Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 17, 2010
Buddy Valastro's Flip Flop Cake at Myrtle Beach
Last weekend, Myrtle Beach celebrated the grand opening of a spectacular new beachfront boardwalk promenade. And we all know that no celebration is complete without a cake, right?!
Buddy Valastro (aka the "Cake Boss") and his team created a HUGE cake in the shape of a Vineyard Vines flip flop. And when I say huge, I mean huge. The thing was reportedly 10 feet long and weighed over 1,000 pounds!
Keep an eye on your televisions because the giant flip flop is supposed to be featured on a future episode of Cake Boss.
*Thank you, Sally, for sending me the photos and information!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Pink Poker Cake!
This weekend, I'm getting together with a group of girls for an all-girls Texas Hold-em poker game! I wish I could say we are going to have a cake like this at the game...
Well, minus the "16" on top, of course. But, nope! No cake for us! In fact, Debbie decorated this cake last week for a sweet 16 birthday party. The only contribution I made was the poker chips!
They were made out of gum paste and the stripes were simply painted on!
Well, minus the "16" on top, of course. But, nope! No cake for us! In fact, Debbie decorated this cake last week for a sweet 16 birthday party. The only contribution I made was the poker chips!
They were made out of gum paste and the stripes were simply painted on!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Square-Hexagon Wedding Cake - Orange and Pink Wedding
The wedding cake that accompanied the Jumping Fish groom's cake was a 4-tier cake with alternating hexagon and square layers. The whole thing was covered in fondant. The hexagon tiers were decorated with the quilting pattern with pearls at each intersection, and the square cakes were decorated with random pearls.
Random is hard for me. Really hard. I think I did ok this time, but I was mentally taxed afterward from so much "random" concentration!
The bottom of each tier was lined with a fondant ribbon to match a fabric swatch the bride had given us, and the rose petals & monogram topper were added to the cake at the reception site.
But the cake paled in comparison to the entire room! The colors popped and it really felt like a party could break out at any minute!
The orange and hot pink color combination was gorgeous!
After we set up the cakes, I didn't want to leave! Especially after I saw the candy bar at the back of the room! Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of it because I was being dragged out of the room to deliver the next cake. Bummer.
Random is hard for me. Really hard. I think I did ok this time, but I was mentally taxed afterward from so much "random" concentration!
The bottom of each tier was lined with a fondant ribbon to match a fabric swatch the bride had given us, and the rose petals & monogram topper were added to the cake at the reception site.
But the cake paled in comparison to the entire room! The colors popped and it really felt like a party could break out at any minute!
The orange and hot pink color combination was gorgeous!
After we set up the cakes, I didn't want to leave! Especially after I saw the candy bar at the back of the room! Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of it because I was being dragged out of the room to deliver the next cake. Bummer.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Jumping Fish Cake
One of the groom's cakes I recently did had a fish jumping out of a pond. I molded the fish out of Rice Krispies treats, covered it with fondant, and then Debbie airbrushed it (I'm still mastering the airbrush...).
I stuck it in the blue sheet cake, piped some waves and leaves, inserted some gum paste cat tails and leaves, wrote "Ryan's Hooked," and viola!
A fish jumping out of a pond!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Drop In and Decorate
I recently stumbled upon Drop In & Decorate while I was killing time on the black hole that is the internet. As soon as I read what it was, I knew I had to participate!
In a nutshell, Drop In & Decorate is a nonprofit organization based in Rhode Island. Their mission is to inspire people to bake cookies, invite friends/family over to decorate them, and then donate the cookies to a local charity.
I couldn't have asked for a better excuse to invite some girlfriends over for girl talk, champagne, and dessert!
I made bunches and bunches of sugar cookies ahead of time. And, in addition to the royal icing that Drop In & Decorate uses, I had marshmallow fondant available in case anyone felt ambitious. (That's what the cutting boards and other tools are for.)* I think we all agreed that the royal icing was a lot easier and quicker to use though!
Nikki was the lucky duck who arrived early and was given the task of coloring the icing.
I basically let her take over while I socialized. Isn't that what the hostess** is supposed to do???
