Finding Dory!

Every now and then? I get a request that allows me to go all out and soar.

I've been making birthday cakes for this particular family for so long, 

I think the kiddos think extra hard to come up with challenges for me.

The birthday girl requested a "Finding Dory" themed cake.

Her big brother made sure I knew to include Destiny the Whale Shark.

And she wanted chocolate cake. 

Okie dokie!

Six layers of chocolate cake, filled with chocolate buttercream, covered with vanilla buttercream.

The coral is hand painted fondant.

Destiny and Dory are fondant covered rice treats and hand painted.

Lots of modeling chocolate accents!

My son called the yellow coral the rare Swiss Cheese Coral. 

Even the back of the cake got lots of attention!

Found her! 

Happy 4th birthday, Miss Ellanor!

Thank you for letting me be a part of your day!

Kermit T. Frog!

The mom asked if I could do a Kermit cake.

I told her I've been waiting my entire cake creating LIFE to put Kermit on a cake!

It was going to be an afternoon/evening pool party. 

In central Virginia. In summer.

Royal icing won out over modeling chocolate.

Six layers of chocolate cake, filled and covered with vanilla buttercream.

Kermit himself is a royal icing transfer.

Hi ho!

The birthday boy even had a little single layer, six inch smash cake to match.

Happy 1st, Dawson!

Baby cow baby shower!

Sometimes? I giggle while I work.

Her sister-in-law is married to a farmer, 

but she didn't want to do a farm themed baby shower.

She had seen another baby shower cake I had done with a baby cow.

Could I do just the cow?

And black polka dots on the cake?

Of course!

Baby cow. On a polka dotted cake. 

Four layers of vanilla white cake. 

Filled and covered in vanilla buttercream.

The cow and the polka dots are all modeling chocolate.

Seriously...baby cow!

Elmo!

The cake brief started out as a much more involved cake. 

A sitting Elmo holding a beach ball.

But then the party was drastically downgraded.

A frantic text asking if I could change the date and possibly the size.

Ignoring the cakes that had just been wrapped and placed in the freezer in anticipation of carving a sitting Elmo, I replied that yes, I could make the changes.  Because the birthday girl has gone through enough in her short little life. She was still going to get an awesome cake. 

Four layers of vanilla white cake, covered in vanilla buttercream.

Elmo's eyes and nose are chocolate cake balls covered in modeling chocolate...so delicious!

Happy 2nd birthday, Pepper!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

It was a very simple request...

a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse themed cake in the shape of the number 2.

And chocolate.

Got it!

A double batch of chocolate cake, cut into a 2, 

and covered with buttercream frosting.

I typically do my best to keep everything on the cake edible.

However, there wasn't really sufficient time to create the figures and do them justice. 

So a quick trip to the local toy store, a quick wash...instant cake figures!

But this way the birthday girl was able to have her cake and new toys as well!

But her name was all edible.

Big Red Truck!

When a friend's daughter's boyfriend graduates, she asks for a special cake.

His most prized possession is his truck. 

Our cake option was clear...

Big. Red. Lifted.

The truck is all edible! Red velvet, filled and covered with chocolate ganache. 

Hand painted fondant. Rice cereal wheels.

And working lights. 

Working. Lights.

Because my wiring expert husband is awesome!

Because of the lift, I really wanted air under the cake.

Building the platform to accommodate the life and wiring was a challenge. 

But it worked!

And then this. That grin right there. 

The whole reason I do what I do!

A massive bowl of Ramen. But cake!

With a risk of hurting feelings, this family is my favorite. The parents toss ideas back and forth and then come to me with a loose concept and let me run with it. And as an artist? I love it! 

All I got for this cake was, "Okay...so...what about a big bowl of Ramen noodles? 

And make the cake a rainbow?" 

Done. 

Six layers of vanilla cake, each colored and stacked up like a rainbow. Only six, because really...indigo is just silly. Sorry indigo lovers!

Filled and covered with vanilla buttercream.

Fondant "noodles", modeling chocolate peas and lettering. 

Which, I'm trusting the Google search that assured me this was "Happy Birthday" in Chinese.

And a modeling chocolate fortune cookie. Because cookie.

I couldn't leave the backside of the bowl unadorned. That would just be unseemly. 

I thinned out tinted buttercream and attempted a watercolor effect. 

The mom just sent me a picture of the cut cake. It's a rainbow! 

The birthday girl was not expecting it and was so surprised and excited! Hooray!

Certainly the most fun I've had designing and creating a cake in a long time! 

Happy Birthday, Miss V! Can't wait for next year's challenge!

Graduation!

Two of my favorite humans on the planet graduated from high school last week. 

I could not be more proud of them!

So, of course, I made them a cake. 

And I triple checked the spelling of "congratulations"...because don't be a cake wreck!

Since I made them share...they each got their own special bits. 

Half of the cake is delicious chocolate, and the other half is yummy vanilla--

but in delightful tie dye swirls. 

I used my new favorite French Buttercream recipe. So forgiving! And so very delicious!

Sarah is an exceptionally talented artist with a passion for photography and nature. 

I wanted her side to reflect all of those things.

