Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Andrew's Lego Cake

Andrew was having a LEGO birthday party and requested a Lego cake.  I purchased a Lego mold from Amazon.com so that I could make some colorful Legos for use in decorating Andrew's cake.  I always forget how time-consuming making chocolates can be.  You melt, you pour, you cool, you remove and you do it all over again.  I'm happy that I was able to make as many as I did.  I think the chocolate Legos made ma great border around Andrew's cake.





The pictures are a little deceiving.  It looks like Andrew's cake is resting on a layer of Legos, but the cake goes all of the way down to the cake board.  This is two 9X13 chocolate cakes filled with a marshmallow and graham cracker filling and a little extra fudge to make everyone want s'more!  

I hope Andrew had a great party!  (I heard the candy Legos went over REALLY well!)

Monday, September 15, 2014

The Incredible Desmond

My brother-in-law, Dave, requested a birthday cake for my nephew, Desmond.  And this wasn't going to be just any birthday cake.  It was going to be an INCREDIBLE birthday cake.  You know, from the movie, The Incredibles?  One of the greatest Disney movies of all time?  Anyway, this cake wasn't just going to be an Incredibles cake, it was going to be made into a specific scene from the movie.  Dave said that Des LOOOOOOOVES the Omni-droid from the movie.  In particular, there's a scene where the Omni-droid just emerged from the boiling lava, all red-hot and Mr. Incredible continues his battle to the Omni-droid's bitter end.  That scene.  That one.  Is what he wanted to be the inspiration for the cake.  

So, I did my best.  This particular post has a bunch of pictures because there's a lot to this cake.  The main portion of the cake was a chocolate 10-inch cake with Cookies 'n Cream buttercream filling.  I covered that in red fondant which was the wonderful backdrop for the Incredibles logo, and it also acted as a lava foundation for the main scene of the cake.   I used a TON of Rice Krispie Treats to make the mountain volcano and covered that with a swirly gray fondant messily draped over the top.  I wanted it to look rough and boulder-y.  The Omni-droid is also made out of Rice Krispie Treats covered in black and red fondant and held together by toothpicks.   




The back side of the cake is decorated to look jungle-like.  Here you can see that I made the number "3" and hid it in the landscape.  



Des' name is also hidden.


I ordered all of the figurines from Amazon.com and was hopeful that Desmond would get a kick out of playing with them for awhile.









So, did Des like his cake?  Yes.  He DESTROYED that Omni-droid almost the moment the cake arrived.  Omni-droid didn't have a prayer against Incredible Des.  

Happy Birthday, Buddy!!  Auntie Ann loves you!

Kalli's Peppa Pig Cake

This year, Kalli wanted a Peppa Pig party!  I have to admit that I didn't know much about Peppa Pig and in doing my research for the cake, watched a few episodes of the show on Nick Jr.  I found them to be a sweet, very age-appropriate show for a 3-year old.  Peppa is a sweet character and her cake needed to be the same.  

Angie, Kalli's mom, requested a chocolate cake with fudge and Oreo filling.  I made a delicious Oreo buttercream that tastes JUST like Cookies and Cream ice cream and filled the center of the cake with a scrumptious fudgey filling.  This was a chocolate-lovers dream!  

I decorated the top with a fondant/gum paste Peppa Pig in her fancy fairy costume and I added lots of flowers and bling to the top and sides of the cake.  








I hope that Kalli had a wonderful celebration!  The weather for her outdoor birthday party turned out to be a perfect day!  Sunny and not too hot or cold!  I had my fingers crossed for her!  Happy Birthday, Kalli!!

Wonder Clare

Making Clare's cakes have become a highlight in my year.  They mark the beginning of the school year, the beginning of Fall and one of the busiest cake weeks I have.  

I've made Clare's last four birthday cakes and am honored by that responsibility.  Her parents have always come up with neat ideas for Clare's parties whether it be My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Tinker Bell or Wonder Woman, which it was this year.  I thought it was a great idea for a little girl's birthday celebration and was so excited to make Clare's cake and cake pops.  Wonder Woman, afterall, has brains, beauty and brawn and so does Clare.  Am I right?!!

These cake pops were yellow cake, dipped in blue, then red chocolate and topped with a sprayed-gold fondant star.  I was absolutely tickled when I found the very patriotic ribbon and thought they completed the them beautifully.



Her Wonder Woman cake was a chocolate cake topped with buttercream and fondant details.




I actually had some edible gold stars sitting in my cabinet.  There were just there.  Waiting to be used!!


And here's what the two items looked like together.  I think they carry the theme nicely!


I hope that Clare had a FABULOUS birthday weekend!

UPDATE:

Here's Wonder Clare and her Wonder Cake!  Happy Birthday, Sweetie!!


Teacher Birthday Treat

Amy requested some cupcakes for her daughter's teacher's birthday celebration.  My daughter goes to the same school, and knew the teacher well, so I was able to get all of the "intel" on her likes and dislikes.

This particular teacher loves chocolate and her favorite colors were orange and red.  So it was a no-brainer to make this delightful teacher some chocolate cupcakes and decorate them accordingly.  I love how happy they were!  These would most certainly brighten up MY birthday (hint, hint).




I hope the birthday celebration was a wonderful one, indeed!  

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Cake Pops are Dreamy

Sometimes you don't even need a reason to order cake pops.  They are happy little balls of cake on a stick and they make EVERYONE smile.  How could they not?  

These were ordered by Jane who wanted to welcome a new neighbor to the neighborhood.  Yep.  That's as good of a reason as any to order these delightful treats!  





You smiled, didn't you?

Yeah.  I thought so.  

If you'd like to make some just like this, check out my Cake Pops Tutorial.  

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Sherry's 60th!

Bob called requesting a cake for his wife, Sherry's, 60th birthday celebration.  He wanted a vanilla cake, raspberry buttercream filling and chocolate frosting for the cake.  I was able to do whatever I wanted for decoration.  And boy did I have fun with this one!  Chocolate frosting?!!!  Get out of here!!!

I decided on something simple for decoration.  Simple and elegant.  This is the kind of cake I'd like (hint, hint).  Not too busy, but just enough to make it really pretty.  


I used tip 104 and did a zig zag pattern to make the sides of the cake look this way.  It was a technique I'd been hoping to try and thought this would be a pretty addition to this simple design.  


The flowers were inspired from the cupcakes I had done last week.  I still had some of the beads left and wanted to use some more.  I think these are so pretty!


Happy Birthday, Sherry!  I hope you had an amazing celebration!