Reptile Birthday Cake

I had less than a week to make a reptile-themed cake for a 6-year-old girl.  Yes, that's right, a GIRL!  I took the order because it was for someone I know plus I thought it was doable (it was finished 12 hours before the deadline... I am a hopeless procrastinator).

The party was being held at a reptile zoo (boy, was it busy for a Sunday!) and I delivered it using the worse roads ever, but the cake arrived intact.

The top tier was vanilla cake and bottom tier was chocolate cake, both filled with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.  All the decorations were fondant.  I thought it would be cute to have 6 things to represent her age, since she was going to have a number 6 for her candle.  My favourite item was the lizard dusted with gold.

Apparently, the cake was devoured and not even one reptile was left.  That's when you know you have satisfied everyone's belly. :)

Happy 6th Birthday, Victoria!

50th Birthday Cake

Someone from work wanted a cake for her mom's birthday... her golden 50th birthday.  So, this was the result:

The vanilla cake was paired with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream, topped with fondant and fondant decorations.  Lots of gold accents here: the numbers, letters and stars and wire were coloured with a gold spray; the pearls were gold lustre-dusted.

Earlier in the morning to early afternoon, the weather was horrible... one of the worst conditions you can get for fondant: RAIN.  Luckily, it let up by delivery time, but we still had to combat fondant's Nemesis #1: Humidity.  Good thing I put toothpicks to help keep the numbers upright for the 40-minute (very) bumpy ride because it arrived intact.

I hope the birthday lady enjoyed her surprise cake!

Happy Birthday!

William is 5!

Originally, William wanted a Corvette cake based on one of his Hot Wheels cars.  Then, he was exposed to Angry Birds.  And he changed his mind.  But, instead of the regular red Angry Bird, he wanted the big fat red Angry Bird.  We questioned him on his decision, but he was certain that was the cake for him.

I must say I'm not a fan of ball/dome pans, because of the increased (uneven) baking times and its crustier outer part that touches the pan.  But I had to use it for this spherical cake.  My solution - carve out the majority of it.  This pan set had a inset pan, so I think because the portions are different and one was in another, my normally 50-minute baking time for the recipe took an extra 30 minutes.  So, yes, the cakes were overbaked, but it still tasted OK.  It was vanilla cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream mixed with strawberry and milk chocolate crispearls.  Dark chocolate ganache coated the cake before topping with the strawberry-flavoured red marshmallow fondant I made (haven't done so in a while).

I bought wall decorations and balloons to match the theme.  The bunting was from a free printable template, and I customized the text.  The crepe streamers took the longest time to put together yet it was a great way to cover up my dining hutch.

Time got the best of me, so we ended up with three activities.  We played "Knock the Piggies Down."  Plastic green cups had the green pigs taped on and stacked like a pyramid and the red Angry Bird was taped on a red ball.  The kids played this game for a while.  Such a simple concept yet it worked.

Next game was "Put the Tail on the Red Bird," and I had my friend Solmaz cut out the tails from black cardstock because the ones that came with the game were stickers, which was too permanent for me.  I put double-sided reusable tape on each one for ease of use.  The game resulted in some kids walking into the wall, but they still enjoyed themselves.

The last activity was a cookie decorating station.  I made two dozen sugar cookies and coloured the royal icing.  Of course, I was expecting a mess!  At least the sprinkles were jimmies and bigger kinds, rather than coloured sanding sugar.  The kids did love creating their own cookies.

For the favours, I got coloured bags that matched the theme and just added some candies and treats, Angry Birds flying shooter discs and tattoos.  I stapled a free printable template that was printed on photo paper.  Originally, I wanted to only make cookie favours, but I thought the cookie station was better.  So, the tags were repurposed. :)

A special shout out to Yahaira and Solmaz for helping me out with the party... you gals rock!  What awesome friends!  :D

 

Happy 5th Birthday, William! xo <3

March Madness!

Well, not exactly... but it is when you have an exam to study for... and I do procrastinate... a lot. :)

Here's a recap of my month plus one from today:

Easter Egg Cookies

I have a co-worker that really loves my cookies, whether it be gingerbread or sugar.  This time, she wanted sugar cookies in egg shapes.  Unfortunately for me, I do not have an egg cutter besides a really big one.  So, I took a normal circle cutter and bent it into an egg shape.  I mourned the loss of the original roundness but I didn't want to waste time to buy another cutter.

Then, it was just a matter to piping some royal icing as outlines or whatnot.  To get the sprinkles to stay on the cookie, I applied a thin layer of corn syrup, and waited for it to dry.

And she loved them! :)

* * *

Super Mario Birthday Cake, Take 2

I remember making cookies for Riley when he turned 1... now he's 3!  Where did the years go?!  He's really into Super Mario anything, so it was also his cake of choice.  His mom told me that the kids do not like fondant at all (bad experiences).  Instead, the chocolate cake had vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream filling and sides, and white chocolate ganache on the top.  Mario was actually a royal icing transfer, as were the dots, squids and coral.  The green blocks had to be made of fondant but they can be easily removed prior to eating.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Riley!

