Wedding to the Beat of Their Own Drum

What a fun experience for me! I was contacted by Krystal and Jared who were looking for something different for their small, yet intimate and personalized wedding. Jared is a professional drummer, and Krystal suggested doing a cke which looked like a drum. Through our interactions, we developed the idea of doing cupcake drums with a monogram on them and little drum sticks to match the cake they would cut.

The design for both the cupcakes and the drum cake were a lot of fun, and took a lot of time. Each little drum top on the cupcakes had to be painted with a monogram, edges and bolts piped on and then I had to dip 110 little drumsticks in the coloring. The brackets on the drum cake had to be sprayed with an air-brush after they were molded and had hardened.

The reception was held at Liberty University's Snow Flex Lodge and was certainly an intimate setting. The relaxed yet personal atmosphere made this a unique and special wedding reception. Congrats Krystal and Jared, and thanks for allowing me to be a part of your special day - it was an honor!

Winter can still be yummy!

I few weeks ago I was contacted by a potential client who was throwing a birthday party for their mother-in law. She loves cardinals and wanted to have a wintery-themed cake with a cardinal and 'snow' on it's back. The inspiration for the design was based on a Christmas ornament photo that she sent me (included below). This was a chocolate cake with white icing. I searched online for pictures of a cardinal and then drew the bird on the cake with a toothpick. I was pretty excited about how it turned out, and the family seemed to really enjoy it as well!

What's all the Buzz about Megan's 1st Birthday?

This will go down as one of my favorite cakes of all time I think. I made this for my niece's 1st birthday party. I was planning the cake for quite some time and drew it out a few months ahead of time. I have to say it turned out just as I imagined, if not better. While Megan won't remember this whimsical cake, I will for sure. The bees, number 1, Winnie the Pooh and the Hunny Pot, are all made of colored and piped chocolate. I found this amazing technique on another blog and had to try it out. The bees are then attached to wire that I bet around dowel rods to give them the look as if they were buzzing and flying around.

I bought the cake stands off of Amazon, as they match the whimsical nature of the cake. As I was planning this cake I just kept picturing them on these stands, and I am so glad I bought them. The bottom of this cake was made from scratch organic red velvet cake with buttercream icing. The filling was a white chocolate buttercream filling which I also made. This was so moist and delicious. I was so thrilled with how it turned out!

The top tier was a yellow cake with a strawberry buttercream filling which I also made myself. It was the perfect combination of flavors as well! So moist and yummy! I have a serious affinity for strawberry anyways!

Here is the birthday girl herself who was thinking about eating her cupcake. It mostly just got messy as she removed all the icing from the cupcake. She didn't really eat any of it and her mommy had to feed her a little bit of the cake... Overall, this cake was a great success and definitely yummy!

Last Minute Wedding

This cake was sort of a last minute deal; I stepped in for another cake decorator and sought to provide Matt and Kimberly with the cake they were looking for. This simple yet elegant cake is iced with buttercream icing and topped with beautiful roses which make it pop! Thanks guys for letting me do this cake for you, and congratulations!

It's Hip to be Square

This weekend, I was able to do this wedding cake for Christin and Joel. Their French themed wedding, was so cool! All over the reception location (the Parlor, downtown Lynchburg) there were amazing touches of France. This cake seems fairly simple decorations-wise, but it was the first square cake wedding cake I have done before, which was a little nerve-racking. It is also the first cake that I stacked before transporting, which was also nerve-racking. Thankfully, it worked out well!

I was shocked when I arrived and saw fresh flowers for the cake, which I didn't know about until I showed up. I am so glad that this couple chose fresh flowers, which I thought were the perfect touch as opposed to a traditional topper (which was what I was expecting to find upon arrival). I am really happy with this cake, and was thankful for the opportunity to decorate this cake!

