking!

Featured in Style Me Pretty!!

2011-06-28T09:32:00.001-07:00

I am so excited this morning! If you haven't heard of Style Me Pretty, you need to go check them out! It's an amazingly beautiful wedding blog that has the most breath taking pictures, ideas and upcoming trends for weddings!

A few months back, I had the privilege to be apart of a wedding shoot here in Portland. You might remember the vintage wedding cake I designed for the shoot. Well, Style Me Pretty caught wind of the shoot designed by Dani with Weddings Fresh and shot by Diana Marie Photography. It's on their blog right now!! Click here to check it out!!! There are some beautiful photos - and some of my cake!! I actually made little individual cakes for each place setting to match the big cake...so you can see those too!!! :) I'm so excited!!
Thanks for checking it out!!!

Delicious Cupcake Recipes!

2011-06-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share with you all a few new recipes I tried out over the last few days!!! They are amazingly good!!!!! I found them all on www.food.com! - it's a fabulous site for recipe searches because people are great about reviewing the recipes on there. You can search for whatever your hearts desire, sort searches by "most popular" (pull down tab) and you'll get all the highly ranked recipes listed first. I love love love it!

The first cupcake I made was a lemon cupcake, filled with lemon curd and topped with vanilla bean Swiss-meringue buttercream. Woooowzers, it was YUMMY!
Here's the lemon cake recipe: click here
Here's the lemon curd recipe: click here
*Note: I used the microwave method and it was brilliant! Combine everything in one bowl, set the microwave for one minute and stir every minute until the consistency you want. My microwave took about 5 minutes and I might have gone one more even. I also used one additional egg yolk and strained the lemon curd right after it was done so I didn't have any lemon zest in it. SUPER yummy and VERY easy!!!!!
Here's the Swiss-meringue buttercream recipe: click here and scroll down to frostings

Next was a beautiful, very fragrant, carrot cake! Very moist, tender and delicious! I filled it with a no-bake cheesecake filling and topped it with my vanilla bean Swiss-meringue buttercream! I had to go back for seconds, thirds, fourths...you get the point! :)

Here's the carrot cake recipe: click here
Here's the no-bake cheesecake recipe: click here
*Use just the filling recipe. I only used 1/2 cup of sour cream. I also whipped the cream cheese and sugar for a while to get it nice and fluffy before adding the vanilla and sour cream. I poured it into a piping bag and filled my cooled cupcakes before it set. YUM!
Here's the Swiss-meringue buttercream recipe: click here and scroll down to frostings.

I hope you make them yourselves and enjoy them as much as I did!!! Thanks for checking out Jessicakes! :)

Sunshine Cake

2011-06-16T15:04:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday JENNY-JEN!!!!

My sweet sweet friend turned 40 today! What's crazy is that I'm getting closer to 40 and realizing that it's such a young number!!!!!!! We've only lived half our lives...and most of it was spent messing up!!!! - and learning what NOT to do! :) Now it feels like we're figuring things out and enjoying life more than ever!! And Jen would know...she is the most active, amazing, high-energy gal I have the privilege to know! I am constantly amazed by her stamina! WHEW! - I feel like I'm 50 when I'm around her!

Two years ago I made Jen my first flower pot cake. So, I decide she was due for a Jessicakes...but what was I going to do!??? When I think of Jen, I think of radiance, beauty, warmth, energy and fire! :) Yes, fire...she is a little spit-fire! So, what more beautifully displays that than the sun. She has a light, an energy, a warmth and a beauty to her that ALL who meet her acknowledge...she exudes love and sincerity. That is why I made her a sun cake! :) And, the little airplane!? - well, we've joked in the past about flying off to Mexico and leaving everything behind because mama needs a break! :) She also has three little ones and squeezed them together closer in age than mine...so, we've had lots of great conversations lately about training up our sweet kids in the ways they should go...and trying to not loose our minds in the process! :)

Jen, I love ya and thank you for all your encouragement, your energy, your warmth, sincerity, radiance and most importantly your love for Jesus and your family! May the Lord richly bless you this year with joy, love and perhaps that trip to Mexico! :) LOL! :)

Now, onto the creation of this little cake! :) There was one thing I would do differently next time...the sun rays! I added a bit of gumtex to my fondant (so that the rays would set up hard) and rolled them really thin so they wouldn't be very bulky and heavy looking. However, they were really hard to attach to the cake...on a radius. I ended up carving out a little slit in the cake for them to fit into, but they still didn't stay upright very well. So, I ended up using a bit of melted chocolate (white chocolate) which wasn't the same color as the yellow (and I didn't have any yellow chocolate coloring around) so you can see it in some areas. It wasn't as clean as I would have liked!!! Next time I do this (if there's a next time) - or if you all try it - I would make the rays a bit thicker, cut the bottoms to match the radius of the cake, and use melted chocolate colored the same as the rays/cake. The thicker bottom would make it easier to attach to the cake. You could even stick a little toothpick in them too?! Anyhow, just think how you're going to mount them. Carving a slice in the cake to insert them wasn't the easiest or cleanest way...in my opinion! :)
Oh, and one more thing...the blue board was white and blue fondant swirled and rolled out together. I was super happy with how that looked...like the sky...or even water if I would have covered it in piping gel. Fun times! :)

The COOLEST cutter EVER!!!!!!!

2011-06-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

I just saw this and HAD to share with all of you! I'm TOTALLY making one of these...I can't wait! I might even do it today! - I'm SO excited! I have the wilton one like this but it doesn't cut as clean of a line...it's a bit "dull" because the plastic is not very sharp. But, this ROCKS!!

Click HERE for the link

Video Tutorial - Upside Down Frosting Technique

2011-06-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

"Hi Friends!" - that's how this video starts! :) As cheeeezy as it may seem, I was nervous doing my first video!! :) - so be nice to me! :) A few of my friends and I had a serious laugh about it!! Oh well...you are all my friends, so it's fitting! :)

Also, sorry for not being able to zoom in closer to the cake so you can see more detail. With my busy life as a mommy, wife and friend, I only had a few moments to video between naps, meals, diaper changing, school drop offs/pick ups, etc! - so I set up the tripod and got 'er done for all of you! Also, sorry for forgetting what an offset spatula is called! - wow, how things escaped my mind when the camera started to roll! :)

A few things I forgot to mention in the video that might be helpful!
1. This technique works with butter based butter creams. So, a Swiss/Italian Meringue butter cream or my other marshmallow based butter cream will work. Click here for the recipes and go down to "What butter cream do you use?". If you're using a shortening based buttercream, you can try freezing the cake a bit. The cake just needs to be solid so you can flip it around and it doesn't loose it's shape.
2. If you don't have a turn table to spare (or if it won't fit your fridge) you can use a large piece of cardboard to flip the cake onto. To do that, you'd cover a sturdy/flat piece of cardboard with the wax paper, and flip the cake onto that instead of directly onto your wax-covered turn table like I show in the video. Because I only make one or two tiers, I just use my turn table...but if you're making several tiers, you'll want to use cardboard so you can keep your turn table for the other cakes. Then, slide the cardboard/cake off the turn table and refrigerate before flipping it over.

Edited to add (7/24/11): If you're uncomfortable flipping the cake there is another technique I've used and really love too! I saw it on an Australian cake maker's website...click HERE. She puts a board on top of her cake, lines it up with the bottom board, crumb coats and wipes the ganache off using a plastic trowel placed up against both boards. Really easy!! - probably easier than the upside down frosting technique! :)

Anyway, I hope you all find this video super useful!!! This video is 15 minutes long...so now you too can ice a cake and get perfectly straight sides/edges in less than 15 minutes!!!

Edited to add: I just found out that "Jeff_Arnett" on Cake Central was the originator of this technique!!! Thanks Jeff! - you rock!!!!

Enjoy!

Keyword: upside down icing technique video, how to frost a cake upside down, how to get sharp corners on a cake, how to ice a cake upside down, upside-down frosting technique, upside-down icing technique video

Monster Truck - The completed cake (Part 3 or 3)

2011-06-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Here it is...my son's 4-year monster truck cake!

This cake turned out to be quite fun! I'm happy with the end result!! :) The bottom tier is chocolate cake with Reeses peanut butter cup butter cream. The top tier is vanilla cake with Butterfinger butter cream. Both were SO yummy!

The checkerboard pattern was created with edible images because I wanted it to look clean and graphic. I also had the "Happy Birthday Easton" sign made with edible images too. The mud is chocolate ganache! - YUM!

I loved how the flames turned out...that was my favorite part! To do that, I rolled out long ropes of red and orange modeling chocolate and placed them together on the counter. I used my fingers and rubbed them together up and down a bit so that I wouldn't have a straight line between the two colors. I then rolled it to the thickness I wanted and used the template I created to cut out the flames. I put the strip on some wax paper so I could move it around without it breaking apart, then laid it up onto the cake...voila! - flames!!
Here is the template I created...you can use it! :)

I also did a tutorial for the tires and the truck...click here for the tires, and here for the truck.

Also, stay tuned for the upside down frosting technique how-to video I finished!! I'm editing it a bit but will hopefully have it up on the blog by tomorrow! :) :) It's so cheesy...but you'll get the idea! :) LOL!!

For the tires tutorial, click here
For the truck tutorial, click here

Thanks for looking! :)

Monster Truck - How to make the truck (Part 2 of 3)

2011-06-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Whew...this week was CRAZY!!!!!!!!! I first off have to apologize for the lack of pictures I'm going to show you! I had planned on taking a lot of pics, step by step, to show you all the entire process of making the truck. But time slipped away this week! I had two interior design jobs happening at the same time this week, a 4-year old birthday party to plan and a cake to make. So, as I was finishing the truck and cake at midnight on Wednesday, my goal was to get into bed...not to take tons of pics. But, hopefully with these pics and my "lessons learned" (because there were quite a few on my first vehicle) you'll know exactly how to make your own Monster Truck! :)

The first thing I did was form the rice krispy treats in something that was of similar size to my truck. I used one of my son's trucks as a model and found a loaf pan that was close to the same size. So, I filled it up, mashed it down and refrigerated the treats before I began carving them.

Next, I took a picture of his little truck, scanned it into my computer, printed it and cut it out to get a template to use. I can't just carve something on my own...I need a template or something to copy...just like my baseball hat cake. I placed the picture up against the rice krispy treats and began carving until the shape was right.
Now, at this point, looking back, I missed a step! - Lessons learned #1: Put a board under the cereal treats before carving. The problem I had was after I had carved it, and glued it to the board, it was taller and a little out of scale because of the increased height from the board. So, do that first...then carve!

Then, I used the same truck picture and cut out the fender sides of the truck to use as a template for the modeling chocolate. I cut those out and attached them after I crumb coated the truck with melted chocolate.

I also covered the window section with gray fondant so that when I cut the windows out of the red modeling chocolate, there would be gray under there...to look like windows.

Again, use a model of something to help you carve/size the object you're building out of edible materials. It makes it soo much easier than trying to come up with something from the top of your head. I know there are brilliant artists that can do that...but I'm NOT one of them! :)Here is where I forgot to take more progress pics. I only have the end result...
So, I'll explain what I did next...and the lessons learned! :)

After I crumb coated the caved truck with melted chocolate, I covered it in red modeling chocolate and smoothed all the details with my fingers to bring out the fenders and create dimension in the bed part of the truck. However, before I covered the truck in modeling chocolate, I SHOULD have covered the bottom and wheel wells with black fondant. I ended up doing that after I did the red because I had forgot that you'll see the bottom because the truck sits so high above the tires! If you look at the pic above, you can see the black fondant because it lays on top of the red...If I would have done it first, then I could have cut the red modeling chocolate around the base of the truck and you wouldn't see the black base. So, BEFORE covering the cake in the modeling chocolate, turn it over and cover the bottom and wheel wells...it'll look much cleaner!

Then, I used my son's actual truck to measure out the bumpers, lights, windows, etc. Now, for the windows...I didn't like how "clean" the cut was and decided to paint the windows black. I could see some of the red modeling chocolate left on the gray and I could see small cuts in the gray from the exacto knife. So, I got out my black gel color and vodka and painted in the windows...it looked much better!

Then, I attached it to the cake! To do that, I measured how high off the cake the truck would sit...so, I measured the height of the tires and then the distance I wanted it sitting above the tires. For this truck, I wanted to to float above the cake by 3". So, I inserted my bubble straws into the top tier of the cake so that they stood above the cake by 3". I covered the straws in black fondant, slathered the tops with melted chocolate and placed the truck on top. I then used some melted chocolate on the backs of the tires and placed each tire against the bubble straws. Again, sorry for not having a great progress pic, but you can see how I it looked when all was said and done!
Because my truck was so narrow, the straws ended up right next to each other. So I covered them in one piece of fondant.

And, that's it! :) Again, so sorry for not having progress pictures towards the end! For my first truck, I'm pleased, although I know next time it'll be much cleaner!

Thanks for looking!

Monster Truck - How to make tires (Part 1 of 3)

2011-05-29T21:57:00.000-07:00

I'm creating a monster truck themed cake for my son's 4th birthday coming up in four days! YIKES! - I can't believe my sweet baby boy will be four!!!!!!

I've got the sketch done and a plan of attack ready to go! This is my first vehicle/car/truck type cake, so I'm nervous!!!! :) I'm learning as I go, so I thought I'd share my adventures along the way. I wonder if the nervousness ever goes away when I have a new cake!? Perhaps on my hundredth cake I'll feel more confident! :)

Here's what it's "supposed" to look like! :) Although, since this sketch we're flipping the green and red...he decided just recently he didn't want a green truck anymore. He wants a red one! :)

Today, I tackled the tires and part of the truck. I'm going to do four different posts as I create this cake. My goal is for this first one to explain how to make the tires. The second one is how to create the truck, the third a video tutorial on how to frost a cake using the upside down frosting technique, and the last, the final result!

So, today, this post will be about how to make tires...monster truck sized tires! I started out by making my rice krispy treats in a loaf pan and cupcake tins. The sizes would be perfect and I could jam the cereal treats into the containers to get them as packed as possible...and to not waste as much!

I began by removing the RKT (Rice Krispy Treats) from the muffin tins and took one of my circle cutters that was the right size and cut off the angled part of the cupcake to give me nice flat edges for my tires.
I then cut a cone out of the top side for the rim of the wheel. This will be the front of the tire.

