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!"

The Big Three!

During my recent trip to my beautiful homeland St. Lucia, I had the opportunity to celebrate with a very bright young man, Avey! I hoped that you enjoyed your cakes.

I've read that it can be hard to work with fondant in the tropics but I really learned this first hand while working on those cakes. I owe a lot to my little brother, Levi, for helping me. He helped bake and decorate the cakes. It was tough manipulating the fondant due to the humidity but we made it work. Thanks Bro!

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!

Little Gentleman's Themed Birthday Cake - Happy 1st Birthday to the Perfect Gentleman

Gentleman themed ombre smash cake!

I had the pleasure of working on a 'gentleman themed cake' for the perfect little gentleman. I thought that the theme embraced everything about the little guy. When his mom contacted me about making this cake, I was beyond excited. I had the joy of making his baby shower cake, his dedication cake and now his first birthday cake. Now that I am writing this, I'm realizing that I am about a year into cake decorating. You see, I started cake decorating not long before our little guy was born. In a previous post, I mentioned that that particular baby shower cake allowed me the opportunity to make the first of many; '... my first tiered cake, my first pillow cake, my first gum paste shoes...'. This birthday cake was no different; this was my first three tiered cake, first fondant bunting, first number topper, first fondant puppy and my first ever smash cake. Now you must surely understand why I just love making cakes for this little guy. Also, it was the first time that I saw one of my cakes so beautifully displayed. This brings me to the beautiful decor.

Favors done by our gentleman's mom!

Our little gentleman's mom did such an amazing job with the decor. I was so elated to see the cake table.  The tablecloth, the flowers etc made the table look so beautiful. The other tables and park space were also beautifully decorated. The colors and all the favors were alluring. Everything matched the theme including the 'bow tie shaped pasta' and the napkins 'tied to the cutlery in the shape of a bow'. The park where the birthday party was held was transformed to 'a gentleman's dreamland' finished with a beautiful photo booth. What a creative mom who has so much love for her son! I am so happy to have been part of our little gentleman's first birthday!

Cake Sketch made before working on the cake

This is the sketch I came up with using the Cake Sketcher web app. The design was based on the pic that I was sent and information garnered from discussions with our birthday boy's mom. The final cake doesn't match the sketch perfectly. I actually use the sketch as a guide but I'm sure that I will get better with time. I do wish that I had remembered to add a small piece of fondant to the top of the hat as illustrated in the picture. Every detail matters in cake decorating; that is what I think anyway.
Hopefully there will be a next time and note to self, 'refer to the sketch while decorating'.

First Birthday Gentleman themed cake

There were some great tutorials that helped me with this project!
Puppy

I thought that it would be nice to bring the family dog along bearing gifts!

Cake (fondant) Bunting
Template for the Number Topper 
Name Template (I messed up the name plate that I had made so I didn't use it but check out the link)
Fondant Roses

*Cake Recipes
Bottom Tier and Smash cake - Elissa Strauss' Vanilla Cake
Two top tiers - Paul Bradford's Chocolate Cake
Home Made Marsh mellow Fondant 
I used about 2/3 and 1/2 respectively, of the required sugar for the cakes.

Lessons Learned: 
I made a rose bud to use as a boutonniere. I inserted the bud with the wire into a flower spike and then inserted it into the cake. I thought that that was a good idea until I noticed that the tip of the spike remained in view and that the flower wouldn't stay in a position to cover up the spike. I should have tried this at home before getting to the location; that way I would have had a chance to fix it but I didn't. Oh well I definitely learned my lesson. Next time I will simply use royal icing or candy melts to attach the flower to the cake.

Improvements made:
In recent posts, one of my lessons learned was that I needed to work on my time. I think that I achieved this with this cake. I made the roses, puppies and other cake ornaments in advance. Also, I got the cake baked, decorated and ready hours ahead of the delivery time. I still have to work on my timing but I am happy to report that I am well on my way!

Side Note: 
I was up decorating this cake when the recent earthquake hit the Bay Area. At that moment, the first thing I tried to protect was the almost finished cake. Oh man, the things you'd do for your 'baby' aka 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!

Chocolate Banana Cake with Kahlua Flavored Chocolate Frosting

I'm always looking for ways to use up the overripe bananas in my kitchen. This chocolate banana cake was moist and delicious. Special dark cocoa was used hence the deep, dark color. For the chocolate frosting, I replaced the milk with Kahlúa liqueur for extra flavor. My icing was on the dry side so I added milk and water as needed (one tablespoon at a time) until it got to the desired consistency. 

Chocolate Banana Cake

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!

Rose Swirl Cake

Eggless Vanilla Cake  with Buttecream

This blog provided useful tips to make the rose swirls. I used the 1M tip but for a smaller cake or for smaller roses, I would use a 2D tip. This was my first attempt but I hope to try this design again.

I used this buttercream recipe. I don't favor this recipe however it was sturdy enough for this design. I am in search of a good recipe that doesn't require  a lot of sugar. Wish me luck and please suggest any that you may have.

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!

'Mario Popped Out' to Wish the Birthday Guy 'A Happy Birthday'!

'Mario' was more than welcomed at Mario's biggest fan's milestone birthday lunch! Belsahland and Star Cakes have great tutorials if you wish to make your own Mario figurine.

An edible image was used to wrap a message around the cake for the birthday guy!

Almost all gone! That's great!

Lessons Learned:

• I need to make the hands porportionate to the head next time.
• The edible paper need to be applied to slightly moist fondant.

 Small Birthday Lunch gathering for this Mario fan! 

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!

It's never enough chocolate!

Just the Simple Chocolate Birthday Cake! Filled and Frosted with Gananche!

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?