My first Louis Vuitton Purse.... Cake

I was asked to post a close-up of the Louis Vuitton Purse Cake that I have in my profile picture. I made this cake about a year ago in a class I took at Bonnie Gordon School of Cake Design.

It is actually not a Louis Vuitton style as I had copied a picture of a random no-name purse. Then I painted in the logos - so perhaps someday it will be a future Louis Vuitton purse?

Mardis Gras Cupcakes

Mardis Gras 2009 is just around the corner. It officially takes place on Tuesday, February 24th, but if you have ever been to New Orleans, the festivities start earlier!

I made dozens of these celebration cupcakes - they are chocolate fudge cupcakes with chocolate buttercream. Yum! They are decorated with purple masks that I made out of sugarpaste.

Now, a few interesting facts about Mardis Gras:
- Mardis Gras is connected to Easter, it is always 47 days before Easter.
- There is a lot of meaning to the colors: Purple stands for justice, green for faith, and gold for power.
- Masks are a big part of their celebration. For those in the parade, it is law that they wear a mask.

Happy Mardis Gras Everyone!

In the Night Garden Cake

I discovered a new children's show last week when researching for my next cake for a little boys 2nd birthday.

The cake was based on a show from the UK called In the Night Garden. These characters are soooo cute - they don't have voices, but seem to squeak and make strange noises.

This cake was a 3-layer lemon cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream. All characters were handmade out of sugarpaste - they were quite fun to make.

January 26, 2010 Update - Check out my latest In the Night Garden 2-tier cake.

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

It's Valentine's Day Weekend coming up - what better reason to have a cupcake or two or three!

I made a selection of vanilla bean cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream and red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing.

I must say that cream cheese icing is still my favourite icing.... but now I am off to the gym :-)

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Perfect Bridal Shower Cake

This is truly a sweet and thoughtful cake for a bride-to-be.  This cake was a replica of the bride's gorgeous wedding dress, part of the Jasmine Bridal line.

I had so much fun making this cake, although I worried about the proportions.  There had to be enough cake to feed 20, but I also didn't want to make the bride too.... hippy....

I had to make the bust out of sugarpaste a week before, so that it would dry properly.  I'm so happy that it was the perfect size and shape since I didn't make a back-up in a different size.

Isn't this such a Sweet Thing?

Cake Decorator's Tip:  This is not an easy cake to make, depending on the design of the dress because you don't want any unnecessary lines.  I had to put the fondant on 3 times to get it right.  And I would definitely suggest making a back-up bust in a different size, just in case.

Scrabble Anyone?

This is one of my favorite cakes from 2008.  Yes - it's a Cake!  The entire scrabble board and all the pieces are edible!

I'm posting it now because I have been asked to make an even bigger version of this Scrabble Cake as a wedding cake in Spring 2009.  And spring is just around the corner.... right?

Chinese New Year Cupcakes

I know that I'm a week late with posting these - but these are the Chinese New Year cupcakes I made last week.

Vanilla Bean with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.  The symbol on the mini-fans say "Happiness".

I hope everyone had a great start to the Year of the Ox.  This is my lunar year - so it's going to be a good one!  It is your lunar year if you were born in 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985 or 1997.

Tutorial: A Cupcake on a Cupcake

Thank you everyone for your great feedback on my Cupcake on a Cupcake blog posting. I have to put together a tutorial below so that you too can make these SweetThings at home for your family and friends. They will love them! Especially if you use chocolate fondant as it tastes exactly like a tootsie roll.

What you'll need:
Chocolate or Dark Brown Fondant
Pink Fondant
A little bit of red fondant
Wilton Flower Cutter 0.75" diameter
Small Rolling Pin
Xacto Knife
Small Paintbrush and water

Optional:
Round 0.75" diameter cutter
Ball Tool
Sugarcraft gun


Step 1:Roll out chocolate fondant to 0.25" thickness. Use the 0.75" diameter flower cutter to cut as many as you need. Optional: If you do not have that cutter, use a 0.75" diameter round cutter. Use the ball tool or the side of your small paintbrush to create ridges on the outer side of the round cut-outs. Set aside.

Step 2: Roll the pink fondant into a log and cut into 0.5" equal pieces. Roll each into a ball and use your fingers to shape it into the top of a cupcake.

Optional: If you prefer a swirl on your cupcake and have a sugarcraft gun, then use the plate that looks like "rope". Make rope out of the pink fondant and then swirl it around to make the cupcake swirl. Add a dab of water if it doesn't hold. Set aside.

Step 3: Assemble all the pieces. I also like to use the flower cutter to make an impression on the top of the cupcake.

Step 4: The last and final step - Place on a fresh and newly iced cupcake. Enjoy this Sweet Thing!

It's Clinique Bonus Time again - oh wait, its a cake!

It's definitely a bonus - it's a cake!

This was a very fun cake to make - it is for someone who is moving out West for a position at Clinique.

I think the key to this cake was to getting the correct colors - so I am so happy that they turned out well!

Sweet Things for this week

Here's a little picture of some of the cakes that I have been work on this week.

One of the cakes is just a display cake of dogwood flowers.

Another cake will be a pair of Christian Louboutin shoes and a shoebox. I did make another designer shoe before, but this lifesize pair has been quite challenging. The first part of the shoe has finally set, so onto the final parts. I can see why the real things costs so much!

And the last cake is a make-up bag cake with Clinique products. It's is for someone who is moving away for a job with Clinique. Now, that is a thoughtful and sweet thing! I will post the pictures when the cakes are done!