1st Birthday: Baby Einstein Cake

Baby Einstein is such fun and colorful theme.  This cake was for a 1st birthday.  I get a lot of inquiries for this design which I posted back in March and September.

This cake feeds about 35 people.  The top tier was chocolate velvet with chocolate buttercream and the bottom tier was Banana Sour Cream with chocolate buttercream.

80th Birthday: Sewing Machine Cake

When I booked this cake order 6 months ago, I was so excited for the challenge.  I pondered over and over how I could make this a sturdy cake that needed to travel 3 hours to its destination.  I don't like to use too many inedible supports or non-cake items, but I have learned in the past that gravity always wins.

This cake was assembled onto a finely engineered cake stand with 2 wooden boards and 3 dowels.   A very small amount of rice crispy treats was also used.  All decorations are edible and handmade out of sugarpaste.  The cake was gluten-free chocolate cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream - approx. 20 servings.

Here are some matching cupcakes: strawberry vanilla with strawberry buttercream.

Car Cakes: A VW and an Audi

Who wouldn't want a cake of their car?  I love getting requests for cars because it is always a surprise and you can really personalize it for that person.  And the front view of the car always looks like a big smile!

This VW was for a surprise 30th birthday for a guy who loves his VW and of course, his dog.   His wife was planning the surprise for about 6 months ahead - and it worked!

This Audi was also for a surprise birthday.  His fiance requested a cake his car and a sugarpaste figure of him with his best friend.

1950's Cakes: The King is Back... in Cake!

A couple months back, a client ordered a 1950's-themed cakes for her grandmother's 70th birthday party: A bust of Elvis and something poodle-themed.  I have never made a "head" before and pondered for many weeks how I would actually do this.  I wanted it to be realistic, sturdy and not use too many inedible supports.  And I did NOT want the head laying flat.

The party was a few weeks back, I'm happy to say that he was sturdy and I only used three dowels to separate the 2 cake tiers.  He may not look exactly like Elvis, but I was pretty happy with my first "head" - although, I don't like the thought of anyone cutting into it....

My client said the cakes were a hit!  Her grandmother didn't have the heart to cut into it and the poodle cake fed everyone.  As of last week, it is still sitting in her basement cold storage.... which I wouldn't want to bump into late at night because I'm sure it would scare me every time :-)

Elvis "In Progress" -  I started with 5 layers of vanilla cake iced with Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

Then, I started to carve the cake... yes, he now looks like Chewbacca...

He's starting to come to life with a bit more carving and some more buttercream.

And now sporting a new look - kinda Zorro-ish.... Such a fun cake!

Sweet Things for Foodies: Hamburger Cake and Cooking-themed Cupcakes

Who wants a Hamburger.... cake, that is....?  I have only made one small hamburger cake in the past, so I was very excited to tackle this cake and all its fixin's.  This cake was for a surprise 60th birthday party for someone who loves to bbq and eat hamburgers.

This was a 4 layer cake which fed 20 people.  The top and bottom bun were Strawberry Vanilla cake with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream covered with fondant.  The 2 meat patties were actually triple chocolate brownie which I didn't have to cover because it looked like meat.  The tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and sesame seeds were made out of sugarpaste.  The ketchup and mayo were buttercream.

For other foodies, I also made this Two-Four of cupcakes for the Calphalon Culinary Center in Toronto.  These cupcakes were Chocolate Sour Cream and Strawberry Vanilla.   I loved making those tiny potholders and oven mitts.

2nd Birthday: Toy Story Cake

This past weekend, I made a wonderful and fun 2nd birthday cake based off of Disney's Toy Story movies.  The client was very flexible and said I could do whatever I wanted.

I really wanted to put my sugarpaste modelling skills to the test with these characters.  I'm so happy with the result and I had so much fun doing it!  I think my favorite is Mrs. Potato Head.

Topsy Turvy Wedding Cake

This past weekend, I made a wonderful cake for a fabulous couple.  This wedding cake was a Topsy Turvy Cake, also known as Whimsical or Mad Hatter cake.  A friend of mine had described it as "sophisticated and fun" - I love that description!

What I loved most about their cake was the color palette that they provided me - you just can't go wrong with the colors strawberry ice cream, pistachio green, lemon yellow and deep burgundy.  The orchids were handmade out of gumpaste to match their room decor.

They also picked some fabulous flavors:  bottom tier was Vanilla Butter Cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream, middle tier was Zesty Lemon Cake with Lemon Buttercream and the top tier was Strawberry Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Buttercream.

And here is a view from the top.

Lotsa C's: Coach Purse Cake

Coach Purses are so popular this year!  Which make it very challenging for a cake decorator as there are a lot of "C's" to add to the design :-)

This special occasion was a surprise 70th birthday party.  I was asked to recreate her coach purse and tote bag with all the things she might have spilling out if it.  Surprises are always so fun - I enjoyed listening to the son trying to think of what is in his mom's purse and then call his dad to ask the same.  It was handy that the dad was able to take a few pictures - see below.

Here are the final cakes personalized with a plane ticket, knitting needles and yarn, kleenex, candies, a wallet and US credit cards.  All the items were handmade out of gumpaste - absolutely everything was edible - not even a dowel to support the cake.

A view from the top - I should mention that the tote bag was Chocolate Sour Cream cake with Chocolate buttercream.  The coach purse was Vanilla Butter cake with Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream.

The back of the purse... more "C's"....

Handmade Sugar Baby Shoes

What is cuter than a pair of handmade sugarpaste baby shoes?

How about 2 pairs of sugar baby shoes?

What I love about being a cake designer is being part of my clients wonderful occasions.  I love to hear them talk about the special person that cake is for, about the event and all about the things that they celebrate in life.

For his occasion, it was actually a birthday cake for my clients' mother who was visiting from out of town.  The cake was also to surprise her that she will be a grandmother for the first time... and also to twins!    How wonderful is that?  And what a sweet way to let her know that!

More Simple and Elegant Wedding Cakes

Over the years, brides and grooms will describe their perfect cake as Something Simple and Elegant.  I just love that expression.  Simple doesn't mean that the design is plain or boring - it means that it has clean lines, subtle design features, delicate color palette and nothing too crazy.  I went down memory lane to some of my first wedding cakes which were simple and elegant.

Here is the very first wedding cake that I ever did.  The cake was heavy as each tier was flourless chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream.  The delicate design was hand embossed dot by dot with a tiny ball tool - a pretty big challenge for a first cake.  The bride had provided me with this wonderful design - I wish I knew who originally came up with it so I could add their credit here.

This 3-tier square cake was for a winter wedding back in 2008.  Such a delicate color palette.

A small wedding cake with handmade gumpaste flowers, leaves and pearls.  Very elegant.