Next, I found a diamond cutter that was a little bigger than the width of my tire (see below). I was going to create treads using this cutter. You don't need to own a diamond cutter. You can just cut strips from fondant or modeling chocolate and proceed to the next step.I then cut out overlapping diamond shapes from some modeling chocolate I had. The color doesn't matter because you'll be hiding the treads with black fondant. I only overlapped four cuts because otherwise, the treads would have gotten too small to fit around the width of the tire.
Place your treads on. It took 10 treads per tire...and I eyeballed the placement.
Flip over the tire and place a black piece of fondant on the back. You can use the same circle cutter you used earlier for this.
Next, flip the tire back over, and lay a piece of fondant over the front and sides. Smooth it down and cut it off so the two black pieces of fondant seam together. I flipped the tire upside down to make sure they joined well and sealed the RKT in. Then, use a modeling took or even your pinkie finger and begin pressing in between all the treads to accentuate the design.
Voila! A tire! Something I found a bit helpful is at this point roll the tire along the counter top with slight pressure onto the counter. It flattens out the tread a bit and makes it more like a tire...less rounded. Almost done...now for the rims.

Place a small gray ball into the center of the tire.
Using the ball tool, press down and smooth it out like the picture below.
Now for the sparkle...silver luster dust. And the details came from a few icing tips. I just pressed them into the silver fondant to create some patterns. Again, I don't really know what I'm doing...but this worked great and gave me a nice look. Plus...my son won't care! :)

And, here you go...four monster truck tires...ready for their ride! :) Stay tuned!

Chocolate Cake...in a cup!

2011-05-23T09:11:00.000-07:00

Last night I had a weak moment...I "needed" some chocolate! But with nothing in the house except some cocoa powder, I knew I was going to have to bake something if I wanted to taste that rich chocolate flavor I was "hungry" for. But, I didn't want to wait to bake an entire cake, or have the entire cake sitting around my house! What's a girl to do!???

Then it hit me...the best thought I've had in a while! I remembered I had saved a recipe for a chocolate mug cake that I had found on line probably a year or more ago! So, the search began for the recipe...I found it! - and it delivered!

Here you go:
Chocolate Mug Cake - Serves 1
2 Tbsp flour
1.5 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp gooooood quality cocoa powder (I use Pernigotti)
1/8 tsp salt - or a pinch
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp oil
Wisk all ingredients in separate bowl until combined. Pour into mug (I didn't coat it in oil/spray or anything) and microwave 1 minute. Note that the batter doubles in size...so use a cup that is large enough or you'll have a mess on your hands in the microwave! Also, depending upon the height of the mug, you might have to do it for 15 more seconds. Better to under cook it than over! 1 minute was perfect for this fat cup I had! ENJOY!

Also, here's another one I just found for making a brownie in a cup: click here. I'll have to try that one next! :) Use coffee instead of water if you have it for the brownie recipe (fyi)

See how moist it is! Yum...I can't wait!!! :)
And then I remembered I had some frosting in the fridge! - cold frosting...perfect for a hot cake! And a big scoop just happened to fit perfectly in that hole where I took my first bite from! :) :)

Ahhhh, sweet tooth satisfied! :)
Ohhh, I'm going to pay for this tomorrow! :)

Cut to pieces...and enjoyed!

2011-05-12T11:38:00.000-07:00

HA - yes, this is Ian...the one I made the green meeple cake for!

And here is that poor meeple being tortured! ;)
I got a sweet email from Mindy saying that Ian loved the cake and their son Cade thoroughly enjoyed the "beheading" procedure that quickly followed the presentation of his cake!! :) "Chop his arm off too Daddy!" was one of the replies after Ian cut off the poor meeple's head! :) I love it...silly boys!!! Check it out...

So fun!!!

Meeple Cake

2011-05-11T19:52:00.000-07:00

My husband and I love strategy board games!!! We own over a hundred games! :) It's a hobby and a passion and has given us many fun evenings with family and friends.

We play a lot of games with one couple in particular, Ian and Mindy. Ian's birthday is today and Mindy comes over on Wednesdays for a playdate...so I figured today was a perfect day to make a cake together for her husband! I baked some brownies last night (although I over cooked them a bit - LOL - sorry Ian!) and this morning we worked together on a little meeple cake.

Meeple? - you might ask?! - here's a whole bunch of meeples so you can see what they are. We use them for several of the German strategy board games we play! - and Ian always plays with green ones! - I always play red, my husband is always yellow and Mindy is always blue...don't ask me why...it's just what we do! :) - and now if I play any other color but red I'm thoroughly confused! ;) LOL! So, of course we had to make Ian a green meeple.

Last night I baked one recipe of brownies in two 8" pans...which was why I overcooked them a bit. They were so thin...but I wanted to put frosting between them and knew I couldn't cut fudgy brownies in half! :) I also made up a batch of green modeling chocolate for the outside from Wilton's green candy melts. Once Mindy arrived I put her to work!! - she carved the cake from a template I made, then she embossed the wooden fondant board and painted the wood grain! She's totally a pro now...I need to convert her from an amazing photographer to a cake maker! :) hahaha!! In order to cover the meeple, I did it in two sections...We cut green strips for the sides, then a meeple piece for the top. I then trimmed the edges to make it as square as possible...like meeples are. Thanks Mindy for all your work on the cake (and for making lunch for the kids, and for cleaning up after them!)...it turned out awesome and it was super fun working with you!!

And, Happy Birthday Ian!! May the Lord continue to bless you and your family this year!!

How NOT to build a movie reel cake...my story!

2011-05-08T10:52:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this look like a movie reel cake? - Can't you see the reels????

No??!!

Well, that's because they're in the garbage right now!! LOL!! Oh, more lessons learned on this one! :) I didn't even take a good picture of it (hence the pic above) because I was too frustrated when we left the house with it...so, I'm glad the guys pulled out their camera phones when we got to the restaurant because what I presented did turn out pretty cute...just not at all what I had envisioned!

I had the best intention of making a movie reel cake for a great friend of ours who is the founder and CEO of an amazing multi-media company called Funnelbox. My husband has known Robb since 4th grade so I thought it'd be fun to make him a movie reel cake for a dinner celebration we had last night. Fortunately this was my gift to him, and not a paying client!! I don't know what I would have done if I would have had to have had this cake done with reels...oh my!! Another reason I'm not going into business anytime soon!! :) :) I truly thought this cake would be simple...what's so hard about making some thin cakes, slapping some reels on them, creating some film strips and whallah...good to go! - right!?! Hmmm, I guess not for me!! - maybe I should have researched it more!!

A couple days ago I designed the metal movie reel around this photo I found on flickr...I loved the design. The actual film round (that sat between the metal reels) was going to be rice krispy treats and then the film reel would be a fondant/gumtex mix (gumtex is a powdered you add to fondant to make it set up hard like gumpaste). I created a template from cardstock, rolled out my gray fondant, added a whole bunch of gumtex to it and spent an hour cutting and "fabricating" the reels to look like that photo. I was really pleased with how they turned out. So I let them sit under a fan for a day or two to dry out before painting them...that was my first mistake! I had never sprayed anything with color before and didn't realize how long it can take for pieces, that are spray painted, to dry. One of the biggest problems I had was after I sprayed them with metallic color, they bowed and lost their rigidity!!! With only 4 hours until we had to leave for the party, I had to leave them behind because they looked horrible!! :( :( Here's a picture of the aftermath (although it's missing the top piece because that got ruined when I pulled the cake off so I threw it in the garbage in frustration)...the cake was meant to sit on the top of the two reels on this cute little red cake stand.
This picture is embarrassing for me...but my husband said you all needed to see it! :) And then he said, "It's a good picture!" :) - commenting on the actual photo...not the horrible reels! :)

I was sooo sad! All that time spent making the reels, the rice krispy treat rolls, and the actual film strips that came off the roll complete with white rectangles and punch out holes along the edges...down the drain! :(

Another thing to remember if you attempt a cake like this is to wait to put on the white film squares until after you put the film strips on the cake. See how they're a bit crooked (in the pic above)?! They all shifted a bit when I put the strips on and ended up a bit crooked for my tastes.

Now, looking back I should have done one like this (I found this today...why couldn't I have seen this last week!) :) where the metal reel part overlapped the flim strip by only a 1/4" or so...not 1"+ like I had planned. It would have looked so great with that cake sitting on top of the reels if the film strips were closer to the same size as the metal reel...8" in diameter. Having the film strips sitting inside the reel so much made it hard to see them...lessons learned! :( Ohhhh, my famous last words..."next time"! :) So, learn from me...DON'T make the metal reel much more than 1/4-1/2" bigger than the film round...and spray/paint days before you'll need them so they'll be nice and dried out!! You could even dry dust the gray fondant with silver luster dust and by-pass the entire spraying/drying process.

Fortunately I had a cake though...and a clapper board which at least mentioned Robb's B-day (although that also broke). HA! I had the little top piece of the clapper board set up at an angle like it was opened, but it was too heavy and ended up breaking off while I attempted to put it on the cake, so I had to glue it closed. And I had made it HUGE because I thought it was going to sit a the base of all the cakes stacked...but now, with only the 6" cake left...it looked ginormous! :) HAHA! I guess I just have to laugh at the whole thing...otherwise, I'll start to cry!!

There's no crying in cake right?! :)

All in all everyone enjoyed what I presented and said it tasted great. I used my basic vanilla cake recipe and added a can of Dulce De Leche to it...yum! The filling was vanilla buttercream and chocolate ganache. My husband said it tasted like almond roca...and it did! That perfectly described it for me. However, it was a bit dry for my taste...I think I probably overcooked it a bit! Next time I'd use a little simple syrup!

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!! Thanks for spending time with me today!! I hope if you make a movie reel, it'll turn out beautiful and I have saved you all some tears! :)

Many blessings!

Most Commonly Asked Questions

2011-05-04T20:40:00.000-07:00

I get a lot of emails from bakers and cake makers with lots of questions. They range from "how I do "x" technique" or "can I have your "x" recipe?" or simply sweet emails with cries for HELP! :) I try to get back to everyone as soon as I can, but I thought I'd post a list of the most commonly asked questions so you can get the info you need super fast! - and not wait on this busy mama! :) I'm going to keep a link over on the side so it's easy to find the FAQ's page! :)

What fondant do you use?
It depends...I have two recipes I use. I rarely ever buy store bought unless I need red or black! - then save yourself some effort and food color and buy some Satin Ice! :)
Now, back to the recipes! I've found both on Cake Central's website. One is a marshmallow base fondant and the other is a cooked gelatin base. The marshmallow is super quick to use, a little stickier, a little softer, but tastes great! It's called Rhonda's Ultimate MMF...click here. The only change I made in her recipe is I don't use the lemon juice, only the extract, and I boost the vanilla a bit.
The other gelatin base fondant is amazing to work with...not sticky, sets well on the cake and lasts for a while. It's a bit more labor intensive to make, so you have to have the ingredients and a bit of time...but it's worth it! :) Click here for Michele Foster's Fondant. The only change I made to her recipe was to use whatever milk I have on hand. I hardly ever have cream in the house, and the recipe works just as good with regular milk.
Remember a few things for any fondant recipe...Let the fondant rest after you make it for at least 6 hours (preferably overnight), use cornstarch to roll it out (not powdered sugar), and cover a chilled cake that you've spritzed with water or vodka...and have fun! :)

How do I get cornstarch off my fondant?!
There are three ways I've found that work. I usually use Crisco and rub a small amount evenly over the entire surface with my fingers. Then, I go back over it with a really smooth clean towel or tissue and buff it out to leave a satin-like surface. I've found tissue works great because it's so smooth and soft and leaves a great finish. The second way is vodka. I'll use a small paint brush on flowers, decorations, etc to get rid of the cornstarch. The alcohol evaporates to leave a very clean finish. The third way is to take another piece of fondant (from the left overs) and put a ball in your fingers and buff the cake with the fondant. It works really well to remove any left over cornstarch and buffs the surface a bit.

What's modeling chocolate? - do you have a recipe?
Modeling chocolate is my preferred decoration medium because it cuts so beautifully, is quick to make, hardens to hold it's shape (as long as it's thick enough), and tastes amazing...better than fondant! I never use it to cover a cake (that's what fondant is for) because it's too firm and hard to smooth without tearing. But it's perfect for most decorations after you cover your cake in fondant! :)
Basically it's a mixture of chocolate and corn syrup. There are two recipes...one for using real chocolate (click here) and one for using Wilton candy melts (click here). Also, here is a video (click here) for making it...it can be a little tricky because it seizes...but that's okay! :) Once it cools and hardens slightly you can knead it together like playdoh. A little trick...after I mix the chocolate and corn syrup together, I pour it out on wax paper or saran wrap, and dab it periodically with a paper towel because it releases wax (if you're using candy melts). After it begins to firm up (but is not completely hard...say 2-3 hours later), I begin kneading it and getting it really smooth. It's easier to do that when it's not 100% hard! Then, when you store it away, it'll be ready to go. All you have to do is just warm it up by kneading it on the counter for a bit. Enjoy!

What's ganache? - when do you use it?
I LOVE ganache! The flavor is beautiful! Basically ganache is the inside of a truffle...the better the chocolate you use, the better tasting the ganache is. I buy the pound plus bar from Trader Joes. I think you get 17.5 oz for $5. It's imported chocolate from Belgium and is smooth and beautiful! To make ganache, you use 1 part heavy cream to 2 parts dark chocolate (over 53% cacao). So, for every 2 oz of chocolate you use, add 1 oz of heavy cream. If you're using white chocolate then the ratio is 3 parts chocolate to 1 part heavy cream.
To make it, simply heat up the cream in a microwave safe bowl (don't boil it). Melt the chocolate slowly in a second bowl. Add the cream to the melted chocolate and wisk until incorporated and smooth. Let sit at room temp for until you have the desired consistency for spreading on a cake or crumb coating a cake before fondant. You want the consistency to be like smooth peanut butter or tooth paste. Once it sets up overnight, it creates a beautiful firm shell on your cake that makes it super easy to apply fondant. Click here for a few videos that you might find helpful!

