Wedding Cupcake Tier

Ok so it has been awhile once again. My life as a new teacher has kept me busy what can I say. I hope to start baking soon again as I have 2 big cupcake orders this month :) Just easing myself back in.

In the meantime, here is a wedding cake and cupcake tier I made back in September for a friend of mine. I used fresh flowers to garnish each tier of cupcakes. The cake topper is just vanilla cake with a vanilla SMBC that I iced in a rustic way. I was really happy with the way this turned out :)

Flowery Birthday

A flowery birthday order today... I ended up adding more fondant flowers than a usual order. I kind of get carried away if I'm really into something :)

Love this quote!

Jenn and Dawson's Engagement Party

One of my good friends from college recently got engaged. They celebrated their engagement tonight and my gift to them was cupcakes :-) She only told me to use blue and purple, and this is what I came up with.

Even though this didn't match the decor exactly, I wanted to use my cute little bumble bees again. Ended up putting them on the top tier. (I also bought this new cake plate at home goods today too, which i loooove ;-)

Congrats Jenn and Dawson

Great American Cake Sow

This morning I attended the Great American Cake Show here in MD. It's crazy how many people attend these shows from out of town, from all over the US! I'm just glad it was only an hour away from me.

I took another class on flowers - hoping it would be better than the last class I took at the other cake show. The class was with Beth Parvu. She does some amazing work! We were supposed to learn a Hibiscus, Water Lily (Lotus), and a Bhutan dragon. She definitely had a lot of tips and was really nice. Our class was small which made it even better to learn. The only thing I was disappointed in, was that we did not get to complete one flower in the 2 hour time limit. I left the class half finished Lotus/Water Lily and a stamen to a Hibiscus. She offered to let us see how to finish the flowers at her booth where she sold her products after class. I went by for a little while but I had to leave early. Here is what I have finished of the Water Lily I made so far:

My half finished Water Lily

It still needs 2 more layers of petals, but it's so pretty! I really love Water Lillies/Lotus because they remind me of my travels all over Asia (I taught English in China and traveled around there and SE Asia). I can't wait to try out more flowers. I bought the cutters, wires, and colors at the show to finish it. I Still need to buy a petal veiner, then I can actually finish it at home. (Again - why did I choose such an expensive hobby?! *lol*) Well, it's just gonna have to wait until I get back from vacation - leaving on Tuesday :)

Erin and Karl's Wedding

The big day finally came and the wedding cake was a success!

It was my very first wedding cake I've ever done. Leading up to the big day I had a cake consultation with the bride to decide the design and a cake tasting with over a dozen different flavor combinations. I was so nervous up until they cut the cake! It such an important center piece to a wedding which is added stress and nerves.

The bride ended up deciding on a three tier cake with blue flowers and swirly pipe work around the flowers on the cake. For the top, she wanted something beachy but would also reflect each others personality and things they enjoyed. And this is what we came up with...

Cake Details

Bottom Layer: Almond cake with raspberry jam filling and vanilla bean frosting
Middle Layer: Chocolate cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting chocolate frosting and raspberry cream filling
Top Layer: Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting
Flowers/leaves: Gumpaste
Fondant to cover cake: Homemade marshmallow fondant
Topper details: Everything was hand made with fondant except the chairs. On her chair- Roxy towel, Diet Dr. Pepper, and a book. On His chair - MP3 player with head phones and a towel with his favorite band's symbol. Both had a pair of flip flops. Sand is made with graham cracker crumbs with a little pixie dust mixed in to give it a little shine.

Groom's Cupcakes
(and Spongebob Birthday Cupcakes one of her friends)

Cutting the cake!

All the cakes I've been making so far have been "practice" for the big day. Some things have learned in the last year about getting ready for the big cake:
1. Prepare prepare prepare! For example you can make all the gumpaste flowers and fondant accessories well in advance. Bring as many tools with you to the venue and be prepared for anything.
2. Always try a new technique. For all the cakes I have been done leading up to the wedding cake, no matter how minimal, I always tried something new - a new technique, flavor, design, etc.
3. Try really hard not to sweat the small stuff. As a cake designer we see the smallest imperfections that the client would probably never notice or have any idea. Enjoy their happiness :-)

Congrats Erin and Karl!
You had a beautiful wedding now go and enjoy that amazing honeymoon :)

Wilton Finale Cake (course 4)

So my friend's mom and I took the Wilton Fondant and Gum Paste course at our local craft store this month. I have not taken any of the other courses yet - I guess I'm doing them backwards lol. Since I like to be different I decided on my own design that's not in the book. I decided on a zebra cake with the fantasy flowers. Also, I made my own fondant for this cake and it came out soooo much better than last time :) Homemade fondant just tastes better than the store bought stuff. As for the flowers - they are all gum paste. Hope you enjoy!

My sketch

I don't always sketch my ideas because 1) I cant draw very well and 2) I never have time lol

THE CAKE

(In the class you learn the carnation and the daisy. I modified the daisy to make a lotus/water lily)

Update 1/29/09
Here is the aftermath of the cake when we sacrificed it at work tonight LOL