* * *

Sonic Birthday Cake

Originally, Kaiden wanted a Wolverine cake.  Then I was told he had changed his mind and wanted a Sonic cake instead.  The design is loosely based on what my friend had submitted.  I decided to make a royal icing transfer of Sonic's head in a ring.

The cake was vanilla with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream.  The whole thing was covered in blue fondant, and fondant and royal icing details.  I am super proud of the yellow and brown checks... those took the longest to make! 

 

Happy 5th Birthday, Kaiden!

 

* * *

Mini 60th Birthday Cupcakes

These chocolate and vanilla mini cupcakes with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream were for a 60-year-old.  The topper design was based on the actual decorations they had for the party.  The black fondant circles were splattered with orange, blue and green colours.  Then, I piped teal and purple royal icing on top.  For the final touch, I sprinkled disco dust all over them.

Happy 60th Birthday!

February Projects, Part 2

Here's the story... originally, I had a Spaceballs cake order due for yesterday. This was taken months in advance. So, I planned accordingly and took two days off work, enough time to complete it. Then, a couple of weeks ago, a colleague asked for a baby shower cake. I didn't want to say no, so I said yes, thinking I had ample time. Who could've predicted that I'd get sick on Valentine's day and did not get better until a week passed? The last couple of days were hectic, let me tell you! Staying up Friday night 'til 2am baking was not fun; I felt like keeling over from sleepiness. Unfortunately, due to my lack of time, the photos are not taken in natural light.

Spaceballs Cake

The couple: die-hard Spaceballs fans. I mean, quote-every-single-line-from-the-movie-type fans. She wanted tall cakes, so each tier (8" and 10" rounds) had 3 layers... making it over 12 inches high. It was so HEAVY! The cakes were red velvet with cream cheese icing, wrapped in black fondant. All the decorations were made from either fondant, gumpaste or modelling chocolate. The Winnebago and Princess Vespa's dress had Rice Krispies treat bases. If you've seen the film, you'll get the little details I tried to represent.

Happy Jack 'n Jill, Kristina & Gary!

* * *

Baby Boy Shower Cake

This cake was based on an existing design, but I've switched some elements, like adding the blocks and booties. The blocks had Rice Krispies treats as the foundations. All other elements were made of gumpaste and fondant. The filling for all tiers was vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream icing; the top 6" tier was red velvet cake; the 8" middle tier was vanilla cake; the 10" bottom tier was marble cake. I now understand why the cakes from televised cake decorating competition shows could get so heavy!

Both were completely assembled when I put them in the trunk... and remained intact during the delivery process! It's so nice to not have to carry any caking supplies to set up the cake... but the trade off is the possibility of it falling apart along the way and lifting a product that weighs a ton.

February Projects, Part 1

I don't seem to have the time to do post updates immediately after a project is completed anymore. Sorry for the delay. :(

Hence, "Part 1."

Big orders coming up to finish off the month (actually, they're due the same day - wish me luck), so stay tuned! :)

Chocolate Cake Cups

These one-bite treats are addictive. Very popular at the office, it will satisfy your chocolate craving. It is a combination of my chocolate cake recipe, vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream icing, topped with Belgian milk chocolate.

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Good Luck Cookies

Someone from work decided to take an opportunity out of the department, but she still would be in the same office. I wanted to make farewell treats, anyway. The sugar cookie was simply adorned with a horseshoe and written with edible marker (some people that I used a Sharpie - I thought that was funny).

Congrats and Good Luck, Sara R!

* * *

Baby Shower Cupcakes

My first-time Mommy friend was having a baby shower and I was asked to bring something. Initially, I had wanted to make the vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream blue, but the prams were blue (moulding wafers). In the end, I thought the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes made a better impact with its simple adornments (and no one had blue teeth).

Congrats, Sara & Rob!

* * *

Owen's Thomas Cake

My "little" 25-pound baby turned two this month. He's not speaking with words yet (long story short, we found out he's only been using 35% of his hearing but will be having surgery to correct it), but he seems to like Thomas. Due to my schedule and whatnot, I only could decorate his cake on the DAY OF HIS PARTY. Talk about pressure! Being off maternity leave to plan parties is tough! It took me 3 hours, but I thought it turned out OK. Thomas in his most basic form. The whole cake top was fondant, with a non-edible birthday flag. The cake itself was chocolate with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream icing.

Happy 2nd Birthday, Owen!

* * *

Purple Ruffle Cake

My colleague wanted a red velvet cake for her friend's birthday. A girl who likes purple and girly things. I chose pearls and ruffles because she sounds like a classy gal. The cake top is black fondant with a royal icing message.

Happy Birthday Nida!

Delayed "Happy 2012!"