How do you get sharp corners?
There are two methods I use. The Ausie Method (click here) or the upside down frosting technique (Click here for a video tutorial)!!! :) Remember whatever your cake looks like before fondant is what it will look like after fondant! So, you need to get your crumb coat super smooth with sharp corners. And, don't roll your fondant very thick...only 1/8"-3/16" thick. Also, if you use ganache as your crumb coat, it helps immensely!! If using buttercream as your crumb coat, cover it in fondant AFTER you've chilled it well!! :)

What buttercream do you use?
Again, I have two recipes! :) I guess all great things come in two?! ;) I LOVE my Swiss-meringue recipe.
Here are the quantities:
5 oz pasterized egg whites
10 oz sugar
15oz unsalted butter
3 Tbsp vanilla
It's a 1:2:3 ratio that works out beautifully! The mixing method is the same on all Swiss-Meringue Buttercreams, so click "here" on how to make it. This video explains everything beautifully!

I also use a powdered sugar based frosting when I'm in a hurry!! :) Here it is:
1 lb unsalted butter - whip for 10 min on high
1 - 7oz jar of marshmallow cream - whip on high for 5 min
1 lb powdered sugar - whip on high for 5 min
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream - whip on high for 5in
3 Tbsp vanilla - whip until incorporated.
This makes a really light amazing buttercream. You can add more heavy whipping cream (the liquid, not actual whipped cream) if you want, depending upon the consistency you're looking for.

What cake recipes do you use?
Unfortunately I keep just a few to myself because I've spent soo many hours trying recipes out, tweaking them and testing them. BUT, I have shared a few amazing recipes...here is a link:

Jessicakes Recipes

A good place to look for recipes is food.com and foodnetwork.com. Search for whatever cake flavor you want, and click on "most popular" and you'll get some wonderful recipes!

If you need a great vanilla cake recipe that is good for carving, try this one:
Mermaid Vanilla Butter Cake

How do you support/stack your cakes?
I will only stack 4 layers high before I add support and a cake plate. I use foam core for the base of all my cakes. After I stack 3-4 layers, I place bubble straws into the cake in a circular pattern with one in the middle. Then, add a little frosting, melted chocolate or royal icing on top of the straws and place a cake plate on top and continue stacking. Easy!

Better to use more straws than less! - a good rule of thumb is use how ever many straws as the diameter of your cake. A six inch cake needs 6 bubble straws. You can find them at Bed Bath & Beyond, grocery stores, Asian stores. I love bubble straws because they don't displace the cake like dowels, no worries of splinters (from wooden dowels), easy to cut and store.

How do you paint on your cakes?
I use Americolor or Wilton gel colors. Mix them like acrylic paint to get the right consistency...but use vodka instead of water. You need to use an alcohol base medium to thin...never water! Water will make your fondant sticky whereas vodka won't...the alcohol evaporates leaving the paint to dry nicely. No worries about the alcohol being left...it's okay for kids! :)

How do you take such nice pictures?
Here's a post on my DYI photo booth (click here). The trick is that no matter the camera, try not to use a flash! Try to get up against a window, or outside in a covered area. Also, get some photo editing software to help boost the lighting levels and sharpen the pics a bit. I use Photoshop Elements 7.0.

What's your cake making/building process?
After I baked my cakes and take them from the oven, I use a lightly damp paper towel to press down any dome, thus making the cakes nice and flat. I then turn the cakes out onto a wire cooling rack and let them cool for 5-10 min. or so. Not longer. I wrap them (still warm) up in plastic wrap and place them in my freezer. I let them sit in there at least over night or up to two weeks. I've done some experimenting with this...honestly, every cake I've frozen was more moist than the non-frozen one! So, that's why I do it. And, being a busy mommy, it helps a lot with planning ahead!

I take them from the freezer and put them in my fridge with a light weight on them to help them settle as they un-thaw. This helps with bulges. I usually use a cookie sheet with a few pounds of something on it. After they've sat another 8-10 hours unthawing, I take them out, torte the layers while they're nice and cold (cut them in half to give me two layers of cake) and begin stacking my cake. I weigh out each layer of frosting. I place my first cake layer on a board, then on the scale. I add my frosting and weigh it out to see how much works with that cake. Usually
it's about 4 oz for a 6" cake and 6 oz for an 8"cake. I use SMBC so, I'm not sure how it weighs compared with other types of frosting. You might have to experiment with that yourself...but I like a lot of frosting! :) I then add my next layer of cake, put it back on the scale and measure out my frosting again so it's the same as the first layer. I do this up to 4 layers of cake or 5 thin layers of cake. If I need anymore (for a tall or double height cake), I add bubble straws and another board...then continue to stack my layers. Once the cake is stacked, I place it back in the fridge for 30 min or so until it firms up. Once it's sat in the fridge for a bit, I take the cake out and I carve the edges of the cake all the way around to make it nice and straight and about 1/8" in from the cake board...so that when I put the crumb coat on, I use the board to smooth the sides of the cake. Then I add my crumb coat (ganache or buttercream). I use the upside-down frosting technique most of the time. Once the crumb coat is on and it's nice and smooth, it goes back in the fridge overnight to settle a bit more. The next day I cover it in fondant and begin decorating it.

My new photo booth

2011-05-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

Today I made two identical little purse cake for a few moms at my daughter's school. These ladies have blessed me so much with unexpected gifts, cake stands and beautiful hand me down clothes. So, what better way to say thanks than to make them a cake! :) I had a 9" single round that was perfect for little cakes. I cut it in half to form two small cakes. A little trimming here and there, a crumb coat, some fondant and some hand painted zebra stripes and it was done! - WHEW! All within 30 min of picking my daughter up from school! :) They loved it.

But what was even more fun was using my new photo booth to take the pics! :)
Here's the cake in my new "photo booth" (nicely lit hugh?!):

And here's how I took it...my "photo booth" over my kitchen sink (don't mind the mess)! :) LOL!! Yes, I had to climb up on my counter a bit, but hey, anything for a well lighted photo!! :)

My girlfriend Mindy (who is a crazy good photographer - click on the link over her name) was over for a playdate and I was telling her how my camera seems to take such dark pics and that I have to boost the lighting all the time (I have the original 8 megapixel Canon Rebel XT...6 years old). She and I were looking around for other places to take pics of my cakes and she suggested over my kitchen sink. I've been using white foam core as the base/backdrop lately, so I could easily set it up over the sink and against the upper cabinet...whallah, a new photo booth with amazing lighting! :) Thanks Mindy...it worked! :) And, hopefully everyone has a kitchen sink with a window and lighting overhead...so now you too can take some great cake pics!!

Happy picture taking!

My first wedding cake...sorta! :)

2011-05-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

I had the privilege to take part in a wedding shoot here in my area. A local wedding coordinator, Dani Ross, put together a shoot with another local photographer and asked if I'd make the wedding cake. They staged the entire shoot at a beautiful studio in downtown Portland and had everything from a model bride to a beautiful table scape to amazing dinnerware and silverware all set up. The sneak peek pics look wonderful! I can't wait to see the rest of the shoot. The photographer and coordinator are sending it to a few publications, so I can't show you the cake from the shoot or any other pics, but they said I could post my own pictures of the cake, so here you go! :)

When I got word of this shoot, I was given these plates from Anthropology as inspiration. These were going to be used for the place settings. From there I created this design based on the wedding being white on white. What was super amazing was when I saw the sneak peek pictures, all of the elements I put on the cake were part of the wedding decor...and I wasn't even trying to do that! It was a pleasant surprise...the cake fit perfectly! So, I can't wait to show you the rest of the shoot. Stay tuned to Dani's blog or mine when the pictures are published.

Now, something super funny happened after I put the cake together for the shoot. I had to get the cake down to the shoot and had limited time, so I glued the cake together, took pics, loaded it in the car and headed down to drop it off. The whole way there, I kept looking at the cake wondering what it would look like if I flipped the bottom tier upside-down. I liked the cake as it was, but there was something about flipping it that totally intrigued me. So, when I got the cake back after the shoot, I took it apart and flipped it. I loved it even more!!
Here it is flipped:

Pretty funny how flipping it totally changed it's look. It almost looks like a dress now. Pretty funny!! Oh well, either way I like it! :) And I really enjoyed working with a dummy cake!!

A few tips/tricks I learned from my first dummy cake experience...
1. I ordered the crazy sizes from this place: Dallas Foam. They were AWESOME to work with. They customized the sizes I needed and with shipping I didn't pay more than $15! - and that included 6 little 2.5"x3"h dummies for each place setting.
2. I used crisco to adhere the fondant to the dummy. Worked awesome! Oh, and I used a fine sanding paper to smooth out any rough edges on the dummy before putting on the fondant.
3. Fondant dries INCREDIBLY fast on a dummy!!! So, I couldn't take as long tweaking things, smoothing things, etc like I could normally! So, I got some cracking on the ruffles that I wasn't expecting. So, work quickly! :)

That's it! It was super fun and I have sooo many more ideas for wedding cakes! I might have to make some more dummy cakes just to try some more techniques! Stay tuned!

Cake Templates

2011-04-16T10:33:00.000-07:00

I've been asked what kind of template or program I use to create my cake sketches. I simply print out some templates I created in my AutoCAD and use those to trace new cake designs right over the top...usually using my sliding glass door to help see the sheet below! :) So, I'm sharing with you my templates. If you need different heights, then just use the cake template below, but only draw it up half way for 2"h cakes, or double it for 8"h cakes! Each cake tier is 4" high.

Round Cakes

Square Cakes

Click on one of the links above and download the templates for your own use! Happy drawing!

Where do you find inspiration?

2011-04-13T20:51:00.000-07:00

There is inspiration everywhere! Pretty much anything can be made into a cake...how creative can you be?? There is probably something sitting on your desk, on your table, on your dresser right now that can be used as inspiration for your next cake!

I was asked to help with an article in the past issue of Cake Central magazine. The article was about how I'm inspired by everyday objects in my own home. So, I grabbed five objects I have around my home (that I've always thought had great cake details) and created five sketches for cakes that I could create using those objects as inspiration. These pics, sketches and write up can be found in the Oct/Nov issue of Cake Central magazine. They gave me five pages! - It was sweet!

So, be inspired by the things around your house and come up with your own cakes!

My favorite clock - I've always loved the border

A girlfriend gave me this lotion for my b-day. I love the curvy stripe effect! I love the colors - black white yellow!

An invitation to one of my girlfriend's baby showers. Paper designs are a fun place to start when looking for inspiration!!

This is my new baby's quilt. I thought the geometric pattern would be cool on a cake. You'd need some time and some cutters! - you couldn't cut all those out by hand...so, mini geometric cutters would be a must! I also love the dark pink/light pink pattern below it...would be a great pattern for a cake too! :)

Get inspired and create new, fun cakes that are unique and personal to you!
Blessings!!

Modeling Chocolate Rose Tutorial

2011-04-10T13:58:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend! I know I am! We started going to church on Saturday nights! Kind of weird in the beginning but now it's crazy how nice and relaxing our Sundays are...truly a day of rest and play! Love it! :)

This morning my kids and I got out the home made play-doh and started to make some flowers and all sorts of fun things. I decided to whip out some modeling chocolate I had left over from my last cake to make some of my ribbon roses. My daughter was so excited! - she got right next to me with her play-doh and made some of her own (see they're easy to make)! It was pretty cute...my little cake maker in the making! :)

Since I've had several requests for how I made the flowers on top of the Holt Gala cake, I thought I'd give you all a simple tutorial - especially since it was as easy as grabbing my camera during our play-doh play time! :) They are a cross between a ribbon rose and an actual rose...and the best part is they are SUPER easy to make!! So, here are the steps to make your own modeling chocolate rose - Jessicakes style! :)

1. Roll out your modeling chocolate to 1/16" thick. Cut out two circles for each flower you want to make. The size of the circle cutter will effect the finished size of the flower. For this demonstration I used a 3" circle cutter. Cut each circle in half.
2/3. Holding one half of the circle with your left hand, pinch the rounded edge with your right thumb and pointer finger so it thins that edge out and ruffles it a bit.
4. Make a few and let them sit on the counter so they don't get too soft

5/6. Begin at one tip, start loosely rolling the half-circle up along the rounded edge.
7. Place the flower just below the top rounded edge of the next half circle.
8. Wrap both corners over like you're wrapping it up in a blanket. Now use your finger and slightly brush the top edges of the flower out a bit to open the flower up before adding more circles.

9. Add another half-circle. Place the flower just below the top rounded edge of the next half circle.
10. Wrap it up like a blanket
11. See how edges are close to the center of the flower, almost standing straight up? - use your finger tip to brush/pull them out slightly to open the petals up - see image 12.

That's it! :) Add as many half circles as you want in order to get the size flower you want. Again, the size of the circle cutter you use will effect the size of the flower...so have fun playing with your circle cutters!

It's so easy...here's my daughter making her own play-doh version! :)
Happy flower making!

A great ganache tutorial

2011-04-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

I found a few videos (via cake central) on how to make ganache, apply it to a cake and get smoooooth sides. I thought I'd pass them on to all of you! My smoothest cakes have been ganache cakes. I LOVE ganache! It gives you a firm, stable surface to apply fondant...no more buldges! And it tastes FABULOUS! Remember, the smoother the crumb coat, the smoother your fondant will look!!
Check these out...I hope they help you!

Make ganache

Apply ganache/crumb coat
*Note: I have and use a straight edge tool like she does and it really helps! You can also use the upside down frosting technique too...that's my fav technique to getting sharp top corners!

Getting smooth sharp edges

Cookie Cupcakes

2011-03-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

I LOVE THESE!!!!!!!
My sister in law sent me a link for a tutorial on how to make these cupcake cookies...

The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle

These remind me of my little teeny tiny cupcake balls...however, cookies are even more fun! - what beautiful, yummy little treats! And, what a great compliment to a birthday party!!! :)

When I make some of my own (which might be very soon) I'm going to make one change...I'm going to use vanilla Swiss-Meringue buttercream!!! :) I really don't like royal icing! So, I'd slap a big swirl of buttercream on those babies and call it a day! - as I hide from my kids and eat them in bed! :)

Enjoy!

