Frosty the Snowman Cake

Today I had to teach a cake class.  I figured since I had to make a cake, that I would make a Christmas themed cake for my boys.


This cake is chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and peppermint fondant (I added a little bit more than 1/4 tsp of peppermint extract to the fondant mixture as I was making it)...quite yummy!

I made the snowman yesterday so that it could dry.  I added Gumtex to the fondant mixture to give it stability.


I then added trees, snowballs around the bottom and made a tree for the top.

I didn't have the right tool to make the tree, so I came up with my own little tree creation.  I'm quite happy with how it turned out, especially with the snow (powdered sugar) sprinkled on the top.


My boys cannot wait to eat it after dinner...ok, I admit it...me too!!

Baby Shoes

Here is my first baby shower cake!


This cake is a vanilla cake (8" and 10") with raspberry buttercream on the inside and vanilla on the outside.

I used a template to cut out the 3 main pieces of the shoe and then attached them all together.  For the laces, I used a clay extruder fitted with a small round hole.  It helped make the laces nice and even in size.  

This bow was actually my second bow.  I made a mistake with the first one by letting it dry near a window...sun is a no, no!  It bleaches the color right out of the fondant!  I guess you have to learn something new with each cake, right?!

I made the flowers before assembling the cake and let them dry on a curvy surface.  I used my ribbon cutter for the big stripes and cut the small brown stripes by hand.

I also made a small pacifier to sit on the top and decorated that with a small version of the flowers.  


In the end I think it turned out real cute!  Having 3 boys, it's always fun to make a girly cake once in a while!

Cake Class

I will be holding a cake class on December 10th at 2pm.  Please contact me if you would like to attend!

Shotgun Cake

Yes....another gun cake!  

This one's a bit different than the last one.  It was originally supposed to be just the gun, but in order to make it proportional, it would have ended up being a very small piece of cake.  I decided to make the wood base as the cake instead and just add the gun to the top as decoration.


I made the whole gun out of Rice Krispie Treats and covered it with fondant.  I then etched the design into the fondant.

I always try to do something new and different with each new cake I make.  This time I got to create wood out of fondant.  It really was a lot of fun!  I practiced first on a small piece of fondant to check out the effect.


First, I etched lines into the fondant and gently swirled them around with my hand.  Next, using a brush, I added some brown airbrush food coloring to the fondant.  It's basically like staining real wood.  The creases and imperfections pick up the darker color.

I then added small holes and made areas to look like knots in the wood.  You basically can't go wrong with it.  I'm very happy with how it turned out and I have plans to make a Thanksgiving cake with this newly discovered technique.  

This cake is 3, 8" square cakes cut to fit the size of the gun.  It is coffee flavored cake, topped with a layer of caramel and then chocolate buttercream frosting.  

Construction Cake

What little boy doesn't love trucks and dirt?!

This is a 9x13 double layer, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

The first thing I did was prepare the hat and the construction vehicle ahead of time.  They are both made out of Rice Krispie Treats.

For the lower "arm" I used a piece of cardboard covered in fondant to give it extra support.  The two top "arms" are held together with chocolate to keep them sturdy. The joint in between the two arms was held together with a tooth pick and actually moved!





The "dirt" is just crumbled up cake and all other decorations are made from fondant.

S'mores Truffles

I saw a recipe online for something called S'mores Truffles.  I figured since I love S'mores, I would give them a try.

You need: 6 Hershey Bars, Marshmallow Fluff, vanilla extract, Graham Crackers, heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar.

First, using a small circle cookie/fondant cutter, make 12 circles out of the Hershey Bars and Graham Crackers.

Then for the marshmallow filling, mix 2 cups of fluff, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 2 tablespoons of cream with an electric mixer.  Mix this until it's well blended.  Then gradually add 2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar until the mixture becomes stiff.

Roll the mixture into balls and place between the chocolate and crackers.  Place in the fridge for 1/2 an hour to chill.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining chocolate (including the chocolate pieces you cut from) using a double broiler. 




