Star Sparkle Birthday Cake

For this 80th birthday cake, the client wanted something with a lot of sparkle! She sent me her inspiration piece, which was a small part of the party invitation (which happened to have a cake sketch). My job was to bring the sketch to life. I made eight stars (for the eight decades she was celebrating) in fondant and attached them to sugar flower wires that were then spray painted gold. I used a special technique to achieve a clean presentation for placing the large gold dragees. I first made the mistake of pressing the dragee into the chilled buttercream, which then displaced some of the buttercream into messy "waves" around the dragee. I then found that if I chiseled out a small hole and placed the dragee inside, it kept the buttercream perfectly smooth and held the dragee in place. Very fun project, thanks again!

Navy and Green Flower Cupcakes

I love it when a bride chooses wedding colors that are not typical. In all my years as a wedding planner, I only had one bride who used navy.... this bride being the second. What a gorgeous combination, as you can see by the Style Me Pretty color palette. I personally ADORE navy (hence the logo colors), its so sophisticated, but not too formal.... perfect for a wedding! The green gives a very fresh, zesty feel, great for an evening summer wedding. As a cake designer, you can learn so much about a bride's style by the colors she has chosen, and it is often one of my first questions.
The flower buttercream piping was a serendipitous discovery in the kitchen, after many attempts to make a cool non-rose flower. I used a petal tip and just went round and round, garnished it with a sugar flower pearl stamen and called it a day! The navy and white polka dot ribbon was taped onto a regular cake stand

Baby Blue Bears

These little baby blue bears are so precious! They were ordered for a very proud grandma that threw a party to introduce her brand new grandson to all her friends! The little guys are made of baby blue tinted fondant, and piped with royal icing. A tip for your chefs out there, I allowed the white royal icing to dry completely before adding the black button nose. It gave a nice 3-D effect.

Jen Isham, Orlando's Star!

I recently had the great pleasure of making the acquaintance of Mrs. Jen Isham who is a contestant on the 5th season of The Next Food Network Star, which premiers this coming Sunday June 7th at 9:00PM. Anyone that has seen the show knows that the most important aspect the chefs must master is to have to have is a clear "culinary point of view".... and Jen has a relevant, charming point of view... she calls herself the Modern Housewife, version 2.0 :) This modern housewife loves to show her love through food, with the twinkle of a 50's housewife, mixed with a Cinderella magic, and the strength of a modern woman . Her love for her husband and family reminds me of a young Ina Garten; classy, real and the type of person you dream about inviting you over for dinner! There is also a sassy, unpretentious side to this darling. Her leopard print website, love of beer and occasional cursing reassures you that she is not a phony, and frankly my kind of girl!

We are rooting for you Jen, knock 'em dead!

Rose Cake

Retro Birthday Cake