We had a blast decorating the cookies! It was neat to see everyone's styles. Nikki (pictured above) quickly realized she like the striped pattern. Nicole tried just about every technique in the book. Kathleen was painstakingly slow but her cookies were by far the best. And Elise talked more than she decorated!
An example of one of Kathleen's beauties:
And here are some of Nicole's:
Fish sticks? Duck soup? Yea, she's crazy sometimes. *wink*
Nikki brought over some Derby Pie in honor of the Kentucky Derby so we served it piping hot and gooey!
In the end, we had about 90 (I think) decorated cookies! The following day, I boxed them up and delivered them to the Ronald McDonald House. They were SO appreciative!
I hope that by seeing these photos you are inspired to host your own cookie party. If your kids get bored this summer, make some cookies for a local charity! It's really not that much prep work, and it's so worth it in the end when you can brighten someone else's day!
*Luis & Carrie, did you recognize the ice cream cups on the table?! Great wedding gift!
**Robin, I hope you noticed I was wearing my extra-special, fashionable Boar's Head apron!
Again, all photos by Elise Kersey!
In a nutshell, Drop In & Decorate is a nonprofit organization based in Rhode Island. Their mission is to inspire people to bake cookies, invite friends/family over to decorate them, and then donate the cookies to a local charity.
I couldn't have asked for a better excuse to invite some girlfriends over for girl talk, champagne, and dessert!
I made bunches and bunches of sugar cookies ahead of time. And, in addition to the royal icing that Drop In & Decorate uses, I had marshmallow fondant available in case anyone felt ambitious. (That's what the cutting boards and other tools are for.)* I think we all agreed that the royal icing was a lot easier and quicker to use though!
Nikki was the lucky duck who arrived early and was given the task of coloring the icing.
I basically let her take over while I socialized. Isn't that what the hostess** is supposed to do???
We had a blast decorating the cookies! It was neat to see everyone's styles. Nikki (pictured above) quickly realized she like the striped pattern. Nicole tried just about every technique in the book. Kathleen was painstakingly slow but her cookies were by far the best. And Elise talked more than she decorated!
An example of one of Kathleen's beauties:
And here are some of Nicole's:
Fish sticks? Duck soup? Yea, she's crazy sometimes. *wink*
Nikki brought over some Derby Pie in honor of the Kentucky Derby so we served it piping hot and gooey!
In the end, we had about 90 (I think) decorated cookies! The following day, I boxed them up and delivered them to the Ronald McDonald House. They were SO appreciative!
I hope that by seeing these photos you are inspired to host your own cookie party. If your kids get bored this summer, make some cookies for a local charity! It's really not that much prep work, and it's so worth it in the end when you can brighten someone else's day!
*Luis & Carrie, did you recognize the ice cream cups on the table?! Great wedding gift!
**Robin, I hope you noticed I was wearing my extra-special, fashionable Boar's Head apron!
Again, all photos by Elise Kersey!
My Favorite New Cake-cessories
Everyone knows accessories "make" the outfit, but don't you just love when they're cute AND functional?
My two new cake-cessories are just that!
Ever since I cut 12 inches off my hair...drastic, I know...I can't pull it all back in a ponytail when I work on cakes. That just won't do!
Then I came across the Sweaty Band at the runner's expo for the Princess Half Marathon. Perfect! The bands come in so many different patterns and are just adorable! The inside of the band (the part against your head) is lined with a velvety material so it doesn't slide around. If people can play sports in them, surely I can decorate cakes in them!
Oh yes, I'm loving it! Keeps my hair out of my face without having to look frumpy.
And this next cake-cessory will help all of you, I'm sure! Don't you just hate getting icing/dough/batter/etc in your jewelry? I used to put my rings in my pocket...then I'd forget and they'd go through the laundry...yikes! Big problem!
The solution? A heavy-duty charm holder from Brighton.
The clasp is easy to open one-handed so you can quickly slide your rings on and get back to work!
The rings stay clean and out of the way, ready to be placed back on your fingers when the work is through!
(Photos by Elise Kersey. Thank you, Elise!)
