Thursday, June 25, 2009

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!

Monday, June 15, 2009

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

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

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.

Monday, June 1, 2009

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


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