Lollipop Lollipop Ohhhh Lollipop

2011-03-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Have you ever felt defeated by a cake??? - I did on Sunday! I'm not sure if the fondant won, or if I just plain ol' lost!? :)

I had in my mind to create a stand-up lollipop cake for my daughter's 6th b-day party! We were going to do a "sweets" type party, so a giant lollipop would be fun, and something new that I've never seen!! :) I had the design/execution set in my mind on how I was going to achieve the twisted/swirled look like a real lollipop, however, I realized the desired execution was impossible for the medium I was using!! - after I had started making it and only had an hour to finish it!! :( So, I ended up with a tie-died lollipop!!!!!!! URGH! :)

I didn't even have time to make a fondant bow for it because I spent so much time wrestling with the fondant! :( Boo hoo...but, the curly ribbon was cute...made it look more like a balloon! :)

I had in mind to roll out a lot of ropes of various colors, then twist them together and begin wrapping them into a circle shape to get the twisted lollipop design. The problem I had was by the time I rolled 5 different colors out, they would harden slightly and the surfaces wouldn't stick together. Then, once I started twisting, they began breaking because they wouldn't hold together. Oh, it was a nightmare and I was soo disappointed. So, the only thing I could do with an hour left before the party was mash all the colors together and create a tie-die lollipop! My daughter still loved it, and that truly is all that matters, but it was a serious learning experience on MANY levels!

How did I get it to stand up? - well, that was the part that went well! It worked great actually!!! Here is the structure I used...you might have to click on the pic to read it all. But it was built on a wedge of styrofoam and around a 1/2" diameter pipe system I created. I baked the cake in a 1/2 sheet pan and then cut the chilled cake into 2.5" wide strips. I then laid them on a cake board glued to the styrofoam and began stacking them to create a square. I ended up having 6 layers...divided into two 3 layered cakes with a board in between. I chilled everything really good and then layed the cake down and cut it into a circle using a template. Then I crumb coated it and chilled it really good again. Once chilled, I covered the back and sides with one layer of fondant and chilled again. I then flipped it over on some wax paper covered with a bit of cornstarch and laid the tie-died fondant layer on top. Once chilled again, I turned it upright and screwed the coupler (attached now to the cake) to the 18" tall post...and whallah...a stand up lollipop! :) I hope all that made sense! :)

I had this top part with the coupler laying flat to put the fondant pieces on. I had unscrewed it from the long 18" post. When I was done with the fondant pieces, I screwed it back into the the 18" pipe and then covered all that metal with white modeling chocolate to form the stick.

Now, if I would have done a little research on the lollipop, I might have copied this idea (below) from Planet Cake! I LOVE the graphic, clean look of this swirl! SO cool!! I just plain ol' love their work anyway...all of it is sooo clean, straight and amazing!!!! Such an inspiration!
But, I didn't do that! :)

So, in order to not be defeated by the lollipop, I got out the fondant today and figured out a better way to make the lollipop - for future! I couldn't end on a failure!! I had to figure it out for me...and for you all out there in blog land! :)

What I did was roll out just one rope of each color, and began swirling them together. I made sure they all were different lengths so they wouldn't all end at the same spot. The pink and blue is fondant, the red and orange is modeling chocolate. I would use modeling chocolate exclusively next time because they held their shape and I could smooth the breaks together so you can hardly notice when you add new pieces.

See the orange seam. I cut them each at a 45 degree angle. I would spend a few more minutes to rub the seam out since it's modeling chocolate. I heart modeling chocolate! :)
And you can just keep going and going and going until the desired size is needed. Again, only rolling out additional fondant/modeling chocolate when you need it so it doesn't dry out! So easy and so fun! I did this lollipop in about 30 minutes. TOOOO bad I didn't figure that out on Sunday when I was getting so frustrated!!

OH, and another fun use for a random item is this:
I took this pic while making my Swiss Meringue Buttercream. Otter pops!!!!! Every household with kids has them!! And they work SUPER good to cool down that swiss meringue!! I've used them twice now and it cuts the cooling/whipping time in half. So, there you go! - a fun use for Otter Pops! - and then you stick them back in the freezer for next time! :)

Well, I hope you all enjoyed my learning experience!!! Thanks for looking!!

Purse, Money & Cupcakes

2011-02-13T15:40:00.000-08:00

Last night my husband's school, St. Thomas More, held its annual fund-raising auction at a beautiful location downtown Portland. Last year I had created the Latin Lady cake for their themed event and raised $600 for the school! This year they asked if I'd take part in the dessert portion again, so of course I was thrilled to say YES!

The theme this year was "So You Think You Can Bid" and the whole event was based on reality TV shows. I wish you all could have seen the venue...it was beautiful! They put on an amazing auction!! - I'm sure it's the best in Portland!
I decided to go a bit smaller scale this year (compared to the 42" tall beauty I made last year) because I'm a bit busy raising up a baby and all! :) So, I decided to create a purse, some money and 24 cupcakes to continue the theme of the night.

I was SO happy with how everything turned out!! The money was quite impressive!! I had edible images printed so it really looked real! I made some rice crispy treats, covered them in white modeling chocolate, scored the sides, then placed the edible images on top and whaallllllah - stacks of money!!! So fun and VERY tasty!! There ended up being six stacks of money!

The purse was a bit of a challenge...I truly didn't decide on what I was going to do until the day before the auction!! I had made two 9" layers of chocolate cake to use, but didn't know what I wanted the purse to look like. I was having a ginormous brain block! Then my sweet husband said, "Hey, have you prayed about it?!" I thought nope...I should do that! So, Friday I decided on a shape and began carving it. I then spent the day asking the Lord what in the world it should look like!? - the decor and colors. Then, later that night as I was searching etsy for inspiration, the very first thing I saw on the main page was a really cool vintage suitcase that was a robin egg blue and had this funky tree detail on it and BOOM - I thought, that's it! I knew I wanted to hand paint something, I just couldn't figure out what - or how! So, I tinted the fondant a vintage blue and hand painted the trees to finish the look. I really loved how it all turned out and think this is probably one of my favorite cakes to date. Thank you Lord for being sooo kind and so faithful!
I also had an epiphany while making this purse...I don't think I'll ever be on a Food Network challenge show because it takes me forever to do anything!!!! I work so slowly because I just want everything to be perfect! It literally took me 1.5 hours to cover the cake with fondant!!!!!! I ended up having to do it in four pieces because of the shape of the cake. Note to self...next time before creating a shape, ask yourself how you're going to cover it in fondant! :) I wanted the seams to be perfect and tie together, so it just took me a while! I'm SUPER happy with how smooth and flawless everything looked, so I guess it was worth it! :)
Here is the purse before fondant during my brain block! :)

And, here is everything together on the dessert table awaiting bids. I guess the purse looked pretty realistic because right before I set it on the dessert tray, it was sitting off to the side and a woman came over and put her purse and coat right on the table next to it...a little too close - I thought she was going to hit it! So, I grabbed it and said I was going to move it because it was a cake and she flipped out!!! She totally didn't know and thought it was my purse!! :) LOL! It was pretty funny...she was soo surprised!
The cake was a rich chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut buttercream and dark chocolate ganache. The cupcakes were red velvet filled with cheesecake and topped with cream cheese buttercream. The coconut cupcakes were filled with a white chocolate coconut custard and topped with a white chocolate buttercream.
Now, onto what it went for...a very impressive $1400!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was beside myself with excitement!!! Truly...it was amazing! I was soo thankful that all the time I spent on this cake set was able to raise such an impressive amount of money for the school!!
Again, the Lord is faithful!!

Thanks for looking!

Holt International Gala Cake

2011-02-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege to take part in the 55th anniversary gala event for Holt International. I made a cake that they will be putting up for auction tomorrow night! :) Holt International is a wonderful adoption agency that has been finding homes for children for the past 55 years!! We have several nephews and a niece who have been adopted, so adoption is near and dear to my heart!! I was delighted to help out!!
How did I get connected with Holt?? Well, it all started when earlier this week at my daughter's school a parent of one of my daughter's classmates saw my blog and the cakes I make. She sweetly asked me if I'd be willing to put a cake up for auction for this weekend! Whew!! - not much time!! I only had a few days, so I had to keep the design pretty simple and also make something that would be finished and sitting out for a few days. So, I made my yuuuummmmy dark chocolate mudcake (which tastes like truffles) filled with swiss meringue vanilla bean buttercream and dark chocolate ganache. The bottom tier is four 6" layers and the top is two 5" layers. All the black decorations are modeling chocolate colored black...and it tastes weird! I can't stand the taste of food coloring and for some reason I had to add quite a bit of it to get it black black...so, the flavor is off. But it smells good!! :)
The logo on the front is Holt's new logo and the hand painted saying on the top tier is their new slogan, "From your heart to your home". It was a fun, and quick, cake to make!!

OH, and I also made a new fondant and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! You can find the recipe here...I've made it before but it seemed complicated before...however I do remember liking it. So, I tried it again and truly adore it! The steps were easy to follow (I used milk instead of cream), although I totally ruined my first batch by trying to make it in the kitchenaid mixer. The next time I mixed it/kneaded it by hand and it was perfect!! It is SOO much less sticky than the marshmallow and it doesn't sweat when you take it out of the fridge. It was just so easy to work with! Next time though I will only add about 3 pounds of powdered sugar, let it sit up a bit, and then add more if necessary. I got a bit of elephant skin around the bottom when smoothing it...probably user error - I added too much powdered sugar.
So, try it out and see if you like it! It's wonderful!!
Thanks for looking!

A Feature and A Tutorial

2011-01-16T19:56:00.000-08:00

If you haven't been over to The TomKat Studio, go now! It truly is "a place for all things pretty"!! The colors, the pictures, the decorations, tips and ideas are brilliant!

A few weeks ago, they spotted my Vintage Ruffle Cupcakes seen here that I had done for Cake Central magazine and asked if I'd share a tutorial with their readers! Of course!!!! I've been asked by various people how to make these pretty little things, so I decided, I'm just going to do a tutorial so the world will know! TomKat readers, here you go!

Here is the finished product...a slight variation from my original version with the flat top and pearls. There are so many ways to make these flowers!! - get creative!
Here are a few steps that might be helpful!

Measure out your cupcakes with a circle cutter. You want the circle cutter to be slightly smaller than the cupcake or cupcake holder. This will be the largest circle that you cut out. Now pull out the next two sizes smaller.

I use this set from Williams Sonoma. Works perfectly for this!

I only use modeling chocolate to make these flowers...for four reasons. One, you can't eat gum paste...who wants a big ol' gum paste flower on top of a cupcake when you can't even eat it. Don't tease me like that! :) Two, fondant on its own is too flimsy so that medium is out. Three, modeling chocolate tastes WAY better than fondant/gum paste. Fourth and finally, it works perfect for these flowers because it holds its shape but stays soft so you can fit the pieces together! So, roll out a piece of modeling chocolate as thin as possible. I use a little cornstarch under it to keep it from sticking. I have also used a little Crisco in the past, but the problem I had with that was when I started folding the circles to create each scallop, they would stick to themselves and not create nice open scallops/ruffles.
If you need a recipe for modeling chocolate (candy clay) go here or here.

You'll need four large circles, four medium circles and one small circle. Again, if you're going for the smaller circle with pearls, then don't fold/"scallop" the small circle...keep it for the top. I cut two little circles in the picture above because I was making the flower both ways (full scallop flower and a variation with the flower seen at the top with the pearls, so I needed two...sorry if that's totally confusing! :) Now, let them sit on the counter for 5-10 minutes to firm up slightly before continuing on.

Start with the larger circles and fold each one in half (above)...and then half again (below) without pinching the edges together...just pinch the center together to hold it in place.

Now set them up to rest a bit and the chocolate will firm up so it's easier to work with.
Do you like my jell-o jelly bean mold? :) Works great for holding things!! :) Sorry for the red on red...if I would have thought about that ahead of time, maybe I would have made the flowers white so you can see them better! :) haha

Once the chocolate has rested/firmed up a bit, add a dollop of matching chocolate (save a few of the chocolate pieces before you melt them for the modeling chocolate) to a sheet of wax paper and arrange the four larger scallops so they lay on the melted chocolate.
I lay the scallops so the two larger folds fit snugly with the single fold from the next scallop. Does that make sense? - just look at the pic below and notice there is an order to how I arranged the four scallops.
Now take the four medium circles and arrange them on top of the larger circles with a dollop of melted chocolate in the center. One of the scallops might have to be placed vertically. Then, take the smaller circle/scallop and place that at the top to create a full flower effect (below).

Now it's time to clean all the cornstarch off to make it look even more pretty! I use a little vodka because it removes the cornstarch and the alcohol evaporates away so you're left with a clean, dry, beautiful flower!

Here you go! The full flower effect (above). Now, instead of adding that little scallop to the top, you can flatten out the scallops a bit and add the small circle to the top with some pearls (below) to finish it off. Pipe a big swirl of buttercream on top of your cupcake and place the flower right on top of the buttercream to keep it secure.
End result! The flower is still a bit wet from the vodka, but when it's dry it will have a nice satin look to it! :)
I hope you all found the tutorial helpful!!
Thanks again to The TomKat Studio for featuring me and my ruffle flower on your amazing blog!!
Blessings!

Cake Ball Cupcakes

2011-01-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

I think by now everyone in the sugar world knows about the amazing Bakerella and her cake pops! I've only made cake pops a few times and I haven't been able to keep those little suckers on their sticks! :) It's probably a "practice makes perfect" type thing, but I just don't have a lot of time to practice!

The other day as I was surfing the web, I came across cupcake cake balls! I love cupcakes, and I love the idea of cake balls without the sticks! But they need to be more than just balls...so, when I saw cupcake balls, I knew I needed to try this! And, now that I've done it once, I need to try it again, because the cake ball part could be bigger! :) It's a curse, but I can always do it better the "next time"! :) - so, perhaps they'll be a next time - soon! :)

To start, you'll want to find the Wilton peanut butter cup candy mold. It makes for perfectly sized cupcake cake balls.