My two new cake-cessories are just that!
Ever since I cut 12 inches off my hair...drastic, I know...I can't pull it all back in a ponytail when I work on cakes. That just won't do!
Then I came across the Sweaty Band at the runner's expo for the Princess Half Marathon. Perfect! The bands come in so many different patterns and are just adorable! The inside of the band (the part against your head) is lined with a velvety material so it doesn't slide around. If people can play sports in them, surely I can decorate cakes in them!
Oh yes, I'm loving it! Keeps my hair out of my face without having to look frumpy.
And this next cake-cessory will help all of you, I'm sure! Don't you just hate getting icing/dough/batter/etc in your jewelry? I used to put my rings in my pocket...then I'd forget and they'd go through the laundry...yikes! Big problem!
The solution? A heavy-duty charm holder from Brighton.
The clasp is easy to open one-handed so you can quickly slide your rings on and get back to work!
The rings stay clean and out of the way, ready to be placed back on your fingers when the work is through!
(Photos by Elise Kersey. Thank you, Elise!)
Monday, May 3, 2010
3-D Carved Construction Pals Cake
I'm super excited about the cake I'm going to share with you today! We were asked to make a 3-D dump truck from Construction Pals. Again, I'd never heard of them so we did a little research...
Check out all these adorable birthday party supplies:
And the little guy we were asked to replicate is front & center!
I carved the truck out of two stacked cakes. Then I iced him in buttercream and covered him with fondant. I quickly found out that using fondant panels was much easier than using one giant sheet of yellow fondant. To give you an idea of size, he stood about a foot and a half tall and was sitting on a 20-inch square board (I think).
I had hollowed out the top a little so we could put "dirt" (crushed cookies) in the dump truck bed. And the wheels were made of Rice Krispies Treats and covered with fondant.
Cute little bugger, aint he?
In all, I probably spent over 10 hours on him. He gave us some major troubles mid-stream but we got it all worked out in the end.
Happy 1st Birthday, Braydon!
Check out all these adorable birthday party supplies:
And the little guy we were asked to replicate is front & center!
I carved the truck out of two stacked cakes. Then I iced him in buttercream and covered him with fondant. I quickly found out that using fondant panels was much easier than using one giant sheet of yellow fondant. To give you an idea of size, he stood about a foot and a half tall and was sitting on a 20-inch square board (I think).
I had hollowed out the top a little so we could put "dirt" (crushed cookies) in the dump truck bed. And the wheels were made of Rice Krispies Treats and covered with fondant.
Cute little bugger, aint he?
In all, I probably spent over 10 hours on him. He gave us some major troubles mid-stream but we got it all worked out in the end.
Happy 1st Birthday, Braydon!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Pink Zebra & Polka Dots
Zebra print must be "in" right now! We did 3 cakes with zebra print in April (this one, the monkey cake, and the brightly colored sweet 16 cake).
This cake was iced in buttercream and decorated with fondant dots, circles, and zebra stripes. It was topped with a gum paste "Happy Birthday" spray and white ribbon roses.
This cake was iced in buttercream and decorated with fondant dots, circles, and zebra stripes. It was topped with a gum paste "Happy Birthday" spray and white ribbon roses.
Friday, April 30, 2010
A Monkey Safari Birthday Cake
I've been a bad blogger this week. I have FOUR cakes to post from last week...and now a bunch more from this week! Not to mention, I have 2 more stringwork tutorials to post. I promise I'll catch up!
Here's one of the more fun cakes from last week:
The cake design was based on one Debbie had done in the past, and I thought it was such a cute idea to have the little monkeys peeking from behind the palm trees. I also liked the design because I didn't have to make all those little monkey bodies!
The monkey on the top of the cake was modeled after the party invitation, and he was surrounded by festive little packages!
Here's one of the more fun cakes from last week:
The cake design was based on one Debbie had done in the past, and I thought it was such a cute idea to have the little monkeys peeking from behind the palm trees. I also liked the design because I didn't have to make all those little monkey bodies!
The monkey on the top of the cake was modeled after the party invitation, and he was surrounded by festive little packages!
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