Lindsay and John

Wow, I am actually sitting down to post about a cake right after delivering it!

So many of my brides are girls I have known since childhood, and Lindsay is no exception.  I taught her in our church primary, when she was probably 11 years old.  

Lindsay wanted a small cake to freeze for their first anniversary, and then 125 cupcakes for the guests.  Her colors were Burgundy and navy.  

Sounds about right!

Because I have had trouble with cupcake liners pulling away, or puckering, or both, in the past, and because I needed a specific color, I ordered them from a shop on Etsy, called TheSparklingPantry.  I was thrilled when they came!  They were just the right color, they were thick, and substantial, and best of all, they fit perfectly in my cupcake tins!  However, after baking, they pulled away from about 1/2 of the cupcakes.  I know it is not the liners, because of my past experience, but I need to do more research on why that keeps happening.  I suspect it is the oil ratio, which would be a bummer, because that is what makes the cupcakes so moist.

In a panic, I ran to my local cake supply store, The Baker's Rack, and explained my problem.  I consider it no small miracle that she happened to have just the right solution; cupcake wrappers in navy blue! (Wrappers are like a small cup to set the cupcake inside of for decoration.)  She said she has had them for years, but they just don't sell, and all she had left was 10 packages (120 wrappers!)  My husband was thrilled when I told him I needed him to come on the delivery, and assemble 120 wrappers, (not!) but he was a trooper, and saved my day!

It only took us about 1/2 hour to set them all up, and they looked really good; in fact, I think they look much better sitting in the wrappers.  

Before the flowers were added

Of course, most of my cakes would not be complete without the lovely and talented Casey Benedict!  Her flowers just make all the difference!

After Casey worked her magic!

For this cake, I again used my Marvelous Molds silicone mold, in the damask pattern to decorate the sides.  I set the 6" cake on the tower, and then added the border.  

Ashlynn and Harry

I was excited about this cake, because I have never used one of the "combs" to make texture on the side of the cake!

For this, I used the same cream cheese frosting from the cake for Connor and Sara.  The first pattern I used didn't work; some of the ridges in the frosting did not fill in, and I'm not sure why.  I will have to continue to play with it and see.  I decided to try a "comb" with a more shallow pattern, and it worked perfectly!  

Because I was trying something new, I started a few days earlier than maybe I usually would, and that turned out to be a blessing in disguise; I came down with a massive head cold the day before the wedding, but all I had left to do was stack the cake and add the border.  I delivered the cake, but unfortunately, was not able to stay for the reception.  Hopefully, it was what they wanted.

I have GOT to learn how to use my iPhone camera better; with the window behind, I couldn't get a well-lit picture of the whole display from the front.

The florist called me the night before, and said that she had left a topper, and some extra flowers for me to add to the cake.  This always makes me a little nervous, because my floral skills are not the best, but I am learning!  Her topper was beautiful, and I just had to set it on top.  I clipped a few more flowers, and paired them with some filler or leaves, and scattered them around the cake.  I think I did pretty well!  I have learned a trick or two from watching Casey Benedict!

The final cake up close.  You can't really see the pattern on the side in this one, but I wanted to show the cake from several sides.

I love how this one turned out.  You can really see the pattern, and it looks so smooth!

Connor and Sara

A while back, my daughter determined to fix her roommate up with one of her best friends she's known since high school.  Apparently, she has good intuition, because it worked out perfectly! Connor and Sara Weeks (#twoweeks cute, huh?) were married on Dec. 27th, and Courtney served as one of the bridesmaids.  They had a Kansas open house here this past weekend.

Connor's mom gave me a picture of what they wanted.  it is kind of a "modern, rustic" look.  They wanted red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.  I added a faux vanilla mousse filling, just to lighten up the flavor a little.  

Here's the bare cake, just after assembly.

I usually work with a crusting frosting, and I have a recipe for a crusting cream cheese frosting, but a crusting frosting would not work with this technique on the sides.  Thank goodness for Cake Central!  Regular cream cheese frostings are too runny to frost and smooth a cake with, but this recipe has a secret ingredient that makes it light and fluffy, and a dream to work with: Cool Whip!  Oh my goodness was it good!  I gave away one business card, and Amy, Connor's mom, gave my name to several others.  

The finished product--lovely!

I have mentioned Casey Benedict before.  She is a friend from way back, and a spectacular florist.  She makes my cakes look so good!  I love to stay and watch her work her magic, after I have set up the cake.  She just talks and arranges the flowers like it's second nature to her. Im sure it is.  The hydrangeas make this look so full and finished, and the orange accents are a perfect balance.

