Pistachio and Pink Wedding Cake - And a New Technique

A few weeks ago, a bride brought us a picture of a gorgeous wedding cake that she wanted replicated. No problem! ...except that we'd never done a cake like the one pictured. So we experimented with different techniques and were able to replicate it! Yay!

Now, maybe I'm just not "up" with current wedding cake trends, but I've never seen a cake like this before:


Don't you just love it?


The technique was created by slightly marbelizing the green and white fondant, cutting it into strips, and applying it in an overlapping pattern to the cake. It was time consuming, but I love how it turned out.

And all the roses were hand-made to match the color swatches the bride provided.

while I was editing the pictures, I thought I'd have a little fun with Photoshop and give the cake a more soft, romantic, vintage feel...


Loving the subtle tones of that shot!

Boy Bear Baby Shower Cake

Have you all seen enough of Christmas/winter stuff yet? Well, I'll give you a short break today, but I've got more winter cakes to post later so deal with it! *wink*

Here's a cute cake we did for a shower for a baby boy:


They wanted the bottom tier to be quilted, and the top tier to have polka dots that matched the party colors - lime green, dark blue, and brown. Then, they wanted a cute teddy bear sitting on top. We decided to add the baby blanket to give the cake an extra pop of color!


Awe, what a sweet little bear...He looks like he's perfect for hugging, don't you think?


And then we decorated cookie party favors to match the cake! Here are a couple of close-ups of the cookies:



So cute. I'm definitely a fan of the blues, green, and brown color combination!

Hershey's Baking Pack Giveaway!

Let's start off the new year right...with a Hershey's giveaway!

If you recall, in December I was given the opportunity to interview Linda Stahl, the baking authority, at Hershey's Test Kitchens. To accompany the interview, they sent me an awesome gift package to give away to one of you!

Here's what's included:

Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Kisses

Heath Bits 'O Brickle Toffee Bits

Hershey's Natural Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Chips

And an adorable chocolate-colored Hershey's apron!

Click on over to my previous post about cookie exchanges for tips/hints and the Linda Stahl interview. But be sure to leave a comment here to enter for a chance to win the Hershey's gift pack!

Official Rules: For a chance to win, leave a comment telling me what your favorite cookie to munch on this holiday season was. Note: This part is mandatory and must be completed before extra entries can be awarded.

Extra entries:
1 entry - Be a Cake Walk follower on Google Friend Connect (in the left sidebar).
1 entry - Subscribe to Cake Walk's RSS feed.
1 entry - Like Mel's Cake Walk on Facebook.
1 entry - Add the Cake Walk button to your blog.
1 entry - Follow @MelsCakeWalk on Twitter.
1 entry - Retweet the giveaway. (You can do this 2 times/day; leave a comment here each time.)
3 entries - Make a post about this giveaway on your own blog. (leave 3 comments here to get credit.)

Leave one comment per entry please. If you already do any of the above, please say so in a comment to get credit for the extra entry. This contest is open to adult US residents only. The giveaway will end Friday, January 14, 2011 at midnight eastern time. Good luck!

Well, the 12 Days of Cookies are over, and Christmas is here! It's tradition in our family to watch A Christmas Story all...day...long... My dad's a HUGE fan. So, to make him smile, I decorated these leg lamp cookies:


'It's a major award!"

I got the cutter from A Christmas Story House and highly recommend them for any Ralphie-themed gifts you need to get in the future!

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Dat 12 - Santa is Coming to Town!

The sleigh is ready, the gifts are all packed, and Santa is coming to town!

For the Santa cookies, I decided to go back to the classics we probably all decorated when we were a kid.

Are you ready for Santa? Do you leave cookies & milk for him?

Day 11 - Reindeer Cookies!

It's the day before Christmas Eve so Santa is preparing his sleigh for the big trip. The reindeer are resting up, and they're anxious for the fun to begin!

Day 10 - A Star Cookie

I'll keep it super short and sweet today - here's Day 10 of cookies! Have a great day!

Show Your Duff Photo Contest

I've just entered the "Show Your Duff" photo contest! Please visit the page and vote for my sneaker cake!


You can vote daily, if you'd like! *wink*

Day 9 - Mittens and Stockings

It's Day 9 of the 12 Days of Cookies! I hope you're all staying warm - wherever you are in blogger land!



Both the mittens and stockings were flooded with thinned down royal icing and then the extra little details were added after they dried.

Have you been making holiday cookies? I'd love to hear about them and see them! Email them to me or leave a comment with your own blog post link!

Quick and Beautiful Christmas Cakes

Ok, folks. Christmas is quickly approaching. If you've thought about bringing a festive cake to your family celebration, you better get baking soon!

But you don't have to spend hours and hours on a cake for it to look gorgeous, elegant, and Christmas-y!

Make a cake that looks like a gift!

Here's one I did for my friend Nikki's office holiday party:


It's a simple buttercream-iced cake with a fondant bow. You could slap that together in a couple of hours, right?!

Here's a close-up of the bow and the gift tag:


Next up, here's a display cake I made for the showroom. It's covered with fondant and airbrushed gold. Again, the bow is made out of fondant.


Here's a similar concept, where the cake was covered in white fondant and topped with a big loopy gift bow. Here, you have to have a little more time because each of those loops has to completely dry before you can assemble the bow.


And, if you're feeling particularly ambitious or you're trying to feed a small army, here's some inspiration for you:


That's 4 cakes covered in white fondant and decorated with blue fondant box tops, ribbons, and bows.


Will you be making a cake for your get-together this week?