Kaylin's Garden Party

My friend Elly requested a cake for her daughter's 4th birthday.  I made Kaylin her Dora birthday cake last year to celebrate the big THREE, but this year, Kaylin was going to be having a Garden party.  How delightfully splendid!!  Indeed!

Elly requested a chocolate cake with a frosting that is not "too sweet."  Boy do I have the recipe for that!!  It's a cooked buttercream recipe and it is amazing.  It's now my favorite.  Absolutely.  Holy moly.  It's good.  

So this cake was covered with this deliciously smooth, sweet, but not-too-sweet buttercream, and topped with royal icing lilies, roses, primroses, apple blossoms, daffodils and violets.  

 And it's a family tradition that Elly makes and decorates beautiful cut-out cookies for her kids in the shape of their age.  Here are Kaylin's matching number four cookies.  (Aren't they beautiful?!)

I'm so thankful I got to be a part of your special day, Kaylin!  I wish you the happiest 4th birthday!!!

Garden Delight!

Mari requested a Garden Party - themed cake for her daughter, Ali's, 1st birthday party. It's a good thing that Mari reserved me about 4 months in advance because it took almost that long to plan and execute this cake! But this was an EXCITING one to make. It put to use ALL of the skills that I teach in my cake decorating classes; buttercream, royal icing, fondant AND gum paste!

The flowers alone took about 5 hours to complete. But I am SO happy with the result. I love this cake.