Little Girl's Birthday Request!

Tip 104 was used to make the ruffle design using buttercream. The words, the flowers and the butterflies were made out of fondant. The birthday girl asked for a disney princess themed cake so I included candles to match the theme. I hope that she enjoyed her cake!

Thanks for visiting today! Don't forget to share pics of your edible 'kreations'. Till next time, "Happy Baking!"

2014 Cake4Kids Cake-Off

Call me crazy, but I decided to enter the Cake4Kids 2014 Cake-Off. I seriously doubted my decision in the weeks that followed my registration but I'm glad that I went ahead with the contest; I'm particularly happy that I was able to participate in an event that raised funds to assist the less fortunate.

I came up with several designs, even soliciting ideas from my friends.  As I thought about the design some more, I figured why not have a theme; all about fashion. There was much talk about the NY fashion week and the favorite colors this year were black, white and a splash of red. I used this as inspiration. The design evolved to include a fondant shoe that complemented the theme.

The final design included a 10" round base with a 6" square top tier. The base tier had a diamond quilt design with silver-sprayed pearls. The top tier was embossed with the sugarveil rose mantilla mat. A carved purse made out of 6 inch round cakes served as the serving cake for the judges.

Same Cake with Different Looks 

Purse - Black and White Design with pearl handle 

Clutch - Black and White Design with a splash of red

I had to serve the cake at the event, so it was important to learn how to cut the cake to serve the number of intended guests. Each contestant was asked to have enough cake to serve approximately 50 persons. The Cake Sketcher app came in very handy in deciding the size of the cake that would serve that number of persons. With the help of the tutorial listed below, I am now confident that I will no longer shy away from cutting cakes.

Making of the Shoe

I was very intimidated by the shoe, but I decided to just 'go for it'. I am so happy that I did. I could see areas that I can work on next time but overall I am satisfied with the final product. The biggest challenge was getting the right 'former' or 'drying ramp' for the shoe, as that would determine how realistic the final product would look. I came across many formers/drying ramps and cutters online but I wanted to use items that I already had at home. Eventually, my hubby made a ramp for me using left over fondant. If you ask me, I'd say that it didn't work out too bad!

Helpful tutorials:
Shoe Template and tutorial
Cut cakes BELOW 9 inches round
Cut cakes ABOVE 9 inches round
Cut square cakes

Thanks for visiting today! Don't forget to share pics of your edible 'kreations'. Till next time, "Happy Baking!" 

I look forward to reading your comments!

There's fun in Volunteering and I'm Loving it! - Complimentary Classes by Cake4Kids

I know that I've mentioned Cake4Kids several times, but I just wanted to reiterate how exciting it is to work with this organization. The team is very organized and makes it wonderful to work with the organization.

Not only do I love making cakes for foster kids but I also get an opportunity to meet with cake decorators, in the area, who are also volunteers. Cake4Kids organizes several events that bring volunteers together including socials and complimentary classes. I've attended several of the classes and I have been very impressed by the volunteers who teach the classes; I absolutely love it. Hopefully one day I will volunteer to teach a class; I have a lot more to learn first though! 

So far, I've attended:

• Piping Calligraphy and Basic Floral Decorations by Gosia Hoot 
• The Basics of Fondant by Lisa Rauchwerger
• Fondant Flower Class by Joanne Bui
• Fondant Modeling Class by Joanne Bui

... and there are other exciting classes like 'Cake Baking' which I plan to attend! I'm very excited about all the classes. I've taken the cake decorating classes offered by Michael's Craft Store, so is some overlap sometimes, but it is good to learn new techniques and refresh my skills.

Cupcakes from the Basics of Fondant class

Figurines made during the Fondant Modeling Class; my relaxed panda and my timid bunny!

Did I mention that I signed up for the upcoming CakeOff scheduled for September 13th at the Domain Hotel in Sunnyvale at 6pm. Come support Cake4Kids; check it out!

Birthday Cake for a Dora fan!

This cake was made for a little birthday girl who loves Dora. 

