This is my granddaughter Avila's first birthday cake which was designed by her mother Cara. The bottom layer was chocolate peanut butter marble with a peanut butter filling. The middle layer was oreo cookie cake with chocolate mousse filling. The top layer was a chocolate fudge cake. Avila's special cake on top was a white velvet banana cake.

Avila's very first cake she has ever eaten.  She ate the whole thing!

The cake was covered in buttercream frosting with fondant decorations. The minnie hat was covered in black fondant (removed before Avi ate her cake, too much sugar) and the ears were fondant as well. The whole cake was made with edible decorations!

Sherylin's Rustic Rose

Photo by Sandra Mortinson

Photo by Sandra Mortinson

Photos by Sandra Mortinson

Such an honor to make a cake for our two best friends for their wedding.  I was able to consult with Sheryl to determine favorite desserts and styles, but she basically gave me creative license.  And Kevin made the slab a wood with a little help from Mother Nature. 

The flavors for the bottom tier were inspired by Kevin's favorite dessert, Apple Pie. I made fresh apple cake with a caramel~rum filling.  The middle layer was a lemonade cake with homemade fresh lemon curd filling and the top tier was White Velvet with Raspberry Cheesecake filling.

You can see this 3 tier could easily feed over 100 people, but I am so happy to report it was devoured by 44 leaving the top layer for the Bride & Groom. The favorite's were the lemonade cake from the bride's side and apple pie cake on the groom's side.  

Isaiah the Super Hero

  

Seeing Isaiah's face was well worth it!

                                                                                                        
This creation was such a joy to make. It is truly my first fondant only cake and I am so proud of the outcome. I do wish the fondant was more stable, it did try to bubble as the vibration of the 20 mile car ride made the cake settle a bit. We are our worst critics, right? But I believe that is how we manage to do better, create more, and take our art to the highest level.


Flavors
Bottom tier was Oreo cookie with fudge filling and more crushed Oreos. Middle tier was my version of peanut butter cup; peanut butter fudge marble cake with fudge filling. The top tier made especially for Isaiah was his favorite dessert pumpkin pie. The cake was pumpkin spice cake and filled with homemade pumpkin custard. The entire cake was frosted under the fondant with vanilla-white chocolate buttercream.


Design
All the fondant pieces were handcut and pre-made the night before. The total hours on the cake, from prep, baking, icing and design was 15 hours. I will admit I was a bit tired from all the baking this weekend, but it is always so much fun to create a one-of-a-kind cake that brings such great pleasure to those who receive them. As soon as I had my nap, I was ready to create another one!!  

Princess Kayla

I made this darling masterpiece for a 24 year old young-at-heart lady that deserves a blingy cake for her birthday.  Her mother wanted a chocolate cake with a nougat filling to mimic a Milky Way bar.

It was designed by Kim and she trimmed the cake in a ribbon of crystals and embellished the pressed flourish design with diamonte crystal pins. Kim found a centerpiece mirror to place on a darling crystal cake plate to bring the blingy cake to another level of sparkle.  The maribou feathers added an element of elegance and movement creating some royal whimsy.

My darling niece, Ireland from California saw this cake on facebook and asked me to make it for her birthday too.

Avila: Christening Celebration



Avila's 3~Tier Christening Cake

Avila's cake took approximately 12 hours from start to finish.  The bottom tiers are 9" and 12" rounds and the top tier is a 6" hexagon.  The cakes are vanilla with strawberry cheesecake filling which I am starting to discover is a crowd favorite.  The bottom and top tiers were alternate layers of chocolate and kona mocha cake filled with fudge mousse.

The top tier has a fondant eyelet border that I cut with  a ruffle border and I poked holes in the top to make it look like eyelet lace.  I used real ribbon on top the eyelet to layer the look. The silk peony I used for the topper was a wedding flower Avila's mom and dad saved from their wedding.


The tiny polka dots are candy pearls placed on with tweezers.  I made the pearl border with a silicone fondant mold, then brushed with pearl dust. I purchased the beautiful acrylic cross from a hospital gift shop and it makes a perfect keepsake for the baby too.

The final layer was the most time consuming, but turned out just as planned.  The polka dots were hand-cut from white homemade fondant.  I like to cover the cake board in fondant it adds such a personal touch to the cakes.