The past couple of weeks were used recovering from all the festivities and my hectic December. But I'm back to updating the blog! :)

For New Year's Eve, my colleague requested a vanilla/chocolate cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream icing. No theme in particular, so I wanted to do a more text-y cake. I decided on a few lines from the classic song that is sung to ring in the new year.

CRAZY, BUSY DECEMBER!!!

I haven't been updating my blog/website for the past couple of weeks due to CRAZINESS! Did I already mention that I have 4-hour commute to work in total, a husband, and 2 boys under age 4? Adding orders to the list make for lack of sleep and the feeling of not finishing in time (but I always do).

So, I will try to *briefly* mention what has kept me so preoccupied...

* * *

Pittsburgh Steelers Cake

Made for a football fan, this chocolate cake with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream (SMBC) icing was topped with a royal icing transfer. Surprisingly, I was told it was easy to cut into; possibly due to it resting on the buttercream, which broke up the molecules in the royal icing. A test for me to experiment with in the future.

* * *

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Snowflake Cookies

The cookies were sugar and gingerbread cookies for the staff at the IRBC. The design is similar to what I made in the past, but with the addition of an edible image of the IRBC logo in the centre. Did I mention I love my edible ink printer? :)

* * *

Red Velvet Minis with Rose

So, my colleague wanted to bring these cupcakes for her niece's birthday. Initially, the niece said yellow was her favourite colour but then changed it to purple. Her mom wanted a rose on the cupcake, so I made them in purple and rested on cream cheese icing. The kids went to town so fast on the cupcakes that my colleague was not able to take even one photo of her niece enjoying them. To be 4 years old again...

* * *

Trifecta of Destination Wedding Cakes
Another colleague requested to have cakes made in honour of her daughter's wedding. The wedding was in Punta Cana, so parts of the cakes had a beachy theme. She was very generous and shared the cakes with us at work (which was her intention all along!). To make my life easier, I decided to change the order into three smaller and shorter cakes instead of two higher cakes (I had to commute by transit, after all).

Bride's Cake

Her daughter had calla lilies in her bouquet, which I made with fondant. Ruffles were everywhere to make it look like a bridal. The cake was vanilla with vanilla SMBC icing.

Beach Cake

Palm trees meeting together was the idea for this chocolate cake with vanilla SMBC icing.

Message Cake

So, I didn't end up having room for the text on both the first two cakes above. It was written on this one instead. This cake ended up having one layer of chocolate cake and one of vanilla, all iced and filled with vanilla SMBC.

Congrats Melissa and Lee!

* * *

26th Anniversary Cake

My colleague wanted a little vanilla cake to celebrate her anniversary. I put puddle dots and a couple of fondant flowers to decorate it very simply.

Happy 26th Anniversary!

* * *

13th Anniversary Cake

Another colleague's anniversary was on the same date as the above client - weird, huh? She specifically requested for a chocolate ganache filling, which I did but also covered the top and sides of the vanilla cake with it. The sides were finished off with SMBC. The second request was to make it colourful (for her kids) because this was also the first anniversary cake that was homemade (she never had time to make it herself).

Happy 13th Anniversary!

* * *

"Just Because..." Cakes

A colleague wanted to do something nice for a couple of people at work, so she ordered two generic cakes that could be served over the holidays. The cakes are vanilla with SMBC: the first one with fondant calla lilies and sugar pearls; the second one with rosettes and sugar pearls.

* * *

Snowflake Birthday Cake

This short vanilla cake with sweet vanilla icing just had snowflakes piped all over the fondant top.

Happy Birthday Nana!

* * *

21st Birthday Cake

This was the chocolate birthday cake with teal vanilla SMBC for the last surprise birthday party my colleague was going to give her son. SMBC 21's were placed on the black fondant top. It looked kinda retro, but I'm glad to hear it was enjoyed by all.

Happy Birthday Josh!

* * *

Gingerbread Christmas Tree Cookie

Of course, with all the baking I do, I had to bring something to work to share. I made some gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies (not pictured) topped with royal icing.

* * *

Girly Cupcakes

I had a request to make fuchsia SMBC cupcakes with girly teal and white toppers. The cupcakes were vanilla, chocolate and red velvet, topped with alternating white/teal butterflies, flowers and pearls. I really liked how the teal glitter made the pearls shimmer.

Ooh La La, Baby!

My friend didn't know what to get a new mommy-to-be, so she decided to bring a cake. A vanilla cake with blue strawberry-flavoured Swiss meringue buttercream (blue for baby boy). My simplified version of a "diaper" cake:

Congrats, Pearl, and welcome to the club! :)

* * *

My other project due today was for a dinner party. A Paris-themed dinner party, to be exact. So, I used some of the most obvious French icons: the flag, the Eiffel Tower, and the Arc de Triomphe.

The flag was the easiest one. The Tower was, too, due to its smaller scale. It was the Arc that took the most time to do but it was also the most fun. I am pleased with the results and so was the client. :)