For the face, the white fondant was colored with copper and brown icing colors to get the desired skin tone. The circular shape for the cake was then cut out using a biscuit cutter. The outlines for the eyes were marked using a black edible marker. White, brown and black icing colors were then used to paint in the eyes; the individual icing colors were mixed in with extract to make an edible paint. Vodka can also be used but extract was preferable for this cake. Black fondant was used for the hair. 

Lesson Learned:

The cake was due in the morning and I worked on most of the cake that same morning. Next time I would start working on the 'face' the night before or earlier so that each layer of edible paint can dry before applying the other layers.

Thanks for visiting today! Don't forget to share pics of your edible 'kreations'. Till next time, "Happy Baking!" 

I look forward to reading your comments!

Video Game Themed Cake

I had planned on making a cake like this for my hubby who is an avid gamer. However, when Benette's request came in through Cake4Kids, I was happy to make my first video themed cake for him. 

BellaCakes and Confections uses rice krispies and Kami Cakes uses a carved cake to make their video game controllers; they both have really detailed tutorials. I used rice krispies to make mine, however, I didn't add a second layer of fondant to give the controller a smooth finish since I was out of time. I was hesitant to add this cake on the blog but I reminded myself that making mistakes is part of the learning process. Next time around though I'm sure that I will have a better finished controller.

Lessons Learned:

• I would add a second layer of fondant or roll out thicker fondant next time.
• I would definitely make the triggers, bumpers, d-pad and sticks in advance to allow them to dry before putting the controller together. This link is a great reference when making this controller.

This design was time-consuming but it was a lot of fun. I look forward to making another controller; maybe I'll use a carved cake!

Thanks for visiting today! Don't forget to share pics of your edible 'kreations'. Till next time, "Happy Baking!" 

I look forward to reading your comments!

Handbag Birthday Cake!

Carving a cake is a nerve-racking experience but it can be very rewarding! I knew that this cake would take a lot of time and effort so I wanted to make it for a very special occasion. I hope that the young lady who received this 'handbag' enjoyed it very much!

Baked for Cake4Kids.org.

This cake was inspired by Elissa Stauss' designer handbag cake!

Items used:

Zipper: Pastry Crimper / Real Simple® 3-in-1 Pastry Wheel Trio

Bag Cover: Alligator/Crocodile Design Impression Mat

Wilton Fondant Alphabet Number Cutters

Gum Paste

Fondant

Lessons learned:

• Next time, I'd paint the buckles, zippers, d-rings etc with copper icing color as the gold dust that I used was not dark enough. 

Thanks for visiting today! Don't forget to share pics of your edible 'kreations'. Till next time, "Happy Baking!" 

I look forward to reading your comments!

What did you think of the handbag?

Third Cake for our Garden/Vegetable/Fruit Themed edible arts event!

Angry Birds!

What good is a garden without some birds chirping away and busily flying around! In this garden, the angry birds have taken up residency and they are all ready to eliminate the pigs in the pasture near by. Oh boy, we are going to witness quite a battle! I hope that this birthday boy was happy with his angry birds cake.

I definitely had a lot of fun putting this cake together! I originally used this tutorial but after making a sad looking bird I decided to model the animals by referencing some pictures online.

I had a sad face myself after my first attempt but I continued on and was able to create some birds, a pig and a nest of eggs that I was satisfied with.




The figurines were prepared a day in advance so that it would have ample time to dry. Now, it's time to work on the cake. This cake was for a 6 year old therefore buttercream was used to cover the cake. I prefer the look of fondant but I think that buttercream is more appealing to young kids.

The buttercream was colored green to look like grass. A toothpick or a knife can be used to lift the buttercream off the cake in small strokes to imitate grass. Let's look into the other aspects of the cake:

- the bunker was made out of rice krispies and covered with chocolate fondant which was first embossed using a cobblestone impression mat. Here's a great tutorial to make the bunker.
-  the slingshot was also made with rice krispies and covered with chocolate fondant.

Thanks for visiting today! Don't forget to share pics of your edible 'kreations'. Till next time, "Happy Baking!" 

I look forward to reading your comments!

What did you think of my sad bird?