Malena: Bug

This darling cake was my first commissioned cake for a one year old lady, Malena.

Lady Bug covered in homemade fondant.

The #1 was hand-cut from chunky fondant and candy dots were glued with piping gel. 

Bow was imprinted with floral impression onto fondant and hand sculpted.

The cake is all homemade from scratch. The top layer is confetti white velvet cake and was made especially for Malena to eat herself.  The second tier is 2 layers of white velvet and 1 fresh strawberry. It was filled with french vanilla cheesecake and glazed with strawberry syrup. The bottom layer was 1 layer of my mom's fudge cake and 1 layer Kona Mocha cake(acquired by Tina) and filled with chocolate Marshmallow Mousse.  The frosting was a rich vanilla butter cream.  I totaled 13 hours on this cake and loved every minute of it!

The finale!

Tony: Deer 21st Birthday



Happy 21st Birthday to my son, Tony
Nature lover and hunter-gatherer.

This cake is a two-tier peanut butter/chocolate marble cake.

The Browning symbol was created with a camo effect to fondant. The symbol and letters were hand-cut from computer copy.  The frosting is a simple fudge buttercream.  It was filled with peanut butter fudge ganache.  I love adding real nature to cakes even if it's minor.

Thomas: TMNT Cake

Michealangelo breaking out of the Manhole!





                                                                                                                                                                                   This cake is a two-tier cake with the top tier as three layers of and fudge cake. It is covered in vanilla buttercream and was filled with penuche frosting and hot fudge sundae sauce. The square tier was a combination of two layers of choc-van marble and peanut butter cake. It is also filled with same as the top tier. The board is covered in grey fondant and stamped with a diamond plate coaster my husband has and the manhole lid is also the same. I hand-cut all the letters to add to the creation of this pizza box, manhole cake complete with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle~Michealangelo.

Danelle & Duke's: Ivory Tower

My first wedding cake which my darling niece and her husband bravely allowed me to make for their wedding on New Year's Eve; hence the mirror ball topper.  It is a double layer 12", 9" and 6" tiered cake. I made it vanilla coconut cake, and berry cannoli filling with miniature chocolate chips. The frosting is simply vanilla rum buttercream.  I added a bit of maribou feathers I found in a craft store to add a little whimsy and movement.  The beautiful cake stand was borrowed from Tina a fellow caker. I think any cake stand is the frame for the cake and adds just the right finishing touch. *hint, hint

Anna Mae: Ivory Ruffles

Vanilla cake 3 layers with Cannoli filling. 

The frosting is a delicious and light Swiss Meringue I discovered on Foodgawker.  I learned how to make ruffles from a tutorial on youtube and fell in love with the technique. I added 3 real red roses you see in the background to the top. I don't want to give away all my new found secrets.

KC Anniversary Blush Roses



Special Anniversary cake made for my friend.



My first attempt with gum paste roses....fun.



This lil sweetheart is my vanilla coconut cake with a raspberry cream filling.  The two tiers are 4" and 6".  I love making leaves and decorative edges. 

Isabella: Polka Dots & Bows



After MaryJanes

Before Mary Janes~featuring the bow



This cake was co-designed by my sister for her friends baby shower. The cake was marble with raspberry cheesecake filling and buttercream frosting.  The decorations are mostly fondant, but the shoes are real (too cute).  I made a gumpaste bow and piped her name Isabella on the ribbon with buttercream. 

Purple Rose of Candi



Purple Roses of Candi

Although it looks bigger this is only a 6" two-tier large rosette cake. I used buttercream for the frosting and I did not venture out beyond my marble cake yet. It is a combination off my Mom's chocolate cake and coconut milk cake. This was ordered by Kayla for her friend at work who was leaving.  These little cakes are so forgiving with the huge rosette and they make such an elegant piece. I love making these!

Aidan: ABC~ I'm 2


 

All the decorations were
hand-cut from fondant.





I also made the banner to match the cake.





This is one of my first tier cakes. I just finished cake decorating classes last October (2011). I have made a few cakes for my friends and family to practice on, so thank you to them for supporting me. The cupcake on top was Aidan's own cake (Smash Cake). This cake was a chocolate vanilla marble cake with a double layer 9" and double layer 6" with a jumbo cupcake on top. The frosting was vanilla buttercream.  The letters & numbers were all hand cut from fondant.