Bird Cage Baby Shower Cake

Bird Cage Baby Shower Cake

It’s been a while since I’ve been online to update the blog, but today, I’m getting back on track!

I had the opportunity to make a baby shower cake for a dear friend of mine whose daughter is expecting her second child, which is going to be a girl! The theme for the shower revolved around the baby’s bedding, which included birds and butterflies, and revolved around a purple color scheme. I wanted the cake to be a representation of this theme, so I decided to make a two tier cake, with the top tier mirroring a small birdcage.

The bottom tier of the cake was decorated with fondant flowers and greenery with birds and a fondant banner, while the top tier consisted of a bird cage with fondant floral detail alongside a bird silhouette studded with pearl sprinkles.

The entire cake was Vanilla Cake Batter with Vanilla Buttercream. The fondant used was Satin Ice White Buttercream.

Congratulations to the Cox Family on the anticipated arrival of their sweet baby girl!

*If you are interested in using Satin Ice products, you can purchase them online at www.thebakerskitchen.com.*

Bird Cake Baby Shower Cake

2012 in review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 18,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 4 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

UGA Graduation Cake

UGA Graduation Cake

The cake was a Chocolate cake base with traditional Vanilla Buttercream Frosting. The exterior of the cake featured White Satin Ice Fondant that I airbrushed black, while the accent decor consisted of red Duff Goldman brand fondant that included  circles and paw prints around the cake. The cake also featured a custom “G” for the school’s logo, as well as simple red ribbon roses with green fondant leaves. The white border sash was made from the White Satin Ice fondant and was personalized by piping the message in black buttercream frosting.

Congrats to Haleigh on her amazing accomplishments and I wish you the best with your upcoming career!

This cake is one that anyone can do on their own. You can order Satin Ice Fondant online at such stores as thebakerskitchen.com and other online cake retailers. The Baker’s Kitchen also retails materials for fondant borders, silicone molds for flowers, leaves, etc., as well as airbrushes and airbrush accessories you can use to make your cakes extra special for friends and family!

Caiden Pirate Cake

Pirate Cake

A friend of mine got in touch with me a while back and requested that I help her with her little boy’s first birthday party by making a Pirate-themed cake, cupcakes, and cookies to match the decor of the event.

The specific details that were to be incoporated into the design of the cake, cupcakes, etc. were a life-like pirate, skeletons, coins, etc. So, in keeping with the requests that were put before me, I decided to make this as “Pirate-like” as I could.

One of the first things I wanted to do with this cake was to implement different aspects of the Pirate theme that are commonly used and/or associated with pirates and treasure. So, I wanted the background of the cake, if you will, to be more of a treasure map, an element that would provide a sense of story to the cake. This way, it would look as if our little pirate was on the hunt for his buried treasure. And well, the treasure itself had to be on top.

The treasure chest that sits atop the cake was made of styrofoam that I carved into a desired shape, covered in a thin crumb-coat of buttercream, and finished with fondant that was

Treasure Chest Detail

airbrushed and hand-painted to achieve a woodgrain design. The gold coins and pearls that were included in the treasure chest were made using a tip with a circular head, as well as a pearl mold. They were then painted using Gold Pearl Dust that was mixed with liquid. (You can use Vodka as the liquid or water).

Wrecked Pirate Ship Detail

The cake also featured a wrecked pirate ship at the base of the bottom tier. The ship itself was also carved from styrofoam and covered with a thin crumb-coat of icing as well as fondant. The fondant was rolled over a woodgrain template (as was the treasure chest) and then airbrushed, accomplishing the old, wood look I was going for. The sail was a piece of white gum paste that I allowed to dry overnight.

The main character of the cake, our cute little pirate boy, was also

Pirate

made of gum paste and hand-molded and painted. He sports the ever popular eye patch as well as a black hat and ripped shirt and shorts. The colors red and black were requested as part of the color scheme, so these were used as the colors of our pirate’s clothes. He sits proudly atop “Pirate’s Cove” with his pirate flag in place, showing this treasure is his! 😉

All over the cake, the idea of the treasure map is carried out, with little black dashes showing where the treasure lies and what part of the island you have to pass through to find it. There is a Mermaid Cove, a Bone Yard (featuring a skull and bones), Shipwreck Cove, etc.

The cake itself was Vanilla Cake Batter with Vanilla Buttercream.

Cupcakes and cookies were also included.

Mickey & Minnie Cupcakes

Mickey & Minnie Cupcakes

 These cupcakes were a blast to make and oh, so cute. (If I say so myself!).

A friend of mine requested these for her kids a while back, as a means of telling them that she and her husband were taking them on a surprise trip to Disney!

The cupcakes were Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting, and featured black Fondant detail to create the look of the Mickey and Minnie hats.