A Cake to Remember

I can't begin to express how thrilled I was to get an e-mail from an employee of Centra Health asking me about doing the cake for their annual 'Walk to Remember'. This event is held in conjunction with RTS Bereavement Services and is held in memory of those who have lost a child either pre- or post- birth. Some of you may know that I volunteer with a local grief counselor organization helping kids who are grieving the loss of a family member or friend. Needless to say this holds a special place in my heart. On top of the cause, the employee listed off a few of the decorators they have had in years past, including Coffey Cakes, Gypsy Baker, and What a Blessing Bakery in Amherst. I am ecstatic to join the ranks of these amazing cake decorators in my area.

I did two cakes that looked virtually identical. I only took a picture of one, but am hoping someone at the event took a picture, in which case I will add it to my blog at a later date. One half sheet was a chocolate cake with an Andes mint filling, and the second was a vanilla cake with lemon buttercream filling. Both were iced with buttercream icing.

Leave me out of it...

I was thrilled to do this wedding cake, delivered to DeVault Family Vineyard in Concord, VA this past weekend. It was another neopolitan cake with Strawberry, Chocolate and Vanilla tiers and buttercream icing.

Each of the leaves I made by hand, and this was a long process, actually about 5 different steps. After I found the cutters for the leaves, I was trying to find leaf veiners to put the indentations on them. After several hours of searching for the right ones, I came across a blog which gave instructions on how to make your own. So, I went out into my back yard and picked a few different types of leaves. I then made molds of each of these leaves, baked them, then made negative impression molds and baked those too.

After I cut out the gum paste leaves, I pressed the molds/veiners into the leaves and let them dry. Then I brushed on edible color powder and then airbrushed the edges and stems with edible coloring to add extra dimension. Lastly, I steamed each of the leaves and left them to air dry over night. Below are the pictures after I steamed them.

As I mentioned before I am not the biggest fan of cake toppers, but I am also including a picture of the cake topper for this cake, as it is the completed product. I don't think you can tell in this picture, but I offset the cakes to the left since I knew the topper would be pretty tall as well, and thought the branch would fill up the right side... I was very happy with this cake, and am thankful that set up went well, etc.

With all the right tools...

So, while this cake is not totally original (recreated one of the first cakes I did), it was still really fun to do and recreate. Learned a few things since last time, which was over a year and a half ago! This was a chocolate half sheet cake with buttercream icing. The tools are not edible, but are actual toys that Kasey gets to keep. Happy Birthday Kasey!

Back to my roots (or branches) - finally a cake!

This week I have been working on this wedding cake for a couple getting married in Concord, VA yesterday. This four-tiered yellow cake with buttercream icing is adorned with homemade gumpaste flowers and a fondant branch.

The bride wanted blue-green flowers (but more blue), and a black branch, but didn't know what type of flowers she wanted. These are the ones I decided to go with, and I made different combinations and different sizes so they would look more natural. After they have dried, I used a steamer to steam the flowers and the branch - giving it a shiny look, and really making the color 'pop'.

I was pretty nervous about the topper that they were going to provide, and had no idea what it was going to look like until I showed up to set up the cake. I decided to take pictures before I put it on, just in case I didn't like the topper on the cake. I seem to have a strange aversion to toppers for some reason. I suppose I am just picky and want the topper to match the cake in design and quality, and sometimes they certainly don't.

Funny story about setting this cake up... As I was finishing up, an elderly relative came up and greeted me. When I asked what she thought of the cake, she replied "It's getting there...". Not certain how to respond, I didn't. After a moment, she said "It is certainly different..." and I replied with "Yes, it very modern." I wasn't really sure what to say, and I was chuckling to myself as she walked away...

jimmy scones...

So today, I got another baking urge, and decided that today I would try my hand at scones. I made two types - chocolate chip and cinnamon sugar. They actually turned out very well, and are absolutely delicious!

Both types are completely organic, and the recipe made 6 of each type. The cinnamon sugar ones have cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, apple pie spice, and I sprinkled organic turbinado sugar on top. The chocolate chip ones just have organic chocolate chips :)