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!

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!

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!

Hello Kitty!

A mom who attended the birthday party with the last Hello Kitty! cake sent me an email asking for a similar one for her own birthday girl. Of course, I acquiesced. 

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

Modeling chocolate flowers to match the invitations.

And rainbow ruffles per the birthday girl's request...

Such a simple technique, but such a huge WOW! 

Minnie Mouse!

Alice is one of the happiest, sweetest, most loving little human I've ever met. 

She's also endured more in her three short years than most of us endure in a lifetime. 

Her mom got a hold of me a week before Alice's birthday and asked if it would be too much trouble to make a cake. Um...no. Not for her! 

Besides, we had a record breaking blizzard bearing down on us--what else was I going to do if we were snowed in for a week? 

The famous mouse, all dolled up in red and white polka dots. 

Two layers of chocolate cake, filled and covered in vanilla buttercream.

Wrapped in modeling chocolate. 

Old school Wilton star piping for the face. 

So precious!

Happy Birthday, sweet Alice!

Star Wars!!

I love what I do. But some days? I love it just that much more! 

And sometimes? I cannot stop myself from giggling and fangirling throughout the entire creation. 

This was one of those days.

Because Star Wars!

The birthday boy couldn't decide on a favorite bit--because who can?!

But he really liked the new Stormtrooper helmets, and Kylo Ren's lightsaber. And R2D2. 

I assured the mom I had it covered!

8 inch chocolate cake, filled and iced with vanilla buttercream.

Then the fun started!

Stormtrooper, Kylo Ren, R2D2, and Chewbacca!

Everything, except for Chewbacca's chocolate buttercream fur, is crafted from modeling chocolate.

Come to the dark side. We have chocolate. 

Spiderman!

I received my first Call To Action request from Icing Smiles!

A precious little boy whose sister is facing medical issues.

He loves Spiderman and I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

Chocolate cake, filled and frosted with vanilla buttercream. 

Covered in fondant, and accented with modeling chocolate.

Lots of chocolate buildings for the web slinger to swing from!

Spiders aren't so scary when they're chocolate. 

Thank you, Icing Smiles for everything you do! 

And for letting me be a part of something bigger and sweeter.

Guest artist Cosmetic Cake!

Yes, this cake came out of my kitchen. 

But I'm neither the one who created the decorations or who decorated it.

I baked it. And my daughter did the rest. 

My 8-year-old daughter!

The cake was for a friend who's birthday is the day after her's. 

It was her 12th birthday and she sent me pictures of a couple different cosmetic cakes. I okayed it with the mom first, then let my daughter loose with the icing and modeling chocolate.

8 inch chocolate cake, filled and frosted with vanilla buttercream.

All accents are modeling chocolate.

I'm so proud of her! 

She had so much fun and made it just that much more special for her friend.

Zebra stripes and polka dots!

I was given pretty specific details for this one! 

The birthday girl even texted me a picture. I love a girl who knows what she wants!

Two tiers of chocolate cake and vanilla buttercream!

Covered in fondant, with modeling chocolate and gumpaste accents.

On one of the hottest days of the year, outside. 

The black chocolate stripes got pretty shiny, but they held!

Soul Eater...but in cake!

One of the things I love about this family is that the mom and dad will sit around and come up with these amazing ideas--and then hand them over to me to recreate in cake. 

I love that trust. And I love that freedom!

Their daughter is currently an Anime consuming machine! One of her favorites is "Soul Eater". 

So they thought...what if we changed "soul" to "cake" and go from there. 

Challenge accepted. 

Chocolate cake, filled and covered with vanilla buttercream.

Frozen buttercream transfer...to the rescue! 

I had to share an "in progress" picture...

because backwards writing and altering logos are the things that make my dyslexia shine!

Alligator!!

A local elementary school PTA was celebrating their 10th anniversary. 

They wanted a special cake representing their mascot as a center piece. 

Alligator! Roar!

100% edible! 

Chocolate cake, iced in vanilla buttercream,  

covered with fondant and modeling chocolate.

Happy 10th Anniversary!

Godzilla!

It's not often that I fangirl squeee over a cake request. 

But I did on this one!

It's Godzilla! Only one of the greatest movie monsters of All Time!

The mom said when her son made the request she immediately thought of me and thought I was the only cake creator she knew who could possibly pull it off. 

Challenge accepted.

Oh, and he asked for fire. 

Godzilla is sculpted out of cereal treats, covered in gumpaste, then painted. 

"Tokyo" is 6 inches of chocolate cake, filled and covered with vanilla buttercream.  

All buildings and accents are modeling chocolate. 

The tail was so long, I had to build a custom box!

What an incredible way to celebrate turning 5!