Next, make your cake balls! I've realized now (after a few attempts at cake balls), that there is a trick to the consistency! - it's taken me a while to figure out the more frosting you add, the harder they are to work with and therefore they fall off the sticks! :) Therefore, you have to be careful to not add so much frosting!! Now that I'm more experienced (Ha!), I would tell you all, just use a little frosting! Add just enough to get the consistency to be like sugar cookie dough. That way you can roll them up into balls and they'll hold their shape. I used a 1-1/2 tbsp to scoop them up and roll them so they were all the same size...about 1" in diameter.Next, fill your molds with melted chocolate just less than half way. Drop in your cake ball and use a small piping bag to pipe in/fill in more around the edges to bring the chocolate up to the brim.
Remember to tap the molds to get bubbles out before the chocolate sets.
Now, a newbie learning tip...next time I'd make the balls a bit more elliptical so they would stick out of the top of the molds a little more...like a cupcake with a nice dome on it. Once the chocolate has set, now it's time to decorate! There are lots of options...here are just a few that I experimented with today...
(Above) Turn them over and dip them in melted chocolate/candy melts.
(Above) Cut out a circle of modeling chocolate and top them with that, as well as a dollop of frosting and my stemless cherries! :) LOL! - they need stems...I just couldn't figure out what to use on my little modeling chocolate cherries! Perhaps some melted chocolate...next time!

And, the best, most cupcake looking topping - frosting!! - and sprinkles of course!
They're so tiny...perfectly bite sized! Yum!
And a look inside! Deliciousness!

I hope you enjoyed my learning experience with these! Stay tuned for more...better looking ones next time as I try try again! :)

Egg Nog Cupcakes - YUM!!

2010-12-11T10:37:00.001-08:00

I had a wild hair to create some yummy holiday cupcakes the other day...the only problem is what to create!??!! :) Then, later that night I was watching Cupcake Wars on TLC and one of the gals made some egg nog cupcakes. I LOVE egg nog and thought...hmmm, I bet I can create some delicious egg nog cuppies! And they WERE delicious!! So I thought, in the holiday spirit I would share my yummy recipe!! Now, before you write it down, there is another one I saw online here that uses oil and rum...probably super moist, but I really prefer the flavor butter adds to cake and I don't like rum or even have it on hand. So, my recipe won't include those ingredients. I used my vanilla cake recipe and adapted it to become a virgin egg nog flavored cuppie...
Jessicakes Egg Nog Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients:
3/4 cup cake flour (3.5 oz)
3/4 cup all purpose flour (3.5 oz)
3/4 cup white sugar (5.25 oz)
1/2 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (1 cube - 4 oz)
2 eggs
1 cup egg nog (full fat - 8 oz)
1 Tbsp vanilla

Mixing:
Put all dry ingredients into mixer and wisk to combine. Add butter and 1/4 cup of egg nog (you might have to add a touch more if you need to) and mix with paddle attachment for 2-3 min until well incorporated and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until incorporated. Add egg nog and mix for another minute or two on medium until smooth. Put batter in cupcake liners up to 1/4" from the top (it's a bit runny) and bake at 350 for 16-18 minutes. Makes about 15 cupcakes.

I use Rose Levy's mixing method and it creates a bit more denser cupcakes which I prefer!! If you like a lighter fluffier cupcakes, then use the creaming butter/sugar together method before adding eggs and dry ingredients.

Filling:
I used Aarti's recipe here for inspiration for a custard like pudding filling for the egg nog cupcake. I thought it would enhance the egg nog flavor. Here is how I used her recipe to come up with my own egg nog custard.
2 cups egg nog
3 yolks
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
7 oz white chocolate, chopped
Pinch salt
To mix: In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, whisk together the egg nog, yolks and vanilla Stir in the sugar, cornstarch, chocolate and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Boil for 1 minute, then immediately remove from heat and pour into a bowl. Mixture should be very thick! Cover the surface of pudding with plastic wrap (to prevent a skin from forming) and chill for 3 hours, until set. Core out cupcake and squirt filling into each before topping with buttercream.

OH YUM! This could be the best pie too!!!

Frosting:
Use your favorite vanilla buttercream recipe and add some of the egg nog/white chocolate custard/filling to flavor it...simple! Then, top with a sprinkle of nutmeg.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did!! You of course don't need the filling because the cupcakes were great without it...but, if you want that extra kick, go for the filling!! :)

Happy Holidays!!

Cupcake wrapper mystery - SOLVED!

2010-11-29T13:52:00.000-08:00

Has this ever happened to you???
You bake a batch of cupcakes and maybe some of them turn out great (left side) and some look crazy weird (right side) because the wrapper comes right off as it cools!!!?? It's happened randomly and I've never been able to figure out why it does it sometimes, and not others...well, today was the day Detective Jessica solved the case!!!

I'm trying out a new recipe where I use my vanilla cupcake recipe and add a can of apple pie filling to it. Whallah, apple pie cupcakes (and wow are they ever good!)! By the way I'm planning on filling them/topping them with some caramel and then vanilla buttercream for caramel apple cupcakes!! :) Anyhoo, back to my findings...I filled up two 12 cupcake tins and put them both in the oven side by side. Then, commence nursing my babe! - when the timer went off, I put the babe down and quickly took the cupcakes out of the oven (because I pricked one and they were done) and set them on the counter because the little one was obviously not done and required mama to come back and finish her breakfast! :) :) By the time I finished with the little princess, this is what I saw...one tray worth totally fine and the other tray worth, all the wrappers peeled right off. SAME recipe, bake time, cupcake liners, etc.

Now, what I've noticed in the past is that the baking tray with the ones where the wrappers peeled off usually requires another 2 minutes in the oven because that pan is more insulated and the cupcakes baking in that pan always require a bit longer in the oven. Well, I spaced that given the mushy mommy brain I have and the fact my little one was screaming her head off! :) But, it actually worked out well...because I realized that the cupcake on the right was a bit under baked. They taste amazing and are fine, totally edible, but they really needed another 2 minutes in the oven!! They are super moist and squishy on the inside...hence why it didn't hold its height and sunk in a bit...causing the wrappers to peel off. Mystery solved...when cupcakes are barely undercooked (especially when making a moist recipe), the moisture and the shrinking causes the wrappers to peeeeel right off!!!

I hope that helps everyone out there!! I know it excites me to have this mystery solved!!! Now, what to do with 12 cupcakes with no wrappers...maybe I'll make some tall cupcakes for fun! :) YUM! :)

My latest creation...our sweet little girl!

2010-11-18T14:13:00.001-08:00

If you've wondered where I have been, here she is...

Harper Joy Harris was born almost three weeks ago!! We are loving this sweet little girl God has so graciously blessed us with! Life with three little ones is crazy busy, so I'm not sure how cakes and desserts fit into the mix, but hang in there and hopefully I'll be back at it soon!

And here they all are!! My three beauties!
Praise the Lord for all He has given us!! We are so blessed!!

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes

2010-09-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hello blog world! It's been a while since I've been online, sorry...just incubating a baby here! :) I've been thoroughly enjoying my summer with a husband who is a teacher and a home body like me!! So, I haven't been making too many things...although, my new favorite thing to make has been cupcakes!!!! For my family, my life and the time I have to put into anything sweet, cupcakes are really perfect for me! I'm not too sure how many cakes I'll be making in the next year, but I can tell you...cupcakes are fun, less time consuming, and deliciously evil!

So, here's to cupcakes and a few projects I've been working on lately...

My sweet friend Sarah is having her third baby, but first baby girl! Yeah for girls! :) Our friends threw her a very sweet shower with a vintage french country theme. It was beautiful and the girls who put it on did a fabulous job on the food and decor!! My part was a small cake and about 16 cupcakes for the event. She loves lemon, so, the cupcakes were a lightly flavored vanilla-lemon cake with a lemon curd filling and vanilla Italian meringue buttercream frosting. I thoroughly enjoyed that part!! - the making and the eating of those beautiful little sweets!
The cake was a bit different! :) It was chocolate cake with sliced strawberries and vanilla IMBC (Italian meringue buttercream) filling. For some reason, I had SUCH issues with the MMF (marshmallow fondant)! It was sticky, sticky, sticky and I just had a hard time working with it. I think the humidity around here played a part...and the fact that I haven't done a cake for a while - I was a little rusty!
I used a thick layer of buttercream under my fondant and with it going in and out of the fridge, the air bubbles became an issue this time. It made me realize just how much I love ganache! - I think I'll stick to that being my crumb coat if I do another cake again! :) But, it was fine...of course, I love buttercream, so the more the better! :) This wasn't my original design...but I can't stand up for too long now and after I got started, I realized I wasn't going to be able to pull it off! So, I simplified the design half way through and just went with it! It turned out great and tasted delicious, and really...that's all that matters! :)

The next event I was able to help with was another baby shower for my sweet friend Kelly!! Kelly is having identical twin boys - total miracle babies!! These babies TRULY are a gift from God and are little testimonies to the Lord hearing our cries!! So, this shower for her was HUGE!!! She is so loved by so many and the ladies in our church are SO talented that we threw her the best shower I've ever seen! From the food to the decor to the gifts to the kind words to the sharing time, it was amazing! I felt like I walked into a pottery barn magazine showcase for a baby shower...but with the warmest and most overwhelming feeling of love and hope!! I know we blessed Kelly's heart too - which was the whole point!!
I made 100 cupcakes for the event - the most "servings" I've ever done!! I had to have something to put them on, so I made this cupcake stand...my first ever! I created it using foam core and red wrapping paper. It was fun and I loved how it turned out!! You can do it too...whatever size you need! All you have to get is sheets of 3/16" thick foam core, a ruler, exacto knife and some hot glue! Simple, simple simple! Allow 3" for each cupcake and build the boxes to whatever size you need based on how many cupcakes you want to serve/showcase! Mine were all 4" high. The top box was 9x9, the middle 15x15 and the bottom 21x21. You can arrange them in a step pattern (like the pic above) or centered to look like a wedding cake. Super easy and fun! Then, pick out some paper to cover the sides where you have your seams and whalllllah - a cupcake stand!

Now, back to the fun stuff...the cupcakes! :) I created three different flavors...Kelly's favorites!
The first was coconut cake with white chocolate/coconut custard filling and vanilla buttercream
The second was chocolate chip cake with chocolate custard filling and marshmallow/vanilla buttercream
And lastly a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
The toppers were made by an amazing gal at our church named Susan Damery. These pics above were taken by my amazingly talented friend Mindy Strauss (I totally forgot my camera to snap my own pics - what a dunce I am sometimes! - I guess I can thank my sweet baby girl for sucking what's left of my brain out of me! hehe) :) The lighting was really harsh so I was glad Mindy had her camera as my pics wouldn't have turned out so good! :)

Everything turned out fabulous! It was the easiest process for how many people they served! I guess this is my reason for really only wanting to do cupcakes now!! It just fits my lifestyle better - and no more big fondant covered cakes for me for a while! :) :) hehe - I do want to learn how to frost a perfectly smooth cake so it looks like fondant...that would be my next "need to learn" thing!! Perhaps after baby!

Thanks for looking!! Not sure if I'll be back online before baby comes. I don't have any projects planned except birthing this beautiful girl within me! :) When I get around to it, I'll post a picture of God's little creation when she decides to greet the world! Until then, may the Lord bless you and keep you, may His face shine upon you and give you peace!

Cake Central Vintage Ruffle Cupcakes

2010-07-24T22:39:00.000-07:00

Another Cake Central magazine publication!!!

I am so inspired by vintage accessories and fashion! I've seen these beautiful little felt ruffle flowers on head bands, shoes, purses and various other places. I've been thinking, "OH, I've got to make that out of fondant!" So, when Cake Central asked me to do a cupcake project for them, I told them about this idea and they loved it!! So, in this past issue (June), they printed a picture of these little cupcakes I made along with a tutorial on how to make them!! Check it out and you too can make some vintage fondant ruffle flowers!! :) It's so fancy and fun...I just loved how they came out!!
Remember, you can feel inspired by anything!! You never know what you might be able to create!! Thanks for looking!

Suitcase "Good-bye" Cake

2010-07-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

Today I said good-bye to a sweet friend who is moving away next weekend! I made her a suitcase cake to celebrate their new adventure that awaits them as they transition south about 5 hours from us. I have been wanting to make a suitcase for a while and had a 9" single round from a chocolate caramel mudcake experiment I had just done, so I figured hey, why not put together a mini suitcase for my sweet friend?! :) So I did...and she loved it!

I used my favorite chocolate mudcake recipe and added a can of Carmel Dulce De Leche to it! The caramel flavor wasn't as strong as it could have been if I would have used white chocolate. But it was subtly present. I used coffee in place of the water, so it had a very subtle mocha flavor...it's so yummy! I think next time I want to make the chocolate caramel version, I would use water or milk instead of coffee. I torted the 9" cake, filled it with one layer of vanilla buttercream, cut the round down to a little rectangle and used the scraps to make an itty-bitty purse for on top. Here's a pic with some silverware so you can see how little it was...about 7.5"x5"!
Little cakes are SO hard to make!! You'd think they'd be easier...but they're not because the fondant doesn't have a place to go!! :) And, little things are hard to hold! :) If I would have had an extra day or two I could have made the buckles a bit straighter, but I didn't have a lot of time for things to dry...I pretty much did the whole thing in one night. I look forward to making another one because it was a simple cake, but still complex in its own way.
Now I have to figure out how to make silver luster dust look smooooother!! Any ideas??? I used vodka mixed with the luster dust, but it never looks like real metal to me...more antiqued - not shiny.
All in all, it was a fun cake and I was happy to be able to do it for my sweet friend! I wish her and her family all the best!!

Happy 4th of July Cake

2010-07-05T08:51:00.000-07:00

What a privilege it is to celebrate the 4th of July and our Independence! Praise the Lord we have a country where we have religious freedom and can worship without fear!!

Last November I took part in an auction for the Quiet Waters Outreach organization. I put up a future cake for auction in hopes of helping them raise some money to support their mission. A wonderful family purchased the cake and asked if I would wait to do the cake until their big 4th of July party they have every year! So, yesterday I had the pleasure of delivering this fun cake I designed to their beautiful party! It was set at their home overlooking Lake Oswego. She had beautiful linens, flower arrangements and food all set for the event! It was stunning. I was very happy to be involved!!
Because of the nature of the event, she didn't want a traditional flag type cake but something more classy and unique. I sent her several designs and we settled on this one because of the water effect it had on the bottom tier (which reminded her of the lake the setting was on) and the colors/style was still 4th of July-ish! :) It was a star studded cake! :) All the dots, swirls and stars were hand painted with silver luster dust. All decorations were marshmallow fondant.

