4-tier Wedding Cake and a Set-up Tip!

I had the pleasure of making this elegant 4-tier wedding cake with handmade sugarpaste orchids (my favourite!!) and gold accents.  The cake was chocolate sour cream cake and strawberry vanilla cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream.

Here's another photo of the cake with flash.  Make sure you check out my facebook page to see the gorgeous photo that the bride posted.

Cake Decorators Tip:  Always bring a level tool!  Actually in this case, I didn't need a level because the cake table was ridiculously wobbly.  You spend so much time levelling each tier and stacking the cake perfectly, so it really sucks when the table is not level.

I will not mention the venue because they were very nice, as helpful as they could be and vowed to get a new table for cakes.  I'm not sure if you can see, but the table is a little "battered", on an elevated platform that also wasn't too steady and the resolution was actually a pad of paper tucked in all corners of the stand to keep it level.  However, in the end, I was satisfied with what they could do and they also allowed me to take photos of the paper-tucked table.

So, my tip is to have the venue help resolve the issue to your satisfaction and document it somehow.  If you are still uncomfortable, make sure you have the table moved to a different lower traffic area or set up the table somewhere else. 

4-tier Wedding Cake with Sugarpaste Orchids

Oh, how I love orchids!  When I create them out of sugarpaste, I love the process of creating each petal over the course of the week, dusting them with petal dust, putting them together and then finally placing them on the cake.

Ever since I made this bridal shower cake, I couldn't wait to make this wedding cake.  I loved how it all came together when I set it up at the wedding venue, The Church at Berkeley.

The flavors were chocolate sour cream cake with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream (bride's favorite) and zesty lemon butter cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream (groom's favorite).

The very next morning, I received this email from the bride, "Thank you sooo much. You truly outdid yourself this time! That cake was STUNNING!! People couldn't stop talking about it! The orchids?!! Oooh la la!!!! A-ma-z-ing!"  That sure made my day... actually, it made my week!  I love what I do!

Bridal Shower Cake with sugarpaste orchids

I love how this Bridal Shower cake turned out - soft and sweet!  The bride-to-be wanted some orchids on the cake and said that I could do whatever I wanted.  I couldn't wait - I just love orchids!

 

The cake was vanilla bean butter cake with zesty lemon swiss meringue buttercream.

I hadn't made sugarpaste orchids in a while so I took out my orchid book to select a photo for inspiration.  I chose the Cymbidium Orchids with a hint of pink - I was very happy with how they turned out as I only had Cattleya orchid cutters so I had to improvise a little.

Fresh Flowers Cake

It's been a while since I entered a cake contest, the last time was a cupcake contest back in March 2009.  This time around, it actually wasn't a "cake" contest... but I thought making a cake just might win it.

Earlier this month, BlogTO, in partnership with the Royal Ontario Museum, held a photography contest to Win a free iPad2.  The theme was based off of David Hockney's Fresh Flowers exhibit which features Hockney's and also hundreds of other artist's sketches displayed on iPhones and iPads.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to compete in a photography contest, but after looking through some of his sketches, it inspired me to create a cake!  Here is the photo that I chose:

Here is my contest submission:  Fresh Flowers in cake and sugar!

I had so much fun with this concept.  It reminded me of a wedding that was held at an artists' gallery last year and the wedding cake design was inspired by one of the paintings.

A few days before Christmas, I found out that I WON the iPad!  I was so excited and I can't wait to see the ROM exhibit.  Since it was an online contest, I also got to enjoy the 4-layer vanilla butter cake. :-)

A February Wedding

This past weekend, I had the pleasure to make this 3-tier wedding cake for a lovely couple from Ohio.  They chose Toronto as the wedding getaway destination for family and friends.  Yes... Toronto in February... where our average temperatures are usually -10 °C (14 °F).  They wanted to do something different and heard lots of great things about Toronto.

Well, as luck would have it... we had an unbelievably warm and very sunny +10°C (50°F) day for their wedding.   I made this 3-tier cake based off of the Martha Stewart vintage daisy design with handmade sugarpaste cake topper and buttercup yellow roses.

 The top tier was chocolate sour cream cake with strawberry buttercream.  The middle tier was strawberry vanilla cake with strawberry buttercream and the bottom tier was chocolate sour cream cake with chocolate swiss meringue buttercream.

Simple and Elegant Wedding Cakes

Happy July everyone!  Summer is definitely here and lots of wedding celebrations.   Here are a couple of photos of simple and elegant wedding cakes with handmade sugarpaste flowers.

I always find it interesting to see how they look before they are delivered and then finally when they are set up at the event.   The lighting, how the table is set up and what angles can be seen.

 

This wedding took place at a wonderful and charming restaurant in downtown Toronto called La Maquette.

 

This wedding took place at a The Old Mill Inn in Toronto.

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.

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.

Simple and Elegant Wedding Cake with Calla Lilies

Calla Lilies are such beautiful flowers and they come in so many different colors like white, pink and all shades of purple.

I just love making cupcakes or cakes with this elegant flower in sugarpaste.

Here's the wedding cake I made the other week with sugarpaste calla lilies.  The wedding took place at a wonderful restaurant in downtown Toronto called La Maquette.

The top two tiers were vanilla cake with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream and the bottom tier was Chocolate Sour Cream with chocolate buttercream.

A Simple and Elegant Wedding Cake

Some couples like a cake that is a little "different" - like the Waterfall Cake I did last week or the Central Park Cake from last year. And some couples prefer a simple and elegant wedding cake. Last week was so fun (and very busy), as I did one of each.

This was a 4-tier cake based off a Martha Stewart vintage daisy design. Except the cake was much bigger than Martha's, purple sugarpaste ribbons and handmade sugarpaste calla lillies. The top two tiers were were vanilla butter cake and the bottom two tiers were chocolate velvet cake with swiss meringue buttercream.

Flowers for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just around the corner. So, who is getting mom some flowers? Or if you are a mom, what kind of flowers do you think you will get?

Roses? ..... on vanilla bean cupcakes with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream

Gerbera Daisies? .... on chocolate fudge cupcakes with vanilla swiss meringue buttercream
Or Calla Lilies? .... on vanilla cupcakes with rich chocolate buttercream. Enjoy your weekend and the flowers!

An April Wedding

Last weekend, I attended my friends' wonderful wedding at Canoe. It is on the 54th floor of a building in downtown Toronto - what an amazing night! The wedding took place at 6pm and then we dined as the sun was setting - it was just perfect!

I had the pleasure of making their wedding cake - it was decorated with sugarpaste Peonies and pink sugar ribbon. The top and bottom tier were vanilla butter cake with swiss meringue buttercream. The middle tier was chocolate velvet with dark chocolate swiss meringue buttercream.

I also made the cutest mini-wedding cakes for their takeaways! These 2-tier cakes were vanilla butter cake with vanilla buttercream. They were 3 inches by 3 1/2 inches high. My friend Sam and I stayed up until 3:30 in the morning to finish them (Thank you Sam!). They were well worth the time and effort and matched wonderfully with the entire setting.


These mini-wedding cakes are definitely a Sweet Thing!