Friday, February 27, 2009

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Popular Baby Shower Cakes

I have been doing a ton of baby shower cakes within the last year. These seem to be the most requested.
I used the petal #104 tip to pipe ruffles along side and top of bassinet. I trimmed the cake with the round #3 tip to create a lace effect and finished with a small bead border. I figure piped a little stuff animal, such as teddy bear or bunny, as if it was delicately placed there just for baby. I added a pretty floral spray in assorted colors as well as a fondant blanket which looks so lifelike. It is not visible to the eye, but I used edible white pearls with the carefully piped drop strings. The baby's named could written on the blanket for a personal touch.
For the yellow bassinet cake, sweet bunnies were the theme. We stayed with gender neutral colors because the sex of the baby was not known. Notice the petite carrots piped around the cake. This cake was also made up of carrot cake with cream cheese filling. Clever, huh!
This was the first time I decorated a baby carriage cake. I look back and think to myself I could do it a little different, but it is on the road to perfection. The wheels are made with doughnuts dipped in pink icing. I wanted to keep it entirely edible. The handles are constructed with large wooden dowels and then covered with fondant. I am surprisingly pleased how it came out for my first attempt.

Look for updated versions of these popular baby shower cakes in the near future.



Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Weekend of Cookies

I had a busy weekend baking and decorating cookies. I made mermaid cookies to go with the Ariel Mermaid cake. Cute, huh. I'm still deciding whether or not to put faces on the cookie. I tried but it just didn't look right. It is new cookie cutter and a work in progress. Any opinions?


I also made cross cookies as samples. I think I sell more cross cookies than anything else. They are used mostly as favors for of baptisms and communions. I have made so many I don't even bother taking pictures of my work. An opportunity arose to create samples so I thought it might be an appropriate time to photograph.
I let creative juices flow for these Valentine's Day cookies. I think they look so pretty on a beautiful pink glass plate.

GOT MILK?



Sunday, February 15, 2009

Medieval Castle Cake

OK, I went crazy on this one. I had so much fun making this cake. It was first time I decorated a castle cake.

I alternated each cake tier with a different color grey so you can distinguished each tier. I used the Wilton Romantic Castle Cake Set. The tower and turret pieces are made of white plastic so I covered them by piping bricks in three shades of grey.

The windows and draw bridge entry are made of fondant and flags are cut out of heavy card stock. They are light weight enough to be held up by buttercream icing.


I bought the knight figures at the local craft store. They are the perfect scale size for the castle and when washed with a little hot soapy water, they can be reused and played by the birthday boy. Vincent helped me put the knights on his cake exactly where he wanted them, including a fierce dragon. You can't forget the dragon.




Thursday, February 12, 2009

Let's Go To The Beach!

This simple cake was for bridal shower for a couple who were getting married in Mexico. A small shower with a beach theme.



I made decorated palm tree cookies as favors.



Margaritas Anyone!

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

"Pretty in Pink" Barn

I made this for my niece Ava's 1st birthday. We had to make it pretty in pink for the sweet birthday girl. The party was held at the Cosley Zoo in Wheaton, Illinois. The party room was on the second floor of an actual barn filled with animals which gave inspiration to this themed cake.

Most the work for this cake went into the assorted farm animal butter cookies. These edible decorations made the cake even more tastier. I stayed with soft pastel colors to coordinate with cake. I made plenty because I knew they would be extra popular with all the kids. They grabbed and go.

I used 10 inch square cakes for the barn and rounded the corners to create the roof. I combed the sides of barn to make it look like wood and stacked 6 inch cakes to create a silo.

Keep in mind, you can get creative ideas for a theme just on your party place or where the party is being held.

Monday, February 9, 2009

"Ariel" The Little Mermaid

For this adorable cake I used the good old trusty Wilton "Wonder Mold". The baking pan is meant to look like the bottom of a dress when a doll is place through the center. I made it so it looks like Ariel is sitting on a rock from the famous scene in "The Little Mermaid".

The cake needed to serve about 40 people so I placed it on top a 2 layer, 1/2 sheet cake. I decorated the sheet cake as surrounding ocean, creating waves with my palette knife, piping different shades of seaweed, coral, starfish, and seashells.