Ethan is on his way to a chemistry major. He aspires to teach high school chemistry. I had no choice but to spell his name out using elements from the periodic table. And, yes, those are all real. 

I hand painted fondant "photographs" based off of a few of Sarah's Instagram photos. 

Her childhood dog, Buddy, had to be included. 

Ethan had the honor and esteemed privilege of serving as Drum Major for marching band his senior year. One of my favorite pictures of him is him looking very fierce in his plumed head gear. 

I dug out my palette knife for the sunflowers. 

Getting to blend old talents with new. This is my happy place.

Congratulations, you twos! 

Love you both...to the moon and back!

Flowers and Butterflies!

I've been creating this little girl's birthday cakes for several years now. She doesn't even hesitate when she makes her requests. I love a girl who knows what she wants! 

Obviously, I cannot copy a cake from a picture (that would be Stealing. And that's just Bad Form.) But I can use it as inspiration and a "spring board" for my own unique creation. 

The picture she sent me was all fondant, lots of flowers and butterflies. 

She wanted buttercream--because who wouldn't? 

Six layers of delicious chocolate cake filled with a chocolate buttercream. 

Covered with vanilla buttercream.

Lots and lots of modeling chocolate flowers!

A few fondant butterflies flitting about here and there...

The birthday girl loved it! 

She was the sweetest--she made sure that everyone at the party knew who had made her cake. 

Can't wait to see what she sends me next year!

Air Force Retirement...and a story.

The request was for a patriotic cake to celebrate her husband's recent retirement from the Air Force. She sent me a few pictures of cakes she liked. I took inspiration from all of them and created my own unique take on the military retirement cake...

Six layers chocolate cake, filled with chocolate buttercream, covered with vanilla buttercream.

I ended up having to design my own template for the boots. 

(Pretty sure my google searches made the watch dogs twitchy.) 

I knew they would have plenty of time to dry, so I went with fondant instead of gumpaste. There were multiple components to piece together and I knew the gumpaste would dry out on me too fast. Hand painted. Because it's always a good day when I get to break out my paintbrushes. 

I wanted to use dog tags to help tell his story. I stamped his name and years of service into them, then painted with silver luster for a metallic finish.  The "chain" is pieced together with edible pearls.

I hand painted the flag while it was still flat. I gave it long enough to dry the colors but not the fondant. I was delighted to have it drape and move just how it had in my head--without smearing the colors! Some days--the cake gods smile down on us mortals, and it all comes together. 

And then disaster struck. It's been a really cool, almost cold, spring. Until this past Saturday. I was still using my cool weather buttercream formula. And it was so soft. Every step ended with a brief hang out in the 'fridge to firm back up. Until the boots went on. Then it was straight into the box and carrying tote.  The delivery run was stressful. First bump, I realized I hadn't anchored the boots down like I would have in the warmer months. All I could envision was the one sliding off, and taking half the top tier with it. Once at the destination (fortunately it was a house with a kitchen) I pulled the cake box out of the tote, it tilted slightly and I felt a thump! Gah!

I took it straight to the kitchen. Slowly lifted up the top of the box...and the whole cake had slid forward. Completely wiping out all of the writing and the bottom bead work. And the one time I didn't have a repair kit with me. Never again! I did get it cleaned up. The lower edge ended up with a blue streak that looked like it was an intentional part of the design.  So not such a disaster really. But enough to make my heart sink!

Lots of cakes currently on the calendar for the next few months. 

Important lessons learned. Always carry a repair kit! And anchor everything. Everything! 

Bridal shower!

It was a surprise bridal shower for a co-worker. 

Her colors are champagne and black. 

Honestly, I had no idea what color champagne was considered. All I could think of was the scene from Beautiful Girls when he showed his friends a brown diamond. And I knew that wasn't the color she was going for!

I was also told she was going for an "antique oldish feel". 

And chocolate. 

Done.

Six layers of chocolate cake, filled with rich chocolate buttercream. The top tier was covered with a white chocolate ganache as a "crumb coat". Then iced with vanilla buttercream.

Lots of buttercream rosettes, and sweet piping to pull the colors all together. 

She was very much surprised and delighted!

Hungry Caterpillar!

The request was for a gender neutral cake for a book loving couple. 

"The Very Hungry Caterpillar" was on their gift registry.

Fairly simple choices after that...

Three layers of vanilla cake, filled and covered with vanilla buttercream.

A friendly warm modeling chocolate sun...

An apple, a plum, and a nice green leaf...

A strawberry, a pear, and one sausage...

Lots and lots of dots to pull it all together. 

A delightful way to celebrate a new baby!

Why did it have to be snakes?!

It finally happened. 

I received a cake request I almost had to refuse.

But given who was requesting, I couldn't tell him no.

I'm such a softy!

Lots and lots of vanilla cake. 

Filled and iced with vanilla buttercream.

Covered in vanilla fondant and hand painted.

Some graham cracker "dirt" and modeling chocolate "rocks" tossed in for authenticity. 

I had to purchase an "under the bed" tote just to transport it. 

I'm pretty sure the neighbors were just a tad concerned...