A few tid-bits of info for all you cake makers out there...since I'm willing to share my "lessons learned"! :) The top tier was 5 layers of chocolate cake filled with mocha buttercream and crumb coated in dark chocolate ganache. The bottom tier was 5 layers of vanilla butter cake filled with vanilla buttercream and sliced strawberries then crumb coated in dark chocolate ganache. I've known for a little while that the mixing method you use for your batter can really effect the texture of a cake. In fact, a great friend of mine is going to be doing an upcoming article in the Cake Central magazine comparing several different mixing methods and how they effect the texture of the cake. Well, I mixed my chocolate batter different this time than the recipe calls...partly because I was on auto-pilot and had just made the vanilla cake batter and was in that mixing method mode. Well, the chocolate cake had a really different texture than it usually does...I didn't realize how much it can be effected by the way you combine ingredients (and yes, I'm confident I didn't mis-measure or leave anything out). Usually my chocolate cake is dense and silky in texture. However, this time, the flavor was the same, but it had a really fine crumb and almost a "sandy" type texture...it's hard to explain...but it didn't hold together as nicely...it was more crumbly...if that makes any sense! I was disappointed last night when I had some left overs...it's one of those things though you can't go back on. Fortunately I chatted with the client this morning and she said even her chocolate lovers truly enjoyed the cake and thought everything was delicious!! Whew! I'm sure that mocha buttercream helped out too! :) Now I know though! It will be interesting to see how my friend's article and experimenting comes out and if it confirms the findings I realized last night.

On to the vanilla cake. I was worried about layering fresh strawberries in the cake because I read online everywhere how the juices seeped out and ruined the cake/fondant, etc. So, what I did was washed and sliced the strawberries then laid them on a paper towel for a bit to absorb some of the juices. At that point I placed them in a single layer on top of the buttercream and placed the next cake layer directly on top of the strawberries so the juices could absorb into the cake, and not out the sides. I then crumb coated it in chocolate ganache to seal it in and away from the fondant. It worked beautifully! As far as I know there were no issues with the juices and the cake held together through all the decorating and being in and out of the fridge. So, it can be done...safely! :)

One more silly thing...for those marshmallow fondant makers! I added quite a bit of pure vanilla extract to my fondant this time and so it wasn't a white white color. I was going to use a clear glass pedestal for the cake and wasn't thinking about the white not being a true white. My client called the day after I had made the fondant and brought me over a white pedestal to sit the cake on so it would blend with the white platters she was using for the food. Not thinking about the whites matching, when it was time to "glue" the cake to the pedestal, I just quickly grabbed the stand, and plopped the cake down. By the time I centered it and stepped back (and the chocolate had set) I realized I had a "die-lot" issue with the whites...they didn't match!! The white pedestal made the white fondant look creamy! Next time there will be a white pedestal, use clear vanilla!! :) - note to self! :) So, after going back and forth on what I should do...and my husband and mother in law saying, "Don't mess with the cake!", I chatted with my client and we decided to see if I could move it onto my red pedestal! So, I took the cake from the fridge, slid a knife underneath it and PRAISE THE LORD, it popped right off and I was able to move it onto the red pedestal without any major issues...just a few finger imprints in the back, but nothing big! WHEW! - and it looked SOOOO much better...so, I'm really really glad I didn't settle!!! Who knew cakes could be so stressful! :) :) So, the lesson here...even though something might be crazy to pull off...just do it! :) LOL! - IF it will make the cake better!! - or just use clear vanilla! :)

I guess that's it for now! It was a fun cake to make and got me back into the cake world again! I've got the bug...although less and less time/energy thanks to this little growing baby inside me! :) So, there won't be much coming up except the article that was just published in the Cake Central magazine. I'll be posting a pic of some cupcakes I had made that were fun, unique and very vintage! Probably in the next week or so you'll see those up on the blog.

So, for now, thanks for looking...I hope you all enjoyed your 4th of July celebration!!

Blessings!

Another Cake Central Magazine Publication

2010-05-28T17:25:00.000-07:00

"Then and Now"

That is what the title of the article was. I was sent a picture of a cake from a 1940s wedding and was asked to "modernize it". I could hardly see the details in the cake...it looked like someone threw up on it in buttercream! :) But I could see there was some kind of a pattern in the buttercream. Also, I noticed all the ferns...got to love ferns! So, I decided to use a modern fern idea for the main design and accent it with a smaller, continuous pattern like in the buttercream. Here is what I came up with and what they published...

And here is the lovely picture they sent me for inspiration! :)
Because of the time frame involved and that they only gave me a week to finish the project, I decided to do a "cupcake tower" type wedding cake. So, I designed a smaller cutting cake with the cupcakes that would go on a cupcake tower. I didn't have the time to make all the cupcakes or get the tower, it was the idea that mattered. The black and the silver details were hand painted and the green was fondant cut out in a modern fern design. I ended up using it for my mom's birthday...not very "birthday-ish" but she didn't care! :) It tasted yummy! This was the gluten free cake I had made in a previous post.

That's it for now. There is still one more publication out there. I made some sweet little cupcakes for a vintage shoot for Cake Central...super fun and nothing that you've ever seen before! :) Stay tuned for next months issue! - and of course I'll post pics after the magazine comes out.

Blessings!

Dr. Seuss Hat

2010-05-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Gabby!

A great friend of mine and long time work associate's daughter turned 3 today! I had done her second birthday cake last year (the tea pot cake) and Darin asked me if I'd do her third birthday cake this year. After he told me what the theme was and what they wanted me to make I was so excited...I love Dr. Seuss and thought a Dr. Seuss hat would be so fun to make! Then I got prego and wasn't sure I could do it...but being in my second trimester I have much more energy and feel less inclined to barf! :) So, I stuck with it and am thankful...Dr. Seuss was a good reason to come back to the cake world after a 3+ month break!

This cake had 6 - 6" layers of vanilla butter cake with Butterfinger buttercream and chocolate ganache...my favorite combo these days! I had in mind to air brush the red on so that there wouldn't be any attached stripes to create a relief...I wanted everything to be flat and cartoonish. Well, the airbrush "system" (my preval sprayer) I used last night was horrible and left splatters everywhere...so I ended up having to hand paint it. And therefore the clean, graphic, cartoonish look went out the window. It ended up looking more like a ceramic Dr. Seuss hat than a cake! Especially if you looked closely...it really showed all the imperfections in the fondant. But, there was nothing I could do. I didn't have red fondant to cover it and do the white stripes...so, I just went with it! My husband really liked how it turned out so that helped...he said it just looked "so fun!" So, I guess that's good! And, it was for a good friend who I hope didn't mind either! :)
Lots of lessons learned on this one...but what do you expect...I was a little rusty after being out of the cake world for a while!!
All in all though, it was a fun cake and I was happy to do it! Thanks Darin!! And Happy Birthday sweet girl!

Stay tuned for another post in the next day or two...I have a picture from the next publication of Cake Central. My "Then and Now" contribution to last months magazine! :)

New News...

2010-04-14T19:02:00.000-07:00

I am so sorry I've been slacking in the cake world and blog-o-sphere!! The week I was working on my Latin Lady cake, we found out we are preggers with baby #3! Hence why my back was hurting at the end of that week when I tweaked it...I couldn't take any pain meds, muscle relaxers, etc! Anyhow...we are so excited and blessed to welcome another little one into our family! The only really really weird side effect of this pregnancy though has been that the thought of making a cake or even a batch of fondant makes me feel soooo queezy...almost like I want to throw up! It has been the weirdest thing I could have imagined! I used to spend so much time (literally everyday) reading, practicing, playing with different cake techniques. But the past month or so I haven't read a cake book, a forum, or a cake blog! I needed to finish a project for Cake Central over Spring Break and I literally waited until the very last second to do it because I couldn't muster the energy, stomach or desire to do it. Now, if any of you know me, this is SO weird!! I've actually enjoyed taking the break, but I'm just not sure how long this "break" is going to take!! So, you can check back here once in a while, but for now, I have no plans to do a cake for a while. My son is turning 3 in June, so I'll probably muster up the desire for that and I have a prior commitment for another around 4th of July, so those are the only two I plan on doing for a while. SO sorry about that, but I guess desires change for a reason...hopefully it'll be a fun break for me, but not a long one! :)
Thanks for following me...and being patient! :)

Oh, and I will post the two projects I did for Cake Central in another month when the issue comes out. So, I'll be on and off again for a while. Blessings to everyone!

I've been published!

2010-03-25T16:10:00.000-07:00

Yes, you heard it here if you haven't already seen it in person! Cake Central put out their first magazine issue last month and I was lucky enough to be apart of it!

Back in January I got an email from Jackie, the founder of cakecentral.com. She needed a cupcake with a flower on it. I thought, sure, I can do a cupcake! Then she sent me the inspiration photo and said to do whatever I wanted, but wouldn't tell me anymore about the article they were doing. How did she find me? - you might be asking?! :) Well, I'm a member on the website and have posted some pics from the cakes I've made recently. She had seen my flower pot cake and that is what spurred her on to call me for this project. She also said she knew I could take decent pics of my cakes and had a graphic/modern style to my designs which was what they needed. Now I just had to figure out what to do for this project! :)
Here is the inspiration photo:
Hmmm, okay, something funky and based on fashion I thought. I had a hard time coming up with only one flower! :) So, I did 5! Here is what I came up with and here is the picture they printed that covered TWO pages! :)
I used the colors from the dress for each flower. I used yellow icing because I wanted something different, urban, funky looking to set the colored flowers up against. This is my new flower design that I've been loving and did it for the first time here - for the magazine. Since these pics were taken, I've since used it on the "Sea monster cake"! :)
I would have posted these pics sooner, but she asked me to wait about a month after the issue was shipped out before posting. SO, here it is...finally! :)

Stay tuned for more. Since I sent her these pics, the President of Cake Central, Leanne, has asked me to help them on a few more projects. In fact, I will be in the next three issues coming up!! There will be one more inspiration project, an upcoming trend as well as my Latin Dress Cake I made. Again, I'll have to wait a couple months to post the pics of these projects, but it's pretty exciting!

Blessings!

My Latin Lady

2010-03-07T08:58:00.001-08:00

Here she is...my Latin Lady!

I made this cake for my husband's school auction last night! The theme of the night was "Bailamos" (which is Spanish for "Let's dance!") It sold for just under $600 and fed a CROWD! It was huge...the size of my five year old daughter!! This is my biggest and toughest cake to date! I have never attempted anything like this and had no "how to" instructions, so it was a learn-on-the-fly cake! :) But, I'm happy it turned out so well, given these last few days! I'll explain at the bottom...life events always fall in weird times...when it rains it pours! But, onto the cake....

She was 15 layers of vanilla butter cake with alternating filling layers of oreo buttercream and chocolate ganache. The top torso (from the mid-boobie up) was molded rice crispy treats. I had to use 3 boxes of cereal and 3 bags of marshmallows for that 7" tall section! I'm sorry I have no progress pics (I'm kicking myself) but I had some serious back issues and just wanted to get the cake done...so, no pics. We added a whole bunch of gold disco dust to the black fondant for the bodice, so it had some glimmer to it! :) The flower was a random invention that I came up with because I wanted something funky and ruffly to go with the dress.

The board was fondant pressed with a wood grain impression mat, then scored to make the planks, then painted to look like wood.
Here are two of the sweet ladies from the table that bought the cake. It also shows how big it was...Thank you STM!!!

I'm sure I spent close to 40 hours overall working on this cake. There was so much design work done trying to figure out what type of mechanism to use, how to carve it, stack it, etc. So, needless to say, I'm glad it's over! :) Now I can get back to my family!! :) I'm glad the cake did so well at the auction and blessed Ben's school...they have been so good to us and I wanted to give back to them...so, I'm thrilled I had that opportunity!

So, onto the back story! I have to give huge props and a HUGE hug to my friend Summer Stone who saved the day! - Literally!!! I hurt my back really bad Friday afternoon. I've struggled with back issues since college and had herniated disc surgery about 12 years ago. Well, I think I herniated another disc Friday about 2pm moving the cake around. I was in so much pain I could hardly move. My husband had to come home early from work and I was crying like a baby because of the stress, the pain, and the chance that I was going let people down! I couldn't work on the cake at all the rest of the day. I had the board done, the shoes done, the flower done, the cake carved and crumb coated, but she had no clothes on! - All the final details were missing. So, I put a call out to my sweet sweet friend who's been dabbling in cakes with me and she came over at 9am Saturday morning. Her husband came too to help us roll out fondant and do what he could. I can't tell you how much that meant to me...It was amazing! Summer stayed until we finished the cake at 3:30pm! I had to rest a lot so wasn't much help, but grinded through the last few hours and we got her done. Then, the other challenge began...
My neighbors came over to help Ben move the cake into the van...we needed to get the cake downtown by 4pm! It didn't fit!!!!!!! It was 3" too tall!!!! I didn't even consider that...not for one second!! And we were left standing there dumbfounded! Then, my daughter said, "What about Summer's van?" Summer has a lowered van for her wheel chair and the cake fit in there perfectly...but then, she had to drive it downtown with my husband...nope...she couldn't go home yet! So, she drove it downtown and gave up her entire day for me and for this cake!! Summer, you are an angel and I pray the Lord blesses you a thousand fold for what you did for me and the school!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Now, back to the couch...I'm so sore today and need to rest! Thanks for reading! And, if you think of Summer, say a prayer of blessing on her! :)

A Princess Dress Form Cake

2010-02-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to my amazing daughter!! She turned 5 yesterday...I can hardly believe it! She wanted a princess dress cake, so that's what she got! I wanted something a little different than the traditional barbie doll princess cakes, so I went for a 18th century inspired dress form cake...on a pedestal! :)

There was more detail I wanted to include, but literally ran out of time! I found myself finishing to this point and jumping in the shower with 40 min. until guests arrived for the party! :) I had intended to trim some of the borders (where the ruffles met the pink parts) with gold, but all in all, was very pleased with how the cake came out! Thanks to my mother-in-laws help...otherwise, it would be without even more detail! My "manana" as I call her helped me with some of the ruffles and then did all the flowers on the swags. LOVE YOU NANA!

Here are a few details. The cake was vanilla butter cake with Butterfinger buttercream filling and crumb coated in chocolate ganache. I ended up using a pound of ganache on the 9" round cake because I made my cardboard base too big and had to ganache to the edge! Silly me...I won't do that next time...will make it only 1/8" or so larger than the cake...not 1/4"! The torso part was hand molded from modeling chocolate.
Here are the cakes crumb coated with ganache before I covered them in fondant.

