Micky

Ok, so here is one of the cutest cakes I did over the weekend.
Talk about a bunch of little tiny parts to be made! Wow!

I love how it turned out, although I did have some trouble as one of the cakes I baked fell apart, I had to rebake at the last minute pushing all the other decorating out too- which was a push since I had other cakes scheduled. Alas, it all turned out fine after a few nervous breakdowns. :) I also made a cute little smash cake but forgot to snap a photo before I boxed it up. Maybe the recipient has a photo they could send me?

Today I am off to shop fo a comfy outfit to wear home from the hospital, and I am busy making a big stack of meals to be frozen so that we have food when I am unable to cook.

Tomorrow I'll be posting a picture of a simple cake I did but it was oh-so-cute!

No cakes? What we do?

Well, I have now officially finished my last cake orders before I have to take time off for an upcoming surgery. Whew! This weekend was a lot of work! I'm glad it's Monday, my day of rest.
They all turned out really cute and I will be posting pictures of them tomorrow.

You might wonder what we do for fun in our house when things aren't all crazy for cakes. Well, you take one out of this world wacky man: 4 children: and a history of weird and exotic trips and you have..... viola.... fun in our house!

Daddy loves to entertain with stories of his travels to virtually unknown lands, explaining the mysterious foods they eat and their foreign rituals, along with showing all the prized possessions he acquired.

This day, he was recounting his expedition to Papua New Guinea (if you are curious you can pick up the book "Beyond Fear- A harrowing Journey " about this trip in any bookstore or order it cheaper online) He had out his bags, while the kids listened with intrigue to him recount what Papuans use these things for.

The "baby" in our house is still small enough to help her daddy recount times in the jungle.

Wow! This is an amazing cake!

This is a cake NOT done by me. I wish I could claim such extraordinary work and maybe one day I'll get there, but for now I just like to gawk, ohh and awww over such masterful work!

Out of all of this Russian decorators work I chose this one in honor of my upcoming surgery.

Bridal shower Lingerie

I must admit that this cake was actually really enjoyable to make. I found it even funnier when a friend (who also makes cakes) emailed me and said she had also just finished a "boob" cake and she also really enjoyed making it.

It makes no sense to me- but this was fun, and for a Bridal Shower. I prayed all the while making it (as I do with all my cakes). However, this time I asked for this bride and her husband to have a lasting marriage. It's all fun and games until real life hits (SMACK!!). I believe God has made marriage to last and heard a survey that said people who were unhappy and divorced in 4 yrs were still.... unhappy. However, those that stayed married and stuck it through the "unhappy" times were in 4 yrs.... happy! I figured the best thing I could do for this dear bride to be and her husband was pray like crazy that they won't give in when tough times come.

This is carved from a 10" square. Covered in fondant, painted with luster dust, with modeling clay roses-(which is really fun stuff to make for your kids to play with- see recipe below!)

Chocolate Modeling Clay
14 oz. chocolate chips (any flavor, milk, white, semi, swirl)
1/3 C karo syrup

Melt the chocolate in the microwave slowly- stopping to stir every 10-15 seconds. This is important! Don't overheat!
Once totally melted, stir in Karo and stir.
Dump it out onto parchment or wax paper and let set a few hrs- viola! Edible dough to play with!

Back to school!

Yay! The sheer thought that summer is over is both exciting and exhausting for me. I will (starting tomorrow!) only have 2 of my children home with me during the day. This is both good and bad. As a mommy, it is nice to be able to have the older kids there to help and watch the younger ones, however, all the bickering that has been going on in my home the last couple of weeks has almost driven me to insanity!
We also have many personal things going on at the moment so I am feeling a bit overwhelmed.
In honor of back to school I am posting a "teachers" cake- all edible of course, along with a few pictures of our kids this summer.
As for me... I'm dreaming of pumpkin and cinnamon, nutmeg and squash.... falling leaves and apple butter- almost time to switch to my fall cake menu!! Recipes will be coming soon.

Radiohead

I had a request for a client who wanted to surprise his wife with a cake.

She loves the Food Network, loves watching Ace of Cakes, and would apprecite a cake made just for her- said her thoughtful hubby.

When he called to order he had no idea what style or type so I asked him to think about what she likes an get back with me- and did he ever!

He decided on a cake after her favortive band- Radiohead. He actually drew me a picture of their logo and asked that I somehow put a few lines (he had very specific lines) from a song called "True Love Waits." He asked for the cake to be 3-D.

While I recall the badn from years ago I had to research what this band was all about- their symbols and logos and was a bit bummed that it wasn't more girly. I REALLY had to resist covering this cake in luster dust to make it "sparkle". (I fought that idea to the end!)

After it's all said and done it turned out nicely in a weird alternative kind of way. The lyrics on the back read "And true love waits

In haunted attics

And true love lives

On lollipops and crisps"

I hope she likes it and feels..... loved.

