Blue's not blue!

What a weekend!

I usually use Monday as a day to rest since a lot of times I am busy with cakes on the weekends. (Not to mention family stuff too!)

This cake I took as a last minute order and while I was sure I could some of it off, I wasn't sure the whole thing would come together as nicely as it did.

Blue (from Nick Jr's Blue's Clues) could have ended up being very blue, but the humidity was low, the temperatures mild and this all equaled dreamy conditions for cake making and gumpaste drying!

This doggy is totally edible. Her ears and hat are made out of gumpaste. Her legs are all make out of finely crushed rice krispie treats.
She's covered in fondant and is sprayed in Luster dust.

I think she turned out cute and especially where I did not have a lot of time to plan for how I would make her or support her! And I hope to hear a response from the little girl whose Daddy got her this great cake!

Sweet 11!

Today I'm getting my daughter ready to go camping, my son is already at cub scout camp, and life feels- pretty calm!

I'm posting a picture of one of the most popular cakes I make... the polka dot! Super cute, fun, and whimsy all in one, this particular one was done for a sweet girl celebrating her 11th birthday. Her favorite colors in case you haven't guessed, are chartreuse and purple.

I'm sure she was the belle of the "ball" with this cake being presented!

Baker anyone?

Today's cake was a tribute to one of my daughter's teacher. One of the best teachers' ever- might I add!

She loves baking and strawberries so I combined the two and came up with this!

The hat is made out off 2 6" cakes and a round 8" cake (carved round) and covered in 2 pieces of fondant- one for the bottom of the hat and one for the "poof"- the "poof" must be put on first.

Although you can't easily see it in the picture I also mad a cute apron complete with detailed stitching, a strawberry and a rolling pin hand panted to look like wood grain, and a strawberry. All together this is a one of a kind cake for an awesome, one of a kind teacher!

MMMM Sushi!

What a nice weekend! We got some house work done, my car is now clean, and the rain mainly hit during the evening so we also got a day of kayaking in -hooray!

This is a cake made for the main squeeze in my life. The man doesn't like cake (go figure!) but rather likes cheesecake (something I'm tossing around perhaps adding to my menu.) I make a mean cheesecake, but every year offering my favorite man a plain looking cake topped with raspberries kills me. I mean, I am the cake lady!

So this year, I couldn't take it any longer, that plain jane little cheesecake staring out at me with no decoration at all, was.... sad.
My mind wondered... and an experiment was born! I gathered all the kids to help, which they loved. (They are never allowed to help me so this was a real treat!)

I inverted my cheesecake- crust on the top. I iced it with my special Italian meringue, and I carefully covered it in fondant. The kids were busy rolling fondant rice, and I got busy making the various pieces we'd need for "sushi"- daddy's favorite food!

When all was done, I hand painted on the wood grain for the table, and placed all of our fish on it. It turned out pretty good! An experiment that was a success!
And now I know, that my husband can have his cake, and eat it too- (the decor that is.)
I may start offering cheesecake to my customers in the future!

Vroom, Vroom- Cars!

Good morning!

Sharing my grandma's pie yesterday made me remember some great times and sad times I had with her as a child.
One particular day stood out to me as I reminisced. It was her 60th birthday, and we were having a big backyard BBQ, complete with..... cake!

Although I didn't make it, one of my aunts had. 1 long sheet cake still in a glass pan.
My job to help was to carry the cake outside, through the garage and place in on a picnic table under the shady trees in the backyard. Sounds simple enough right?

Off to a great start I was halfway there when my hands slipped off the pan, glass hitting the hard cement and shattering into a million clear sharp dagger like pieces. I didn't know what to do so I ran away crying. Finding me sobbing and the cake mixed in with shards of glass, grandma assured me it was fine.... her birthday would go on...... it was just a cake.

I attribute this traumatic day as part of what helped be become what I am today.
I LOVE seeing people's faces light up when they have a truly extraordinary cake. I think a cake can and should be a reflection of the person it is made for- everyone of us unique and everyone of us extra special. I hope that I never have another day when I drop a cake and shatter someone's special day!

This cars cake is one of my favorite, Lighting is at the top and everything else is hand crafted and cut jut to look like a scene in Disney's movie. I'm sure there were no tears or disappointment when this little guy laid eyes on his birthday cake! THAT is my goal. And if I ever delivered any less I would be devastated. Just as I was that day, so many years ago, in grandma's backyard.

Missing my family

Last week I did something I don't normally do- I rejected many a cake order to take a week off. It was for a good reason- my family was coming to visit!
By family, I mean my cousin (and best-est friend), her 4 kiddos, and my grandma. I hadn't seen them in years and was thrilled that they came.

I was able to show off some of the great things of the Kansas city area like shopping, art things and museums. With 8 kids between the two of us (and 1 older lady and 1 man) we were a sight to see and plenty of people here showed no shame in staring. We wanted to say "haven't you ever seen a kid before?!" But I'd like to hope my fellow Kansas Citians were only gawking at the cuteness of them.

It was also my grandma's 81st birthday while they were here. While I know grandpa was missing her, I was so thrilled to spend such a special day with a special lady. Every one who knows me knows that birthdays don't happen unless there is cake to be had, so I planned and shopped and was excited to make grandma a masterpiece......... until I realized that to make something (even simple) was going to take about 6 hrs of my time, precious time that could actually be spent with my grandma. So, I took a deep breath (3 or 4 actually) walked past the cupboard of supplies, and instead went and purchased my grandma her favorite pie- lemon meringue. (Only top of the line and fresh of course).

I got the kids together and we went to work decorating this pie once we got home. As grandma took the first bite, I was still feeling a bit guilty about not using my talents to create a cake she would never forget, she said through chews, "This is SO much better then cake!"- I knew this was the right choice. This would be unforgettable for her! We spent the rest of the day spoiling grandma. It was so great!

I'm attaching a picture of my happy grandma and her decorated pie.

Humidor vs the humidity

Well a crazy busy summer is half way over. I must say that I'm thankful the humidity has held off as long as it has- it makes things take SO MUCH LONGER!
The perfectionist in me has to let go on some of these issues. I'm getting a de-humidifier to see if this can help me in the kitchen. I have high hopes!

I did this cake last week for a women having a surprise party for her hubby, who was turning 30.
The lid to this cake was a beast in this humidity, but I finally got it.

Mikes wife was elated when she came to get it. She even gave me a hug :) It made all the stress of putting it together worth it, and I hope Mike liked it as much as she did. I'm sure it made his surprise even sweeter, as it looked so real!

You can't really see from the pictures, but I did also make a cigar cutter, a box of matches and some match sticks to set in the box.
Getting all of the cigars to be the same shape and size took quite awhile as well.

And yes- EVERYTHING is edible on this cake, except the wooden rods holding up the lid!