Dip the S'mores into the chocolate until coated, sprinkle with crumbled crackers and place back into the fridge to harden.

ENJOY!!!

Wedding Cake

This is an 8" square cake for the bottom tier and a 6" square tier for the top.

The bottom tier is a  Chocolate Pound Cake. It is made up of 3 layers with chocolate buttercream frosting in between each layer.  The outer layer of frosting is vanilla buttercream frosting so that it wouldn't show through the white fondant.  I used a pound cake due to the height and to give it extra stability.  I had never made a chocolate pound cake before, but I have to say....it was DELICIOUS!!

The top layer is Devil's Food Cake (3 layers) with the same frosting as the bottom tier.  

Both tiers were 4 inches tall.

This is a picture of the top tier with the cake topper.  I made this topper based on the photograph I had been given.  At first, I wasn't sure how I was going to make this, but did some research on jewelry with wire/beads.  This topper consists of 3 wire/bead "flowers" that I arranged and wired together.  I also added some wire strings with beads.

 

I learned quite a bit making this topper and it was definitely a fun experience.  I guess I can add this form of artwork to my resume as well now.

I also got to make royal icing for the first time with this cake.  This is what I made the black dots out of.  First, I made measurements and marked the cake with an edible pen writer where the dots needed to be.  Then I just went back and added the dots with the royal icing.  They turned out really well.

The cake was finished off with some turquoise ribbon around the bottom of the tiers to match the bride/groom's colors.  This is the finished result on display at the wedding reception.

Military Rifle Cake

I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the thought of doing this cake.  After it was all said and done, I'm very happy with the end result.  The definite key to this cake was in the silver food coloring spray I bought.  It really finished off the cake and gave it a nice metal look to it.  

 I started off by making the front section of the gun (by the way, this is an AR 15, military assault rifle).  The very end is made with fondant and I used a straw to carve out a small hole.  The long, thin piece is a straw covered in fondant...this is the only inedible part of the cake.  The black barrel was made out of Rice Krispie Treats and then covered in fondant.

The main part of the cake is the only real "cake" section.  I used a template to cut a section out of a frozen piece of cake.  It was much easier to cut this way.  The scope on top is made from Rice Krispie Treats and each end has a rock candy piece of "glass".

 All the little details on this section are made out of fondant mixed with gumtex.

The end section is also made from Rice Krispie Treats.  The bottom of the black area is made with fondant and gumtex, left to dry so that it would hold it's shape.

 I used a small paintbrush to add the color to the gun.  I mixed a small amount of black into the silver color so that it would look more like metal.  

This was not my "normal" type cake, but I was willing to take on the challenge anyway.  

Medieval Times

I know I always seem to say this, but this one was a lot of work!  I had planned it a bit different initially, but as I was assembling the pieces, it got changed a bit.  I'm happy with the final result though and actually think it turned out better this way.

The first thing I did after making the fondant (2 batches of grey fondant) is make the turrets (towers).  They were made from Rice Krispie treats and I used a tall glass as the form.  

 Then I baked and frosted the cakes (10" & 8" rounds).  I used the same glass that I made the turrets with to mark off small semi-circle areas on the bottom layer where I would be inserting them.  I then cut those out with a very sharp knife.  Once that was done I started adding fondant to the layers.  

Starting with the bottom layer, I measured out the 4 small areas around the sides where I would be placing the fondant.  After they were cut to size, I used a cobblestone impression mat to make the stone imprints onto the fondant.

I applied another layer of frosting as "glue" and placed the fondant onto the sides of the cake, being very careful not to make marks on the impressions.  Once the sides were done, I used wax paper to cut out a template for the top.  I followed the same method to place that onto the bottom layer.  

For the top tier, I actually did it a bit different.  I rolled fondant onto the cake and then used the impression mat on it afterwards.  By this time, the cake was getting a little warm and it didn't take the impressions quite as well.

Next time, I will try doing the impression first before applying.  I was just worried I would damage it as I was rolling it onto the cake.  