I used some "hardware" this time too since I wanted the dress to appear on a stand, floating above the cake. So, here's what the inside structure looked like.

And, the best pic of all...me and my little princess!! Oh I love her so much and praise the Lord everyday that I get to be her mom! I love you Raquelle!

Sea monster make over

2010-02-20T07:35:00.001-08:00

Is the sea monster gone? :)

Remember my last post of the sea monster?? I changed up the scallops by making them one ribbon like piece and then aligned them together instead of off-setting them. Plus I made the ribbon black instead of white...for some contrast. I think this works better! :) Although it gives me more ideas for other cakes! :)
Thanks for looking! :)

One-eyed sea monster?

2010-02-18T20:03:00.000-08:00

When a design goes wrong...this is what it looks like! :) According to my dad, "a one-eyed sea monster!"

My mom and dad were visiting today and I had that naked cake sitting in the fridge. So, during nap time I got it out and my mom and I sat together and played "cake girls"! It was so fun. This is the design I had drawn up and we thought it was so cute. Then my dad came over and said, "It looks like a one-eyed sea monster!" and I was like, "OH! - he's right!" :) LOL!! We all got a good laugh out of it. I guess I know what technique to use if I ever need scales! I was trying to get this subtle ruffle/scalloped look but should have used the ball-tool to flatten/ruffle the edges of all the circles to make it more ruffly, lighter and more fabric-like!
Then later my mom said, "It looks like a 40s flapper dress!" So, I don't know what you see, but it obviously looks different for everyone! :) I think tomorrow I'll try making the white band black to break it up a bit and hopefully take the "one-eyed sea monster" out of the equation!
This is one of the flowers I've been working on. I love it's simplicity and hope to use it in the future for other cakes. I haven't seen it used on cakes really...maybe a subtle version. I actually got the idea from it off all the talented etsy website with these amazing crafters who make such cool fabric flowers.

I might post the cake again tomorrow if I have time to play with it anymore. So, that way you can all tell me if I salvaged it into something a bit more vintage...and less like a sea monster! :)

A few fun things

2010-02-17T19:54:00.001-08:00

I have been neglecting the blog lately...sorry friends! :) I've actually had a few secret projects I've been working on for a new magazine coming out and I can't publish any of my work until a month after the issue is on the shelves! :) I've been doing stuff...I just can't show you yet! :)

Cake Central is a huge website with a couple hundred thousand members. They include a vast variety of cake professionals and hobbyists who post pics, write in forums, read articles, etc. I have so enjoyed having this resource and have learned so much for some of the people on that website! Anyhoo, Jackie (the founder of Cake Central) asked me a month ago to help her with a little inspiration project that involved cupcakes. Then this past month the President, Leanne, emailed and asked me to help with a wedding cake project. So, I've had SUCH a fun time being creative!! Although each project had a due date of only a WEEK, I was still able to pull them off. And, hopefully the readers will enjoy them! :) Stay tuned for pics in the middle of March for the cupcakes and the middle of April for the wedding cake project...
or better yet, buy the magazine! :)

It was my mom's b-day last weekend and she has a special diet that includes no flour and VERY little dairy. This past wedding cake project for CC was due at the same time, so I combined the two and made her a wedding cake/b-day cake! :) She didn't mind...she loved it anyway! - and the design could have gone b-day too I guess. :) I made the Orange-Almond cake from the new Planet Cake book put out by the famous Planet Cake in Australia. It's a dairy/flour free cake made with ground almonds and whole oranges. It was very good and nice and moist! I made it with chocolate ganache. My mom was ecstatic and took the rest to church on Sunday. Here is an inside pic of the back so you can't see the design...I took off the decorations too...so, it won't give away anything! :)
Yes, I need to work on my torting skills! :) Not all the layers were even...but it still tasted goooood! :)

Today I've been working on another cake design - for fun! :) I have so many ideas and drawings in my sketch book and have a few projects coming up that involves frills and fringe and ruffles, so I'm going to practise on this cake tomorrow. But I had to post a naked picture of this cake I covered in fondant today...it's my BEST fondant job ever and I'm so excited! :) :) Fun techniques and lots of practise...I feel like I'm getting better every time. Especially for a taller cake. This is a brownie cake with buttercream filling, ganache filling and a buttercream crumb coat. This is 6" round and 6" tall.
It was smooooth!! I used the upside down frosting technique and then covered the outside in fondant after it had refridgerated over night.

I guess that's it! I have my little girl's 5th b-day coming up in a week and a half (I'm doing a generic princess dress form cake) and then my husband's auction cake (a 2' tall Latin dress form cake) in two and a half weeks...so, lots coming up!! Stay tuned!

Blessings!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2010-01-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

This was a super fun, last minute cake!! One of my sweet sweet friends wanted to make a cake for her daughter's birthday party tonight and she was struggling what to make her! Her daughter wanted a basketball! :) I've actually been wanting to make one of those, as well as try a few other techniques I've been thinking about, so I told her I could make one for her! I had all the cake, fondant and frosting ready to go because I was working on a "secret project" this past week and could "throw" a cake together for her!! :) So, last minute, today, I did!
Of course whenever there are NEW things and especially when you are on a TIGHT time frame, some go good and some go bad!! The good first...I wanted to use my pasta maker's fettuccine setting to make thin stripes that I stick together to create a band of colors. Since Rachel is NOT a girlie girl, I had to do something to tie in a basketball being on a girl's cake...so, I used some bright fun colors of modeling chocolate I had left over. I ran it threw my pasta maker, then again through the fettuccine setting and whallllah! - perfect noodles! :) - and stripes!! I loved how it turned out!
The second thing was the basketball! Funny story here...I was going to buy a jumbo sized gobstopper at the store to wrap fondant around to make a small basketball, and my 4 year old daughter says, "Mom, why don't you just make a ball from orange modeling chocolate?" LOL!! I was thinking, wow, she's really been listening and HEY that's a great idea!! :) So, that's what the basketball is made of...then I took a small piping tip and pressed little circles all over it! Then clay gunned a tiny black rope and pressed it into lines I indented on it...worked great!
The third thing I tried literally 1 minute before my friend's brother in law stopped by to pick up the cake, and that was a vodka/corn syrup lacquer. It's supposed to dry to a semi-gloss/satin finish, but I wouldn't know! :) Right now it just looks like tar in the picture!! By the way, the cake is black because that is one of her favorite colors and that's the only fondant I had left in the house that was fresh!! :) Now that being said, I'm beginning to hate Satin Ice Fondant!! Whenever I use it I get cracking up at the top corner of the cakes and tearing!!! URGH! It happened again and I kneaded it for extra long this time...I don't know what it is, but I see it on all the cake shows too...cracking and tearing! So, I think from now on, I'm sticking with MMF because I never get that!! I'll just have to start making big batches of black and red so it's on hand. I am tooo picky I guess...I just didn't like how the fondant looked on this cake!!
The other thing that was new was the "basketball popping out of the cake thing" - but to me it looked like a ball squishing/sitting on a spider!!!!! LOL!! There is definitely a trick to getting that to work out and I learned a ton...will do differently next time! I waited to long to cut the fondant and peel it back, and I wanted to do a different color on the back side so it was two-toned, giving it some contrast, but there just wasn't time. Also, I would cut the bottom off the ball a bit more so it wasn't sticking out so much. Oh well...it's not a spider! :)
All in all it was fun! I'm super excited about my stripes and can't wait to do it again!!! Thanks for looking!!

Tall Cupcakes

2010-01-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

I saw some adorable cupcakes on this website (Sugarbloom Cupcakes) and now if you go to flickr and type in "tall cupcakes" there are several people making these. I tried making one to see how long it would take, and even though they take some time I think there are SO many options!! It's funny because the smaller the cake, the harder it is to do - weird I know...but in cakes, opposite world applies! :)

Anyhoo...you can just decorate them plain with fondant/modeling chocolate, or you can wrap them with some fun papers and ribbon to coordinate with a wedding or shower - they could be the party favors or individual cakes served at a reception. They feed about two people because you use three cupcakes, so they are decent sized. I might have to go to the store and look up some fun ideas for wrapping!! For small mini cakes like this, the wrapping/decoration would be key! I think putting them in little clear bags tied up with a ribbon would be sooo sweet!! It gets me thinking!! I have SO little papers/ribbons around here, so I just used what I had...but I just love the size and shape! The possiblities are endless!!

One year ago...

2009-12-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

I made this cake! :)

LOL!! I look at it and seriously laugh! :)

I took this pic towards the end of November last year - and I was so proud of my first attempt with fondant. This was my very first attempt at baking a cake, stacking it, filling it and covering it with my very own home made marshmallow fondant! Okay, let's back up...I didn't really bake it...it was a box mix and I used store bought frosting! :) BOTH of which I've learned are no no's when covering a cake with fondant!!
Since then I've obviously learned A LOT!! So, I had to post this picture so that all of you who either have tried fondant or want to, there is hope...lots of hope!! :) Just keep practicing and you never know where you might end up!! Afterall, it's only been a year for me...although I still feel like I'm a babe at this!! This world of cake decorating is HUGE and so very vast!! I can't wait to see what the next year will bring!

Candy Cane Cake

2009-12-05T13:16:00.001-08:00

Happy December! And, Happy Holidays!!

I had the pleasure of creating a cake for a friend of mine at church who is teaching a bible study to the college girls through Proverbs 31. This Saturday the teaching is based on Proverbs 31:16-19... how woman can bless their families with the talents and skills God has given them...talents they can use at home and therefore stay true to Titus 2:4-5. So, she asked if I'd contribute a cake for their study today to show the girls how cake making could be one of those fun options for them - and of course I was HAPPY to help out!! So, here's what I came up with on short notice...a candy cane hat box cake. The inside is filled with 5 layers of red velvet cake and 4 layers of white chocolate cream cheese frosting. All the red decorations are modeling chocolate mixed with some fondant...my favorite material for decorating!!

A few new things for me...some which didn't work out so well, so a few things to learn from. The first was the bow...this bow (as seen on the cake below) was my afterthought - after the original bow didn't work out so well! :) I wanted to do those loopy bows (see second pic below) with the ribbons coming up from the sides of the box, but I'd never done one before. The directions I read said to use melted chocolate to attach the pre-dried loops together. I didn't realize how little chocolate you needed and used too much! :( So, it was too messy looking for me to use on the cake...although, it would have looked cuter to have used it, instead of the big floppy bow I made last night! :)

The second new thing was the glossy finish I tried to achieve! :) I got this Preval Sprayer and filled it up with Vodka (don't worry, the alcohol evaporates!). I then sprayed the cake down thinly to help absorb any left over cornstarch and to give it a shimmer. Although, I sprayed too much and it just got the cake a bit gummy in spots because it made the sugars in the fondant wet. So, I'll have to play with that on another fake cake to work out the issues there. Oh, and modeling chocolate doesn't work with vodka...it just beads up and doesn't absorb. So, all the red modeling chocolate accents just got speckled!! Oh well, live and learn. It's a great effect if I can figure out the little sprayer. Perfect for those patten leather looks.

And the last thing is this silly red velvet cake! URGH, I think it's cuz I'm not super familiar with red velvet cake in general. But I think I found "the recipe", but have tweaked it quite a bit to make it more flavorful and moist. However, the last time I made it, I used TOO much oil and not enough vinegar, so it was really gummy tasting. So, this time I cut down the oil by half and added more vinegar...and now I think the perfect formula is right in the middle (more oil, less vinegar). But, hopefully the girls didn't mind me experimenting on them! :) And, hopefully soon, I'll have a red velvet cake added to my offerings of flavors...then on to perfect a carrot cake! :)

Thanks for looking!! And may you keep Christ in Christmas!!
Merry CHRISTmas!

A Successful Experiment

2009-11-18T15:04:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Julie!!

I've been wanting to try to mail a cake for a while now and finally had a good reason to try! My girlfriend in Seattle (about 200 miles away) had a birthday last weekend, so I figured, she'd be my guinea pig!! :) - I knew she wouldn't mind getting a smashed up cake...it's the thought that counts - right! :)

I made the most compact cake I could think of - my flower pot. However, I used some different flowers this time instead of the roses I had used last time. I had some of the flowers (the white ones) formed so they stood up a bit from the cake. Those are the ones that didn't do so well. But otherwise, the cake made it almost completly in tact!!!!!! I was so excited to hear that!!! So, here are some before and after pics. Sorry, I got so excited and glued the cake into the container before I had taken pics of it on its own! :)

You can see there are a few white petals missing
The flower pot was vanilla cake with chocolate ganache filling (nice and stable for the USPS) and then I used chocolate modeling clay for the exterior of the pot to hold the cake together. I then glued the cake to the fondant covered board with some chocolate and whalllah - a shippable cake! I put the cake into a clear container I had graham cracker cookies in, slapped an address label on top and took it to the post office. Yes, you can mail things in clear containers! I figured that was the only hope of the cake making it...if they could see it WAS fragile and WAS a cake!! :) And it worked beautifully!! It was funny because when I put it up on the counter to mail, the guy picked it up, turned it over on it's side, then right side up again (even though I had stickers all over it say "Don't tip!"), then looked at me and said, "I don't think this is gonna make it!" HA - he didn't have faith in his own company! :) Although stressful, I might try doing it again. Next time I might make the flowers a bit more compact like the blue ones so nothing is sticking out.
All in all a fun experiement!!! Thanks for looking!

Happy Birthday Emily!

2009-11-07T15:41:00.000-08:00

I had the privilege of hang'n with five wonderful girls this morning! Emily is turning 16 in just a few days and wanted to decorate cakes for her birthday! So, I brought over 6 purse cakes (that I had already crumb coated), all my decorating supplies, fondant, rollers, cutters, etc, and we went to town decorating some really cute purses! This was the first time I have ever done anything like this - especially since I still feel like I'm "new" at this myself and am still in learning mode!! It was really fun teaching them a few things I've learned along the way. And, I just loved how every one of the girls came up with a totally different design! It was so fun to see them get creative!! Happy Birthday Emily! Thanks for letting me come over and trash your mom's house this morning!! Enjoy those cakes!

