Frankenstein for Aidan

When I was first asked to create a guitar cake for a 15 year old boy's birthday I thought it would be a fun challenge. Then I was told that the recipient, Aidan, was a teen musician that made his own replica Eddie Van Halen Frankenstein guitar...I actually got nervous! I tried my best to focus that energy on the details: the haphazard black and white stripes over the red base, the silver hardware including tiny screw heads, and (most importantly) the quarter! I was relieved when Aidan gave me his stamp of approval...I believed the words he used were "You're my hero", but who's counting.

Happy 15th Birthday Aidan...you rock!

The bottom photo is of a replica Frankenstein guitar and the top two are of my creation.

You Get What You Pay For

A friend emailed this to me and I thought it was too good to keep to myself...

"Okay so this is how I imagine this conversation went:
Wal-Mart Employee: “Hello 'dis Wal-Mart's, how can I help you?”
Customer: “Yes, I would like to order a cake for a going away party this week.”
Wal-Mart Employee: “Whatchu want on the cake?”
Customer: “Best Wishes Suzanne.” And underneath that “We will miss you”. Sad but true. This actually happened."



I guess "you get what you pay for" would apply here!

Cheeseburger Birthday

This is Scott. For his birthday this year, he wanted nothing more than to have his family and friends join him for burgers and beer. So Scott's wife Cathy decided the cake should be a giant cheeseburger! I fashioned three layers of chocolate fudge cake with chocolate buttercream and created the details with fondant...lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, onions, cheese, even sesame seeds. I live for fun cakes like this!

Happy Birthday Scott!

What is a dummy cake, anyway?

Weddings can be exciting and stressful with all of the decisions you are faced with. The cake is no exception. It is a symbol that has become synonymous with weddings. As you consider the flavor and design of the cake, you may be faced with common predicament...the texture or density of your preferred cake flavor may not hold up to the physics of stacking and icing (an anti-gravity cake only exists in my fantasies). Enter the dummy cake, a sculpture of styrofoam and icing. Also known as a fake cake, a dummy cake allows you to have the design you want as well as your desired cake type and flavor. It really gives you endless options so you can have it all.

Above are two examples of dummy cakes. The top photo is a dummy cake that had a "side kick" for the couple to cut. Sheet cakes were in the kitchen and ready to be served as soon as the formality of the bride and groom's cake cutting and feeding/smashing was complete. The next photo is a cake that I made for a second wedding. The bride and groom did not have a formal cake cutting, nor did they serve cake. They just wanted the symbolic decoration for their reception.

Special thanks to Jennifer of Leatherwood of Leatherwood Photography for the images.

Norm Gets His Star

Meet Norm. If you talk to him for any amount of time you will hear some pretty amazing life stories. So, I decided that he deserved his very own "Hollywood Walk of Fame" star...made out of cake and icing of course! I covered the carrot cake with cream cheese icing and then a layer of fondant. Next, I painted the surface to look like marble and then used edible glitter to finish the details.

Norm, you will always be a Rock Star in my book!

Chantelle & Edjann

This cake was designed for a young couple that wanted something fun and modern for their wedding. The top two tiers were banana cream and the bottom was vanilla bean with strawberry filling. I used fresh flowers, a fondant bow, and polka dots for decoration and finished the design with a monogram. Such fun!

Best wished to Chantelle and Edjann!

Wedding Cupcakes

Cupcakes can be an elegant alternative to a traditional wedding cake. In this case, I made four flavors but decorated them the same for a uniform look. Small colored ribbons that coordinated with signs designated the flavors. The couple's initials and snippets of green hydrangeas were placed randomly on some of the cakes while others were left plain. But the show stopper was the custom stand that was created especially for this event. Metal vines and leaves lead up to plates that held the cupcakes. The top plate held a floral arrangement that matched the rest of the event's flowers. A wide base provided space for the remaining cupcakes as well as the name cards. The stand was designed and welded by Jeremy Leatherwood of Leatherwood, Inc and the photos were supplied by Jennifer Leatherwood of Leatherwood Photography. Thanks to you both for your help on this one. I am blessed to be surrounded by people that have so much talent!
And congrats to Andrea and Jamie...I want to wish you many years of love and happiness!

Marzipan Market

While browsing my archive files I found these pictures of a marzipan scene I made for a final project in one of my labs at JWU. I felt that it was appropriate to post given the season change we are facing. My idea was to mirror the feel one would have walking through a farmer's market at the end of the summer. All of the components are made of marzipan and airbushed for a more realistic look. The cake is covered in fondant and royal icing and chocolate add small touches to finish the design. Enjoy these last few days of Summer...Fall is knocking on our door!

Tiffany and Matt

Tiffany wanted a simple cake that displayed flowers to match her bouquet. Four layers of my special carrot cake with cream cheese filling and vanilla buttercream icing...this was a heavy one! I delivered it in the rain and assembled it at the Johnson & Wales Inn, in a function room that almost matched the outside humidity (talk about nerve racking). Special thanks to Sue for all of the help and moral support!

Thank you for the picture Pat! I love to see my work worn by such a lovely model!

Best wishes to Tiffany and Matt!

Tiki Birthday

Cakes for theme parties are so much fun to create. This one was designed for a tiki party. I decided to decorate the base cake with shortbread cookie 'sand' and a fondant 'bamboo' border. Then I hand painted the lettering on the sugar 'scroll' to honor the birthday boys. The chocolate cake 'tiki' stands on a vanilla cake base, each with chocolate filling and vanilla bean buttercream...something for everyone!

"Men With Taste" Event

Lobster anyone?

This cake was designed for the annual "Men With Taste" charity event. I had a great time creating the details: knobs, flames, mushrooms, carrots, and the lobster. As soon as I placed the cake on the table, a little boy already had dibbs on the big claw!

Blessed Are The Children...

Children are a blessing...they give us many occasions to eat cake! This Christening cake was yellow and chocolate marble with vanilla buttercream icing. Amen!

Mooving On

This cow cake was designed for Melanie, my dairy mentor who recently made the difficult decision to become a stay-at-home mom. I made her favorite - carrot cake with cream cheese icing and white chocolate chunks instead of raisins. Thanks for everything Melanie, I will sincerely miss you!

Have Your Steak & Eat It Too

Beefcake for Kerry! Anyone that knows her will tell you how much she enjoys a nice steak, and rare! This cake was chocolate with vanilla buttercream, crushed oreos, and strawberry 'blood'...minus the ecoli.