Vertical Cake Layers

This was my first attempt at vertical cake layers. It is an interesting process. The base of the the cake is a thin round layer of cake (it can be a 6", 8", or whatever size you prefer). The actual layers are made from cutting a jelly roll style of cake into thirds (long ways). Then, I covered each strip with buttercream (I used a bit too much). Next roll one strip up into what looks like a large swiss roll, stand it on end in the center of the round cake layer, and continue adding the remaining strips around the center avoiding any gaps. I cut my long iced cake strips into thirds for easier handling. The cake will have to be tightly wrapped in plastic or use the side part of a spring form pan (to secure the layers together) and chilled for several hours or overnight. After chilling, remove plastic or spring form ring, and decorate as desired. Yummmmy!!!

Mini Bridal Cupcakes

These are mini cupcakes for a special bride. I had a lot of fun making these tiny creations. The tuxes and dress tops are made of fondant. The pearl necklaces are big sprinkles, and cupcakes are iced with buttercream.

A Ducky Baby Shower Cake

I was very excited to make this baby shower cake. I really love the wash bucket and clothesline themes. For the wash bucket, I covered the cake in chocolate ganache. I used a gumpaste/ fondant mix to make the boards which are one inch wide and about 5 inches tall. I used a small cutting wheel to make the wood grain ( enough pressure to mark it but not to go all the way through it). To add some shine on the wood. I gently rubbed the boards with vodka, let dry, and then brushed with a 50/50 vodka and corn syrup mix. I think it adds a nice touch :o) The ducky is made out of fondant and the mom to be can keep it to remember her special day. The grass and water are buttercream. :o) For the clothesline part of the cake, I covered the entire cake with sky blue buttercream. I added fondant tree trunks at even intervals, and added buttercream leaves with tip 352. The tiny clothes are made of fondant. Casey loved it!

A little extra cake never hurts. My friend Tina was not sure exactly how many guests would attend, so to be on the safe side we decided on a little more cake. The baby carriage is made of fondant. I used different sized biscuit cutters, piping tips (for the small dots) and a small heart cutter for most of the parts. The cake was iced in buttercream and was delicious!

A Pink Castle Cake

A Pink Castle Cake. "Aunt Michelle, Aunt Michelle..can you make me a Pink Castle Cake for my birthday?" Of course :o) What 10 (turning 10) year old wouldn't want a Pink Castle Cake? This cake came together a lot faster than I anticipated. The towers need to be made a day ahead of time. They were created by covering paper towel rolls in saran wrap and then wrapping with  1/8 inch thick gumpaste around the roll (carefully and evenly trimming off the excess). Let them dry for 4-5 hours seam side down, then remove paper towel roll and stand upright. Top with ice cream cones and decorate with candy melts or flowers or whatever you can imagine. The cake was a two layer 9 inch round covered in pink buttercream. The bricks were made by carefully marking with a spatula and lightly going back over the marks. Then add stones (marbled fondant), grass, flowers, and maybe a princess. :o)

Tinkerbell Cupcakes for Morgan

Viva paper towels saved the day!! Tinkerbell is a frozen buttercream transfer that broke in half (where the dark area on the wing is,  under her chin and all the way to the other side). And a piece of the broken area fell under her entire head. WoW! I immediately freaked out and threw the entire cupcake cake into the freezer until I could figure out what to do. I, then, very carefully removed the piece behind her head with a paint brush. I also removed as many as I could of the unwanted frozen pieces of misplaced buttercream. I carefully filled in and repiped the damaged areas, and let it set up in the freezer. Next, I carefully smoothed out all of Tinkerbell with a Viva paper towel. While I was smoothing her out I noticed that the little bit of texture from the towel really helped distract from the damaged areas. YAY!! :o)

Darth Vader Cake

Darth Vader for Harrison :o) Darth Vader is a frozen buttercream transfer with a twist. I selected the image from the Darth Vader coloring pages found online, and went to work. The challenge with this project was that he is all black and how to make the outline stand out. I decided to use a different texture to make the outline pop out. I used my extruder to achieve the desired thinkness. And then placed the strands along the outline. I filled in the rest of image as I normally would and popped it in the freezer. I think it came out great (in the photo I was having trouble with lighting this week). I added some stars and Presto!