A better view of Casey's work

The full display

Everything went so smoothly with this cake, and I was feeling so good about it, that I went home to change for the reception, and left the gift for the bride and groom on my kitchen counter! ;P

(Thank goodness for the USPS)

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Weeks!

AhMu Open House

One year ago, give or take a week, I did the wedding cake for one of Courtney's best mission friends. Alex and Cole This fall, I got a call from the Alex's uncle.  He said that he and his wife had "been to a lot of weddings, and had a lot of bad wedding cake, but they really liked Alex's cake."  That made my day!  

Their son got married at Thanksgiving time, in Florida, but they wanted to have an open house for the bride and groom here, in Kansas City, and wanted a cake.  They were very concerned that the cake be simple, and not outdo the cake that the couple had for their wedding day.  They just wanted a plain cake with a ribbon border, like Alex's, but they had a topper that they would put on top. That meant I needed to make a supported cardboard platform for the topper to sit on. 

The wedding colors were light pink and navy, so they wanted the ribbon to be light pink, but trusted me to find something that would work.

When looking at ribbon, I saw some very delicate, light pink ribbon, but it seemed that they would not stand out against the white cake, so I went with a slightly darker rose pink, in a sheer, with a narrower satin ribbon to accent it.

Back of the cake, where the ribbon attaches with white pins.

When I went to deliver the cake, the father of the groom, who ordered the cake, said, "This is exactly what we wanted!"  How's that to make your day??!

I don't always get to talk to the customers when I drop off the cake, so I was very delighted to hear that feedback!

The finished cake, all delivered.  The pink in this picture is a little more accurate than the one above, and you can see that it matches the pink runner it is sitting on.

The topper says "For Time and all Eternity"

I forgot to snap a picture when I dropped off the cake, but I noticed that the dad was snapping a few on his phone, so I texted him later and asked if I could get a copy.  He immediately texted me back with the above picture, and said that they had loved the cake, and it tasted great!

Bella's Birthdays

Since I am so bad at updating this blog, several years actually elapsed between posts, so this post covers two birthdays of the same girl, two years apart.  The Little Mermaid cake was her 4th birthday, and the Pokemon was her 6th.

She is growing up so fast!

I love when I get to try a new technique, and I had been wanting to try these "scales."  They were every bit as easy as they look!  I would love to try the same technique in different designs.  

The cake as it looked when they picked it up.

The mother had a figurine for on top of the cake, so I left that empty.  I also tried the shells of the "bra" both directions, and this way they actually fit on the cake better.

Which is the cake, and which is the birthday girl? Lol

By her 6th birthday, she had moved on to Pokemon.  The party was so cute, all of the grown ups in her family had "Pokemon Trainer" t-shirts, and, of course, there was a bounce house!

This one was fairly simple, but making Pikachu's face look right proved to be a little difficult.  I played with it on the mat, and made changes before I put it on the cake, and I still think it turned out slightly out of proportion.  Oh well, the birthday girl was thrilled, and that's all that matters. (I also thought the bottom tier "Pokeball" looked a little like Santa Claus, but once I put the top on, it tied the tiers together!)

"Artistic view"  Lol!  I tilted my phone, so that I could get closer, and still get the whole cake in the picture.

The whole spread.  As you can see behind the table, Bella is well loved!

Lindsay Loo!

I have made cakes for everyone in the Albrechtsen family, some I've even made two for, except Lindsay!  Well, I had to rectify the situation in a big way, so I made something FABULOUS!

The feathers were from Marissa's 18th birthday cake. (Her older sister)

I had been wanting to try this ruffle/tutu technique, and Lindsay is a dancer, so who better?

The ruffles are made with TONS of circles, ruffled around the edges, and folded in to a "clump" kind of like a carnation.  Then, they are stuck to the side of the cake with gum glue, and crammed in to make the ruffles look full, and keep them from drooping.  It is a tedious task, but very simple.

The top tier is a damask done with the Marvelous Molds silicone mats.

I think the result was worth it, and I think Lindsay did, too!

Chloe's 1!

Again, nothing is too good for my adopted grandbabies!  For Chloe's first birthday, her mom was doing a Minnie Mouse theme, and I had already done a smaller Minnie Mouse cake for a shower before, so I just made it bigger and better! (one tier would never do!) And Chloe needed her own smash cake.

Mickey and Minnie Mouse are always easy, because it is just three circles, but Minnie needs little 'mini' bows.  Also, the top needed two giant ears, and a giant bow.  I made all of this ahead of time.  The buttons were made with a Wilton silicone mold.

Chloe loved her birthday, even though she was a little confused about what was going on.  Best of all, everyone loved the cake!

So dainty!  She barely touched it.

"Grandpa" Scott