Above: Here is the birthday girl Emily (on the right) with Casey

From left to right: Sara, Natalie and Kami

A collection and a surprise

2009-11-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

This morning I had in mind to finish my little wedding cookies and get them up on the blog. What I wasn't expecting was a WONDERFUL surprise to enhance my little collection! :) My amazing and incredibly thoughtful sister-in-law showed up on my door step this morning to surprise me in all my glory (pj's on, glasses on, no make up, etc etc etc) with a beautiful cake stand!!! RED RED RED!!! Ooooh lala! I LOVE cake stands, and I particularly love my sister in law's style - she has an incredible eye for detail, color, graphics, etc! I swear I'm going to convert her to a cake designer someday!! :) hehe - or at least an event planner!! So, Kim, I changed my colors a bit just for you so that I could show the world my new cake stand!! Thank you thank you thank you for your thoughtfulness...I LOVE it! :)

Here's a close up of one of my favorites. This funky flower is inspired by my amazing friend Mindy who has been making these adorable and funky head bands for little girls. I love "nameless" flowers! :) So, here's to you Mindy! :)
I tried to "even up" the sides of the cookies (so they were straight on the sides and not spread like the first attempt) by trimming the flared edges a bit. It made for more crumbs and a few broken pieces, so I think next time I bake them I'll re-cut them right from the oven while they're still warm...that might give me nice edges?! We'll see - another day, another experiment! :)

Wedding "cake" cookies

2009-11-02T13:48:00.001-08:00

I've seen these little guys before, but never really decorated. So, I decide to try making them myself. Two new things for me...making sugar cookies and making buttercream fondant. There is a trick to getting nicely shaped sugar cookies, so I'll have to work on that...you can see there is some spreading on that second layer. I wonder if I used a belt sander to sand those edges down?! :) LOL! Not really...I wouldn't do that...I'll save that for Duff on Ace of Cakes! :) The first trick is probably keeping your eye on the oven...I got a bit distracted vacuuming and whoops...a little brown on the bottom. But, for practise sake I thought they turned out cute. I used some fondant I had left over from Jordan's cake and Ben's baseball hat, so the colors are fun and lively! :) I have three more little "cakes" to stack and decorate, so stay tuned for more. I have a few more ideas on how to decorate them...we'll see if those ideas come to reality! :) I'm taking this one to the lady that cuts my hair as a little treat! She's prego so I'm sure she'll love it!
Thanks for looking!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

2009-10-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

oohhhh yes...and they are GOOD!

I served these little cupcakes during a Halloween party and everyone ended up wanting the recipe! :) So I figured I'd share since I copied it from Martha! :) I found the recipe on marthastewart.com and added the chocolate chips at the end right before I put the batter into muffin cups. Chocolate chips are great with anything...even pumpkin spice cake! I used 3/4 of a bag of the Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Chips, but you could use anything! I topped each cupcake with a swirl of cream cheese Italian meringue buttercream. I made 4 cups of Italian Meringue Buttercream and added 4 oz of softened cream cheese at the end.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Quantity: I made 12 cupcakes and a 9" cake pan with the batter - so it would easily make 24 cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
*Stir in 3/4 bag of chocolate chips right before baking

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in pumpkin puree.
Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about halfway. Bake until tops spring back when touched, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pans once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.

Happy Birthday to my AMAZING husband!

2009-10-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

I have THE best husband in the world!!! I am SO blessed that God allowed me to marry this man - he is the man of my dreams!!! He is the best daddy, the most loving and patient man I know!! I love you and wish you the best birthday honey!!

He told me NOT to make a cake - since I just got done making Jordan's, but I couldn't resist because I've been wanting to make a baseball hat for FOREVER! So, I copied his most beloved Beaver's hat (Oregon State University)!! It's made with his favorite vanilla cake and a new favorite - butterfinger buttercream! OOHH yummmy! I just gave him a bite and he said, "WOW, that tastes just like the candy bar!!" - his favorite. I carved it from 5 - 9" layers of cake and then made a little foam riser to raise the front of it up off the plate like a real hat would sit. It was perfect and I really really liked how it came out...especially for my first one! Thanks for looking!

Jordan's 1st Birthday Cake

2009-10-24T16:06:00.000-07:00

And here it is...

What a fun cake! I really liked how it turned out! - it's a slight variation from my original sketch, but I think it's better - so that's okay! :) My sister loved it too, and that was what mattered most!!
A few new things for me...First time putting on horizontal stripes and first time doing an argyle pattern. BOTH much harder than they seem!! :) Getting horizontal stripes straight is tough! And this was only the second time I've EVER piped on a cake! WHEW - I need to practise! That is one skill that is practise practise practise!! I think I need to practice making royal icing too. Since I don't make it very often, I'm still unfamiliar with the consistency being KEY when doing piping. This stuff was too stiff, but worked! Next time I'll be able to get that better, I think...

Here's a close up - but don't look too close! :) Unfortunately the pics are a bit blurry since I was shaking from not eating breakfast and trying to hurry!!! :( You might notice in the top pic that the "1" is crooked!!!! These top two pics were taken at home as my kids and husband were waiting in the van - engine running! So I slapped the "1" on top, snapped some pics and took off! On the way down to Salem, I realized the crookedness of my "1" and fixed it...so here you go to prove I did fix it before the party started!! :)

I had to show you! :) Small details are as important as big ones!!

I made two flavors. The top cake was vanilla with black raspberry buttercream and the bottom was chocolate with vanilla buttercream. My buttercream of choice is Italian Meringue Buttercream, so that's what both of these cakes were filled with. OHHH they were so tasty! Just zoom in to see that yuuuummmy thick layer of buttercream under the fondant!! Buttercream is just the best part of a cake (in my humble opinion), so I'm loading it in there!!

All in all a fun cake, new techniques learned!! Thanks for looking!

My sweet find!

2009-10-21T14:07:00.001-07:00

I have a new addiction! - cake stands! As I look around for inspiration and ideas for cakes, I've come across various cake stands and ways of presenting cakes. There is the typical fondant covered boards (yes, the ones I use), plexi-glass (which I actually like because the cake looks like it's floating), funky stands to simple ones, foil covered boards (yuck-to me it cheapens the cake) and elaborate silver plated stands. I am in love with clean, classy, vintage, urban, feminine design! I'm seeing those styles everywhere - especially in fashion...and now in cakes. I was out shopping for a plain white stand for my next cake and found these treasures! You may not like them, but oohhhh, mama likey! I have several sketches for simple, feminine, vintage inspired cakes that will go beautifully on these little stands!!! One of the stands is 10" (perfect for an 8" and 6" tier) and one is 7" (perfect for a 6" cake - or cupcakes!) . So, stay tuned...hopefully in the next couple months - especially Christmas time when Ben will be home - I'll have time to get my sketches from my head and onto cake!!! :)

Don't even ask where I got these...I'm not telling! :) Don't be mad at me - I've got to keep some things a secret...especially because I'm trying to find more! :) hehe

An upcoming birthday cake

2009-10-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a picture of an upcoming cake...I might make this a tradition since I always design and sketch out my cakes before I make them. There is tons of pre-planning involved before I even turn my oven on! :) So, this will give you blog stalkers something to look forward to seeing in a week or so...the actual cake!

I came up with this design for my nephew's first birthday. He is turning ONE - which is crazy!! Time flies! They wanted a "non-theme" and so I went with his bedroom colors since those are their favorite colors...baby blue, white and red. My brother in law is an avid golfer, and they dress Jordan in the argyle patterns often, so I figured let's use that for inspiration! The bottom tier will be a 9" round with the blue/red argyle pattern on it. Jordan has horizontal stripes in his room...so, the top tier will be a 6" round with two horizontal stripes. I'm making a big cupcake for the top, with lots of frosting on it, so Jordan has something to smash into his little face!! Should be so fun!! The cake is due next Saturday, the 24th, so stay tuned for actual pictures. The only thing subject to change from the sketch is the way I place his name...I might do his name on dots on wire, or mini cookies spelled out on the top of the cake, so we'll see.
See you in a week or so! :)

Yes, I don't know how to spell raspberry! :) Well, actually I do...I just didn't in the sketch - for all you spell checkers out there! :)

A few inspirations...

2009-10-11T17:35:00.000-07:00

I stumbled upon these websites through some other links and fell in love!

This first lady is so incredibly talented and I love her style...very modern, chic, fashion sensative, innovative...just amazing!

www.idreamofcake.com/

I do dream of cake...so, this is such a fitting website name!! And I love how she obviously cares about every detail...down to her amazing website and all the poems and quotes on it! LOVE it!

This next lady I found through a food network challenge. I LOVE her style because it's so clean, graphic, minimalistic and fun!! Her style is right up my alley too!!

http://www.studiocake.com/

Very cool inspirations!! - it puts my work in perspective...I have a LOT to practise! :) Perhaps within the next 5 years I'll be working on this level of design and detail with clients!! I'm ready...if you're out there, I'd love the challenge! :) - it's the best way to learn!! :)

Amy Butler Inspired Knitting Bag Cake

2009-09-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law called and asked me to do another knitting bag cake for her sister who just retired after working for the railroad for 40 years and is sooo excited to go into all things knitting!!! Inspired by all things Amy Butler, I came up with this design for a more realistic knitting bag cake for her. I loved the last one I did, but wanted the challenge of the wrinkles, buldges and ripples that a real purse has in it. I also wanted to add a little bling to it! :) Aunt Leanne does beautiful work, and always adds a touch of "bling" to her pieces, so I thought a little bling was appropriate here!! Happy Retirement Aunt Leanne - enjoy your next 40 years of living life to the fullest!!!

If you're still reading and interested in the construction of the cake, here you go:

Unfortunately the handle didn't show up well in the picture...but there is one on top. I'm still getting used to lighting a black background...so the lighting isn't quite right yet. And, if you haven't noticed already, yes, I'm SUCH a dunce and totally forgot the knitting needles!!!! Sorry Auntie...they are here...but they didn't get into the cake before I helped your sister pack the cake up in her car!! :( Good thing she is family or I would have been driving to Canby that night!

Now onto the cake...I hand cut out the Amy Butler flower design from black modeling chocolate. All the black designs/elements on the cake are modeling chocolate. I hand carved the cake shape and all the contours from 5 - 9" layers of chocolate mudcake. It's filled with ganache since I needed a stable surface to carve and since it would be traveling around Portland before it's final destination. It was a little difficult to get the crumb coat really smooth since I carved in so many ripples and contours. So, my fondant didn't go on "as smooth" as I wanted. If anyone has any tips/tricks to get a crumb coat really smooth on a "wrinkly" surface, let me know! :) I applied the fondant in two pieces...one on the front and one on the back. I attached the black piping to the fondant before I put it on the cake. That was a learning experience...The front looks much better than the back as the fondant ended up folding over a bit in the back and left me with elephant skin folds. Ben said he thought it looked like the leather lines on a leather purse...that was sweet of him...but not my intention to do! :) I guess I'll know how to achieve that effect - when I want too! :)
One more lesson learned...I actually didn't dowel/support the cake. The cake layers were pretty thin and the cake ended up being about 5" tall (not including the fondant edge). So, I didn't separate out two or three layers and dowel those because it felt pretty secure with four layers of ganache. HOWEVER, what I had forgotten was that I would be putting 8 small balls of yarn (cake balls) on top of the cake and that weight would question the integrity of the cake. So, I got it in the fridge before too much sagging occurred!! But, next time, I'll have to remember to think of all the components that will be on the cake and what the weight of those components will do to the cake. Note to self and all those cake makers out there!! :)
All in all it was a great cake and I'm happy with the END result! Despite the knitting needle whoops, this is one of my favs to date!! Thanks for looking!

3 Year Old Garden Party Cake

2009-09-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

I was delighted to make this sweet garden birthday cake for a little 3 year old girl from Corvallis! Her mom is a friend of mine from college and I remember 3 years ago visiting her at the hospital when Bekah was born very prematurely. She and her mommy had lots of complications and we almost lost them, so it has been amazing to see the Lord's hand in her little life from the very very beginning!! I feel honored to be apart of her special birthday to celebrate these past three years of her miraculous little life...and that her mommy drove from Corvallis to pick up the cake! Thank you Jodi!! I hope Bekah LOVES her garden cake!!

I used the invitations for inspiration for the design of the cake, but then altered it quite a bit to include a bird house, a watering can, the bugs and the "Bekah's Garden" sign. I used a new chocolate cake recipe I found (that is delicious!) and filled it with vanilla ganache since it was traveling down to Corvallis. I had made a whole bunch of butterflies to "fly" in the air on curly wire, but their wings were heavier than their little bodies and they kept flipping over and flying upside down!!! URGH! I tried a few things to get them to stay, but nothing worked! - and when I went to the store to get cloth covered wire they didn't have white...so, the butterflies got stuck to the cake! :) - no flying for you silly butterflies!

The birdhouse was my favorite part of the cake! I used rice cereal treats, stacked them up and covered them in fondant mixed with gumtex to create a gumpaste type material. I then cut each section out, scored it like wood, and then layed it on the rice cereal house. The roof is modeling chocolate, as well as the birds and all the orange decorations! I LOVE modeling chocolate, but next time I make butterflies, it will be in gumpaste! :)

All in all a very sweet cake and lots of fun techniques to practise!!
Happy Birthday sweet Bekah!

A mini dogwood cake

2009-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my sweet friend Sara!!! - tomorrow! :)

I couldn't wait to share the cake I made for her because I already took it to her tonight!! :) I just love Sara...again, another amazing woman in my life! She has such strength, such sweetness, such a heart for her family, so much love for the Lord, and is always so generous and thoughtful to her friends!! - and very deserving of a yummmmy treat for her b-day!! We love you Sara!

I made her this sweet dogwood flower cake. Wow, it's hard to make small cakes! I don't know why, but maybe it's that there isn't much to them so trying to frost the sides of a little 2" - 3 tiered cake makes it interesting! :) HA! But fun...as always! This little cake had a bottom tier of about 3.5" and a top tier of about 2". I served it on a tea cup plate! :) It was either make a cake or stain my fence...so, the cake won out! - wheww - thank you Sara for having a birthday! :) It was brownie cake with marshmallow buttercream filling inside. The flower, leaves and want-to-be limbs :) are made of modeling chocolate. I have hot hands, so I wouldn't make a flower of that stuff again, but it just taste sooo much better than gumpaste that I've been trying to use it in place of that stuff - when possible.
Anyhoo...I like my first attempt at a dogwood flower. I look forward to doing it again with gumpaste!! Thanks for looking!!