Ker CHOW!

It's funny how moms talk. Every day I pick up Josie from school and the wonderful moms (and dads) stand around and catch up until our kids are released from the classroom. Last week, the topic of conversation was Cake Mama and I got my official first order for one of Josie's classmates, Max. His mom, Sally, wasn't very picky at all. She told me that Max loved cars, ALL cars, and if I could do something with that, she'd be happy. I noticed that Max had a Cars (the Pixar movie) backpack on and asked if he was a fan. Sally nodded vigorously and I said I'd do a Lightening McQueen cake for Max. "Oh! He'd LOVE that!" she said.

I'm not a person that likes to buy a lot of specialty cake pans, but my Elmo and Buzz Lightyear have certainly gotten their use. So, I invested in this one too. It's not the easiest cake, but I sure like the way it turned out. Chocolate cake with buttercream filling and frosting.

I hope that Max has a WONDERFUL birthday (and Happy Thanksgiving!).

A Disco Night to Remember

My wonderful friend, Erin, was planning a 70's themed birthday party for her mom, Sheila, and requested a Cake Mama Cake for the event. This cake has been on my to-do list for well-over half a year and ideas have been flowing ever since. Erin sent over a picture of a cake for "inspiration" and I used many of the elements in the design, but the true inspiration for the cake were the plates and napkins. I loved the colors and absolutely loved the dancers.

Erin informed me that she picked up a 4" battery-powered disco ball for the top, so I didn't have to worry about that. But here's the cake:

With the exception of the cake board and dowels inside the cake, everything is edible, either made out of fondant or gum paste or a combination of both. The dancers were cut out by hand and [with the help of my wonderful husband] I was able to download a very 70's themed font for Sheila's name. The gum paste was cut out and then covered in silvery sugar for a disco-y effect.

The top tier was a chocolate cake with buttercream filling and the bottom tier was carrot cake with cream cheese filling (Sheila's favorite!).

The two records on the top of the cake say, "Best of the 60's" (Sheila was turning 60) and "Happy Birthday!".

Here's how the cake looked at its final destination:

The disco ball really makes it dazzle!

I hope that Sheila had a WONDERFUL party! I wish her the happiest birthday!!

Three's Company!

My good friend, Jessica, contacted me awhile ago to do the cakes for a BIG birthday party she was planning. It was a combined birthday party for three kids. She really wanted to something special for each one of them and was wondering if I would be willing to make separate cakes for them. Of COURSE! After our brainstorm, she decided that 6-inch cakes and cupcakes should do the trick and more than accomodate the guests at the party. Jessica gave me complete control over design and flavors of the cake and cupcakes. I hope I chose well. :)

The first cake is for a little boy whom I was told absolutely LOVES cars. He loves the movie Cars, but just loves cars in general. His favorite color is yellow.

For his cake, I decided a chocolate cake would be awesome. I filled it with buttercream frosting and some crushed Oreos and also topped the cake with an Oreo road for his Matchbox car, yellow of course! I decorated the cupcakes with street signs and hope that he enjoyed his theme!

The next cake is for a boy who loves Super Heroes! Jessica specifically told me that Captain America and Green Lantern were among his favorites. This one I was really excited to do because my husband's "super power" came in to play. Being such a big fan, he helped me design this one.

The cake is decorated like Captain America's shield and the cupcakes were decorated with the Green Lantern, X-Men, Batman and the Flash's symbols. The cake itself is a red velvet cake with buttercream filling. I thought the red and the white would look cool to cut into for this one.

The last cake is for a girl who loves the color purple and wanted a cake with flowers on it. She totally has my number! I made a marble cake for her and decorated the cake with a basketweave done in buttercream. The purple and blue flowers are made from royal icing.

The bulk of the cupcakes were a cookies and cream recipe. Vanilla batter with TONS of Oreos mixed in. I thought it would be a real kid pleaser!

I hope that the birthday celebration was a fantastic one! It sounded like it was going to be one heck of a party!