For the turrets, I measured a piece that would wrap around and cut that out.  I then frosted the towers and placed it down onto the middle of the piece of fondant.  Then I wrapped the two sides around the tower and joined the two edges together.  To make the impressions, I stood the tower up and gently rolled the impression mat around the towers.  A small circular piece was added to the top of each tower.
Next came the edging around the tops.  That was a bit tricky.  I added gumtex to the fondant and then cut out a long strip of fondant.  I then cut notches out of the strip.  I then added it to the towers and the top tier.  After that, I placed the towers onto the cake using frosting as glue to hold them in place.  I then added the remaining pieces in between the towers.  

Before adding all the finishing bits (windows, doors, flags, etc), I covered the base with wax paper and used my airbrush to lightly coat the grey with black to give it the appearance of stone.  I don't think I did so bad considering it was 1am at this point!


Lastly, I added the windows, the door (made with a wood grain impression mat) and placed the flags onto the top.  I also added some extra stones around the base and some grass to complete the look. 


Overall, this cake took about 15 hours to make. 

Pretty in pink!

This is the only picture I managed to get of this cake before sending it on it's merry way.  I made this for a friend's daughter.  She helped make the fondant and baked the cakes and I did the decorating.  I also made a real pretty "M" to go on the top, but you will have to use your imagination for that. 

Wild Things!

I made these two figures for a friend of mine's twin boys.  I used the book to trace the figures out of wax paper.  After cutting them out, I placed them over the rolled fondant and then used a knife to cut around the edges.  They are both completely made out of fondant and I also used edible writers to draw on some of the details.

As you can see, they are missing hands.  This is because they will be hanging from vines and their claws will be added after they are placed on the cake.  My friend will be finishing the rest of the details with the vines, branches, trees and leaves I gave to her.  I can't wait to see the final cake!

Super Mario Bros!

Wow!  Was this cake A LOT of work!  I lost count at about 15 hours or so!

I prepared the fondant a week in advance and spent the week before his birthday working on all of the figures.  The more complex ones took about 45 minutes to an hour a piece because of all the coloring and detail involved.  I also made the star ahead of time to give it time to harden.  I added Gumtex to all the fondant figures so they would hold their shape well.

This little guy on the right is my favorite I think (besides the cute little mushrooms next to him).  

I also made a bunch of the bricks to place on the cake.  I just cut the fondant into squares and then used a knife to make the grooves in the fondant.

This guy on the left was a bit tricky.  I had to roll out a thin line of black fondant and then carefully place it on his face for the goggles.  He also has a spiky Mohawk, which was super delicate.

Mario, on the right, was definitely the most time consuming.  I first made the pipe he's coming out of and then formed his body and then head.  I had to use toothpicks to keep his head stable on his body.

The mushroom was made out of formed Rice Krispie Treats covered in frosting and fondant.  

 Luigi wasn't as tricky, but that's only because it was a side view of him.

 This guy on the right is called a Goomba.  Doesn't look that complicated, but those teeny little teeth and eyebrows are so tricky to place onto such a small character.  I also made a couple of those turtle shells to place around the bottom and some coins as seen on the game.

The plant on the left is called a Piranha Plant.  I really liked how this turned out for some reason.  

The little fella on the right is a Toad.

I also included one of the flags that is found at the end of each level.  It doesn't have the graphic that's on the flag in the game, but this was the last detail I did and by this point I was thoroughly exhausted with this cake.  I decided to just let it go....not easy for me to do!

Here's a better view from the side.  I also made a Flying Turtle.  Originally, he was made to go on the side of the cake, but I ran out of room.  I decided to put him on the top since he flies in the game anyway.  I had to use toothpicks to hold him in place.

I decided to use my airbrush on this cake for the background.  It came out darker than intended, but I like how it turned out anyway.  My son went through the different "worlds" on the game to come up with an idea for the background.  This "world" is a tropical one with sand dunes and palm trees.  I think it all worked out well in the end and he was very excited to have his friends over to share his cake.