Cell Phones!

Well, today ends a two yr. contract with our cell phone company. We re rejoicing! We've had nothing but problems with our service and can't wait to jump ship! My hubby was out late last night hunting down the cell phones we wanted, then after working with an employee (of a certain Super chain) for 30 minutes- he was informed that it was past 9:00 now (9:05 to be exact) and he'd have to wait until another time. (Really where do they find these people??!)
I was sad to awake and not have the new phone and phone company.
I wonder when someone will ask for a cell phone cake?

Today I'm posting an old cake pic of one I get asked about a lot. The treasure chest.

This is all edible and the pearl stands were made by hand. (Each pearl took forever!)

It is basically a 3 tier cake for the bottom "box" carved a bit, and the top is a single sheet cake on cardboard propped open with dowels protruding out the top, which are hidden in the center of the cake!
Of course covered in fondant and painted to look like woodgrain.
It's one cake that brings out the "A-Hoy Matey" in us all here!

BMW Z4

The car cake is finished and I am on my way to deliver it!
13 hrs went into this little gem- and I can't say I ever really want to do one again!
My husband was very kind to help me carve it while I worked on the tedious job of getting the tires and rims in order.
BMW's are proud of their car and their logos cover it!

This was baked in a 9X13 then torted and filled with custard and raspberry preserves.
Fondant covered then painted, then all the details! Lights are all royal icing.

I got really tired at about 3:30Am went to bed- followed by only a couple of hrs of sleep before I had to awaken, care for the kids, and spend a few more hrs finishing this!

All and all I am pleased with the way it turned out.

Day of rest.... and caffine?

Yesterday was a relaxing day. I had only a few things to work on for the convertible car cake (coming tomorrow!)
I am planning to be up all night working on the thing, so I thought it appropriate to post a photo of a a Starbucks cake.
This one is made out of lots of small round cakes- stacked and then carved to be smaller at the bottom. The "bucks" logo is hand drawn onto fondant, cut out and placed onto the "cup". (The logo itself took 2 hrs to finish!) To top it off is actually whipping cream which started to slide off as I delivered this- whoops! I was a bit disappointed that it turn out just a wee bit crisper looking. Next time it will be more icing instead. I was trying to do for realism.

What goes into a cake?

After a busy and crazy weekend of cakes, a concert, and running to and fro church/shopping, etc. - we are unwinding this morning. I am also busy working on a BMW cake that I'll have pictures of when it is finished.

So some people gasp at the price of custom made cakes - "it's just a cake" is something we bakers hear often. But is it just a cake? What goes into a cake?

Well, of course recipes differ but it's pretty standard to have ingredients like milk, eggs, flour sugar, heavy cream and butter- have you checked out prices on these items lately? Add to that things like electricity that bakes your cakes, pans and tools to create your cake, dishwasher (soap and more electricity) to clean the mess and my kitchen getting dirty in place of yours.
Then you have to have your cake on something to be able to take it home- and a box to carry it home in.
Wow! It's really a lot that goes into making a cake! When you add in all the hours- after the cost of my supplies- most times, I end up making less then $2 an hour!
Although, of course I did not begin doing this to"make it big"- but because I absolutely enjoy the process of creating a cake. It is a creative outlet that I need, and lastly, it is so satisfying to help be a part of someone's event and to see the sheer excitement on their face when they see a cake made extra- special-just-for-them (With loads of time and love!)
Or... you could just stop by your local store and get a cake from them- although more often then not you do end up getting what you pay for! (See photo of actual cake someone ordered from Walmart)

Weekend Frenzy!

Boy oh boy... Today is a day of rest and I am so glad!
This weekend was a crazy whirlwind of last minute cake orders on top of normal "family" plans.
Rushing around, living off of caffeine, and lack of sleep has made be a bit crazier then normal.
I love the "rummy" card cake I made to celebrate a man's 80th birthday. It was a surprise for him so I had to rush and deliver it and get out! (My bright pink chef's coat may have tipped him off had he walked in while I was there:) Kuddos to his family for talking the time to make his 80th be a huge extra special event. Anyone who lives that many years should get the most elaborate celebrations possible (in my humble opinion). The cards are fondant/gumpaste mix and the cake is fondant covered and painted to look like a wood grain table. It made me want to break out the cards and play the game that I haven't played since I was a teen!
The other difficult cake this weekend was Scrabble. Thanks to Duff and all the wonderful guys at Charm City cakes I get people wanting this cake all the time!
it's a great cake but oh so time consuming and oh so hard to get every little detail perfect- put that all into play with a last minute order and it could spell a CAKE DISASTER! Thankfully we pulled this one off without a hitch (other then the no sleep thing). My hunny got a big hug for free handing the "Scrabble"logo onto the cake for me. He is so talented! We already knew we were a match made in heaven- but his unique talent for awsome handwriting has helped us see that we really work great together!