Thea Wedding Cake

Geometric Wedding Cake

This cake was made for Thea and Edgar for their wedding day! The cake consisted of two different flavor profiles. The top tier of the cake was White Cake with Raspberry filling and Vanilla Buttercream, while the bottom tier was Mudslide.

The wedding took place at the 5 Seasons Westside in Atlanta.

Congratulations to Thea and Edgar, and may the Lord bless you both in the many years ahead of you!

‘Hunter’ Guitar Birthday Cake

Guitar Birthday Cake

This weekend I got to make a special cake for a very special person…my brother! For his party, he asked that I make a cake replica of one of his guitars. So, this was the final result!

The cake was fun to make and I think it came out as close to the original as I could have accomplished. The cake itself was my Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake that I covered in Satin Ice White/Vanilla Fondant.

The body of the guitar was all cake (I used a template that I traced and cut to fit the shape and design of the guitar & carved the cake to the specified dimensions), with the neck being cardboard that I cut to fit a drawn

Neck Detail

outline and covered in fondant, airbrushed, and added detail to mimick the design on my brother’s actual guitar.

The ‘strings’ were made of Royal Icing that I tinted with Silver Airbrush Foodcolor (The Duff Goldman Brand).

Happy Birthday Hunter!

Paint Can Retirement Cake

Paint Can Retirement Cake

This week I had the opportunity to make a cake for a co-worker whose dad is retiring from the paint/ink business.

At her request, the cake was made in the shape of a paint can that featured the phrase: “A Lifetime of Color.” The cake featured red ‘paint’ that was coming out of the can with a lid balanced on top. The cake design also featured paint splotches in varying colors with a message that read “Congratulations”.

The cake itself was Vanilla Cake Batter with Raspberry Buttercream Filling and Vanilla Buttercream. The fondant used on this cake was Satin Ice Vanilla/White Fondant.

Fall Cake Pops

Fall Cake Pops

One fun and unique option that you and your family can do during the holidays are Cake Pops! With such machines such as BabyCakes, it is now easier than ever to involve your kids, or just yourself, in making some yummy treats for Halloween and/or Thanksgiving.

I actually made some Cake Pops for my brother and cousin’s birthdays this past weekend. I simply made a Chocolate Cake batter(you can use any recipe you like!) and used my BabyCake Cake Pop maker to make the cake part of the pops. It only takes 4-6 minutes for the ‘lil cakes to cook, and I put them on the provided “stand” and freeze them for 5-10 minutes. Then, you can use some candy or lolli-pop sticks, dip them in your favorite glaze, frosting, or ganache and then insert the tip of the stick with the frosting/ganache mixture on it into the cake ball. This will act as glue. Allow them to freeze for another 5 minutes or so.

After the cake balls have become frozen, dip them in your favorite topping, allow the topping to set, and then roll in your favorite nuts, coconut, chocolates, sprinkles, etc.  And viola! You have a fun and extremely easy dessert that will wow your friends and family at your next party, or simply entertain and teach your kids to have fun in the kitchen!

If you’re interested in purchasing a BabyCakes Cake Pop Maker, they are available at KOHL’S Department Stores and available online.

Happy baking!

Spiced Pumpkin Seeds

One way to utilize your pumpkin for all it’s worth is by scooping out the seeds and using them to make some yummy snacks for all those in the house who have the munchies.

You can virtually flavor your pumpkin seeds any way you’d like, so here are a few different options on how to spice ’em up…

1. Clean the pumpkin, taking out the pulp and separating the seeds. Place the seeds in a collander and give them a good rinse. Do NOT try to pat-dry them with a paper towel or hand rag because the seeds will become towel decorations and not snacks. Just give them a good shake in the collander to get as much excess water off as possible.

2. Once they’ve been rinsed, go ahead and spray a baking sheet or pan with some non-stick spray and spread out your pumpkin seeds. Allow the seeds roughly 25-30 minutes of cook time in a 300 degree oven. This will further allow the seeds to dry out.

3. While your pumpkin seeds are cooking, go ahead and set up your ‘spice stations’ so that you’re ready to add some flavor. You can literally make tons of flavor combinations, so pick ones that are most desirable for you. If you’re a salt over sugar person, set out spices such as paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder, etc. However, if you’re like me, get out the sugar, cinnamon or nutmeg to add a sweet taste to this snack.

4. Once the 30 minutes are up for baking, go ahead and toss the pumpkin seeds (make sure not to burn yourself) in a bit of either canola, vegetable, or olive oil, and toss them together with some of the spices you’ve chosen for this batch. Then, once they’re coated to your specifications, go ahead and pop them back in the oven anywhere from 10-20 minutes, at the same temperature.

Enjoy!